Another week has come and gone here in northern Vermont.
We had some really excellent things happen!
On Wednesday night we had an awesome institute class at a member's home. We talked about the importance of the temple in family relationships and about the instances when Christ came and taught people at the temple. When he was a boy, when he healed the sick at Jerusalem, when he visited the Nephites, etc. The spirit was very strong and I regretted that we couldn't have gotten more people to show up!
To explain the subject line, on Friday we went on exchange with the Essex Elders. They are in a trio so I went with Elder Nielsen and Elder Brammel and Elder Johnson and Elder Augir went to Lyndon.
The Essex Elder's area covers alot of Burlington since the 2 wards combined in the last year. Burlington is the largest city in Vermont and is a melting pot of many refugees from lots of different places.
We tried to see this African family but they weren't home (because they have difficulty telling time in english) we asked their neighbors if they know of any other people that might be interested in the message and they pointed out all the people in the large apartment complex that they knew were christian. One of those people was Bashal. Bashal and his family are from Nepal, They moved here to the united states about 6 years ago. Bashal was converted to christianity after he went to a youth activity at a local church and felt they spirit and was baptised. He loved what we had to say about the bible and the book of mormon and he said that we could see him again on Sunday. When we asked him what he thought about the large portrait of Jesus hanging on the wall he said "Jesus is life." He has tons of faith and I am excited to hear what happens of him.
On Saturday we had our ward Christmas party. It was kind of hectic but it worked out great. The food was good and lots of less active members and nonmembers came. We were able to get return appointments with a few of them and I am very excited to see more of them! it was a great miracle that they even came and even more so that they would accept and invitation to learn more about the gospel.
Sunday was pretty cool too! we thought that we wouldn't have anyone we are teaching come as they all cancelled the morning of. As we were trying to figure out where we wanted to sit, we saw Jason and Hunter in the back of the chapel! We had been trying to see Jason for a while and his schedule isn't very fluid so it has been pretty difficult. It was amazing that he actually made it to church and so great that he could feel the spirit there.
I know that this gospel is true, and that our Heavenly Father is merciful beyond our understanding or recognition. This truly is God's work and we are his hands in doing so.
I love you and hope that you have a great week!
Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Saturday, 15 December 2018
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire... Etc.
Hey everybody.
This week was pretty awesome. Not too many remarkable things happened, but there were some awesome things.
Starting on Monday it we took some time out of our P-day to go and see Al. Al is doing pretty well. He just has trouble smoking and we found out he is in the process of getting a divorce with his wife. Pretty hard stuff. He has a great desire to be baptized. Probably more than I have seen in anybody that I have taught. We actually have to convince him to wait longer haha! He has a great testimony of the Book of Mormon and he wants to make great changes in his life.
Later that week, we drove to Littleton to follow up with some people. We did find the house that they told us about which in of itself was a miracle. "first red house on the left as you come in closest to the river by the old barn." sort of directions. They weren't home, really nobody we tried to see was home that day but we had a good time and we tried hard.
We taught Justin about enduring to the end and serving and learning in the church. We taught that to Austin later that week as well. They are both doing pretty good. I was pretty bummed when I found out that Austin was going on vacation until potentially the middle of next month. There is a high possibility that that is the last time I will see him in person for a while. He is a remarkable young man and he is going to go far in the gospel. I can feel it.
We did exchanges on Friday with the Newport Elders in the blistering cold. When we got up in the morning it was - 8 degrees and stayed below 15 basically all day. It was pretty rough but we had a good exchange. We even found a new person to teach named Corrine. Although she pronounced it Core-een. She was pretty cool and knew a lot about the Plan of Salvation.
Elder Johnson and Elder Swainston got to roast chestnuts on the streets of St Johnsbury, we helped a little too. They weren't bad honestly. It's a bit different though.
I guess it is significant to add that I had my last interview, or my exit interview on my birthday. It seemed somewhat fitting I suppose. I am sad that I will not have the opportunity to have any more interviews with President Blair. He has been a great strength and support to me for the past 2 years.
I know that this gospel is true. That it makes us happy and that Jesus Christ lives and guides this church. I love this Christmas season to help us consider how important his long awaited coming really was.
I love you and I hope that you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
This week was pretty awesome. Not too many remarkable things happened, but there were some awesome things.
Starting on Monday it we took some time out of our P-day to go and see Al. Al is doing pretty well. He just has trouble smoking and we found out he is in the process of getting a divorce with his wife. Pretty hard stuff. He has a great desire to be baptized. Probably more than I have seen in anybody that I have taught. We actually have to convince him to wait longer haha! He has a great testimony of the Book of Mormon and he wants to make great changes in his life.
Later that week, we drove to Littleton to follow up with some people. We did find the house that they told us about which in of itself was a miracle. "first red house on the left as you come in closest to the river by the old barn." sort of directions. They weren't home, really nobody we tried to see was home that day but we had a good time and we tried hard.
We taught Justin about enduring to the end and serving and learning in the church. We taught that to Austin later that week as well. They are both doing pretty good. I was pretty bummed when I found out that Austin was going on vacation until potentially the middle of next month. There is a high possibility that that is the last time I will see him in person for a while. He is a remarkable young man and he is going to go far in the gospel. I can feel it.
We did exchanges on Friday with the Newport Elders in the blistering cold. When we got up in the morning it was - 8 degrees and stayed below 15 basically all day. It was pretty rough but we had a good exchange. We even found a new person to teach named Corrine. Although she pronounced it Core-een. She was pretty cool and knew a lot about the Plan of Salvation.
Elder Johnson and Elder Swainston got to roast chestnuts on the streets of St Johnsbury, we helped a little too. They weren't bad honestly. It's a bit different though.
I guess it is significant to add that I had my last interview, or my exit interview on my birthday. It seemed somewhat fitting I suppose. I am sad that I will not have the opportunity to have any more interviews with President Blair. He has been a great strength and support to me for the past 2 years.
I know that this gospel is true. That it makes us happy and that Jesus Christ lives and guides this church. I love this Christmas season to help us consider how important his long awaited coming really was.
I love you and I hope that you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
Tuesday, 4 December 2018
Baptisms and Concrete in the Snow
Hey everybody.
This week was pretty interesting.
On P day we did some normal things that we do. With the exception that President Hill, the elders quorum president invited us over to his house for sloppy Joe's and to help him sort through literally tens of thousands of sports cards that he inherited from a member of our ward that passed away recently. It was mostly baseball cards but he had stacks of football, basketball, hockey, soccer, WWE, and women's basketball and some other weird things like rowing. It was good except that a few days earlier I was harassing a cat at a member's home and it attacked my finger leaving a deep and clean wound on the end of my index finger that made thumbing through cards a little painful.
That following Wednesday we helped brother Smith at his new house in Newark VT. Half of his house didn't have a foundation so he ripped out the walls and dug a trench where he built some concrete forms for an actual foundation. So we were poring a foundation for this home that was help up mostly by 2x6 boards that were drilled into the roof and resting on the ground. Only 1 other guy showed up and we had to wait about 45 minutes for the truck to show up. Hoping it wouldn't get stuck in the snow on the way up. It was also about 15 degrees and that was pretty terrible. The good news is that it got done. I don't think we were really all that helpful though. I don't know too much about construction, but I think I know now why people generally wait to do that kind of thing until summer.
Really the rest of the week was pretty normal. Thursday we went to Littleton, Friday we taught Austin over Skype and we had to go to Montpelier for a Zone Leadership meeting. That was kinda lame.
We went on exchange with the zone leaders. That was pretty fun. It snowed quite a bit on Tuesday.
Saturday was pretty good. We did service at a thrift store in the morning, drove to Littleton to get a return appointment. Found 3 new people in the space of an hour and drove all the way back to the chapel for Austin and Justin's baptism. It was pretty great.
I had the opportunity to baptize both Austin and Justin which was pretty cool. That was the first time that I had ever baptized anybody so even better.
I know that this work is true and that the Savior loves us. We can share that love as we serve people and have patience with them and ourselves I hope that you all know that I love you lots and hope you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
This week was pretty interesting.
