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 5, 2015

"I'm honestly doing great. I couldn't be happier. Me and Elder Peay are having the time of our lives. We get along great."


 Brock didn’t have much to say to me in my email today, in fact, all he said was, “I don’t have much to say today!”  He did say that Elder Peay and him are getting along great, they’re having tons of fun together and working hard.  He’ll be sad to have to get a new companion in a few weeks.  I don’t know if I wrote about this, but we found out when we were Skyping that Elder Peay’s family moved from Australia to St. George, Utah after he left on his mission.  They now live by Fossil Ridge Intermediate, only about 10 miles from us!  That’s crazy, it’s a small world!  He’ll be coming home from his mission in March of 2016, which is when Brock thinks he’ll be coming home. They could be flying home together.  He’ll be coming home a couple of transfers early so he’ll be here for spring football.  Overall, he’s doing great.  He’s happy and enjoying the work.  Brock’s birthday is February 6th, so send him an email or letter or package or something!!

Friends and family,

Happy New Year! I hope everyone was able to stay safe, but also able to enjoy their holiday! On the mission it didn't feel much different than any other day, but that's alright. It was a tough week with a lot of YSA's home visiting their family for the holidays. We were still able to see success, and enjoyed the work this week.

Tuesday-  We started off the week great with Temple Service again. It's definitely a blessing to be in the Orlando South Zone, and have the opportunity to be so close

 to the Temple! We then went and talked with a man named Jhamez that just moved into the ward. He's a professional boxer! How cool is that? We weren't able to meet inside his home, so we went to a park near by. About half way through the lesson, out of no where, it started to pour rain. Me and Elder Peay were again, soaking wet. There was no need to run back to the car because it didn't even matter. Someone could have dumped a bucket of water over us and it wouldn't have made a difference! It was fun though! We were able to have a good laugh because of it!


Wednesday- Wednesday was rough. We had 5 appointments fall through. It was hard not to get frustrated with the work, but we tried to keep an optimistic attitude when we went finding! It was about 8 pm and we were about ready to throw in the towel for the day. We were walking through a Walmart parking lot and we go contact a young man named Duke. It was really a major blessing from the Lord. He doesn't live in Orlando, but still wanted to listen and learn more about the Church
and "Mormon Culture." We taught him about the restoration, then he had to catch his flight back home. We were able to get his phone number so we can refer him to the missionaries in Pittsburgh! It was definitely a blessing to finish off the day by sharing the message of the restored gospel with somebody. We came home that night and realized it was New Years Eve! Nothing much really changed though. We were able to have some fun with the package my uncle Jeff and his family sent me!
(Shout out) (Pictures below) We stayed up until 12, watched some fireworks from our apartment, then headed to bed! Happy New Year!



Thursday- We started off the day with Zone Training Meeting or "ZTM" We learned a lot about how we can be more Christlike, and show more love to the people we come in contact with. They then showed us some statistics of the Florida, Orlando Mission for the year of 2014. It was crazy to think that I was here in Orlando for half of the year. We then were able to go have lunch with a member, and teach a couple of lessons with new ward members. We also were able to see Cineus and talk to him more about the Aaronic Priesthood and what it really is. He expressed how grateful he was, and he compared how different his life was 3 months ago. He never thought he would ever feel this "clean and pure" again. It's been awesome to see him change and his desire to learn increase each lesson.

Friday- As always, good ol weekly planning! We actually got a lot done and are excited for this upcoming week. It's a long, tough process to spend most of the day inside planning for the week, but it's so vital for the work to be done most effectively. We finished planning then headed over to the temple!! We thought it would be a good experience if we scheduled a couple of lessons there that would really invite the spirit. Man, those lessons were extremely powerful. Some of the most inspirational lessons I've had on my mission. I love the temple. I'm grateful to have it so close to the area I'm serving in, and get to see it so often. I can't wait to be able to attend more often when I return from my mission.

Saturday- Saturday was an interesting day. We woke up excited, optimistic, and ready for the day! We meet with an investigator right off the bat Saturday morning. We found him on Monday and set up the return appointment. He shared with us that he is in a pretty tough situation and is currently living with a guy that offered him a couch for a week. He doesn't have a job, and he's gone down a couple of
wrong roads in his life and he knows he needs to break some habits. We were excited to share the gospel with him and bring some hope into his life! We invited him to read and pray, and can't wait to meet with him again!

Sunday- Church was great this Sunday! I'm loving fast and testimony meetings on my mission. I've been blessed to be in wards with multiple converts to the church that have shared their conversion story and testimonies. It's great to see their testimonies and conversion continue to grow each week. I love the gospel because there isn't a point where we just stop, throw in the towel, and are done. There is
always more we can learn and improve on. After testimony meeting, and gospel principals, Elder Peay and I taught Elders Quorum! We were asked to teach about how the New Testament and the message of the restoration compliment each other. Now if we were to go back 6 months from now, I don't know if I'd be able to teach a lesson longer then 5 minutes on that subject. There is a talk in this month's ensign called, The Restored Testament that we were asked to base it off of.
 I'm grateful for my mission, and the knowledge I'm gaining each and every day. I've learned to trust that the Holy Ghost will be with me, and I'll be able to teach simply and to others needs!  Later that night, we had Break the Fast where each of the members bring a dish to the church and it's a big dinner before night sacrament! Great idea, right? It's fun to continue connecting with the Ward, and feeling more and more trusted each week.


Another week in the books here in Buena Vista! We are half way through this transfer. Wow, time flies! Thanks again for all of the support I've received. You guys are the best! Talk to you soon.

Much love,
Elder Doman

*One of my best friends from back home sent me a package for Christmas
that had a book in it called, "Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy." by Richard G. Scott. It's been awesome to read and I've learned a ton from reading it. This was a great quote I found from it,

"Happiness has its roots in obedience to the teachings of the Lord and faith in His capacity to fulfill His promises. It can be enjoyed in an environment of poverty or wealth, sickness or health, scarcity or abundance, serenity or challenge. Happiness can and should be the general background which life is lived."


Elder Doman


This dog almost killed me. We walked up to the door and I didn't see it hiding 
under the ghetto van. I mean, the dog looked like it was on steroids, I had to get
a picture. I love the picture on the van too! I thought it was hilarious. 




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