Mangos & PB

Family, friends, anyone reading this...hello, and thanks for reading :)

Last week I made light of many of the situations that have taken place in
Costa Rica, but the truth is...this is the hardest thing I have ever done.
EVER........But I love it.

And let me tell you why:
We have lots of appointments with people who want to hear our message
right? They are called "citas". Well I didn't know they were called that. So
when my companion told me we were going to a cita, my thoughts were, ok
cool, cant wait to meet her. When we arrived at the house I greeted the
lady and said, "nice to meet you Cita!".... Her name is Francis.

So then we sit down and have a lesson and I just sit and scratch the 50
thousand bug bites on my legs. And occasionally slap the mosquito off my
neck. My companion teaches and uses scriptures and bears her testimony and
is awesome. And I just fold my arms and smile, and pretend I know what's going on.
For example...

When they laugh, I laugh
When they offer me a drink, I drink it
When they cry, I try not to laugh
When they ask me a question, I freak out and say, "si"

Then the problems start. Because it probably wasn't the best idea to say "Si"
after a lady named Luisa asked me to give her 70 year old mom a bath
and buy her diapers. Um luckily my companion got us out of that one.

The hardest people to understand are the ones with no teeth. Okay, no I
lied. The hardest people to understand are the ones that don't speak
English. Haha oh wait......that's everyone.

Sometimes when I want to cry I just cross my arms and feel my elbows
because guess what? They are smoother than a baby's bottom. I guess that's
what 100% humidity does to a girl. And it's awesome! Now how many of you in
America can say that?

Here's a small Spanish lesson for you all:
País (Pa-ees)=country
Pies (Pee-es)=feet

When used in the wrong way, a person might end up saying; "In my FEET we make
really good hamburgers."  And people might end up being quite confused.

Well, this week I really gained a testimony of how the gospel truly does
bless families. Hermana Anderson and I have been praying to have the Lord
lead us to find two families that are in need of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. We are also praying for 1 family to reactivate.

Two of our investigators, Eric and Alexandra, decided to get married so
that they can be baptized. They want to set a good foundation and example
for their 2 young children. They have already seen the blessings the gospel
brings because Eric was able to find a new job this week.

It's hard being a missionary for the reason that people simply do not know
what they are missing out on. I just want every family to receive the
gospel!

I also know my family at home is being blessed. I love you guys. And think
about you every day.

I also realized something this week...our church is really weird...
We teach about Gold plates
We are baptized in behalf of dead people
We don't drink Coffee
We sing lots of songs
And send teenagers all around the world to teach people these things
It's a good thing the Lord is on our side!

I wonder if the Costa Ricans are just like, why are they here? It is
definitely something I've asked myself. But I know why I'm here. I cannot deny
the truthfulness of the gospel. As different as we are, I find real
happiness when living its teachings.

I also wonder if the Costa Ricans are concerned with the amount of clothes
that we wear. Compared to them, we are dressed for a snow storm. Nope, just
90 degree heat with a side of rain ;)

Rain, rain, rain and LOTS of thunder! The loudest, coolest thunder I have
ever heard in my life. It even broke our landline telephone we use. Bye bye
phonie. Aka my only connection to normal life. You will be missed.

Just so everyone knows, Costa Rica is the prettiest thing my eyes have ever
seen. The sunsets, the mountains, the green *everything*. I just can't get
over how lucky I am to be here. It truly is amazing.

I have a weird theory, go with me on this one ok? I think I know where the
Garden of Eden was..... Costa Rica! Because let's be honest, no one can resist
the fruit here.

Speaking of fruit, I have a new favorite snack. Sour green mangos with
peanut butter. Call me crazy but I love it.

This Sunday we had 10 investigators say they were going to come to church!
Obviously we were pretty happy about it. Then, none of them showed up and we
were obviously pretty sad about it. But that changed really fast when I was asked to 

teach primary! We sang "I am a Child of God" in Spanish about 10
times and then I tried really hard to pronounce their names. They
just laugh at me but I love them because they are cute. The best part is
they all still give me hugs even though they can't understand me.

For dinner Sunday night we went to a member's house. The members
asked us what the dish was called in English. My companion and I turn to
each other and shout

Ca...
Bob...
Bobs...
Cabobs...
SHISHCABOBS!

As you can tell we can't speak in English or Spanish. It's pretty sad. And
pretty funny.