On P day we did some normal things that we do. With the exception that President Hill, the elders quorum president invited us over to his house for sloppy Joe's and to help him sort through literally tens of thousands of sports cards that he inherited from a member of our ward that passed away recently. It was mostly baseball cards but he had stacks of football, basketball, hockey, soccer, WWE, and women's basketball and some other weird things like rowing. It was good except that a few days earlier I was harassing a cat at a member's home and it attacked my finger leaving a deep and clean wound on the end of my index finger that made thumbing through cards a little painful.
That following Wednesday we helped brother Smith at his new house in Newark VT. Half of his house didn't have a foundation so he ripped out the walls and dug a trench where he built some concrete forms for an actual foundation. So we were poring a foundation for this home that was help up mostly by 2x6 boards that were drilled into the roof and resting on the ground. Only 1 other guy showed up and we had to wait about 45 minutes for the truck to show up. Hoping it wouldn't get stuck in the snow on the way up. It was also about 15 degrees and that was pretty terrible. The good news is that it got done. I don't think we were really all that helpful though. I don't know too much about construction, but I think I know now why people generally wait to do that kind of thing until summer.
Really the rest of the week was pretty normal. Thursday we went to Littleton, Friday we taught Austin over Skype and we had to go to Montpelier for a Zone Leadership meeting. That was kinda lame.
We went on exchange with the zone leaders. That was pretty fun. It snowed quite a bit on Tuesday.
Saturday was pretty good. We did service at a thrift store in the morning, drove to Littleton to get a return appointment. Found 3 new people in the space of an hour and drove all the way back to the chapel for Austin and Justin's baptism. It was pretty great.
I had the opportunity to baptize both Austin and Justin which was pretty cool. That was the first time that I had ever baptized anybody so even better.
I know that this work is true and that the Savior loves us. We can share that love as we serve people and have patience with them and ourselves I hope that you all know that I love you lots and hope you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
Monday, 26 November 2018
A and the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial
Hey everyone, This week was pretty interesting.
We did our regular P-day things and dinner with the Hills on Monday. The Hills are a part-member family that we have been working with for a little while. The nonmember family members have been a bit apprehensive to our visits in the past so we have to be a bit cautious when we are there not to offend or be too forward. It was a good visit and we also got to do a free load of laundry while we were there. Not a bad deal.
Tuesday was a bit rough. We got dumped about 6 inches of snow which wasn't too bad.
We went and saw a guy named Don who we found on Facebook. It turns out that previous Elders had seen him in the past and he had interest in discussion. We went over to his house and it became pretty apparent that he had no intention of keeping commitments or learning more beyond what is scholarly. Hopefully his heart will be softened in the future.
After Don we drove down to Littleton to see the Watts. Brother Watts is a minister of another faith. He and his wife feed us almost every week. They love the work that we do and they even love the Book of Mormon and the other standard works; they just don't really "get it" it has been somewhat frustrating but they are wonderful people and we simply want them to feel the joy that only the gospel can give.
Other than that not too much went on, Austin and Justin were out of town for Thanksgiving so we weren't able to see too much of them, however we were able to video-call Justin over facebook to prepare him for baptism. We saw and helped Albert a little more. He is struggling with quitting smoking right now. That's his vice at the moment. I know that he can do it though.
For Thanksgiving we went over to Sister Donovan's house in Littleton. She made a pretty traditional meal with the turkey and potatoes etc. She made a sweet potato casserole that was pretty similar to ones that I have had in the past, of which I was very excited. I really appreciate them for having us over.
On Saturday Justin got home from his Grandmothers house for thanksgiving and we all jumped in a van and drove to the Joseph Smith memorial for the live nativity and the lighting. It was pretty cool. Justin had a great time and he got to meet President and Sister Blair which was fantastic!
I know that this turned out to be a bit of a wall, but I wanted to share my thoughts about trials
I think a lot of the time we have the tendency to only have gratitude AFTER have overcome difficulty. I have found that what is even more valuable to me is, when I am feeling particularly burdened, to thank Heavenly Father for this trial and for the knowledge that I can accomplish anything that he needs me to.
I know that this work is true, I love you all, have a great week!
-Elder Connor Starr
We did our regular P-day things and dinner with the Hills on Monday. The Hills are a part-member family that we have been working with for a little while. The nonmember family members have been a bit apprehensive to our visits in the past so we have to be a bit cautious when we are there not to offend or be too forward. It was a good visit and we also got to do a free load of laundry while we were there. Not a bad deal.
Tuesday was a bit rough. We got dumped about 6 inches of snow which wasn't too bad.
We went and saw a guy named Don who we found on Facebook. It turns out that previous Elders had seen him in the past and he had interest in discussion. We went over to his house and it became pretty apparent that he had no intention of keeping commitments or learning more beyond what is scholarly. Hopefully his heart will be softened in the future.
After Don we drove down to Littleton to see the Watts. Brother Watts is a minister of another faith. He and his wife feed us almost every week. They love the work that we do and they even love the Book of Mormon and the other standard works; they just don't really "get it" it has been somewhat frustrating but they are wonderful people and we simply want them to feel the joy that only the gospel can give.
Other than that not too much went on, Austin and Justin were out of town for Thanksgiving so we weren't able to see too much of them, however we were able to video-call Justin over facebook to prepare him for baptism. We saw and helped Albert a little more. He is struggling with quitting smoking right now. That's his vice at the moment. I know that he can do it though.
For Thanksgiving we went over to Sister Donovan's house in Littleton. She made a pretty traditional meal with the turkey and potatoes etc. She made a sweet potato casserole that was pretty similar to ones that I have had in the past, of which I was very excited. I really appreciate them for having us over.
On Saturday Justin got home from his Grandmothers house for thanksgiving and we all jumped in a van and drove to the Joseph Smith memorial for the live nativity and the lighting. It was pretty cool. Justin had a great time and he got to meet President and Sister Blair which was fantastic!
I know that this turned out to be a bit of a wall, but I wanted to share my thoughts about trials
I think a lot of the time we have the tendency to only have gratitude AFTER have overcome difficulty. I have found that what is even more valuable to me is, when I am feeling particularly burdened, to thank Heavenly Father for this trial and for the knowledge that I can accomplish anything that he needs me to.
I know that this work is true, I love you all, have a great week!
-Elder Connor Starr
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
November 19, 2018
Hello everybody. We had a pretty great week this week!
Monday was a normal work day because of transfers coming in. As I expected, Elder Johnson and I are staying together. We met with Al and talked a bit about Temples and what we do in them, why they are important, etc. Tuesday we had a pretty crazy snowstorm that dropped almost 1 foot of snow on the ground. That, and it has been rather cold outside lately. It seems that winter has come in full force a bit early.
Other notable things is that we had to cancel all of our appointments one day in littleton NH due to the weather, that was hard but we made it through better. We had to do district council over the phone on Friday morning because we were grounded and couldn't use the car. Later that day we were shoveling out people's driveways for them for service and finding. We got referred to this man who has ALS that wasn't able to Shovel his own porch. After we shoveled it for him it turned out that he was actually a less active member that had not been to the church in many years. He had fallen away due to a crisis of faith. He was pretty well set on his stance but I couldn't help feel that regardless of his current faith, our contact has greater significance than I could recognize on the surface.
On Saturday. Austin and Justin were interviewed by the Zone Leaders and they passed! They will be baptized on December 1st. We are super juiced about it. They have both come quite a long way.
On Sunday we went to the Lefolls for lunch and I met a baby goat. One of the other goats had taken an interest in my hand as it was covered in juice from an orange that I had eaten earlier. My careless attitude about the attentive goat quickly changed when it's licking became more... Forward and it chomped hard on the end of my index finger. I had to pull my finger out between its teeth. Lessons learned.
I hope that you all have a wonderful week. I know that as we wait in patience and do what we are asked. (i.e. Reading scriptures, meaningful daily prayer, meaning partaking of the sacrament etc.) that we will overcome difficulty with not just a surviving, but a stronger knowledge of the truths that we have been given.
