"No um ma pale Creole" ( I don't speak very much Creole!)

This week Brock wrote to me one of my favorite emails of his mission. It’s so fun to see how he’s progressing and growing while he’s in Florida.  He’s learning so much about himself too.

“Elder Wesemann is doing really good! He is starting to get the swing of things and up to the fast pace tempo which I like. I think that has really changed a lot about me on my mission. I feel like I am a lot more efficient and use my time more effectively. I can't stand waiting around and not doing much. I really enjoy a fast pace tempo to life, because you are able to accomplish a lot more.”

“Mom, it's just cool to see how the mission has changed me. Before my mission, Spiritually,  I had never done anything terribly wrong, and at the same time I hadn't ever had an extremely spiritual experience. I was just spiritually idol. not making any progress. Since I have been on my mission, I feel like my mind has changed. I honestly care about people and how they are doing. I care about their relationship with God, because I know how vital it is to endure through this life. I understand and have a love for the scriptures. I can't wait to exercise for 30 minutes, then spend a full hour engulfed in the Book of Mormon, or Preach My Gospel. Things have changed a little bit, right? Definitely a good change though!”

Friends and Family,

Somehow, the end of March is just a couple of days away and we find ourselves enduring the hot April sun again! Another busy, successful, learning-filled week happened here in Winter Park! Elder Wesemann and I saw some struggles as a lot of our investigators and their families were out of town for the Florida Spring Break. We continued pushing through knowing that better weeks were right around the corner. 

Monday:

 Elder Wesemann had a doctors appointment on Tuesday morning with one of the

Senior Couples 2 hours away from Winter Park! Elder Wesemann is doing great, and there is no need to worry! Because he would be gone for most of the day, I was informed to have a "sleepover" with another companionship in the District, and spend the day in a tri-panionship! It was a lot of fun and good laughs as we tried to contact people with all three of us together. Definitely had a good time! 

Tuesday

:Put in hard work with the Bumby West (Creole) Elders. You can basically say "No um ma pale Creole." (I don't speak very much creole) I tried saying this to a few people through out the day and all they did was cover their face with their hands and laugh! It was a good time, but we were also able to have some good lessons with their investigators! 

Wednesday:

 We had exchanges with the Bumby East Elders, and I was able to spend the day with Elder Conrad! I love being a District Leader as I am able to communicate and bond with a lot of different missionaries. We met with our investigator Tyrone and he is loving the Book of Mormon! he said he has received his answer from God that the Book is true, and his story is awesome. He said that Monday night, he finished up reading the Book of Mormon, then prayed and asked if it was true. He then went to the store to buy some sodas and as he was checking out the guy in front of him told Tyrone that he'd buy his sodas for him! Tyrone took it as an answer from God about the Book of Mormon! Hhaha! 

Thursday:

District Meeting! We thought it would be fun to wear our ugliest ties to District Meeting just for fun! Here is a picture of some ties! We did a lot of finding Thursday afternoon as we approach the Easter Holiday. 

Friday:

We had the Trainer Follow up meeting where we were able to ask questions to President Berry about how we can best help our "Sons" as they adjust to the missionary life. I was laughing as one of the elder’s questions was, "President Berry, my companion has gained 17 pounds in the last 3 weeks and I don't know how to tell him to stop eating so much." The trainers in the room all started to laugh and even the Mission President himself couldn't hold back from grinning. 

The meeting took up most of the day and the rest of the evening consisted of Weekly Planning! 

Saturday:

Another round of exchanges, but this time it was with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Cooper! If we rewind back a couple of transfers to my time serving with Elder Peay, Elder Cooper trained Elder Peay so we had a lot to talk and laugh about! We talked with and found some more people to teach! 

Sunday:

Tyrone was at church again which made our day! He has a solid baptismal date, and can't wait for it to happen. We went over and had a lesson with him Sunday evening and introduced us to his parents who sat in during the lesson! They both really liked the Plan of Salvation and they too want to learn more about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ! What a miracle! 

The church has recently come out with another initiative called #BecauseHeLives. It is another video like #HeIsTheGift and #BecauseOfHim. It's a pretty inspiring video that is great for remembering the fact that our Savior, Jesus Christ continues to live and love all his brothers and sisters! I can't wait to listen to General Conference this weekend, and have a great Easter Weekend! 

