Ola Family and Friends,

 

What a crazy week it has been! A lot has happened and I do not even know where to begin.

 

First of all, on Tuesday I had hit 6 months in the mission. Sister Holland and I decided to go to Hotel Mindelo and have pizza for lunch together with our comps to celebrate. It is always so much fun spending time with her. I LOVE her companion, Sister Turnbow. She is one of my favorite sisters in my mission cause she is just crazy and so funny.

 

Today is transfers and I am soooo happy to say that I am staying in my area!!!! However, I recieved a new companion. I am actually serving with a mini missionary who is from here in Mindelo. A mini missoinary is a person who is asked to serve as a missoinary for a short period of time who is from within the mission bounderies. And we have an odd number of sisters currently serving in Cabo Verde, so instead of creating a triple, our mission president calls mini missionaries. So my new companions name is Sister Patricio. She is awesome!! She served half of last transfer with another Sister and then switched and came over with me for this transfer. However, she is working on her papers right now to serve a mission and was suppose to go home the beginning of this transfer. President right now is looking for another mini missoinary in Cabo Verde who can take her place and serve with me. Meaning I will likely be training a non missoinary this transfer. We are still waiting to see what happens.

 

On Saturday we had a surprise baptism. I say surprise, cause it was...we did not plan or expect at all for one of our investigators to get baptized. Our couple Rute and Erickson who we have been preparing and helping to get married, split up for the 3rd time this transfer the beginning of last week. When we visited Rute during this time and found out, she said she wanted to continue forward in front without him and get baptized and feel and receive the blessings that come with making a covenent with God through baptism. I told her to wait and give it some time to make sure Erickson did not come back. But she REALLY wanted to get baptized. Luckily our mission president was visiting the island so we set up for him to give her a baptisimal interview. I explained the situation to him before he sat and talked to her, and he said she had to wait and make sure he was not in the picture anymore. But when he came out of the interview, he told me to give him her baptismal papers to sign and that she was to get baptized tomorrow (the interview was Friday and baptism Saturday). I was STUNNED!!! I was soooo happy, but at the same time worried. Out of all of my investigators, I have put in more time, effort, heart and soul into Rute then any other person. My love for her reaches the skies and I have wanted so badly for her to get married and continue strong in the church. However, after Sacrament Meeting at church yesterday and after Rute was confirmed a member of the church and recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost, she came up to me and said she needed to talk. She then confessed that Erickson had returned last night (the night after her baptism). And that he wanted to come back. She explained however that she had now made a covenant with God and that he can not stay. But now, she wants to get married ASAP to Erickson!! So today in two hours, we are meeting her at work to take her to the Court House to mark a day for when they can get married. All though I am super happy about them getting married, it also has made me a little frustrated. I think Rute might give me another ulcer!!! haha just kidding. But maybe by my next email they will be married. We just hope that they have a day availble soon and that they wont have to wait two weeks.

 

This week another one of our investigators is going to be getting baptized. His name is Tony. He is a 39 year old man who is a soccer attic (like playing it) and who has been taking lessons from the missionaries for months now. He just had his interview and is ready to get baptized this Saturday!!! We are so happy and excited for him!! We need more men with the priesthood in this branch. Tony is another one of our investigators who also does not speak Portugues. But at least he understands it. So every lesson with him has been us speaking two different languages but all understanding one another. Luckily now I have a companion from here who speaks both...which is a blessing!!! And now I can actually learn how to speak Crioullo (Creole)!!!! I have tried, but it is pretty hard.

 

Something sad that has happened this transfer is the island of Fogo got closed for Sisters!! I am hopeful though that sometime in the next year before I go home it will reopen and I will have an opportunity of serving there.

 

Well that is about it this week. I love you all!!! Ate mais!!

 

Sister Beus

 

P.S.- two of these pictures are from when we went out to lunch to celebrate Sister Holland and I hitting  months in the mission on Tuesday. The other one is from our zone activity last week.

 

Here are some more photos...

 

-The girl in the blue sailor dress is our investigator named Tatiana. She is getting baptized in 3 weeks. She is another one of my FAVORITE people we are teaching. She just "GETS" things and really has a strong desire and hunger to learn more.

