Monday, 31 July 2017
P-day Lighthouses with the McEwans
Head Harbor, Mulholland, West Quoddy and Lubec Channel Lighthouse tour with Elders Starr and O'Rourke. 4 lighthouses in 4 hours. Great preparation day and beautiful weather.
Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.
Hello Friends and family, yet another week has passed here in the mission field.
Can you all believe that it's August already?! I have heard that It will be cold again in 6 weeks and in 10 snow will start falling again. It already gets to the low fifties after sundown up here. I don't want summer to ever end but I am sure that all will be fine.
This week has been a good one. On Monday morning we celebrated Pioneer Day by eating pancakes and other assorted breakfast foods. I can't quite determine the direct relation between the early saints and breakfast food but we always need an excuse to celebrate something.
Later in the week we held a community supper at our church building. It was really awesome to see all of these nonmembers come and visit and enjoy the interior of our place of worship, mostly in an effort to dispel any guise or misconceived distrust within people of the community.
We were able to talk to a lot of people, some of them being coworkers of our own members. Later they mentioned that they had a great time and it was wonderful to help raise our organization from obscurity within the community.
I got to speak on Sunday. I spoke for a whole 20 minutes with just a few notes that I had taken. It was awesome! It is really cool to see they way that the Gospel has become integrated so deeply within myself that the spirit helps to expound and teach the Gospel so easily. This is such an increase from what I once was and I can testify that as we seek for gifts of the spirit that we are given them in abundance for the uplifting of ourselves and others.
I guess I need to explain the subject line. Elder O'Rourke and I saw a really cool miracle the other day. One evening at about 6 we were driving in Jonesport. We didn't have much time before we had to leave and we were thinking of something that we could do quickly. While driving down main st Jonesport, elder Starr had an impression, it distinctly said "do something dumb". Now let me explain, I mean dumb like uncomfortable, not dangerous or idiotic or not conducive to the sacred nature of my calling, just thought I would clarify. So I told elder O'Rourke, "let's just contact the first person that we see. He said "k" so we saw a guy on the side of the road walking next to his son on a bike. At this point I think Elder O'Rourke didn't expect that elder Starr had disabled the higher functions of his brain that managed appropriate social interaction. So he was undoubtedly surprised when, without warning I pulled over next to this man and yelled at him "do you want to be a Mormon!?" The man looked with a confused face and asked what I had said, so I reiterated "are you interested in being a Mormon?" Still not quite sure in my own mind what was happening. The man looked at us rolled his eyes, than stuck his arm in the window of our car. At this point I was 100% certain that he would give us an old fashioned one finger salute right in our face, but much to my surprise he was showing us his tattoos on his arm, Many crosses and a Jesus face, but to our shock ornate lettering that clearly said "latter day saint"
Now at this point I was certain that I was going crazy, so we asked if we could walk with him and he said that was fine. It turns out that this guy was the son of the organist in the branch that was walking home with his son. The previous elders had a very difficult time finding him and he just happened to walking on the side of the road when we drove by. He said that we could come by and see him whenever he was home and that he was interested in taking the discussions again.
I know that it is by our faith and our diligence to do what is right that we will plainly see the power of God manifest in our lives. Our duty is to exercise our faith that people are prepared to receive the gospel. We know that we receive no witness of God until our faith is first tested.
I hope that you all had a wonderful week and that the next one will be even better.
I love you all and wish you the best.
Until next time.
- Elder Starr
Just some photos of the blueberry country.
Can you all believe that it's August already?! I have heard that It will be cold again in 6 weeks and in 10 snow will start falling again. It already gets to the low fifties after sundown up here. I don't want summer to ever end but I am sure that all will be fine.
This week has been a good one. On Monday morning we celebrated Pioneer Day by eating pancakes and other assorted breakfast foods. I can't quite determine the direct relation between the early saints and breakfast food but we always need an excuse to celebrate something.
Later in the week we held a community supper at our church building. It was really awesome to see all of these nonmembers come and visit and enjoy the interior of our place of worship, mostly in an effort to dispel any guise or misconceived distrust within people of the community.