Much Love,

Elder Doman

Alma 29:14-But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is more full because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi.

Bike safety, spilled milk, and a miracle lesson in the stairway!

Brock told me that he didn’t send pictures this week because he had a lot of stress and was very busy!!  But, he promised he would do better next week.  I loved what he told me about how much time he has left on his mission, he cracks me up!

“It's crazy to think that in 1 year from now, I'll be mowing the lawn, and things will be back to the normal, almost as nothing ever happened. PSYCH! This mission has changed so much about me it's insane. I feel like I will be different and have different values when I return. It will be weird for the first little bit, but it will be good!

It's almost time to Skype again!! Then after that skype call, I will have another 6 months, then we can skype again, and then in three months after that, I'll be home! Mind Blowing huh? I have like 7 more transfers on my mission. WOW! time is flying.” 

Friends and Family, 

March Madness is real here in Winter Park, even if we aren't talking about basketball! Elder Wesemann and I had one of the most successful weeks so far on my mission, and we were really focused on our purpose. A lot of good hard work = a lot of miracles seen! 

Monday: Elder Wesemann and I don't have the car for the rest of March, so that means we went shopping hoping we could carry our groceries with the help from our bags and bike handlebars. The closest grocery store is about 2 miles away so we were hoping for a miracle delivering the groceries home in safety. Unfortunately, the only item that didn't make it was the milk.We took a sharp turn and it flew off of Elder Wesemann's handlebars into the middle of the road and broke on impact. We didn't cry over spilt milk though.... dum dum tss. (Shout out to my sister Brittany)

Tuesday: We had Zone Conference all day Tuesday as we learned how we can use all of our time effectively, working with members, and bike safety. Elder Wesemann and I were trying not to laugh as the mental picture of the milk splattering on the pavement came to mind throughout the presentation. The Conference pushed the "Eternal Perspective" and how short our time here on Earth is, and then how short our time on our mission is. Afterwards the mission was ready to go out and work! 

Wednesday: Busy! We pushed ourselves and did a lot of teaching. Our Investigator Ashley is doing great and is really enjoying the Book of Mormon. She likes the stories inside the book, and is waiting for God to answer her prayers that the stories are true! Wednesday on the way home, we had a man ask us if we could talk to him about Jesus Christ, and why he was important. He didn't know what he was getting into :) Jim accepted the Book of Mormon and was happy to read it! 

Thursday: More teaching and reactivation with some members. We've been working with a really less active member of the Church who now has the desire to get to the temple. We found him about a month ago, he now has a plan to get to the temple. It was one of the greatest miracles. He testified of the power of prayer and threw his cigarettes away at the end of our meeting! We can't wait to see him this week! 

Friday: Weekly Planning and finding! Friday evening we had a dinner with a member. We knocked at 5 PM sharp excited for some dinner! They informed us that they thought it was planned for 6 and asked if we could come back then. As we walked down the stairs of their apartmen, a young man walked by.  Elder Wesemann and I have been focused on talking with everyone and getting out of our comfort zone! We taught him on the spot and it ends up he has been looking for a church to join for the last 4 years. His name is Tyrone, and we taught him on the stairs leading up to his apartment because his family was inside and he would have been embarrassed for us to see his family like that. We testified of the Restoration and set a baptismal date with him! The members that lived next door, then came down and joined us in the lesson and dinner was in the oven. They offered him a ride to church and are now the best of friends. The members invited Tyrone to dinner with us, and he gladly accepted the invitation. It was fantastic to see how the members were so open and were such a big part of this man's conversion. God is so real. It was amazing to see how God is literally directing us in every step we take. 

Saturday: Exchanges with Elder Horne! Elder and I get along great. He is from Murray, Utah so we had a lot to talk about! Great day with more finding and teaching!

Sunday: Tyrone came to church and loved it! 3rd hour was all about how we can keep the chapel clean and making assignments to clean the building as a ward. We were nervous to see what Tyrone would think after having a very different 3rd hour of Church. But Tyrone is a stud and thought that it was important information to talk about. I don't know if that means our chapel was dirty, or if he just likes a clean church when he attends! 

