Good morning friends and family
I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas! I sure did. I am so glad for the opportunity that I have
to be serving here in this area and for the opportunity that I had to call home. This past week was pretty normal, not too much to report other than the coming of snowstorms and all the fun that that brings.
The Christmas season is a time to remember and reflect on the sacrifice that was made for all of us by our Savior. I love this season and the meaning that it brings and the significance that it has on our faith. Christ was born in Bethlehem, that He lived, suffered and died for all of us. He did this so that we can be saved from our sins and live together forever.
My missionary experience has helped me to better understand this and to feel the true meaning and influence that it has on my life and the lives of others. On Friday I will have been a missionary for 1 year. It is overwhelming how fast that time flies and how valuable that that time is. Time is one of the greatest gifts that we are given and how we spend it determines our conversion and our commitment that we have to Christ and to our Heavenly Father.
Thank you all for the Christmas wishes and gifts. I love you lots and hope that you can all stay warm.
Have a wonderful new-year!
Until next week!
Elder Connor Starr
Tuesday, 26 December 2017
Wednesday, 20 December 2017
First time for everything
Hello Everyone.
This week was a pretty good. Pretty average really.
Monday we started with our regular p-day stuff. Shopping and emailing and overpriced laundry with some apartment cleaning. Regular stuff.
For LightTheWorld elder Smith and I made a hot meal for some of our investigators that are going through a really rough time. Brendon, the father-figure / boyfriend was diagnosed with lymphoma and is going through the trials of chemo therapy. Jessie, his girlfriend is out of work as is he and they just can't seem to get a break. We made some super cheap and easy soup and rolls and brought it to them. He seemed really appreciative and we were glad that we could help out his family for the day.
On Wednesday we taught this part-member family that we have been working with for a little while. We decided to teach them about the word of wisdom and the importance of living it and the blessings that we are promised as we do so. One of my favorite parts of the gospel is the small and simple truths that it holds. Simple yet powerful solutions to complex and often overwhelming issues that we could be faced with. I know of the power and importance of living the commandments and dedicating our effort to following Christ's example. As we do so we can see and know for ourselves of the merits of living them. He descended here to show us and teach us how we should live. How we need to serve one another and overcome our carnal and fallen state through the sacrifice that he volunteered to make for all of us. As we remember him, as we promise to do when we partake of the sacrament, we know of a surety that what he said was true and that through His servants that His church was restored in it's fullness to the earth.
So yesterday I was pulled by an officer of the law for the first time in my life. It was actually pretty funny how it happened. Elder Smith and I were driving home when it happened, we were driving along on a somewhat busy highway. I saw the bright blue lights and my gut sank for a minute. I quickly pulled over and I felt safe when the officer pulled in behind a Papa Johns delivery man that was in front of us. I started driving away when the officer quickly got out of his car and stopped me, telling me to pull in front of him. My gut sank again. All I could do was remember my years of training from my good father. All I could think in my head was don'tlethimsearchdon'tlethimsearchdon'tlethimsearch. As it turns out I was just driving with the daytime lights on so the taillights were off. He was really nice and after he checked my license to see if I was a criminal he let us go!
That is pretty much all that I have for this week! I love all of you!
Until CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!
-Elder Connor Starr
Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Christmas is Coming
Hello friends and family
This week was really awesome. First off, we had a normal P-day and did normal P-day things. Tuesday we had our special Christmas conference. It was very loose and there wasn't a lot of training going on. President and sister Blair spoke about the importance of believing. Believing that we can reach our goal of 200 baptisms by the end of the year, believing that Christ lives and that we are preparing a covenant people for the blessings of a temple here in ten years. It was a really awesome and powerful experience. for Christmas they gave us these really awesome handmade bells to remind us to believe in the miracles of Christmas and the subsequent miracles of the death and life of the Savior. That remembering these things will help us to understand the meaning of our labor here.
After that we went on exchange in Manchester with the Zone Leaders. We had a really big birthday party because my birthday was on the 6th, Elder Short, one of our zoneleaders, was on the 7th and my companion's Elder Smith was on the 8th. So we had a big birthday party and got some cards and ate snacks and stuff.
We had our first big snowstorm of the season. it wasn't too bad only about 5 inches. I never really minded driving in the snow. I think it is kinda fun!
I want to thank everybody for your birthday wishes and gifts. I am so grateful that I have such supportive friends and family back home. I am no longer a teenager, I feel like an old man. ;) We have transfers on the 19th which is never my favorite. I am sure that it will work out, change is just difficult. Well that is about all that I have. I hope that you all have a wonderful rest of your week! Love you!
-Elder Connor Starr
Also, we talked to this guy that had over 120 inflatables in his yard for Christmas! It was crazy!
Hot Chocolate Wagon and Light the World 2017 - December 4, 2017
Hello Friends and Family.
We had a pretty crazy week this week. On Monday we did our zone P-day, we basically just played chair soccer in the gym and some other stuff. Not super amazing but it was still really fun.
Following that we went on exchange with the Zone Leaders in Manchester. If I am being honest I spent most of the day in the office making a big calendar for Light the World, it turned out pretty well. We also help set up a Creches and Carols exhibit in the gym of the Manchester chapel. It was super cool because there were hundreds of nativity sets (Creche(s)?) and they were all lit up with nice mood lighting and Christmas trees and stuff.
Sister Blair also brought President Hinckley's personal nativity that she had inherited! it was really cool!
Elder Smith and I also went contacting with the sisters on the streets of Concord during the Midnight Merriment event, it was super fun! we pulled a hot Chocolate wagon and talked to people about Jesus! (pictures to follow)
Following exchanges President and Sister Blair gave our zone a training on how we can be successful. One of the things that he emphasised was obedience. President Blair had me stand up in front of everybody with my hands up and he would wrap a piece of twine around my wrists as he had the other missionaries list all the little rules that we are asked to keep. Of course eventually the cords were so many that they were thick and could not be broken.
