The week of TYRONE........

In Brock's words, this is,  "Tyronneeeeee Kelly! Hahahaha  I love this guy!"

Friends and Family,

This was a memorable week here in Winter Park! There were a lot of good, spiritual moments that I will never forget! Thanks for all of the emails I received last week. I'm definitely trying to respond to all of them, so if I haven't been able to yet, know that I am grateful for your thoughts and time to send out an email. I will send one back soon! 

Monday- It was amazing how much it rained last Monday. It was like summer all over again! Luckily we had the car, so we were able to accomplish all of our P-day tasks (Shopping, bike fixes, and good old laundry.)

Tuesday-  We met with Tryone, and he was just super pumped for the baptism. It was so cool to see his desire for this life changing event to happen, and for him to make this sacred covenant with God! We currently do not have a Ward Mission Leader, so it was up to Elder Wesemann and I to make the baptism happen. We put in some serious work to make the baptismal program look like it wasn't made by an 18 and 19 year old, and at the end of the day, we made it happen. 

Wednesday- Wednesday afternoon, a returning member of the church we have been working with offered to take Tryone, and us missionaries out to lunch! There was a pretty fantastic spirit as the returning member bore testimony of baptism and the blessings that come from it. It is something I'll never forget. We then went over to the hospital to see how Bob was doing after his surgery last weekend. He was feeling great, and wanted to have another missionary lesson! He was so eager to learn even coming out of surgery just a few days earlier. He informed us that he had been praying a lot about the Word of Wisdom and if it was really from God. He has yet to have a cigar and has committed to give up his other Word of Wisdom problems as well! It was kind of a weird scenario as we look at the big picture. We were just two young men sitting inside of a hospital room testifying of the love of God, and how he can help him with these trials he is going through. Another great experience! 

Tyrone and a returning member that took them out to lunch!

Thursday- District Meeting, some finding time, another lesson with Tyrone to make sure everything was still a go for Sunday!

 

Getting Tyrone ready for his big day!

Friday- Weekly Planning, Finding, and Teaching! It was a pretty busy day!

Saturday- I love Saturdays on a mission. Everyone is at home on their front porch with tier families getting roasted by the sun! As Elder Wesemann and I were biking along from appointment to appointment talking with everyone, we were just grateful to be in such a cool place! I'm really starting to love Florida, and the people here. Everyone and their dog has a dog here in Florida so this makes it pretty fun to contact! Saturday night, we made the last preparations for the baptism, and were all set and ready to go! 

Sunday- Sunday was an awesome day! We had a investigators at Sacrament meeting and they were also able to attend Tyrone's baptism as well. It was a pretty busy Sunday but as soon as it was time for the baptism, everything just fell into place. It went smoothly, and no problems occurred. One of the biggest miracles of the day was that Tyrone's mother came to the baptism! She is very involved in a different church, but said that she loved the service. It looks like Tyrone has some missionary work to do :) It's Stake Conference here in the Orlando Stake this weekend, so Tyrone was confirmed right after the baptism! Woohoo! He was so excited for this and for him to receive the Holy Ghost! 

Elder Wesemann filling up thte font

Baptism Day :)

Tyrone is the person I've seen change the most thus far on my mission. It was so much fun to teach him, and to witness this change within him. It is such a testimony builder for me as I have seen Tryone accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and really change who he is. Thanks again for all of the support. 

Much love, 

Elder Doman

The beginning of another transfer in Winter Park with Elder Weseman!

Brock sounded so much better this week!  He is excited to spend another transfer in Winter Park with Elder Wesemann.  He’s got a solid baptism set up for Sunday and he sounded like he’s recharged and ready to go.

Friends and Family,

We had the transfer calls Saturday night, and Elder Wesemann and I will be staying together in the Winter Park area for at least another 6 weeks! Woohoo! I'm happy to stay here, and am really enjoying the work.

Monday- There was so much lightning here in Orlando Monday evening it was crazy. It is pretty fun to watch it all come down, but it does put a limit on how much biking we can do! 

Tuesday- Tyrone had his baptismal interview Tuesday evening and he passed with flying colors! He was so excited when he got out of the interview. He came right over to Elder Wesemann and I with tears in his eyes and gave us both a big bear hug. This was the first time we had ever seen him very emotional.We could feel the spirit so strongly as he expressed how grateful he was for the miracle it was for us to find him and teach him so quickly. He told us that he knew that what he is committing to do next Sunday (his baptism) is more than just a lifetime thing, it is something he will continue to do for the eternities.  It was pretty amazing to hear him say this when we look back and about a month and a half ago, this man didn't have any type of a relationship with God, and didn't believe in going to church. Very cool experience! After the interview President Pratt, a counselor in the Mission Presidency, called to tell us he wanted to come out and teach a first lesson with us since he has recently accepted a call to be a Mission President up in Canada! We were a little nervous but also pretty excited for someone so spiritual to come out to do a lesson with us! 