Love you, hope you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
Small photo dump
1 pondering
2 bring planking back from 2012
3 walking
4 sketchy suspension bridge in Littleton
5 baby goat
Monday was a normal work day because of transfers coming in. As I expected, Elder Johnson and I are staying together. We met with Al and talked a bit about Temples and what we do in them, why they are important, etc. Tuesday we had a pretty crazy snowstorm that dropped almost 1 foot of snow on the ground. That, and it has been rather cold outside lately. It seems that winter has come in full force a bit early.
Other notable things is that we had to cancel all of our appointments one day in littleton NH due to the weather, that was hard but we made it through better. We had to do district council over the phone on Friday morning because we were grounded and couldn't use the car. Later that day we were shoveling out people's driveways for them for service and finding. We got referred to this man who has ALS that wasn't able to Shovel his own porch. After we shoveled it for him it turned out that he was actually a less active member that had not been to the church in many years. He had fallen away due to a crisis of faith. He was pretty well set on his stance but I couldn't help feel that regardless of his current faith, our contact has greater significance than I could recognize on the surface.
On Saturday. Austin and Justin were interviewed by the Zone Leaders and they passed! They will be baptized on December 1st. We are super juiced about it. They have both come quite a long way.
On Sunday we went to the Lefolls for lunch and I met a baby goat. One of the other goats had taken an interest in my hand as it was covered in juice from an orange that I had eaten earlier. My careless attitude about the attentive goat quickly changed when it's licking became more... Forward and it chomped hard on the end of my index finger. I had to pull my finger out between its teeth. Lessons learned.
I hope that you all have a wonderful week. I know that as we wait in patience and do what we are asked. (i.e. Reading scriptures, meaningful daily prayer, meaning partaking of the sacrament etc.) that we will overcome difficulty with not just a surviving, but a stronger knowledge of the truths that we have been given.
Love you, hope you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
Small photo dump
1 pondering
2 bring planking back from 2012
3 walking
4 sketchy suspension bridge in Littleton
5 baby goat
Monday, 19 November 2018
November 13, 2018
Hello everybody!
Earlier this week we met with Justin at his place. Since he doesn't have a job or really any responsibility we have been seeing pretty late at night, (like 8:30) it has been pretty good. We are helping him quit smoking so that he can progress to his baptism date on the first of December. It will be close but I think that he will make it, and if not it will help him to be more prepared to make and keep the promises that are made at baptism.
We also talked about how the spirit is more inclined to dwell in places that are bright and clean. Giving the temple as an example. Basically we were telling him in a nice way that he should probably vacuum and do the dishes more often.
Lately we have been trying to work a lot more with the members of the ward to find people to teach and to strengthen the people that we are teaching to begin with. It is really awesome and These wonderful people have such strong testimonies of the gospel that will benefit us greatly.
I went on exchange to Newport VT this weekend and it was awesome! It is a beautiful place with lots of really cool things and wonderful people. Right in the middle of nowhere. They even had a Walmart super store!
I don't remember if I told you this last week or not, but one night while we were walking, Austin texted us and told us that after his prayer and consideration that he wanted to be baptised on the first of December! its going to be awesome! Beyond that, not too much has happened. We got our first good snow-storm of the year and it dropped about 8-10 inches on the ground where we live in Lyndonville. We were walking in a winter wonderland, that's for sure.
We got transfer calls today and as I expected, Elder Johnson and I will be staying together for my last transfer. It is going to be awesome. I know that this work is true and I know that as we turn our hearts and our time and talents toward our Heavenly Father that He will be able to make more of us than we can ourselves.
I hope that you all have a great week! Love you!
-Elder Connor Starr
November 5, 2018
Hey everybody. We had a pretty excellent week this week. Monday was fairly normal, not too much going on there. The following day we went to the Nuffer's for dinner. After dinner they had us help their kids carve pumpkins for the porch. That was pretty cool and tons of fun.
For those that don't know already. In our mission we have a tradition that on Halloween everybody gets to go in to the apartment at 5 and then we get to clean the apartment until nine. It has affectionately named "Deep Clean Halloween" so that is what we did for 4 hours on Wednesday. It wasn't bad, our apartment definitely needed it.
The weekend was pretty good, I taught district council about how we can make baptisms a great finding tool. President Blair promised that if we are to make baptisms a really spiritual and memorable experience for those in attendance, and if we bring at least 2 nonmembers, that we will baptise every transfer. Pretty important stuff.
We are teaching a man named Albert that came to church for the first time yesterday. He is doing awesome! He is on date for the 8th of December. I also heard word that yesterday Mary Sargent from Canterbury was confirmed! that's so amazing! I know that although we often don't see the immediate reward for our actions and our hard work, that being diligent and noble will bring the greatest peace and joy in our lives.
It reminds me of Elder Renlund's talk that he gave this last October. If God simply wanted us to be obedient, he would immediately punish or reward our actions. He wants us to choose to be obedient and to be patient. I have come to be very grateful for recognising this principle in my life.
I hope that you all have a fantastic week. Love you!
Here is a photo of me with a large flowing hat that I found.
-Elder Connor Starr
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
October 29, 2018
Hey everybody! This week was pretty awesome.
Monday night, the Newport Elders stayed the night with us and then we went to zone conference the following day.
We talked a lot about setting goals and having a vision that is built on those goals and plans.
It was based a lot on Elder Ballard's talk, Return and Receive.
Following that, we went and saw this awesome guy in Littleton named Glenn. He has met with missionaries in the past and is looking for something more in his life. He used to be homeless and a drug addict but he turned his life around. He said he is looking for a church... We suggested that we might be able to help ;)
After that, not too much happened. We met with Austin with the Elders quorum president and we asked him how he felt about baptism. He is currently considering the 27th of November for baptism.
Things are going awesome!
Lately I have considered greatly what it means to have a set-apart heart. I have determined that it simply means putting your needs and desires behind those around you. Those who you are serving. I have come to truly love this place and this work. I know that the gospel has been restored and that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
I hope that you all have a great rest of your week! Love you!
Here is a deer that was caught eating something on the church lawn. Sorry for the lack of photos.
Elder Connor Starr
Monday night, the Newport Elders stayed the night with us and then we went to zone conference the following day.
We talked a lot about setting goals and having a vision that is built on those goals and plans.
It was based a lot on Elder Ballard's talk, Return and Receive.
Following that, we went and saw this awesome guy in Littleton named Glenn. He has met with missionaries in the past and is looking for something more in his life. He used to be homeless and a drug addict but he turned his life around. He said he is looking for a church... We suggested that we might be able to help ;)
After that, not too much happened. We met with Austin with the Elders quorum president and we asked him how he felt about baptism. He is currently considering the 27th of November for baptism.
Things are going awesome!
Lately I have considered greatly what it means to have a set-apart heart. I have determined that it simply means putting your needs and desires behind those around you. Those who you are serving. I have come to truly love this place and this work. I know that the gospel has been restored and that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
I hope that you all have a great rest of your week! Love you!
Here is a deer that was caught eating something on the church lawn. Sorry for the lack of photos.
Elder Connor Starr
Monday, 29 October 2018
Camping?
Hello everybody.
To start the week was a pretty normal P-day. Except we had to do interviews at 1:30 so we spent 3 hours of it driving to Montpelier and back. There were donuts provided so it was mostly worth it.
Since we had reduced time we were literally running from place to place trying to get our laundry and shopping etc.
That night we taught Al, a sweet guy that we met earlier last month. We extended a baptismal date to him for the 5th and he accepted! We helped him understand why a restoration was necessary and he understood that truths of the gospel had been lost after thousands of years of darkness.
Tuesday was awesome! It was our New-missionary training meeting at the Joseph Smith birthplace memorial. We got to do yard work on the grounds all day on Tuesday and that Tuesday night we had a devotional at camp Joseph around a campfire. It was pretty cool. All the Elders got to stay in the camp Joseph in the individual cabins. It was awesome to sleep in a sleeping bag in the cold again!
Wednesday we did our meeting which was about how to not ruin the new missionaries and help them focus etc. It was a really uplifting experience.
We did some pretty normal stuff on Thursday and helped a member get some stuff from the store.
This member is amazing! He used to write "Mormon apologetics" for a different church. He came to find the truth because he realised that the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints was the closest to Christ's church that he could find. It's more complicated than that but it is amazing. He used to interview and ask missionaries questions about the faith that he would then write books on etc.
