Monday, May 30, 2016

Week Thirty-eight: Our 3rd Week in Chillogallo

Hola mi familia!

It hailed today! My companion and I were leaving the store after buying a few groceries with our hands filled with bags when hail started falling! What's weird is that it was really warm outside still. But hey, we got to run home in hail! I felt like someone was shooting down at us from above with a pellet gun. It was pretty sweet. It was like a movie. Good thing we had just come from playing some ultimate frisbee with our zone so we were in our running shoes. Fun times.

The people here always ask me about the weather in California, not really sure why, but I guess they're curious. They always ask if its hot or cold and I explain that we have four seasons of weather there. Then they always joke that here we can have the four seasons in one day, and it's true. You never really know what to wear here, so you just put on a ton of layers. At the beginning of my mission I thought I'd never use my big raincoat that we bought because I never really needed it in my old sectors. It has now become my best friend. It gets quite cold here. But it's great because when we´re knocking on doors and it´s pouring down rain the people have pity on us and let us in. That's happened quite a few times this week. And now they have a baptismal date. It's great! I love the rain!

We have seen so many miracles this week. The biggest one was once again with the Albán Family. They´re so awesome! So last week we visited them on Monday and Tuesday, and after that every time we tried visiting them they couldn't receive us, and we started getting pretty nervous. We weren't sure if they were going to come to church or not. It seemed like everything was preventing us to visit them and get them excited to come to church. So all we could do was pray. We kept praying for them the entire week and then come Sunday we called Jenni fifteen minutes before church started and she told us that they were already on their way! What a relief! When we saw them we got so excited! Then Emily told us that in the bus on their way to the church someone hit her back pretty hard (the buses are crazy here. it's like sardines) and she has had back problems before so she was in a TON of pain but she stuck it out through two hours of church. One of the hermanos gave her a blessing and the tears were streaming down her face. She is still hasn´t received the strongest answer that she wants about the church and her decision to be baptized but I know that she could feel of the priesthood power during that blessing. There's no denying it. I have gained such a strong testimony this week that we as missionaries experience things during the week to be able to help and understand our investigators when they´re experiencing the same types of challenges. I know that the church is true! I've felt it, I've seen it, I will never be able to deny it! 

I love being a missionary! Another miracle! Yesterday we were contacting and trying to find new people to teach and we felt like we had hit a dead end. We had a goal of finding 5 new people last week and at about 5PM yesterday we had only 3. My companion told me that we needed to pray. So we stopped knocking on doors and said a prayer. I thought it was interesting because my companion prayed that we would be able to find 5 people instead of praying for just the 2 that we lacked at the time. We finished the prayer and the second I opened my eyes we saw a family walking up. A family of 5! I was so amazed at the power of prayer. They received us with so much love and told us that we could stop by their house in an hour. So we kept contacting and found a really nice lady who received us right away and has a goal to be baptized on the 25th of next month! After that we returned to the house of the family and they still weren´t there but the grandma was there. We offered to share our message with her but she told us that she couldn't let us in because she didn´t know us. She was scared we were going to rob her or something....which isn't a normal reaction we get...haha. But I pulled out my card signed by the prophet that says I'm allowed to preach the gospel and testified to her that we were servants of the Lord here to share a message. It was a huge reminder to me of the importance of my calling as a missionary. I'll never forget that moment. Well, at the end of it all, she still didn't let us in haha, she was a little paranoid, but she said that we could come back when her daughter was there. It was a pretty interesting experience. 

Long story really short, I love this work and I love being a missionary! I can't believe the time goes by so quickly! I hope you are all doing fantastic! Remember that the power of God is on the earth today! And to know for sure all we have to do is accept the invitation of the Book of Mormon and read, ponder, and pray to ask God for an answer! I know He can and will answer your prayers! 

Les amo muchísimo!

Hermana Beutler

Some hail 

Some more hail

This is becoming a tradition.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Week Thirty-seven: Our 2nd week in Chillogallo

Hola mi querida familia!

Oh what a week it has been! I love being a missionary! There is nothing quite like it! From aftershocks, catholics, drop-down slides, and awesome miracle investigators we've experienced it all this week! It's been awesome! I'm so grateful for my companion. She is such a happy person and has such a positive attitude. We got through this week with a smile on our faces and it really has been a great time!

