MTC 3rd Week....Half Way Baby

Hola!

I'm half way done............sayyyy whaaaat!? I can't believe it. And yet I
can, it feels like I have been here for a life time. Don't get me wrong, I
love it here! But I am so excited to get to Costa Rica.

Yesterday we got called up to the travel office and we were so excited!
Turns out, all they wanted us to do was sign something. It was all in
Spanish so I have no idea what I signed, but if it gets me to Costa Rica
then that's ok :)

I really am so glad I have the opportunity to spend 6 weeks here at the
MTC. We have the coolest people come and speak to us! Since last week we
have heard from:

Cheryl Esplin (the 2nd counselor in the general primary presidency)
BYU men's choir
David F. Evans (a member of the 70)
Oh, and ELDER RICHARD G. SCOTT!

That's right, an apostle of the Lord came to speak to us and it was
amazing. He spoke to us about prayer and the importance of communicating
with our father in heaven. After he spoke, a sister went to up to say the
prayer...BUT WAIT...Elder Scott literally jumps out of seat because he had
just one more thing to tell us! He said that our calls are inspired and
that God has sent us 

here not to fail, but to succeed gloriously! He said, "I

know God lives. Because I know Him." It was the best day of the MTC yet.

But being here definitely has its ups and downs. I have been sick with a
cold the entire time I've been here. And I kinda, sorta gave it to everyone
around me. Sorry guys. But all the missionaries are so optimistic! They all
say being sick at the MTC is the best place to be sick because there's lots
of people to help, love and support you.

As for me, I just want to be at home in bed with my Mom. Haha love you
Mommy.

But we have adopted a new saying:

"Es lo que hay!" Which means, it is what it is!

Waking up is hard
It snows without warning
We get sick
We miss our family
Our Spanish vocabulary mainly consists of "hola" and "adios"
But guess what?

Es lo que hay :)

Luckily I don't have to know the language perfectly, or the gospel
perfectly because I am not the teacher. The spirit is! Facts don't convert
people. The spirit does. I am confident as long as I continue to do my
best, God will fill in the rest.

Scripture of the week:
I was reading in the Book of Mormon this week about the army of Helaman.
Most of us are familiar with the story of the 2,060 young warriors that
fought for their families, freedom and religion. It's a great story with a
great ending. Every single person in that army is spared. But as I read in
Alma 57:25 I learned something else. Yes it's true that no one died but as
we continue reading, we learn that no one walked away with no wounds
either. Usually that part of the story is left out.

According to their faith, through their exact obedience, and remembering
what their mothers had taught them, they were able to succeed gloriously.
But NOT without trials, hard work and battle wounds.

And then I decided this is exactly like missionary work. As we continually
put our trust in God, he will help us! No it will not be easy, but we are
promised miracles! I love that.

Quote of the week:
Brother Goodman aka Buen Hombre (one of our teachers): Today we are going
to be learning about what to do when people do not want to hear our
message. Any thoughts?

Elder Winch: Oh, I know! If people don't want to let us teach them, should
we just play hard to get? Making them want to hear us?

Brother Goodman: Um, no Elder. This isn't highschool dating.

Elder Winch: Oh right, it didn't work for me then either.

Ohhhhh I do love being a missionary. It's the best!

Love you all, Hermana Starke

P.s. Shout out to 2 of my favorite people...Jordan and Troy! I am soooooo
happy for you both. Congrats on your engagement. I love you lots!

Oh, you know.... we just love to dress alike.... We shopped at the same place....Downeast baby



The Elders in my district













THANK YOU GRANDMA PATSY... She sent me "doodlewackers" aka:Snickerdoodles























Alright San Fernando Mission peeps... These two cute sisters are coming your way.. Be watching








Just love her!



