I am currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the California San Fernando Mission for 18 months. If you want to know more about what I am doing you can go to mormon.org/missionaries/
I am staying in Palmdale but leaving the Princess House. Aqua Dulce was whitewashed and Sister Larsen and I are staying together in Ana Verde. We are moving to an apartment. Here is my new mailing address:
Sister Heidi Starr
39129 10th ST W #24
Palmdale, CA 93551
I cannot believe how many blessings the Lord is sending us. He is definitely gathering his children. His is expecting so much of us which is very humbling. We set another baptismal date today. That give us a total of 11 in Ana Verde. 11 Baptisms in one transfer. Goodness, the Lord must trust us soooo much. I hope he is sure about this :) We just have to be sure and follow up! Going on a mission is so cool. It is crazy how just a few weeks ago I wanted to be transferred and now I want to stay for those 11 baptism dates. Palmdale California - Am I really on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? - - - Reality Check. Yes you are! I did a lot of work to get here. Interviews, shopping, tons of studying, goodness, and now here I am. Now I wish I could truly forget myself and focus on others.
I had Bronchitis and a Sinus Infection last week and then this week I got the worst flu of my life. I did not eat for 3 days. Yesterday - Monday 12/13 - I had to go to the doctor to get a shot to keep anything down - it was terrible! Sister Larsen was a great nurse. She had to pick out my clothes and dress me I was so sick. I don't think I've ever been that sick in my life. She said my face was so grey and white she was scared. I feel like I conquered death!
Goodness I have no idea what to say in these blog posts anymore. I know I am having incredible experiences, but putting them into words is tricky. I need to write down better notes throughout the week so I can express myself. So many of the experiences I am having are so personal to individuals because it involves their change of heart and coming to know Christ so personally and realizing he is truly their Savior. It is an emotional journey. Many are at different mile markers, but the remarkable thing is that I am blessed enough to help them along, and answer their questions, resolve their doubts and prepare them to enter the waters of baptism. Then they can continue on their journey with the help and sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost.
We taught one woman this past week was at the very beginning of her journey. We went over to her house where she had prepared cookies and juice for us. We met her autistic son who was adorable. We taught her about the restoration of the gospel. She said "I feel something is missing from my religion." I could not relate to her situation. I have had the gospel my entire life. I have never felt like anything was missing. BUT, even though I could not relate, I COULD help her. I told her that what we were teaching her would was not only true, but It was going to make her feel complete. We were all crying. She prayed at the end of the lesson. It was not how she usually prays but she said she would try our way. She said "Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending me the missionaries. Help me to know if the Book of Mormon is true. .... umm that's all I've got.... Jesus name, amen" We told her that her prayer was perfect and that was all she needed and that if she really wanted to know, God would answer her prayer. OH goodness she was the sweetest Lady! I could see that Heavenly Father loved her soooo much and I am so grateful that I can be a part of this great work!
The Mission President is ordering me all of the Spanish study material from the MTC. He said he wants me to learn Spanish. But I told him I had no materials and he was setting me up to fail - so he took care of that - haha.
11-15-10 Randi got baptized! She is so sweet. Her whole family came and it was wonderful. And Shannon even came! She is an investigator from another ward who is hopefully getting baptized soon! Church was wonderful. We did splits where my companion and I both went to separate wards and had members as companions. We had 9 investigators come to church! That is definitely a record for us! Heavenly Father is trusting us quite a bit with his children here on earth. It is a big responsibility to stay worthy of the Spirit so we can help them find the truth and teach to their individual needs. But it is also SO EXCITING!
Randi and me at her Baptism on 11-14-10
Can I also say that mission birthdays are the best? I love NOT focusing on myself, but focusing on everyone else and what is important= Jesus Christ. I love this whole "forget yourself and get to work" motto. I would have been devastated if I missed out on that. I know that this is one of the miracles that has happened for ME so far while I have been on a mission. I have become less self-centered. I'm sure there are many more to come.