So we had some pretty big aftershocks this past wednesday I believe. It was about three in the morning when I woke up to a bunch of noise, and for about fifteen seconds I felt my bed shaking but then it went away. It took awhile to get back to sleep but when I found out that the earthquake lasted longer than the first from last month I realized that I'm a really really deep sleeper. But mom you already knew that. haha. I woke up in the morning a bit worried because it was really strong here in Quito and if its strong in Quito then it's even stronger in the Coast. All I could think about was my companion Hermana Corado and my investigators and ward members over there. There's no way to know what´s happened because we can't watch the news. But then I got a call at about 7 in the morning from President. It's not everyday that you get a call from President. I was a little nervous but then I answered and he told me he was calling to make sure I was feeling okay after the earthquake and to let me know that my companion is fine because he knew that I would be worried. I was so grateful to receive that call. It amazes me how the Lord takes care of us. He sends little mercies along our way because he truly loves us and wants us to be okay. I was shocked that my president would take the time out of his day knowing that everything physically was fine to make sure that I was doing okay emotionally. I was doing fine and he let me know that everyone in Santo Domingo is fine. Later on that day at about noon we had another strong one. I've learned that I definitely prefer the aftershocks in the nightime rather than during the day because I can sleep through most of it. 

But anyways! Enough about earthquakes. This week has really been a week of miracles. Our biggest miracle this week has been the Albán Family! Jenni and her three kids, Emily, Cesar, and Santiago. They're the best!!!!!!!!! My companion and I were doing divisions the first time that we taught them. I was with a few other ward members and we were teaching the first vision when she just started to cry. The spirit was so strong in that lesson! As we heard her express her feelings and desires to have an eternal family we felt so strongly the truthfulness of the Gospel. Her and her two sons accepted baptismal dates for the 11th of June. Then we taught her daughter a few days later and even though she was a little bit more hesitant she also accepted the baptismal date. The big miracle was when they came to church on Sunday. Cesar was marking his Book of Mormon with the scriptures that they were reading. Jenni was participating in Relief Society. Santiago left primary with a HUGE smile on his face. And when we saw Emily she had a Personal Progress booklet and journal in her hands and a young womens pin on her dress. Then later that night the Young Men's President told us that he went to visit them and that Emily said that when she entered into the church she felt the feeling that she had been there before and that she was really excited for her baptism! WHAT?! MIRACLES!!!!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! Getting to see miracles like this just makes the whole thing worth it! I'll take aftershocks everyday to see the changes and miracles in these children of our Heavenly Father. It's SO worth it! We know that they'll be missionaries and really great leaders in the church in the near future. I can't wait!

I sent some pictures of our sweet district activity at Mr. Joy today! It was awesome! I want to go again! It was great to be able to play some fun games and get excited for the new week of work ahead of us!

Funny fact from last week. We were heading back from a medical appointment for my companion from the north part of Quito and we didn't change buses in time because we were still getting to know the buses here and the bus we took drove all the way up the mountain like thirty minutes away from our sector and it was really dark and we thought it was going to go back down but it  stopped and we had to get off and there were no taxis or anything, just a weird little tienda (store). But luckily there was another bus that was going to head down so we hopped back on and headed down the mountain. We felt pretty lost but hey the view of Quito was great! We got home safe and promised eachother that we would pay better attention next time. Haha.

I love being a missionary and I love all of you! Being on the mission is the best thing that has ever happened to me!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Con mucho amor!
Hermana Beutler

A service project we did for a crazy lady the other day. It was great haha. Always a good time.

My cute comp (Hermana Riley) and I

Our district went to Mr. Joy today! It was the best time of my life. I felt like a little kid again. Its like Chuck-E-Cheese but for adults and without the scary big mouse.
Super awesome obstacle course.
That red slide back there is straight up and down. You can´t tell from the picture but it´s literally the scariest and the best thing in the world. Also I´m pretty positive it´d be illegal in the US. haha.
Headed out to work!

Monday, May 16, 2016

Week Thirty-six - Our beginning in Chillogallo

Hola mi familia,

How is everyone doing? I hope you're all doing fantastic! This week has been great! We've only gotten lost a few times but on the plus side it's been a pretty warm week so I'm only using three blankets when I sleep at night. It's great! Haha. But really I love this ward! I definitely miss my family in Santo Domingo but I am learning so much here and the members are awesome! 