 

-The photo of the house is the house of our recent convert, Flavio...the one who is mostly deaf and speaks and understands only Creole. His house is only the yellow one with the blue door. The brown one is not part of his house. The inside is built together with Card board boxes and the outside is made out of scraps of sheet metal.

 

-The family is our recent convert family who I LOVE and ADORE, Tina and Tony with their two twin daughters Stephanie and Romirra. They got baptized 2 weeks before I first got to this area. We visit them twice a week and have the most wondeful discussions with them. They are STRONG and Tony is going to be the future branch president, I just know it.

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

SIster Beus

 

Hi everyone,

 

Here are photos from Rutes baptism. The other one in white with her is Tony, our recent convert who baptized her. It was a wonderful wonderful day. The group picture is after her baptism with Tony and his wife Tina. Squatting down in front is our beloved branch president, President Fortes. He is INCREDIBLE and helps us a lot.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sister Beus

 

6 Month in the Mission!!

Family and Friends,

 

I can not believe it...but I will have hit SIX months in the mission tomorrow!!!! It is crazy that I am officially 1/3 of the way done with my mission!! I feel like I just was in the MTC a few weeks ago...and to think that I am hitting 6 months tomorrow already is way over my head!!!

 

I always want to give a BIG shout out to my wondeful and beautful mother who turns FIFTY tomorrow on my 6 month mission mark!!!!!! Para bems Mom!!!!!!! You are loved so so so much!!!!

 

Also, I can not believe that Bradyn (my little brother) is going into the MTC this week!!!!! What a neat thing and blessing it is to be out serving together at the same time. It will be neat to hear all about his experiences and to be able to compare and understand certain experiences that he will be having with my own. Rock it out in Tampa Bay Bradyn!!!!!

 

So this week has been good. Nothing too out of the ordinary or different happened this week. Do you all remember my couple who we have been working on trying to help get married who have the two little boys (I emailed home photos of their little boys last week)? Well, they have finally decided to go forward together in their lives, work their problems and difference, and get married!!! We are going to the city with them this week to the court house (or wherever it is you go here), to mark a date for when they can go and have it be OFFICIAL!!!! It will be a miracle to see the two of them get married after all of their obstacles and struggles they have been through together in the last 5 years of their life. Everybody keep your fingers crossed that things will go through.

 

I am not going to lie, I am a little nervous that I will not be here to see it through...nor 8 marked baptisms that we have for this next month, because next week are transfers!!! Transfer calls come this Saturday night and we will be finding out whether we will remain working at least 6 more weeks in this area (Cha D'Alecrim, Mindelo) or being transferred to somewhere else. I REALLY do not want to leave this area. We have a lot of really strong people who we are teaching and who are so close to taking that big step in their life to make a perminet better change in their lives by accepting to live the gosple and be baptized. That and we have are couple (Rute and Erickson) who are so close to getting married that I want to be here to help them reach that special day in their lives. But, I will do and go wherever the Lord needs me and just continue to work and spread his gosple.

 

I just remembered an interesting experience I had this week. It was actually yesterday. Earlier this week we made a street contact with this woman named Jizelle who accepted to let us come by and teach her on Sunday (yesterday). We weren't too sure about her to be honest because she was rather cold to us when we were initially talking to her for the first time. And we almost didn't even bother to go because we were over sheduled with appointements yesterday. However, we felt promted that we needed to pass by and at least try and see if she was home. As we walked up to her home, we heard music coming from inside and people yelling. The door was opened and I popped my head through the small cement oven of a home where they lived. Jizelle was sitting right inside by the front door with another woman and two men. She invited us in and we sat down on her half broken couch that was covered with dirt. The two men were sitting there laughing and began talking to us in their hard Creole while taking shots. Jizelle then pointed out which one of the two men was her "Marido" (that means husband...but they are not married. Everybody here refers to the man they live with as their husband but NO ONE is actually legally married. They just live together with lots and lots of kids). We sat and attempted to teach them about prayer and why it is important to communicate with our father in heaven. Throughout the lesson, one of the men would jump up towards the television set where there was a soccer game playing and scream "bai bai bai"!!! meaning "go go go" in Creole. Then the womens 4 year old daughter would walk in and pull her mothers shirt down and begin breast feeding (all of these things which are all very normal and typical here in Cabo Verde).  It was just a very hectic and typical lesson that always reminds me that I am not in America anymore.