President Blair than lead me around the room with the thick rope around my neck and talked about how transgression leads us away from our Heavenly Father. As we let disobedience guide us, We become controlled by our habits and we deny Heavenly Father's promised blessings.I know that we are blessed based on obedience to the commandments and our personal conversion to the Savior Jesus Christ.
I Hope that you all have a great rest of your week and that we can all come to know Christ better during this special season when we remember him.
If you haven't seen it already, the Church is doing their Christmas Initiative with Light the World! Its a super great way that we can serve one another Just as Christ did. Be sure to check it out!
I hope that you all have a great week! Love you!
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Hello Again - November 27th, 2017
Hello Friends and family.
This week was interesting to say the least. To begin with a little context the district has had a little trouble finding new people to teach. Upon counselling with the Zone Leaders and the Sister Training Leader Trainers we decided that in order to boost the Morale of the other missionaries we needed to find a few people really early on in the week and tell them all about it.
With that in mind we began the week with a pretty average p-day. We did all of our stuff that we needed to and than the Sansoucie's fed us for dinner. Basically to make a long story short, we were asked to make a facebook event for Owen's (their son's) upcoming baptism so that we could invite investigators and less actives more easily etc. It took about 90 min to figure out how to get it set up and we had to teach Owen some stuff so we were basically running mega-late for our planned finding time. We quickly drove back to where our apartment and looked around in desperation as there was only about 5 minutes left until 9:00, when we have to go in. Elder Smith and I looked around for people all over the place around our apartment building and we saw 2 different groups of people on their balcony. One was lit up and they looked like they were partying, the others were just sitting in the dark and smoking. We decided that we were not feeling like party people that evening so we went (ran) over to the unlit balcony and offered to help them stop smoking. They said "sure" and we picked them up as new investigators. We will be seeing them later this evening. It would have been really easy to go in early or find something less productive to do, but Elder Smith and I wanted to make some miracles happen and we did! That was a really cool experience and it really helped the other missionaries to feel that they too could make miracle happen with diligence and hard work.
Other than that it was a pretty normal week. We spent thanksgiving at the Weech's home. Sister Weech is the relief society president and she is super cool. Those in attendance were the Elders and the Weech's and sister Baker and her mother-in-law. The food was really good and so was the company. I am really grateful that I did not have to make my own food for thanksgiving. It would have been really sad. I am grateful for such strong members that are willing to help whenever they can, from inviting investigators to their child's baptism, to feeding the Elders on Thanksgiving. I think that I have learned a lot about the attributes of Christ from them and I hope to be as noble as them.
That's pretty much all I have for this week. I hope that you all have a great week.
love you!until Next Week!
-Elder Connor Starr
This week was interesting to say the least. To begin with a little context the district has had a little trouble finding new people to teach. Upon counselling with the Zone Leaders and the Sister Training Leader Trainers we decided that in order to boost the Morale of the other missionaries we needed to find a few people really early on in the week and tell them all about it.
With that in mind we began the week with a pretty average p-day. We did all of our stuff that we needed to and than the Sansoucie's fed us for dinner. Basically to make a long story short, we were asked to make a facebook event for Owen's (their son's) upcoming baptism so that we could invite investigators and less actives more easily etc. It took about 90 min to figure out how to get it set up and we had to teach Owen some stuff so we were basically running mega-late for our planned finding time. We quickly drove back to where our apartment and looked around in desperation as there was only about 5 minutes left until 9:00, when we have to go in. Elder Smith and I looked around for people all over the place around our apartment building and we saw 2 different groups of people on their balcony. One was lit up and they looked like they were partying, the others were just sitting in the dark and smoking. We decided that we were not feeling like party people that evening so we went (ran) over to the unlit balcony and offered to help them stop smoking. They said "sure" and we picked them up as new investigators. We will be seeing them later this evening. It would have been really easy to go in early or find something less productive to do, but Elder Smith and I wanted to make some miracles happen and we did! That was a really cool experience and it really helped the other missionaries to feel that they too could make miracle happen with diligence and hard work.
Other than that it was a pretty normal week. We spent thanksgiving at the Weech's home. Sister Weech is the relief society president and she is super cool. Those in attendance were the Elders and the Weech's and sister Baker and her mother-in-law. The food was really good and so was the company. I am really grateful that I did not have to make my own food for thanksgiving. It would have been really sad. I am grateful for such strong members that are willing to help whenever they can, from inviting investigators to their child's baptism, to feeding the Elders on Thanksgiving. I think that I have learned a lot about the attributes of Christ from them and I hope to be as noble as them.
That's pretty much all I have for this week. I hope that you all have a great week.
love you!until Next Week!
-Elder Connor Starr
What a week - November 20th, 2017
Hello Family and Friends.
Elder Smith and I had a pretty awesome week. First off, we started off with P-day. not much to mention just did some shopping at Walmart and got some stuff to prepare for the coming Christmas season *photos to follow.
The beginning of the week went well. We go and see an older returning less-active family, the McNairs. Their house burned down back in July and right after that their only car got totalled in a pretty serious accident, leaving Brother McNair with some pretty serious neck injury. They were living in a motel for the time being. Sister McNair was prompted by the spirit that if she and her husband wanted help in their difficult time that they needed to return to church and renew their covenants and keep the commandments more fully so sister McNiar quit her job that kept her working on Sundays to make a long story short, The McNairs have been to church every Sunday for almost 2 months straight. Seeing the increase of their testimony in the restored gospel has helped grow my understanding of the Lord's hand in our lives. We are truly blessed when we make things that are important to the Lord important for us.
Skipping now to Friday I got to teach district meeting. accept it was more like a zone meeting because everybody in the zone was there with the exception of the Assistants to the President and the Sister training leaders. It was a lot of fun and really effective. I was stressing this meeting for over a week and studied quite a few hours to make it an effective training. I know that I personally left feeling uplifted by the spirit. When Elder Bednar was with us a few months ago, he told us that we know when we are teaching by the spirit when everybody in attendance learns something new and we take that knowledge and truth and use it to change our lives.The power of the Holy Ghost is real and has the power to redirect us toward Christ.
