Elder Jake Stark's Mission: #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]