Sharing the gospel with a professional boxer and his autistic, motivational trainer/gym coach!

One thing Brock reminded me of in his letter was one of the funniest things ever before he left.

He said, “well, here is a little throwback moment that might make you laugh... last year at this time was when I gave a talk in church the morning we got home from senior trip and I finished it with "in the name of Jesus Christ... of Latter-Day Saints, amen." yeah, I guess you can say I've grown spiritually a little bit in the last year!”

It was awesome, we teased him about it for so  long!

Friends and Family,

Hey everyone! Well, it's been a year since I graduated High School,

and it almost felt as if I "walked" straight into the mission field.

It was a little bit of a rougher week this week with a few of our

investigators dropping us, but to even up the scales, the Lord lead us

to prepared people!

Monday-

Around came District P-Day again! After 3 hours of basketball and

monopoly, off we were Monday night to dinner at our Ward Mission

Leaders home! It was one of the best bike rides I've had so far on my

mission. It was perfect weather as the sun was going down, with a nice

breeze in the air. We were biking through Downtown Winter Park feeling

fresh and living large! We've really gotten pretty close to our Ward

Mission Leader and I'll definitely miss this guy! *It was his idea to

take the selfie.

Brother Priesser, the ward mission leader with a bunch of the elders

Tuesday-

Exchanges with Elder Gillen! It was Elder Gillens 5th week on his

mission and we went out working like it was his 5th month. We had a

few things fall through during the day, so we started to walk around a

Lake in the mid afternoon talking to everyone that was walking on the

path too. About 15 minutes in, we spotted this this guy named Moses

and his friend Ryan sitting on a bench. We started talking with them

and it ends up Moses was soon to be a professional Boxer, and just

signed a deal and is sponsored by Nike.  Ryan has autism and is his

Motivational trainer/gym coach. They loved the message of the

restoration, and it made sense to them! We have another meeting this

week! It was really just pretty cool to see this man who had just

signed a contract with Nike, stay humble and have a truly motivational

friend along side with him the whole time. We run into a lot of

hardened people on our missions, but when we find the ones who are

still down to earth, and caring people it makes all the rejection

worth it.

Wednesday-

Biking through the hot sun Wednesday, we stopped and talked with this

guy waiting for the bus. He just finished up serving the Country, and

was trying to figure out what to do with this change of lifestyle. He

too invited us to sit down and talk with him until his bus came. As we

testified of the afterlife, and the peace we can have he started to

really open up to us and share a lot about himself. It was a great

testimony builder seeing that "the spirit can testify to a broken

spirit and contrite heart."

Thursday-

District meeting came around and It was sad to think that I may only

have one more week serving in this area with these Elders. After District

Meeting, we had to bike 13 miles to our dinner appointment. To talking with everyone along the way, to the many stop lights on the busy streets of Downtown Orlando, it took up a lot of our day. The dinner we went to was with the  family of the two kids Elder Honda and I baptized two transfers ago. Through out all of the dinner, they continued to thank us for the work and service we are  doing. Not just for the Lord, but for his children too. To finish up the night, we went and had a lesson with our investigator Bob. When we arrived at Bob's room, it was  evident that he was having a tough day. As we continued to talk with Bob and  invite the spirit back into his room, everything about his outlook on life changed as 

we continued to testify of Eternal Families. It brought him a lot of hope, and strengthened his faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement so much! It's amazing what the Gospel can do. 

Friday-

It was a rough day for us on Friday having 3-5 appointments we had set up  fall through. The evening thunder/lightening storms prevented us from getting too much done, as it looked like the 4th of July outside. We were able to accomplish an in detail Weekly Planning which is always helpful for the upcoming week.

Saturday-

Exchanges with Elder Olsen! This was the fourth exchange Elder Olsen and  I have been on! The first one was way back when I was serving in Buena Vista! A lot of the day was spent recollecting old memories and how much each of us have grown on the mission. 

Sunday-

A great day of Church and Sacrament as we had investigators, and less actives  continue to enjoy Sacrament Meeting. We spent most of our day visiting Recent Converts  and lots of biking. 

Sorry about the pictures last week! I'm not sure why they didn't load! I’ll attach them along with some pictures from this week. It's sad to think that this might be my last week here in Winter Park. I've made a lot of great friends in the ward! I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day and stays safe. 

Much Love, 

Elder Doman

Missionary and Marriage Counselor

Friends and Family, 

It was definitely a packed week here in Winter Park! Elder Wesemann and I are seeing success and a lot of blessings coming from our hard work! The temperature is definitely rising too, as I find myself going through 3 water bottles and 2 different shirts each day because of all the sweating going on... It's nasty, but everyone in the state of Florida is going through the same thing! I'm starting to love talking to people with sweat dripping off all of our faces. The scary news is, it's only the middle of May!

