November 18, 2013
Hey family,
So it was fun reading your letter. It kind of gave me
deja vu reading about Bailey's pre-mission experiences. I still remember those
last few days I had at home. It felt really weird, and I felt like I just
wanted to leave and get on my mission. Then when I got to Chinandega,
Nicaragua, for like a week, I just wanted to go home. But then I got used to
the country and I started to pick up the language, and it all just got a lot
better. The first 2 months of the mission were pretty strange, and it was a lot
to get used to, but it’s really awesome here. Today our bishop took us around
Managua in his taxi, and it was pretty fun. We went to "stop and go"
which is the store that sells all of the imported US stuff, and I got a couple
cans of root-beer and I paid like 6 bucks for a packet of "chewy chips
ahoy with recess cups". So yeah, today was pretty cool. I got the package
sent off with Mary’s present for the gift exchange. That should be arriving at
home in like 2 weeks. I hope that she likes it, and I think that she will. In
the post office (which is really just a tin hut kind of building) there was a
"security guard" who was really just some hick in a government
communist tee shirt with a revolver shoved down his pants. It was pretty typical
nica status. Funny stuff.
So we have changes coming up here. They are on the
26th. Today in my letter to President I asked if I could stay for another
change. I like this area, and I like the ward. The missionary work isn’t very
easy, but I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job, and I feel happy here. On
Sunday we had a stake conference, and it was pretty cool. All of our
investigators fell, so we weren’t able to bring anyone to the church. That was
a bummer. It was like my first time not bringing anyone to church in almost 5
months. But yeah, that happens. The mission president was there, and it was fun
to hear all of the speakers. To tell you the truth, the nicaragüenses are
really rowdy. We were sitting in the back, and I could barely hear from the
amount of people talking and babies crying. I don’t think that anyone was
really paying too much attention, but that’s alright. The best part about the
stake conference was that H was sustained to receive the Melchizedek
priesthood. It was awesome. After the conference, we went into a room, and he
asked me to ordain him. So I got the chance to ordain him to an Elder. Very,
very, very cool. It was one of the most spiritual parts of my mission. Speaking
of that, can you send me my line of authority? I want to print it out today,
and give a copy to H. After that, we went to a member’s house and they gave us
lunch. I got a giant piece of chicken and I was super stoked, but it was pretty
much raw so I didn’t eat too much. I hope that the members didn’t get offended.
But yeah. So while we were eating lunch, I got a call from H and he wanted to
try to give his wife K a blessing. So we went over to his house with the
president of the elder’s quorum and we taught him how to give a blessing, and
he blessed his wife. That too was one of the most spiritual things I’ve seen.
Very cool. So later in the night, we went and visited V. (V is the wife
of E, and she is preparing to be baptized) Anyways, V was "mas o
menos" about getting baptized, but then she said that she was praying to see
if this is the true church and that she felt a "warm feeling in her
chest". So I immediately opened to D&C 9 and read about the
"burning in the bosom". Right after I explained that, she said
"oh... now I get it.... So what time is that baptism service on
Saturday?" It was awesome. So she and her son should get baptized on
Saturday if all goes well. I’m really stoked.
Life seems to be going well, and my comp have been
going "testigo style" and we've just been door contacting a lot. It
seems to be going well, and we have contacted about a million people. Good
stuff. To answer dad's question about street contacting, sometimes as a ward we
have the "Mormon battalion" where we go street contacting in a group
of like 15 people. It’s pretty fun, and seems to go well. When the elders get
assigned to our ward, just ask every member "who lives to the left of you?
And who lives to the right of you? Can we visit them with the elders and share
a message with them about our faith?" Really you've just got to be bold. Sometimes
it’s tough to share the gospel with your friends, but the Lord promises us that
He'll tell us what we should say at the moment to open our mouths. So yeah,
start getting some good references. And as a Bishop, you should probably be in
the captain seat and help people out and show them how it’s done. Sharing the
gospel really isn’t that hard.
All is going well with my comp. He is really quiet and
is shy during teaching moments. But we work hard, and I help him out a lot. We
get along well, and all is well. I don’t really know that I have a reputation
in the mission. I just work hard and do what I’m supposed to do. This mission
is a lot different, because now we don’t have "change meetings", and
I don’t really know anyone else in the other zones. It’s weird. Tomorrow, my
comp and I have training with President Collado for the new missionaries and
their trainers. It should be cool, and I’m excited to spend the day with the
president.
So every day I’m becoming more and more surprised at
how fast the mission is passing by. I only have like 8 1/2 months left. When
you begin the mission, you feel like you've got an eternity left to go, but
right now I feel like its slipping through my hands. It’s weird, and it’s tough
to explain, but yeah, before we know it, I’ll be on the last week of my mission
waiting for dad in the Managua airport.
Well, I love you all and I hope that all is well. Let
me know what’s up.
Love,
Elder Estark
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