District Pday, companion's bike accident, and baptismal interview

Friends and Family,

Thank you for all of the emails, letters, and packages sent my way! I continue to say this because I want to stress how much it means to me. It was a tough week here in the W Park area. We were able to teach a lot, and find some great people, but there were some unfortunate events along the way! Today has been way fun though. We had our District Pday today, and it was a great time. We went out to lunch, then came back to the church and played capture the flag, chair soccer, and some basketball. It's a blast to be serving in a district with all Elders. I'm really starting to bond with these guys and I feel like I have known them for ever. It will be hard to say goodbye in a couple weeks! Because of district Pday I won't have too much time to email.

On Tuesday, we drove through downtown Orlando into the Bumby for a baptismal interview. It was awesome to be in the heart of the city for most of the day. We drove back up into Winter Park and met with both of our recent converts. They are doing great and loving the gospel.

 

Wednesday- Well... Wednesday was interesting. We were biking to an

appointment Wednesday morning when my companion Elder Honda fell off of his bike and broke his wrist. Not the greatest start to the day. We were able to head down to the emergency care and it was sure confirmation that he broken it. Elder Honda was a warrior about it.Hasn't complained once, what a stud! Wednesday night, we had an investigator call us and no longer wanted to meet because his "significant other" didn't agree with the teachings. Tough day!

Thursday- We had district meeting, then went to a few appointments

with our investigators. Last week we found a couple really humble young men to teach. We found a 16 year old boy Thursday afternoon that is getting recruited by West Virginia to play football there! How cool is that? We talk a lot about football, but even more about the gospel! He is progressing well! Thursday night we met with a family that we have been teaching, but they are now going through a lot of hard times, and it isn't a priority for them to meet with us right now. It was a pretty sad moment for us! We kept our heads up, and continued to find new people!

Friday- Just another average Friday! Nothing too crazy happened. Weekly planning, we had a dinner with an awesome family, and had a few more appointments.

Saturday- We found a lady walking down the street who was really happy to see us! We sat down at a park bench nearby and she said she had something to tell us. She said she "astrotravels" and had a vision of Jospeh Smith last night. She also said that she is from a different planet.... We weren't quite sure what to say. She wanted to know how she could be baptized because she has been researching the church for a while. We taught her about the restoration and she agreed with it! She took the Book of Mormon from us kind of aggressively and instantly started reading. She promised to come to church! What a miracle!

Sunday- Church was great! We had 3 investigators there and they all really enjoyed it!

Monday- We had Mission wide Conference yesterday! Let me tell ya, it was so much fun to catch up with all of my friends! It was awesome to see how they have grown in the gospel, and just to connect with them again!

Elder Honda and I are looking forward to this week, and are excited to see how this week turns up. We have a lot of great plans and are ready to work! Thanks again for all of the support! I'll talk to you later!

