Praia-Serving in the office

November 21, 2011

 

Hi Mom,

 

So first I am going to respond to everything you wrote and asked me in order before reporting about my week:

 

Yes I did receive the letters from the achievement day girls. I gotta it a little over a week ago. They are WONDERFUL and it made me so happy. I did not however get anything from the primary. Send me an address for them if you would like (like to the primary president) and I will write them a letter thanking them even though I did not get it yet. I have not yet written to the achievment day girls. Being in the office there is no time for ANYTHING!!! Even on pday we are working. This morning we have been at the Portugal and Brazil embassies since 8:30am until 1pm...THAT was our pday!!! But I should get time later this week so I will for sure get a letter to them.

 

Tate is so cute. Those pictures are too funny.  I miss them all!

 

Here are responses to your questions:

 

Where do you live? I live in an apartment that is about a ten minute taxi drive from the mission office and mission home. 
Is the office in the mission home? They were until President Oliveira become mission president. They got him a new home that is snazzy and super nice about 5 minutes away in a sky rise apartment complex...the largest here in Praia. Super super nice.
Who do you live with? I live with my companions, Sister Laimana (from Hawaii) and Sister Gomes (Portugal)
Do you go home to eat, or do you eat with the mission president? If we get to eat, we go home. The office is so busy we sometimes only get a 15 minute lunch when the rest of the missionaries get 2 hours!
Do they run out of water where you are? More here then anywhere else in this country. The day I got here they ran out and we went two weeks before getting any back. We lived off of taking showers, drinking water, brushing our teeth, cooking food, ect. out of 5 liter jugs during that time that we would take and fill up at the mission office every day.
Are you in your mission presidents ward? Yes...but that doesnt mean anything cause he attends another branch every week.
Do you get to know his family since you are in the office? It is only him and his wife. But I know them both VERY WELL being in the office.
Are there Elders in the office too? Yes, we are the general secretarys. There are also Financial secretarys who are a companionship of Elders, and then the APs.
Can you listen to music in the office? Negative
Can you get eggs and oil to make cake mixes? YES YES YES
Take pictures of the office. Already have
Did you get another package? The last package I got was your Halloween Package a little over a week ago.

 

 The office is TIRING as heck. Like I find myself more exhausted some days then when I would work a 20 hour day for Gay.  

But.......................I am being TRANSFERRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo HAPPY!!! Crazy Happy as you like to put it. And my transfer is PERFECT for me.

 

So tomorrow I will be flying with my new mini missionary companion that I will be training (again) to the island of Fogo!!! President Oliveira is having me open a new area (again) for sisters. Only this time, I am opening an area that has NEVER had sisters ever before!! I will be in a little town called Mosteiros. All of the Elders call Mosteiros the "boonies" of Cabo Verde. I guess its just small and poor. But there is A LOT of work to be done there. I am assigned to build a seconed branch in Mosteiros. I will be flyng with my mini missionary tomorrow (she is from Assomada, SanTiago...the same island as Praia). We will arrive in São Filipe where we will stay for a day to buy kitchen appliances and food to take to our home in Mosteiros (it is a brand new apartment the mission just bought for us so it has NOTHING in it). Then on Wednesday, a truck will pick us up for us to put the beds and everything else in the back, and then ride in the back of the truck for one hour to our little town. I am sooooooooooooo sooooooooo soooooooooooooooooooooooooo dang excited!!! Oh, and President told me that I will be with this new mini training her and practicing as I wait for my real companion to arrive from the MTC...so aka, I will be training a new missionary next transfer after new years. I am excited about everything and I know that the Lord had a hand in all of this.

 

So that is about it as for right now. I will be sending a bunch of photos that I hope you get from my time here in Praia these last 4 weeks. I will write a big mass email next week once I am in Mosteiros. I have to finish working on trying to download photos.

