Katie Arrives in Milan! August 22, 2012

I got an early early phone call on August 22, from the Mission President himself, telling us that Katie had arrived safely and was in downtown Milan doing street contacts right then. She would be coming back to have a nice dinner and then being assigned to a city north of Milan called “Bergamo” (pronounced Bear-gahm-o) a beautiful medieval town of about 120K, full of cool art and architecture at the base of the Swiss Alps . She is to be trained by Sister Padula from Argentina. He was happy to hear that Katie spoke Spanish because Sister Padula doesn’t prefer to speak English. He told us of the sacrifices Sister Padulla had made, selling everything she owned, giving up a budding operatic career and coming without any family support to Italy. He said they are excited to have Katie’s bright face and happy personality in their mission, that the sisters are really leading out in the mission and he could tell Katie would fit right in. 

When he hung up I was in shock… I cried for about a half hour… is all. Of course we googled it right away:

And of course the link to the article about 17 deaths from an earthquake last May came up first. :( WHYYYY???? The Lord protects missionaries, right? Right!

http://earthquake-report.com/2012/05/29/earthquake-and-aftershocks-northern-italy-may-29-aftershock-as-powerful-as-the-may-20-mainshock/

Here is a link to a short video about Bergamo. Katie spends a lot of time right in these places. She loves it and says Bergamo is so beautiful it looks like it’s out of a movie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvQxxk_MHzY&feature=endscreen

Here is a link to an artsy video about young Italian adults running around the city at night. Another view of the places Katie sees every day/night. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kKFoVyCdXI&feature=related

Here is an article that gives a lot of detail about Bergamo… for the true Italy enthusiast…

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/travel/19bergamo-overnighter.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.levart

  

Long locks on the floor!

One week we got an email saying that Katie didn't want her hair to distract from the message and she was thinking seriously about cutting it. Here is the next picture we got from Sister Wightman's mother... telling us how cute Katie's hair was now.... well... I then knew what she'd decided. She didn't explain for another week but once we heard her reasoning, we were reassured... all but her cousin Walter.

These are just a FEW pictures of Walter playing with her hair, Katie loved it as must as he did! Walter was probably the most horrified to find out she cut it short. His mother reports that when he saw this pic he gasped and said, “NO!!!!”

Here is a picture of Hannah’s sisterly response…  Yep another 10 inches to Locks of Love. That’s empathy for you! Kim’s first response was to immediately cut hers off too, but after thinking for a few minutes decided that maybe she didn’t have to go quite that far to show her support and solidarity. 

I can't possibly...

I have seen some missionary moms get good responses to all their questions by sending an email with a list of questions they have with a line between so the missionary can just hit “reply” and answer them all easily. I had a lot of questions and thought I would try it. Here is the email I sent to her in the MTC below… simple right?

Hey, Katie, I am wondering so many things! Can you just hit reply and give me one phrase answers…

How many stamps do you have left and do you want more?

Did you get the package with the cd player in it? Did it work for you?

Do you need Sunday music cds?

How do I get Logan's music off the ipod?

Quick summary of your feelings about the MTC,

your companion,

the food,

your health,

the language

A bunch of "keeping in touch questions" follow - please give me some direction:

IMPORTANT QUESTION:   Do you send me letters with the idea in your mind that I will send them to fam and friends and figure that your actual letters to them can be short because you have already sent me all the news and figure I am sending it out to them?

I haven't been doing that and think I better be clear on your ideas...I have only sent out one update to the whole list, your first letter.... my plan is to write a summary update of your first month in the MTC and send it out to the people I did your first week's letter to... Is there anyone I should add or delete to the list?

Is there anyone I need to do anything for? What?

What do you want to have happen when people write you 'letters' on your FB wall?

DID YOU CUT YOUR HAIR????

Her response:

“Mom, there is no way I can answer all your questions… “

and that was that…. sigh…. but I am content to know that she is alive and doing well and figure that she would let me know if she needed something.

By the way, she did eventually answer most of them... just didn't have enough computer time in the MTC.