Wednesday- We did a lot of finding some new people to teach Wednesday morning with a lot of great miracles. It was fun as Elder Wesemann and I focused on really getting to know the people we talked to. Elder Wesemann and I spent 3 hours looking for new people to teach, in those 3 hours we talked to someone from India, Argentina, Paraguay, and Cuba. Pretty awesome, right? Wednesday evening it was storming pretty bad here, but luckily we had the lesson set up with President Pratt and his wife so they could drive us! As we arrived at the home, in an area that was pretty poverty stricken, we felt like this was going to be a great experience for the 4 of us. We knocked on the door of the home and she asked if we could sit outside instead of entering the home. We said, “sure” and took a seat on the front patio. The humidity was unreal as the sun began to shine and the rain clouds went away. I found myself sweating profusely sitting in my rain jacket testifying of Jesus Christ with a future Missionary President alongside of me. It was just a cool, small experience that helped me along in my mission!

Thursday- Both the Assistants to the Mission President and the Zone Leaders showed up at District Meeting which was great. Definitely added on some stress, but things went great! We spent a lot of time doing some re-activation work Thursday afternoon and evening. 

Friday- Weekly Planning took up a big majority of our day as we tried to plan with more detail this week. 

Saturday- We had our investigator Bob call us early Saturday morning letting us know that he is going in for surgery! It was a total shock for us. He has a big time infection on his foot and had to get it amputated this weekend. It was pretty sad, but he said he feels a lot better because he only had 2 cigars all week!! Woohoo! He was so excited to tell us! 

Sunday- It was pretty bad weather all day on Sunday with constant lightening strikes. Sunday evening as the weather cleared up, we biked down to the Florida Hospital to see how Bob is doing. He wasn't even too sad to see most of his left leg gone, he was more just excited to see us. When we walked in the room he immediately sat up and grabbed his Book of Mormon! He was ready to do some reading :) This made Elder Wesemann and I so happy knowing that with everything going on in his life, he still has the desire to learn more about the church and the restored gospel. 

It was a great week with a lot of spiritual experiences. I'm thankful for all of the help and support I am receiving. I definitely am feeling the love. Thanks again and have a great week! 

Much Love,

Elder Doman

Isaiah 43:2-5

2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

 3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

 4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

A screaming hobo.........

In my email it sounded like Brock is struggling a little bit right now, he’s still loving his mission, but he hit the 10-month missionary slump.  I think he could really use some words of encouragement!

Friends and Family,

The "Sunshine State" lived up to this title this week, and the 7 year old's belting "Jesus wants me as a sun... BEAM" in the Primary Program helped as well! It was another great week in Winter Park, and Elder Wesemann and I are seeing a lot of

progress in the area, and in ourselves along with that. We have been meeting a lot with two of our main investigators, Tyrone, and Bob! Bob is the man in the nursing home who has a baptismal date! They want us to stop by just about every other day, so this makes our job easier! They are both really progressing towards the waters of baptism and enjoy the lessons!  

Monday- District had a sand volleyball tournament for P-day! It was a great time, and some pictures are included below! 

Tuesday- Exchanges with Elder Robert! Elder Robert finishes up his mission next Tuesday and will be heading back to Boston! It was great to serve for 24 hours with a very experienced missionary. We found some new people for me and Elder

Wesemann to teach and put in some time contacting as well. We found this Vietnamese church that was celebrating Easter at that time. We weren't sure why, but we took a sweet picture of the Church's name. As long as they are grateful for and worshiping Jesus Christ we were good with it :) It was pretty cool to see this group of people witha different culture, that didn't understand too much English, but they still believed int the same thing about Jesus Christ! 

Wednesday- Me and Elder Wesemann visited with Tyrone! He is still loving the Book of Mormon and knows it's true. His baptismal interview is coming up, and we can't wait! He is very excited and the change we have seen in him has made these 10 months worth it alone. The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation changes people. He says that he goes around smiling now understanding what will happen to him and his family after they die, and is no longer afraid of death. Very great testimony builder, and experience to see him change! 

Thursday- District Meeting and some finding! Thursday night, Elder Wesemann and I had an awesome experience. It was around 6:30 and we were knocking doors in a pretty ghetto neighborhood just outside of Downtown Orlando. We were walking in between doors, and all of the sudden this homeless man jumps out from behind a bush and Screams at the top of his lungs for like 20 seconds as me and Elder Wesemann  just stare as we try not to laugh. After he no longer has any air in his lungs and his face is dark purple, he takes a giant breath in and says disappointed, "Man, you Mormons aren't afraid of anything." He then walks off  down the street and doesn't say another word. The people of Orlando are awesome. 

