August 25th- "Kind of an off/weird week here in Palm Bay"

Friends and family,

What a week it's been! To start out, I'd just like to thank all those who are still taking time out of their day to read my updates! Much appreciated!

Well we have had kind of an off/weird week here in Palm Bay. It has been brutally hot, humid, and sweaty but there isn't much we can change about that! We have heard from multiple sources that the local news stations have been warning people of the severity of the heat and to drink lots of water! Hearing this, me and my companion leave the house with 4 water bottles each! Somehow, we always come back to the apartment dying of thirst anyway. It's crazy! We heard it was 93 degrees one day and 72 percent humidity! It's HOT! Complaining gets me no where though, right? Despite the weather, the work still goes on. And if anything else, we're getting a good farmers tan!

We've seen some more miracles this week with getting out of our comfort zone. We were going door to door (or tracting) one afternoon, while walking up to a house we hear a guy yelling at his dog and saying some choice words! We didn't know if we should knock or just move on to the next home, but we thought "why not?" and decided to go for it. He opened the door and we introduced ourselves. He said that him and his family have been researching the Mormons for 2 months now and are very interested in becoming a member! We sat down and taught them first lesson and they all want to be baptized! It was like the perfect scenario! It's pretty amazing to see how The Lord has been preparing people like them for us.

It's football season again, and that's pretty obvious down here in Florida. As we biked along a road Friday night around 6:30, we noticed there was a solid line of parked cars for about a half mile straight. We couldn't figure out why they were parked there until we rode past Palm Bay High School and saw there was a game going on. The houses surrounding the school all had their "Palm Bay Pirate" flags out and other signs up! It was pretty cool to see that again! Saturday we biked past a park and we saw all the little league games, but down here it's a little bit different. They had cheerleaders, announcers, and jerseys sponsored by Under Armor and Nike. It made me miss it and wish I could be playing again, but there is a different type of work that I need to focus on right now, and I seriously love it! It's amazing to see the change in people when they start accepting Jesus Christ and His Atonement in their lives. I love being out here on my mission and am grateful for this opportunity I have to serve.

On Tuesday, we had the chance to listen to Elder Hamula of the 70 come down and speak to the Zone at Zone Conference in Orlando! It was great! On the way there we drove past the city of Kissimmee. Kissimmee is where my family and I stayed when we went to Disney Worldfor Abby's "Make-A-Wish." We drove right past Give Kids The World Village and it made me think about the great time I had with my family a little bit over a year ago. I will forever be grateful for the Make-A-Wish program and the opportunity they gave me and my family.

A special shout out to my grandparents and family for the package they sent me! It saved me. We sing a hymn every morning to start out our companionship study, and we had have to play the song on our IPads. The volume doesn't go very loud and if you can imagine two elders trying to sing a hymn with hardly any background music, it doesn't sound very good. In the package, they sent a Bluetooth speaker which we could connect our iPad to! Luckily, this makes us sound a little better than screeching tires! Thanks Family!

I'd like to end with a scripture one of my closest friends sent me. It's Job 23:6,  "Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me" I love how it says put strength IN me. It could have just said "he'll give me strength" but IN me! Ah, I love it. I know that as we ask Christ for strength and help, He will not only give it to you, but put the strength in you. It's something I've seen everyday on my mission. There are some parts in the lesson when I have no idea what to say, but I open my mouth and begin to talk trusting The Lord and it works out every single time.

I hope everyone is enjoying life and having a great time! I'm having a great time out here on my mission! Much love

Elder Doman

Brock sent lots of letters home this week too.  Here are some things that he wrote to us:

“I read this quote and immediately thought of our family.  We are so much closer now than we were before and working as more of a team towards exaltation:

‘I suppose I am talking to some who have had worry and trouble and heart burnings and persecution, and have at times been caused to think that they never expected to endure quite so much.  But for everything you have suffered, you will receive fourfold, and that suffering will have a tendency to make you better and stronger and to feel that you have been blessed.  When you look back over your experiences, you will then see that you have advanced far ahead and have gone up several rounds of the ladder toward exaltation and glory’”

Lorenzo Snow

“The mission life is crazy!  We wake up every morning at 6:30, exercise and prepare for the day until 8:00.  From 8-11 we are studying and planning.  It basically feels like school.  It’s super frustrating though because we spend an hour and half the previous night coming up with a plan for the next day, then part of our morning we focus on what we are going to share with each individual.  So we’ve spent almost 2 hours planning for a day, then to have half of our lessons cancel!!!! It’s so frustrating.  But, it’s alright, I guess.  It is what it is.”

“Our area has struggled in the past.  A missionary that disobeyed the rules was here previously and that has caused our investigators to expect missionaries to just come over and chill or hang out.  We have been able to turn it around though.  Right now we have 2 investigators set with a baptismal date!! But, just because they have a date set, doesn’t mean it’s finalized and in stone.”

“Mom, it feels like it was just yesterday that I was skipping ceramics in school to bring you a Subway!! Hahaha.  I wouldn’t trade that memory for the world.”

“I wish I had the time to write to you guys more often!  Missionary work is hard and it’s non-stop.  It’s definitely hard work and very different for me.  But I’m lucky to have been blessed with an amazing family to prepare me.  I can’t imagine coming out here without your support and help.  Please, keep the letters coming!!!”

“I've exercised everyday on my mission and am loving it. I actually feel like I'm in okay shape. I was worried about it before I left, but I haven't lost too much muscle mass (thank heaven for the weight room in our complex.) just 5 pounds off my bench, clean, and squat, which isn't bad for 30 mins of exercise daily. My companion likes to run, so we made a compromise we will run one day of the week and lift for the other 5! We are up to running almost 2 miles in the morning! (Thanks to my iPod with a built in pedometer I can count the steps!)  I've never been able to do that in my life! Blessings of a mission right?

“Being on a mission is hard. I'm not going to lie, but then I think about all the life lessons I'm learning, and the ways I am learning to become a better grandson, son, and brother is one of the reasons being out here is well worth it!”

Brock and Elder Husbands, another missionary that's becoming one of Brock's good friends.  He was the captain of the hockey team at Timpview High School

 

Playing volleyball on P-Day