We were able to talk to a lot of people, some of them being coworkers of our own members. Later they mentioned that they had a great time and it was wonderful to help raise our organization from obscurity within the community.
I got to speak on Sunday. I spoke for a whole 20 minutes with just a few notes that I had taken. It was awesome! It is really cool to see they way that the Gospel has become integrated so deeply within myself that the spirit helps to expound and teach the Gospel so easily. This is such an increase from what I once was and I can testify that as we seek for gifts of the spirit that we are given them in abundance for the uplifting of ourselves and others.
I guess I need to explain the subject line. Elder O'Rourke and I saw a really cool miracle the other day. One evening at about 6 we were driving in Jonesport. We didn't have much time before we had to leave and we were thinking of something that we could do quickly. While driving down main st Jonesport, elder Starr had an impression, it distinctly said "do something dumb". Now let me explain, I mean dumb like uncomfortable, not dangerous or idiotic or not conducive to the sacred nature of my calling, just thought I would clarify. So I told elder O'Rourke, "let's just contact the first person that we see. He said "k" so we saw a guy on the side of the road walking next to his son on a bike. At this point I think Elder O'Rourke didn't expect that elder Starr had disabled the higher functions of his brain that managed appropriate social interaction. So he was undoubtedly surprised when, without warning I pulled over next to this man and yelled at him "do you want to be a Mormon!?" The man looked with a confused face and asked what I had said, so I reiterated "are you interested in being a Mormon?" Still not quite sure in my own mind what was happening. The man looked at us rolled his eyes, than stuck his arm in the window of our car. At this point I was 100% certain that he would give us an old fashioned one finger salute right in our face, but much to my surprise he was showing us his tattoos on his arm, Many crosses and a Jesus face, but to our shock ornate lettering that clearly said "latter day saint"
Now at this point I was certain that I was going crazy, so we asked if we could walk with him and he said that was fine. It turns out that this guy was the son of the organist in the branch that was walking home with his son. The previous elders had a very difficult time finding him and he just happened to walking on the side of the road when we drove by. He said that we could come by and see him whenever he was home and that he was interested in taking the discussions again.
I know that it is by our faith and our diligence to do what is right that we will plainly see the power of God manifest in our lives. Our duty is to exercise our faith that people are prepared to receive the gospel. We know that we receive no witness of God until our faith is first tested.
I hope that you all had a wonderful week and that the next one will be even better.
I love you all and wish you the best.
Until next time.
- Elder Starr
Just some photos of the blueberry country.
Tuesday, 25 July 2017
Brother and Sister LeCheminant
To the Starrs: So glad you saw your son in the picture! We're enjoying serving with him so much as well! Both these Elders stand tall both physically and spiritually. They're a hard working and obedient companionship. The Branch members love them and I can't wait to hear them speak in church next week. Brother Starr, we feel like we know you after your son spoke so highly about you in church on Father's Day. We're so happy to be serving with both of these exemplary young men.
Facebook Post from Elder O'Rourke's Mom [Connor's Companion]
.....My husband and I were brought up catholic. We even went to catholic schools. We brought our twin boys up catholic. At the age of 18 one of our boys met a Mormon girl while playing a game on line. He decided to read The Book of Mormon and was completely overwhelmed by this. He since has been baptized and at the age of 23 is serving a 2 year mission. Although we are not Mormon, we could not be any more proud of him. We know that he was chosen to serve.....
....I miss my son. I know that anyone who is lucky enough to meet my Elder Daniel O'Rourke they will agree that he is very special. If you see him, please take a picture and post it for me to see. Tell him how proud you are to meet such a devoted young man. xx
....I miss my son. I know that anyone who is lucky enough to meet my Elder Daniel O'Rourke they will agree that he is very special. If you see him, please take a picture and post it for me to see. Tell him how proud you are to meet such a devoted young man. xx
Hey
Hello friends and family,
We have had a long and hectic week with a lot going on.
Starting on Monday we had a pretty cool zone P-day in the Bangor Brewer building.
The Bangor East and west zone got merged so we have a really big zone with a lot of missionaries.
Did I mention that my trainer, Elder Palmer, is my zone leader? well he is.