MTC Letter Highlights

Payback for Parents: I love you all so much. I am SO grateful that the family is forever. I am so happy to call you mine. Every time I read my patriarchal blessing, I am reassured that we are in God’s hands. He is so aware of our needs. He knew I needed you as parents. Thank you so much for supporting my decision to serve.

The MTC: I can’t get enough of the power I feel here. I feel safe…. I don’t have to worry about anything BUT preparing myself to serve. I am thankful every day to be here.

Health Report: I am exercising every day! I love it! I actually run approx 2 miles, then jump rope & do an arm/leg/ab workout. I teach all the girls, haha. They call me their fitness trainer. You would be proud :)

Food Report: I try to eat healthy for every meal and only have desserts on weekends. I always have a salad and love the wheat tortillas with veggies inside. The problem is the healthy choices don’t hold you over until the next meal but don’t worry. I am figuring it out.

Twin Time: “Oh gosh, I miss you so much! It is wonderful here. You get to hear so many diff languages as you walk from class to dinner. It’s awesome. It’s amazing how strong the spirit is here. It’s weird how when there is ANY contention or hard feelings, you feel the absence of the strong love and unity the spirit brings. I think you would like it here but I have a feeling we would be laughing at the wrong times.”

Sacrament Mtg: (first week) We're all assigned to prepare talks in Italian and then come expecting to speak. Once there, the Branch Pres. calls on who he thinks needs to give a talk. Scary, right?! Good news is, it only has to be three to five minutes long...and it takes me at least three to read a scripture in Italian, so it's all good. :)

Teaching:  I LOVE teaching! Never thought I would be crazy about it, or even be good at it, but I've learned that the spirit does the teaching if we take the proper steps to prepare for the lessons as best we can. It is incredible how the spirit fills the rooms when we're letting our investigator lead the discussion to what it is they need to hear. I love teaching in Italian. It is a feeling that I can't express. There is something powerful that goes on when you start teaching in another language and realize that you didn't know you knew half of the words you just said.

Cool stuff: Right before entering the chapel, Brother McMullin (2nd counselor) pulled me aside and asked me if I would accept an assignment to become the Coordinating Sister! I gladly accepted and can't WAIT! Basically, my assignment is to be the "zone leader" for the girls and just love and talk to them...which shouldn't be too hard at all. I am super excited

FINALLY SHE GETS IT: Days continue to fly by! It is the best feeling when we get to the end of the day and realize all that we've accomplished in the day. It's amazing what we can get done in 16 hours when we're focused.

Read Between the Lines: We just said goodbye to 11 missionaries and we will miss them so very much, but we are beyond grateful for the opportunity to learn without the distraction of missionaries ready to leave the MTC. I’m excited for the 28 new missionaries coming!

More Payback: I am loving that we get to read scriptures all the time. Mom & Dad, thanks for always loving your scriptures. They are so beautiful. I love them. I love how they connect our past & our future. I am so grateful for all the ‘gem’ scriptures, the scriptures that, when read in the right moment, are written just for you. Like Jacob 3:2. It reminded me that we need to be diligent in our relationship w/God. It requires our heart AND mind to keep up a close connection with Him. I am SO grateful that I was raised in a home where the gospel is important. I have learned that this life is a life of change and growth. We will never know everything, but our knowledge will continue to increase as we strive to learn about the gospel & plan of salvation.

Testimony: The Book of Mormon continues to amaze me. We are so blessed to have the scriptures. EVERYTHING in the scriptures is in there for a reason (just like PMG). We can learn SO much from them if we allow the spirit to guide our studies. Anyway, I am enjoying every minute of studying the gospel. Heavenly Father is BRILLIANT...just in case you didn't know, haha. He just fits everything together so perfectly! Here is my testimony in Italian...I couldn’t find the Italian keyboard on the computer, so this is it for now. :) Sono grata per questa opportunita a portare la mia testimonianza con voi. Io so che Dio vive e che Dio ci ama. Io so che Gesu Cristo morti per noi e che tramite l'Espiazione, possiamo essere puri dai peccati. Sono grata per Joseph Smith e la restaurazione. Io so che il vangelo e restaurato. So che la famiglia e per eternita. Nel nome di Gesu Cristo, Amen. 