My roomates



Feliz Cumpleanos a senor profesor....FIESTA

MTC Week 2

Family and friends hey are you ready?
This is the tale of your favorite sister missionary

Please while you read this, give it a beat
This is a little rap of life here at the MTC

We wake up in the morning real early and bright
To study the gospel and spread Christ's light

We attempt to learn Spanish at our very best
And are grateful to God who makes up for the rest

Elders and sisters with God as our lead
The spirit is always strong, it's the BEST place to be

You'll often overhear conversations in Korean
In Japanese, Russian, German, French, and Italian

We eat lots of food and then sit and study
But we walk up 10 flights of stairs, so there's no need to worry

Thanks for the cupcakes, candy, chips and letters
Pretty sure i have the greatest friends and family EVER

Sometimes it's tough...we get sad and tired
Anyone who said they didn't would be a liar!

I didn't bring ugly missionary shoes because I didn't want to get made fun
of by my sister
But now, thanks to her, I wear shoes that give me blisters!

Time is sure flying...it's already been two weeks
Since we said goodbye out on the Provo streets

It's been 14 days and i have plenty more
Until i get to see the pretty Costa Rican shore!

My testimony is growing and that is a fact
I'm grateful for my companion, she's always got my back

The world will soon hear our message of truth and love
And the knowledge of our Savior from up above

Things are going great, I love it oh so much
Especially the chocolate chip cookies they give us for lunch!

I had to give the prayer this Sunday in our church
All in Espanol...I guess it could have been worse?!

I messed up my words and gave everyone a laugh...
Don't worry my friends! I'm still on the right path

The Church of Jesus Christ is so true, and I know it
I'm thankful for everyday here and the chance I have to show it

We fight about whose turn it is to pray and read
My district really is becoming my new family!

The weather is getting better, some days I see the sun
Like Elder Anderson said, "It's not missionary WORK, it's missionary FUN!"

The goal is to baptize and bring others unto Christ
Sure hope those Costa Ricans understand me, even though I'm white

I'm making life long friends, the people here are great
I know I'll make more in Costa Rica, for that I just can't wait!

I feel all sorts of emotions here...they change almost every hour
I feel like Repunzel from Tangled after she leaves her tower

Through the good and the bad, it all somehow gets better
I'm grateful for a God who always loves me no matter

Being here is hard but i know it's worth it all
I know my Savior will pick me up when ever I start to fall

At the end of the day, us Spanish speakers say "esta bien"
I'm enjoying this whole journey! Just like Aunt Raelene said :)

I think about you Walter, Kristen, and Addison
You're in my heart always and I pray for you often

Oh this gospel bring more hope and joy than anything else can
In everything around me I ALWAYS see God's hand

We've got awesome teachers! When we have questions, they solve 'em
We have weird inside jokes...hashtag missionaryproblems

Now it's time to recognize the man who loved me first
Happy (almost) Birthday, dear old Dad! Party hard on April 21st :)

Sunday devotional was given by the church media director
The Lord is hastening his work through the internet and twitter!

So, the stats are in and I'm so glad I went

Cause here at the MTC...sisters are 44 PERCENT!

The number is only going to get higher and increase
As The Lord calls his servants to find his lost sheep

I miss my Osmond babies, and Baylee's sweet smile
Hope they don't forget their favorite babysitter after a while

Life is SO good, I'm the happiest I've ever been
The message is simple...come follow Him

I cannot wait to write more letters as the weeks go by again
I leave this testimony with you all, in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!

Xoxo,
Hermana Jessicah Starke

Mom Sent me Chips and Queso to help with spanish studies


Elder Nui Harris


















Mom sent another care package

MTC Week One

Family! Friends!

I am so happy to finally be able to write you. I have been waiting for this
moment all week.

I love the MTC. I love my companion. I love my district. I love learning
spanish. I love Costa Rica. I love the food here. And mostly, I love being
a missionary.

Fun facts about my companion, Hermana McArthur:
She's 20 years old
From West Jordan, Utah
She was engaged and now she's on a mission (good choice girlfriend)
She's an opera singer (jealous)
Her brother is an actuary (shout out to dad)
She lived in Santa Clarita for 3 months before the mission (yep, we
literally lived 15min apart)
Her parents are professional Santa's (hi Mr and Mrs Claus!)
She loves to say "what the ham" (maybe its a utah thing?)
And mostly, I love her.

