Hello friends and Family
This week has been kinda hectic. On Monday I had my last day in Randolph NH. We went and visited a few potential investigators and less actives with the 3 hours after P-Day. It was a bit sad but I suppose that I am needed elsewhere.
On Tuesday. Our district all drove down to Manchester for exchange meetings where I said goodbye to Elder Cobb who is now home and Elder Hansen my companion. After that, I rode with Elder Urry and my previous companion Elder Palmer to Brewer Maine in the Brewer Elder's minivan aka the "mom missile". It took about 5 hours but we got panda express on the way so it was alright. You get some funny looks when you are a 19 year old dressed in a suit standing in the food court of a mall in Maine.
In Brewer I met my new companion Elder Nicholls. We said goodbye to Elder Urry and Palmer and drove another 2 hours from Brewer to Machias. I spent all of Tuesday in a car. Getting from Randolph to Machias.
Machias is a very small town on the coast of Maine. There are little to no mountains, which makes me laugh when the locals call foreigners "flatlanders". Machias has very few people. Most of them being lobstermen that fish all summer long and set traps in the ocean for lobster...because they are lobstermen.
The Branch in the area is small with about 35 for attendance. The members treat us very well and they are a huge help in the work that we do. Which is a huge blessing.
Our apartment is fairly spacious and right next to the chapel which is nice. It also has a washer and dryer with WiFi, so that's even better. My new companion, Elder Nicholls has been in this area for 18 weeks now and has been on his mission for about 7.5 months.
He seems pretty awesome and I am excited for the work that we can do in this area.
I hope that all of you are doing well. I will have more photos for you next week.
I know that as we make an effort to consecrate ourselves to the Service of the Lord that we will see repentance and growth in our lives and in others. I know that it is through the Savior that makes it all possible and I am glad for the opportunity to share that with others.
I am sorry that I don't have pictures yet. I will get them by next week.
Until Then,
-Elder Starr
Wednesday, 31 May 2017
Machias Maine! Facts and Statistics
Arriving by canoe, missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints crossed the Piscataqua River to Maine in 1832. They searched for converts door to door and started a congregation in Saco, York County. More missionaries arrived, and one mass conversion brought 30 individuals into the Church. In 1835, Maine had nearly 320 Church members. Church activity slowed in Maine after most Church members joined the mass exodus west to escape persecution.
In 1904, missionary efforts resumed, with Sunday School meetings held in converts' homes. The first Church building was dedicated in 1957 in Portland, Maine.
10,978
Total Church Membership
26
Congregations
10
Family History Centers
Monday, 22 May 2017
Machias Maine?
Hello family and friends.
It has been a pretty crazy week with lots of ups and downs, we finally got our vehicle back after about 10 days without one. We had to hitch a ride for 2.5 hours all the way down to Newport NH to get it. Needless to say that we have some awesome members in this branch.
In the last 6 weeks, me and Elder Hansen have found almost double the new investigators than
Elder Palmer and I did in the last 12 weeks. It has been a really exciting time to be in the area and to see new names and new people in the teaching record, we simply have to have faith that ANYONE can have their heart softened to the promptings of the spirit and accept it's teachings.
The weather here has been pretty unpredictable. On mothers day it snowed about 4 inches and on the following Wednesday it ended up being about 90 degrees in Gorham. I am fairly certain that we are done with snow for the rest of the season but you can never be too sure.
So this last week we received our transfer calls, I have been somewhat reliable informed that I am to be transferred from the Randolph NH area to the Machias Maine area on Tuesday morning. That means that today I have been packing my bags and preparing for the long drive ahead. I can truthfully say that I didn't really want to leave. I think that the area was just starting to pick up and that we were really beginning to see some miracles happen. It is hard to say goodbye to all of our fantastic investigators and members but I know that I have been moved for a wise purpose and I intend to make the most of what I have been given.
Machias Maine is actually the furthest east area in the entire United States, and is also the farthest area from the mission home in Manchester New Hampshire. A bunch of missionaries from my current district have served there and they have mostly good things to say about it.
I am excited for what lies ahead. I hope that you all will have a great week and that you know that I love you.
Have a good one, until next Monday.
-Elder Starr
Photo of Current District: Elder Hansen, Elder Cobb, Elder D'agastini, and yours truly.