It was a really fun experience and we went and washed cars and played games in the gym, afterwards we all went and worked the Bangor area and reported back to share the miracles that we saw. with 60 missionaries in one area for 3 hours you can imagine that some really awesome stuff happened. I went with Elder Palmer and saw a few recent converts in the area. We talked about the need for a Savior and why we were here in this life on the Earth. They were struggling with trails and we shared with them why we have trials and how the Lord strengthens us through them. It was an awesome opportunity and good to work with Elder Palmer again.
After that shenanigans we all went back to the Elder's apartment and slept there awaiting zone conference the following day.
It was a really awesome meeting. President Blair initially talked a lot about the need to prepare for such meetings spiritual to come ready to learn and to apply the principles that we develop there.
Life and living the gospel successfully have a large dependence on not just seeking knowledge but also taking that knowledge and using it to improve ourselves and to serve others. It was a really pertinent talk and it made me realize how much I need to improve my "execution" of the gospel.
Later President Blair and the zone leaders emphasized the use of the Book of Mormon when finding new people to teach. It is the Book of Mormon that is the evidence of the restoration that we share and our testimony of the Book is integrated with our testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and his prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is the unique message that we share and we need to be using it as much as possible.
After zone conference Elder Broekhuijsen (spelling?) and I went on exchange those days and were able to talk to a lot of potential investigators and schedule appointments with them. It was a great opportunity to share the practicality of the gospel in the lives of everyday people. Not just us weirdos.
This weekend of course was the 2nd annual sea and sky festival. You could certainly tell that it was just the 2nd one because there were some major organizational issues but we were able to pull through and with the help of the branch we were able to set up the festival on time and get our booth up and running. The DeVaney's came down from Pembroke to help us out because they are family search missionaries and they actually know what they are doing. It was awesome and they were really able to hold the whole booth together and help us to make it an effective finding tool. We got to talk to a lot of people and we shared a couple blue floppy-copies with some interested people. It was a great experience to get us out in the community and to be seen doing good.
That's all I have for this week. sorry for the wall of text. I hope you all know that I love you and that the Savior Jesus Christ lives! Don't just examine His gospel but learn to use it and to cherish it.
have a great rest of your week, and happy pioneer day!
until next time
-Elder Starr
We have had a long and hectic week with a lot going on.
Starting on Monday we had a pretty cool zone P-day in the Bangor Brewer building.
The Bangor East and west zone got merged so we have a really big zone with a lot of missionaries.
Did I mention that my trainer, Elder Palmer, is my zone leader? well he is.
It was a really fun experience and we went and washed cars and played games in the gym, afterwards we all went and worked the Bangor area and reported back to share the miracles that we saw. with 60 missionaries in one area for 3 hours you can imagine that some really awesome stuff happened. I went with Elder Palmer and saw a few recent converts in the area. We talked about the need for a Savior and why we were here in this life on the Earth. They were struggling with trails and we shared with them why we have trials and how the Lord strengthens us through them. It was an awesome opportunity and good to work with Elder Palmer again.
After that shenanigans we all went back to the Elder's apartment and slept there awaiting zone conference the following day.
It was a really awesome meeting. President Blair initially talked a lot about the need to prepare for such meetings spiritual to come ready to learn and to apply the principles that we develop there.
Life and living the gospel successfully have a large dependence on not just seeking knowledge but also taking that knowledge and using it to improve ourselves and to serve others. It was a really pertinent talk and it made me realize how much I need to improve my "execution" of the gospel.
Later President Blair and the zone leaders emphasized the use of the Book of Mormon when finding new people to teach. It is the Book of Mormon that is the evidence of the restoration that we share and our testimony of the Book is integrated with our testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and his prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is the unique message that we share and we need to be using it as much as possible.
After zone conference Elder Broekhuijsen (spelling?) and I went on exchange those days and were able to talk to a lot of potential investigators and schedule appointments with them. It was a great opportunity to share the practicality of the gospel in the lives of everyday people. Not just us weirdos.