Elder Doman

3 Nephi 24:17-And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

Juanita and Carmelo's baptism and exchanges in Creole

Friends and Family, I can't believe it's the start of week 4 here in Winter Park! It feels like just yesterday when I left Palm Bay. I don't know how time is moving so quickly, they say time goes by fast when you are having fun.  But I've never heard them say time goes by even faster when you are a full-time missionary! It was a "roller coaster" week this week. Full of high points, and low points. Monday- It was pretty rainy all through out the day. We were on our bikes, but fortunately, we had lessons planned after P-Day ended. We were on our bikes, so we pedaled through the weather and rode off to our appointments. Unfortunately, all of them fell through so we ended up just getting really wet, and knocking doors Monday night. Tuesday- We met with one of our investigators named Juanita who has been trying to receive her confirmation about baptism and the church. She is only 11, so it made it fun to teach her. We testified of the power of Prayer and how God will always answer us. She promised to pray so sincere and to pay attention to the feelings she had afterwards. Her brother Carmelo is 8, and his baptism was scheduled for Saturday the 14th (Valentines day.) It was incredible to hear an 8 year old tell his older sister that she needs to be baptized. Definitely, a cool experience. Wednesday- Alo! Nou Se misyoné pou JeziKri! Nou palle Creole! Exchanges!! This was an interesting exchange! There are Creole speaking elders in my district, and I was able to go down into their area. Let me tell ya... It was quite the day. We had 4 appointments and 3 of them were taught in Creole. I honestly didn't say one word through out the lessons. I felt awkward as I sat on the couch and tried to pick out words that sounded similar to english. The only sentence I learned was the one above! It says "hello! I am a missionary of Jesus Christ! I speak Creole" :) Thursday- We had a day stacked full of meetings. District Meeting, a meeting for Institute, and a meeting with the Bishop about institute. It was a pretty draining day, but we were able to finish off the night with a miracle. We were biking back to our apartment when we had an incoming call from Juanita's mom, who is a member. She told us that Juanita had received her answer, and wanted to be baptized!! She then said that she wanted to have it this Saturday with her brother, and their grandparents and extended family were coming into town for her brothers baptism. She then asked if we could have the service on Saturday. We then went into overdrive mode and made arrangements for the interview, baptism, and checked with the with the Mission President that it was alright. He cleared it as long as she passed her interview! These next couple of days were wild! I'm running out of time, but I'll try to fit everything in! Friday- Weekly planning, Juanitas baptismal interview, more arrangements for  the baptisms, and a few appointments! Saturday- The baptismal service came around, and everything fell perfectly into place. It was as if it were meant to happen. The grandparents were there crying, the mom couldn't have been happier for her two kids, the spirit was strong, and All was well. I had the opportunity to give a talk at the baptism and loved it.  After the baptism, we went on a Temple Tour with Stefani (who was baptized last Sunday) and it was awesome. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time! Sunday- Sunday was fantastic. There were Stefani, Juanita, and Carmelo, were all confirmed at Sacrament meeting. Is was one of the coolest things to be a part of. It's been great to come into Winter Park help these investigators receive their confirmation that the church is true. The Gospel brings happiness. I love being a missionary! I hope everyone has a great week, and has a fun holiday today! I love and miss you! Elder Doman

19th Birthday, figuring out Winter Park, Exchanges, and Stefani's Baptism

Brock experimenting with his new wifi camera he got for his birthday

Grandma sent him both of these books for his birthday, maybe a little overwhelming for Brock?

This is what Brock had to say to me about his mission right now:

Our area:

Alright it's pretty weird. So they just split up the area, and added a new set of missionaries. So the Ward now has 4 elders serving in it. We are trying to figure it all out, but for the most part, we cover about 5 miles north of downtown Orlando! It's an awesome area. As we are biking around we can see the city in the distance. We do still go down there, and look for people to teach, but for the most part, we stay up north! It's kind of weird, because the Ward members either live lakeside, and have a 3 story house with the stereotypical "Mormon Family" and the other half is poverty stricken, living in a homeless shelter downtown. It's pretty sad. I've come to realize just how messed up it is. I mean these people are literally begging for meals to eat, while the other Ward members are dining out at a Ruth's Chris steakhouse in the heart of the city. Pretty depressing right? I like the Ward though. I get along with the members well! 

District Leader: 

I love it. It's fun to go on exchanges weekly and get to serve with more Elders! I go on 7 exchanges throughout the 6 week transfer! I'm pretty busy with that, but it makes it fun. I love the responsibility. I strive when I have more responsibility. I love my position right now. I'm loving it. 

Friends and Family,

To start out, I wanted to give a big thanks to those that sent me a birthday package, letter, or email! Just like Christmas, It was a

different experience to be away from your family on a day that is special to you. It makes it a lot easier with the support I am getting. So thank you! What a week it has been in the Winter Park Ward! To make my older sister Brittany smile, another week in books! :) hahaha I am really enjoying my mission right now. I'm loving the work! I've found that there is a major difference between serving a mission, and serving the Lord. Elder Honda and I are working our hardest, and are definitely being blessed because of it!

