Brock's Orlando Mission: August 18th-Brock is already 1/12th of the way through his mission! (pictures included)

Friends and Family,

It's been another great week here on my mission! The first couple of weeks I was here, the days felt like months! They felt like some of the longest days of my life. Now, the days are flying by. Time is moving so quickly, it's scary!

We are seeing miracles everyday here! It's pretty crazy! It's funny how things have been working on my mission. It seems like each day there is a low point, then right after we have a struggle, we see a miracle happen! For example, we met with an investigator who is struggling big time with keeping some of his commitments, and he isn't quite ready to make the change he needs to! It's frustrating for us missionaries to see because we are doing all that we can for him, but there is only so much we can do at the same time. We walked out of his house feeling helpless, discouraged, and frustrated. About 5 minutes later another one of our investigators called and said she had read the Book of Mormon all night and is almost finished with Jacob! We only gave her the book Monday night, and this was Tuesday when she had called! We met with her again on Thursday and we set up a baptismal

date! What a miracle!

We have an investigator who had been drinking 12 cups of coffee and smoking 10 cigarettes a day. The missionaries have been meeting with him for a long time! About 5 months in total! But he is now down to only 3 cups of coffee and 4 cigarettes! Another miracle! He's making a lot of progress which is fun to see!

I've talked a lot about the positives of being on a mission and the blessings I'm seeing, but being a missionary isn't always easy! There are definitely things That are challenging for me! Before I left I didn't really know what to expect for my day to day routine, and I wish I would have prepared better for it that way! I never was a big

fan of studying and preparing (other then for football) but that's most of missionary work! We spend 4 hours a day preparing lessons, reading scriptures, studying Preach My Gospel, and planning! I wasn't really used to that. I'm definitely struggling with it, and am bored out of my mind sometimes, but I am starting to enjoy it more. The rejection and blown off lessons can get into your head a little bit. It's disappointing for sure and easy to get discouraged, if you don't have the optimistic attitude!

"20 seconds of insane courage" Elder Waller, our Zone Leader sharedthat quote at District Meeting and I'm pretty sure he said it was from the movie "We Bought A Zoo." But that's not important right now. At first I was like "man, that's kind of a cheesy quote" but when I started to think about how applicable that is for missionaries it was fantastic! If we have the courage to talk to everyone we see, we will continue to see everyday miracles.

So we made history here in the Palm Bay First Ward on Sunday! Our bishop was prompted 2 weeks ago to hold a sacrament meeting down in Barefoot Bay. Barefoot Bay is the 2nd largest trailer park community in the United States and it is the very furthest south part of our area. There are about 25 members that live there, and are unable to make it to the church which is 30 miles away because of gas and financial reasons. I sent a picture of Barefoot Bay on the bottom of this email! It's insane! There are so many Rednecks that live there it's ridiculous! However, it is right along the coast of the Indian River, which makes it beautiful at the same time. I'm not saying rednecks aren't beautiful.... but.....hahaha. There were only 13 members that attended! It was great. I blessed the sacrament, Elder Willard passed it, the Bishop gave a talk, and we gave a Sunday school lesson! It was a cool experience holding Sacrament Meeting just a little bit different then normally. We weren't in a church, with a pulpit, and 100 members were there. Instead, we were in a community center meeting room, 13 people, and it only lasted an hour and a half! With all of the differences, the meeting was still the same spiritually. The spirit was there and that's what is important!

I'm still loving my mission and having a great time. I learn something new everyday, and I'm hoping and praying that I remember it all. I hope all is well at home and everyone had a great summer! Thanks for all of the emails and replies I've been getting! I couldn't thank each of you enough for the support I received prior to my mission!

Much love,

Elder Doman

Ps, I've been biking a lot and remembered a "punny" joke

Q: why did the bike fall over

A: because it was "two tired"

Da dum Tis.... (Shout out to my sister Brittany)

This is a little of what he wrote to his family this week:

“At times I feel like I wish I could stay out here on my mission, and at times I feel like the day is never going to pass. It really just depends. When I think about the time and how much I have left... It definitely feels doable, and I feel like it will come quickly. But when I really start to think about how long 2 years is and how much everything is going to change, it feels like ill never get off my mission. When I think of it as 2 NBA seasons and the first one hasn't even started yet, it seems rough! But when I look back two years ago and realize it was then when we went up to Syracuse for the first game of our season, it feels like yesterday. So it really just depends, but when it comes down to it, it's going to be a long time.”

“How's everyone doing? This week has been a good one, and we are starting to see a lot of success! One thing I'm really missing is the family feeling! It's been hard for me to spend 24 hours of the day with someone I'm not used to! I'm working through it and it's getting easier. I just wanted to let you know I'm grateful for the examples you've set for me! Talking with these people here in Palm Bay, most of them don't have any contact with their family and it's really sad! I can't imagine what it would be like! It's so clear to see the differences in people that have had a strong connection and do still continue to have a good relationship with their families, opposed to those who do not. Luckily, I've been blessed with such a great family that has taught me so much and helped me prepared to be here today! I love each and every one of you guys! Thanks for preparing me to be here today.”