Our intent of this blog is to share Brock's adventures in Orlando, Florida while he's on his LDS mission. Hopefully, by reading about how Brock is changing the lives of so many, and seeing Brock's own personal growth in the gospel, the people reading this blog will also be able to feel the spirit and be inspired to strengthen or develop their own testimonies of Christ and the LDS church.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Goodbye Buena Vista! New area, new companion, and new duties (district leader) starting tomorrow!

Brock sounded great to me this week!  He seems totally happy and excited to become the district leader.  Brock has always loved being a leader, it’s something he does well.  I know he’s going to miss Buena Vista so much, he has absolutely loved serving there!  He’s met so many good people and was lucky to have lots of success.  I guess it’s time for something new.  The week after transfers is the hardest for me because I don’t where he is or what he’s doing.  I’ve been lucky,  this is only his 2nd area in 6 months, it causes me lots of anxiety!!!

Here’s a picture I found on mission blog this week.  It's never hard to pick out Brock!



Friends and Family,

It was a great week here in Buena Vista! Unfortunately, this will be my last week serving in the Buena Vista YSA Ward. I have made some amazing friends here. Friends that I won't just see here, but also in the life to come, Eternal Friendships.  I have seen 3 members leave for there missions, and 2 others receive their calls. It's been so great to see the Lord's work hastening. It has been a blast serving in a ward that is so missionary minded. I was blessed to be able to serve here for 3 transfers! So that is the sad news, but the good news is that President Berry has asked me to be a District Leader and to finish training a new missionary!  This experience will help me continue to grow in the gospel, and build my testimony. I am sad to leave Buena Vista, and Elder Peay. This last transfer has been my favorite. I've learned so much from Elder Peay, and had the best time while doing it. It's hard to go, but I know that the Lord needs me somewhere else! 

This week we were able to see a lot of success. We went on two Temple tours with different investigators. Our investigator (Mike) loved it so much, as we walked around the temple grounds  he was videoing it on his phone so he could always look back and feel the sacredness of the Temple. It was hard saying goodbye to him as he is so close to baptism.  Mike and I had a great connection from day one. He is such a humble guy and has the strongest desire to figure out what God would have him do with his life. Such a cool guy! As we said our goodbyes yesterday after church, tears began to stream down his face. I couldn't have been happier for the guy. He is changing his life, and he has felt the spirit testify to him that the church is true. 

Picture 1- Mike and I at the Temple tour this week! Such a good kid

Picture 2- The gang! Me on the far left, then Cineus, then Mike, then Elder Peay!


Tuesday and Wednesday were a couple of interesting days! We went on exchanges with the zone Leaders Tuesday night, and everything was going great. We were getting ready to go to sleep and at about 10:30-10:45 we got a phone call from the Mission President, President Berry. We answered the phone and this is what we hear, "Elders, we have an emergency, I need you to meet me at the Stake Center in 20 minutes. There is and Elder that decided to go home, and I need you to help out the missionary that is staying." We went and picked up the missionary that was staying and we were in a trio for the rest of Tuesday night and all of Wednesday. It was quite the adventure to be in a trio again! This exchange was one of a kind! 3 Elders were working together that were serving in different wards. It was a blast! We had a teaching appointment every hour of the day from 10 AM until 8 PM. It was great! An awesome experience that happened to me this week. On exchanges I was in the Olympia Ward, and Elder Scott,  from the Quorum of the 12, his brother attends the Olympia ward and we were able to teach a lesson with him!! How awesome is that? I didn't dare ask for a picture with him, so I just snuck one in as we were driving! Check it out below!


Sunday morning comes around and I feel calm, peaceful, and ready to be uplifted at church! The service begins and the Bishop decided to pull a quick one on me and says, "To start off our meeting today, I'm going to ask Elder Doman to come up and talk for about 10 or 15 minutes about serving in this area and what his mission has done for him." Talk about a change of emotions! The Bishop and I have an awesome connection and I should have known it was coming! 

The next time you hear from me, I'll have a new companion, be serving in a new area, and have new responsibilities! I'm a little nervous, but I know that the Lord is here with me. I know he has given me this time to grow and also to help others around me grow as well. I'm humbled by this opportunity, and will continue to give all that I have to the Lord and this work! I love what I am going to be doing for the next 17 months of my life. I couldn't be happier.  The Church is true! Have a great week and stay happy!

Much Love
Elder Doman




One of my favorite members in the Buena Vista Ward! His name is Vita. One of the nicest guys I know!


Monday, January 19, 2015

Not much time to email, mostly just pictures!

Brock didn’t have a lot of time to write this week, but thankfully he wrote a little more to me so I wouldn’t’ go crazy worrying!  It sounds like his week was still good, but not as amazing as the week before.  Hopefully, next week, he’ll have more time to write more so we hear more about what he’s doing.