Tuesday- 

We went right to work Tuesday going to find less active members in our area! When Elder Clarke came to the mission, he really pushed the mission to find and reactivate the Members in our Mission! We spent a lot of the day trying to tract down these members going from house to house for the majority of the day. I came

to the conclusion of how important this is in missionary work. For most of my mission, I really haven't focused on reactivating members, rather I'd prefer to go and find new people to teach. However, the more returning members we talked to, the greater appreciation I had for this aspect of missionary work. I had to realize that at some point in time, these members were once a missionary’s dream come true. It was a blessing to realize this when I still have time to better implement this! Tuesday evening we went to talk with the new investigators we found last week Alfred and Franklin! We had a really great lesson as they ended by bearing Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Pretty fantastic!

Wednesday- 

Exchanges with Elder Hemsley! Let me tell ya, I love being in a District with 3 sets of Elders. I feel like I've made a lot of great connections these last 3 transfers here in Winter Park. With an exchange every week, I've gotten to know a lot of good hard working missionaries I hope to stay in touch with them after these 2 years are up! 

We had a great day talking with everyone and running into a lot of "different people." Wednesday night, we had a Ward Party! Lots of fun, and a lot of good memories!

Thursday-

We have a few investigators who are getting very close to baptism, but they just doesn't want to give up some old habits. As missionaries, this makes us pretty frustrated! They know the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, they just aren't willing to change. This consisted a lot of the day visiting these investigators. The Lord continued to bless us as we found a new investigator who is loving the Gospel! Thursday night was one of the most awkward/"pressures on" moments of my Mission. We are teaching this man who's wife is a returning member of the church, and recently the husband has wanted to take the lessons. We knock on the apartment door, and as soon as we entered the home, we felt the awkward tension. Apparently the couple hasn't been getting a lot all week, and has been in a major argument. As we sat down on the couch the wife says "We don't know what to do from here, but we figured you missionaries are close to God, so what can we do to get our relationship back to where it needs to be?" Man, I was shocked! I felt so much pressure! I prayed so hard in my heart to know what to do with this situation, as I thought for the next 10 seconds or so, out of nowhere I remembered a scripture Elder Wesemann and I found in studies (Ether 2:24-25) I read in personal study a few mornings ago. After sharing it with them, not much changed. There was just an awkward feeling in the room. We concluded with a prayer, and off we were unsure if we fulfilled our purpose. 

Friday-

We woke up Friday morning with a text message from those we visited the previous night. They said that we had helped them out in just a simple way. They told us the most important thing we did was just to bring the spirit into the home which helped them sort everything out! It was a major stress relief knowing we did what we could for them! It was a total miracle and such a strong testimony builder of learning to trust God and have faith in personal revelation. 

Saturday-

Exchanges with Elder Oxborrow! Another good day of missionary work! We spent the majority of the morning and afternoon doing service for people in the neighborhood we live by. We did a lot of mowing lawns, pulling weeds, and other service projects! 

Sunday-

It was Fast Sunday yesterday because of Stake Conference last weekend. Everything was going great and our Investigator was receiving some strong

revelation telling him to go up and give his testimony. As he was walking up, I couldn't decide if I was more excited or nervous for this to happen. I wasn't sure if this was okay, or what I should do. Luckily I caught the bishop’s eye and he just looked at me and gave me a smile raising his eyebrows. I was so nervous! He ended up bearing a great testimony on the love of God and how we have helped him get back on the right path. It was awesome to see! 

Well today is District P-Day, and we are playing some basketball, volleyball, and having an intense "connect4" tournament! I really am enjoying my mission and can see the changes happening to me and also around me. It's so true when I heard the that "The biggest convert you will have on your mission is yourself." I'm growing each and every day in the gospel, and am having a great time while it's happening!

Have a great week! 

Elder Doman

I guess Brock liked was "impressed" with this dog, he sent 2 pictures!  Maybe there's a story that goes with it, but he forgot to tell us.

Mother's Day Skype and a great week with lots of new investigators!!

It was so great to Skype with Brock yesterday.  He sounds really good and happy, and it was so fun to see his face.  The next 7 months will go really fast, right?  We had a couple of Brock’s best friends over and he even got to Skype with his friend Ammon that’s serving in New Zealand.  He’s growing and learning so much on his mission, it’s awesome to listen to him talk because the growth is obvious.

Last week our bishop wrote to each of the missionaries in our ward and had them write a little bit about their moms.  For sacrament meeting on Sunday, he had a sibling of each of them read what was written, so Abby got up and read what Brock wrote about me. Of course I bawled, but at the same time, it was perfect.  I’m including on this email what Brock wrote because I think he’ll want to keep it with his missionary stuff.