He talked about how he got to interview president Hinckley and how humble he was.
We did some awesome exchanged with the Newport Elders and found some awesome people.
I got to go with Elder Taylor from Havre Montana!
We had a great week and can't wait for another!
I know this is God's work and that I have seen literal miracles.
I love you and hope you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
To start the week was a pretty normal P-day. Except we had to do interviews at 1:30 so we spent 3 hours of it driving to Montpelier and back. There were donuts provided so it was mostly worth it.
Since we had reduced time we were literally running from place to place trying to get our laundry and shopping etc.
That night we taught Al, a sweet guy that we met earlier last month. We extended a baptismal date to him for the 5th and he accepted! We helped him understand why a restoration was necessary and he understood that truths of the gospel had been lost after thousands of years of darkness.
Tuesday was awesome! It was our New-missionary training meeting at the Joseph Smith birthplace memorial. We got to do yard work on the grounds all day on Tuesday and that Tuesday night we had a devotional at camp Joseph around a campfire. It was pretty cool. All the Elders got to stay in the camp Joseph in the individual cabins. It was awesome to sleep in a sleeping bag in the cold again!
Wednesday we did our meeting which was about how to not ruin the new missionaries and help them focus etc. It was a really uplifting experience.
We did some pretty normal stuff on Thursday and helped a member get some stuff from the store.
This member is amazing! He used to write "Mormon apologetics" for a different church. He came to find the truth because he realised that the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints was the closest to Christ's church that he could find. It's more complicated than that but it is amazing. He used to interview and ask missionaries questions about the faith that he would then write books on etc.
He talked about how he got to interview president Hinckley and how humble he was.
We did some awesome exchanged with the Newport Elders and found some awesome people.
I got to go with Elder Taylor from Havre Montana!
We had a great week and can't wait for another!
I know this is God's work and that I have seen literal miracles.
I love you and hope you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
Tuesday, 16 October 2018
Hey There
Hey everybody.
Today was pretty hectic with interviews happening in Montpelier that we had to go to.
I don't have alot of time but I will say that we are having an amazing time! This weekend we did alot of finding and we talked to tons of people. It was a great experience for Elder Johnson and we hope to have an even better week next week. We miss elder Hibbert but he had to move on to bigger and better things.
Again, sorry for this being so short. We have an awesome training tomorrow at the Joseph Smith memorial that should be awesome! More on that next week!
I love doing this work and I know that it is the Lord's. I know that Jesus Christ is the living and risen Savior and that all wounds can be healed through him.
I love you!
Have a great week!
Here is Elder Hibbert's late senior photo.
Elder Connor Starr
Today was pretty hectic with interviews happening in Montpelier that we had to go to.
I don't have alot of time but I will say that we are having an amazing time! This weekend we did alot of finding and we talked to tons of people. It was a great experience for Elder Johnson and we hope to have an even better week next week. We miss elder Hibbert but he had to move on to bigger and better things.
Again, sorry for this being so short. We have an awesome training tomorrow at the Joseph Smith memorial that should be awesome! More on that next week!
I love doing this work and I know that it is the Lord's. I know that Jesus Christ is the living and risen Savior and that all wounds can be healed through him.
I love you!
Have a great week!
Here is Elder Hibbert's late senior photo.
Elder Connor Starr
Transfers and Conference and It's a Boy!
Hello everybody!
We had a great week this week! A good amount of our time was spent making and handing out invitations for people to watch conference with us. Most of our finding was consequently spent inviting people to listen to a prophet's voice. It was pretty fun.
We had dinner at a member's home with a bunch of other single members. They live on a gorgeous 50+ acre property next to Burke mountain. I will get good photos the next time we go over.
Wednesday night was interesting. The young men and young women had a baking contest to see who's cake would be better. The catch was that we were volunteered to be judges for the cakes and we were asked to create a 30 min activity to do with everyone while they were cooling.
The catch was that the cakes were made with some... Unconventional ingredients. The least of which being: bacon bits, cheddar cheese, jalapeño peppers, and hot sauce. Needless to say both cakes were pretty awful. It turns out that this contest was prophesied in the Old Testament by the prophet Job saying:
27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
In this area we have been teaching a surprising amount of young single adults.
One of them is Tyler, we met him pretty miraculously and we taught him again this week. He is very young but seems to be interested in our message. We hope that he can understand that the Book of Mormon can change his life if he chooses.
That was my greatest initial thought about General conference.
Being happy and living the commandments is a choice. Letting the message of the Book of Mormon change you is a choice. We grow, not by being obedient, but by choosing obedience over other paths.
I hope that you all have a great week!
Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
P. S.
I forgot to mention transfer news.
Elder Hibbert is going to Skowhegan ME and I will be receiving a BRAND NEW missionary!
God bless their souls
We had a great week this week! A good amount of our time was spent making and handing out invitations for people to watch conference with us. Most of our finding was consequently spent inviting people to listen to a prophet's voice. It was pretty fun.
We had dinner at a member's home with a bunch of other single members. They live on a gorgeous 50+ acre property next to Burke mountain. I will get good photos the next time we go over.
Wednesday night was interesting. The young men and young women had a baking contest to see who's cake would be better. The catch was that we were volunteered to be judges for the cakes and we were asked to create a 30 min activity to do with everyone while they were cooling.
The catch was that the cakes were made with some... Unconventional ingredients. The least of which being: bacon bits, cheddar cheese, jalapeño peppers, and hot sauce. Needless to say both cakes were pretty awful. It turns out that this contest was prophesied in the Old Testament by the prophet Job saying:
27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
In this area we have been teaching a surprising amount of young single adults.
One of them is Tyler, we met him pretty miraculously and we taught him again this week. He is very young but seems to be interested in our message. We hope that he can understand that the Book of Mormon can change his life if he chooses.
That was my greatest initial thought about General conference.
Being happy and living the commandments is a choice. Letting the message of the Book of Mormon change you is a choice. We grow, not by being obedient, but by choosing obedience over other paths.
I hope that you all have a great week!
Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
P. S.
I forgot to mention transfer news.
Elder Hibbert is going to Skowhegan ME and I will be receiving a BRAND NEW missionary!
God bless their souls
Monday, 8 October 2018
Behold the Field is White
Hello everyone.
This week was pretty fantastic. Beginning this week, we made a resolution to "go hog wild" in our finding efforts as it is fairly difficult to do in this area. We made a commitment to talk to as many people as we could and we did so prayerfully that Heavenly Father would help us. We found quite a few new people and basically all of them were miraculous scenarios.
On Monday night the Newport Elders stayed the night and we went on exchange for Tuesday. It has been raining basically all week and we got soaked. It was really good because Elder Girardin and Elder Hibbert set a baptismal date with Justin, somebody we are teaching.
Wednesday we saw Austin and taught him about the law of the fast. He said he wants to "try it out". He has been going to institute on Wednesday nights and we drop in and join him sometimes. It is pretty awesome and he is excited to be baptised. We are seeing him again on Friday.
Beyond that, not too much else had gone on. The nights are getting cold and the colors look amazing! I love the fall and I am very excited for General Conference. I know that we are engaged in a marvelous work and a wonder. I know that Christ lives and this is his church.
Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
This week was pretty fantastic. Beginning this week, we made a resolution to "go hog wild" in our finding efforts as it is fairly difficult to do in this area. We made a commitment to talk to as many people as we could and we did so prayerfully that Heavenly Father would help us. We found quite a few new people and basically all of them were miraculous scenarios.
On Monday night the Newport Elders stayed the night and we went on exchange for Tuesday. It has been raining basically all week and we got soaked. It was really good because Elder Girardin and Elder Hibbert set a baptismal date with Justin, somebody we are teaching.
Wednesday we saw Austin and taught him about the law of the fast. He said he wants to "try it out". He has been going to institute on Wednesday nights and we drop in and join him sometimes. It is pretty awesome and he is excited to be baptised. We are seeing him again on Friday.
Beyond that, not too much else had gone on. The nights are getting cold and the colors look amazing! I love the fall and I am very excited for General Conference. I know that we are engaged in a marvelous work and a wonder. I know that Christ lives and this is his church.
Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
Wednesday, 26 September 2018
Ben and Jerry and Kelly and Justin
Hello everybody!
This week was pretty awesome. This Monday we did our normal p_day stuff and as a district we drove down to Waterbury and toured the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory it was awesome and well worth the drive.
Tuesday night Elder Hibbert and I taught Justin again who has been to church and we talked about the restoration of the gospel. Mostly to help him answer his questions. More on him later.
We also were able to go and see Richard. When we got to his house for our appointment he was making food so we basically just taught his sons Jesse and Erick. They were super awesome and really intrigued about the scriptures. Probably because the copy we gave them has pictures throughout. Wednesday we had interviews in Montpelier which went awesome as usual and we taught Austin. He wants to be baptised but simply needs to find out when he will be able to so that his girlfriend can attend as well.
This weekend we had an awesome zone conference about teaching skills and putting on the "whole armor of God" it was good. We did it at the Joseph Smith Birthplace memorial.
President Blair talked about teaching the doctrine of repentance clearly and boldly during the teaching process to give people what they need to know to progress in the doctrine and gospel of Jesus Christ. I also had a stretching contest with President Whatcott and he won. I believe it was my forum that failed me, not my genetics.
Friday was pretty normal but Saturday was amazing! Sister Vines was baptized and Justin came to the baptism. There was also a ward party afterward. With a giant redneck barbecue that dad would be impressed with I am sure.
I am brought to lead about what the restoration really means for us. It means that we no longer have to live in darkness but that the light and knowledge of the gospel can chase evil from our lives. We can improve and grow through authorized channels and inlets to Christ's infinite atoning sacrifice and we can become more like the savior. I am grateful for those that made, and are continuing to make this restoration possible.
Have a fantastic week!
Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
This week was pretty awesome. This Monday we did our normal p_day stuff and as a district we drove down to Waterbury and toured the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory it was awesome and well worth the drive.
Tuesday night Elder Hibbert and I taught Justin again who has been to church and we talked about the restoration of the gospel. Mostly to help him answer his questions. More on him later.
We also were able to go and see Richard. When we got to his house for our appointment he was making food so we basically just taught his sons Jesse and Erick. They were super awesome and really intrigued about the scriptures. Probably because the copy we gave them has pictures throughout. Wednesday we had interviews in Montpelier which went awesome as usual and we taught Austin. He wants to be baptised but simply needs to find out when he will be able to so that his girlfriend can attend as well.
This weekend we had an awesome zone conference about teaching skills and putting on the "whole armor of God" it was good. We did it at the Joseph Smith Birthplace memorial.
President Blair talked about teaching the doctrine of repentance clearly and boldly during the teaching process to give people what they need to know to progress in the doctrine and gospel of Jesus Christ. I also had a stretching contest with President Whatcott and he won. I believe it was my forum that failed me, not my genetics.
Friday was pretty normal but Saturday was amazing! Sister Vines was baptized and Justin came to the baptism. There was also a ward party afterward. With a giant redneck barbecue that dad would be impressed with I am sure.
I am brought to lead about what the restoration really means for us. It means that we no longer have to live in darkness but that the light and knowledge of the gospel can chase evil from our lives. We can improve and grow through authorized channels and inlets to Christ's infinite atoning sacrifice and we can become more like the savior. I am grateful for those that made, and are continuing to make this restoration possible.
Have a fantastic week!
Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
Tuesday, 18 September 2018
September 17th, 2018
Hello everyone!
This week was pretty awesome. I truthfully don't recall too much of what happened in the beginning of the week. On Thursday we helped unload food from this truck for the nonprofit that we do service for. It was pretty fun. We drove to Lysbon and had a lesson with some of the members that live there. It never really ceases to impress me that some members drive so far to get to church each week. They drive about 50 minutes to church in 1 direction. That is dedication.
Elder Hibbert and I saw a pretty cool miracle on Thursday night. We were walking at about 8:45 looking for people to talk to and this guy called out to us and asked if we were Mormons. He had met some of the other Elders a while ago and he was super interested in the Book of Mormon. We were able to set up an appointment for the following day.
On Friday we had district council with the Newport Elders, as the sisters were gone, and we talked mostly about teaching. Then we went on exchange for the day. It was pretty fun. Elder Girardin and I taught the guy that Elder Hibbert and I found. He had placed the Book of Mormon that we gave him above the door-jam of his bedroom so that he would be protected.
After that, we had a sleepover with the Elders and we got up the following morning and went to a family history booth at a local fall festival. It was pretty fun and effective despite the heat. On Sunday, the same guy that we found in Thursday night came to church! He asked tons of really good questions and he seems super interested in learning more. It was a really amazing! I know that where missionaries are, people are prepared to receive the gospel.
Hope you all have a great rest of your week! Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
Elder Connor Starr
This week was pretty awesome. I truthfully don't recall too much of what happened in the beginning of the week. On Thursday we helped unload food from this truck for the nonprofit that we do service for. It was pretty fun. We drove to Lysbon and had a lesson with some of the members that live there. It never really ceases to impress me that some members drive so far to get to church each week. They drive about 50 minutes to church in 1 direction. That is dedication.
Elder Hibbert and I saw a pretty cool miracle on Thursday night. We were walking at about 8:45 looking for people to talk to and this guy called out to us and asked if we were Mormons. He had met some of the other Elders a while ago and he was super interested in the Book of Mormon. We were able to set up an appointment for the following day.
On Friday we had district council with the Newport Elders, as the sisters were gone, and we talked mostly about teaching. Then we went on exchange for the day. It was pretty fun. Elder Girardin and I taught the guy that Elder Hibbert and I found. He had placed the Book of Mormon that we gave him above the door-jam of his bedroom so that he would be protected.
After that, we had a sleepover with the Elders and we got up the following morning and went to a family history booth at a local fall festival. It was pretty fun and effective despite the heat. On Sunday, the same guy that we found in Thursday night came to church! He asked tons of really good questions and he seems super interested in learning more. It was a really amazing! I know that where missionaries are, people are prepared to receive the gospel.
Hope you all have a great rest of your week! Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
Elder Connor Starr
September 10th, 2018
Hello everybody.
This week was pretty awesome. It started out pretty normal with lots of finding and walking around.
It has been very rainy lately. Like, really rainy. It seems to come down in bathtubs sometimes.
We have found a really cool place to do service at. It's like a thrift store but it's in an old refurbished barn that is really aesthetic and nifty. They sell used stuff but they also give necessary items to people that are in need. The owner apparently had some trustworthiness issues with some of the volunteers in the past but she knew who we are and what we represent. She was happy to have us come and help and she thanked us probably 15 times. It was awesome!
Friday was cool. We all had district council and I think it went pretty well. We talked mostly about using Facebook for good instead of evil. How to use it effectively to find people. Stuff like that.
After Elder Hibbert and I went on exchange with the Zone leaders in Essex. I went to Essex with Elder Nielsen and Elder Hibbert stayed in Lyndon with Elder Augir. The drive to Essex is about 90 minutes but it feels like I was in the mini-van for several days. It was a long drive. I guess it was scenic so that made it a bit more bearable. Elder Nielsen and I had a good time and we even taught a Congolese man and his son. I can't for the life of me remember his name but it is kind of important for the sake of the story. It was something like Sandube but I am fairly certain that is not correct so I will refer to him as Dabba-dude-boi.
Dabba-dude-boi Had some concerns with the Book of Mormon. His primary concern was the title. He was uncertain why the title was called the Book of Mormon and he felt that in doing so it insinuates that we worship Mormon. We told him that, just like the Bible, the Book of Mormon is named after the primary authors of the sacred books. We assured him that although it is called the Book of Mormon, it's text testified that Jesus Christ is the Savior and that it is by him and only him that mankind may be saved. This conversation went on for about 20 minutes and we didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Elder Nielsen asked Dabba-dude-boi if he thought the Book of Mormon was the word of God, to which he answered "yes". A little perplexed we told him that we would help him to answer this question later.
