8/11/14
Friends and Family,
How's everybody doing?? It's been a great week here in the
"Sunshine
State!" I want to apologize for my last email! I looked it over
and I
made it sound like it was a long week and I was depressed or
something! That's definitely not how it is! I'm loving life and having
he time of my life! I'm learning a ton and am having a great time!
This week, we have had the opportunity to do a lot of service! Which
was good! I always just feel better after doing some type of service!
Whether it's helping someone move, or just being there and letting
someone talk to you about there problems! There are many different
ways to help others. I love it!
So on Tuesday we had a Zone Conference and our Zone Leaders challenged
us to get out of our "Comfort Zone" and step into the
"Miracle Zone"
such a great idea! Not only do we broaden our comfort zone, but we are
able to contact more people and invite them to receive the Gospel.
This was definitely an inspired invitation given to the Cocoa Zone
here in Orlando, Florida! The amount of people we contacted doubled
the amount of the last two weeks! It was incredible! What a miracle!
This week we took the challenge and tried our best to get out of our
comfort zone and talk to everyone! Doing this made us laugh, be
embarrassed, and have a good time! There is one experience where I was
in one of the most awkward situations I've ever been in... We were
driving home from Zone Conference and we are stopped at a red light. I
look over to my right and see that there is like an 80 year old lady
driving a huge truck (that's bad news already) but to make it worse,
me and her happen to make that weird eye contact that nobody likes. I
looked away, and about 5 seconds later my window starts to roll down.
Elder Willard, my companion had rolled the window down and now the
lady next to us had as well wondering what I wanted. I just started
laughing way hard and could hardly say anything because it was so
awkward! She then started to swear at me because she thought I was
laughing at her and she was getting way mad! I finally gathered myself
and was about to explain myself but then the light then turned green
and she sped away! Maybe you just had to be there, but it was making
us all laugh for the rest of the day.
On Thursday night I fell out of my bed, so that's always fun.
We went on exchanges Wednesday! For those who don't know what an
exchange is, it is when there are two companionships working in two
different wards but in the same Stake. We swap companions and spend 24
with them! I went with Elder Husbands and we got along great! We
connected well and had a lot to talk about! Anyway, we were eating
dinner at his apartment when the door bell rang. We went to go see who
it was and it was an older man selling vacuums. He wasn't dressed up,
just in jeans and ant shirt. We told him no thanks and just as he was
headed back to his car the Police showed up! We were like "ohhhh
man
what's going on! This was one the most exciting things we've seen in
the past two months!" Well nothing too crazy happened. It ends up
the
lady next door had called the police because she felt threatened and
didn't think he was really there to sell a vacuum! he did have a
license and so nothing could have happened! It was just something I
thought was kinda weird!
It's been almost 2 months, time is flying by! I now feel somewhat
confident and comfortable when we're teaching. Some of this is because
I'm getting more experienced and I'm starting to understand how
the
lesson flows, but to the biggest reason I'm starting to feel this way
is because I've put my trust in The Lord. I had to swallow my pride
and humble myself to ask for help. The thought kept creeping into my
head saying "you'll be okay, you are still new to this whole
mission
thing. You can do this on your own" But the second I turned to
The
Lord for help, everything changed. I was happier, smarter, and just
felt better about how everything was going! It's amazing to see what
happens when you turn to Heavenly Father and ask for help. He's
waiting and wanting to bless us!
We are seeing success come to those who we are teaching. It's exciting
to see people progress and change! However, It's frustrating when you
have a great lesson and the spirit is so strong when you are there and
you leave them with a commitment or an invitation (read, pray, etc...)
and they don't follow through with it! It kills me every time! I guess
I just need to work on my patience or something.
I love reading the responses to these emails and hearing how things
are going! You can also write me a letter! Just get in contact with
someone in my family or one of my close friends for the address! If
you have any suggestions of what you would like to hear about more in
these emails, just let me know! I hope everybody is doing okay! I miss
seeing all of you around, but I'm where I'm supposed to be! Much Love,
Elder Doman
Alma 29:9
"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it.
I do
not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded
me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in
the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my
joy."
Here
are some things from his letters home this week:
Top 10 funny moments:
1.
Elder Willard tried to get on his bike and ripped a giant hole in the
butt of his pants.
2.
I fell out of bed
3.
I tried cooking rice and screwed it up majorly
4.
There is a toy camel at our apartment and I keep putting it all around
the house in funny places.
5.
I tried to learn to play the piano
6.
I can’t play the piano
7.
We were at Subway and the worker gave us her number. We didn’t ask, and we had no idea what to do,
so we just sat there very awkwardly eating the sandwich she made us.
8.
Whenever we are at a stoplight, I reach over to the car and wave, making
it super awkward for Elder Willard.
9.
I eat 18 eggs each week.
10.
Elder Willard fell over on his bike just waiting for the light to
change. I couldn’t stop laughing.
“I have the hardest time thinking
about football. You have no idea how
much I miss it. Yesterday we were biking
and I heard Palm Bay High’s football team practicing and I started
crying…..pathetic right? I miss
training, the water tower, and being in Rice Eccles living my “dream” and
winning the state title. I’m very
emotional about it. I mean I spent my
entire life training for that one special moment and feeling. Man, I love and miss it! Whether it’s
pre-game speeches, the captain role, being out there with my brothers, or the
feeling you get when you feel like you’re a part of something. IT’s probably all of it, and I just miss it
like crazy. I can’t wait to suit up
again!”
“I’m training so hard every
morning. I’m still losing weight
too. I probably need to take my pants to
get tailored because they are getting too big to wear!”
“I’m totally jealous of Jersey
Boys! Sounds like some fun. And the cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory…….don’t
even get me started. My mouth was
watering for a good 5 minutes after I saw that!
This week one of our members in the ward is taking us to Golden
Corral! They aren’t ready for me! Hahaha
I’m going to go so hard there J
“I love giving blessings! Your blessing [he gave me one the night
before he left] has been one that I will never forget. It’s amazing how it works. I have been able to give 8 blessings
already. Crazy, right??? It’s the coolest things to do. I mean, you don’t know anything about the
person you are giving the blessing to.
You go into it with a clear head and have no idea what to say then. As soon as you start, it’s like you don’t
even really comprehend what you’re saying.
Ahhh, I love it. It’s so hard to
explain! All I know is that the spirit
is always there. It’s such an amazing
thing to do!
“I don’t’ really know what else to
say other than the fact that I am happy.
I am loving my mission right now.
I have a feeling that I’ve never felt before. It’s just a constant happiness. Our investigators aren’t progressing very
well, so that’s frustrating; But, “line upon line, precept upon precept.” They will understand just how great this
gospel is.”