Monday: P-day was great! We went and played basketball at the church for multiple hours! We came home and had dinner, then hopped up onto our bikes and headed to our lesson. Elder Honda and I had one of the greatest miracles on Monday evening. We were headed to a lesson, and we were a little bit early, we passed by a less active members home, and didn’t think too much of it. We arrived at our appt, and it ended up falling through. Our backup plan was just to tract the houses next to it. We started knocking on the doors and a guy was loading some equipment into his truck. We helped him out for the next 15 minutes or so. After we finished, he declined our invitation, and that's the end of it. We only had a few houses left, and it was starting to get dark. We both got the prompting to go back to the less active members home and try to meet with her. We biked back to their house and she let us in. I hadn't ever met her before and honestly didn't even know her name.  We sat down on the couch and I felt a little awkward. There were beer bottles covering the floor and the smell of smoke was think throughout the home. It was just me, Elder Honda, and the less middle aged couple. We were about to offer an opening prayer, when we got a knock on the door. All of the sudden 4 of their friends come walking in and take a seat on the other couch. They began to talk and to ask us about our purpose as a missionary, and really why we were at the house. (Seems kind of backwards, right?) we explained our purpose, and they all agreed they'd like to stay and listen to the message. We shared the restoration with them, and all 4 of "The Crew" wanted us to come back and teach them some more! How awesome is that? Elder Honda and I were stoked! We couldn't have been happier.

Tuesday: we had another lesson with "The Crew" and they all accepted the baptismal invitation! Woohoo! They are very humble people. It's kind of an awkward situation. 2 of them are dating, and the other two are dating, but they all live inside the less active members home.  Kind of weird, but we'll take it! We visited with some other investigator Tuesday and he wasn't too happy about the Law of Chastity. In fact he was pretty mad. He said he had s lot of praying to do, and wasn't sure what the next step was.

Wednesday: I went on an exchange Wednesday with Elder Bravo! He left the MTC the same day I did! We sat next to each other on the plane.  Unfortunately, the curse of exchanges took place and all of our lessons fell through. Luckily we had a Ward party that evening, and I was able to meet more of the members and I got to know them personally.

Thursday: Another lesson with "The Crew" and we were able to set baptismal dates for March 1st! They were very excited and feeling the spirit!

Friday (BIRTHDAY): Well, not much changes even though it's your birthday on a mission! It's basically the same thing, Hahha. We went and found a new investigator who used to be in the army, so we hard a lot of different stories about that! Friday night I opened up my birthday packages! Again, I appreciate it, and I am very grateful to have such a great family and friends.

Saturday: Exchanges with the Zone Leaders! I was able to leave my area, and spend the day in Waterford Lakes with Elder Scott! Funny story: Elder Scott was my District Leader the second

Brock and Elder Scott

transfer I had out in Palm Bay! It was great to catch up with him. We are great friends and have the same mindset about missionary work! We went on a temple tour and had a great experience there. They are teaching a less active member, who was shot fighting in Afghanistan 4 years ago. He now can barley walk with a walker, and had to be in a chair for his transportation. He was very strong spiritually, and emotionally. When we arrived at the a Temple tears were streaming down his face. He was so grateful to be back.

It was Saturday at about 2 in the afternoon when we got a call from Elder Honda. We picked up the phone and Elder Honda couldn't stop laughing. Through his laughter, he says, "Elder Doman, bishop just called and the member he assigned to speak in sacrament this week won't be able to make it. They're sick. So bishop told me you are speaking." It was an awkward pause and I didn't really know what to say.

Sunday: Wow, Sunday was one of the craziest days of the mission. We woke up Sunday morning with a text from a member saying that she wouldn't be able to talk at Stefani's baptism later that day because she too was sick. I accepted the challenge of giving 2 different talks on different subjects. I actually had a lot of fun doing it! I was a little bit nervous, but I was also pretty excited! We biked to church early and filled up the baptismal font for Stefani's baptism! I finished up preparing for the talk about 5 minutes before Ward Council started. :) the talk in sacrament went well, and I really enjoyed the subject! It was "being happy with life the way it is." After church, the baptism went as planned, and Stefani was so excited! She couldn’t have been happier! There was a lot of support from the Ward there which she really appreciated.

