Biking in the rain in Clermont

It's Brock's birthday this Saturday, February 6th and he'd sure love a letter or an email.  His address is:  Elder Brock Doman

Florida Orlando Mission

10502 Satellite Blvd Ste. E

Orlando, Fl 32837

His email address is brock.doman@myldsmail.net

Friends and Family,

Here we are again! I realized today that time is definitely ticking
with it being the first of February today. Man, crazy stuff! This is
now week 18 here in Eustis for me. It feels like it's been a while,
but I'm liking it out here in the country side. It's the last week of
the transfer, so we are really going to work to finish it out strong.

Tuesday the week started off well! So to back track a little bit...
last Sunday, Sister McFadden (the chicken lady) said the opening
prayer in Sacrament Meeting! She's now fully reactivated in the
church! It was so cool to see. It's been a good time working with her
and seeing the change that's taken place in her and her family. I've
learned and noticed how real the gospel is, and how it changes people.
It's awesome! Anyways, we stopped by her and let her know that we
won't be coming by as much now that she's rekindled her testimony. We
then headed out to our quarterly interviews with President Berry!
Everything went well, and I left feeling the spirit, and more
motivated! The night ended with us lacing up our sneakers and playing
some elders quorum ball!

*miracle of the week*
So, to be honest, I sometime question how effective playing basketball
with the Elders quorum Tuesday night are. Out here in Eustis I think
it's been the most effective with there being on average 13 people
out, and only 5 are members. This week, I no longer question if it is
effective. Wednesday morning we received a Media Referral from church
headquarters to go and drop of a copy of the Book of Mormon from a guy
named Ray. When we met him to drop of the Book of Mormon, we found out
he was a younger brother to a non-member that comes out to basketball
Tuesday nights! Way cool!!! He ended up being way down for us to teach
him. He also is going to start coming to play with us on Tuesdays.

The focus of the Leesburg Zone this week was to find some new people
to teach!! Everyone is in need of some rebuilding their teaching pools
through out the zone. A lot of people in the zone dropped or asked to
stop meeting with some of the missionaries. This is probably one of
the hardest things to hear as a missionary. The good news, is that the
missionaries in the zone right now are just awesome. They have some
good attitudes as they are back in the everyday grind of finding some
more people to teach. This was where we spent a lot of our time this
week. After some long days and quite a bit of rejection, Heavenly
Father blessed a couple of fellers with some people to teach!! We
stopped by former investigators, less active members, and just went
out and contacted some more people!
For me, one of my favorite things to do is to talk with people. I love
getting to know peeps, I think it's fun! So it was some what of a
tougher week teaching wise, but we were able to have some fun talking
to random people.

*funny story of the week*
So Thursday we had exchanges with a set of missionaries down in
Clermont. Now, if I were to move to Florida I'd move to this area. It
has a lot of nice middle class neighborhoods and the scenery is sweet.
It has a lot of hills and the people are awesome! Always, this area
was all out of miles to drive for the month, so we hit the hit the
pedals on the bike! It's been a good 7 transfers (49 weeks) since I've
been on a bike... Let's just say I was pretty sore walking around the
next day. Anyway, we forgot to check the whether before we left for
the day. At about 3:00 we found ourselves in the bottom of their area
as we noticed some pitch black clouds coming our way! We were stuck.
After contemplation, we decided to have some fun with it and bike back
to the apartment. We were SOAKED! It reminded me of the days when I
was serving in Palm Bay at the beginning of my mission biking around
in the rain in the summer time. We had good attitudes and made some
fun with it! It's a memory I don't think I'll ever forget.

Our investigator Jim is a stud! He asked us what he needed to do
before he could be baptized because he knows this is what God needs
him to do right now! He's meeting with Bishop this week!

Sherry.... Now sherry was sick this week! I know keep talking about
her, but we still haven't had any luck meeting with her ahh!!!
Anyways, what do you do?

We're staying positive out here in the F.O.M! I'm excited for this
next week on my mission. It will be tough if I have to say bye to the
peeps here in Eustis, but it's part of being a missionary. I'm down to
the final 2 1/2 transfers of my mission... Wow. Like I've always been
taught, the 4th quarter needs to be your strongest. Thanks again for
all of the support and encourage I've received recently. I love you
guys! Have a great week!
- Elder Doman

Mosiah 2:22
"And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments;
and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye
should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he
hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you
and prosper you."

