MARCH 11, 2013
[Consists of two letters. One to Mom and one to Dad]
Hey mom,
Well, I really liked your story of the
temple. I really wish that I could go to the temple right now. It would be
awesome, and we could recharge the spiritual batteries. On Sunday in like 6
days, we are going to have the dedication of the temple in Honduras. It’s super
exciting for here in Nicaragua, because it’s a lot closer than Guatemala.
Anyways, cool stuff. They make the chapels here in Nicaragua an extension of
the temple, and yeah, you need a recommend to get in. So I got my card, and we
can go to the temple dedication and watch it here in Nicaragua. I’m pretty
stoked. I know it’s not the same as the actual temple, but it’s as close as I’m
going to get during my entire mission. Plus church is canceled, so it’s all
temple, baby!! Good stuff. Yeah, I’m really hoping that someday there will be a
temple here in Nicaragua. They have a plot of land, and they would build one,
but the inactivity of the members is a huge problem. Like it’s really tough. I
carry around a list of members for our ward, and there is like 600 members or
something like that, but generally in church we only have 70 people. And most
of the time, at least 6 of those people are investigators brought by the missionaries.
It’s really weird being here in a country where the church is really
undeveloped. Like, without the missionaries, the church would completely fail
and burn here. There are a handful of faithful members, but the majority of the
assistance at the church is a result of our work. It’s really tough, and a lot
of the times, its pretty overwhelming. You would think that it would be really
stressful, and a lot of the time it is. But truthfully being here is totally
worth it. Like seeing the family that I baptized in church on Sunday, and
confirming them members yesterday... well there aren’t really words to describe
how awesome it is. But we are really lucky to live in Idaho where the church is
100% established, and where there isn’t a ton of falling away. But anyways,
sorry if I sound like I’m complaining. It’s pretty crazy sometimes keeping the
church afloat here in Nicaragua. But anyways, it’s all good.
So truthfully all is well here. We are
just working and doing pretty much the same stuff that we always do. After our
baptism, like all of our families that we were teaching fell, so we are pretty
much from ground zero right now. But it’s alright. We have been doing a lot of
contacting, and not a ton of teaching. Basically the goal is just to get some new
families that we could baptize. We'll see what happens. I have a feeling that
I’m going to have changes, but I don’t really know for sure. The changes are a
week from this Wednesday. So in like 10 days. I really want to get out of
Managua, and get to the mountains. Coming up is the “semana santa”, which is
like the Easter week. It’s the hottest time of the year, and its brutal
apparently. So I’m really hoping that I can get changed to the mountains where
it’s cooler. We'll see.
So yeah, that’s about what’s going on.
I’m having a really good time, and this week went by really quick.
Love,
Elder Stark
Dad,
Well, the first email that I read was
the email of mom, so I didn’t see your "p.s" that said that I can
just send one big email some. Anyways, I guess I’ll send you your own email. I
was glad to hear that the toilet experience was a victory. The house we live in
has a pretty nice toilet, so it’s all good. It actually gets cleaned regularly,
so it’s awesome. Now you are like an expert at all things toilet. Also, I am
glad to hear that the temple was awesome as usual (nice subject change right?
toilet to temple). I told mom that this Sunday we are having the Honduras
temple dedication and the church is canceled. I really hope that we can get our
RCs to the dedication this Sunday. This is literally the closest ill ever have
to going to the temple in my mission. So I’m super excited.
Well, to be truthful, I still love
wearing normal clothes. It’s like a special treat that I only get once a week,
and it’s the best. Today we went "paca shopping". Pacas are pretty
much like thrift stores. They're where the Nicaraguans get all of their
clothes. Basically there are a ton of charity places that send clothes down
here, and they end up in the Nicaraguan thrift store. So I bought a Barcelona fútbol jersey.
All of the Nicas love Barcelona, and it was a little treat to myself. Its
pretty cool, but I feel like a total poser wearing the jersey. All of the Nicas
have the exact same jersey. I’ll send a picture of it home.
So last night, I was walking by the
McDonalds with my comp, and we saw Elder B in the window with some other
American guy. So it was kind of funny, and we were like, "why are you here
in McD's on Sunday?” It turns out that he was there chatting it up with an
American friend of his that he knew from Utah. So half of the day of Sunday,
and half of today, we have been hanging around with this American guy. He was a
missionary here in Nicaragua like 10 years ago, and came back to visit. So Sunday
night we went and visited the rich guy F. and we dragged along this old ex-missionary.
He is like 31 and is really cool. So he is like backpacking around here, and
was looking for a place to stay. So we actually called up our investigator, “F”
and asked if this guy could stay the night at his house. It was pretty funny,
and F. said yeah. So on Sunday night we went to F’s house, and visited for a
while, and dropped of this ex-missionary there. Good stuff. We talked with F
for a little, and he just bought the iphone 5. I played around with it for a
little, and its super awesome. I have been blind to technology for a really
long time, and the iphone 5 is awesome. Have you bought it yet? Here in Nicaragua,
the iphone 5 costs 1500 dollars, not even exaggerating. It’s super expensive.
But I got to play around for a little, and it was cool.
Yeah sorry if what I just wrote was kind
of scattered, I just reread it, and my English is pretty bad. Whatever. So my
life is pretty much the same. I’m just doing the same old stuff pretty much
every day. Yeah like contacting and whatnot. This week I’ve been really tired,
and I’m just kind of worn out. This week went by really quick, and I don’t
really know what to write about.
So on Thursday we got a call saying that
there was a meeting in Managua with pres. All of the Managua zones were there,
and one zone called Esteli. We went there, and the president macheted us a
little. I guess some missionaries have been a little disobedient, and its not
bueno. But I know that we're obedient, and that we're baptizing. So we were
kind of exempt. But that was what happened on Thursday. Either way, it was still
cool to hear the president speak
Well, it’s all going really well. We
haven’t really eaten any weird food, just gallo pinto and rice and some meat.
Our food cita told us that we ate "chichi de vaca" or "cow
nipple (udder)". I don’t remember eating it, but she assured me that we
all gobbled it up and loved it. So I guess I’ve been eating some weird food,
but I can’t remember. So we finally got tired of the diarrhea here at
the apartment, and we got our dueña to hook us up with a 5-gallon drum of
bottled water. It’s only 35 córdobas for a 5-gallon bottle of the
purified water. Not bad.
Also, I bought some milk, and I was
testing out the chocolate milk straws that you sent me. They are totally
awesome, and I really love them. It’s the best drinking some cold, cold
chocolate milk!!!!! I really loved getting the packages, and its sweet to have
some American stuff.
Well yeah, this is what’s gone on this
week. Truthfully I’m pretty tired and my brain is a little fried, so sorry if
this email is a little bland. Anyways, thanks for your email. I’m doing great
and I’m happy, but at the moment, I’m a little tired. Thanks again for the
email, I really loved it, and I hope that you have some sweet experiences the
next week.
Audio,
Elder Stark
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