That same day Elder Smith and I made a point to talk to everybody that we ran into. The contacts that followed were really amazing and we were able to teach and testify because of them. Not only that, but we ran into an older Gentleman that called us over to him. At first we thought he was just going to bible-bash us like crazy, but it turns out that actually needed help. The man's name was Dick and he had just been given about 6 Months left to live. He just wanted somebody to talk to and Elder Smith and I were there to help him because we did what we needed to to be put in his path. We talked to Dick for a while and we gave him our phone number in case he every wanted to talk again. We talked mostly about how hope in the Savior diminishes our fear of leaving this life. He thanked us for our talk and we parted ways
I don't know if every will call us again, but I do know that our Heavenly Father answers the prayers of others through those that are willing to do His work. I hope you all know that I love you and that as we are noble and diligent that we will become the answer to somebody's plea to our Heavenly Father.
Have a great week and an amazing Thanksgiving.
I am thankful for all of you!
until next time
-Elder Connor Starr
Elder Smith and I had a pretty awesome week. First off, we started off with P-day. not much to mention just did some shopping at Walmart and got some stuff to prepare for the coming Christmas season *photos to follow.
The beginning of the week went well. We go and see an older returning less-active family, the McNairs. Their house burned down back in July and right after that their only car got totalled in a pretty serious accident, leaving Brother McNair with some pretty serious neck injury. They were living in a motel for the time being. Sister McNair was prompted by the spirit that if she and her husband wanted help in their difficult time that they needed to return to church and renew their covenants and keep the commandments more fully so sister McNiar quit her job that kept her working on Sundays to make a long story short, The McNairs have been to church every Sunday for almost 2 months straight. Seeing the increase of their testimony in the restored gospel has helped grow my understanding of the Lord's hand in our lives. We are truly blessed when we make things that are important to the Lord important for us.
Skipping now to Friday I got to teach district meeting. accept it was more like a zone meeting because everybody in the zone was there with the exception of the Assistants to the President and the Sister training leaders. It was a lot of fun and really effective. I was stressing this meeting for over a week and studied quite a few hours to make it an effective training. I know that I personally left feeling uplifted by the spirit. When Elder Bednar was with us a few months ago, he told us that we know when we are teaching by the spirit when everybody in attendance learns something new and we take that knowledge and truth and use it to change our lives.The power of the Holy Ghost is real and has the power to redirect us toward Christ.
That same day Elder Smith and I made a point to talk to everybody that we ran into. The contacts that followed were really amazing and we were able to teach and testify because of them. Not only that, but we ran into an older Gentleman that called us over to him. At first we thought he was just going to bible-bash us like crazy, but it turns out that actually needed help. The man's name was Dick and he had just been given about 6 Months left to live. He just wanted somebody to talk to and Elder Smith and I were there to help him because we did what we needed to to be put in his path. We talked to Dick for a while and we gave him our phone number in case he every wanted to talk again. We talked mostly about how hope in the Savior diminishes our fear of leaving this life. He thanked us for our talk and we parted ways
I don't know if every will call us again, but I do know that our Heavenly Father answers the prayers of others through those that are willing to do His work. I hope you all know that I love you and that as we are noble and diligent that we will become the answer to somebody's plea to our Heavenly Father.
Have a great week and an amazing Thanksgiving.
I am thankful for all of you!
until next time
-Elder Connor Starr
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Hello
This week was kind of strange.
To start off we did our normal p-day things. We did the laundry, cleaned the apartment, bought food, etc. The day following we picked up Elder Frostad from Concord 1 area, his companion went home and Elder Staley and I got to hold on to him for a couple of days. We did exchanges with the zone-leaders the following day so there were 5 missionaries working our area at once. It was awesome!
That day, Elder Frostad, Sadlier, and myself were doing work in Pembroke when we saw a lady walking her dogs. We did a fast walk towards her to chase her down but she was too fast and we saw an old guy that was raking his leaves that wasn't running away, so we figured that we would talk to him instead. His name was Frank and he was super nice. It turned out that he served as a bomber in WWII in the European conflict. He was 94 years old. He told us that the secret to living a long time was that you have to get good exercise, like raking leaves.
On Thursday I got my new companion Elder Smith. He was trained by Elder Hansen, one of my previous companions. So far we are having a blast and it is going great.
Today, we got our first glimpse of snowfall. It has been pretty cold, about 28 degrees. but today it has just been dumping snow. I am actually pretty excited for the winter. I have missed the cold and the snow. We'll see how long it lasts.
I am so grateful for all the wonderful blessings that I have been given here. This is our Father's business and I am serving his children. I am thankful for the opportunity that I have now to declare good tidings of great joy. Christ lives, that this is His church, and that He leads and guides us today.
Love You! Until next time!
-Elder Connor Starr
To start off we did our normal p-day things. We did the laundry, cleaned the apartment, bought food, etc. The day following we picked up Elder Frostad from Concord 1 area, his companion went home and Elder Staley and I got to hold on to him for a couple of days. We did exchanges with the zone-leaders the following day so there were 5 missionaries working our area at once. It was awesome!
That day, Elder Frostad, Sadlier, and myself were doing work in Pembroke when we saw a lady walking her dogs. We did a fast walk towards her to chase her down but she was too fast and we saw an old guy that was raking his leaves that wasn't running away, so we figured that we would talk to him instead. His name was Frank and he was super nice. It turned out that he served as a bomber in WWII in the European conflict. He was 94 years old. He told us that the secret to living a long time was that you have to get good exercise, like raking leaves.
On Thursday I got my new companion Elder Smith. He was trained by Elder Hansen, one of my previous companions. So far we are having a blast and it is going great.
Today, we got our first glimpse of snowfall. It has been pretty cold, about 28 degrees. but today it has just been dumping snow. I am actually pretty excited for the winter. I have missed the cold and the snow. We'll see how long it lasts.
I am so grateful for all the wonderful blessings that I have been given here. This is our Father's business and I am serving his children. I am thankful for the opportunity that I have now to declare good tidings of great joy. Christ lives, that this is His church, and that He leads and guides us today.