Have a blessed week. And enjoy the fall air before winter comes wherever you are and whatever state you are in.
Love, Sister Heidi Jayne Starr*
11-22-10
At stake conference we had several investigators come and one even brought her parents.... the bad thing was that one lady got up and told the whole stake how attractive her husband was....etc...she would not stop! Also the temple pres. made some joke about the Pope getting baptized.... eek! SO... We may have lost them. Church meetings are NOT relaxing. I am so tense during them because I have no clue what they are going to say. Can't I screen the talks before hand? But we are being so blessed. They are talking about splitting our area because we have created so much work... I think we have convinced president to wait another transfer because we want to see these baptisms happen. We shall see. We never know what transfers will bring.
11-29-10
We went and talked to the youth at Bishops Youth Discussion and talked to them about being a missionary. We had a Question and Answer session. They asked if we are ever tired. I said you are just kind of always numb because you are so tired. I want more than anything to take a "Sunday nap" like the good 'ole days. But the Lord helps us perform his work. Really. He does. It is kinda crazy how we constantly go go go though haha.
A mission is awesome. I am so glad I am doing this. It is tough to be away from family and stretch myself in areas that I'm not used to... but it is so worth it for the message of the Gospel and bring it to people that need it in their lives. God is changing people and I get to be a part if it.
We have been praying to find people In our other area and saw a miracle just yesterday! We met a man a few months ago who was interested but wanted to delicately investigate because he knew his wife wouldn't approve (she is very active in another church). All we knew was that he lived in "Acton". We had an appointment that he missed and he wouldn't return our calls or messages. We didn't know what to do. Yesterday we were thinking "Goodness we wish we could just FIND him!" We were tracting a street and there was a husband and wife outside. We went up and talked to him and the husband said "hi sisters!" IT WAS HIM!!!!! Out of all the streets in Acton, the Lord directed us to that one. He lived at the end of the street. Had we stopped and turned around we wouldn't have seen him. We were truly being lead and guided.
God's hand is changing people for the better, and He is letting me be a part of it.
Today was interesting. Sister Larsen and I went and cleaned the apartment of Sabre. We did it when she and her brother and 14 year old aunt were at school so they weren't embarrassed. I am so glad we cleaned. I am so grateful to have lived in a clean home.
10-29-10
Elder overload today. I feel like I went on 2 double dates, gross. And then tonight our DL called to tell us about a referral and I was like "get me off the phone with Elders"!
11-8-10
Things learned this week:
Your name does not denote what gender you are.
Kim- guy
Frankie-girl
Randi-girl
Jonnie-girl
(all people we are teaching)
Hope is anything but wishful. It is expectation based on experience. Sister Starr*
Transfer time! I'm staying put with Sister Larsen. I can't wait to make goals for this transfer. Things I learned this week: 1. God has the funniest sense of humor. (ex: we have a list of people who have been taught a little about the church before, it goes back several years. So one day we went by this house who a particular person was supposed to live at. We did this twice and both people had moved. No worries though, the people that moved in we DIDN'T have on our records, but they had been taught about the church and were interested in learning more! Good thing we found them! God just leads us to people left and right) 2. Even though you become a missionary and have sworn off boys, you will still get hit on. (ex: we went by this apartment of a person who we had in our records. Well, they moved. But another guy lived there who was interested in the church, and in us. He felt like "celebrating!" because we had found him. And he really wanted to "hang out". Sister Larsen asked "what is your definition of hang out?" hahaha. We can hang out.... on Sundays from 9-12. Hahaha. We got out of there pretty quick.) I'm sure I learned much more, but that is it for this week. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Sister Heidi Jayne Starr*
My mailing address is still: Sister Heidi Starr 4529 Sungate Dr. Palmdale, CA 93551
Sister Heidi Starr and her Mission District - Oct. 2010
Mom and Dad, thank you so much for being a wonderful example of tithing. There are so many people that we teach (less actives, actives, investigators) who have such an issue with tithing. Thank you for always willingly paying tithing and teaching me to do so also. These people are forbidding blessings to come to them that God is waiting to pour on them. It breaks my heart.
