Week Two - Bogotá Columbia MTC

Hi family and friends!  Wow!  Time flies!  I forgot to tell you that my P-Days aren’t the same every week.  Sorry about that.  There they are.

1.     Thursday 17 September 2015

2.     Tuesday 22 September 2015

3.     Thursday 01 October 2015

4.     Tuesday 06 October 2015

5.     Thursday 15 October 2015

So my latinas left me this morning.  Yes.  I cried.  I caught a glimpse of what its like to say goodbye to people from the mission.  I only knew them for two weeks but they made me feel so at home here.  Hermana Ortiz and Hermana Callirgos are serving in Quito Norte, so I might see them at our big temple trip, but I highly doubt it so that’s sad.  And Hermana Urdaneta and Hermana Rojas are serving in Venezuela so that’s also unlikely.  Speaking of Venezuela, no matter how much Spanish you learn and understand, you won’t understand it coming from a Venezuelan.  They are so hard to understand.  But it’s great!  Makes it more interesting.

We took another trip to the temple today (we go every P-Day).  But this time the session was in Spanish!  Ahhh!  It was like I hadn’t learned anything in the CCM!  Ha just kidding.  I picked up a lot of it, but I have a LONG way to go.  Luckily you don’t need a translator to understand the Spirit though.

I didn’t get a chance last week to tell you about my district a ton.  I LOVE MY DISTRICT!  There’s seven of us, Hermana Tirrell, Hermana Parker, Hermana Ely, myself, Elder Smith, Elder Scott, and Elder McDermott.  We are all super different but we’ve truly become family.  Everyone is hilarious.  We have a blast together.  After the Elders get home we’re gonna have a district reunion.  Elder McDermott is going to pick us all up in his family’s private jet.  Yeah . . . his family is rolling in the dough, but he’s cool about it.  He brought peanut butter and shared it with everyone this morning at breakfast.  I about had a heart attack.  I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER: way too much.  I should’ve stopped eating it a month before I left so I wouldn’t miss it so much.  Haha!  Anyways!

Man the Spirit is so strong here!  I have learned so much.  Sundays are great because only the 3 hours of church are in Spanish.  All the other devotional are in English (and there are A LOT!)  Then we finish off the night with a church video.  Last week was the Joseph Smith movie (don’t remember the name, but there wasn’t a dry eye in the room by the end).  And then this past Sunday we watched the biography of Thomas S. Monson.  I love the prophet so much.  He has literally dedicated his entire life to serving others and serving God.  18 months is not enough!  I need more time!  I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now.  And I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now.  I can’t imagine living my life any differently.  Wearing that name badge with the Savior’s name right next to yours changes everything.

That I can actually do this work as long as I’m working hard, talking to Everyone, and following the Spirit!

I love this Gospel and this work with my whole entire heart!  I love you all so much and hope all is well in the U.S.A.  Don’t forget to pray and always remember to find the mini miracles that God has given you each and every day!

They’re always there!

Much love,

Hermana B (what all the latinas call me since they can’t pronounce my name)

P.S. Mosiah 4:11-12

Hermana Callirgos, Rojas, Ely, Urdaneta, Ortiz, and Me!

 Hermana Ortiz . . . my favorite latina

Hermana Ely and I

First selfie on the mission

Hermana Ortiz again. I already miss her so much!

The hermanas in my district, our maestro Hermano Arango...sorry his eyes are closed...but he's the funniest person on this planet, and Elder Van Rossum...the only other American going to my mission for our transfer!!!  

Random picture of Colombia. The sky always looks like that. Except for today...today was strangly blue skys and really warm. Like 75 degrees. I was dying haha ;)

My humble abode. My bunk is the bottom left. 

My corner on the right half

Thanks for the letters mom and dad! You're so sneaky!

The mariokart traffic

Random colombian gas station

You can see the mountains in the background! the mountains here are so cool! I want to go climb them! 

Fun beer advertisement with a side of grafiti pretty typical

Week One - Bogotá Columbia MTC

Hello everyone!!

So...here in the CCM the oranges are green and the weather is ALWAYS perfecto.

Its hard to believe that a week has already come and gone. Again I apologize if this email is really scattered. And I have no clue how to use the keyboard so just try your best to understand me. Sorry if I don't get around to answering all of your questions. My English is starting to struggle which is really exciting! I love the CCM and I love my district! They are the best!!!! Hermana Ely is from Georgia. We're getting along great. I love her tons. Please keep her in your prayers! She is struggling with the language. Speaking of the language...I am in love with the Spanish language!!! I really don't like speaking English anymore. I am in a room with my companion and four latinas. I love my latina hermanas!!! I am going to miss them  soooo much. I am being completely immersed here. If you don't talk to anyone, you get pretty lonely. So, you just open your mouth  and hope they understand your Spanglish. In all seriousness though, the gift of tongues is real. Its something that you constantly have to work for because it doesn't just get handed to you, but when you're teaching a lesson on your second day and you can understand everything that your investigator is telling you it feels pretty great. I've definitely felt blessed with the language. I'm working very hard and speaking as much as I can. When I go to bed at night my thoughts sound like the broken English of my teachers. Its great! I love  it here. Some missionaries think the first two weeks are torture but I have been very blessed with many amazing experiences and a great district. 