LOVE YOU ALL!!

Con amore,

Sorella Beus

 When we're good about writing we get gold stars... HAHA!

Pictures from the MTC!

First temple trip.

The room where they spend of most of their time.

Italian Sorelle with their teacher.

Missionaries can still have fun!

Katie and one of her teachers. She speaks highly of them all!

 Temple day with the sisters.

 

 What a pair!

 

We all love Lyla Lou! You too could have your picture up here... all 

you have to do is send one! Sorella Beus LOVES getting pictures!

  Happy 24th!!

Katie's favorite person on earth right now!

 Sorella Beutler... also another favorite!

 From Sorella Wightman. Beautiful view of Squaw Peak.

Sorella Wightman and Beus sighting! Thanks Lisa Wightman for the pic!

 "Letters are like GOLD here!"

The group that performed "The Prodigal" at the MTC conference.

  Mustache partay!

The Wightman mustache tradition lives on!

Last time doing laundry before leaving for Italy.

Next stop... ITALY!

She flies out Tuesday morning early and arrives in Italy around 4 a.m. Utah time on Wednesday. She will be 8 hours ahead for the next 16 months! Even though we're not very good about forwarding them on, in her letters she always thanks you for your prayers and support!!!!

Katie’s last letter from the MTC:

We are down to only a few days left in Utah! AAH! I would like to say that I'm calm and collected, but previous events have proven otherwise, haha. I have never ever experienced SO MANY emotions in such a short amount of time. Yesterday was the ultimate emotional roller coaster. I went from being SUPER excited for Italy to SUPER stressed about all the things we have to get done before Tuesday. Wow. I'm just tryin' to make it. :) So far, so good! I cried myself to sleep last night for the first time. It has been a while and it felt nice actually. I just realized how HARD this is. I've been so so so happy here. I feel like every day is productive and I'm always so impressed with the progress of our zone. They are all stellar. Last night while I was praying, I was realizing that this is probably the most important work that can be done on this earth, and Heavenly Father is trusting us with his work in ITALY!! What a wonderful place to be...and so intimidating! We've been practicing doing street contacts lately and I LOVE it. It is much more simple than I thought. The hard thing is trying to capture the greatness of our message in just a few minutes! There just isn't enough time! If you don't get the person interested in your message in those few precious minutes, you lose your opportunity to open the door to sharing the rest of the message. So sad. I have to keep reminding myself that even if we don't get an appointment out of it, we have sure planted a seed. That's good, right? I sure hope that's right.

This experience at the MTC has been unforgettable. I have appreciated the time to learn about the gospel and be immersed in the teachings and truth of the word of God. It truly is a beautiful thing. I've been so touched by the stories that have been shared with us throughout the past 8 weeks of converts and progressing investigators. Each convert has such a sweet, sincere, and true testimony of the gospel. Sometimes I wish we could all have that same experience in some way or another. And actually, we all can! I love that we never have to stop asking questions. There should never be a time in your life where you feel like you know everything. If you need to confirm your testimony in some aspect of the gospel, then all you have to do is ask Heavenly Father again! He will always answer, and you can know with surety that the gospel is true. I often ask for confirmation that the Book of Mormon is true...because sometimes it just seems too perfect. The response is always the same..."Katie, you KNOW it's true...you don't need to keep questioning it, but thanks for asking!" Sometimes, I make up conversations with Heavenly Father so I can just picture what it would be like to be talking to Him as if He were here. It helps. The conversation doesn't always go as I expect, but it is still nice to imagine. :)

Sono grata per l'espiazione di Gesu Cristo. Non posso pensare di una cosa piu grande che la opportunita di essere pura ogni giorno e sappere che io tornerò al mio padre celeste. voglio trattare di essere come gesu nella mia vita affinche potrò dire al padre celeste que io provevo il mio migliore sulla terra. Io SO che  questa chiesa è vera. io SO che Gesu cristo è il nostro fratello. io SO che noi abbiamo l'opportunità sulla terra di pentirsi e venire a Cristo tramite i nostri azioni e il nostro desidero di osservare i nostri impegni.