Brock, Stefani, and Elder Honda

I'm looking forward to another great week here! Thanks again for all of the support! Have a great week!

Much Love,

Elder Doman

Winter Park and Homeless People and Brock's birthday week!

Brock wasn’t able to send any pictures this week because he said he didn’t have time and he was only on his Ipad.  After this week that should never happen again because I sent him wi-fi camera for his birthday!!! He told me he didn’t know what to say in his email because he was still trying to figure out his new area, it didn’t sound like he had really settled in yet.  He is just outside of Orlando now and he’s excited to be where he is. He loves being a district leader and training a new missionary, he thinks that’s pretty fun.  He did send home his suit pants this week so that I can take them in and get them altered, his waist is down about 4 inches!  That’s crazy.

Since he didn’t add any pictures to his email, I decided that it’s because it’s his birthday this week, I’d add some of my favorites from when he was just a little kid!! I’ll sure miss having him home with me on his birthday!  Please send him an email or letter or something for his birthday on Friday, he'd love it!

Friends and Family,

Hey guys! It's the beginning of a new transfer here in the FOM a.k.a. "The Promise Land" and I am now in the Winter Park Ward! It is about 3 minutes away from downtown Orlando! How cool is that? I've been pretty blessed to serve in awesome areas throughout the mission.

- The East Coastline (Palm Bay)

- The Disney World area (Buena Vista)

- Downtown Orlando (Winter Park)

 

My new companion is Elder Honda! He's from Colorado and he's doing great! He turned 18 October 31 then came out on his mission right after. It's awesome to see his desire to come out as soon as possible and serve the Lord. He knows a lot a lot for only being 7 weeks now, and that makes it fun. I'm looking forward to this transfer!

This area has a lot of good things going for it. I'm blessed to come in at such a fun time. About 2 months ago, the Ward boundaries were reassigned, so they lost some members, but also gained some. Members are still trying to figure out just how things work, and get into a routine. The chapel we meet at on Sunday's was the first LDS church in Florida! It's pretty old and rickety. There isn't much organization to it, and I feel like I'm walking through a maze when I'm in it.

We are going to have a baptism this Sunday! I've only talked with her a couple of times, but Elder Honda and his previous companion were almost done teaching her! So that's some good news!

I love this area because I am able to talk with so many different people. Being downtown, there are people everywhere. Even if they aren't from this area, it is still fun to talk with them. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of homeless people here. It's sad to see, and it continues to humble me every time I see one on the sidewalk. As a missionary, we can’t be giving money to them, so I'm not really quite sure what to do? It's a tricky situation! But to explain the subject line of this email, I'll share a story that happened this week!

We were biking home Tuesday night (woohoo! Biking Again!) after transfers, and we are stopped at a red light. This homeless guy is beginning to approach us and we were going to have to turn him down. This was my first interaction and I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to say. He walks up to me and asks if I had a cigarette or two I could give him? I was totally shocked. It was evident that he was homeless, but he didn't even ask for money. Just a cigarette. We explained to him that we didn't, and he stumbles away with his head down. We bike another 3 blocks and the same thing happens, but with a different guy! It's so sad to think that they are so wrapped up and focused on their addictions, they would ask for a cigarette rather then asking for a few dollars for a meal that night.

To end on a good note, there is a recent convert in our ward we were going to go visit Friday night. I was excited to see him, then on the way, Elder Honda told me He had autism, and I was even more excited. We knock on the door, and the first time he saw me he just gave me a giant hug for like a minute straight. I absolutely loved it. I hadn't ever me the guy, but he was so happy to see Elder Honda and I. It made me appreciate the simple things in life. That one guy, and the one action he did changed my entire outlook for the rest of the week!

I hope everyone has a great week, and enjoys life! Sorry I couldn't

upload any pictures this week! We were on our iPads! I'm loving my mission, and having a great time! Have fun!

Elder Doman

3 Nephi 11:17- 17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.