Love You! Until next time!
-Elder Connor Starr
Monday, 13 November 2017
Wednesday, 8 November 2017
Transfers
Friends and Family,
Another 6 weeks has passed. We got transfer news yesterday. Elder Staley will be leaving for Randolph NH my first area. I will receive Elder Smith who is coming from Randolph and was trained by the man, myth, and legend himself *former Elder David Hansen. My old companion. Elder Smith has been on a mission for almost 6 months now. We are going to have a great time! I am excited to hear of the work that Elder Staley does in Randolph. It is so great to know that we are all on the same team working for the same goal. I also want to mention that I will try to keep the letters a little more "focused". It seems that they can get away from me sometimes and I will try to make them more interesting.
With the change in time comes the change of the sun. This is bad news because now it gets dark at about 4:45 and darkness is detrimental for a myriad of reasons, mostly people are less willing to talk to you and it makes knocking on doors harder, etc. Its just one of those things that comes with the territory. The great thing about the Holiday Season is people's hearts are generally more open to the promptings of the spirit; to confirm the truthfulness of the saviors gospel to them. We have alot of cool plans involving parades and singing and all kinds of stuff. I'll let you know more later.
I have been thinking about remembrance lately. It is certainly a key to the gospel as Christ taught. When we take the sacrament, we renew the promise that we made to "always remember Him". To remember his example to us, his teachings, his service, and his power unto the redeeming of our souls from death and sin. Not only do we need to remember Christ, we need to remember ourselves. Not in a narcissistic way but in the way that we remember our actions, our thoughts, and our deeds. This is what makes us who we are. In the gospel we have to remember. What the savior has done in our lives, and what we have done. Making constant corrections to draw our persona to His divine nature. If we forget we decline ourselves the introspection that allows us to repent of our sins, and we deny ourselves the power of the sacrifice of the savior in our lives.
I am so grateful to be here. To be serving in this capacity with all of these wonderful Elders and Sisters among Heavenly Father's children. This is His work and His glory.
I love you.
Until Next time!
-Elder Connor Starr
Monday, 30 October 2017
It's that time again....
Hello Friends and family.
What a wonderful week. Starting monday we had a district P-day and we done some fun stuff that I talked about last week. I think that it was a wonderful opportunity for the missionaries in the district to get to know each other better and see that we are all in this together. We are all human and that we are all still striving to be the best that we can be.
Most of the rest of the week was fairly average. We were able to find 6 new people to teach this week! and we had 3 investigators at sacrament meeting. it was awesome. The whole district were able to find new people and the Concord Elders even had a baptism!
I have mentioned before that our life and our happiness depend on our choice to be happy. For instance, today Elder Starr found out that dry-cleaning is exceedingly expensive! (it was actually last week but the effects are still being felt.) I would not recommend it to anyone. I also found out that not having a wash/dryer and using the laudromat is also financially cumbersome. I have determined that I will never wash any of my clothing ever again. For the sake of thrift.
This week as missionary leadership we have talked a lot about Christmas and the new #lighttheworld initiative. Mostly how we should prepare now and take the steps necessary to being successful in the future. The holidays and the winter is when people are humbled and their hearts are softened to the message of the savior and his restored church. Its easily the busiest time of year for us! It is important that we are prepared and ready. As we do so and we qualify ourselves for the Spirit, we are promised miracles.
I want you all to know, that I know that a steadfast hope and faith in the Savior and his promises will see us through trails and tribulations. If we have these things we "cannot fall".
I love this service and this land that I have been called to hope that you all have a wonderful week.
Love you!
Until next time!
-Elder Starr
Monday, 23 October 2017
Hello Everyone
Friends and family,
We had a good week this week. This week we spent a lot of time looking for new people to teach so that we can reach the goals that we set for October. As it turns out. Not everybody is interested. Something that I have learned this far on my mission is how to deal with discouragement. The first step to dealing with discouragement is to not feel discouraged. The second step is to always repeat step 1.
I have found for myself that feeling small or inadequate is not from the spirit. It is a tool that the adversary uses to diminish not only our knowledge but also our agency. The greatest importance in missionary work is to look forward with a perfect brightness of hope and understanding that the effects we have on others we cannot fully realise in this stage of our lives. Everything happens for a reason and the most important thing is that we never give up and we never look down.
We had a pretty normal week. It went well and I am glad that I am here, now. Today we had a district Pday. We went candlepin bowling and carved pumpkins. I will be sure to send photos later.
Sorry for the short email. We have to leave in 10 min.
Love you!
-Elder Starr
Nice
Hello Friends and family.
If I could use one word to describe this week, it would be "nice".
Starting Monday we did some normal P-day stuff, nothing too spectacular. Tuesday we drove to Exeter where the mission gave us all our new smartphones. The smartphones are to be used with Facebook so that we can connect with potential and current investigators in New and cool ways.
It was pretty interesting because we talked a lot about how the presidents and other prophets in the church have predicted the coming forth of this powerful tool (social media, internet, videochat etc...)and that with its help we can move forward the work of the lord to declare the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
Pretty neat stuff. It feels weird to use it as a missionsry, and we haven't done much with it yet but there is great stuff yet to come.
When Elder Bednar visited the mission he gave us a promise that, where we willed it, we would chase darkness from among us wherever we went as we declared the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That means wherever we go: in people's homes, in the street, in the lives of others, and now with an ever-increasing list of places. We can save God's children and open to them the doors of the celestial kingdom That is the power of what we are doing here.
My testimony of this simple truth has grown so dramatically and I know that this work is the Lord's
I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve here, now. Our Heavenly Father gives to us bountifully. I am thankful for all of your support.
Love you! Have a good week!
Til, next time.
P.s.
If you want to connect to my missionary Facebook account you can! But I can't use it to communicate back, the rules are new and I am sure that there are more to come. It's under my name: Connor Starr, and it's the one that has a picture of me as the profile. Not the other one.
P.P.S.
Church is true, book is blue.