 

As far as Thanksgiving goes, I am not so sure if I will be celebrating it. I will be with a Cape Verdian sister and according to the rest of the Elders, we'll be living in the boonies. So unless I somehow manage to do something with missionaries who are in other parts of the islands, I dont think Ill be doing much. But thats ok. Eat lots of food for me. Ill probably be eating the typical beans and rice that day :)

 

Oh...and I dont hit my half way mark next month...I hit my half way mark in TWO days!!! Yup, I have already hit 9 months! February to November...thats 9 months! Its crazy to think that I have already gotten this far. Its been a rollercoaster but I have learned a lot. I am looking forward to these last 9 months.

 

Well Mom, I gotta go upload pictures. I love you!!!

 

Your little girl in Africa,

 

November 21, 2011

 

Hi everyone,

 

Here are a few more pictures of my area in Praia and from this last transfer. I have a lot more that I tried to send but the computer here is just wayyyy too slow. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Taryn Beus

November 21, 2011

 

Hi Family and Friends,

 

Here are some pictures from these last four weeks that I wanted to share. These were all taken in my area in Praia. The little girls are a family that we have been teaching. The mother was baptized my first week here in Praia a month ago and we have been helping the oldest daughter get prepared to be baptized as well. They are probably my FAVORITE family in this area. They live in a one bedroom 10x10 cement home. It is the mother and her 3 girls...and she is 7 months pregnant with another one on the way. No husband. No help. And hardly anything to live off of. It is very humbling working amongst these people every day and always makes me want to help in any way possible. These people are all truly incredible. We are so blessed back at home for the good life we truly have.

 

Love,

 

Sister Taryn Beus

 

 

November 21, 2011

Hi everyone,

 

Just thought Id share a few pictures of the adventure me and my companion Sister Laimana did for Halloween. This is a Christ statue that is placed at the top of this mountain that we decided to climb up to on Halloween day. We needed to do something fun this day. So while our other companion went with some other sisters to get their hair done, this is what Sister Laimana and I did. It was a lot of fun. We like to call it "Little Rio De Janeiro, Brasil".

 

Love,

 

Sister Taryn Beus

Praia Zone Conference

November 14, 2011

Hi Mom,

 

We had zone conference this last week and here is a bad photo of part of our zone here in Praia. Oh, I forgot to mention, Elder Gerald Caussé from the area 70 was here this entire last week. He went home today. He gave us a training on Tuesday and then spoke at our District Conference yesterday. He is a beautiful piano player too!! But it was really good. I learned a lot.

 

I wanted to send more pics but they are loading SUPER slow this week. So here is a pic of my zone and one of me doing what I do best every day...studying the scriptures :) Im a lame missionary.

 

Anyways, love you Mom!!!

Back to serving in Praia‏

November 7, 2011

Hello family and friends,

I just wanted to share with you all some pictures from these last few weeks here in Praia with my two new companions, Sister Gomes (from Portugal) and Sister Laimana (from Hawaii). It rained a lot last week and our entire area turned into a giant mud slide. I wound up slipping and falling and getting mud all over me. It was pretty funny.

We have also had two baptisms since I have arrived here, Maná and Domingos.

I hope you like the pictures!

Sister Taryn Beus

Add caption

Goodbye Mindelo :(‏

November 7, 2011

 

Hello family and friends,

 

I am very sad to say that I have been transferred out of Mindelo. I am now serving back in Praia as General Secretary in the Mission Office. I have been here now for a few weeks, and although I am learning a lot, I really miss my last area. I espcecially miss my companion, Sister Vicente, who has returned back home in Fogo to prepare for her mission in Boston. We were both very very sad to leave our area and to seperate from each other.

 

Here are a few photos of me with all of the wonderful people I met, taught and served with during my time serving in Cha D`Alecrim in the city of Mindelo. I just wanted to share some of them with you all.

 

Lots of love,

 

Sister Taryn Beus

 

 

Im stuck in Praia‏

Hey Mom,

 

So i am officially back in Praia. I am secretary now in the mission office. Its ok but I am still sad that I am not in Mindelo still, in my other area. Im pretty bummed about it all but Im slowly getting over it.  