I loved this week of my mission. I am enjoying every aspect of my mission, and can't wait for this upcoming week. I've learned so much from my mission. I'm eternally grateful for this experience, and for the life lessons that I'm learning. Thank you for all of the support I'm receiving. You guys are the best! 

Much Love,

Elder Doman

"Spiritual light rarely comes to those who sit in darkness, waiting for someone to flip a switch. It takes an act of faith to open our eyes to the light of Christ." 

-       "The Hope of God's Light" Mormon Message

I'm not sure who this is with Brock, probably just another one of his buddies.  Brock is always seeking out people that need a friend!

Week one with Elder Wesemann!

Friends and Family! 

It's starting to heat up here in Florida as we approach the summer time in full swing. The sweat is dripping, the temperature is rising, and the work is hastening! 

Brock thought this was really funny because his grandpa's (my dad) name is Gary Lambert!

Tuesday I found my new companion who I will be working with for the next 6-12 weeks! That seems like a long time, but honestly, it's not long enough! My new companion is Elder Wesemann (Weisman)! He hails from the classic Farmington, Utah and is really excited to be out on his mission! He's been away from home for 22 days now. He's a great missionary and I am excited for these weeks to come! I'm beginning to believe that the trainer learns more than the trainee during these first few weeks! 

 

Transfer meeting.  This is when Brock met his new companion for the first time!

Wednesday was one of the craziest, busiest, and most fun days of my mission. It was a whopping 87 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We had 5 lessons planned for the day and the locations were on each side of our area border. We biked A LOT! All of the appointments we had were held outside because as our investigator Ashley says "It's such nice weather, and God is opening up his eyes on us. and that's why it is so hot!" Yeah, we didn't really understand it either, but she said it probably 13 times through out the duration of the lesson. felt really bad for Elder Wesemann, because i'm pretty sure that my trainer did the same thing to me. I remember biking all over the place my first  couple of days. It was good to get out and set the tone of how this transfer will be, but man, it was a crazy day! That night after nightly planning we sad down and the math added up that we biked 29.3 miles that day... I'm pretty sure Elder Wesemann wanted to kill me! 

Thursday morning came around and Elder Wesemann's face was like a summer sunset in St. George! He was so sun-burnt! All down his arms, across the back of his neck, and throughout his face. We had 3 meetings through out the day, so it was good for our quads to recover! 

Friday came around and we went through a long, in depth weekly planning! Later in the afternoon we met with a couple investigators and unfortunately we had to drop them. It was tough, but they just weren't willing to keep commitments. It's always sad to stop visiting some people, but it's part of missionary work! 

Saturday was a great day! We are about two miles away from The Rollins Community College, so we decided to go check it out and see how busy it would be. I hadn't ever thought of it before, but we definitely are lead and guided by inspiration! There was a Lacrosse tournament taking place at the college, and we found a nice park right across the street from it. There were so many people walking around Downtown Winter Park. It was perfect for us to go and practice talking with people! Later Saturday night we met the Roundtree family at the church and went on a church tour! They were nervous to attend church on Sunday because they hadn't ever seen an LDS church or didn't know anything about it. It was a great time and the spirit was so strong as we talked about the sacrament.They committed to go to church this Sunday!

Unfortunately, they didn't show up at church and we were a little disappointed. We kept our heads up and went out and work hard Sunday night! We found an older Southern Baptist couple as the sun was setting and they were hilarious. When we knocked on their door, they had just finished up a neighborhood cookout and had probably 30 extra hot dogs, that they made us take from them. We can't wait to meet with them again... We then went over to our investigator Ashley's home. She is really solid and progressing well! 

Not everyone is so receptive!

We are seeing a lot of miracles here in the Winter Park area, and I am very grateful to be on a mission. It's been easy for me to get caught up in the work and not really think about what is going on, and what we are inviting others to do. They are in the middle of changing everything they know about God, Jesus Christ, and in religion in general. I love serving a mission. I'm grateful to be a servant of the Lord and to be a part of the work! I hope everyone had a fun Spring Break! 

Much Love,

Elder Doman

 

Sending their emails today!