Wednesday, 11 October 2017
Hello Again
Hello friends and family.
We had a really great week in the Canterbury area. Not too much has really gone on. The biggest difference that I have noticed so far is that here we are very busy with a lot of appointments. It is pretty awesome to have a rigid schedule so that you don't rip your hair out due to not knowing what to do with your time. The downside is that you are always running and that you have a lot less time to talk to and find new people. This area is a lot more dense than my previous and we have a lot of people to teach which is awesome! We just have to figure out how to juggle all of them and make sure that they are progressing in their conversion to the Savior.
For instance, none of them came to church yesterday. which was pretty frustrating, especially after all the effort that we made to help them to progress. President Badger, (President Blair's counselor that attended our ward yesterday) said something that was really cool though. We were talking to him and he said that if he was a painter he would depict an image of 2 missionaries standing outside the door of the chapel as the members walked into the building from the parking lot. Each one saying "hello" with a friendly smile, sacrament meeting about to begin. But those Elders are not there to just hold the door. They overlook the parking lot awaiting the arrival of their investigators their heads peering over people looking for those familiar faces. The reason that this is significant is because those are the pivotal moments in missionary work, those few minutes on Sunday where you wait anxiously for your investigators to arrive, not knowing if they will be late or come at all. All of the week's work comes down to those few minutes and the decision that those people will make whether or not to come to church and come closer to Christ through his restored gospel. Yesterday we went back inside the church alone, but there will be other Sundays. I am satisfied that we did all that we could do to help them, and in the end it was their decision.
I know that this church is true and I am so grateful for all the support that I am given from my friends, my family and the other people in this mission that sacrifice their time to help me accomplish the work of the Lord. I want to thank Elder Sean Starr for his missionary service and for his example. This gospel is so amazing and I know that he has helped so many to enjoy its blessings.
That is all that I have for this week, I hope that you all stay safe and
warm. Know that I love you lots
Until next time
-Elder Connor Starr
Tuesday, 3 October 2017
Live Free or Die ... again
Hello everybody.
Well it happened, I got transferred from down-east Maine to southern New Hampshire serving in the
Canterberry ward. I left Elder O'Rourke in Maine and I drove the long 5 hours down to the mission office to meet my new companion Elder Staley.
Elder Staley is from Star Valley Wyoming and has been on his mission for about 14 months now.
I have also replaced his old companion as the District Leader for this district which consists of 4 companionships and Sister Harmon the mission nurse. The area is divided into the Concord Ward and the Canterberry Ward both of which have a set of Elders and a set of Sisters.
It has been alot of fun so far being able to work with all of these missionaries that are so nearby. That was not the case for Randolph or Machias in which you had to drive for at least 90 minutes in any direction to find another set of missionaries. Being a district leader is pretty fun too! It's just like being a normal missionary accept that you get to plan for a lot more stuff and uphold the illusion of having seasoned knowledge about doing missionary work.
We had a great general conference weekend where both of the wards got together to watch the broadcast at the chapel. We invited about 5 of our investigators to come and promised crazy blessings but they decided to exercise their agency in declining our request. That was too bad but I am sure that there will be more General Conferences to watch and plenty of other sacrament meetings to attend and feel the spirit.
Other than that not much else has gone on. It has been a pretty normal week. I love the fall in general and I think that in New England that it is just that much better. I am sorry that I haven't sent any pictures lately. It's mostly because I lost the charger to my camera that has died.
Regarding Elder Rasband's talk, if you look at the photo that he showed, in-between Elder Chase and his sister you can clearly see my trainer Elder Palmer who was his companion at the time. Pretty fun stuff.
I hope that you all have a great rest of your week, know that I love you all lots.
wish you were here
until then
-Elder Starr numero dos (#2)
Note from mom: The story that Elder Rasband told was in Connor's mission. Fun!
Well it happened, I got transferred from down-east Maine to southern New Hampshire serving in the
Canterberry ward. I left Elder O'Rourke in Maine and I drove the long 5 hours down to the mission office to meet my new companion Elder Staley.
Elder Staley is from Star Valley Wyoming and has been on his mission for about 14 months now.
I have also replaced his old companion as the District Leader for this district which consists of 4 companionships and Sister Harmon the mission nurse. The area is divided into the Concord Ward and the Canterberry Ward both of which have a set of Elders and a set of Sisters.
It has been alot of fun so far being able to work with all of these missionaries that are so nearby. That was not the case for Randolph or Machias in which you had to drive for at least 90 minutes in any direction to find another set of missionaries. Being a district leader is pretty fun too! It's just like being a normal missionary accept that you get to plan for a lot more stuff and uphold the illusion of having seasoned knowledge about doing missionary work.
We had a great general conference weekend where both of the wards got together to watch the broadcast at the chapel. We invited about 5 of our investigators to come and promised crazy blessings but they decided to exercise their agency in declining our request. That was too bad but I am sure that there will be more General Conferences to watch and plenty of other sacrament meetings to attend and feel the spirit.
Other than that not much else has gone on. It has been a pretty normal week. I love the fall in general and I think that in New England that it is just that much better. I am sorry that I haven't sent any pictures lately. It's mostly because I lost the charger to my camera that has died.
Regarding Elder Rasband's talk, if you look at the photo that he showed, in-between Elder Chase and his sister you can clearly see my trainer Elder Palmer who was his companion at the time. Pretty fun stuff.
I hope that you all have a great rest of your week, know that I love you all lots.
wish you were here
until then
-Elder Starr numero dos (#2)
Note from mom: The story that Elder Rasband told was in Connor's mission. Fun!
Monday, 25 September 2017
Transfer and District Leader
Hello friends and family.
A lot has happened in the past little-bit of time.
First off on monday we did normal P-day stuff, but then went to Jasper Beach. It is a beach accept instead of being rocky or sandy it is made entirely of small and very round stones. Pretty cool stuff. Also pretty cold.
The middle of the week was pretty normal. We did a good amount of driving around our large area looking for people and teaching a few less actives. This week we found 2 new people to teach! the most important thing that you can do when finding is to exercise some faith and talk to as many people as you can every day. Have faith that people wake up in your area every day seeking for the knowledge and the message that we share.
