Elder Jake Stark's Mission: #15 Chinandega

Familia,

Well, another week here has gone by. We have spent the week working and doing pretty much the usual stuff. I have been working a lot with Elder D (he was in the same district as me in the MTC) because my comp (the ZL) has been working a lot with the other ZL in the Zone. So anyways, I have spent the whole week pretty much with another guy with the same time here in Nicaragua. It’s pretty interesting sometimes, because neither of us really knows much, but we can get around all right. This week, during the Tuesday zone meeting, we got a little bit of interesting news. The ZL’s told us that we would be doing divisions for 3 days. So anyways, luckily I didn’t have to leave my area, but I was working with a guy named Elder B from Utah. It was pretty cool, and we worked really hard. I think that I did the most contacting in 2 of the days than I ever have in my mission. We worked hard, and placed baptism dates with a few people. It’s pretty cool here, because fairly often, in the first contact or first lesson, we can place baptism dates. Anyways, we worked hard, and had a good time. It’s fun being with the natives, but sometimes it’s also fun being with another American.

Well, here it’s December. It’s really different being here rather than at home. Here, everybody is going crazy about the Christmas. I think that it’s probably 70 percent of the population is Catholic, and the other 20 percent is Evangelico. So yeah, literally everyone is Christian, and everyone is celebrating Christmas. It’s pretty cool, but it’s really hot, so it doesn’t really feel the same. But almost every hymn that I’ve sung in the past few days has been a Christmas hymn. I think that I have a few of them memorized. It just feels a little weird though because it's super hot, but there are Christmas trees and stuff in people’s homes. But either way, it’s still awesome. Christmas time here is pretty cool, and the people are really excited.

Ok funny story. For our plan for our zone to get new investigators, we came up with Plan: Santa Clause. This plan was pretty simple, but the results were a little interesting. Ok, the plan was to get a bunch of the DVDs Joy to the World, and to go to the Bisine (the giant bus area) and sing and hand out free gifts (the DVDs). So we were all super excited, and we even dressed up one of the heavier missionaries as Santa, uniform and everything. We had posters and todos. So we went to the Bisine to sing with the whole zone. Ok, it’s pretty hard to describe in email, but the Bisine is super crowded, hot, and loud. It’s a place where people are constantly yelling and screaming at you to get into their crowded bus. Ok, there is my description. There are also a bunch of kids trying to sell oranges or gum or coke. So we get there, and we set up. We start singing, and another Elder is yelling about the free gifts. So we got a pretty good size crowed, and we gave away a couple DVDs (they were wrapped). We gave some away, and the people started to get pretty excited. We wrote down some directions to the houses, and it was going well, for about 2 minutes. Ok, then the people decided that they really wanted some gifts. So all of the sudden, within like 3 minutes, there was a massive crowd, and they pretty much just mauled us for the "free gifts". They were all screaming at us "da me uno chele" or basically "give me one white man". So yeah, it was pretty crazy, and they stole all of our gifts. Then the people were all mad that there weren’t more gifts, so they got all mad and left. It was pretty interesting, and in the books of all of the missionaries: a big fail. But it was funny either way.

This week, I also bought a slice of cake from a pastry shop. I know that probably sounds pretty normal and of no worth, but it was really good. We just eat rice and beans, so a slice of cake was so so good. It was 20 cordobas. About 85 cents.

Another Story. 2 Nights ago, my comp Elder S and I were walking to buy a Fanta. It was like 9 at night, and the night was pretty calm. So he was talking on the phone, and a moto came up behind us. There are constantly motos cruising by us, so we didn’t really pay much attention. So this moto with 2 people on it, cruised beside Elder S, and stole his phone and glasses from his hand, and then took off. It was really, really lame, and Elder S was pretty mad. The phone wasn’t that big of a deal, but he had some pretty fancy glasses, so he was really mad. The guy on the moto just reached and grabbed, and probably accidently took his glasses too. No bueno.

Oh ok, some interesting stuff for dad. This week I have seen a couple people with the shoe glue getting high. I remember that we watched some sort of documentary about that. Anyways, it messes up the people pretty bad, and I saw a guy yesterday just stumbling down the street because he was so high. No bueno! The lessons here: don’t do drugs. Not even glue.

Ok some stories about the spiritual side. Elder D and I were teaching our recent convert about the priesthood blessings. He just got the Melchezidek priesthood, so he can do them now. We taught him all about the blessings, and after just answered his questions about the tithing and other stuff. So I shared some scriptures about tithing in 3 Nefi, and taught him a little about it. He is super poor, so there is no way that he can pay tithing and buy food for his family. So we taught him and everything, and at the end he said the closing prayer. The lesson went really good too. During the prayer, he kind of started crying and stuff, and after said that he received an answer that he should pay his tithing. It was really cool, and that guy is super strong in the testimony.

Oh this week we contacted a dude with a shotgun. His job is just to stand in front of a store, and guard it with his gun. We just casually talked to him, and he said that he would go to church. We didn’t give much thought to it though, because 95% of people just lie. But he actually came to church, and sat behind us. Really cool! Our amigo with an escopeta.

Ok, I'll answer some of your questions that you said: 1. How many missionaries are in your mission? 2. What is the mix between gringos and Americans? 3. Do you have a new comp/area? Is your new comp the ZL? 4. Are there any weird holidays they celebrate in Nicaragua around Christmas time? 5. How often do you see the President? 6. Where are you going to be at Christmas?

There are 180 missionaries in the mission. It’s probably 50/50 cheles and Latinos. I haven’t gotten the new comp/area because the changes are actually Wednesday. On Wednesday I'll figure everything out. Right now I’m still in Chinandega. I don’t really know of any weird holidays here. Right now the majority of the focus is on Christmas. I have seen the president once this change, during stake conference. But we see the Daniel Ortega in the news every day. (other pres) For Christmas, I'll probably be here in Chinandega, if I don’t get changed. But we are going to Managua for the Mission Christmas party on the 10th.

I was glad to hear that the letter I sent arrived really quickly. 10 cordobas are about 50 cents in US, and that is about how much I spend on breakfast, just for a little perspective.

Well aside from that, it sounds like that your all doing really well and having a fun time. I hope that all goes well, and that the Christmas time is great for you. PS: I sent another letter today, and it can be my Christmas present to you all from me. I wrote a paper for each person. Gracias,

Love Elder Stark