Our first day we went out contacting and we were talking to this funny old guy and a lady pushing her mother in a wheelchair walked up and greeted us. Turns out she's the second counselor in the Relief Society! God really does love us. Her name is Dorci. She took us to her house and then we made plans to do visits with her during the week. I'm pretty sure she has accompanied us everyday. She's the BEST! . And her mom is super funny. She's 92 years old. She's losing her hearing but she definitely hasn't lost her ability to speak. Whenever we're with her she tells us these AWESOME stories that only the old people tell. She says she has served as Relief Society President 11 times. Hahah! She's so cool. She says she's frustrated right now because they released her from her assignment as visiting teacher since she can't physically continue visiting the sisters. But in her mind she can. She's great. Oh and the other night we went to do a visit to a member that we don't know and we were kind of lost with her directions so we called Dorci and she told us she was going to send her son in his bike to show us the house. So we waited and when we saw the bike coming we were relieved because we were pretty lost but then when we saw Dorci riding the bike we just about dropped dead! She is the best! Her son didn't know where the house was so she decided to come herself. I wish there were more people in the world like Dorci. 

Heavenly Father really has helped us this week. We've seen a lot of miracles. Our District Leader told us this week that not only are we opening a sector, but we're practically opening a sector that's been closed for three months, even though there were missionaries here before us...We have a lot of work ahead us. We're starting from ground zero with everything, which isn't easy but with the Lord on our side anything is possible. We feel strongly that we are going to see success this change as we continue working hard with a positive attitude. We have been able to gain a lot of the members trust this week and that's what's going to help us the most. I love this ward!

The work is definitely different in Quito. Our leaders have high expectations of us and the work moves quickly. I've already learned so much in this first week and I know that I have a lot of learning ahead of me. In my district there are 5 sisters which is a huge change for me because in Santo Domingo there were only 4 sisters in the whole zone. We're all gringas, which is fun but I also miss my latinas. My companion is AWESOME! We're 99% sure that we met before the mission (the same thing that happened with Hermana Morán) but we still haven't figured out from where. Probably the pre-existence, but who knows. It's weird how often that happens though on the mission. I've met a handful of people that I am absolutely positive that I've met before, but there's no way that I've ever seen them in my entire life. But that's the beauty of God's plan, we really are brothers and sister. Every single one of us. It's sad that we don't treat each other as such in this world. If we could just strive a little harder to see others as our Heavenly Father see us, His children, we would be living in a better world. It's for this reason that the Savior taught us in Matthew 5 the importance of loving everyone, especially our enemies. I'm sure that as we strive to apply this commandment in our lives that our enemies won't be our enemies anymore and they'll become the people we love, not because the circumstances have changed, but because they're children of God. As a district this week we're working to develop the Christ-like attribute of charity. I invite you all to join us! There are so many awesome scriptures on how we can be more loving and charitable. It's worth it I promise! Love has always been greater than hate, and that's why Heavenly Father's plan always wins and is always the best.

To answer questions about my sector, what's it like and all that jazz. Well, there's a lot of chicken. SO. MUCH. CHICKEN. Literally every other building on our main street is a chicken restaurant. I'm not lying. Check google earth. Haha just kidding. That would be creepy. But we are working in a really populated area. There are a TON of families! It's the best! I love working in this type of area. The rejection is a lot higher than it was in Santo Domingo but that's alright. Rejection is nothing compared to the mosquito bites. Speaking of which. There are no mosquitos and my house doesn't have fleas! So we're set to go! Haha. But I really am happy to be here in Quito. Still can't believe I'm here, really I still can't believe I'm here in the mission in general. Time is flying by WAY too quickly. But I'm happy to be serving the Lord here in Chillogallo. The mission is the best!

I love you all!
Have a fun and sunny week! And don't forget about Family Home Evening!

Con todo mi amor,
Hermana Beutler

P.S. In my zone we are ponderizing D&C 64;32-34 What scriptures are you all ponderizing? CHAO!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Week Thirty-five: Una Nueva Ciudad, Chillogallo

Hola mi familia! 

It was so great talking with you yesterday! I couldn't really speak very well and I was SUPER nervous but it was great to see your lovely faces and hear how everyone is doing. 

So I'm currently wrapped up in extra clothes, my raincoat, and a scarf. Yep, that's right, I'm in Quito. It was SO hard leaving Santo Domingo. I can't even begin to describe how hard it was. But now I'm here in Chillogallo, Quito and I'm really really cold but happy and excited for a new opportunity to learn and grow. I'm sure that I have much to learn here in Chillogallo and that the Lord has much in store for my companion and I. 

My companion's name is Hermana Riley. She is from Orem, Utah and she has 6 months in the mission. She's awesome! Super happy, diligent, and obedient and I am so pumped to start working with her. We're opening sector so it´s going to be a rough week to start out since we have no idea where we are but hey! It's not everyday that you get to go on an adventure like this! I'm excited! The mission is seriously the best thing in the world. I get sad thinking that I'm just a month away from my hump day. (9 months) 

The mission really is way to short. Time flies so quickly. It helps me to remember that we have to focus and GET TO WORK! I'm so excited for this new change. 