After that stuff we had an average district meeting. However, it is the last one of the transfer and the LeCheminants are going home back to Arizona on the 4th. Super sad stuff. They are amazing people and have contributed so much to the work and the love that is in this area.
The best day of this week, in my opinion, was Sunday. Sunday our investigator Clif was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. (The baptism was pretty cool too but the fact that there was a confirmation implied that the baptism already happened which is why Sunday was the best day, because he was baptized and was present for his own confirmation. Its an important ordinance.) Clif has been investigating the church for over 6 months and he finally made the decision to be baptized despite the fact that he didn't have that much support from his friends and family. He has amazing faith.
Saturday we got our transfer calls. Elder O'Rourke will be staying in Machias and I and will be returning to New Hampshire in the Canterberry area as a district leader! Pretty exciting stuff. I am really sad to leave Machias but I know that I am needed elsewhere. I have come to really know and love the people that we taught and that we served around here. I thank my Heavenly Father for the love that he has given me towards his children.
I am so grateful for this work and for the opportunity that I had to serve in this area with these people.
I know that this gospel is true and that Christ leads and guides his church today. I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful conference weekend.
until next week,
-Elder (2) Starr
A lot has happened in the past little-bit of time.
First off on monday we did normal P-day stuff, but then went to Jasper Beach. It is a beach accept instead of being rocky or sandy it is made entirely of small and very round stones. Pretty cool stuff. Also pretty cold.
The middle of the week was pretty normal. We did a good amount of driving around our large area looking for people and teaching a few less actives. This week we found 2 new people to teach! the most important thing that you can do when finding is to exercise some faith and talk to as many people as you can every day. Have faith that people wake up in your area every day seeking for the knowledge and the message that we share.
After that stuff we had an average district meeting. However, it is the last one of the transfer and the LeCheminants are going home back to Arizona on the 4th. Super sad stuff. They are amazing people and have contributed so much to the work and the love that is in this area.
The best day of this week, in my opinion, was Sunday. Sunday our investigator Clif was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. (The baptism was pretty cool too but the fact that there was a confirmation implied that the baptism already happened which is why Sunday was the best day, because he was baptized and was present for his own confirmation. Its an important ordinance.) Clif has been investigating the church for over 6 months and he finally made the decision to be baptized despite the fact that he didn't have that much support from his friends and family. He has amazing faith.
Saturday we got our transfer calls. Elder O'Rourke will be staying in Machias and I and will be returning to New Hampshire in the Canterberry area as a district leader! Pretty exciting stuff. I am really sad to leave Machias but I know that I am needed elsewhere. I have come to really know and love the people that we taught and that we served around here. I thank my Heavenly Father for the love that he has given me towards his children.
I am so grateful for this work and for the opportunity that I had to serve in this area with these people.
I know that this gospel is true and that Christ leads and guides his church today. I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful conference weekend.
until next week,
-Elder (2) Starr
Sunday, 24 September 2017
Mission Picture
From Sister Adams:
We were privileged to be taught by an apostle of the Lord. Elder Bednar spoke to all our missionaries last Friday. We were able to take one picture with him -- in between rain showers! It was a challenge getting 203 people in one picture.
We were privileged to be taught by an apostle of the Lord. Elder Bednar spoke to all our missionaries last Friday. We were able to take one picture with him -- in between rain showers! It was a challenge getting 203 people in one picture.
Baptism!
From Brother McEwan:
Wonderful Baptism of Clif in the Machias Branch. Followed by Sushi dinner. Elders O'Rouke and Starr are excellent missionaries and examples.
Tuesday, 19 September 2017
Elder Bednar
Hello everyone,
This week has been a pretty normal week with a few exceptions that I will talk about later.
Early in the week was pretty average, p-day on Monday and a lot of walking and talking on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
This week went really well and I would attribute that to a few things.
First of all I would say that action was taken on my part so that Heavenly Father could do his part.
Meaning that I saw the things that I could improve on to make the days more successful and made a conscious effort to change and improve in those areas. We found some people, we saw some less actives that haven't been seen in a while and we are hoping to have another baptism soon. I know that success in this work is a gift from our Heavenly Father and that that is mostly attributed to our faith and our willingness to do difficult things.
I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be serving in this wonderful area with all of these amazing people.It has been such a blessing in my life and I hope that it has made a positive difference in the lives of others.
So this week was sort of normal with the exception of the weekend. On Friday Elder O'Rourke and I drove all the way down to Ellsworth to pick up those two Elders and then all the way down to Manchester to the mission office in NH. (about 5.5 hours total) This Friday was super amazing because our mission was holding an ALL mission conference (about 180 missionaries) This was because we were getting a special visit by Elder David Bednar of the 12, Elder Bennet of the area 70 and of course both of their wives. I think that it was the most reverent that I have ever seen the missionaries be. President Blair emphasized how important it was that we prepare ourselves and let the spirit reside within the meeting so that we could learn what we needed to.
Elder and Sister Bednar talked primarily about the spirit and agency and how they interact one with another.
They counseled us that the spirit resides in us when we use our agency to exercise faith in the Savior Jesus Christ and that through this spirit we are lead and guided to do things that we could never think or do on our own. Basically it was just a huge Q and A session where all the missionaries were to raise their hand, regardless of whether or not we had a question and you would be called on to ask him something.
The primary principle is that when we ask a question not knowing what it will be until we open our mouths, in faith, that the question that we ask will be the one that we really need answered. This is true with proclaiming the gospel, if we have the faith that the spirit will fill our mouths all we have to do is open them to those that we are serving.
Like it says in the book of Ether, we receive no witness [or miracle] until after the trial of our faith.
It was an amazing opportunity and even better, yesterday Elder Bednar spoke at stake conference to a huge congregation of all the local units, he spoke mostly on the enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, how it is critical that we realize that Jesus not only suffered for others but for a moment he suffered there for each of us.