We had the baptism for Sabre yesterday. She is soooo adorable. She asked me to give the talk on "baptism" and I think it went well. That makes her whole family members!
We met some interesting people yesterday. There is a man who lives in Acton (agua dulce area) who lives in a tree house. Seriously. But it is HUGE and covers several plots of land. It is so tight. He was an investigator before and we visited him to see if we could teach him the lessons again. He also gave us a copy of his book "Hollywood Unlisted" ... It is not in the approved Missionary Library, and probably shouldn't be hahaha.
One of my favorite parts of this week was finally getting to paint my nails! It is little things, ya know? Haha. But really the little things do count and add up to big things. Just like it says in Alma 37:6-7. If we are doing the LITTLE THINGS, like prayer, church, reading scriptures, GREAT THINGS can come to pass! Too many times I want results NOW and then I just have to realize that it is the little things that will make miracles happen.
Have a lovely week, all!
Sister Heidi Jayne Starr*
10-17-10 Baptism - Sister Larsen, Kenny Maler, and Me
"Do you know what a prophet is?" ... "Yeah a profit is how much money you make..." I swear with everyone we talk to, everyone has a different idea of what prophet is. But this one was the funniest. Sooooooo, yesterday I forgot my Name Tag. TALK ABOUT FEELING NAKED! And it was the worst possible day to forget it. Not only did we have a baptism, but I also gave the prayer in church! I wanted to sleep in it, I missed it so much! We just had a new man move into our ward. We went over to get to know him and his wife. He was the ward mission leader in another ward in the stake. What makes this man unique? He is married to a Jehovah's Witness! Oddest couple, right? We talked to them for a while and learned about her religion. It was very interesting. I am glad she felt comfortable enough to open up to us. This was also the same night that we had 3 desserts. We go over to see a family and they are having dessert! And it would be rude to say no, so we indulge... but we totally felt sick by the end of the night. Everyone is so nice! More from Sunny (and getting chilly!) Southern California next week! Sister Starr*
There is this investigator who has "playback tones" when you call her, like Carrie Underwood, or Flo Rider etc... Unfortunately she is avoiding us ... But fortunately when you call her we get to hear a GOOD portion of the song before it hits her voice mail. SCORE! hahahaha.
During Companionship Inventory (like a mini session that alleviates anything that is going wrong and evaluates the good/ bad and helps you set goals), Sister Larsen says, "touch is not really how I receive love..." hahahahahahahah! This is definitely a problem because it is completely how I show love. Who knew every time I randomly rubbed her arm/ leg/ hand ETC I was making her feel uncomfortable instead of loved! We compromised and said that we would briefly hug before bed each night and high five during the day. lol.
There are some members here that are SOOOO FABULOUS. I want to be just like them. They are willing to help at the drop of a hat. They let us teach investigators in their home, pick up investigators for church, call people to come to our lessons with us, just everything! They are so amazing. It hurts my heart at how willing people are to serve. I want to give them baskets of goodies or something. But then I realize that Heavenly Father will bless them more than I ever could. Goodness. It means so much to us as missionaries because this work is not ours alone, it is a joint effort with the members. Some of them just GET it. I LOVE THEM!
Lastly I saw this quote in a members home and loved it:
"Who cares about love, I'd rather fall in chocolate."
-Sister Heidi Jayne Starr*
(also, If any of you have any favorite conference talks, if you could comment and let me know. I would love to read them!