8 meetings in one week!!!

Friends and Family,

Welcome back to the weekly update from the Mission of Elder Doman here
in the F.O.M! It's been a wild week that's been all over of the place. This
week has been one of the most out-of-the-ordinary weeks yet. I didn't
learn what it meant to participate in a lot of meetings until this
past week. 8! 8 meetings took place this week that we were a part of.
It took up a lot of time, but we were able to apply a lot of
information given to us and are excited to see what comes from it.

Monday night we had make it or break it lesson with Sherry. She hadn't
talked to her husband yet... It's sad and we don't want to discontinue
teaching her, but it might need to happen. We gave her one final
chance this week to let him know or else the cord may need to be cut
for a while. It's the final countdown!

Tuesday was fun! We always start with some service for Sister Santana
and brother Van Buren Tuesday Mornings. This time, after working in
what feels like the Amazon Jungle, we had a really spiritual lesson
with each of them. We talked about the doctrine behind the sacrament
and why it is important. Normally, they both put up a pretty big front
and don't like to open up! This lesson they both actually ended up
bearing testimony of how attending church and partaking of the
Sacrament has helped them in their lives. It was relieving to see the
softer side of each of them finally come out!
Tuesday afternoon, Elder Chidester had a doctors appointment down in
Winter Park! This was what we call a "tender mercy." It was really
sentimental driving through the streets of my old area and having some
good mems come flowing in. Winter Park will always be one of my
favorite areas full of good times! Everything went well at the
doctors, and Tuesday night we hit the hardwood again and played some
Elders Quorum basketball to finish off the night. This time we had 3
members and 11 non members in attendance (basically the NBA, right?)

Wednesday was like a going three rounds with Muhammed Ali. The day
started off with Elder Chidester and I giving a little training,
before a training, before another training.
Round #1
- This first meeting might have been my favorite. It was a big
discussion with the Leaders in the Zone on how we can apply what we
learned from Elder Maynes last week and we can create a culture of it
in the Zone.
Round #2
- The church has started an initiative called "JustServe." It is
starting to roll out pretty quickly down here in the Southern United
States. This meeting was all about how we can utilize this program in
our missionary efforts and what are responsibility is.
Round #3
- There was a World Wide Missionary Training Broadcast Wednesday
afternoon, and it was great. It was pretty cool to think that every
missionary serving around the world was watching that, or will watch
that when they wake up in the morning. There were a couple Apostles
and General Authorities who trained pretty simply on how we can become
better missionaries (working with the spirit,  becoming more effective
finders, working with members, etc...) We were trained in pretty basic
topics, but I still learned a lot on how to personally become a more
efficient missionary.
We rushed to go and see a few of the people we are working with before
heading to the Eustis Ward weekly Book of Mormon class. Before we knew
it, the clock showed 8:30 and the day was over. Bang, bang.

Elder Chidester and I are feeling like we are getting to know the
country back roads of Florida pretty well as we made the trek to the
Sumterville District Meeting again, this time without a GPS or any
directions. When we arrived back in Eustis, we had been shorted
another day as we only had two hours to work with before the Stake's
Missionary Correlation Meeting that takes place every four months.
When we were about to leave our apartment, we got a phone call from
the missionaries in the neighboring Ward and we were needed for an
emergency lesson. After that lesson, we were racing against the clock
to get to the meeting in time. We sat in our seats right as the final
note of the prelude music was being played and we figured there had to
have been someone watching over and directing our day. This was a
pretty cool meeting because it gave the missionaries in the Stake/Zone
an opportunity to share concerns and different ideas we had on how the
missionaries and members can begin working closer together! Good vibes
filled the air as we were driving home with the clock hitting 9:30 as
we pulled into the driveway to finish up the night.

Friday! We got busy pretty quickly on Friday as we squished a lot of
the weeks appointments to this day. A cool miracle we saw was with a
guy named Jim! He dad has been a less active member for a long time so
we thought we'd stop by and try to start meeting with him. Jim was
just standing outside, doing his thing when we pulled up. Let me tell
ya, there hasn't been anybody more down to talk to a couple of
missionaries than this guy. He has two kids, 32 years old, and is
going to get married next month. He wants to "change things up," and
"make things right with the Lord." Thank the Heavens. We found a live
one!! We gave him a Book of Mormon and told him we'd be back tomorrow.
We talked with a couple other of our key investigators Friday and
overall had a pretty solid day! We finished the night by going on the
exchange grind with the Elders in the Leesburg Ward.

