#21 Managua (Bello Horizonte)

Hey family,

Well I was really glad for your letter again. Doing the email each week is the best. All of the Elders say the same thing. Emailing is the best. Ok, well I was glad to hear that all is well (like always) at the house. It sounds like the same old stuff going on.

So for me, all has gone pretty well so far this week. On Monday I just hung around in Chinandega and worked there. Then on Tuesday, I was working the whole day with the Zone Leader tracting, and teaching, and trying to save the members. The retention is pretty bad here, so we work a lot to try and get people to go back to church. I don’t know why, but sometimes we baptize people, and then they just fall away like a couple weeks/months later. It’s pretty lousy, but it’s their decision.

Anyways, so yeah on Tuesday I was out in La Linea for the last time working with Elder M. We baptized a family there last week, and we visited them for a little. While we were there in La Linea, Elder M got a phone call from the APs telling who had changes in the zone and who didn’t. So I got news that I was getting changed, and we just worked hard for the last night in Chinandega. He was like scrutinizing everything that I did, and telling everything that I should change. He said that he recommended me to train to the President, and he thought I was going to train a new missionary. So yeah, we worked the whole day, and I learned a lot about what I needed to change. But all in all, it was a good day.

Then we visited A and I, and said good-bye to them one last time. They are really cool, and I have their email address (which I set up for them) so I can write them. In the night, I had a little time, so I just threw all of my stuff in my bags, and I was all packed and ready to go. We woke up really early on Wednesday morning, and went to Managua in a bus. I think I got like 2 hours of sleep that night, because we got up so early. So we went to Managua, and hung around in the chapel for a while, while all of the zones were arriving. Then the meeting started, we got to listen to the Pres for a while, and the changes. It was really cool, and I got changed here to Managua in Bello Horizonte.

I asked my comp (Elder B) how we get to the house from the chapel where the changes were, and he said that we just take a taxi. So yeah, we jumped in a taxi and got to our house. That’s funny that you saw the Pizza Hut and McDonalds on the Google earth. If you are in the rotunda (roundabout where the McDonalds and Pizza Hut is), you can go north on the street until it ends. I thing the street is called Ruben Dario or something like that. It’s at the end of the street (like 3 blocks from the roundabout), and its like 3 houses to the west. It’s got like a red porch/sidewalk outside. Pretty cool. So we live in a room that is behind a house. The house is pretty nice, but our room is really plain. It's super super small too. It’s about the size of a parking stall in a parking lot. Pretty tiny, but it's fun. Our neighbors in the room next door are the other elders in another area. So we have a lot us fun (us 4) and we make some good jokes. The other Elders are Elder R from Nampa Idaho, and Elder A from Panama. Pretty fun. The shower here is a lot better than Chinandega too. It’s kind of clean, and it’s cold, but I can actually stand under the water for more than 4 seconds. Awesome!

So yeah, Managua is pretty cool. I didn’t think that I was going to like it, but it’s pretty nice. I don’t really know how to explain exactly how it is, but it’s pretty cool. There are a lot of cars, and they drive like mad men. On the way to the computer lab, Elder B and I saw a car that had caught fire, and had burnt to the ground. All that was left was a metal shell. We were joking about how long we thought it would be until the Nicas cleaned it up (because it was in the middle of the road). Our prediction is like 1 week, but we don’t know for sure. I took a picture of it. Also, here in Managua, it’s a lot cooler in terms of temperature, than Chinandega. It’s probably like 80 degrees or something, but it feels good. 

Oh so Elder B is pretty cool. He is from Reno, Nevada and he is a lot like Brandyn. He is cool, and we just make jokes a lot. It's a lot more different being with an American. Like, people are always yelling at us and trying to talk English to us. Even in Managua, white people are a rare sight. So needless to say, we get yelled at a lot. Pretty funny stuff. We both have the same time in the mission, and we came the same day. It's fun teaching and street contacting.

We have an investigator who is super rich. Like, he isn’t just one of the normal rich people of Nicaragua, he is super rich. I couldn’t believe my comp when we walked by the house, and he told me that the guy there was our investigator. So we taught him on Thursday. He lives in like a 3 or 4 story house, and it’s more like a mansion. It’s really exciting, because all of the rich people here are super super stubborn, and don’t want anything from the missionaries. But this guy is pretty open, and he is really cool. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a house as nice as his, even in the US. It’s pretty cool. The better part of the story is that we went by his house on Sunday morning to remind him of church. We were like 99.99% sure that he wasn’t going to go to the church, be when we got there, he was all ready, and his wife too. We got there, and he had his maidservant make us some food, and we left in his big truck. Pretty cool. Teaching a super rich family like his is literally unheard of in all of Nicaragua, so it was a pretty cool thing. And getting them to go to church is unheard of also. Cool cool cool. It’s almost a little intimidating going into his house, because the guy and his wife have servants and everything. On the 3rd story of his house, he even has a room just for praying. I’ve become friends with him, and he really likes me. When I finish the mission, he invited me to go scuba diving with him.

