April 22, 2013
Hey family,
Well, here I am again in the computer
lab. This week went by pretty quick, and I’m surprised that it’s Monday again.
We are all having a pretty good time here; it’s all going pretty normal. It
sounds like its all going well at home, especially with the new bishop stuff.
That’s pretty cool actually, and I was thinking about it all week that dad is
now the Obispo. Fun stuff.
So what else is going on at home? I’m
pretty excited to Skype you all again. Hey get this, Today I completed 6 MONTHS
IN NICARAGUA, AND 8 MONTHS IN THE MISSION. Not bad huh? Time flies.
So basically here is a rundown of what’s
been going on here in Bello Horizonte. From Tuesday until Thursday, we did
divisions within the zone. So I left my area, and went to an area in Maximo
Jerez, which is the area of the Zone Leaders. I worked there with a missionary
named Elder M, and it was fun to see some different territory. So I was there
for 2 days, contacting and teaching and stuff. It was pretty cool and we did
well there. So this week, I only had 3 days to work in my own area, but it’s
alright. While I was in Maximo Jerez, I took some pictures from the roof of the
house I was in. It’s a 3 story house, and it was cool to get onto the roof, and
see all of Managua. Managua from above pretty much looks like a shantytown with
all the rusted tin roofs and crowded houses. It looks like something from a
movie. Cool.
So I worked in my area for most of
Thursday, and the rest of the week. On Friday, we had a cool activity in our
ward where we got all of the recent converts in the church, and all of the
bishopric spoke and the Relief Society/Primary presidents. We had almost all of
the RC's, and I think that there were almost 30 people there. It was super
cool, and after we played some BINGO. I got to direct the game, and it was fun
to relax a little and act normal and make jokes with the RC's. The bingo went
well, and our Bishop bought some rice and Fanta. Pretty normal Nica food. It
was awesome. After, I was hanging around for a bit with my converts W and C. W
and I got some good pictures together, and then we got some funny pictures
comparing muscle sizes. Not too shabby. That guy looks good with his shirt and
tie. So that was super fun, and was a success. After we were walking through a
pretty rich neighborhood to get to an appointment that we were late too. We
stopped on a street corner in this neighborhood, and it was a really nice night
and was super quiet. I was standing there with my comp, and some lady in tears
came up to us and was like, "look, will you please give me some money, I
need to get home and help my daughter". This lady had a little girl in her
arms, and the little girl had all kinds of bandages and sores and stuff. Pretty
gross. But this lady lived in Matagalpa, and needed like 180 Cordobas to get
there (like $7). Pretty much like 99% of the time, I never give money to people
because they almost always are trying to take advantage of me because I’m
white. But this was different, and my comp and I both agreed that the spirit told
us to give the money to her. So I gave her everything that I had, and my comp
gave what he could. So together we gave the woman like 190 Cordobas, and then
we gave the sick little girl a blessing. It is pretty much impossible
to describe but it was a very special moment when we stood under a
street lamp in the quiet Nicaraguan night, and put our hands on this little
girl’s head and blessed her to get better. Very cool. As we were walking away,
both my comp and me were silent, and didn’t really talk a lot until we got back
to the house. It was a very surreal experience.
So it’s all going pretty well. Our
investigators are doing well. M and M are super cool, and they didn’t go to
sacrament meeting with us, but at 2:00 after church, we all went to the church,
and we did a "tour" of the church and showed them it. They had some
questions about baptism, which is super awesome. It means that they are
thinking about baptism! Also on Sunday, we were at our food appointment, and
her brother just moved in. (side note: in Nicaragua, pretty much the whole
family usually lives in the same house. Grandparents, Parents, Aunts/Uncles,
Cousins, Nieces, Nephews, everyone...). We were talking to the guy, and he said
that he had been receiving the missionaries before he moved here to Bello
Horizonte. He said that he was ready to become a member, and we put a baptism
date with him for this Saturday. So on Saturday, we should baptize this guy.
Pretty cool, and its fun to have these impromptu baptisms. Later, on Sunday
night we had a FHE with W and C. They are the best, and we hung around with
them for a little and chatted with them. While we were talking, all of the
sudden, the power in the neighborhood went out, and it was pitch black.
Normally the response would be kind of like "...ugh....", but we were
all super happy, and were just laughing and stuff. C sent her daughter A to go
buy some candles from the corner market, and we continued the FHE in
candlelight. Fun stuff. I had the little mini DVD player in my backpack, and we
watched the church movie about the stonecutter in SLC who broke his leg or
something like that. It was super fun, and that family is the best.
So I hope that all is going well at
home. The work here is going well. So changes are a week from this Wednesday. I
feel like I might get changed, because I have already been here for 3 changes.
But I kind of wouldn’t mind staying for another change, because I really want
to see this family (M and M) get baptized. But we'll see. Whatever happens
happens. I sure miss you all, but it’s going well here. Today marks the 1/3
mark in my mission. Craziness... We are doing well here, Elder P and I.
On Thursday, we broke our record for contacting and we contacted 47 people / 9
families/ and 19 Potential Melchezidek Priesthood Holders. It was awesome. We
also had taught 4 lessons that day. So yeah, our plate is pretty full with
stuff to do. Its fun working here though. Its hot, but whatever... Seriously,
you all have it super easy in the US with air conditioning. I get to sleep in a
small, sweaty room with a fan blowing hot, hot, hot, humid air on my face all
night. But I’m used to it, so it’s not too bad.
Well, I sure love you all, and I hope
that all goes well. I hope that you're all safe and reading your scriptures.
Tell me anything new that happens.
Con mucho amor,
Elder Stark
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