Mom,

Last week was pretty awesome, huh?! Definitely the best week of my
mission. I'm still loving it, and having a blast! This week was alright! It was like the ripple effect, the first ripple is the biggest (last week we found 5 new investigators) and then this week it started to decrease and some of those investigators are no longer interested. Do you know what I mean? On the same side though, It was cool to see some of these new people begin to read from the Book of Mormon! Still a pretty solid week though. Elder Peay and I get along great and work together well, so I don't really think there will be a "bad week" for the time we serve together.  Which hopefully is another 7 weeks! I'm definitely blessed to be serving here, and
know the time that I have here is precious. I'm doing my best and giving all that I can to the people here and the a Lord.

Transfer date is Tuesday, January 27th!  Then the next one will be Tuesday March 3rd! So they are every 6 weeks :) it seems like a long time, but when you think about it, it's pretty quick!

Well I better get going! Thanks so much for everything you do for me! 14 more fast Sundays. That's nothing!

Here's his mass email with pictures:

Friends and family,
Unfortunately this email is going to be a quick one! Elder Peay and I were invited to a different district’s P-day activity today! It was all great and we had a good time until an elder took the wrong turn home and we got kind of lost... We didn't have our GPS with us because we got a ride from the other elders. All In all, it was a crazy last 2 hours of P-day! What I'll do is upload some pictures this week with captions, and then have a bigger email next week. I'm sorry!

Picture 1-3: Funny story here... Apparently Australia has this spread called "vegemite" and it is probably the nastiest tasting topping in the world! I tried some a few weeks ago and I almost threw up! Elder Peay thinks it's alright so he thought he'd bring some along. Anyway, last P-day I was shooting some hoops and I thought I'd make a challenge with Elder Peay. I said, "Elder Peay, If I make a 3/4 court shot, I get to squeeze vegemite in your mouth at the end of District Meeting this week." He agreed to it, and here are the results...  and the pictures go in progression! I was laughing so hard at the end of it! Great memories!























Picture 4 and 5:  On Friday the missionaries were able to go through the Temple! It was incredible. It was nice to think about the Eternal Perspective of these people we're teaching and how awesome it is to spread the Gospel with them. I have a deep desire to go to the Temple as much as possible! I thought it would be fun to compare when I went to the Temple 6 month ago at the beginning of the mission with now!

This is when Brock arrived last June

This is last week! He looks so much skinnier!




 This was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission. After we went through the Temple on Friday, We met Cineus there that night. To go through the Temple, then to hear a recent convert, only one month, bear testimony of how important it is, and how strong his will is to get to the temple was pretty incredible. 


Picture 4 and 5- More pictures from mini-golf last week! 




Again, sorry for not giving an in depth update... I apologize and will do better next week!

Much love,

Elder Doman

Monday, January 12, 2015

Best week ever, now if Brock only knew how to speak the Creole language!!

Brock said that this was his best week in the mission field, he absolutely loved every second of it and is wishing he could stay in his area for another transfer!  But, he says he probably won’t be able to because he’s already been there for 3 transfers.  He would love it though!

In his letter to me this week, he wrote,

“I can totally see where I would have been if I didn't serve a mission. I would have been a less active member of the church in college. They are everywhere! But serving a mission I've earned my own personal testimony, and I KNOW that this church is true. I understand why it's so important to live the gospel, and to read and pray daily. Before I didn't have a testimony of anything. But I now know it is vital! I love it. I wish I would have been a more solid member before my mission.” 

Wow, those are words a mom loves to hear!  He’s doing so well.  His birthday is coming up on February 6th, maybe you could all send him an email or a letter to help him celebrate.  I know how much he loves hearing from everyone back home!

He added this picture, "Just in case everyone forgot what he looked like!"


Friends and Family,

This week has probably been one of the greatest weeks on my mission!! Elder Peay and I were extremely blessed, and were so grateful for all the miracles we were able to see. I think it might be easier if I were to just list the different blessings we saw this week rather than going by day by day, because the week was just full of good times and laughs! With it being fast Sunday last week, Elder Peay and I fasted for ways to help this area grow, and for us to find new people to teach! Here is the weekly update! 

(not listed in a specific order)

Miracle 1- Magic Mike
We found a young guy named Mike about 2 weeks ago on his bike. He had some free time and we were able to share with him the restoration. We set up a return appt for later on in the week. He didn't have a phone number, and he didn't want to give us his address, so we didn't have any way to confirm with him prior to the meeting. We just had to trust that he would be there. We show up later in the week, and he didn't end up being there. We were pretty bummed out because we had no way of getting in contact with him. We weren't really sure what to do, so we just put the area we found him in as a back up plan. Well, this Tuesday we were on our way to an appointment and they called us and canceled as we were almost there. (Miracle 1) We pulled the car off to the side of the road, and pulled out our Ipad to see what we had planned. Our backup was "Find Mike... Somehow." We knew it would be amazing if we were to see him. We said a prayer and hoped for the best. As we pulled into his apartment complex, we had to tailgate a car so the gate wouldn't come down on us. (Miracle number 2, car pulls in just as we need to get in.) We drove around in the complex for about 5 minutes as if we are looking for a dog that ran away. We were looking all around hoping and praying to see him. We didn't have any luck... Elder Peay stopped the car at a random stop sign (Miracle 3) within the complex and just decided to pull out a Dove Chocolate. We were kind of frustrated and were ready for the day to be over. The quote on the wrapper read "Feel the sunshine on you face" we were both like, "Wow, Dove. Thanks!" As soon as he read the saying on the wrapper I look up and all the sudden I see Mike riding his bike across the street about 50 yards away. (Miracle 4) I yell, "There is Mike!!!" Elder Peay goes pedal to the metal and chases him down. We stopped him and asked him how he's doing. He said he's doing great, but just got a weird feeling about 15 minutes ago that he needed to go home and see if there was someone there? (Miracle 5) We then taught him the Plan of Salvation, and on Saturday shared with him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He now has a baptismal date and is loving the Book of Mormon! What a miracle!!