Sister Starr and her 1st Companion - Sister Larsen
Hello everyone! This week was very interesting! My trainer had to go to some training for 3 days, so I was able to serve with the Spanish Sisters! It was fun, considering I don't really know Spanish. But I now know quite a bit considering what I knew before! We have quite a few progressing investigators here in Agua Dulce and Ana Verde. One of our investigators is getting baptized on the 17th, and if another stops smoking, he will be baptized on Sunday. We have another baptism scheduled for the 24th as well. We are staying very busy! Each morning we wake up at 6:30, go running while watching the sun rise and then get ready for the day. We then study the scriptures for an hour and then plan for who we are teaching. After that we go out to our appointments! We try to have an appointment scheduled for every hour of the day. If someone cancels, we go visit their neighbors and share with them a message about Jesus Christ. We tell them that just like in the bible with Abraham or Adam, there is a Prophet TODAY and Christ's Church has been restored! Many people say "you're kidding?!" we say nope! And they want to learn more. They want to learn more psh because it is true! And because we tell them that we aren't here to convince them, we want them to find out for themselves by reading and praying. Some don't want to learn more, and we try back later once the Lord has prepared their hearts. It rocks. I'm telling you, IT ROCKS! The only thing that doesn't is the ANTS! They suck. Seriously. THERE ARE SO MANY ANTS! I pray every day for the ants to die. Is that a righteous desire of my heart that I can pray about? I think so...
I am currently living in Palmdale. We cover two wards, Ana Verde and Agua Dulce (which includes Arcadia) I am in the desert. It MAY be uglier than Utah. The sunsets and sunrises are GORGEOUS though. And the palm trees are the only reminder that I'm in Cali. I love it here though. The area we cover is HUGE. It takes like 30 minutes to get to the church building in Ana Verde and it is in the middle of NO WHERE. But the one in Agua Dulce/Palmdale is pretty close. Our house is super nice. They call it the princess house. I still don't know why missionaries live in it. My companion and I live in the master bedroom and we have this walk in shower with a spa tub and a balcony. It is super ridiculous.
Now, I didn't think the fact that I didn't eat cheese would be THAT huge of an issue. I told my companion, Sister Larsen, about it and she thought "Yeah, cheese is common, but not THAT common." Let me just tell you how our first dinner appointment went. We had baked potato soup, cheese? CHECK. Cheese toast. And Caesar Salad with extra cheese. How did I handle this? I put a little bit of soup in my bowl. Some salad on my plate and took a piece of toast. I took the cheese off the toast when no one was looking at stuffed it in my napkin. I moved the soup in my bowl around so it looked like I ate it all but what was left. And I picked at the salad. The toast was good! I was certain to throw away my napkin myself so they wouldn't find the cheese. I felt terrible that I had to do that. Sister Larsen then realized how common cheese was. I'm still not sure how to handle this situation, Maybe next transfer I'll say something? Not sure.
This area is bomb by the way. I am not sure what I did to deserve it. IT IS AWESOME. We are planning to have at least 5 baptisms just in this transfer. And we added another one on Saturday, but his mom probably won't let him... bummer. On Saturday we were contacting people and we got 4 new investigators! The Lord is preparing SOOOOOO many people here. It is so nuts! I need to be totally on my game because so many people want the gospel right now! Sister Larsen and I are always talking about how so much is expected of us especially with how many investigators the Lord has put in our path. We are always striving to have the spirit with us, ALWAYS. I am so grateful the Lord trusts me with this responsibility. We have this one investigator that we are preparing to be baptized on Oct. 17 and he has SUCH GREAT FAITH. Everything we teach him he is just like "yeah totally, I'll live that law. No big deal. I know it is true. I know the Lord will answer my prayers" ETC. He rocks. My goodness. This is so cool.
So the other day we were in a SUPER SKETCHY part of town trying to find this less active man. We finally found his SCARY house that was totally secluded and it was dark by now and I said "Sister Larsen, I don't feel safe......" she said "fine, will you get out and back me up?" I said "No, I WILL NOT BACK YOU UP! (Insert from Mom - missionaries are required to guide the driver of the car when they back up) Seriously?!" SO I didn't. We laughed... slash were freaked out and left haha. I guess it is good that she was being obedient. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I think I was justified.