Next stop, ITALY!!! Vi voglio BENE!! Vi AMO!!!

Sinceremente,

Sorella Beus

"I Was HERE"

Hello!!

Quick update on our Katie Bug!! She heads for Italy in less than 10 days!!! CRAAAAZY! She'll be there by noon (approx.) on August 22 and since they are 8 hours ahead of us it will be 4 in the morning back at home. She has continued to convey her love and "obsession" with her mission through all of her letters and we know she is where she needs to be.

They'll be there next week!!!

Both Sorella Beus and Sorella Wightman have expressed their love of Beyonce in their letters so in a recent letter I wrote down the lyrics to her song, "I Was Here." I feel it is very fitting in that their work as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will bless the lives of so many others if they allow themselves to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. I also know that the small acts of love we show to one another do not go unnoticed up above. Without further ado... The one and only Beyonce... "I Was Here":

I wanna leave my footprints on the sands of time
Know there was something that, meant something that I left behind
When I leave this world, I'll leave no regrets
Leave something to remember, so they won't forget

I was here
I lived, I loved I was here
I did, I've done everything that I wanted
And it was more than I thought it would be
I will leave my mark so everyone will know 

I was here

I want to say I lived each day, until I died
And know that I meant something in, somebody's life
The hearts I have touched, will be the proof that I leave
That I made a difference, and this world will see

I was here

(Chorus)

I just want them to know
That I gave my all, did my best
Brought someone some happiness
Left this world a little better just because

I was here

(Chorus)

Miracles still happening for Katie

Rehearsals for "The Prodigal"

One of the missionaries Katie was happy to see in the MTC is Elder Ryan Tucker, the son of our early morning Seminary teacher. Katie sang this song “The Prodigal” as a duet with Elder Tucker, each of them alternating the melody and harmony at an MTC conference for over 2000 people! Katie was SO nervous! She had a really bad cold and cough and hadn't slept the night before they were to perform. Katie had been praying so hard that she would be able to get through it without coughing but during the first talk she realized that she should be praying for something else. She began praying that the other Elders would be calm and confident and that the song would touch the hearts of the people listening. "I felt so calm as Elder Tucker & I went up to sing. It ended up being the BEST experience!! The spirit filled my heart & comforted me and I hope the Elders felt that same way. They were (& are) INCREDIBLE! I feel so blessed that they let me sing with them. I didn't deserve it, but it sure felt good! After we sat back down the tickle in my throat kicked in, & I began coughing. What a miracle it was that I didn't cough through the whole thing!!"  It was another miracle for Katie and confirmed her testimony that you are never alone and the Lord will always be there to guide you every step of the way.

Link to "The Prodigal" sung by James Loynes.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkj7OYgH7cE

Two Peas in an MTC Pod

Here are some golden bits and pieces from the letters of Katie's companion, Sister Wightman. It makes it a lot easier to be replaced as her twin when she is with someone so great! Oh Sister Wightman, we have LOVED reading your letters! We will miss you almost as much as Katie will. Good luck in ROME!!!!

 The WONDERFUL Sorella Wightman

-beus found not one but TWO spiders in my hair on sunday and i have not been comfortable in my own skin since.

-this was supposed to be a secret but i'm telling you ... joseph smith is at the mtc. remember the restoration movie they play at temple square (and that they play here every sunday night)? well yeah 14 year old joseph is here with brown hair. he's not fooling me. no way. oh and surprise surprise, sorella popular (aka beus) is friends with him.

-we cleaned the showers ... again. i heard sister beus gagging in the other shower while she was cleaning the drain and OF COURSE that is when the holy ghost chimed in and told me it was the time i had been waiting for to best serve her. PERCHE?! we suffered together. but when we're helping we're happy ... or at least that is what the other sisters were singing in the bathroom while we fished their moldy hairs out of the shower.

-i felt sick and wanted to be able to thoroughly explain my state of being. so i asked sister beus what she thought the word "to vomit" was. she said "vomitare" and she was right. we are so good at making up words and the best part is we are starting to be right! luckily no vomitare took place.

- we had a spa day (aka a spa 10 minutes) and i waxed sister beutler’s upper lip almost completely off and i plucked sister beus's eyebrows until they bled. such a sweetheart i am.