The Book of Mormon is the best thing in the world. It literally changes lives. I got to see the powerful changes in our investigators in Santo Domingo as they began to read those powerful scriptures that I love so much. I can't imagine my life without the Book of Mormon. I know that it is true. I know that it really contains the word of God. It IS the word of God. At times we question what God wants us to do, and we wish that He could just speak to us and tell us exactly what we need to do and we forget that we have His word! We have the scriptures! We know what He wants us to do! He wants us to obey. And we're blessed with guidance and blessings in return. My goal in this change is to grow spiritually in my testimony of the Book of Mormon and share the blessings of this marvelous book with every person I meet! 

Funny moment of the week...so in the terminal today Ines (our semi crazy investigator) came to say goodbye and right before she left she looked me in the eyes with such a serious look and told me "I'm going to bless you now" haha and in the middle of the terminal she blessed me with the sign of the cross in my face multiple times. I didn't even know what to do! I just smiled and tried not to laugh. It was so uncomfortable! The thing is, she isn't even Catholic and never has been. But it was a nice gesture...haha. I'm going to miss her. 

I hope you're all doing fantastic and I want you all to know that the mission and the Gospel are the best! I love being a missionary and I'm going to fight the cold that´s sure to hit me this week! Keep praying and reading the Book of Mormon and going to church! It's the key to happiness! I love you all! 

Con todo mi amor, 
Hermana Beutler

Mis hermanitas lindas


Santo Domingo Zone

Mis hermanitas lindas again

I miss her already!

Hermana Lopez and I

My three bffs

Priceless.

Ines y La Mamita

Add caption





Monday, May 2, 2016

Week Thirty-Four: Love for Santo Domingo

Hola mi familia, 

Another week has passed and I didn't feel a single aftershock! That's quite the miracle! I'm not sure if you've heard about what happened on the outskirts of Santo Domingo in Yurikin (I have no idea how it's spelled) but there was a huge flood. It rained so hard that the river raised up and took out the town. From what I've heard three children and one adult died. The damage ruined the water resavoirs (don't know how to spell that either) and the entire city is without water. Luckily we rent from the bishop so he bought water and we have sufficient but others are without a single drop. We getting really good at taking fast showers. The electricity also went out the other night and didn't come back on until during our studies the next morning so we're also getting good at taking cold showers. But it has served as a good reminder of what's really going on here in Ecuador. 


We are very blessed to have what we have as missionaries and we haven't seen a fraction of the damage or suffering that the people are facing but we are striving every day to be better servants of the Lord to be able to help and serve these children of our Heavenly Father. 


We have seen so many miracles this week! Fatima (the mom of one of our families) started to give us the cold shoulder a few weeks back and we were really sad but we kept visiting them and praying for them to receive their answers. Well we saw a miracle! After the earthquake she started paying more attention to what we were sharing and she started reading the Book of Mormon again. 


If I have learned anything on the mission it's that the Book of Mormon truly is the key to our religion and our conversion. Every time I've had an investigator that reads the Book of Mormon, they progress, they moment they stop, Satan starts deceiving them into thinking the answers they received aren't all that important and so on. Well she started reading again and we saw before our very eyes a complete 180 degree change. She is now dead set on getting sealed in the temple and knows without a doubt that the church is true. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon! 


Julio (the dad of one of our other families) is working hard to quit drinking and smoking. He stopped drinking about two months ago and he's down to one cigarette a day. We have seen so many miracles with him and his family. He still hasn't prayed during a lesson yet but we're working on that :) He told us the other day that he needed another pamphlet to read because he gave his pamphlet to his boss at work!!!!!! And now his boss wants to listen to us!!!! I love the mission!!!!!!!!!!! 


Oh man. I have truly fallen in love with Santo Domingo. I can't believe that this could be and probably is my last week here. I love the people, the members, the weather, and even though I've gained more of my rice pouch the food is also the best. If I leave I will be leaving a big part of my heart here too but I know that the Lord will have me where He needs me to be. 


I love you all and hope all is well! Keep the faith and keep praying! 


Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Beutler


Lenin, Erik, Dalia, and Wendy
My bff Erik
Crazy kid
Lenin & Erik with us
The Medranda boys
The happiest kids I've met
So much personality
5 crazy kids
Papito Pilay & Dana
The crew going to visit la gente.
A new do
A much needed haircut
Ecuador that I love