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