Elder Bednar pointed out that the first words spoken by Heavenly Father in this dispensation after nearly 2000 years of apostasy was the name of an individual that he knew and loved. God Knows us and wants to help us, but we have to live the gospel for him to do so. An apostle of the lord got to teach one of our investigators the restoration and it was a fantastic experience. I wish I had the time to just dictate all my notes to you but that would unnecessarily long, as this email is already quickly becoming.
I know that the Lord qualifies and magnifies those that serve him and act in faith.
I had an amazing week and I thank the Lord so much for all the blessings that we have seen and the spirit that we have felt.
I hope that you all know that I love you and I hope that you have an amazing week.
p.s. We went to a cool beach today, here are some photos,
till next week,
-Elder Starr
Hello Again!
Hello All!
It hasn't been a super eventful week, but it was an interesting one.
The week was pretty normal with a few exceptions. We did a good amount of driving across
the long and windy roads of our rural area. Looking for those that had had contact with the Elders of the the past.
People tend to stick around up here so they are usually fairly easy to find. That, or the records were poorly kept by the previous missionaries so they are nearly impossible to find.
Throughout the Book of Mormon we read the importance of keeping good and accurate records.
If the Nephites had not given the records from one generation to another, with command to write the happenings of their people in them, we would not have the truths and power that are in them today.
It is because this record was so diligently kept that we have a full and additional testament to the Lord Jesus Christ that contains the fullness of the gospel. Bit of a tangent...
Later in the week I went on exchange with Rockland again, again with 2 other Elders.
It was pretty fun, being in a trio is great. we talked to a bunch of people and just had a generally good time.
Thursday evening we went and saw the recent convert Brother Hawkins with one of his home teachers.
We had asked him if he was interested in receiving the Aaronic priesthood. We were concerned that he hadn't had interest at this point. He said:"sure once I can get down there." we said:"to church?....you come to church pretty regularly. why is this an issue?" Both parties exchanged funny and confused faces for a few seconds... we said:"do you mean the temple?" (nearest is Boston, about 7 hours away.) he said:"yeah" we than laughed in humility as we realized that he thought he had to travel to the temple to receive the Aaronic priesthood. We clarified that issue and he is to receive the priesthood in a couple weeks.
The moral of the story is that it is so important to make sure that everything is explained clearly and concisely to avoid confusion. The gospel can be confusing and it is our job to make it more simple to understand. We clearly failed the first time but you live and learn.
I am grateful that I have been called to spread this message of great hope to those that are prepared to receive it. I know of it's great importance and I know that I am building a temple under the direction of the Lord's guided servants. My small contribution will reduce Brother Hawkins travel time significantly.
The leaves are beginning to change color. I have never been in New England for an autumn but I am pretty excited to see what it looks like. I like the cool weather, maybe not the cold weather and the snowstorms but its not that bad. We have been given a beautiful place to live and I am grateful to be here.
You'll have to pardon the snoozefest this week, everything is going well.
I love you all, have a great rest of your week!
until next time
-Elder Starr
Tuesday, 5 September 2017
Hello all
Hello all
We had a pretty good week this week. Our Monday was normal with the exception that we had to drive 2 hours to Belfast to stay with them for zone conference.
Zone Conference was awesome! President Blair began by talking about how we are the fulfillment of the literal gathering of Israel in these last days. We are doing that great work. That was restored from Moses, the actual Moses, to the Prophet Joseph Smith. We have to have faith that that is true and like it says in James chapter 2, bring that faith to action, because faith without work(s) is dead.
He also talked about how we can't go about doing this our own way. We cannot baptize converts if they have no faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that we invite people to repent and come unto Him. To live the gospel that He has given us. Not ourselves or our works or our character, but His alone.
After zone conference our days were pretty normal. We met with Branch President Kudrick to see what we could do to help strengthen the branch and get them to be more involved in the missionary work. President Kudrick gave us some advice and two less-actives to focus on and one of them we knew fairly well so I was less than excited at the prospect of the new task given our effectiveness in the past with him. Anyways, we go over to this person's house and asked if he was coming to church on Sunday. He says "sure, I can do that" and I am thinking "yeah we have heard this about a billion times before." but we left with a little hope and followed up on Sunday morning. We walked to his house and woke him up. We left as he got ready for church, shower and stuff. Yaknow. After about 5 minutes of sacrament meeting passed by and no sign of him. I thought "great, we gave him 45 minutes to think of a lame excuse while he was in the shower." well this week he came strolling into the chapel for the first time in almost 20 weeks. It was a really cool experience to see how hard work and prayer can get awesome things done and working with people through the spirit can soften hearts.
The week prior, President Kudrick invited the branch to use this fast Sunday to fast and pray that the Lord would help our little branch to grow. I think it worked because yesterday we had about 57 people in the chapel! just 18 months ago there were times when 20 was high. We had to get more chairs from the relief society room to fit everyone in our small chapel.
I am so grateful for this work despite it's difficulty. I have a testimony that this is the beginning of the literal gathering of Israel. That the keys to do so have been restored to this earth and that the Lord has prepared the hearts of his children for the glad tidings that I have been commissioned to deliver.
I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that you know that I love you.
have a great rest of your labor day.
Until Next week:
-Elder Starr (2)
We had a pretty good week this week. Our Monday was normal with the exception that we had to drive 2 hours to Belfast to stay with them for zone conference.
Zone Conference was awesome! President Blair began by talking about how we are the fulfillment of the literal gathering of Israel in these last days. We are doing that great work. That was restored from Moses, the actual Moses, to the Prophet Joseph Smith. We have to have faith that that is true and like it says in James chapter 2, bring that faith to action, because faith without work(s) is dead.
He also talked about how we can't go about doing this our own way. We cannot baptize converts if they have no faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that we invite people to repent and come unto Him. To live the gospel that He has given us. Not ourselves or our works or our character, but His alone.
