Bye, Bye, Bushes

Elder Robert and Sister  Raylene Bush complete their mission on 5 July when they will fly home to their eagerly awaiting family and new home in Pleasant Grove, Utah. 

We have certainly enjoyed the relationships we have made with the wonderful Saints as we have served, both in Grenada and St. Lucia. We are in awe of them as they do without so much and remain faithful to the Gospel. We know that is very trite but it happens to be true. As with so many other missionaries, the hardest thing will be to leave these beloved brothers and sisters, most of whom we will likely never see again in this life.

Equally enjoyable has been associating with the terrific young missionaries who have been an example of dedication and service to us. We have loved going out with them to visit members or teach investigators or just sitting in with them at District Meetings and watching them teach and encourage each other.

We definitely will not miss the mosquitoes, the humidity, the bad roads, the impossible task of finding where people live, and not finding things we would like at the “super market”. We will miss walking on the beach and seeing so many rainbows.

Some of our assignments have been very challenging for us; they have stretched us and helped us grow. It has been a great and rewarding experience. We have learned a great deal about ourselves. Our love for the Savior has grown as we have loved and tried to serve Him and our brothers and sisters.

We look forward, when we get home, to spending time with our fantastic and supportive family. We have two new grandchildren to meet. Our new adventure will be to adjust to a new home in Utah where we want to find ways to serve there.  We were living in Warner Robins, Georgia for the 22 years before we came on the mission but had decided we would move back home to Utah when our mission was finished. Last January one of our sons and a son-in-law went out and moved all of our belongings back to Utah so we wouldn't have to deal with it.   But, first we are going to Georgia for two weeks to say goodbye to all of our friends there before we will fly west.

May God be with you, Elder and Sister Bush . . . and we hope to meet again! 

Hendersons Say Farewell

Elder Clive and Sister Arlene Henderson return to their home and family in Idaho Falls, ID on July 25 after 18-months on the beautiful island of St. Vincent. 

“We most enjoyed the experience of starting a YSA Center where we got to work closely with these wonderful young single adults.  We were excited when one of our YSA’s received her mission call and are almost as eager as the two young men who are currently waiting to hear where they will serve,” notes Elder Henderson. 

“We were stretched beyond what we thought were our capabilities while our understanding of the gospel has been expanded as we learned to love the beautiful Saints here in the Caribbean,” adds Sister Henderson.

Other happy experiences were the result of being approved for a Foods Initiative – which included seeing members and non-members plant gardens and raise chickens.  The Foods Initiative in St. Vincent also involved three schools – each receiving equipment and nutrition books for home economics classes, along with seeds and tools for gardening. 

“This project has provided a great deal of positive recognition for the Church and the schools are grateful for the humanitarian service efforts on their behalf,” notes Sister Henderson.

The couple will miss all the wonderful friends they have made in St. Vincent, but will definitely not miss “the steep, narrow roads with huge potholes and deep gutters.”

The Henderson’s next great adventure is certain to include “travel and serving in whatever way we are needed in our community.”

May our Heavenly Father be with you ‘til we meet again, Elder and Sister Henderson.  You will be missed!

Gibsons Say Goodbye

Elder Wilburn (aka “Willie”) and Sister Julie Gibson will complete their 18-month member support mission on Grenada on June 28 when they fly home to the arms of friends and family in Alamosa, Colorado.
 
Their mission actually began in the Dominican Republic where they were called to help manage the distribution center  . . . but quickly recognized Spanish was not going to be something they wanted to add to their skill set!   A move to the neighboring West Indies Mission found them on the beautiful island of St. Lucia where they served for a period to ten months, before they were transferred to Grenada.

Sister Gibson calls seeing two sisters from Vieux Forttravel to the temple “an experience we will never forget.  We were not able to go with them, but when Sister Baptist came home her countenance had changed.  She was glowing with the light of Christ.  We were only able to teach the Temple Preparation class and help them fill out the application for financial assistance, but it was a wonderful experience for them – and for us – as they shared their excitement.”

What will they miss most? Like most couples, "what we will miss most is interacting with our brothers and sisters we will probably never see again in this life.  They have been such an example to us as they strive to live the gospel.  They are happy and very humble children of Heavenly Father.  We have grown to love them all. We are also going to miss daily interaction with young elders and sisters who bring such a great spirit and love of the gospel,” notes Sister Gibson.

Their advice to other senior missionaries is “to be flexible and not try to make things work here like they do at home.  You have to just do what works best for the branch, then enjoy the love the members so freely give to the couples,” states Elder Gibson.

The only big plans these hardworking and dedicated missionaries have for their future is “to spend time catching up with our family.  Elder Gibson has several grandsons waiting for Grandpa to take them camping and fishing. I can’t wait to hug and play with my grandchildren, then be there to welcome the newest one arriving in October.”

The Saints in Grenada will surely miss this vibrant couple.  The love and best wishes of those with whom you have served in theWest Indies Mission goes with you!

Farewell to Eleven WIM Sons

Rodney

Eleven of the WIM’s best arrived two years ago as spiritual infants filled with faith, hope, genuine charity – and with love in their hearts for the Savior and His children – and with this transfer return with honor to home and family as mature adults, ready to face life head-on!

