Another Week in Guyana

Dear Family,

This has been a good week for us.  We didn't have alot of office work to do after Wednesday, so we had some free time to visit some of the less active families and investigators.  Elder Beutler went on Friday evening to visit a family and together, today, we visited with three families in the branch.  They all have their challenges.  One family has a mother who goes into the interior (jungle) and cooks for the miners for several weeks at a time, until she gets malaria.  Then she returns to Georgetown and recuperates until she is well enough to go again.  She has been a widow for over 15 years and that is the way she provides for her children.  The youngest is in nursing school.  I hope those children appreciate the great sacrifice she is making so that they can be fed and clothed and educated.

I (Carol) was asked to speak in church this week about the blessings of having sacred music in the home.  I talked about the hymns we sang each morning during scripture time and the oppurtunities I've had to learn to sing parts in choir and what a blessing that has been to me.  It was really an easy subject to talk about, because I had so many good experiences with music.  I also quoted a talk that Pres.  Boyd K. Packer gave in 1973 called "Inspiring music, worthy thoughts" and recited the song, "Hum Your Favorite Tune" which was written as a result of that talk.

This week marks the 4th month since we left Idaho for our mission.  Time flies.  We have called Esther everyday this week to see if she is in labor with her baby.  She is probably getting really tired of all the attention, but it does ease the grandmother's mind to be able to skype.  We hope that all of you are doing well.  We look forward to Deborah and Jared's visit in a couple of weeks.

Amy, when is transfer day in your mission?  Ours is on Halloween.  If we send you a letter will you get it.  Do you think that you will be in Pohnpei for your whole mission?

Love from Mom and Dad

The cultural shock is finally wearing off

Dear Family,

We so much enjoy your letters. It is fun to skype, but the letters are remembered better because we can go back and read them later.

This week we did our office work during the first 3 days of the week and then went to Suriname for the second day to renew our visas again.  The next time we need to leave the country will be in January, and the mission in Trinadad hosts a couple's conference the first week of January, so we will be able to go there to renew the visas.

Suriname is a fun place to visit.  It still has relations with Holland and the people there speak both English and Dutch.  The canals are kept clean and the streets are repaired regularly, so we feel like we have

gone back to Holland when we visit there.  Many of the tourists are Hollanders who have family  in Suriname.  We actually saw more Europeans there than we have in Georgetown, the whole time we have been here.

The reason that we said that the cultural shock is wearing off is that we are starting to pick up some of the customs and language of the Guyanese.  Dad has learned to drive around like a pro on the roads which are crowded with cars, taxis, horse carts, people, and a variety of animals such as cows, horses, goats, mules and tons of dogs.  This place is dog heaven.

We are also learning to say "just now" when someone asks us when we are coming.  "Just Now" means anything from right now to several hours from now to several days from now.  Sunday back means last Sunday, and Sunday next means next Sunday.  

One thing that I don't know if we will ever get used to is the numbers of beggars in Georgetown.  They are often very dirty and unhealthy looking.  It just gives me the creeps when they come to you asking for money.  There was not one beggar in the city of Nickerie in Suriname, but there are beggars on every street corner in Georgetown. We have been counseled as missionaries not to give them money, but it is sure hard to walk away.

Mary thanks for sharing the baby blessing and the deer hunt.  We were glad to hear that so many could get together for Isaac's blessing day.You did not say what church responsibilities Deborah had that kept her in SLC, so Deborah, write and let us know.  Hope everyone is doing well.

Amy, you were right when you said that there would be many more young women going on missions now.  We visited with three eighteen year old young women who are wanting to put in mission papers because they will soon be turning nineteen and want to go as soon as possible. We saw Elder Creech twice this week.  He is doing well. 

Love from Mom and Dad

Conference Week End

Dear Family,

Wow, being on a mission sure makes you appreciate General Conference.  With the church only 20 years old here in Guyana, it seems like most of the leaders are still learning how to lead and are not prepared to teach others how to lead.  So when we hear the prophets speak, it is wonderful to hear some true doctrine and to get counsel on how to teach these young members.