So all is going well here. I was really happy that we were able to get a family in the church this Sunday. We are just working/contacting/teaching. I’m really hoping that we can baptize a family this change. During the changes on Wednesday, we got word from Pres that there will be a change in 3 weeks. I’m not sure why, but in the beginning of February there will be a change. So yeah, fun stuff. Oh during the changes I got 1 package, and like 2 letters. I got a letter from Pres A., and a letter from Hermano K. They sent me 10 bucks. I have no idea how the letter got down here with 10 bucks in it, but it was pretty cool. Tell them thanks for the letters. Because we are here in Bello Horizonte, we get letters and packages right when they come, so it’s exciting. The APs work in our zone, and they have their own area within our zone. 

So all is well. We are making a lot of jokes and stuff. During one contact the guy told me his name was Kevin. I don’t know why, but for some reason the Kevin the Cucumber from SpongeBob popped into my head. So I said to him, “Ah, entonces usted se llama Kevin, como Kevin el Pepino del SpongeBob.” I basically said that his name was like the cucumber from SpongeBob. He looked at me pretty weird, but it was funny. During the contacts, people sometimes are like hypnotized and look at us like we are aliens. So we try to make jokes in the contacts and be more human-like. 

Well, for P-day today, we had to go to another part of Managua to get our cedula (Nica ID, which finally came). I had to have my picture taken, and fingerprints taken, and sign some stuff. But now I have a cool card that says I’m a residnte of Nicaragua. After that, Elder B and I went to Pizza hut. It was a real treat for us, because it is super super expensive, and I spent like 250 cordobas ($10). But it was good and the soda there has free refills. The Pizza Hut and McDonalds are really close to our house. Fun stuff. We work in the area to the north and south of the rotunda. It’s fun, and we share the area with 2 Hermana missionaries. The members here are nice, and we get fed pretty good. We have both a dinner and lunch appointment, and we eat a lot. I have gained all of the weight that I lost in Chinandega. Good stuff. 

Well, all is well and I sure miss you all. I hope that you are doing well. I didn’t think that I'd like Managua, but I really like it here. It’s different than Chinandega, and its a lot more busy and crazy. But it’s pretty good, and we are having fun.  The package that I got had a cool drybag that will come in handy when it rains, and some M&Ms. I’m really excited to eat them. It also had a cool poster from the primary, which I have above my desk. Well, I’m glad to hear that all is well and I hope that the next week is good also. 

Just to answer the questions that I missed in the email.

-yes we have someone to cook and do our laundry. Its really good and we eat like champions.

-my comp is really cool. He has red hair and super white skin. So he is always sun burnt. 

- The ward here is a lot different than Chinandega. Its a little smaller, and we don’t have church benches in the chapel. In the sacrament meeting, it’s just the chairs that you stack. There were like 95 people there this Sunday. The kids were a little loud, but it wasn’t too bad.

- SR. Comp isn’t bad at all. It’s actually more like were both JR comps. We make most of the decisions together, and it works out well. We get up on time, and everything. So yeah, good stuff. 

- Our area is like from our apartment, to the north until the lake. To say north in Managua, they say "al lago" (to the lake). Then to the south, from the rotunda, until like a while south of the church. The church is 2 blocks south of the roundabout. Maybe you can see it on the Google maps. It has a big basketball court. The area goes south until the multicentro mall. Pretty cool.

- Were pretty cautious during the night. It’s sometimes a little dangerous here in the night, but we keep safe and stay in the light. The people always tell us that it’s dangerous, but we just stay in the well-lit places.