We went to the temple this morning. Oh my goodness. The Bogota temple is GORGEOUS. As I sat in the celestial room I thought a lot about families and how they are central to God's plan. There is nothing more special than to sit in that sacred room with your eternal family. That is always always always the goal. 

Hopefully I'll be able to attach some pictures. It was really cool leaving the CCM cause it was our first time outside the fence...felt like freedom. But it was really awesome seeing the city since we arrived in the middle of the night when we got here. Mom...you would not like the traffic here. At all. You'd be using your invisible break the entire time. There are no stoplights or any form of traffic control really, and motorcycles are weaving in and out of traffic the entire time. Its like Mario Kart. You think you're going to get in an accident just about every second you're on the road. But its safe. I promise. Oh and if you go a block without seeing grafiti then you probably fell asleep, because its everywhere. Its pretty awesome. 

The food is really good but they feed us too much! We sit in class all day and then have to eat these huge meals and you're a missionary so you have to eat everything and you can't waste so its really hard. We work out a ton during our excercise time. I finally learned how to politely ask the chefs for less food so things are looking up. You really want the chefs to like you. Trust me. They like to pick on the gringos. But its all good. For breakfast we get hot chocolate, bread, some sort of weird fruit, and eggs. Lunch is the biggest meal. Its typically rice, meat, soup, vegetables, and dessert. And dinner is something simple like pizza or a burrito. Everythings really good unless its not...and if its not then thats just because its so different. The meat is always super flavorful though. And the Colombian soda is really good. Its hard to stay away from, but I've been good.

There are 72 missionaries here at the CCM, only 26 Nortes (North Americans). So English is hard to come by around here. Its THE BEST. I am absolutely loving the mission and the spirit that is felt here. Serving a mission is hands down the best decision I have ever made in my life. I am right where I need to be in order to prepare to serve the people of Ecuador. I know with every fiber of my being that we have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us perfectly. El Evangelio de Jesucristo is the only way we can be obtain salvation. Discouragement, doubt, and distraction all come from the adversary. And there is no room for the adversary on the mission. When we start to feel those things the best thing we can do is pray to our Heavenly Father and share with Him the desires of our hearts. He knows what we need, but we have to do our part and turn to Him. He is always there. God truly does call us in our weakness. I have never felt so weak and inadequate in my life, but I've been able to speak the language and help my investigators progress because I am a mouthpiece for the spirit and the word of God. I've never felt so blessed. 

I love you all so much!

Sorry I'm out of time! 

Thank you all for the prayers! I can feel them for sure!

Until next time,

Hermana B

katelyn.beutler@myldsmail.net

Seis nuevas Hermanas y siete nuevos Elders en el aeropuerto a Bogotá.  

                              Where is Hermana Beutler?

Bogotá Columbia Temple

My missionary name tag next to this beautiful temple.

My MTC district outside of the Bogotá Temple.

Day One Email from Bogota Columbia MTC

HOLA!

I made it to the CCM! This keyboard is very strange and I only have 10 minutes to write so bare with me!  I cant believe I am in COLOMBIA! Not really sure what to say, but my companion is Hermana Ely (pronounced E-Lee). Life is so good. I feel so blessed to be here. This is exactly where I need to be. Our roommates dont speak any English...so thats interesting but its great! Its just what I need. Actually none of the Latins here speak very much English. Like at all. Its not like California. So Im being immersed like no other. But I love it!!! I havent been here a full 24 hours but I have already learned and felt so much. This is the place to be.
This thing is pretty hard to type on. But I just got my missionary tags! I feel so much better having them on. People have a hard time with my name so its nice that they can see it now!
Tell everyone I said hi and life is great! Ill write you about my travelling adventures!!
The church is true!

Hermana B

The Sunday when speaking in church brings family and friends . . .

Carmen, Hermana Beutler, Carolyn, Camille & Cayla

Ken, Nando, and Carl with the Beutler Bunch Women.  All of us together!

Hermana Katelyn Beutler
(Photo and those following by Ron Aguilar)

Family & Friends

Ralph & Shirleen Beutler

August 30, 2015

The Call

April 2015