2- Darlene 
We have been meeting with a girl named Darlene for almost a month now. She really hasn't had any problems with the doctrine. It all makes total sense to her. She likes what it has to offer, she just hasn't gotten a spiritual confirmation yet. She believes it's true, she just doesn't know its true. We have been praying for her, and doing just about all we can for her to get her spiritual confirmation. We had a lesson with her on Wednesday not really knowing what to go over. She has been through all of the lessons, and agrees with it all. We received the thought that we should go over the restoration with her again, and be very bold about the power in the Book of Mormon. We showed up to her home, and she was super excited to see us. She couldn't stop smiling as we walked into the home. (As we go in, we found Cineus asleep on the floor with his face in the Book of Mormon. That was pretty cool to see considering he was baptized 5 weeks ago) Darlene sits us down and says, "Elders, it's for me. I know the Book is true. I know I need to be baptized and I am ready." We were almost in tears as we heard her speak. We couldn't have been any happier for her. She has a date for the last week in January, and she is so excited!! Awesome miracle

3- Juliana
Two weeks ago, a member brought his friend to Night Sacrament. We stayed after and shared with her the first lesson. She was going out of town for the next week so we wouldn't be able to meet with her for a while. We gave her a call Tuesday night and we set up a time to meet with her for Friday. She is basically the "Golden Investigator." She asked all of the right questions, and was so determined to know if the Book of Mormon is true. She has been reading every night for a half hour, and is starting to get the answer to her prayers! Elder Peay and I are so blessed to have the opportunity to teach her.

4- James
We get a call Wednesday night from the Elders serving in the Area next to us. They talked to us about a young man named James that we get to teach because he is 21 years old. They gave us James' number and we called him up as soon as we got off the phone with the Elders. We set up a time to meet with him on Thursday, and both sides were feeling pretty excited for the lesson. We met Thursday, Friday, and we went on a Temple Tour Saturday! He has been reading from the Book of Mormon nightly, and knows its true. He has a baptismal date, and couldn't be happier. As we were walking around the temple, he would continually just ask if we could stop, not talk, and just stop and think. It was pretty great to hear an Investigator ask if we could stop to listen and feel the spirit constantly at the Temple. 

5- The Haitian Brothers!!!
We were headed back to our apartment Friday night, and we again get a call from some other missionaries serving around us. They informed us of 3 brothers that had just moved down to Orlando at the end of November. They are 19, 21, and 24, and are probably the funniest kids I've ever met in my life. Therrie (Terry) is the one we were able to meet first. None of them have working phones, so it's hard to schedule and confirm appointments. It was only him, and their step mother's roomate. The other two brothers were out and about. Therrie only knew 3 sayings in English. "Thank you, yes, and no" It was very hard to communicate with him. Me, Therrie, and Elder Peay were cracking up trying to explain that we don't know how to speak Creole. We tried using hand signals and all. Finally, he pulled out "Siri" so we could talk to her, and ask her to translate it. We didn't teach him anything, but set up a time to meet again the following day. We called up Cineus and asked him if he could help teach a Creole speaking investigator. He was so excited to speak to someone in his native language, but he didn't know if he would be able to help teach because he was so new into the church. He agreed hesitantly, and was anxious to meet him. Cinues did a great job helping us out with Therrie and loved coming along with the missionaries. From my standpoint, watching a Recent Convert of a month teach and testify of the Restoration was one of the best things I've seen so far. I couldn't stop smiling. The spirit was there, and Therrie want's to be baptized! 

What a great week, right?! Today was district P-Day, and we went mini-golfing! Elder Peay and I are the only 2 Elders in our district... We are serving with 3 sets of sisters! They insist of calling it a "Sistrict" rather than a district. They made some pretty cool t-shirts for us and we inserted some pictures below! 

We are hoping for another great week, and are very blessed to have these experiences as frequent as we are. Our teaching pool is awesome right now. We are teaching people from Hati, Buffalo, Spain, Orlando, Antigua, and Morocco! Orlando is awesome. I hope everyone has a great week, and stays safe! 
Much love,
Elder Doman

*We have an investigator named Lamar with a baptismal date for next Sunday, but he got cold feet, and wanted to back out. He isn't sure if the church is right for him anymore. If there could be some prayers sent his way, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much! 


Brock and Elder Peay.  I love this picture, you can tell how happy they are right now!!

Alma 36:27-30: 
27 And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.
 28 And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever, for he has brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he has swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea; and he led them by his power into the promised land; yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity from time to time.
 29 Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity.
 30 But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word.