 

Oh, it also has been POORING rain here for a few days. Today is the first clear day for almost a week. yesterday coming home from church our street where we live was flooded and looked like a giant mud river that went up to my ankles. I have learned that when it rains here, it does not just rain...but it POORS!! It is pretty fun. I will send pictures.

 

Well, that is about it. I love you all!! Until next week!!

 

Com amor,

 

Sister Beus

 

 

My dearest most loveliest Mother,

 

Para Bems con tendo CINCUENTA anos!!! O que louco que minha mae tem 50 anos!!!! Mom, I want you to know that on this VERY special day tomorrow I will be doing nothing but thinking about you and how I have the most wondeful mother anyone could ever be blessed with. I am sorry that my birthday card/photo for you could not be more lovely. But I just picked up everything off of the ground that was within 5 feet of me to take this picture for you. As you can see, the typical things that are all that is available on the ground are pieces of cement, broken beer bottles, and lots of garbage. So all though it is not pretty, it is very typical for where I live...and there for it is cooler. haha

 

Mom, I want you to know that I seriously love you more then anything else. I would not be here if it was not for you and your example to me. But I SERIOUSLY love you more then anything. Thank you for always being there for me and for always being such a huge support!!

 

Have a WONDEFUL HAPPY day tomorrow on your big 5...0...!!!! Your fabulous!!!!! I wish I could be there to take you out for a big birthday dinner. We will celebrate and go sky diving when I get back together...how about that!!! haha

 

I love you tons!!

 

Your little girl in Africa,

 

Taryn

 

Here are some photos from todays zone activity. We went to Bahia dos gatas...it is a beach town about 30 minutes away from Mindelo.

 

There are also some photos of me when I went on splits for Pday last week with Sister Holland and her companion Sister Turnbow. We walked by this school that had a giant globe out front so we had to stop and take pictures.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sister Beus

 

View from the top of the Mountain

Hello Family and Friends,

 

This was a REALLY great week!!!! Our investigator Flavio got baptized on Saturday!!!!! Flavio is the 29 year old man we have been teaching who is 85% deaf and who only speaks and understands a little Creole. This entire week we passed by his little cardboard box/metal sheet home every day to make sure he was ready and prepared to be baptized. And EVERY DAY without fail he would get the most giant grin on his face and yell out "OOOPA!!!" each time we walked up to his door in excitement to see us. Flavio was seriously the most excited person I have ever scene to be baptized.

 

On Saturday Sister Namwanje and I were the first ones at the church for the baptism, so we stood and waited out front of the church building to wait for the others and for keys. After 10 minutes, we look down the road and see Flavio walking sooo proudly towards the church with the biggest smile on his face with his striped button up shirt and poke-a-dot tie!! AND he spent what little money he has on going to the barber to get clean shaven and cut his hair to look his best for his baptism day :D When asking him how he was feeling he replied in his 'deaf accent creole', "Mi sta feliz! Mi te aleg no mi coracao!"...meaning I am HAPPY! I have happiness in my heart!

 

The Branch Mission Leader was the one who baptized him. It was so great and the spirit was so strong. I gave a talk on the blessings of the Holy Ghost at the baptism and felt so proud of the 5 who were sitting there in front in their white baptisimal jump suits all with smiles on their faces prepared for baptism. It was a beautiful baptism. After Flavio was emeressed in the water, he turned to me before getting out and gave me a big thumbs up. He was soooo happy!!!! At the end each person who got baptized stood up front one at a time and bore their testimonies. Flavio was the first, and only one to bare his in Creole and not Portuguese. Everybody there was so proud and happy for him. In a way he is kind of like a little kid with his hearing and understanding disability. I felt like a proud mother does when there child has a great achievement. I have wanted nothing but the best for him and have grown to love him as I have watched him come closer to making this important step in life. Now that he has made that choice and step to coming closer to Christ and making that first covenant with God in his life, I could not feel more happy for him!!!