  My mother... man! Where to even begin! It’s exceptionally hard for me to write a "quick paragraph" describing my mother, while I am on the other side of the country, away from her for the first time in my life. Some might call me a "momma's boy" and I couldn't be prouder of the title :) There isn't a stronger person I know than my mom. She has been through so much, and has shown me the perfect example of how to raise a family. She claims to always be the winner of card games, "Mario Party", and just about everything else in the world, and somehow, I'm now starting to believe it. There is a feeling when I'm at home with my family, that I have never felt anywhere else in the world, and that is because of my mom. My role model, my example, my mentor, and also, my friend. Whenever I've gone through adversity, my mom has been the one to pull me back up. Whether it was emotionally, physically, or spiritually, my mom has always been there.  I'm eternally grateful to be blessed with my mother. 

One thing my mom always has always said to me before football games, school, my Mission and other moments through out life  was "work hard, but remember to have fun!" I think this suits my mom perfectly. She is an excellent example of hard, diligent, work. Being a single mother raising 3 kids, who all claim that "they had to do the dishes last night." 

For those who do not know my mom, she is also one of the biggest goofballs I know! If you ever need a good laugh, just talk with my mom for a few minutes. A quick example to prove my point is when we went to Disneyland in 2011. Over the speakers, Disney announced they would be open an extra 2 hours that night. Now it wasn't the young children excited to ride the teacups another time, but it was my mom that shouted out-loud a big "YEEEESSS" for all around us to hear!

Today is your day mom. I love and miss you. I hope you have a Great Mothers Day!

Here’s Brock’s email from the week:

Friends and Family,

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! It was great to Skype home

and see close friends and family! I had a good week here on my

mission, and am excited for these next few weeks to come. Elder Wesemann and I were blessed with a lot of teaching opportunities this

week, and cool miracles daily!

Tuesday-

Let me tell ya, Tuesday was a busy day! It felt like right as Pday

started, it was ending. From biking down to the library to email, to

going up to the store it just felt like there wasn't enough time in

the day to get everything accomplished! We finished up the night by

starting an exchange, and I was able to spend Tuesday night and

Wednesday with Elder Fontes again!

Wednesday-

As Elder Fontes and I were heading into an appointment, we stopped and

talked to this guy who said he met with missionaries in the past, and

would like to meet again! We told him we'd call him in an hour and

once we finished the appointment, we called him! It ends up, he had a

baptismal date previously, but wasn't ready to change! It was a

complete miracle, and we are excited to see him again tomorrow!

Thursday-

Thursday was not the best day for me. During exercises to start off

the day, I rolled my ankle pretty bad. It's been a rough couple weeks!

I fell of my bike last week, I rolled my ankle this week, so my body

isn't too happy! This week will be a lot better! We were able to go

see Tyrone Thursday night and we had a pretty cool lesson with him.

Last week, we gave him the homework to study about Joseph Smith, and

be prepared to teach us the Joseph Smit Story. He was thrilled with

the "homework assignment." After he taught us, we had to have a

celebration or an excuse to go next door to get some frozen yogurt!

Friday-

3 great experiences happened Friday!

1- We finished Weekly Planning

2- We had planned to go stop by a less active member of the church

Friday afternoon. When we arrived at the house, her and her 2 friends

were sitting out in the front porch waiting for us to show up to talk

to them about "How they can be saved" and they "wanted to find Jesus."

Both of them now have baptismal dates!

3- It was almost an identical situation as we knock on a returning

member of the church's door to find that her husband is going through

a hard time with life, and needed something that would make him

happier!

Saturday-

I was able to go down to the Bumby West area on and exchange with

Elder Horne, (a Creole Elder) for the day! It's just kind of awkward

as he is teaching a lesson and I am trying to follow along, but have

no idea what is going on. I did okay of being involved with the lesson

until he said, "Hi, AujunPierre. This is Elder Doman, he doesn't speak

Creole." It was still fun to hear a different language for most of the

day, and try to pick out a few words here and there!

Sunday-

Bob came to church and is doing well! Skyping my family was great. I

loved to get an update from each of them and to hear how they are

doing! I wasn't quite sure what to say, but it was nice to just see

familiar faces, and hear familiar voices. It was a lot of fun!

That was the weekly wrap-up from Orlando this week. I'm half way

through the transfer, and I'm thinking I probably have 3 more weeks in

Winter Park! I'm trying to utilize this time and make an impact. I

miss you guys, and pray for you daily. If there is anything you'd like

to hear more about, let me know and I'd be happy to we include it from

now on. A big thank you to all of those who are praying for me. I

couldn't do it without you!

Much Love,

Elder Doman

Mormon 9:6- O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.

Zone Conference