Monday, 15 May 2017
Day after Mother's Day
Hello friends and family,
It has been a great week. In the last 6 weeks we have found 12 additional people to teach. That means that our pool has doubled in the last month and a half. It is nice to have a schedule filled with appointments rather than finding. I know that as we work hard to achieve the will of the Lord magnifies and as we put our trust in Him, that we see miracles happen.
The past week, other than what I have mentioned, has been pretty dull. I have been left to fend for myself for dinners this week, that has been a humbling experience. I find that spaghetti gets pretty old pretty fast. I think that people don't truly appreciate good food until they have to make bad food for themselves consistently over several days.
We finally got our car back after 11 days. Brother Cone came in clutch with all the rides that he was able to give us. He was truly a blessing and it was amazing that he was able to get us everywhere that we needed to be. The nice thing about not having a car for almost 2 weeks is that we have oodles of miles for the rest of the month so that won't be a problem.
It was super awesome to able to videochat home and see all of your smiling faces. I hope that you all know that I am doing well.
As we continue to take the effort to grow our faith that it will bless us and as we consecrate ourselves to do the Lord's will that it will bring us great joy.
I love you all and I promise that I will send more photos soon.
Until next time
-Elder Starr
It has been a great week. In the last 6 weeks we have found 12 additional people to teach. That means that our pool has doubled in the last month and a half. It is nice to have a schedule filled with appointments rather than finding. I know that as we work hard to achieve the will of the Lord magnifies and as we put our trust in Him, that we see miracles happen.
The past week, other than what I have mentioned, has been pretty dull. I have been left to fend for myself for dinners this week, that has been a humbling experience. I find that spaghetti gets pretty old pretty fast. I think that people don't truly appreciate good food until they have to make bad food for themselves consistently over several days.
We finally got our car back after 11 days. Brother Cone came in clutch with all the rides that he was able to give us. He was truly a blessing and it was amazing that he was able to get us everywhere that we needed to be. The nice thing about not having a car for almost 2 weeks is that we have oodles of miles for the rest of the month so that won't be a problem.
It was super awesome to able to videochat home and see all of your smiling faces. I hope that you all know that I am doing well.
As we continue to take the effort to grow our faith that it will bless us and as we consecrate ourselves to do the Lord's will that it will bring us great joy.
I love you all and I promise that I will send more photos soon.
Until next time
-Elder Starr
Saturday, 13 May 2017
And the car died...
Hello Friends and family.
Another week has come and gone and it has sofar been a... interesting experience.
To start off we had zone conference on Tuesday. Nothing abnormal, it was a good time.
Then when we were trying to leave the Joseph Smith memorial our car decided to have a catastrophic malfunction rendering it useless. Meaning that we had to get 4 Elders and all of their exchange luggage all the way back to Colebrook and Randolph which are thetwo most distant areas from the JSM. Needless to say our travel plans became quite complicated and we had to get help from about 6 other Elders just to get us back to our apartments.
That means that we have been proselyting on foot for the past week. Because we still don't have a car and have no indication as to when we will get one. We are blessed, however, that we have brother Cone. He is willing to drive us wherever and he is retired so he has all the time and willingness in the world! He is fantastic and has helped us a ton through our trial.
We got rained on alot, which isn't super out of the ordinary, given the situation it didn't really help our morale though.
The area is doing pretty well! we have been able to find a good amount of people to teach, which means less finding and more teaching, every missionary's dream. It is now just down to seeing which of the people "stick" and are actually willing to progress which is another trial entirely.
This weekend our branch had stake conference which was really awesome. One of my favorite talks likened our testimony and faith to that of a flashlight. The premise was that using other's flashlight can get you places, sometimes reliably; but when it comes down to it, we can only use it as a crutch. It is of necessity that we gain faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement to carry us to where we need to be.
Other than those things, things are pretty normal. I got a good deal on a blender which is pretty awesome!
I am glad that I have the gospel in my life and I am also glad for this opportunity to share it with those that need it. (everyone) regardless of whether they are interested or not. I hope that you all have a fantastic rest of your week and that you know that I love you all dearly!
Until Next Week
-Elder Starr
Monday, 1 May 2017
2 Tons of Service
Hello again Friends and Family!