 

Sister Holland also had a baptism this week. It was exciting to be there together and both see the change the gospel made in lives of people who we have grown to love through teaching them. It is amazing to see how far we have come since our time together training in the MTC...and now here to where those we teach are making those life changing choices!! The gospel is incredible and this church is true!! I have never KNOWN it more strongly in my life then I do now as I see what it does to those who accept it and live it for the first time in their lives. It is a blessing to be here and represent Christ as I teach about the truths of his gosple being here on the earth again today.

 

Thank you all for continuing to send your love and support. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. You are all truly wonderful!

 

Com amor,

 

Sister Beus

Flavio's Baptism

Hello Family and Friends,

 

Here are the photos from Flavios baptism. This was such a happy happy day!!! Sister Holland (my MTC companion) also had a baptism on Saturday!! So we took a photo of the two of us together with our investigators who were getting baptized. The two of us were both SOOOO happy this day if you can not tell by the huge grins on our faces. I felt like a proud parent when Flavio got baptized!!

 

Enjoy!

 

Sister Beus

Another Week in the MIsh!!

These are photos from this last week. Our Mission President came to Mindelo and we had a training all day Thursday and also Friday morning. There were 8 of us Sisters together. Sister Walker, my trainer/companion from Sal, was also there. But she missed out on the photo cause she was in having interveiws with the mission president when we took it. She is serving now with Sister Macamo, my companion I served with last transfer in Praia from Mozambique.

 

The photo of me and the other Sister is Sister Turnbow. She is one of my FAVORITE sisters in the mission. We took a picture because we were dressed as "themes" this day...she was a cowgirl that lacked her hat and boots, and I was on a Safari...dont ask. Then there is another photo of my area thrown in there for fun.

 

Love you all!!

Sister Beus

Hello Friends and Family,

 

Another week has passed here in Mindelo! My companion and I are having a lot of success in our area. We are teaching some INCREDIBLE people who I have grown a great love for. This last week my Mission President came to our island and gave us a training all day Thursday and part of the day Friday. We learned a lot of great things that are going to better our missionary work a lot! Our new mission president is incredible and has a lot of BIG ideas to better the missionary work here in Cabo Verde. He challenged us each to think of someone we are teaching and who we feel could be ready for baptism this week. The first person who popped into Sister Namwanje and I's head was our investigator named Flavio. I wrote about him a little bit last week. He is this incredible 29 year old guy who is about 85% deaf and also has a problem with understanding a lot of things. He only speak and understands Creole. Every time we pass by his house, he has the BIGGEST grin on his face and shouts out "OPAAA!!" to greet us when we first arrive. He lives in a little one bedreeom home made out of tin pannels and cardboard. He has a 7 year old daughter who lives with the mother and then a baby boy who is less then a year old that lives with his mother (two different women). I have never met someone who is soooo excited to learn more and more about the gosple as Flavio. With his learning disorder and hard time understanding our Portuguese, it makes it a bit challenging. We have had to rely on drawing lots of pictures and hand gestures to help him understand. But the moment he "gets it", he lights up with a fire of excitement (He has the learning mentality of about a 12 year old...but is sooooo soooo sweet).

Yesterday at church he was able to get permission from the mother to bring his baby boy with him to church. When I walked in he was already there sitting down in the lobby. When he saw me, he immediatly came up to me to show off his baby and see my excitement to see him have his baby with him at church. He was so proud. I do not really now how to describe it. Anyways, we are preparing him to be baptized this Saturday. When we first told him that we were going to change his baptismal date to this week instead of next week, he was happier then life!! So pray that it all works out!!

 

There are about 11 people we are currently teaching that are STRONG and progressing. Most of them usually come to church every time by their week and are doing everything we challenge and invite them to do. This area truly is incredible.