This picture was on the Florida Orlando Mission website.  It was labeled "A special musical number......"  I've heard Brock sing, it probably was really special :)

Friday- 

We had a long meeting with Bob after weekly planning. We were planning on going over the the Word of Wisdom with Bob. We were anxious to see how he would take quitting smoking because each time we meet with him, he smokes a giant cigar. During the lesson, when we told him he would have to quit, it was almost as if he checked out and didn't want to listen anymore. We asked him what was going on and he told me this story that blew my mind. He said that when he was 12 years old he smoked his first cigar, (That's amazing alone,) to make the story even crazier he said he has smoked a cigar every day of his life since!!! I honestly didn't know how he hasn't died from lung cancer yet, but the doctors tell him his lungs are fine! I couldn't and can't believe it. Now, the man has had 4 heart attacks and 3 strokes but his lungs are fine! To continue on, we invited him out to church and told him he wouldn't be able to smoke during the meetings. He said it would be a challenge but it would be worth it! 

Saturday- 

Finding, working, teaching, and biking! Sorry the time is running short today! 

Sunday- 

Bob and Tyrone were both at church, and loved it! They said the spirit during the Primary Program was fantastic. It was a pretty great couple of weeks for us as missionaries having General Conference then the Primary Program back to back! We finished off our Sunday night by meeting with some investigators and my favorite family in the ward which fed us! They day couldn't have gotten better. 

Today- We got a call from Bob earlier this morning. We could hear it in his voice that he was excited about something. Almost crying, he told us that yesterday (Sunday) was the first day in over 50 years that he didn't smoke. The spirit he felt at church was worth it to give up smoking for a day. It was definitely a miracle that Elder Wesemann and I saw!! We hare hoping to continue to see him and Tyrone change, and progress towards baptism! 

Things are great here in the F.O.M. Thanks again for all of the support and inspiration given to me! I hope everyone has a great week! 

Much Love,

Elder Doman

Luke 22:32-But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

District Pday volleyball 

Short email because it's a sand volleyball district Pday!!

Short email this week and only one picture!!!  I already gave Brock a hard time for that one.  One picture is not okay.  In his email to me, it sounded like he loved this week, but it was full of challenges too.  He told me that he thinks he’ll stay in Winter Park training Elder Wesemann for the rest of this transfer and the next one too, that will be until the end of May.  I think he’ll definitely be ready for a change by then.   

Friends and Family,

Week 4 of the transfer is finished up with the sun shining hotter then ever here in Florida (or at least that's what it feels like!) I loved this week of my mission, and have learned valuable lessons. General Conference was great, Easter was great, and my soon to be farmers tan will be great!

Monday- Just a regular P-day! Biking takes up a lot of our time for p-day between shopping, emailing, and finishing up anything else we may need to do! 

Tuesday- We visited a Less-Active member of the church in an Assisted Living home Tuesday afternoon. On our way out, a random guy in a wheelchair named Bob asked us if we were Mormon Missionaries! He didn't look very old, and seemed pretty energetic. We replied yes, and he invited us onto his patio. We sat and talked with him for a good hour and a half as he asked us all sorts of questions about the religion.  We cleared up misconceptions, answered his questions, and bore some serious testimony. Bob then broke down and informed us that his family had left him after he was in a serious car accident a little over a year ago. He broke both femurs, and now has a lot of other difficulties which refrain him from walking. He said he's been looking for God for the past year or so, and just hasn't been able to find him. After the lesson, he had a baptismal date for the 10th of May. What a miracle. It's events like this that have helped me stay out on a mission. 

Wednesday- We met with Tyrone Wednesday morning on exchanges with a Elder Fontes! He is 24 and hails from Cape Verde! How cool is that? He told me all about the little island west of the mainland. Tyrone's lesson was awesome. We had planned to talk to him about the word of wisdom. As we listed off some of the things we should not partake of he said that everyone of them were disgusting and he promised his mom to never to do any of them when he was 14 years old! Tyrone was definitely prepared for this message

Thursday- Zone Training Meeting, and a lot of trying to find more people to teach! 

Friday- Weekly Planning, and a Ward Easter Party! No I didn't get my face painted like a bunny either.

Hanging out and watching conference!

Saturday- SPIRITUAL FEAST Pt 1. Wow, General Conference this weekend was the best. I was able to take away so much iPad

Sunday- SPIRITUAL FEAST Pt 2. Happy Easter! Another great day to listen to the Prophet and Apostles speak to us. We finished up the night by visiting Tyrone and Bob to see how their Easter went! 

Sorry for the shorter email this week! Today is District P-Day and we are going to play sand volleyball! It's 82 degrees and no clouds in sight. Couldn't be much better! This week, it's predicted to get up to 93 degrees. It's starting to get hot here in the Sunshine State! Summer is right around the corner, and so is my one year mark. I do t know how, but it is. I hope everyone had a great Easter, and bass good week. Thanks again for all of the support! 

Much Love,

Elder Doman

General Conference quote-

Dale G Renlund

"God cares a lot more about who we are becoming, and who we are, rather then who we once were"