The people here are *so* funny. Why? Let me just tell you...
1. They are OBSESSED with the song Gangham style. Let me remind you the
lyrics are in English and Korean. NOT Spanish.
2. They think getting wet in the rain makes them sick. Let me also remind
you it rains every day here.
3. I saw two different girls wearing shirts with the lyrics "let's make
out" and "don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me" And they have no
idea what it means. Oh goodness.
4. Every day a loud obnoxious truck drives around giving announcements to
everyone. Glad we don't do that in America.
5. The addresses here are as follows....50 steps from the bus stop, on the right, next to
the blue house. Ummm Okay now let me just whip out my treasure map, too.

Since no one can say my name they have started calling me Hermana Estrella
which means star in Spanish.

Me:  "MY NAME IS STARKE"
Them: ooooh like I-uuurn man?

Me: Haa haa 

I love you all,
Hermana Starke

I MADE IT.... Costa RIca!

Well.........I made it! I'm alive, safe, and happy.

After crying my eyes out over the phone for 2 straight hours in the Dallas, TX
airport we hopped on a plane and left the country.

There were a ton of teenage girls on the plane headed to Costa Rica for graduation party and  excited to
enjoy a vacation for a week or two.

Then there was me. Coming to Costa Rica for much different reasons.

It was dark when we landed so I couldn't see much.
We walked off the plane and went through customs, security and other stuff
you have to do when entering a new country. It was awesome. Finally I was
reunited with my luggage and made my way to the front of the airport. I
looked up and saw a happy American family waving at me and I began to cry as I was
 greeted by my mission president and his family. After that we all hopped in
vans and went to the temple! It was a beautiful sight.

All 10 of the new sisters stayed in a tiny little house for the night and I
slept by a cute little dead coachroach. But, I was so exhausted I didnt even
care. I smiled as I closed my eyes  and fell fast asleep because...I'M IN
COSTA RICA!

The next morning we woke up bright and early at 3am to take care of visa
and passport business. As we waited in the 5 hour line I saw a bird and a
little boy pointed to it and said,  "Paloma!",  Which made me think of my Dad
since he always calls me that. I then looked across the street and saw a
ton of ladies doing ZUMBA to Michael Jackson. Which of course made me think
of my mommy. I miss you guys...... Tender mercies.

We then got right to work and started contacting. I was SO nervous and
hesitant and first because well, EVERYONE speaks Spanish here.

So we hop on the bus and I sit next to this Tica named Maria. She LOVES
being Catholic, so obviously that didnt work out so well. I let out a sigh
and decided to sit quietly for the rest of the bus ride. But just as I did
so, I felt a tap on my shoulder. A man behind me who had overheard our
conversation asked me IN ENGLISH where in California I was from. I
excitedly told him and it turns out he was from San Diego. He spoke perfect
English and it made my heart so happy. I told him my purpose for being here
and basically gave him the first lesson. I watched his eyes light up as I
bore him my testimony. He was so interested. I gave him every pamplet I had
and got his information. First contact in Costa Rica.....check!

I couldn't stop smiling when I got off the bus and my heart was filled with
so much joy. Byran was prepared. So prepared. And I see a baptism for him
in the near future :)

We then went to the central park of San Jose and I was able to contact 3
other people. It was amazing! I couldn't believe that they understood what I
was saying. Or maybe they didn't and just felt bad for me. Either way, I
had  4 new contacts and I was pretty happy about it. WIth all 10 of the
sisters we made 17 contacts! Yay for the power of new sister missionaries.

As the sun started to set, I look up into the sky and it finally felt
real. I'm a missionary in Costa Rica. And it's the best thing in the world!
We ate really greasy McDonalds for dinner, but I had fun ordering in
Spanish. It was a great day.

Thursday morning we went to the Mission President's home and had an
authentic Costa Rican breakfast. We also had interviews with him so he
could get to know us and decide who our trainers would be. Exciting stuff!

After Breakfast we walked to the mission office and all stood in a room
with the new missionaries on one side and the trainers on the other.

All the trainers were native except for one. So, guess who my new companion
is? Hermana Shaleah Anderson from South Jordan, Utah. Apparently the
president changed his mind last second so it was a surprise for both of us.
President has huge expectations for Orotina. And I guess we are the people
to make it happen!

Here's a little about her:
She is beautiful and blonde and I already love her so much. She has been
here 3 months and opened up our area called Orotina. She has taught me so
much already. To work hard, to be obedient, and how to survive here. I am
so grateful for her.