 

One of the other women we are teaching is named Rute. She is in her mid 20s with two little boys who are 1 and 2. We first started off teaching her and the father of her boys together. But they seperated for the millionth time this last week. I think this time there seperation is for good too. He is into drugs and is not a good father or husband. He has not had a job or contributed to raising his family for months and is not helpful at all to Rute. We were trying to help them work things out and progress towards marriage before baptism, and even trying to help them find jobs. But now we are only teaching Rute. My heart aches for her. She is now alone raising her 1 and 2 year old and makes "pennies" a day for a living. She is currently without a home and trying to provide the best way possible for her two babies. In an hour my comp and I are actually going to go meet her and take her to a members home in our branch. He said he could help her better find a job that will help her provide better for her two babies. She also asked us on Saturday if she could go forward and get baptized. She said the only thing giving her peace right now in her life are the things she has learned in the church and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only things in her life she can turn to for hope and love and she wants it to be a permanent part of her life.

 

I have sooo many others I want to tell about and share but I am out of time, again. I love you lots and lots. Until next week!

 

Love,

 

Sister Beus

Love Mindelo!

Hello Family and Friends,

 

This has been a great week. I am absolutly loving Mindelo!!! I am especially loving my area. We are teaching some of the most amazing people. One of them is named Flavio. He is a 29 year old man who is 90% deaf. The little that he can hear and understand is only Creole, no Portuguese at all. He lives in this half underground home that he built and created out of cardboard boxes. But he is truly truly incredible. He has the biggest and warmest smile everytime we see him and a HUGE desire to learn and know more about the gospel. Since he has a harder time understanding, we rely on drawing and showing pictures and hand gestures to help him understand. He comes to church everyweek by himself and usually stays after to help pick up and collect all of the hymn books by himself. He is just wonderful.

 

Another family we are teaching are Ruth and Erickson and their two little boys that are 1 and 3 years old. We are currently helping prepare them to be married so that they can get baptized. They also have very little in their lives. Sister Namwanje are going to spend our afternoon going around and trying to see if we can help Erickson find work since he is without it right now. We are also in the process of helping them with their wedding papers and get thing prepared.

 

We have a lot of other really strong and great investigators that we are working with. We had seven come to church yesterday which we were so excited about. I love when people just "get it" and continue to progress. It is one of the most exciting things to witness as a missionary.

 

Well, sorry to keep this short. But I had to use my time to do some other things that needed to get sent to the mission home. I love you all. Thank you for your continual support, love and prayers.

 

Com amor,

 

Sister Beus

 

Mom,

 

Here is a pic Sister Brooks and Laimana sent me. It is the three of us and one of our FAVORITE restaraunts called Segundas in Praia.

 

Love,

 

Taryn

Serving in Mendelo

Hello family and friends,

 

Everything is good here in Cabo Verde. A LOT has changed this past week. As I mentioned in last weeks email, I have been transferred again...this time to the island of Sao Vicente in the city of Mindelo. My area includes working in one of the richest and nicest area in Mindelo. It is a new area for sisters that has only had Elders working in for the most part until now. I am companions with a girl names Sister Namwanje. She is from Ughanda, Africa. We have been focusing this last week on just trying to find investigators that the Elders before us had been teaching. It has been difficult because there were no teaching records for any of them when we arrived to the area. So we have had to rely on help from members in our branch to help us find everyone.

 

One of the people we are teaching is named Flavio. He is INCREDIBLE!!! He is in his early 30s and mostly deaf. He also speaks zero Portuguese (only speaks Creole). So our lessons with him include us speakin VERY slow and very loud...and then every sentance we have to pause so that our member helping us can repeat what we said and translate it into Creole slow and loud for him to hear and understand what we said. But he is soooo amazing. We can tell he TRULY wants to understand and know everything there is to know about the gospel. He lives in such poor and humble circumstances too. He comes to church by himself and stays after Sacrament Meeting to help collect all of the hymn books and puts them away...and he is not even a member!!! He is just seriosly amazing and so hungry to learn more. We invited him to be baptized this last week and are preparing him to be bapitzed a few weeks from now.

 

Other then that, we have just done lots and lots of walking this last week as we have been trying to learn our new area and meet new people. Our area is surrounded by mountains that we have to climb everyday. But we are ok with that because every mountain we climb up has the most incredible view of Mindelo and the ocean.

 

Well, I am out of time. Enjoy the pictures. Oh, Sister Holland did splits with us for an entire day while her companion was in Praia for a training. So all of these pictures were taken the day she spent with us teaching in our area.

 

Love you all!!

 

Sister Beus