- OH i saw the polynesian angels that i worked with at uvu on sunday walk and i love them. i told them to send a picture of my friend cole swan so i could convince sister beus that they were born for each other (bfeo...) but i've got nothing yet. still i think she is convinced and i will soon have the 3rd marriage that i predicted underway. YA!

- OHH sister beus performed her musical number "the prodigal" (youtube it with some tissues nearby). it was beautiful and though i didn't think it was possible, she got even more famous at the mtc after. she did so good and i just love her so much. she is the best and i miss her already when i think about having to say goodbye in 1 week and 6 days. ugh now i am crying. embarrassing. hope she doesn't notice. ANYWAY....

-okay, i have been debating telling this story because a) it's really embarrassing (as is just about everything else i do in my life, huh courtney) and b) it's a little inappropriate for missionary-ness but it was a total accident and i can PROMISE i will never do it again. we were teaching an investigator that went to church for the first time this week. i was trying to see what he felt about the sacrament. i asked what he thought about the bread and the water that they passed out to everyone. you should just know that pane is the italian word for bread. but did i say pane? no. i said the italian word that sounds a lot LIKE pane but instead is the word for a male body part. i could've just died right there. my investigator ... who is actually our teacher, but plays a very convincing italian, LOST it. he laughed for about ten minutes, along with beus. i wanted to cry (and may or may not have) and go home and never show my face again. but this is how you prepare to never make a fool of yourself in the native land. afterwards i literally had a nervous breakdown and couldn't breathe for about 5 minutes because of it ... but it is funny now.

The Inside Story of Wightman and Beus

Sister Wightman writes very funny letters home and this one included a lot of Katie and gives you a good glimpse into their life at the MTC. Katie LOVES her!!!

ciao amici!

The adventures of wightman and beus

friday--
-we discovered the sacred grove of the mtc. ironically it is surrounded by tractors and port-a-potties due to all the construction going on around here. still, it is a gem and maybe i'll tell you where it is hidden someday if you happen to find yourself in the mtc.
-we also discovered the beauty of the sack lunch. for those of you that didn't come to this mtc, have yet to serve a mission, or have forgotten, the provo mtc tray return room is the worst place on the planet. it smells like death and sadly kind of looks like it too. beus and i practice holding our breath throughout the day in preparation for the time that we have to go in there. BUT if you get a sack lunch you avoid it altogether and an added bonus is that you can look like you just rolled out of bed when you go there. oh the tender mercies.
saturday--
- we had another substitute teacher this day, a lot like a future GA or something. he is the best. bolloch is the name, blowing minds is his game. he toured the bible video set and let us in on some little nuggets of fun. 1) the actor that plays christ is a red head from new york city. SUPRISE! 2) they decided to speak with a shakespearean accent because it is the most well known and most easily understood english accent. SUPRISE!
sunday--
-we went to a health and wellness class. it's for the new sisters that come each week
but we just learned about it so we went. they opened the meeting with "what has been hard to adjust to here at the mtc?" the fist sister stood up, received her mic, and said "I miss my......" starts BAWLING then yells "I MISS MY MOM!" haha! it took all that i am to not laugh at her, not because she was being silly, but because we all know EXACTLY how she feels. what were these people running the meeting expecting?! poor girl. i miss my mom too, but i am glad to say that i am past the point of bawling every time i say her name. i guess others aren't so lucky yet.
monday--
-we set a goal to stop speaking english starting this day and oh boy was that interesting. i never knew we could be so creative until we were stuck having to express ourselves in italian, using our limited vocabulary. jokes are funnier in italian. i promise you that.
-we also started playing a game called "il nativo" or "the native." the rules are: everyone acts like an Italian native for three days, speaking, eating, acting, and body language. all things italian. one person is picked secretly as the native and tries to convince the other players that they are the native...i am doing a terrible job at explaining it but I can't express the stress that this timed email time gives me. anyway i was the native this week and it was hilarious. beus knew from the get-go because i refused to speak english. it has really improved our italian and i am excited to start round 2 later today! mi piace il nativo.
tuesday-
-we were able to witness a blessing for one of the sisters by our zone leaders this day and it was one of the most spiritual blessings i have ever heard and my testimony for the priesthood grew three times its size. what a powerful gift from god that these worthy young men have! so cool.
tuesday--
-beus taught us some tips on how to relax after a tough class. it basically looks like you have died, then everyone falls asleep until our teacher walks in and thinks that we have died. it's really nice.
-beus and i discovered this secret gym here...i keep saying things are secret and i bet everyone else knows about them except us...but it is fun to pretend that we have discovered secrets so let me be. we got whooped by some guy in sandals during a core exercise and now laughing is a burden due to our soreness. evil sandal man.
wednesday--
-beus and i decided to finish dinner early every night so we can sit on the benches outside. again. simple tender mercies are what keep us going inside of this blessed place!
-in class, our little teacher, fratello mortenson (seriously he is tiny), was teaching and speaking his normal italian words that none of us really understand when all of a sudden he got the most terrified look on his face when he looked out the window. we all looked and SPLAT a huge creature slopped across our window and we all SCREAMED! really it was just a window washer but it was the most terrifying window washer ever. I decided to spend the rest of the day scaring beus by acting out her scariest movie scene from the women in black (that part with the ghost and the rocking chair). i have really perfected my abilities. she hates it.
until next time my loves.
paige