The missionary I was with for the day ended up getting sick and needed
to rest for most of the day. We tried going out and proselyting, but
Elder Reshke was sick as a dog. I felt pretty bad for him. There are
probably 7 out of the 30 missionaries in the zone that are sick right
now! It's been sooo cold recently. I don't remember it being anywhere
near this cold last year!  feels like I'm walking into the fruit
section in Costco each time I go outside!! On a good note, I was able
to catch up with my studies Saturday! We were able to take some
pictures with the wonderful wildlife of Leesburg, Florida though. :)

Jim came to church on Sunday and is just eating up the gospel. He
brought his Book of Mormon with him and the pamphlet we handed him
too. He wasn't sure he needed it but he made sure to tell us he didn't
want to not be prepared if he was called on! What a stud.

It's been a really busy week, but it's also been a very good week.
Meetings are sometimes long, and I may have looked like a bobble head
trying to stay awake in a couple, but I feel like I have learned a lot
and I'm excited to continue implementing these things. This week I
learned to have fun and do your best to enjoy life no matter what
circumstance you may be in. Whether it's filling up your weekly
schedule with meetings, or working your tail off doing something else,
I know that God wants us to be happy. He cares about and loves each
one of us individually. Thanks again for all of the support I'm
receiving. You're the best
With Love,
- Elder Doman

2 Nephi 26:24
"He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he
loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may
draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall
not partake of his salvation."


1-3: Florida is awesome
3-6: A photoshoot with a cow #leesburg
7: Bro. Vanburen is the man!
Friends and Family,

Lot's of transfers and a training from Elder Maynes

Friends and Family,

Another week in the books here in the metropolis of Eustis, Fl! This
week itself was full of ups and downs, highs and lows, good times and
struggles, but overall the work is progressing and I'm enjoying this
time to serve. Elder Chidester and I are both little buddies roaming
the country roads looking to find some people to teach! We're having
some fun while serving the Lord and can't believe we're over the half
way mark of this transfer... Woah.

For P-Day last week, we had 28 Elders through out the Zone come down
to the Eustis Chapel for a little basketball tourney! But to follow
the rules, of course we didn't ever keep score and it never got
competitive.....  :) It was fun!

Monday night we visited our investigator named Sherry, and we found
out she was trying to go all incognito on her husband and she has yet
to tell him she's meeting with us and even more has a baptismal date
for the last week in February. It goes without saying that is what our
goal is for her this week. She teared up while talking about this
subject. She knows he church is true and this is where God would have
her be at this time, but she's nervous to tell her husband who is
devoted to a different religion. All we could do was testify of the
blessings that would come to her and her family if she were to be
honest and open with her husband. She agreed it was the next step to
progress and committed to talk to him this week. As we left the home
and got into the car, we both felt like it was a major cliffhanger
from a movie and we are on a commercial break until we see her next!
Thank the Heavens we see her tonight so we can see how everything
works out!

Tuesday was pretty awesome! Good old back yard jungle service for the
Santana's again to start of the chili winter morning. We had to begin
our journey down to Orlando early in the afternoon for an MLC with
Elder Richard J. Maynes of the 70 that night. On the way down we met
with our good friends Elder Crismon (a previous Daytona Beach
companion) and Elder Honda (a previous Winter Park companion) who are
now serving together, for a dinner at chili's to start off the great
night. These two are studs and it was fun to catch up with them for a
little bit. #LFG
We were hyped for a P.M. MLC here in the F.O.M. (acronym city) and
especially for a General Authority to come to town. The meeting was a
spiritual boost to say the least. Elder Maynes spoke in the most
recent General Conference and we were expecting this meeting to be
focused somewhat on that talk. However, this meeting was focused on
how to set goals, and then how we can achieve them. It was probably
the closest thing I'll ever get to hear a Ray Lewis pre game talk, so
it was pretty amazing. It was simple but powerful and will leave a
lasting impact on us. Here are a few quotes from the meeting...
"Setting goals is easy. It's about what you do and what your are
willing to sacrifice to achieve that goal."
"We ALWAYS have to look forward."
"Don't be comfortable with mediocrity."
"If you talk to 20 people a day, you will baptize!"
"It's simple... Just. Have. Faith."
After the meeting, we were all exhausted. There were 26 missionaries
crammed into a single High Council room with the spirit on full blast.
It was great!

