Hermana Beutler in Ecuador: Week One

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