How did you like President Monson's announcement that 18 year old young men and 19 year old young women could leave for their missions, if they have graduated from their secondary training of school.  We here in Guyana have seen  some of those elders return from their missions who left when they were 18.  In Guyana, the children finish school at age 16 or 17, so they were given permission to leave early on their missions. 

I also enjoyed listening to Elder Oaks talk about child abuse and the evils of people having children and not marrying each other.  That is a real problem here and his talk gave us a great reference to help explain to perspective members why marriage is so important if they want to become members and have celestial family units.

Now it is Sunday night and we had a great day once again listening to the conference speakers.  There were lots of the members of the district that came to the Georgetown district building to watch conference and it was good to see them.  It was kind of like Stake Conference for us.  

Amy, I wondered if you get to watch conference on the satellite station or what.  Becky says that they have the Salt Lake Stations on their TV so they could see it all at home.  Amy, if the girls can now go on missions at age 19, you will soon be the senior sister of your mission.  How would you have liked to do that two years ago? 

Well I will close now.  We have to go to Suriname again this week to renew our visas.  Have a good week all of you children and grandchildren. That  flash mob thing you did sounded so fun.  I hope that we can find a way to see it sometime.  

We love you,  

Mom and Dad. 

The Three Month Mark Has Passed

Wow I can't believe that we have already been here for three months.  This past month has flown by.  We got a little behind in finances during transfer time and we are just catching up now.  This week has been quite a week.  With Lois and Joel leaving for their mission and Garth in the hospital, we were really concerned about being here and not being able to support them, but we are so relieved that Garth is recovering from his meningitis and lung problems.  Our prayers are with the Palmers as they leave and with Garth and Joyce's family.

Our neighborhood has been having a Guy Expo celebration for the past 4 days.  They actually block off our street at 4:00 pm and only let cars drive in one direction, because the expo is just at the end of our street.  There have been cars and people walking down the street to attend each night.  The Expo is a venders' display, but we understand that it is also a cultural display and there's lots of entertainment and of course drinking and partying.  Some of the members encouraged us to go and see it, but the environment was a little scary.  At 1:00 in the morning we heard an announcer over there saying "Settle down over there or we are going to call the police".  Enough said!

We decided to go to the country side in Linden yesterday to a branch party and get out of Georgetown for a few hours.  It was fun to just mingle with the members in that area and enjoy the peace and quiet.  They have quite a few young people in their branch who performed skits.  The young people are natural born actors and dancers (no inhibitions there).  They were so fun to watch.

Blaine,  we really enjoy your newsletters and pictures that you send so regularly.  It makes us feel more connected with everyone.  Thanks for doing that.  We do miss the mountains and the fun hikes we used to take every summer.  

We are actually taking a trip to the Kaieteur Falls tomorrow.  The other senior couples have been planning this trip for months and it is finally going to happen.  We take a small 1 hour plane ride across the interior of Guyana and then hike a trail to the falls.  They are the longest free falling waterfalls in the world.  Certainly a sight to behold while we are here.  That will probably be our only tour while we are here in Guyana.  We will have to work twice as hard the rest of the week to make up for the 6 hour trip.

Love to all of you  Elder and Sister Beutler

Things are Breaking Down!

This has been a really busy week for us. Last Saturday morning the Humanitarian couple, Elder and Sister Cook, who lived in the downstairs apartment moved out to Suriname to do projects there for the next 4 months, so we decided to move into their apartment.  It is only half the size of the upstairs, but it has a nice outdoor area with two storage sheds and it is  easier to keep cool. 

 

On Thursday, we picked up the new couple missionaries,  Elder and Sister Beecher, who are taking over the PEF and Employment responsibilities so we will be able to focus more on the mission finances and the missionaries.  The Cooks only had one day to pack and go, so we spent several evenings cleaning both the upstairs and the downstairs apartments.  We are still working on the downstairs, but we are almost there.