Wednesday we were ready for round 2! We had a Zone Conference bright
and early for some more Elder Maynes! A lot of the meeting was what we
discussed in MLC the previous night, but it was still pretty awesome.
Needless to say, we were rejuvenated and motivated missionaries! When
we returned back to the city of Umatilla, which is comparable to Las
Vegas... we went to work and ended the night with a couple stop by's
to less actives.

Thursday I was on exchanges with Elder Ballard! He's related to the
Apostle, but it's distant. But it's pretty cool right? Anyways, we had
a sweet day. We met this random lady who asked us to say a prayer for
her and her house. Yeah, we were a little confused too. But we came
out alive, and all was well. We meet with a few of our investigators
who can't seem to make it to church! They are reading and praying, but
they are struggling with the Sabbath Day. We just have to keep
reminding ourselves "baby steps."  We then ate dinner with the
Reising's before taking the long journey down to Clermont to exchange
back.

Friday was the first time in 15 weeks we've had a thorough weekly
planning! I've definitely converted to and learned the Importance of
planning. At the beginning of my mission, I'd almost do anything other
than plan! But now when we have a full 4-5 hours to plan on Friday
it's like tasting a maple bacon Crispy Kreme donut after fast Sunday.
Hallelujah!

Saturday- Exchanges 2.0! I was asked this week in an email from my
blessed motha what exchanges were like and if it is ever awkward. To
answer your question, the answer is an unequivocal yes! The first 2
hours or so on the exchange is about as awkward as hearing someone
pass gas in an elevator... Deadly. Once we are both settled in and
we've cracked a few jokes, everything is good and pretty soon we are
best friends. It's makes it better when you know the Elder you are
exchanging with. Like this time, I was with Elder Fontes from Cape
Verde, Africa! This was our third exchange in the past year so we were
looking forward to the day. We found some new people to teach, had a
lesson with Artie, and had some fun! Great day!

Nothing too crazy happened this Sunday! It was a cold day and not to
many people were out so it was tougher to find!

Our investigator Addie unfortunately got some cold feet now that she's
accepted a baptismal date and has decided to back out from taking the
lessons. It's definitely a bummer and has been hard to not stop by
anymore, but she the day is over you have to respect people's
agency... I've learned a lot on my mission, and a lot this week
specifically. I learned to rely on the Savior, always. In good times
and in bad. He's never going to leave us. Im grateful this week for
the support I receive each week from you all. It's makes all the
difference in the world. THANK YOU Have a great week!
Much love,
- Elder Doman

3 Nephi 9:14
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have
eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and
whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who
come unto me."

3 new baptismal dates set this week!!!

Friends and Family,
I know I say this a lot, but WHAT A WEEK. I don't mean to be negative
feller by ANY means, and I've loved my time to serve here in Eustis.
But over the past few transfers the work has been somewhat stagnant.
We've tried different ideas with different people out here and nothing
has seemed to work out too well to see true progression take place. On
the other hand though, this week was probably one of the most
successful weeks out of my whole mission. My personal motto this week
was to "bounce back" like is needed when life gets tough and you're in
the nitty gritty. Keeping a positive attitude was big for us as we
moved into this crucial week 2 of the transfer. After trying to set
baptismal dates for the past several weeks, three investigators must
have felt something special and they agreed to set some dates for
baptism! It's been a struggle for me recently to see progression with
some of the people we are working with, and I went into a rut where I
lacked the key element of faith. I have a strong testimony that the
Lord will forever and always work with imperfect people as long as
they have the desire to become better! Artie, Sherry, and Addie all
have baptismal dates now! Woohoo!

Artie's lesson was one that will make me laugh for probably the rest
of my life. We've been trying to set a baptismal date with him for the
past 8 weeks now. Something always seemed to get in the way of him
setting a date. As we sat down to start off the lesson, Artie's 11 yr
old kid named Joseph stuck a whoopie cushion underneath his chair and
we were all laughing like hyenas (keep in mind his nick name is
"Fartie Artie.") As we continued further into the lesson, not even Yao
Ming could have denied the spirit in the room. He felt the need and
desire to be baptized and set the date for March 5th!