Great Letter and Pics at One Month

The Italian Missionaries

  The Sorelle

 On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 11:51 AM, Katherine Beus <katherine.beus@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Hey mom!!! Thank you for sending all the pictures! LOVED every single one of them! I keep them by my bed and look through them all the time. I need more recent pics of the boys and you all. I just can't get enough!

I see SVU people allll the time and love it. It feels so great to be here. Guess who else I see?! KIRSI!!! She is lovely and happy and it makes my day when I see her. YES! I love life.  

Guess what?! Sorella Wightman's sister is really close with Bob and Mary Rich!! She served in DC with them! Yay! We just find more and more reasons to love each other every day. She is faster at typing and a hilarious writer so check out her family’s blog for her. Each day, we think of something funny that has happened in the day, and she writes them down so we can share them with our families. I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!! She is THE perfect companion...she has definitely set the bar really high for the next companion, haha. SOOOO neat about McKay Tanner! Tell him that I can't wait to see him! He will LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! There is nothing better than preparing for a mission in Italy. AH I AM SO HAPPY FOR HIM!!! This is THE experience of a lifetime!!!

Okay, now for the serious stuff. I am LOVING the MTC. I can't help but smile and be happy here. The spirit is so strong. Each lesson just keeps getting better and better. Guess what?! We spoke Italian for AN ENTIRE DAY on Monday! It was incredible. I am so impressed with everyone. And so proud of them. They are all growing so much spiritually. The time is just flying by. We spend so much time in our classroom that it is starting to get old...but as long as we keep in mind what we are doing, everything is okay. We've all memorized the first vision, the purpose, the invitation to baptism, and we're working on memorizing good scriptures. Our “investigators” are growing so much in their testimonies!! This week, we taught Luca about repentance. We tied it into our lesson on prayer, and he liked that. He liked that repentance is something he can do anytime, anywhere, and everyday. He was very willing to repent so that he can continue on the road to baptism. We are so proud of him. Lorenzo is still too golden to be true. He loves every lesson and is eager to learn anything we have to share with him. We invited Brother Bulloch to come to our lesson so that he will have some friends in the area that are members. He is so alone in the world, so it was neat to see him get excited about having a member friend "in Rome."

I LOVE teaching! Never thought I would be crazy about it, or even be good at it, but I've learned that the spirit does the teaching if we take the proper steps to prepare for the lessons as best we can. It is incredible how the spirit fills the rooms when we're letting our investigator lead the discussion to what it is they need to hear. I love teaching in Italian. It is a feeling that I can't express. There is something powerful that goes on when you start teaching in another language and realize that you didn't know you knew half of the words you just said.

