Hey family,
I hope things are going well and that
you are all happy. Everything is great here in the Dominican Republic.
So last Monday I didn’t have much time
to write because we went to the water falls again. Some new elders came to the
area and they wanted to go so I said I would take them. I’ve now been three
times. This time we decided to go all on foot, which is about a 3-hour hike.
It’s pretty cool! We started out at 9am and got on a bus that took us to the
trail entrance in a town called Las Charcas de Maria Noble. It was about an
hours walk there and it was super funny because we were all walking and joking
around and then one of the hermanas in my district told me that she needed to
use the bathroom. She asked if there would be a spot on the way to use the
bathroom. Anyway, she was a little shy, so I went up to a random house and
yelled inside asking them if we could use their outhouse. It was kind of funny because I had never even
talked to those people before but they were super nice. We continued the walk
until we got to Las Charcas. Then we had to keep going till we got to an even
smaller town up in the mountains called Babor Arriba which was another hour
long hike. The trail wasn’t too tough but some of the missionaries started
getting tired. We kept going so we could take a break in Babor. While we were
there, I challenged the newest sister missionary to a chugging contest
of soda. It is almost an initiation right for new missionaries, but right
before we started she took a sip and was like, “Oh, I like it.” It was this
Dominican drink called Malta Morena. I hate it because it’s basically a barley
flavored drink. She didn’t want to chug it because she just wanted to enjoy it,
so I just gave mine away. We kept going
along to get to the waterfalls and it’s a super cool trail. I sent a bunch of
pictures, but yeah, it was super fun just walking through the jungle. There was
this weird Dominican guy that followed us up and he just kept talking to Elder
P about how he would like to marry Sister L and making fun of Sister A because
she is a bit of a princess. Weird guy... But we hung out for a while at the
waterfalls sticking our feet in the water and taking pictures. We even went up
the side of the big waterfall to get on top of it. It was a cool climb so we
rested up there for a bit and ate a small lunch. I went with Elder S who is one
of my friends in the mission and a newer missionary and we hiked a little
further away from the group and found a small private area. I told him
about how the prophets used to go to the mountains to pray because they could
feel closer to God, so we took a small moment and each prayed. Very cool moment.
I got the idea from Brother Ranstrom and the whole time hiking up I thought
about high adventure. Then we headed back down because the zone leaders had a
baptism that they had to get prepared.
On the way back there was a really
funny moment. I saw a guy selling bananas for really cheap so I bought bananas
for everybody and I was handing them out. I offered one to Sister K (she’s from
Kiribati and has a very different culture and cant speak Spanish or English
fluently yet) and when I offered her the banana I thought she said she didn’t
want one so I just gave it to her companion. Then a few minutes later she
walked up to me and put her hand into my cargo shorts pocket and says where is
my banana? I was super freaked out so I grabbed her hand and pulled it out of
my pocket and was like ¨K-- WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ¨ She tried to do it
again but I stopped her. I was super confused, but then her companion ran up
and gave her the other banana, but it was a super weird moment.
I also had some very spiritual experiences
this week. We had a zone conference, which was in Azua so Wednesday morning we
woke up super early and got on the guagua to get to Azua. The whole zone conference
was super great. They talked about commitments and covenants and wow, it was
super spiritual. I felt like it applied very well to our personal lives and so I’m
going to try to work really hard and apply it to my life. I have also been reading
a book called answers to gospel questions by Joseph Fielding Smith and I’m
coming up on finishing it. It’s been a super great book! But yeah, I’m super
excited for my next area. I mean I love San Juan, but I think its time for me
to go. I have 7 months here and the transfers are on March 10th. Also
March 12 we are going to have a big mission conference with Jeffrey R Holland
:) :) :) :) I’m super excited to hear him speak!!!!!! And it’s just for our
mission! Anyway, have a great week. Write me back.
Love,
Elder Stark
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