This weekend of course was the 2nd annual sea and sky festival. You could certainly tell that it was just the 2nd one because there were some major organizational issues but we were able to pull through and with the help of the branch we were able to set up the festival on time and get our booth up and running. The DeVaney's came down from Pembroke to help us out because they are family search missionaries and they actually know what they are doing. It was awesome and they were really able to hold the whole booth together and help us to make it an effective finding tool. We got to talk to a lot of people and we shared a couple blue floppy-copies with some interested people. It was a great experience to get us out in the community and to be seen doing good.
That's all I have for this week. sorry for the wall of text. I hope you all know that I love you and that the Savior Jesus Christ lives! Don't just examine His gospel but learn to use it and to cherish it.
have a great rest of your week, and happy pioneer day!
until next time
-Elder Starr
Thursday, 20 July 2017
Tuesday, 18 July 2017
Hello Everyone
Hello Friends and Family.
This week was pretty normal. Not a lot has been going on.
Elder O'Rourke and I are getting involved with some local festivals to get ourselves more involved with the community. We are setting up a family history booth to get more people interested and hopefully find more people to teach the Gospel. We are also preparing to do a family history booth at the wild Blueberry festival. The wild Blueberry festival is the largest event of the year. People come from all over to celebrate the blueberry harvest. (Washington county is the blueberry capital of the world.) Supposedly thousands of people will be walking the streets of Machias and we are bound and determined to teach at least one of them.
We have a really busy week coming up. We have to plan for our upcoming festival on Saturday. We also have zone conference on Tuesday and exchanges on Wednesday with service scattered all between.It is really amazing to see the excitement of the members increase as the branch begins to grow. As our understanding of the Gospel increases, so does our desire to share it with those we love. I know that this is true and that sharing the Gospel with those we love is not only a privilege, but a responsibility. The blessings of which we can't fully understand.
I hope that you all have a wonderful rest of the week and that you know that I love you.
Until next week.
- Elder Starr
This week was pretty normal. Not a lot has been going on.
Elder O'Rourke and I are getting involved with some local festivals to get ourselves more involved with the community. We are setting up a family history booth to get more people interested and hopefully find more people to teach the Gospel. We are also preparing to do a family history booth at the wild Blueberry festival. The wild Blueberry festival is the largest event of the year. People come from all over to celebrate the blueberry harvest. (Washington county is the blueberry capital of the world.) Supposedly thousands of people will be walking the streets of Machias and we are bound and determined to teach at least one of them.
We have a really busy week coming up. We have to plan for our upcoming festival on Saturday. We also have zone conference on Tuesday and exchanges on Wednesday with service scattered all between.It is really amazing to see the excitement of the members increase as the branch begins to grow. As our understanding of the Gospel increases, so does our desire to share it with those we love. I know that this is true and that sharing the Gospel with those we love is not only a privilege, but a responsibility. The blessings of which we can't fully understand.
I hope that you all have a wonderful rest of the week and that you know that I love you.
Until next week.
- Elder Starr
Friday, 14 July 2017
Elder Starr and Elder O'Rourke
Elders Starr and O'Rourke at our Machias Branch YSA Family Home Evening. Making S'mores.
Hey Everyone!
Hello Friends and family.
This week was super busy and full of a lot of stuff. On Sunday Elder Nicholls and I headed down to Bangor where I dropped him off with Elder Sika, and took 2 other Elders to Topsham where we stayed the night. In the morning we came to discover that somebody had left the keys in the ignition to our car, so it was dead. We tried to jump it for about 30 mi with no luck. It had gone the way of all the earth. So we stole Topsham's car and drove down to Manchester 55 minutes late to transfer meeting where all the departing missionaries gave their final goodbye talks. It turned out ok, and it wasn't a problem that we were late. I met Elder O'Rourke and we got ready to leave. Everything was fine However, our car was on scheduled replacement so we had to wait for Topsham Elders to bring it back to Manchester so we could do the swap. That took about 3 hours. Then Elder O'Rourke and I left with Elder Sobiski and Elder Lundell (from the OG MTC district 42a) back to Bangor and then onward to Machias. It was about 2 days of straight driving. Not super fun, but it worked out and we all made it there safe (despite the efforts of select drivers on the interstate.)
