May 7, 2009

Hailing from Salem, Oregon...it's Elder Starks!



I thought we were in Salem, OR....what the heck is that sign for Dallas doing here??? lol

First off, I was transferred. We found out Monday night that I'd be leaving and that I'd still be on bike. Woohoo! I was most definitely sad to leave, and a little nervous about my future companion.

My new area. I'm now serving in the Fairgrounds ward in Salem. That's right. The bottom of the mission. Salem is the farthest south the mission goes and that's where I'm at. The area seems pretty nice and the ward seems really nice as well. We had a coordination meeting last night and the ward mission leader is quite enthused about missionary work and trying to get the ward involved. The RS Pres and EQ Pres was there and they seem pretty sweet as well. Actually, the RS Pres reminded me of you Mom (funny how it seems all the RS Pres's I've met so far remind me of you...wonder why that is...). Anyway, the bishop was also there and he seems like a pretty awesome guy as well. This area seems like it's going to be a really good area! Oh! and my new companion. His name is Elder Hunter and he's from Spanish Fork, Utah. Really awesome guy, so far as I can tell. He seems like a really hard worker and I think we're going to have a good time together. If you couldn't tell by now, he's the other Elder in the picture that I attached. The other picture is one that I snapped as we were driving down to Salem and I thought you guys would like, I know I thought it was cool!

As for the work back in Tigard before I left. Well, John and his wife seem really close to baptism. As for the work in my new area, it seems to be going really well! I actually met what seems to be our most promising investigator last night. She's an older lady. She is quite fun and loves to have the missionaries over. Elder Hunter and I then went to the coordination meeting I told you about earlier and then retired for the evening. I got mostly unpacked (all my clothes put away, etc.) and we got to know each other more. I really like Elder Hunter. So yeah. Good times so far. The work seems busy and progressing here. I hope it continues to be so!

Alright, so other misc. things. Ties. I like ties. Especially really sweet looking ties. I have, now, about 40 or 45 ties. But more are always good, especially so I can hopefully have more "sweet" ties. The best ties are 100% Polyester ties. And the best places to find the best ties are Thrift stores. The fatter (wide, like 5 to 7 inches wide at the widest part) the better. The thicker the better (meaning, more stuffing). The stiffer (meaning the tie isn't floppy) the better. Just an FYI. I'll send some example pictures at some point. Really good brands at thift stores: Wembly, Britannia, and a few others.

Alright. That's all I can remember at the moment. Oh! Mother's day calling. We get out of church at 4:00PM PST and we'll probably call sometime between 4:00PM and 9:00PM... I wish I could be more specific, but I'm not sure at this point in time. We're hopefully going to find a member's home to call from. So hopefully we'll touch base. I love y'all. You better know that. I love y'all so much! And thank you for sharing your super awesome spiritual experiences with me. It helps so much!

I love y'all!
-Elder Michael Starks