Well, sadly thats all the time I have for now. I dont get PDAYS anymore as secretary. I have to go run to the Brazilian Embassy now before it closes in 15 minutes to request a Visa for a future missionary...sigh...

 

I love you and I will write more next week.

 

Love you!

 

Taryn

Accepting the Challenge

Mon, Oct 17, 2011

 

Hey Mom,

 

Just wanted to share with you this email my mission president sent all of us. Its just a copy of an article by Elder L Tom. Perry. It really helped me though and I think its what I needed to hear today.

 

Love you,

 

Taryn

Accept the Challenge

By Elder L. Tom Perry

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

From the doctrines describing the importance of the dispensation of the fullness of times, one must have a special feeling of being privileged to be part of this final dispensation, when all things are to be accomplished in preparation for the return of our Lord and Savior. Our interests must surely be piqued as we consider where we fit in this divine plan.

As we look at the periods past and our own era in the Church, it is our responsibility to participate in the ever-reaching destiny of the Church. It would seem to me that as we follow the direction of our present prophet, this will be a time of declaring the word of the Lord to the people of the earth with more boldness and more courage than we have ever known before.

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley said: We see some around us who are indifferent concerning the future of this work, who are apathetic, who speak of limitations, who express fears, who spend their time. With doubt concerning its past, they have no vision concerning its future. There is no place in this work for those who believe only in the gospel of doom and gloom. The gospel is good news. It is a message of triumph. It is a cause to be embraced with enthusiasm.

The Lord never said that there would not be troubles. This work has consistently moved forward and has never taken a backward step since its inception.

How glorious is the past of this great cause. It is filled with heroism, courage, boldness, and faith. How wondrous is the present as we move forward to bless the lives of people wherever they will hearken to the message of the servants of the Lord. How magnificent will be the future as the Almighty rolls on His glorious work touching for good all who will accept and live His gospel, and even reaching to the eternal blessing of His sons and daughters of all generations through the selfless work of those whose hearts are filled with love for the Redeemer of the world.

I invite every one of you, wherever you may be as members of this church, to stand on your feet and with a song in your heart move forward, living the gospel, loving the Lord, and building the kingdom.

You are a part of this special generation. It is not by chance that you are here at this important time in the history of the Lord's work. It is your opportunity to declare this message of the Restoration with greater force and effect than any of the previous generations. You have been preserved and prepared for your time on earth to be a part of this great army, to make this the most exciting period in the history of mankind in declaring the gospel of our Lord and Savior to our Father in Heaven's children. You are better educated and trained for this responsibility than any of the other generations which have inherited the earth. If your declarations are to have any force and effect, your words must be backed up by your actions.

 The Apostle Paul felt deeply this sense of incurred debt when he wrote this in his letter to the Romans: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom. 12:1).

I challenge you to use all of the power and enthusiasm your souls can muster to move forward with this great opportunity which is ours. Let us again hear the Prophet Joseph Smith's words ring in our ears: Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing.

 Com amor,
 Pres. Oliveira

Another new transfer!‏

October 10, 2011

 

Hello family and friends,

 

I have not written one of these mass emails in a few weeks but I want to let you all know that I am alive and well...still! The last few weeks have been good. Conference was good (all though I only got to watch one of the four sessions in English and all of the rest in Portuguese...it just isnt the same when you dont get to watch it in English). We watched it at our church building with some of the people we have been teaching and some of our recent converts.

 