Tuesday was the 4th, it was pretty normal except Machias had a big parade at 6 pm and it started right across from our church building. That means that everyone uses our parking lot for 2 hours to watch the parade. We figured it was an awesome finding opportunity so we went out and tried to talk to as many people as possible. I can't really say that anybody was super interested but it was a good experience to figure out how to contact people in large crowds. After our somewhat defeated Tuesday we did the normal Wednesday stuff and went to district meeting, our new district leader, Elder Broekhuijsen, is actually from highland Utah, he went to Lone Peak high school and he also came out the same day as Elder O'Rourke and I. Let me tell you about Elder O'Rourke, Elder O'Rourke is a recent convert from the state of Florida! He is 23 and was baptized about 4 years ago. He was introduced to the church while he was playing games on Xbox live and somebody online brought up the Gospel and shared it with him. It's a pretty cool and remarkable story. One thing that I have been really grateful for is that I have had so many awesome companions with such strong Faith and perseverance. It has helped me when times get tough and I hope that I can be as powerful and strengthening to them as they have been to me. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can and does bless and elevate the lives of those who choose to use it.
I have seen the distinct effect that it has on people and the mighty change and blessings that it has brought to myself. I know that this work is the Lord's and that through Him, all things are made possible.
I hope that you all have an awesome summer and
do something that will have great positive effect on somebody else.
Love every one of you.
Till next week
- Elder Starr
This week was super busy and full of a lot of stuff. On Sunday Elder Nicholls and I headed down to Bangor where I dropped him off with Elder Sika, and took 2 other Elders to Topsham where we stayed the night. In the morning we came to discover that somebody had left the keys in the ignition to our car, so it was dead. We tried to jump it for about 30 mi with no luck. It had gone the way of all the earth. So we stole Topsham's car and drove down to Manchester 55 minutes late to transfer meeting where all the departing missionaries gave their final goodbye talks. It turned out ok, and it wasn't a problem that we were late. I met Elder O'Rourke and we got ready to leave. Everything was fine However, our car was on scheduled replacement so we had to wait for Topsham Elders to bring it back to Manchester so we could do the swap. That took about 3 hours. Then Elder O'Rourke and I left with Elder Sobiski and Elder Lundell (from the OG MTC district 42a) back to Bangor and then onward to Machias. It was about 2 days of straight driving. Not super fun, but it worked out and we all made it there safe (despite the efforts of select drivers on the interstate.)
Tuesday was the 4th, it was pretty normal except Machias had a big parade at 6 pm and it started right across from our church building. That means that everyone uses our parking lot for 2 hours to watch the parade. We figured it was an awesome finding opportunity so we went out and tried to talk to as many people as possible. I can't really say that anybody was super interested but it was a good experience to figure out how to contact people in large crowds. After our somewhat defeated Tuesday we did the normal Wednesday stuff and went to district meeting, our new district leader, Elder Broekhuijsen, is actually from highland Utah, he went to Lone Peak high school and he also came out the same day as Elder O'Rourke and I. Let me tell you about Elder O'Rourke, Elder O'Rourke is a recent convert from the state of Florida! He is 23 and was baptized about 4 years ago. He was introduced to the church while he was playing games on Xbox live and somebody online brought up the Gospel and shared it with him. It's a pretty cool and remarkable story. One thing that I have been really grateful for is that I have had so many awesome companions with such strong Faith and perseverance. It has helped me when times get tough and I hope that I can be as powerful and strengthening to them as they have been to me. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can and does bless and elevate the lives of those who choose to use it.
I have seen the distinct effect that it has on people and the mighty change and blessings that it has brought to myself. I know that this work is the Lord's and that through Him, all things are made possible.
I hope that you all have an awesome summer and
do something that will have great positive effect on somebody else.
Love every one of you.
Till next week
- Elder Starr
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
Monday, 3 July 2017
District Picture
Our District
Elder and Sister LeCheminant
Elder Butler, Edler Helton, Elder Starr, Elder Nicholls, Elder Butikofer, Elder Broekhuijsen.
Odd Day
Hello everyone, the mission surprised us this week by having our P Day moved to Saturday, I guess they wanted to move transfers to Monday so that as much work can be done on the 4th as possible. Makes sense to me with all those families out and about. I guess I am also sorry that I didn't warn the people at home that transfer calls were coming in today too.