The past week has been good and we are starting to finally enjoy the warm weather and the
new leaves of spring. It has been a long wait but it is finally upon us!
This past week was a bit slow to be honest. We have slowly but surely begun to find new people to teach and fill our schedule with teaching appointments. It seems that the Lord has placed in our path those that have been prepared to receive the knowledge of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It has been a really awesome experience and it has really improved our morale and strengthened our faith.On Saturday morning we helped a less active named Bro Perez with some of his spring cleaning by taking his old junk and trash to the dump. Bro Perez, knowing his neighbors wouldn't pass
the opportunity for free junk removal, rented the largest U-haul truck that he could. So there
we were, doing 3 hours of just loading junk in the back of this 26 foot U-haul container, it wasn't that
difficult be we knew that he had the right idea getting the biggest truck that he could find. After all the loading was done the truck was completely full.
We went to the landfill and threw everything in the truck into its respective pile. When we were done
we found that we had removed about 2 tons of stuff just from Bro Perez's house and two of his neighbors. Needless to say that they were thankful they no longer had the various piles of wood pallets and household appliances sticking around and gathering dust in their garages anymore.
So I just remembered, Elder Hansen and I came back and taught Warren, the guy that we found that referred us to his downstairs neighbor etc. Anyways so we decided that we would extend a full fledged baptismal date there and then on the second lesson, and he said something to the effect of "I believe that you guys came to my door for a reason and I am willing to act on faith in you and the Lord that this is right for me." It was such an awesome experience.
The Prophet Alma in Alma chapter 32 verse 21 teaches that faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of all things. But it is a hope for that which we cannot see but which is true. We have to have faith to follow the Lord and his commandments, we have to have faith that if we follow the council of the living prophet that our lives will be blessed and that we will come closer to Christ. We have to have faith that acting in the Name of the Lord and taking upon ourselves the name of Christ will bring us to where the Lord wants us to be.
I leave you this week with my testimony that the Savior Lives and that I know that I am engaged
in his work and his glory now in this final dispensation. I hope that the repetition of this statement doesn't discount it's value, but I do truly love all of you and wish you all the best.
Until next Time
The past week has been good and we are starting to finally enjoy the warm weather and the
new leaves of spring. It has been a long wait but it is finally upon us!
This past week was a bit slow to be honest. We have slowly but surely begun to find new people to teach and fill our schedule with teaching appointments. It seems that the Lord has placed in our path those that have been prepared to receive the knowledge of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It has been a really awesome experience and it has really improved our morale and strengthened our faith.On Saturday morning we helped a less active named Bro Perez with some of his spring cleaning by taking his old junk and trash to the dump. Bro Perez, knowing his neighbors wouldn't pass
the opportunity for free junk removal, rented the largest U-haul truck that he could. So there
we were, doing 3 hours of just loading junk in the back of this 26 foot U-haul container, it wasn't that
difficult be we knew that he had the right idea getting the biggest truck that he could find. After all the loading was done the truck was completely full.
We went to the landfill and threw everything in the truck into its respective pile. When we were done
we found that we had removed about 2 tons of stuff just from Bro Perez's house and two of his neighbors. Needless to say that they were thankful they no longer had the various piles of wood pallets and household appliances sticking around and gathering dust in their garages anymore.
So I just remembered, Elder Hansen and I came back and taught Warren, the guy that we found that referred us to his downstairs neighbor etc. Anyways so we decided that we would extend a full fledged baptismal date there and then on the second lesson, and he said something to the effect of "I believe that you guys came to my door for a reason and I am willing to act on faith in you and the Lord that this is right for me." It was such an awesome experience.
The Prophet Alma in Alma chapter 32 verse 21 teaches that faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of all things. But it is a hope for that which we cannot see but which is true. We have to have faith to follow the Lord and his commandments, we have to have faith that if we follow the council of the living prophet that our lives will be blessed and that we will come closer to Christ. We have to have faith that acting in the Name of the Lord and taking upon ourselves the name of Christ will bring us to where the Lord wants us to be.
I leave you this week with my testimony that the Savior Lives and that I know that I am engaged
in his work and his glory now in this final dispensation. I hope that the repetition of this statement doesn't discount it's value, but I do truly love all of you and wish you all the best.
Until next Time
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