Farewell to the following sons of the West Indies Mission:  Kyle William Dyson (Salt Lake City, UT), Mark Rodney (Linden, Guyana), Milton Stephen (Georgetown, Guyana), Jens Dallin Howe (Ephraim, UT), Nathan John Nielson (Stansbury Park, UT), Franklyn Joel Smith (Nassau, Bahamas), Melvin Ricardo Hoepel (Paramaribo, Suriname), Johan Andres Sujilio Damaso (La Romano, Dominican Republic), V Wallace Nolan Nonumaefele So’Oto (Carlsbad, CA), Stephen Hurt Lundgren (Sandy, UT) and Michael James Jordan (Beaver Dam, AZ).

Thanks for your dedication and hard work among the Lord’s children in the Caribbean.  You have truly changed lives!

Farewell to the Benns

Elder Kenrick and Sister Rose Benn will complete their mission on June 27, but as the first Guyanese couple to serve as senior missionaries in their native land, their return home will not require airfare or hours of travel. 

The retired police officer and his companion consider theirs a rather eclectic mission – serving first in the mission office in what Elder Benn describes as “total immersion in office work!”  When another couple arrived to assume their responsibilities in the office, the Benns moved to Linden as member and leader support missionaries followed by several months in that same assignment in Berbice.  The last six months of their mission found them back in the mission office.  Along the way, he served as a branch president and finished his mission as President of the Georgetown Guyana District!  “Even now, after more than a year in the office, we are still struggling to understand some of the Church internet systems, including iMOS,” states Elder Benn with his characteristic big laugh!
 

Aside from office work, Elder and Sister Benn found the most challenging part of their mission “was making members understand the doctrine and what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is all about – that things are done differently than in other churches.  We worked hard to make them understand basic principles including the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity.  We had some interesting discussions helping members understand why they had to get married when they had been living together for a number of years and had parented several children.”
 

Interacting with the young missionaries has been both fun and interesting, say the Benns.  “We have heard hilarious stories relating to lost cell phones or the ones which were baptized by accident then 'put into a microwave oven to dry' . . . how car accidents occurred and the reasons why apartments need repairs done!  We have also heard about some creative foods these young people have prepared.”
 

Their advise to couples considering a fulltime mission together:  "insure you and your companion are in agreement with what you want to do.  If not, take more time and invite the Lord to help because you will be together twenty-fours a day. That is tough!"

The Benns have plans to take a much-deserved holiday after they are released.  Sister Benn will spend some time helping her elderly mother. They also have plans to serve again!  “We are willing to serve the Lord in any way we are asked and have enjoyed our service to the Church in Guyana, but both of us look forward to serving a ‘real’ mission where we have the opportunity to bring souls to Christ.”
 

This amazing couple has huge shoes to fill!  They will be missed tremendously!

WIM Welcomes the Beutlers

Elder Melvin and Sister Carol Beutler of Dayton, Idaho decided to serve a mission together about 5 years ago when their stake president encouraged senior couples to choose a date when they would be available to serve a mission.  “We planned that we would go in 2012 – as soon as possible after Melvin’s retirement.   We told our children our plans, with the condition our 20-year-old daughter, Amy needed to be married, independent or going on a mission herself.  She decided to follow us into the mission field.  In January all three of us started preparing mission papers.  Our calls were received within 5 days of each other.  Amy will serve in the Micronesia Guam Mission while we are in the West Indies Mission.”  The Beutlers, parents of 9 grown offspring and grandparents to 22 (with 2 more due in the fall), “were really surprised to be called to the West Indies, since we had no knowledge or prior experience in the Caribbean, but we are excited.  We have met many returned missionaries who served in the islands and loved it.  They all say the people are wonderful!”

 

The couple, who will serve in Guyana, are both well-educated and well-traveled.  Elder Beutler finished a bachelor's degree in education, then with his young family, spent 3 years in the US Army stationed in Germany.  After returning to the USA, the Beutlers lived in Orem, Utah where Melvin taught middle school math.  During this time Sister Beutler earned a bachelors degree in General Family Life Studies from USU while he earned a Master’s degree in Education Administration at BYU.  In 1979, the family relocated to Dayton, Idaho where they have lived ever since and where  Melvin worked as a 6th grade teacher, an elementary school principal and for 25-years as the Superintendent of the West Side School District.

 

Sister Beutler enjoys singing, gardening, reading, going for walks, and teaching 4H cooking and sewing.  She also loves music – including conducting and piano.  Melvin loves to grow fruit trees in his spare time.  He also loves the mountains where he frequently goes hiking and hunting with his boys.  He also enjoys coaching cross-country and distance runners on the track team.

Melvin served his first mission in Taiwan in 1966.  Since then, he has continued to serve the Lord in the elders quorum presidency, a high priest group leader, as a scout master, a stake Sunday School president, and as a counselor in the stake mission presidency.   Carol has been in leadership and teaching positions in all of the organizations.

Welcome to the West Indies Mission, Elder and Sister Beutler. 

They're Back!

Elder Peter and Sister Ina Jansen are on their way back to Suriname.  On April 25, after completing a successful 18-month mission, they flew home to their family and home in The Hague, Netherlands – only to be invited back because, apparently it is not easy to find another Dutch-speaking couple to replace this dynamic duo.  The Jansens will arrive back in Paramaribo, Suriname on June 16 and have committed to serve until September 4 because, they kiddingly noted, “we don’t have anything else to do!”