After zone conference our days were pretty normal. We met with Branch President Kudrick to see what we could do to help strengthen the branch and get them to be more involved in the missionary work. President Kudrick gave us some advice and two less-actives to focus on and one of them we knew fairly well so I was less than excited at the prospect of the new task given our effectiveness in the past with him. Anyways, we go over to this person's house and asked if he was coming to church on Sunday. He says "sure, I can do that" and I am thinking "yeah we have heard this about a billion times before." but we left with a little hope and followed up on Sunday morning. We walked to his house and woke him up. We left as he got ready for church, shower and stuff. Yaknow. After about 5 minutes of sacrament meeting passed by and no sign of him. I thought "great, we gave him 45 minutes to think of a lame excuse while he was in the shower." well this week he came strolling into the chapel for the first time in almost 20 weeks. It was a really cool experience to see how hard work and prayer can get awesome things done and working with people through the spirit can soften hearts.
The week prior, President Kudrick invited the branch to use this fast Sunday to fast and pray that the Lord would help our little branch to grow. I think it worked because yesterday we had about 57 people in the chapel! just 18 months ago there were times when 20 was high. We had to get more chairs from the relief society room to fit everyone in our small chapel.
I am so grateful for this work despite it's difficulty. I have a testimony that this is the beginning of the literal gathering of Israel. That the keys to do so have been restored to this earth and that the Lord has prepared the hearts of his children for the glad tidings that I have been commissioned to deliver.
I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that you know that I love you.
have a great rest of your labor day.
Until Next week:
-Elder Starr (2)
Friday, 1 September 2017
Hello again
Hello everybody.
This week was really fun and we got to do a lot of interesting stuff. Starting off Monday was the day of the Eclipse, I think that I touched on this briefly last week but it was a lot of fun and we got to go to a big gathering of amateur astronomers and hobbyists that had some really cool equipment set up to see the sun!
The cool part is that Elder O'Rourke and I made it into the 2nd page of the local newspaper. (in the background) we are pretty high profile!
After that P-day we went on exchange with the Rockland Elders for the rest of Tuesday until Monday morning. Funny thing is that the district leader: Elder Wendell, is actually training 2 missionaries at the same time right now so I was able to work with them for most of the day. To start the exchange, all of us put on our service clothes and drove out to the local blueberry farm in Roque Bluffs where we raked blueberries to be processed for the local food-pantries. It was lots of fun and hard sweltering work. At the end of the morning we had all raked about 50 lbs of wild Maine blueberries. (photos to follow)
The rest of the week went pretty normal. On Friday the Looks gave us an awesome lobster meal and some great blueberry pie. The Look family has been feeding missionaries on Friday evening for the past 45 years of their 50ish years of membership within the church. They are such an example of unconditional service and they are a wonderful addition to our small branch here in Machias.
I think that if everybody was just willing to put themselves out there to help others more often that the world would be a better place. I have seen how striving for charity, unconditionally to my
fellow men has blessed me and made me a more happy person as I cherish and love my Heavenly Father's children regardless of what they may think of me.
The recent convert James came to church again yesterday! it was so awesome because James had gone back to school at the age of 62 to get a welding certificate so that he could better support his family and provide for them. He is one of the most self-reliant people that I have ever met. It was awesome to see him at church because he had missed several weeks due to his extremely demanding schooling schedule. I am glad to see that the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed him and even though he couldn't make it to church his heart was still there and he found a way to make it work.
Like Nephi said: for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. God prepares a way for us to do the difficult things that he asks of us and if we have faith in Him then we will accomplish those things.
Today, just a few hours ago, Elder O'Rourke and I went to Wild Blueberry Land! It is a tiny little..."park" where this woman sells all of here homemade and homegrown blueberry products. It is pretty cool and I got some pretty interesting things while I was there that I can't wait to
update you on!
Have a great rest of your week and know that I love you all lots!
Until Next Time!
-Elder TWO Starr
This week was really fun and we got to do a lot of interesting stuff. Starting off Monday was the day of the Eclipse, I think that I touched on this briefly last week but it was a lot of fun and we got to go to a big gathering of amateur astronomers and hobbyists that had some really cool equipment set up to see the sun!
The cool part is that Elder O'Rourke and I made it into the 2nd page of the local newspaper. (in the background) we are pretty high profile!
After that P-day we went on exchange with the Rockland Elders for the rest of Tuesday until Monday morning. Funny thing is that the district leader: Elder Wendell, is actually training 2 missionaries at the same time right now so I was able to work with them for most of the day. To start the exchange, all of us put on our service clothes and drove out to the local blueberry farm in Roque Bluffs where we raked blueberries to be processed for the local food-pantries. It was lots of fun and hard sweltering work. At the end of the morning we had all raked about 50 lbs of wild Maine blueberries. (photos to follow)
The rest of the week went pretty normal. On Friday the Looks gave us an awesome lobster meal and some great blueberry pie. The Look family has been feeding missionaries on Friday evening for the past 45 years of their 50ish years of membership within the church. They are such an example of unconditional service and they are a wonderful addition to our small branch here in Machias.
I think that if everybody was just willing to put themselves out there to help others more often that the world would be a better place. I have seen how striving for charity, unconditionally to my
fellow men has blessed me and made me a more happy person as I cherish and love my Heavenly Father's children regardless of what they may think of me.
The recent convert James came to church again yesterday! it was so awesome because James had gone back to school at the age of 62 to get a welding certificate so that he could better support his family and provide for them. He is one of the most self-reliant people that I have ever met. It was awesome to see him at church because he had missed several weeks due to his extremely demanding schooling schedule. I am glad to see that the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed him and even though he couldn't make it to church his heart was still there and he found a way to make it work.
Like Nephi said: for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. God prepares a way for us to do the difficult things that he asks of us and if we have faith in Him then we will accomplish those things.
Today, just a few hours ago, Elder O'Rourke and I went to Wild Blueberry Land! It is a tiny little..."park" where this woman sells all of here homemade and homegrown blueberry products. It is pretty cool and I got some pretty interesting things while I was there that I can't wait to
update you on!
Have a great rest of your week and know that I love you all lots!
Until Next Time!
-Elder TWO Starr
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