This lesson lead me to think of my own conversion to the gospel and my knowledge of the Book of Mormon. How often do we believe that it is true, knowing that God's word has increased our souls, and get caught up on something silly like the title of the Book. As valid as Dabba-dude-boi's Concern was, It was easily overshadowed by the knowledge that he was given by the power of the Holy Ghost. Any doubt or fear that we may have can easily be overshadowed or devalued by this sacred confirmation that the Book is true and that Jesus Christ is the living Savior and Redeemer of the world.
Thanks for reading, I hope that you all have a great week!
Love you
Elder Connor Starr
This week was pretty awesome. It started out pretty normal with lots of finding and walking around.
It has been very rainy lately. Like, really rainy. It seems to come down in bathtubs sometimes.
We have found a really cool place to do service at. It's like a thrift store but it's in an old refurbished barn that is really aesthetic and nifty. They sell used stuff but they also give necessary items to people that are in need. The owner apparently had some trustworthiness issues with some of the volunteers in the past but she knew who we are and what we represent. She was happy to have us come and help and she thanked us probably 15 times. It was awesome!
Friday was cool. We all had district council and I think it went pretty well. We talked mostly about using Facebook for good instead of evil. How to use it effectively to find people. Stuff like that.
After Elder Hibbert and I went on exchange with the Zone leaders in Essex. I went to Essex with Elder Nielsen and Elder Hibbert stayed in Lyndon with Elder Augir. The drive to Essex is about 90 minutes but it feels like I was in the mini-van for several days. It was a long drive. I guess it was scenic so that made it a bit more bearable. Elder Nielsen and I had a good time and we even taught a Congolese man and his son. I can't for the life of me remember his name but it is kind of important for the sake of the story. It was something like Sandube but I am fairly certain that is not correct so I will refer to him as Dabba-dude-boi.
Dabba-dude-boi Had some concerns with the Book of Mormon. His primary concern was the title. He was uncertain why the title was called the Book of Mormon and he felt that in doing so it insinuates that we worship Mormon. We told him that, just like the Bible, the Book of Mormon is named after the primary authors of the sacred books. We assured him that although it is called the Book of Mormon, it's text testified that Jesus Christ is the Savior and that it is by him and only him that mankind may be saved. This conversation went on for about 20 minutes and we didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Elder Nielsen asked Dabba-dude-boi if he thought the Book of Mormon was the word of God, to which he answered "yes". A little perplexed we told him that we would help him to answer this question later.
This lesson lead me to think of my own conversion to the gospel and my knowledge of the Book of Mormon. How often do we believe that it is true, knowing that God's word has increased our souls, and get caught up on something silly like the title of the Book. As valid as Dabba-dude-boi's Concern was, It was easily overshadowed by the knowledge that he was given by the power of the Holy Ghost. Any doubt or fear that we may have can easily be overshadowed or devalued by this sacred confirmation that the Book is true and that Jesus Christ is the living Savior and Redeemer of the world.
Thanks for reading, I hope that you all have a great week!
Love you
Elder Connor Starr
Thursday, 6 September 2018
Vermont .... pretty neat
Hello everybody!
This week was pretty exciting. First of all, I want to say that I am sorry for not remembering to tell you all that P-day was moved to Tuesday due to Monday being Labor day. The mission leadership figured that we should be laboring on Labor Day and I think that it was a good idea too. On Tuesday...I am not sure that I remember much of what happened on Tuesday. Last week I spent most of my time saying goodbye to the wonderful people of Lowell. I know that it was left in the good hands of Elder Harrison and his trainee, Elder Monson. (Not sure of relation).
Thursday we drove up to transfer meeting where I met Elder Hibbert and we loaded all of our stuff into our car. A car that we don't share with anybody else and that is much larger and less disgusting. So that is pretty nice.
I met one of our progressing people: Austin. He is super cool! He is going to school here in Vermont but he is a YSA that is originally from West-Virginia. His girlfriend introduced him to the church and he wants to be baptised in the near future. He is practically already a member. Other than that, I also met Kelly who has a baptism date for the 22nd of this month! she is in a part member family and was introduced to the gospel through her husband. She also is really amazing and already has a great testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the Gospel of Christ.
Vermont is gorgeous! there are an innumerable amount of trees and hills and farms it is just amazing to look at. The trees are already beginning to change color. It is simply a reminder to me how much that our Heavenly Father loves all of us. So much so that he gave us this amazing place to live, and more impressive, that he gave his only son in the flesh that we might live with him forever with our families.
The other night, Elder Hibbert and I were walking down the street when we started talking to this man who was leaning up against his car. He was smoking and hanging out by the park. We talked to him for a little while but he didn't seem to interested so we said goodbye and started walking away. At this point both of us felt a little dumb at the actions that we were doing, so we,in unison, crossed the street and gave him a plain and clear invitation to learn. To our surprise and gratitude, he happily excepted our invitation to teach him more and we were able to get his contact info. It was just another simple reminder to me that we have to trust in the Lord and not lean on our own understanding.
I know that this gospel changes lives and that through it we can all find true happiness.
Love you, have an amazing week!
until next time!
-Elder Connor Starr
Here are some other photos. Sorry if I have sent them before.
Vermont tank.
Car share
Lowell missionaries
This week was pretty exciting. First of all, I want to say that I am sorry for not remembering to tell you all that P-day was moved to Tuesday due to Monday being Labor day. The mission leadership figured that we should be laboring on Labor Day and I think that it was a good idea too. On Tuesday...I am not sure that I remember much of what happened on Tuesday. Last week I spent most of my time saying goodbye to the wonderful people of Lowell. I know that it was left in the good hands of Elder Harrison and his trainee, Elder Monson. (Not sure of relation).
Thursday we drove up to transfer meeting where I met Elder Hibbert and we loaded all of our stuff into our car. A car that we don't share with anybody else and that is much larger and less disgusting. So that is pretty nice.
I met one of our progressing people: Austin. He is super cool! He is going to school here in Vermont but he is a YSA that is originally from West-Virginia. His girlfriend introduced him to the church and he wants to be baptised in the near future. He is practically already a member. Other than that, I also met Kelly who has a baptism date for the 22nd of this month! she is in a part member family and was introduced to the gospel through her husband. She also is really amazing and already has a great testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the Gospel of Christ.
Vermont is gorgeous! there are an innumerable amount of trees and hills and farms it is just amazing to look at. The trees are already beginning to change color. It is simply a reminder to me how much that our Heavenly Father loves all of us. So much so that he gave us this amazing place to live, and more impressive, that he gave his only son in the flesh that we might live with him forever with our families.
The other night, Elder Hibbert and I were walking down the street when we started talking to this man who was leaning up against his car. He was smoking and hanging out by the park. We talked to him for a little while but he didn't seem to interested so we said goodbye and started walking away. At this point both of us felt a little dumb at the actions that we were doing, so we,in unison, crossed the street and gave him a plain and clear invitation to learn. To our surprise and gratitude, he happily excepted our invitation to teach him more and we were able to get his contact info. It was just another simple reminder to me that we have to trust in the Lord and not lean on our own understanding.
I know that this gospel changes lives and that through it we can all find true happiness.
Love you, have an amazing week!
until next time!
-Elder Connor Starr
Here are some other photos. Sorry if I have sent them before.
Vermont tank.
Car share
Lowell missionaries
Monday, 3 September 2018
Transfer Day Awesome Stuff
We then had an awesome plan of salvation lesson with Christina that evening with a less active member then we came home and went to bed. The following day we had interviews with President Blair and then we went to a couple of appointments and wrapped up the evening with our long and arduous weekly planning session. Not fun, but necessary.
The following day we went on exchange with the Zone Leaders in Nashua New Hampshire where I again stayed here and was with Elder Wells. We found some cool people but I think the best was that at about 4:30 we got a call from one of the Cambodian members named Min. She told us that she had a couple of neighbors that were really cool and that they wanted to come to church and be baptised! As you could probably guess we were excited and went with no delay. They are a young couple that moved to the US about 10 years ago. They have a very young son and they told us that Min had told them about church so many times that they just had to see what it was all about! They are coming to church this Sunday and we are seeing and teaching them on Saturday. Min is a fantastic member missionary with no fear. It is amazing!