Audios familia,

Elder Estark

[Movie of going to Pizza Hut on P-day]

Jake and little girl

New Member family in Chinadega

Changes with my Elder C

Last trip to La Linea

La Linea

On the bus

Welcome to Managua

Cell Phone (with reflection)

Elder B and our small apartment

At Pizza Hut in Managua

#20 Chinadega

January 14, 2013

Hey family,

Ok so yeah, another week has passed by. I really like reading your emails, and it’s fun to hear what’s going on and what’s new. It probably sounds like pretty plain stuff to you guys, like going to wresting stuff, or pulling them behind the car, but it’s fun to read on my side. It’s a really different world here, and it’s fun reading a little bit about what’s going on down there. I can’t imagine how cold it is down there. It must just be freezing. I was sitting in church this Sunday, and the air conditioner was on (church is one of the only places that has AC in the town), it was 72 degrees in the chapel, and I was freezing. I think my body had gotten used to the hot. Anyways, you can now know that 72 degrees here is cold. I bet the snow is fun. I was glad to hear that B and O had a good time making the snow monster in the road. Hopefully nobody hits it.

So this week has been a little interisting for me. On Tuesday I got word from the Zone Leaders that I was getting changed to Corinto for the week. So I went there and worked with the Comp Mayor, and the Comp minor went and worked with the Zone Leaders. So yeah, I spent the week in Corinto. It was pretty cool, and we worked hard. We didn’t have a family in the church, but we had 3 investigators, which was good. Thanks for praying for me Dad, prayers are always answered.

So yeah, I just worked in Corinto and helped get the Elder there motivated. Corinto is an awesome area, and it follows the coastline. It’s a port, and there are always a bunch of ships there, and semis coming in and out with cargo. It’s pretty cool. The area is super long and skinny, so the whole week, I was within a quarter mile of the beach at all times. Pretty awesome!! The beach is really beautiful, and it really reminded me of the Oregon Coast, except that it’s hot here, and the ocean is like Belize (aka, the water is warm). Cool stuff. Really beautiful.

It was really sweet, and it’s a cool area there. If Dad comes down and picks me up, I would love to go there. It’s super cool. To go to Chinandega, we would just stand on the side of the road hitchhiking, and inevitably, a semi would pass by and stop and give us a ride. To get to Chinandega for P Day, we hitched a ride in a semi truck that was hauling a bunch of fuel. It was super nice, and had a computer and everything. Kind of cool. Over the course of the week, we hitched some 4 rides in semis, and a couple in pick-ups.

Oh funny stuff, I was in Corinto last night contacting. 3 drunk guys came up to us and were trying to talk to us. One of them was a Nicaraguense english teacher, and he just wanted to talk english. There are literally 0 americans here, so it’s a real treat to see an American in Nicaragua. He was talking english to me (really horrible english, and almost impossible to understand), and I was trying to talk back in english. The funny thing is that it was really hard for me to respond in english. Like I would open my mouth, and without thinking id be speaking spanish. I’m glad that the spanish is really starting to come, and I can actually get around pretty well. Sometimes, I forget how to say something gratamatically correct in english, and I’ll sit there trying to think how to say it correctly. I can’t imagine how horrible my english will be when I return in 19 months. We will see.

So that is about what’s going on for me, I am just here in Chinandega for the next 2 days (until Wednesday). I am 99% sure that I am going to change. I have been with the Zone Leaders for 2 changes already, and I can’t imagine that I will be with them for another. So yeah, there are a bunch of new missionaries coming this Wednesday. I’m pretty sure that I’ll change to a different area. I’ve been thinking, and maybe I’ll move to Corinto because I have spent the past week there, and I know the area fairly well. Who knows though, we will see. If I go to a different zone, I want to go to a city called Matagalpa. It’s in the mountains, and it’s supposedly pretty cold there. Or Puerto Cabezas. Either one. I don’t really want to go to Managua, it’s just a dirty city that’s really big and busy.

So yeah, with changes this Wednesday, and with going to Corinto, that’s about all of the big news. Other than that, I’ve just been working hard here and learning a lot. I’m having a fun time down here, and I hope that all is well at home too. We had a fast as a zone again on Wednesday, and before the fast in Corinto, we went and bought some hamburgers, and sat on the beach and ate them. That was our pre-fasting preperacion. When we go to Managua, we will stop by McDonalds, and buy some food there. I’m really excited. It’s a really big treat to buy some American food. I’m jealous that you all can just go buy pizza hut or something whenever you want. American food is the best. My first day in Corinto, we had some really nasty soup. I took a picture of it, because it was so nasty. I just drank the broth, and I couldn’t get myself to tackle the meat.

Well, all is well at home. It’s really sweet being here, and you'll love it when you visit. I took some pictures for Dad of just the streets or random stuff. You can look at them, and zoom in and try to find the funny details. I took one picture of a street in Corinto, and I zoomed in with my camera after, and I found a cup of ramen in the streets. I’m telling you, the people here love the stuff, and it’s a delacasy (however you spell that word).