OH! I almost forgot. Our MTC fireside speaker was Jenny Oaks Baker. I have NEVER heard a violin played so beautifully!! My heart was SO full of love and gratitude that Heavenly Father put music on the earth. She played This is the Christ, Amazing Grace, and many more. By the end, I was so full of emotion, that I couldn't help but cry...It felt nice to cry. It doesn't happen enough here. It made me want to serve the best mission I can so that I can feel that happy inside again. Every day. Mom, if you could find a jenny oaks baker cd, I would be SO happy to have one. It was unbelievable. I am in love. It was great. We can't listen to music here, but we can on the mission. The cd player is perfect. :) LOVE YOU!

There is a little update! LOVE YOU ALL! Thank you for your prayers, letters, and support. It means the world to me!

Love,

Sorella Beus

MTC gets the best of the best!

Typical example of how the MTC builds strong testimonies and strengthens missionaries. This is from one of Katie's first letters home:

This past week it seems like the theme at the MTC was Joseph Smith. On Sunday, the MTC fireside speaker was Ted Gibbons, who is a CES employee. We started the meeting by singing “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.” All of us were excited to hear him speak, and we were even more excited when he got up in clothing from the 1800s and began a dialogue “as” Willard Richards. He seriously used no notes or prompts, and became Willard.  He started from the first time he heard of Joseph Smith and told of his experiences meeting him. He told every story between that and the night after Joseph Smith is killed and the guard comes in to let Willard go. It was phenomenal. By the end, everyone was crying. I had never doubted Joseph Smith, but I feel like I had never given him much thought. At the end of the monologue, my heart was so full of gratitude and love for Joseph Smith and his sacrifice. We closed the fireside by singing “Praise to the Man.” Words cannot express how neat it was. Within seconds of starting the song, every Elder and Sister was on their feet, (& let me tell ya, there are A LOT of us) singing with so much sincerity and love and confidence. I will never look at that song the same. I don’t think there are a lot of better things in the MTC than singing with a couple thousand missionaries. You can’t help but feel overwhelmed with the Spirit. It was wonderful.

How Do You Spell Relief?

The Picture: Her SVU Diploma
Her Response: WAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I DID IT, MOM!!! YAY!!!

She finished her last class just days before she left for the MTC and this was a very welcome picture.

Vi Voglio Bene

vi voglio bene

It means something that we don't have in english but we should. it literally means "i want the best for you" but it's like "i love you" . love is too broad and in no way powerful enough, but this phrase is perfect. i want the best for you, so much love but no confusion or broad-ness. --Paige Wightman

Katie was so excited she forgot to give us hugs goodbye when we dropped her off. This is a picture of her realizing she forgot and her dad giving her a hug with SO MUCH LOVE you can't even imagine unless you're a parent! Katie's companion sent home this Italian phrase and it fits perfectly.

Wightman and Beus

Sister Wightman's first impression of Sister Beus

the mtc is a crazy madhouse ... but in the finest way possible. my companion's name is sorella beus from farmington utah and she's headed to milano. sister beus is the best! she is a gem. she is a perfect mix of kate mcevoy and natalie mees. PERFECT! she calls me sweet or cute about every hour, on the hour. she took spanish in high school and college and lived in peru last summer (she graduated with a degree in biology this year from southern virginia university), so she is quite the little Italian missionary. but she is super helpful and patient with me. she is so great ... mostly because she loves everything i love. beyonce, food, diet coke, bruges, movies, and we're both stressing out so much with the time limit on the email right now. she sings like an angel and in fact she is auditioning for a really touching and impressive musical number in a few minutes. i can't wait! she can make the exact sound as the aliens from signs and i can't decide if it makes me love or fear her more.

word of the week is 


sussarrare
(sue saw rawr a) 


which means whisper. 

our teacher calls me and beus that...i have no idea why...

Small World

Hello Family! I got an email from the Office of the First Presidency… with the disclaimer on the bottom about not forwarding them on due to privacy but I had to share this picture so I will explain why!!!