Sherry's lesson was another one for the memories. She said that she
has felt something different in her life ever since she started
sincerely reading the Book of Mormon. She also mentioned that not all
of her life's trials and problems have been solved, but she now has a
peace of mind that she's been wanting for several years. The Book of
Mormon and he spirit it brings has been to deal sealer for Sherry to
set the baptismal date for February 27th.

Then we have Addie! I've talked a lot about Addie in my previous
emails, and she is a legend! The faith this women has is remarkable.
It seems like nothing has gone right for her over the last few years,
but she's remained faithful and believes that Jesus Christ will help
her with anything. She told us she was at her lowest 3 weeks ago when
one of the members of the church started talking to her and asked if
she'd like to meet the missionaries. With tears running down her
cheek, the words stumbled out of her mouth " I knew from the beginning
I met you for a reason." She set the baptismal date for the 6th of
February, and for me, there isn't a better date to pick for baptism
them for it being on my birthday. It must have been inspired or
something! :)

Another highlight this week was getting on the exchange grind again!
With transfers taking place last week, we weren't able to go on any.
This week we went on two and I was able to hop across the fence and go
on an exchange with the other elders in the Eustis Ward. They work
more in the historic city of Mt. Dora, which is right across the
street. We had a solid day and I spend the 24 hours on the clock with
a missionary who I came into the mission with at the same time. His
name is Elder Donnelly and he's a stud! We enjoyed the day catching up
and thinking about how quickly these 19 months have gone by.

We will have back to back solid weeks here in the beautiful metropolis
of Eustis. We have an MLC on Tuesday with Richard G. Maynes of the 70,
the following day we are having a Zone Conference with Elder Maynes
giving us some good instruction. I'm looking forward to it! #turnup

The perfect scripture to sum up the week is... "For I am God, and mine
arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders,
unto all those who believe on my name." (Doctrine and Covenants 35:8)
I'd be lying if I say I've loved every minute of my mission. I do know
that I've loved and I'm grateful for the things I'm learning from my
mission. I wonder where I'd be without my mission and the Gospel in my
life. I truly feel that this is where Heavenly Father would have me be
right now and to be learning the things I am. I'm grateful for the
love and support that's sent my way. Thank you!
With love,
-Elder Doman

- Good ol' Florida!
- Elder Donnelley and I
- Fro-Yo and the Eustis Elders

.......and it's 2016!

Brock's busy schedule!

Happy New Year!

Friends and Family,

What's good 2016? Hahaha it was a great "blackout year"  of 2015 of
where I've been on my mission for that entire year. It FLEW by!! I've
learned a more in this year than I ever thought I would. I'm grateful
for my mission! It was the beginning of the Transfer this week and
overall we had a pretty good one. We've seen both, the struggle and
the glory days over these past 7 days. It was a roller coaster of a
week!

Addie, is definitely doing great! She is a reading machine when it
comes to the Book of Mormon! She's loving it, and hasn't had any
concerns about it this far. She's felt like her life has gotten better
since she's met with us and knows that we are teaching her for a
reason. We are both excited for the progression to continue taking
place!

We had an Investigator named Jana, and she was dropped this week. I
only mention this because I have learned a ton from meeting with her.
Jana is living in a house that is about to be foreclosed on, her
electric and water bills are about to be shut off, and she isn't
really doing too much about it! We have given her so many different
options of how we can help her but she doesn't capitalize on the
opportunities. I've learned that it's vital to have a drive in life.
Without it, nothing is going to happen and life will be stagnant. I
love how the things you learn on a mission apply to life afterwards as
well.

Our goal this week was to set some baptismal dates with those we are
teaching, but unfortunately we struck out pretty hard core. It just
wasn't the right timing for our investigators this week. Satan
definitely put a bump in their road this week, but at least they have
realized it, and this week should be better!

New Years was pretty fun! Holidays on the mission are kind of weird.
They don't really feel like holidays and not much is different for us.
However, being in the Ward with the Reisings they make sure to take
care of us during the holidays! They told us we needed to stop by
before we go home that night. When we arrived, we were treated with
some chocolate cake and some random camo "service" hats. Hahah they
are awesome.

This is a shorter email, but I'm excited for this upcoming week. It's
a "Make it or Break it" week for a lot of our investigators and we are
pumped! Elder Chidester and I are excited for good things to happen
this week. Thanks for all of the support, and have a great start to
the new year!
With Love,
-Elder Doman

New Year's Eve with the Reisings!