 

The Elders have given us calls several times this week because of things breaking down in their apartments.  The Elders in Diamond only had one burner working on their propane stove, so we took some oven spray and cleaned it up, but we could only get two working.  Then on Thursday, the same elders called and told us that their fan had quit on them, so Elder Beutler took them one from another apartment.  Then on Friday night the Elders in Alboeystown (pronounced All Boys Town) called to say that their refrigerator had quit.  We had one of the members who is an electrician look at it yesterday and he said that he could repair it but it would cost 100 dollars US to fix. Finally last night, the zone leaders in Kitty called looking for a portable DVD player that the mission is supposed to have for training new Elders. We have no idea where that went. 

 

Last week,our mission president's wife sent us an email informing us that we need to give her an update on all of the things that need repaired in the missionaries apartments,  I hope she will be ready for the report from Guyana.  There are issues in all six apartments here.

 

We are getting more piano students all the time.  We have 10 in the Georgetown branch and our District President here would like us to make a schedule to start going to the other branches so that we can teach as many as possible.  That is one of the most rewarding things that we have done so far.  The only young people that play at all only play with one finger and most of them do not sing parts or lead music.  We hope that in one year's time, we an get them to the point where they can atleast play the easy hymns in the beginners book.

 

Well, it is time to get ready for Church so we will sign off for now.  Thanks Mary and Carolyn for the news from Idaho.  We were so sad to hear of Murray Sears sudden death.  We, like Wayne and Carolyn, sure didn't think that he was one of the ones that would be gone when we returned home from our mission.  We will miss him, too.                                   

 

Love From Elder and Sister Beutler

 

PS Lois and Joel,  Best wishes as you head on your mission this next week to the Kirtland Ohio area.

Young Adults in Guyana

Dear Family and Friends,

We are learning more and more that the family is so important in helping young people grow up and be emotionally stable.  We have had several young men who have served as missionaries in Guyana who do great as missionaries and then when they finish their missions they go home to a dysfunctional family and they seem to fall apart.  How important fathers are.  One young man who we visited with last week came home to a good mother and sister who have been baptized in the church, but the parents were divorced and the three older brothers were drug addicts.  We talked to the young man about furthering his education and finding a wife and he said that he had nothing to offer a young woman.  He  and his sister work full time and give their mother all of their money for the house and they have nothing left to use for their own betterment.  The young man was very discouraged and feels like there is no way out of this predicament.  

Melvin suggested to him that he needs to pay his tithing and save 10 percent for future education and sign up for the Perpetual Education Fund to get the education he needs to get a better paying job.  Most of the young people in the church who succeed with their educational goals have at least one parent who is very supportive of them.  Some have a grandparent who they are living with who act as parents to them.  Grandparents are really vital in situations like they are living in.  

I think often of our father, who when he joined the church, he was basically on his own, because his mother had passed away a couple of years earlier, and his Dad was very much against it.  Fortunately, he had a brother who married a member and they were good to him.

On the lighter side, as we were taking our morning walk yesterday through the botanical gardens we saw a Macaw.  There are hundreds of parrots in the coconut trees every morning chattering to themselves, but this is the first time that we ever saw a Macaw.  He was much larger and beautifully colored, but he stayed to himself.  We have also seen monkeys, alligators, and manatees in the gardens.  A manatee is a water animal that looks like a cross between a seal and a hippopotamus. They are huge and they live on the vegetation along the sides of the canal in the garden.  

Well, it is time to get ready for church so we are off again for another week.  Love from Elder and Sister Beutler

Pictures from Guyana

Zone Conference August 2012

Demerara Building Dedication

Mission Office with other couples August 2012

Mission Office August 2012 (the tall couple is President and Sister Rebecca Mehr)

At our home with President Mehr