This weekend was a treat. We had Elder Donaldson from the quorum of the 70 visit our island on Saturday and Sunday (He is from Liverpool, England and has the sweetest accent...I attached a picture of me and my comp, Sister Vicente with him). He spoke to just us missionaries (there were 16 of us)Saturday morning and shared some thoughts and words of advice with us. Sister Holland (my MTC companion) and I hungout afterwards for about 20 minutes and just the two of us spoke to him. He is an incredible man. Later that afternoon we went back to the church to attend the baptism of four people we have been teaching over the extent of the last weeks to months. Those who got baptized included Iarine (11 years old), Yannick (9 years old), Hammilton (11 years old) and Antonio (32 years old). Iarine is actually a young girl who has been receiving the missionary discussions months before I ever arrived to this area. The problem with why she had not yet been baptized is that the missionaries could not get permission from her parents for her to get baptized. We FINALLY got their permissoin though and she was soooo happy to have the opportunity to get baptized. Yannick and Hamilton are two brothers that we have been teaching since my first week in this area...so for over two months now. Sister Namwanje and I had gone to there home our first week in request to the branch...but to talk to their parents who are less active members and help them come back to church. In turn, they wound up requesting us to teach their two sons and prepare them to be baptized. So that is what we did and I am so happy that they were also able to get baptized on Saturday. As for the fourth one, Antonio, he is another story. He was a blessing sent from Heaven when we found him and started teaching him. I have never found and taught anyone who was so ready to hear and accept the gosple in their lives like Antonio. We contacted Antonio in the street the week that our recent convert Nilton got baptized. He turned out to be a really good friend of Nilton. After attending his friend Niltons baptism, he told us that he wants to be taught and be baptized. He has gone to church ever week since and was the only person that we have been teaching who was not yet baptized who attended all four sessions of General Conference AND Priesthood Session. Him and Nilton attended all of them together...that is a rare rare thing. We get lucky to get people to attend at least ONE of the four sessions. So we were proud of them for being so dilligent and desiring to attend all of the sessions.

 

Later that Saturday evening, we returned to the church once again to attend a fireside that Elder Donaldson (the 70) was giving. I was excited to hear him speak again and to also hear our Mission President and his wife speak. My mission president, President Oliveira, wound up pulling a surprise on me during that time as well. After he and his wife spoke, the district president stood up and announced that before hearing from Elder Donaldson, we will be pleased to hear the testimony of Sister Turnbow...My companion and I were confused because Sister Turnbow did not attend the fireside. I looked at President Oliveira who was sitting up on stage and he shook his head at the announcent that the District President had said then looked at me and pointed his finger making it clear that it was ME who was to be going up, not Sister Turnbow. I was so caught off guard but stood up and made my way up to the front of the mic. I was sooo nervous. The thought of standing up in front of everyone and bearing my testimony in Portuguese on the spot got the best of my nervous...especially since it was also to be in front of my mission president and Elder Donaldson of the 70. Afterwards everyone told me that they had never scene a person so white before and so nervous. Kind of embarresing. I was greatful for the opportunity though.

The next day (yesterday/Sunday), we had the opportunity of hearing from Elder Donaldson once again at our District Conference. It was one of the most incredible conferences ever. Our district includes the two branches from the island of Santo Antao, the 4 branches here in Mindelo, and the one branch in Sal. So all of the members were all congagrated together from the 3 islands and it was really neat. I got to see some of the members from my first area in Sal for the first time since leaving and it was sooooo great!!!!! We were all so happy to see each other.

 

Oh, I almost forgot, transfers take place today. I am sooo happy to say that I am staying yet another transfer in my amazing area of Cha D'Alecrim. And what is also exciting, is that our mission president is allowing my companion, Sister Vicente, to stay one more transfer and serve again as a mini missionary. So Sister Vicente and I will be spending another 6 weeks together. This will be her last though before going back home and preparing for her real mission in Boston that she will be leaving for in February.

.....Sister Holland (my companion from the MTC), has been transferred to the island of Santo Antao. Until now, there have been only two companionships of Elders there. Today, both the companionships were transferred out and Sister Holland is going over there on a boat with a mini missionary! Her and her companion will be the ONLY TWO missionaries on the ENTIRE island now!!! There are ZERO elders that will be there with them. Sister Holland is a little overwhelmed but she is going to do a great job.

 

Well, that is about it for this week. I look forward to another great transfer. This last transfer Sister Vicente and I were blessed to teach and witness the baptisms of 10 souls who accepted to gospel of Jesus Christ. We are praying that we can continue to find those who are ready to hear and accept Christs gospel in their lives during this next transfer like we did this last transfer.

 

Amo todos voces muito!!

 

Com amor,

 

Sister Beus