When Sister Paige Wightman got her call to Italy entering the MTC on June 20^th her uncle, Tony Wood, who is in the bishopric from Katie’s singles ward here in Utah, told her that he knew someone in his ward going to Italy and sent her a picture and told her to look Katie up. Tony’s daughter works at the MTC and went to check up on her cousin, Paige, yesterday and GUESS WHO HER COMPANION IS!!! YES!!! Our KATIE!! Such a small world! They were in a classroom with their Italian scriptures open, studying. They had just taught the first discussion to a progressing investigator in Italian so I guess she’s getting right on it! They are in a very small district. One set of Elders going to Milan, one set of sisters going to Milan, and then Katie and Paige. Doesn’t Katie look happy??? I LOVE IT!!! Paige’s mother works for the First Presidency and that is why the email came from there. ANYWAY… had to share!

Twins Taking Two Different Paths

Although they have spent entire semesters apart, it only takes them a few days of being together before they are thinking like one person again. One starts a sentence and the other usually knows exactly what she was going to say. They even laugh at unfinished private jokes before they've been finished for the rest of us... their own private love language... relearned every time they reconnect. This parting was especially poignant because their lives will diverge from each other so drastically!  How will they live apart? Time will tell, but these pictures are capturing a precious moment in time for me. I could NOT love them more!!!

Sorella Beus enters the MTC

Just a quick note to thank Kimmy who wrote this adorable post
and then had to put it up again when I accidentally deleted it. :(
I WILL get the hang of this!

Katie was VERY excited to go to the MTC! The day she was supposed to enter, June 20th, 2012 she woke up early to finish packing and we headed down to Provo to have lunch at Smashburger, one of the her favorites. It was a very tasty last meal if I do say so myself. When we went to the MTC to drop her off, a group of missionaries came to help her with her bags and she jumped out of the car ready to go. After making introductions with the missionaries that were out there to welcome the new ones, it was time to say goodbye to family. Katie was so eager to get going she almost forgot to give us hugs!! After realizing, she turned around and gave us all a quick hug and was off! We watched her as she rolled her bags away with a spring in her step. The ride home was a silent one with all of us thinking about how difficult it was for us to just leave her there but seeing how happy and full of the spirit she was (and still is), it’s hard to be sad. Here are some pictures from the day…

 The BEAUTIFUL Sister Beus

Proud Parents!

Proud Sister! :)

We sure do love her!

So long, Farewell

On Sunday, June 17th, Katie had her farewell in Farmington. We are SO  grateful for all the family and friends that were there to support her! She kept saying how wonderful it was to see everyone and how much love she felt for all that have helped her on her journey! Thank you, thank you for all those who have been a part of this whole experience.

This is a link to the audio clip from her farewell for those weren't able to be there or would like to listen to it again. :)  Big thanks to the Koch family and Digital Memorys for making this recording! For those who were there that day, you probably remember Katie speaking at a record pace, haha. Greg Koch was able to use his marvelous expertise to slow it down a touch. :) Thank you!

Click HERE

Link to just the duet with Katie below. Last time singing with Katie for a year and a half!! Here is what she said to introduce it:

"When I was 7, I was able to witness my oldest brother choose to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Then, when I was 11, I witnessed my second oldest brother follow in his footsteps. At both of their farewells, my twin sister, Kim, and I sang a song written by my mother called, “Your Turn to Serve.” As I am now following in both of their footsteps, I thought it appropriate to share that song with you. It is simple, yet it still means a lot to me as I’ve come to realize that serving a mission is the path that Heavenly Father desires I take."

Click HERE



I also wanted to share this picture of Katie's birthday present to me this year. She had been working on a project for a few weeks but I wasn't allowed to know what it was. On the Saturday before she got set apart I came home and she pulled out an ADORABLE picture frame with pictures of special moments we've had together since we graduated high school. One was from our graduation pictures, one from the first time seeing each other after being at different schools for a whole semester, the next from an eventful summer, and the last from our road trip together out to Virginia. She also included a quote saying, "Sweet, crazy conversations full of half sentences, daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be." - Toni Morrison, Beloved. Isn't that the cutest quote?! I think it describes our relationship perfectly! She tied a bracelet to the frame that was gold and shaped in hearts... some of her favorites. Her gift means so much to me and I'm grateful that I'll have it as a reminder of my FAVORITE twin ever!! Without delay, the finished product!

So grateful for her!