I Don't recall if I have reported this story to you all before or not so I will briefly summarise why Sunday was so awesome. About 6 weeks ago, the Lowell ward Elders Quorum conducted a special fast that the Lord would provide a way for them to minister effectively to the faithful Cambodian sisters that are still attending the ward after 30 years despite their inability to even speak or understand English or Portuguese. One night elder Harrison and I were waiting for the sisters at the church and we went around back to turn the car around so we could leave more quickly (hasten the work and whatnot ;) when we pulled around the back of the church we saw a man walking through the parking lot and looking at his phone. We rolled down the window and asked him if he had ever been inside an LDS chapel before to which he told us that he was baptised back in the 90's with most of the other Cambodian membership. His name is Than, he is Cambodian and a less-active Melchizedek priesthood holder. He came to church this Sunday for the first time in about 15 years and he loved it.
I hardly find it coincidental that we happened to find him when we did and where we did. I think that the Lord has blessed us and allowed us to be tools in his hands to bring about his work. The power of fasting and prayer is real. All we need to do is ask and be ready to act.
As the subject line and the Tuesday entry indicate, we got our transfer calls last night. At about 7:30 last night President Blair called us and told me that I will be leaving and going to Lyndon VT to be a district leader once again. Elder Harrison will be training a Spanish speaking visa waiter.
I truly believe that serving here has been a tender and precious experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I have learned so much and have come to love this place and these people more then I previously thought possible.
I am excited for the new experience ahead of me and can't wait to tell you all about it.
I love you all and hope that you know I am not just saying to segue into a smooth exit line.
Until next time!
P. S. Sorry for the wall of text.
Elder Connor Starr
A few photos
Tuesday, 21 August 2018
Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires
Hello everybody!
This week was awesome!
We started off strong on Monday by setting a baptismal date with Mwandja and his family. Right now the goal is to have the 4 that are old enough be baptised on the 29th of September. We assured them that they would be prepared by that day if they would read from the Book of Mormon everyday and come to church as often as they could. They are awesome and amazing people.
The rest of the week was fairly normal. It has been raining quite a bit lately.
On Friday I was on exchange with Elder Randall in Lowell and on our way to an appointment in Chelmsford we ran into literally the heaviest rain and lightning storm that I have ever been in. It was raining so hard that we could barely see with the wipers on their highest setting. Pretty cool stuff.
Saturday morning we walked down to the Eastern Asian water festival that the city of Lowell puts on every year. From across the country people flock to this event and there were over 60,000 people there! Hardly any of them even spoke English and it was super loud and crowded so we figured that we move on to go finding elsewhere.
Just when so thought that In was in an urbanized area, Elder Harrison and I caught a glimpse of a bear in westford in a members back yard. The funny part was when he ran outside armed with a pitch fork to warn the neighbors.
I love you and hope that you all have a fantastic week. Good luck to those starting school!
Until next time.
Elder Connor Starr
Waiting for the sisters to pick you up at the bus stop
The bear, *better photos to follow if we get them.
Saturday, 18 August 2018
8/13/2018
Hello Again,
This week was pretty awesome. We had zone conference up in Nashua NH. We were trained and talked about a lot of things, mostly about how important it is to set meaningful and powerful goals that will help us stretch and hasten the work of the Lord. How personal inspiration and revelation help us and are a very necessary part of that process.
We met with some of our investigators this week as we do. Their progress in the gospel is slow but steady and sure. I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to help people. To give them the opportunity to exercise their agency to choose God.
This Sunday, Mwandja came to church, so did a couple of less actives. We are meeting with Mwandja again tonight, it is always an awesome experience.
That's about all that I have for this week.
I hope that you all have a great week. I know that Heavenly Father helps us in our trials and in our times of prosperity. I know that God lives and so does his Son and our Savior Jesus Christ. I love you and hope that you have a great week!
Elder Connor Starr
Monday, 13 August 2018
Exeter Zone Conference in Nashua, August 8, 2018
We are worried he might have cut his own hair - <sigh>
In the Cold January Rain
We had a pretty awesome week this week. On Monday we were able to teach Mwandja and his wife Hause. They want to be baptised and they really enjoy coming to church. They have somewhat of a date that they know they want to be baptised on, but it is a little distant. They want to be baptised on January 1st. of 2019. If I stay in Lowell for a few more transfers I can see that not being too much of a problem but we were think they should do a bit sooner than that.
Hopefully we can help them to understand what it means for them and help them be more excited about it. Then they will see that, although it is not convenient, they will want to make that covenant sooner.
The rest of the week we spent chasing down many referrals that we have received over the past few days. We got a lot from other missionaries, but also from internet self referrals and from members. It has been awesome but also a little hectic and stressful making sure that we contact these people as fast as possible. It is a real blessing to see that people in this area are willing to share the gospel with their friends and family.
I often find that when I feel stressed out I need to remember that amazing things have happened to me and those that I have served here in New England. For some reason those spiritual experiences can be very easy to forget or to take for granted.
Being joyful is about having that perspective and a "perfect brightness of hope" that we are taught in the scriptures. It means that we do everything we can with the best attitude that we can and with exact obedience to the commandments. That is when we are given power to accomplish the will of god.
I hope that you all have a fantastic week!
love you!
Until next time!
Elder Connor Starr
Here is a picture of a large bug
Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah that I recreated using Lego mini figures
Wednesday, 1 August 2018
7/30/2018
Hello everybody!
This week was pretty cool and some awesome things happened.
The Congolese family that we have been teaching is doing really well! We gave their children a Book of Mormon stories book and hey have been loving it! We weren't able to meet with them last week unfortunately but we are seeing them again tonight. There is little doubt in my mind that they will be baptised.
This week was the annual Lowell Folk Festival! It was alot of fun and there were tons of people everywhere. It was really difficult trying to talk to people but we did meet some really amazing and awesome individuals. The following night we were talking to a bunch of people on the river walk by our apartment and right as we were about to pack up for the night we were stopped by this young Chinese guy. He told us that he was having a hard time because he had just broken up with his girlfriend. He saw us and knew who we were because he attended the church in Hong Kong. It was a really cool miracle. I am surprised, and humbled, that somebody who was distressed and seeking peace would know that he could find it through the church and the missionaries. This truly is an amazing mantle!
Sunday was really awesome because there was a member from Provo that visited our ward. His name was Brother Pike. It turned out that he had served here over 10 years ago Cambodian speaking in the Boston Mission.
Basically our whole afternoon was spent driving around with brother Pike telling us about less-active or former investigators that he had taught previously.
To give a little background to why this is so cool; about 2 weeks ago, the Elders quorum had a fast that somebody would be put within reach that could minister to the Cambodian sisters that are still active in the ward.
The vast majority of the southeast Asian membership in this area is completely less-active. Leaving no priesthood holders to minister to the active Cambodians in the ward in their language, as basically none of them speak English.
We think after Brother Pike' s visit that we have some awesome leads on people that we can reach out to once again to strengthen the members of God's kingdom, here in this area.
I know that miracles happen according to our faith, I also know that Heavenly Father knows all of his children. They are all numbered and His work is hastening.
I love you all and hope you have a great week!
-Elder Connor Starr
Monday, 23 July 2018
7/23/2018
Hello everybody!
This week we had some awesome things happen! The whole of the week was pretty normal to be honest. Not too many strange or abnormal things to report.
As it is summer vacation, a lot of people have left to go be with family so we didn't have a fantastic amount of investigators there. However we did have one person show up a few minutes late named Sing. He is from Laos originally and he just got out of prison about 3 months ago. He is really cool and really funny. He was surprised at how long our church meetings were but we assured him that he would get used to it as he kept coming.
This week we also saw 2 less-active members come to sacrament meeting that we were not expecting at all, and the members also brought some people! It was awesome.
I love how, despite nothing too exciting happening throughout the whole week, we were able to see some incredible miracles. The Lord was willing to show his hand on behalf of the effort that we gave to be diligent and noble throughout the many days of work that we had. Our Heavenly Father is merciful and generous beyond our understanding. All, it takes is for us to show a little bit of gratitude towards him and the things he gives us. Somebody said once: "humans have an infinite capacity to take for granted the wonders that surround them every day." Or something to that effect.