All about Orotina:
During our orientation they told us that the super ridiculously hot places
would get a fan.......we have 2. The area was just opened 3 months ago due
to the overflow of sisters here. There is SO much work to do. And many
people in need of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some people have very nice homes and cars here,  and some people have the
exact opposite. But, everyone has their smart phones! It's really
interesting. Our apartment is nice. We are really lucky. It is a lot nicer
than many of the homes I have visited. I'll send pictures in the future.

I dont know how they do it but they take water from Alaska and put it in
the showers here. Its crazy.

Alright, time for the most important part (at least for Lisa Norman) THE
FOOD! It is delicious!! So far, I have loved everything I have eaten. The
fruit here is to die for. The mangos here ain't got nothin on Costco. They
have giant avacodos that we pick off the trees and they are seriously the
size of a small baby. Theres also a ton of fruit here that doesnt exist in
America. It's so delicious. And whenever we visit people they always give us
fruit as a departing gift. Sure, i'll take it! The people here are so
friendly and giving.

Besides the fruit, it's eggs, salad, rice, and beans errreday. The salad is
shredded cabbage with diced tomatoes and cilantro.

I can't even count how many bug bites I have recieved in the 6 days I've been
here, and both of my feet are swollen with blisters.

Everytime I take a step I just want to cry because it is so painful. The
rain, mud, rocks and new shoes dont really help either. But instead I just
smile cause I'm in Costa Rica. Pura Vida, right?

On Saturday we cleaned the church building and I met 2 new friends inside
of it. Terry the Teranchula and Ian the Iguana. I don't think they like me
very much because I screamed when I first met them.

For some reason my skin is getting whiter. Not sure why...... Oh maybe because
it rains here EVERYDAY. And I love it. My umbrella broke when I pulled it
out of my suitcase. Luckily they sell the good ones here. Silly umbrella
makers in California, they dont even know what rain is. Here its hard and
loud and hot and beautiful.

Theres about 30 to 40 members in the ward including 2 elders and us. The
woman sitting next to me pulled her shirt down and started breastfeeding
her baby during the sacrament and it was completely normal for everyone.
Except me.

Alright so no one can say my name here. And I mean NO ONE. It's hilarious.
They pronouce it essstarrkay. No? Ummmm No!

There are just chickens and dogs and frogs all over running wild in the
streets. Hiiiiii. I don't really mind it except I hate the dogs. They are
muy feo! (very ugly) But, you just throw rocks at them and they leave you alone.

We went to a recent converts house and had dinner with her family the other
night. We taught them how to make no bake cookies and all the kids helped
me with my Spanish. There are 5 kids that all sleep on one really old
matress and it just makes me want to give them everything I have. But they
are so happy and so grateful we are here for them.

This is EASILY the HARDEST thing I have ever done. I wish you could be
here and experience this all with me. It is nothing like I could have ever
imagined. It's hot and hard and I barely understand what's going on. But, I
know that 2 gringas here in Orotina, Costa Rica are going to change lives.
Not sure yet how, but it's going to happen. I have faith in that. I feel
power from heaven helping me and protecting me here and I am so grateuful
for this gospel. I know it's true. And I can't wait to tell everyone about it.

Miss you all
Hermana Starke

San Jose Costa Rica Temple 

MTC...Week 5

Hi family!

So, I got a happy happy letter this week. MY TRAVEL PLANS :) I leave
Tuesday at 5am with a layover in Dallas and then I am scheduled to arrive
in Costa Rica around 7:00pm that night. I'm really really happy!

Goodbye hot showers,
Too much food
My wonderful new friends
Dry Utah weather
Awesome devotionals
Pretend investigators
And, the MTC

People often ask, how is the Spanish coming?
Well, it's coming.

But I realized something this week, my investigators aren't going to say to
me, "When you conjugated that verb correctly, that's when I knew that the
church was true!"  It's my testimony and the spirit that are going to
change hearts, not the language.

This week we had a powerful lesson. We learned that we are teaching PEOPLE
not LESSONS. I can't wait to teach people. I can't wait to teach Costa
Ricans!

We also had an awesmome opportunity to teach a lady named Marieta from
Santiago Chile via skype! It was way cool and made me so excited for Costa
Rica. Through the fuzzy internet conection, and with broken spanish I was still
able to feel and teach with the spirit and it was a really great experience.