God has restored his church to the earth today. He doesn't want us to be confused. That is why the earth started with one church. And that is why there is one true church today with the Authority to Baptize. We have a Prophet today that receives revelation from God, for his church. It is so obvious God loves his children.
Sometimes it is crazy to me how people just believe what I am telling them.... But then I realize, "Well duh, why wouldn't they. It's true!"
I cannot believe I leave for Cali tomorrow! WHAT THE HECK! The rest of my district left for Boise, Idaho this morning suuuuuper early. Sister Brown and I are all alone today for p-day. We pretty much packed everything yesterday and somehow everything is fitting and isn't over weight. I'm not sure how that is except that I know Heavenly Father can do all, even decrease luggage weight... Or maybe the scale at the MTC is way off? Not sure. This week rocked. We taught some more investigators. One guy "Dan" reminded me so much of you, dad. He was cracking jokes during our lesson and it made me miss you. Afterwards when we prayed he said it and he prayed for Sister Brown and me and for our families. I started crying. Anytime ANYONE here prays for my family I start the waterworks. I never think I miss y'all, but I must. I try not to think about it but sometimes it is unavoidable. I pray every day that everyone is protected and that you can feel my love and even more than that, that you can feel God's love.
Remember how I said I would never become awkward after being on a mission? Well 3 weeks into it all and the awkwardness has already struck. I think the more structure and spirituality they pump into us, the more we lash out in sillyness. This morning we were trying to do personal study and I say "My Preach My Gospel is wet... Like pretty often..." Sister Brown insists that there is something wet in my bag and then after further inspection we find that nothing wet is in my bad... A few moments later she says "well sometimes I put my loofa on my closet door after I use it..." And that is where I put my bag, under her closet. I started CRACKING UP. Because I had noticed that my PMG was usually wet and sometimes some of my other stuff... but I just thought meh... nbd. But then after realizing why... It was hilarious.
We had a meeting Sunday about the dress guidelines for Sister Missionaries. They told us that ANYTHING goes for color and pattern as long as it covers the top of your knee! They said be a bold as you want! I like my skirts longer though. They said wear makeup! Wear cute shoes! Wear heels! Wear colored shoes! Amazing right?!
I am nervous to go to Cali. But it is time. I am feeling comfortable here at the MTC and that isn't why I came on a mission. I am not here to be comfortable. I am here to be stretched. I just want to give away the happiness that I have. Luckily there is an unending supply! Sister Starr*
Here's my address in Cali: Sister Heidi Jayne Starr
California San Fernando Mission
23504 Lyons Ave Ste 107
Santa Clarita, CA 91321
The MTC is still so amazing. One day while Sister Brown and I were sitting outside waiting for dinner I saw Elder Ethan Smith (Courtney's brother). He stuck out his hand to shake mine. I saw him again another day in passing at gym time. It was awkward calling him Elder Smith but so nice to have that little poke of love at the MTC.
Well I made it to the "magical" day of Sunday - as they call it. Apparently if you make it to the first Sunday you are golden. I am not sure why. You don't really do as much on Sunday. We walked to the temple and chilled for a while, had 2 firesides and could go to bed early if we wanted to.
I cannot believe I leave in a week for Cali! The MTC has taught me so much. We just started lesson two this past week. We are focusing now on the pre-mortal life and God's plan for us now that we have the restoration down. I feel like I know all of this in my sleep. It is so fun. We watched a talk by Elder Holland and he made a wonderful point. Salvation was NOT easy for Christ. So, if I'm going to declare his truth and be his disciple, how DARE I feel sorry for myself or not want to work my hardest. Christ gave his life and atoned for all of my investigators so that I can for hard to teach them from morning to night every day of my mission. I CANNOT take advantage of his efforts. This hit me so powerfully. I need to be sure to remember that this time is not about me, but about every person that I can teach. And when I am not teaching I need to be studying about what I can teach them. I just want to share what has made the biggest difference in my life. What is most important in life?? It is the message that I get to share with people and what they do with it and where they end up after this life. How lucky am I? The only reason I have been able to learn as much as I have been able to in these past weeks is because the Spirit has quicken my mind. I pray for the Spirit to help me every day to loosen my tongue so I can speak clearly. It is a miracle how much The Lord wants to help me learn so I can go forth to help his work. More next week!