Audios, and enjoy the pictures.

Elder Stark!

[This next email came in on Thursday January 17^th]

Hey mom. I am at a member’s house and they have a computer. I just wanted to say where I am. I got changed to Managua. I’m with a guy named Elder B, another American. It’s really awesome. He came the same day that I did.  I was also made comp senor. It’s pretty cool. I’m in the area Bello Horizonte. 

I love you, and I’ll email you on Monday. Good night mom-dad,

Elder Stark

[Video outside appartment in Chinandega with Volcano]

[Video of the ashes from the volcano]

On the beach in Corino

Corinto

Birthday Party?

Some nasty food (didn't eat the meat)

Corinto (notice the Ramen container lower right)

Corinto street

Corinto street

#19 Chinandega

Family!!

I was really glad to hear from you this week. I can’t believe that another week has gone by too. It’s really weird being here sometimes, because the days go by so so slow, and we are literally dead by the night. But then we wake up and have a lot of energy, but by 8pm, were dead again. It’s a vicious cycle, but it’s super fun. The days feel like weeks, and sometimes the weeks feel like days. Kind of hard to describe, but maybe you know what I’m talking about.

So I was really glad to hear that you all had fun on New Years eve, and also on The New Years Day. That’s totally awesome that you had the party at our house.  I’m glad to hear that you had fun. My new years eve was a little interisting. The day before our Recent Converts had boughten us some Nakatamales. There like tamales, but super huge, and wrapped in seaweed rather than corn husks. They were really good, but during Monday night, I got pretty sick. They fed us again on new years eve, and it was a super fancy dinner. I can really tell that these two people are so so so so so grateful that we helped them get baptized. I feel really bad, because the man is a total stud, but he doesn’t have work because he got hit by a car while on his bike, and he had surgery on his arm, and can’t use it for the next year. So basically, the family is without much money, but they really really express their love for us by feeding us a lot, which is a sacrifice for them. Ok back to the story, so they fed us a really nice dinner on new years eve, and I was feeling a little sick. I ate it and was doing fine, but after when we were chatting and stuff, I started to feel pretty nasty. Finally we got up to leave, and I walked outside, and walked across the street in the dark, and just barfed it all up. I felt really bad, because the food was fantastic, but I just had a little upset stomach. But they are totally awesome, and we just laughed after. The woman went and got me some medicine, and it all worked out. I am so glad that I had the opertunidad to teach them, because they are totally awesome, and they really love us. They are always trying to buy us something and do good things to us, even when it’s a sacrifice for them. It’s hard to explain in the email, but it’s amazing to see the impact being a part of the church, or in other words, having a testimony, can have on the life of a person. Really awesome.

So for the rest of the night on new years eve, I just took it easy, and we hung out with other members after the dinner with the man and woman. It was all good. So for the record, I have barfed twice in the field. Don’t worry about me though, because I’m doing fine, I’m just a little skinny.

Well mom, it sounds like you have you hands full with the primary. That’s sweet that you have a good calling, and that you have the opertunity to work with the kids. I’m sure that it’s hard sometimes, but you can take some satisfaction in knowing that you are helping the kids develop their testimonies, and that your are furthering the work of the Lord in the world. I don’t know how to say it, but this idea has helped me a lot in the mission.

So I’m glad to hear that everything is, like usual, well at the house. You got to go see the play, and that sounds fun. It sounds like Owen is working hard with wrestling, and tell him congrats from me. And mom, don’t worry about Bailey serving a mission. He is super mature, and I know that he will do fine. Bailey is one of the hardest working guys I know, and I know that he will work hard, and have success in his mission. I think that it’s crazy that in 8 months or whatever, there will be 2 Elder Starks in the mission field. Here we call it echando fuego, which translates to throwing fire. I’m sure that Bailey will echar fuego during his mission.