Well, like I've mentioned before, the Elders in my district sure do make me
laugh. One of them has a weird obsession with pepper jack cheez-its. Why? I
don't know. So when his life long supply for the MTC ran out, obviously he
was not a happy camper. Desperately, he wrote home to his Mom and asked her
to please send him some more. A few days later, when his package arrived,
he opened it to discover an entire box full of pepper jack *cheese*.......guess
he left out the "its" part-ooops... Hahaha

You think after 6 weeks I would be used to waking up at 6:30am right?
Wrong. Each day my morning prayers sound a little something like this:

Heavenly Father, Hi.
How are you?
I'm pretty tired.
No actually, I'm really tired.
I don't want to do this today.
Do I have to get up?
I do?
Okay, that's fair I guess.
Will you help me please?
Thanks.
Oh you're the best!
I love being a missionary, I promise.
Alright, talk to you soon
Yo digo estas cosas en el nombre de JesuCristo, Amen

Then my day begins! We study, pray some more, and then we eat breakfast.

Something you all must understand about the MTC it has every kind of cereal
known to man kind. One morning our district decided to demolish and ENTIRE
tower of froot loops. Let me tell you, this is no easy task ok? To pump up
my district of 9 teammates I decided to share an inspirational scripture:

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me". (Philipeans 4:13)

So you better believe after lots of milk, raw mouths, and 56 bowls of
cereal, we finished! It was fantastic.

Since Sunday was Cinco De Mayo, us spanish speakers decided to have a
little fiesta. Thanks to my dear, sweet mom for all the fiesta treats. Um,
especially the mexican chocolate and horchata. It was the best!

NFL player Chad Lewis came to speak with us and it felt like a little pep talk before 

I go out into the mission field. It was awesome!

This week I have learned so much. My purpose as a missionary isn't to
just *invtite* others to come unto Christ. It's to invite them to *become* like
Christ. He is the perfect example. He is the light of the world! I
challenge everyone to be more Christ like. And as you do so, you will
become much happier. Your heart will be more full, and your life filled
with more purpose.

As I read the Book of Mormon, I have noticed a common re-occuring theme:
Departing into the wilderness
Yes, it sounds scary and strange. But repeatedly, The Lord asks his people
and prophets to go into the wilderness, and THEY DO! Most often the reason
is unknown and they are asked to leave everything behind. They experience
suffering and hardships. But as we continue reading, we see those people
are always blessed. The Lord provides.

As I am about to leave the comfort of the MTC and depart into my own
wilderness, I sometimes question my reason for doing it. I often feel alone
and suffer my own personal hardships. How can The Lord ask so much of me?
I've left everything behind and this wilderness is unknown and a bit scary.

In our lives we may not understand why the Lord asks certain things of us.
But as we do what he asks, and bend our will to his, blessings are given.
Miracles happen! I know that to be true because I have seen it happen in my
own life these past 6 weeks as I have given up everything to serve God.

I am so excited for the adventure ahead of me and know that the Lord will
help me! I can't believe that it is almost here!
Does it get any better than this?

Actually it does. This week I got to host all the new missionaries and I
loved it! And, I hated it at the same time too. I think I cried more than the new
missionaries did as I watched them say goodbye to their friends and family!
It is the sadest but happiest thing ever! And it was raining. Talk about
dramatic!

Well the next time you hear from me will be on the phone in the airport. I
am so excited for that phone call. I just screamed a little and now people are
staring. Ok, I should go now.
I love  you all,
Hermana Starke

Quote of the week:
My companion (bless her heart): We get to go to the playa,(play-ah) ahhh I love the
playa. Do you live close to a playa?
Me: Hermana? Are you trying to say the beach in Spanish? It's not
pronounced play-ah. It's pronounced PLI-YA
Hermana McArthur: Ohhhhhh, no wonder everyone is staring at me.
Me: It's ok, we all know you're a playa tho. Hahaha

Shout out to all the important moms in my life! Cherie, Lisa, Sandy, Cindy,
Kristen, Raelene, Dolores, and Patsy! I love you all and hope you have a
wonderful mothers day :)

Si....Como estas

Got my Hep A shot.... I can leave the country now
Had to climb 5 flights of stairs... that was rough


Cinco de Mayo fiesta goodies.... Gracias mi madre










Cereal Challenge
That's right two handed baby
Super excited to be new missionary host

He Lives! MTC Week 4

Hello everyone!

Well, hope none of you were TOO sad when you didn't get an e-mail from me
yesterday. My P-day got changed to Thursday...so here I am :)

This week has been wonderful, as usual. The mission really is the best two
years of your life, because it's not your life that you are living for.

But don't get me wrong, it's not easy. In fact, talking about missionary
work, Elder David A. Bednar said, "When you think you can't do this, you're
right. You can't. But with God you CAN do it, and with God you can do
anything." I love that, so much. Thanks Elder Bednar. And thank you, God. I
know that He will do what I cannot, if I just do what I can.