The news is that I will be staying here in Machias and will be receiving Elder O`Rourke who is coming from Rockland Maine. Elder O`Rourke started his mission with me so it should be a good time and I really look forward to working with him.
Elder Nicholls is moving down to the Bangor area and follow up training Elder Sika. I am sad to see Elder Nicholls go, but we had a good time and we were able to learn a lot from each other. We were able to see a lot of cool miracles and I am grateful for him and his faith.
This last week was filled with a lot of goodbyes. Our district leader, Elder Butler goes home at the end of next week, and by what I have heard so far it sounds like other missionaries will be moving on to other things. I had really come to love all the wonderful missionaries that I was serving with in the Ellsworth district. It's hard to see people go but that's just they way that it is.
On a less sad note, one of our investigators that we have been working with for a while told us that he thinks the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet called of God I this last dispensation, not his exact words but it's close.
It's truly amazing to see what can happen when people are willing to share the Gospel with those that they love. Cliff, this particular investigator, is a dear friend to one of the branches recent converts, Shawn. Cliff agreed to have the lessons because his friend was willing to share what he knew to be true and how it has blessed his life in the hard times. Now he has that same opportunity.
A lot of really exciting things are happening and I know that no sacrifice, no matter how small, goes unnoticed. As I continue to serve and indulge myself into the Lords great work, I realize how little time I actually have here in the mission field. It may seem like a long time some days, but the fact of the matter is that it's only a small percentage of the time that we have been given here in this life. It is our job to make sure that that time is spent in the service of those that we love. I can say that I have progressed a great distance in my capacity to love those that I diligently serve and serve with. As we work hard to do the Lord's work and uplift the rest of his children, we can begin to understand the ultimate love that he has for all of us.
I apologize again for the odd timing, It will be normal again next week. I hope you all know that I love you, have a great week!
Until then.
-Elder Starr
The news is that I will be staying here in Machias and will be receiving Elder O`Rourke who is coming from Rockland Maine. Elder O`Rourke started his mission with me so it should be a good time and I really look forward to working with him.
Elder Nicholls is moving down to the Bangor area and follow up training Elder Sika. I am sad to see Elder Nicholls go, but we had a good time and we were able to learn a lot from each other. We were able to see a lot of cool miracles and I am grateful for him and his faith.
This last week was filled with a lot of goodbyes. Our district leader, Elder Butler goes home at the end of next week, and by what I have heard so far it sounds like other missionaries will be moving on to other things. I had really come to love all the wonderful missionaries that I was serving with in the Ellsworth district. It's hard to see people go but that's just they way that it is.
On a less sad note, one of our investigators that we have been working with for a while told us that he thinks the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet called of God I this last dispensation, not his exact words but it's close.
It's truly amazing to see what can happen when people are willing to share the Gospel with those that they love. Cliff, this particular investigator, is a dear friend to one of the branches recent converts, Shawn. Cliff agreed to have the lessons because his friend was willing to share what he knew to be true and how it has blessed his life in the hard times. Now he has that same opportunity.
A lot of really exciting things are happening and I know that no sacrifice, no matter how small, goes unnoticed. As I continue to serve and indulge myself into the Lords great work, I realize how little time I actually have here in the mission field. It may seem like a long time some days, but the fact of the matter is that it's only a small percentage of the time that we have been given here in this life. It is our job to make sure that that time is spent in the service of those that we love. I can say that I have progressed a great distance in my capacity to love those that I diligently serve and serve with. As we work hard to do the Lord's work and uplift the rest of his children, we can begin to understand the ultimate love that he has for all of us.
I apologize again for the odd timing, It will be normal again next week. I hope you all know that I love you, have a great week!
Until then.
-Elder Starr
Moving in Machias
From Sister Kim Smith:
We had a new family move into our branch (we're growing!) in Machias, Maine on Saturday. Elder Nichols and Elder Starr, and Elder and Sister LeCheminant were there to help!
We had a new family move into our branch (we're growing!) in Machias, Maine on Saturday. Elder Nichols and Elder Starr, and Elder and Sister LeCheminant were there to help!
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