So to answer dad for a little about the Mission Prep. That’s great that you have the opertunidad to help the prospective missionaries to learn and understand what they need to do. I honestly can’t remember a lot about the mission prep class I took in the BYU, or the mission prep I took at home. If you want to, in the emails each week, I can write a little message about the mission prep. We do a lot of role playing during zone meetings, and it’s really helpful. I think some really good advice for the prospective missionaries would be to know that the mission isn’t easy. Its really really hard, and if they want to serve a mission in some foreign land just to sightsee, then they should forget about serving a mission. There are a lot of super hard working missionaries, and there are some who are just here because their parents made them. It’s really easy to see the difference between these two groups of missionaries, and it’s really important to have a desire to serve the Lord. I’m worried that with this new change, there will be a lot of new missionaries, but also a lot of slackers. The mission presidente visited our zone this week, and had interviews with each missionary. It was really sweet, and for almost a whole day, we received training from the presidnte, his wife, and the 2 APs. To be a successful missionary, (this is what I’ve come to learn), you need to know how to teach by the spirit. In D&C 50 verse 13 and 14 it basically tells what our perpus is. I know my spelling sucks, and its because I am forgetting how to spell the words in English. But basically, this scripture says that we are here to teach by the spirit. So yeah, dad for the mission prep course, make them role play, and make them understand that they need to learn how to recognise the spirit and how to help their investigator feel the spirit. Basically, teach, testify, and ask inspired questions. That’s how we teach here, and it works really really well. Hope this helps answer your question. I really liked hearing the story about your mission, and it helped me understand a lot about agency. Thanks.

So, basically we just teach and contact a lot here. It’s hard to describe everything that goes on here, but I write in my journal each night, so when I get back, you can all read it. I teach a lot here, and I’ve gotten a lot better. By asking the inspired questions, we can help the investigator to feel the spirit, and it helpes them to think. I was in a lesson with an elder named Elder M, and we asked ¨what experiences have you had when Heavenly Father answers your prayers¨. It was really a good question, and the lady sat there for a while and started to cry, and told us some experience where a prayer was answered. We basically just sat there, and she learned everything just from the Spirit. I think I’ve said this before, but its hard to describe what it was like if you wernt there. Basically, the lady felt the spirit super strong, and she understood. It’s really cool to help people, and to have people to teach and listen. I’m really glad for the chance I have to help people learn and be baptized.

Right now, I’m just working hard and helping people out. The language is hard, and it’s a little frustrating sometimes. But I’m learning, and I’m not too worried. Of course I would love to be 100% fluent and understand everything people say, but I’m happy with where I’m at right now. The comps are doing well, and I learn a lot from being with the leders of the zone. Right now, in the scripture reading, I’m in Alma where him and Amulek are ¨echando fuego¨. I wish that I could have the success that they had, like baptizing thousands. But I know that I probably won’t have those kinds of experiences. Really cool to read about either way, and I learn a lot. The chapters in Alma about Alma and Amulek are really applicabale to the missionary work, and they are super awesome to me, because I’m a missionary like them. The hardest part, to be honest, is getting people to go to church. Well, yeah, that’s just the delema right now. People will commit to be baptized, but they wont go to church. On Sunday, they will lie to us, saying they’re sick, busy, or cant to. It’s a little frustrating, but whatever.

So yeah, I really love my time here. I’m having a good time, and I also hope that all is well at home. In the email, dad signed off with a scripture. I will sign off with some cool things that happened this week.

- One night, we went to our house to get more panflets to hand out. As we walked outside our house, we heard a boom, and all of the lights went out in like a square kilometer. I don’t know what happened, but the electricity went out. What was once a busy street, all of the sudden because super dark. There arnt emegerency lights or anything. So yeah, it was pitch black, and there were a lot of people in the streets wandering around, because they couldn’t see anyhing. Luckily we had a flashlight, and we were able to find are way around. People started lighting candles, and it was really a different experience.

- I was in an alley in La Linea, and we were contacting and looking for a house we had contacted. PS, the direccion-addresses are a pain in the butt sometimes. So we were in this alley, and a dog got mad at us and was trying to eat us, then when all of the other dogs in the houses heard the fiasco going on, they came out and tried to eat us too. We had a lot of dogs, and we took off our backpacks, and put them in front of us, and backed out slowly, while like 9 dogs were barking at us and trying to bite us. Pretty freaky!!

- On the way to a neigherbood, there is a street with a bunch of rich people. Like really really really rich. The top .01% or whatever of Nicaragua. They were really rich by US standards. So we decided that we were going to try to contact there. We walked in and some servant dude told us to leave, because we weren’t aloud there. The people there even have servants! It was really crazy, and we left. Kind of funny. Apparently it’s a colony or something, and you cant go there unless you have permission. Otherwise they’ll call the police and make you leave.

- for P day, we had a water fight in the parking lot of the church. I was soaking wet, but it felt really good. Fun stuff.

- oh and we found another tarantula in our house.

Well, thanks for the email, and I love you all and miss you. I have changes a week from Wednesday. We will see if I stay in Chinandega or leave.

Lots of love,

Elder Stark

Hanging out after the water fight

Getting lunch on P-Day

My Lunch

The Big spider in our appartment