The Missionary Training Center has been DYNAMIC!!!! So amazing. It is hysterical how your testimony can grow leaps and bounds in just a matter of days! We pray so much here. We pray in groups, individually, as a companionship, etc! My companion is Sister Brown. She is adorable, bubbly from North Carolina and just wonderful. We are both very good for each other. The MTC helps you to learn a lot about yourself. Surprisingly I have learned that I am super good with directions! That is not saying much though since it is such a small area. I force us to have a plan about everything and I just LOVE IT HERE! I don't want to be ANYWHERE else! I just want to stay as busy as possible so I don't have to think about things that would make me homesick or give Satan a chance to creep into my mind. We are so super busy. We have to be up by 6:30 to leave for breakfast by 7, but we usually get up around 5:45 or 6 so we have enough time to get ready and not be late.
We are always setting so many goals to be better. One that is always in our planner for every day is to be 5 minutes early for everything. Sister Brown and I have only completed this goal... once. But we are really working on it! It is crazy because no matter how much you know about the gospel, it doesn't really help you at all unless you have the spirit. Plus I had NO idea how to teach with the spirit by my side. I am so glad I am learning these things because I will feel so much better prepared as a mother to teach my children the gospel of Christ and how they can be guided in this crazy world.
Satan has been such a punk these last few days. I have had a not so great attitude about a few things lately and I know it is Satan trying to cause contention. For example, we had this devotional and the MTC presidents wife stood up to speak and was just reading her talk from the teleprompter! I was so annoying! PLUS she was wearing this loud leopard printed top, and ON TOP of that she was wearing this scarf that didn't match. So, do you think that I wanted to listen to her? Yeah.. right. So I didn't. Then I had an attitude check a wrote Satan's name on a piece of paper in my study journal and scratched it out a million times and drew flames underneath it. In essence I killed him. It rocked. The next day Sister Brown and I had the best day! The sun was shining and we were all happy and not tired at all and it was just awesome. I am learning so freaking much here. My teacher(s) are awesome. I say teacher(s) because one has been out of town and MIA, but he should be coming back sometime this week hopefully. Our other teacher is Sister Ellsworth. She is from England and is adorable and I LOVE HER.
Also, we teach so much. We taught 7 investigators the first 3 days that we were here! Partly because our missing teacher signed us up to do that, and partly because we really need the practice. I am so glad though because it had been really great to get that practice! Sister Brown and I are really improving and getting ready to go to Cali. I am so glad that I made this choice. It is amazing because It isn't just another message of Christ that we are sharing, it is a message of the Restored Gospel, and a message that the truth is here! Sometimes I think that people are going to think we are crazy and just another church, but then I hope that the Spirit will touch them and tell them that this is something special that will bless their lives and will bring them happiness!
My purpose is to invite OTHERS to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. And I love every second. I am always thing of anything that isn't contributing to this purpose and trying to cut it out of my mission so I can stay totally focused. I love staying totally focused on something that has nothing to do with me. This whole mission thing rocks!
This his Heidi's Mom. It was an amazing experience taking Heidi to the MTC. We pulled to the curb and were greeted by several current MTC elders including 2 Tongan missionaries whose muscles were very helpful in lifting the bulging suitcases out of the trunk of the car. They were very enthusiastic about Heidi's arrival and encouraged lots of hugs and pictures. There was no rush and such a strong spirit. As she walked away she was surrounded by her army of "brothers". It was very comforting and she had a huge smile on her face. (see picture) Also included is a picture we took on Monday 8/30 in front of the MTC - where the sign use to be. How could they remove it before Heidi got her picture? But - not to be denied - thank you Courtney Smith and the magic of Photo Shop!