Not like I'm counting down or anything, but I leave for Costa Rica in 12
days! Can you believe it? I can't.The fact that I will soon leave the
country doesn't feel real yet. I feel like I have lived my entire life in
this little missionary time warp called the MTC. I'm excited and nervous.
But mostly just happy. See you soon rainy, warm, beautiful weather!

The other day my companion said to me,
Companion: "Costa Rica is just the perfect
mission! I mean, who wouldn't want to go there? Well...actually, it would
be hard for the sisters in Antarctica to get called there."
Me: Um, Hermana...pretty sure penguins don't get called on missions.

As the newbies arrive every Wednesday, there are more and more sisters!
Hollla at yo girls! It's so awesome. Then throughout the day, the MTC soon
becomes crowded with so many new missionaries. There's so many different
languages going on everywhere at once, so when we pass people in the halls
I pretend that maybe I'm going to Japan or something and I shout my made up
Japanese at people. Because they don't know I can't speak Japanese right? I
could be saying, "Hi", or "I like your dress", or "I'm hungry". So, after
a group
of elders started laughing at me, I looked at their name tags and guess
where they were serving? Japan. Hahaha oops. The funny thing is, they told
me my accent didn't need any work! But I think from now on I'll just stick
to my Spanish.

Last Sunday we had a really cool opportunity to meet and listen to the
brand new general young women's presidency. Sister Dalton is still my hero
though, and always will be! Speaking here at the MTC, was Sister
Oscarson's  first
assignment! She spoke to us about Jacob chapter 5 (the looonnngest chapter
in The Book of Mormon). Honestly, i understand about as much in that
chapter as i do when i read Isaiah. But she shared her insight about how we
as missionaries are involved in the gathering of Isreal and about how The
Lord sure is hastening his work. I love verse 17. It says we must labor in
the vineyard with all our might and as we do so, we are promised that the
master will never leave us unattended as we do His work.

Also on Sunday, 4 of us sang the song "I know that my Redeemer lives"
acapella in church. It's my favorite song! And my favorite line in that
song is, "He lives, my kind, wise heavenly friend. He lives, and loves me
to the end." The words touched my heart. When I start to miss my friends at
home, I just need to remember that I have also have a best friend up in
Heaven. I am loved more than I know, by someone who died to know me.

Now that my Spanish vocabulary is starting to expand a little...we try to
go the whole day speaking ONLY spanish. We play games and have contests,
it's so great. We take regular songs and try to translate them into
Spanish. Por ejemplo (for example), "Estamos son NUNCA, nunca,
nunca...getting back...juntos!" It makes no sense, i know. But it's so fun
and it's helping me learn my Spanish. And if nothing else, I can sing 'we
are never getting back together' spanish style, for all those Costa Ricans.
They'll listen to me, right?

Here's some spanglish jokes for you all:

How much milk does a Costa Rican cow make? MUUUUCCHHOOO
What do you call a Costa Rican with a rubber toe? ROBERTO

Please laugh. When you are a missionary, you have to find ways to entertain
yourself somehow! For instance, I am almost postive that I have now seen
every Mormon Message ever created. My favorite one is called earthly
father, heavenly father. Everyone needs to watch it. It's amazing.

This week all the Hermanas pulled the matresses our from the bunk beds and
had a sleepover (which ended promptly @ 10:30 reeeaal wild, i know) but it
was so fun. For our nightly prayer we decided to all say one prayer
together outloud. So one person started it and then we all went around the
circle and each contributed to the prayer. We went around a few times and
when we finished realized we had been praying for over 30 minutes. It was
so special and I had never done anything like it before. So if any of you
are looking to spice up your prayer life, I defintely reccommend it.

Our teachers strongly enforce something here called HSI (habla su idioma or
speak your language). So after explaining the importance of that to us, we
started talking to each other and when no one was listening to our teacher,
he yelled, "HELLO!"
Me: Don't you mean...Hola?
Hahaha gotcha.

Well, my favorite part of the week has come to an end. I love sitting down
to write home each week. Hope you are all doing well.
Con todo el amor en mi corazon,
Hermana Starke

Advice of the week: ALWAYS share the gospel. And if necessary, use words.
Okay, so i may or may not have stolen that from Elder Uchtdorf. But that is
just more of a reason to do it!

Shout out to my Meggs for getting her license finally!!! I'm happy for ya
sis!!! Besitos :)

Watch this: Earthly Father, Heavenly Father
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2119328537001

Sent by mom to celebrate our 1/2 way in the MTC