The first day I got here we had a huge orientation and all the new
missionaries sang "to bring the world his truth" but changed the words to
"we are NOW the Lord's missionaries"

Tears, just rolling down my face.

So, they say the MTC stands for missionary training center. But personally,
i think it stands for:

MAKE THEM CRY

Because I have cried every single day I've been here. I cry because I'm
happy, because I feel the spirit, because I love missionary work, because
learning another language is hard, because I miss my little brothers.

I also think it has another meaning too.

MAKE THE CHANGE

Here at the MTC we do all sorts of great things. Here's what my typical day
consists of:
Wake up at 6:30
Personal study, companion study, language study
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner (my favorites are the cookies dough ice cream
and curly fries)
Testimony meetings
At least 20 prayers a day (not exaggerating)
Gym (I don't wanna brag but I mean, I was the king of the court at four
square. repeats of 6th grade?)
Lots and lots and lots of studying
And then bed @ 10:30

Being able to watch conference here was amazing! One of my favorite talks
was by Elder Holland. When they announced he was going to be the first
speaker in that particular session you could hear all the missionaries say,
"YESSS!!!" it was awesome.

I loved how he said that imperfect people are all God has ever had to work
with, that must be pretty frustrating! We need to be kind, forgiving, and
patient. This is definitely something I needed to hear. On Sunday, Vocal
Point performed and they were wonderful! The Tuesday devotional was given
by Brother Gerald Lund (writer of the work and the glory) and he spoke
about revelation. What a gem!

Basically if you're wondering, the MTC is just one big party. I am always
running into people I know from home, efy, or byui. I love it so much! And
I have also made so many new friends. Everyone here is so great and I
really think there are more sisters here than elders, it's the best!

Tender mercy time:

One night at dinner I was feeling discouraged and decided to turn my frown
upside down. I started chatting with the sweet old man sitting across from
me. Turns out he is from Costa Rica and then he continued to give me advice
and tell me stories for the rest of my meal. It made me SO happy and
realize that I can do this. And not only that, but I get to do this! How
lucky am I?

I am the oldest person in my district which is kinda funny, but I am
starting to love them more and more each day. They are my family! The
Elders are immature and make me laugh but I know they have a desire to
increase their testimonies and bring others unto Christ! Which is all that
matters. I am excited to watch us all grow here.

Spanish time:

I really do love learning spanish! I can say prayers and bear my testimony
but that's about it. After only 2 and a half days of being here they told
us we had to teach our first "investigator", Pedro.

....In Spanish. Say what!?

Ummm, that's when those 20 prayers come into place. So we knock on Pedro's
door (the classroom) and he let's us in. I mostly just nod my head and say,
"Si, si, si". Poor Pedro. My sweet companion just looks at me with a blank
stare. So I panic and just start talking in broken spanish. I start telling
him about the gospel and I bear my testimony and the spirit is so strong
and I don't know how I did it. Except, I do. The Lord! He helps me do this
and he is going to help Pedro too. What a happy, happy day.

Everyone has to call me "Hermana Starke" here and I am starting to forget
my name is even Jessicah!

That's when I realize, that's the point. I have to forget myself in order
to help others and in order to truly serve God. And I love it. I am loving
every minute of it.

Yo se que la iglesia de JesuCristo es verdadera!

Love you all so very much,
Hermana Starke

Scripture of the week: D&C 88:63 "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock,and it shall be opened unto you. 

Quote of the week:
Elder Blegan: Everyone! I just realized that quesadilla literally means
cheese day in spanish! Queso=cheese and dia=day. Isn't that awesome!?
Me: ..............

P.s. Thanks for all your letters and e-mails. They mean the world to me!

 We're going to Costa Rica

My Companion Sister McArthur

Look who I ran into....my friend Sister Chalis from Star Valley, Wyoming

The Sister Missionaries in my district.

My mom sent me a care package of brownies.... we ate them all. Yummmy!

Spanish Class

Ummmm..... It's snowing in Utah... I only packed for Costa Rica weather.... Thanks mom for making me bring this coat... mom's know best.