So far this week I've met 2 people that dress up like Buzz Lightyear, Ariel, and the dog from "UP"

Friends and family,

What a crazy, but good week it has been! I hope everyone back at home had a good week as well! Last week we had transfers and it was very sad to say goodbye to Palm Bay... I loved that ward, and they were so welcoming to me. We stopped by Kathy's house Monday night to say goodbye and she just started crying. It was really sad, but one thing that made her happy was when we started talking about the temple. One really cool thing about this whole mission thing is when one of our recent converts go through the temple, they can call the mission office and the companionship that baptized her is able to go through with the recent convert! So hopefully we will have a nice little reunion when she makes it to the Temple!

Transfers were a great time! It was nice to see the familiar faces of the Elders in the same District as me in the MTC. Our District in the MTC was really close and we bonded well together. We were able to catch up with each other before the transfer meeting started and share some good experiences. We all agreed it was one of the hardest things we've done to step out of the plane and go into a place we have never been, live with people we had never seen, and do something we have never done. But again, we all agreed we had grown more over these 3 months on our mission then the previous 3 years of our lives. I'm definitely on the highest point spiritually I've ever been, and I'm loving it. 

My new companion/companions are the greatest! We started out as a tripanionship with me, Elder Fullmer, and Elder Albin. To make a long story short, Elder Albin had previously served in Mexico for 3 months and went home to get his Gallbladder removed. He was home for 4 months, then came back out a transfer before me and ended up having more stomach problems last week. He then had to go home again on Saturday. Poor kid! I felt so bad for him. So now it is just me and Elder Fullmer! We are clicking great and getting along well. This should be a fun transfer and are enjoying serving together!

I am now serving in the Buena Vista South Area! We are about 5 minutes away from the Disney World entrance, how cool is that? Another fun thing about this area is, it is a "YSA" ward, or Young Single Adults. We've done a ton of fun activities here in the YSA ward already. Every Wednesday night, we have Night Games, where we gather together and play volleyball, ping pong, soccer, basketball, and any other games we want to! It's a blast. Monday nights we have Family Home Evening where we will meet at the church and have a spiritual thought, then play more games and have dinner. 

The members here have been awesome. We mainly work out of 3 apartment complexes that are housing for the Disney workers taking the CP or College Program. This Program is basically for students who need a break from school. Students can register for the program, then have to get interviewed and get accepted into it. They work for Disney for around 9 months, then return to college. A lot of students do this because they are able to say they worked for Disney, so their job resume looks more appealing. So for example, I've met 

- 2 people that dress up as Buzz Light Year

- Ariel

- the dog from "UP"

- and many more people that run the rides throughout Disney. 

All 3 of the apartments are within 2 miles of each other with giant parks and lakes in between them! It is a really cool experience to serve here and I am enjoying it! We talk to so many CP students a day it's crazy. I guess the best way to describe it is a College Campus, where the students don't go to school, but work at Disney World instead. Crazy right? It's pretty funny to see people walking down the sidewalk to the bus dressed up as a "Tower of Terror" bellhop! I'll try to take a picture next time I see one for sure! It's weird to go from Palm Bay where like 80% of the community is retired, to an area where it's only 18-29 year olds. Major difference!

We have an investigator we've met with twice this week that is progressing so fast! It's so cool to see the importance the Book of Mormon plays in the process of conversion. We met with her Tuesday night after transfers for just her second appointment with the missionaries. We were going into the lesson a little hesitant thinking she may drop of because of how the first lesson went. We finished up our lesson and gave her a Book of Mormon. She promised to read it. We get a call Wednesday morning around 8:30 from her saying she read it all night and wants to meet with us again as soon as we can for the next step or lesson! How great is that? 

Experiences like that make being out here on a mission so cool. I'm pretty sure I say that just about every week... but I really am enjoying this time I have to serve. I'm blessed to have these experiences. I miss you guys at home, and I'm praying you're all doing okay! Let me know if you want me to talk more about anything going on or if I left anything else out! I love getting emails from you guys. They always make me laugh! Have a great week! 

Much Love, 

Elder Doman

From his emails home this week:

I asked Brock if he’s eating enough, he looks like he’s getting so skinny, I wanted to make sure he’s not sick or anything.  Plus, I’ve had a lot of other people ask me the same thing about him.  This was his response:

“Yes mom, I'm doing great! Eating plenty! I've just never run this much before in my life! I'm almost up to 3 miles a day. I hardly ever eat out which helps too. I'm still lifting and staying muscular. I know that's so Important for when I get back. I'm doing fine! I'm still weighting around 260. I came out at 270. It's not like I'm going anorexic. I'm just trying to lose my belly. It will help my with college ball so much. I'm doing fine! :)

“It's been a long week! Very stressful, but pretty fun as well! It was hard to change from one area to another. I think I'd like it if I stay in an area more so I can get into a routine and a rhythm. That probably means I'll be changing around a lot hahah. This area is super nice. It seriously is right next to Disney World. Every night we can hear them! It's cool. It makes me want to go there like we did a couple years ago!”

“I'm not going to lie, a mission is so hard. There have been multiple times where I've doubted myself, but I know I should be here doing this work. There hasn't been an easy day, but a mission shouldn't be easy at all. There is a quote from president Erying saying, "a mission should be the experience that pushes your spiritual envelope each and every day. But the growth from your mission is irreplaceable." Kind of cool, right?”

“I'm liking my new area so far! We are full car so that kind of stinks. I'll make sure to keep running in the mornings. But his area is alright! I'm still pretty new to it so I'm not sure what it's all about, but "I like it a lot" as of now. About being happy. Honestly it just depends on the day. Some days you wake up and life couldn't be better, but other days are rough, and you were wishing you were home. The longer I've been out, the more days I've had where I'm happy.  If that makes any sense?”

“No,we aren't able to go to Disneyworld.... Even though it's my back door” L

Brock and his 2 new companions.  The one on the end is the one that had to go home today because of illness.

Here is a picture of one of my favorite members in the YSA ward! His name is John and he is autistic.  Me and him are best buds and we are loving it!

This is my favorite member in Palm Bay!  He was awesome, it's very hard to leave that area!  This is also the guy that I (mom) got a phone call from when Brock needed bike repairs.  He was ready and willing to help Brock get his biked fixed!  What a great guy.

This is our tripanionship again!

This is a picture of me and Buzz Lightyear!