I know that God loves us and that to him every sacrifice on his behalf is precious.
I hope you all have a great week.
Love you!
-Elder Connor Starr
This week we had some awesome things happen! The whole of the week was pretty normal to be honest. Not too many strange or abnormal things to report.
As it is summer vacation, a lot of people have left to go be with family so we didn't have a fantastic amount of investigators there. However we did have one person show up a few minutes late named Sing. He is from Laos originally and he just got out of prison about 3 months ago. He is really cool and really funny. He was surprised at how long our church meetings were but we assured him that he would get used to it as he kept coming.
This week we also saw 2 less-active members come to sacrament meeting that we were not expecting at all, and the members also brought some people! It was awesome.
I love how, despite nothing too exciting happening throughout the whole week, we were able to see some incredible miracles. The Lord was willing to show his hand on behalf of the effort that we gave to be diligent and noble throughout the many days of work that we had. Our Heavenly Father is merciful and generous beyond our understanding. All, it takes is for us to show a little bit of gratitude towards him and the things he gives us. Somebody said once: "humans have an infinite capacity to take for granted the wonders that surround them every day." Or something to that effect.
I know that God loves us and that to him every sacrifice on his behalf is precious.
I hope you all have a great week.
Love you!
-Elder Connor Starr
Thursday, 19 July 2018
Hello.
This week we had a lot of interesting things happen.
On Thursday we had an appointment later in the evening on the far edge of our area. We were able to take the bus there but the buses don't run past about 6:30 so we asked the sisters if they could give us a ride back. The lesson went great. It was with the Phanor family. They are a part member less-active family from Haiti that we have teaching lately. They are awesome!
The appointment was through and there were no sister missionaries in sight. It was about 8:30pm, the sisters weren't answering their phone, and we had to be in my 9:00. we started walking back and we asked a guy on the street directions to our house. He asked if we were walking and when we told him we were he used several expletives to describe the distance at which we had to walk to reach our destination. It was about 7 miles.
Well this guy was really nice! his name was Jake and he insisted that he call an Uber for us. So we talked to Jake for a bit while waiting for this Uber and we got his phone number to hit him up later!
When we were in the car with Omar, the driver, he was really cool too and we got his facebook information! The moral of the story being that sometimes it pays to trust that everything will work out and that we will be blessed for our patience.
The next day after district meeting we went on exchange with the Littleton Elders, Elder Randall and Elder Lavanger. I was with Elder Randall in Littleton which is mostly a biking area. We were biking most of the day in the super hot weather on the long and windy roads and that is when we saw this lowered, purple Lamborghini sitting in this driveway. We needed a good excuse to stop so we pulled over and knocked on the door. We had to knock 3 times for anybody to answer and we figured out why when the woman that lived there answered the door in a towel as she had just gotten out of shower. I have to give her props because she had a much more pleasant conversation with us than you would expect from a towel-bound woman talking to a couple of missionaries in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. She was really nice and she had had a few encounters with missionaries before when she was in Arizona. She said we could find her on facebook but that she wasn't interested in converting. I'm sure she'll come around.
Our investigator Christina went to the temple this morning for the first time! she is doing awesome!
and she has brought her friend Shantel to church every week for the past month. She also installed the LDS tools app and sent a referral to the missionaries in Virginia for her daughter. She is a great lady.
We have been taught that it is impossible to fail if we do our absolute best while we are on the Lord's errand. I know that to be true and I know that the gospel makes our lives better!
P-day is changed because transfers were this week. Elder Harrison and I are staying another transfer! it is going to be awesome! Elder O'Rourke in Acton was transferred up to Plymouth to be with Elder Morris my other companion. Sorry to see him leave.
So nothing has changed and nobody need worry.
I hope that you all have a great rest of your wonderful summer week!
love you!
This week we had a lot of interesting things happen.
On Thursday we had an appointment later in the evening on the far edge of our area. We were able to take the bus there but the buses don't run past about 6:30 so we asked the sisters if they could give us a ride back. The lesson went great. It was with the Phanor family. They are a part member less-active family from Haiti that we have teaching lately. They are awesome!
The appointment was through and there were no sister missionaries in sight. It was about 8:30pm, the sisters weren't answering their phone, and we had to be in my 9:00. we started walking back and we asked a guy on the street directions to our house. He asked if we were walking and when we told him we were he used several expletives to describe the distance at which we had to walk to reach our destination. It was about 7 miles.
Well this guy was really nice! his name was Jake and he insisted that he call an Uber for us. So we talked to Jake for a bit while waiting for this Uber and we got his phone number to hit him up later!
When we were in the car with Omar, the driver, he was really cool too and we got his facebook information! The moral of the story being that sometimes it pays to trust that everything will work out and that we will be blessed for our patience.
The next day after district meeting we went on exchange with the Littleton Elders, Elder Randall and Elder Lavanger. I was with Elder Randall in Littleton which is mostly a biking area. We were biking most of the day in the super hot weather on the long and windy roads and that is when we saw this lowered, purple Lamborghini sitting in this driveway. We needed a good excuse to stop so we pulled over and knocked on the door. We had to knock 3 times for anybody to answer and we figured out why when the woman that lived there answered the door in a towel as she had just gotten out of shower. I have to give her props because she had a much more pleasant conversation with us than you would expect from a towel-bound woman talking to a couple of missionaries in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. She was really nice and she had had a few encounters with missionaries before when she was in Arizona. She said we could find her on facebook but that she wasn't interested in converting. I'm sure she'll come around.
Our investigator Christina went to the temple this morning for the first time! she is doing awesome!
and she has brought her friend Shantel to church every week for the past month. She also installed the LDS tools app and sent a referral to the missionaries in Virginia for her daughter. She is a great lady.
We have been taught that it is impossible to fail if we do our absolute best while we are on the Lord's errand. I know that to be true and I know that the gospel makes our lives better!
P-day is changed because transfers were this week. Elder Harrison and I are staying another transfer! it is going to be awesome! Elder O'Rourke in Acton was transferred up to Plymouth to be with Elder Morris my other companion. Sorry to see him leave.
So nothing has changed and nobody need worry.
I hope that you all have a great rest of your wonderful summer week!
love you!
Wednesday, 11 July 2018
Kenya even believe it?!
Hello Everybody!
We had a really exciting week this week, at the beginning of the week on Monday, when we had exhausted all of our ideas of helping to teach this African family we are working with, we found out that one of the YSA members in the other ward speaks fluent Swahili! His name is Peter and he was born in Kenya. It was such an awesome miracle. The father and mother of the family in question speak little English although the children all can. (Grammar?)
It was great and they all came to church again yesterday!
On Wednesday we did some cool things for the fourth of July. We went to a parade in Chelmsford and we talked to a bunch of people. That evening we volunteered at the local ballpark and we gave out free American flags to the people that we walking in to see the fireworks across the way. We found some cool new people to teach and we are excited to be seeing more of them.
On Wednesday we did some cool things for the fourth of July. We went to a parade in Chelmsford and we talked to a bunch of people. That evening we volunteered at the local ballpark and we gave out free American flags to the people that we walking in to see the fireworks across the way. We found some cool new people to teach and we are excited to be seeing more of them.
I love the Lord's promises. 1st: that the "field is white" and people are prepared to receive us in our area and 2nd: that we will be made great instruments in the Lord's hands as we learn to trust in him and follow the spirit.
That's about all for this week. Thanks! Love you!
Elder Connor Starr
Thursday, 5 July 2018
Another Good Week
Hello everybody!
We had a great week this week! We saw some awesome miracles as we opened our mouths and talked to as many people as we could. It was great! We went on exchange with the zone leaders in Nashua. It was a lot of fun and we did a cool Book of Mormon booth.
This Sunday Christina brought one of her friends to church! Her name is Shantel and she should be coming every week. Christina is awesome!
It has been a bit warm here lately but I guess that is to be expected of July. I love being here and I love the summer. I am so grateful for all of my blessings and for the support that I have from all of you! Also, shout out to AJ Starr! You will do amazing things!
I love you and hope that you have a great week!
-Elder Connor Starr
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