January 27, 2013

Nami nami gd ang simana namon!! 

Hey family!

This last week was nuts! Sorry didn't have much time last week. Well, no idea where to start. First of all, got a new comp! We had an emergency transfer, and Elder Malit got sent off into the mountains! Haha i have no idea why, but it's all the Lords business. I'm now with Elder Henson! He's from Provo Utah! It's SO NICE to have an american comp, where we can just talk to each other about american stuff and laugh all the time, it's so awesome. Now people really look at us like we're crazy. We stand out like the twin towers here, he's only like 5'8 too, but he's got some bulkiness to him. His training is over too, so we have so much time to work!! It's so tight!! I love love love it. We've really been trying to work hard lately, last week in 3 days we had 18 lessons, so we really plan to kick some tail this week. President told me he wants more out of our key indicators, so i saluted him and said yes sir.

So last week i was talking about miracles, and i have to explain myself! First, Sister Nita! Sister Nita has been an investigator for over a year now, and she could not be baptized because of her living situation. I remember when i first came here 5 months ago and she said she wanted to be baptized so bad but she couldn't because of their marriage situation, and we would tell them and tell them that Heavenly Father would prepare a way for them. Well the way has been prepared! Last week we set up an interview with her and a mission presidency counselor of ours, and she got ok'd to be baptized! He said her testimony is so sincere, and she has such a desire to follow Christ theres no other way except baptism for her to progress! She will be baptized this saturday! Truly a miracle, because i've seen her from the beginning really thinking there was no hope, and this saturday she will be baptized. I think i'm going to be the one to baptize her. I'm so happy for her! She's way happy too!

Also brother Bernard! Brother Bernard is a street contact Elder Malit and I had, we were just walking around trying to find people to teach and we saw this old man sitting outside his house just laying there. Really skinny, small guy. I approached him and just started to talk to him, asked him if we could share our message with him. He accepted and set up a return appt., so we went back and he had finished the pamphlet we gave him. He accepted the invitation to be baptized the first time we taught him, and he said he would read and pray about the Book of Mormon. On the next day we came back he was in 1 nephi chapter 7.. and we started him out at the introduction. That was january 15th. Up to now, he is in 2 nephi chapter 8 and has came to church these last 2 weeks. He is so prepared for the Gospel! I know without a doubt Heavenly Father sent us there! He told us this story.. he was in the hospital because he had some serious lung problems, and he didn't have any money to pay for his medical condition to be taken care of.. so he just prayed for help. He prayed and told God that 'if you still have a purpose for me here, please give me a way to get this medical condition taken care of, and live, but if not, that's okay.' so then his doctor that he's really close with showed up, and payed for all of his expenses. Then the 2nd day he came out of the hospital, we met him. Tell me Heavenly Father does not love his children. Each and every one of them! He will be baptized february 16th. We have 4 investigators on date as of right now, we hope to get lots more this week! Hopefully we will have a baptism every week from now until the 23rd, hopefully even more! 

I'm so happy you guys finished 1st Nephi! I'm going to go start 2nd nephi again so i can read along and share insights with you guys as well, i know that reading and praying is makin us stronger as a family. This gospel is true! I know it! I love you all so much fam. Kitay ta dugay dugay ah? :)

Elder Doane

January 14, 2013

 Pictures from Elder Doane

That's brother jem in the long sleeve white shirt! He looks like that whenever he comes to church now! And some of the ward missionaries came to work with us, way fun. And brother vincent in the tanktop had a birthday on sunday. I love this ward!

January 13, 2013

Family!

Thanks so much for all the emails, made me so happy! Sorry I can't send individual ones today i got a few things to do and not much time. Demi your talk was AMAZING! I'm printing it and maybe I can share part of it in my lessons to people. :) Great job baby girl, you're growing up and me and dad don't like it. You better not be talking to boys, I'm gonna give em a wedgie if you are. Drake I can't wait to see all those movies bud, it's gonna be qfl! Mom thanks so much for your email, yeah last week really was great! I got all the ear stuff taken care of, they're nice and clean! I went and they washed em out with the cyringe thing. Dad thanks so much for all the good news, so good to hear about everyone. I got grandmas package! Ill try to send her an email saying thanks, it was THE BEST! THe rings, the kids just flip out over them. Also the shoes are awesome, I haven't worn them in yet im debating when to. THey're so awesome though! And all the candy and stuff too, thanks so much grandma! Yeah haven't gotten the other packages yet! But hey, line upon line, package upon package. No worries, it will come. DAVE AND JALEE ARE DATING?! I had no idea! I'm sooooo happy for dave and her! I love Jalee, she'd be the best sister in law ever. I don't know, I'm not able to communicate with Klay? So i'm not sure what happened there.. ? I'm stoked though, good for them. Funny we actually just had an area broadcast about the YSA needing to get themselves in gear and get married in the temple. Wow yeah all those missionaries coming and going, craziness. I can't believe how fast the time goes. Hope you like the pictures, yep, i'm gaining weight! We actually just ate at a family's house for lunch, sooo much food. Rice and sud-an (rice topping) is my new favorite. Chicken Adobo, like chicken in this real good sauce, is my favorite sud-an. I eat tons of it. Later we're just gonna buy groceries and head home and clean up, write some letters. I don't really write as much as i did before.. it's hard sometimes to find time.

This last week was kind of a struggle! We spent lots of time at the hospital taking care of my ear thing and Elder got a tooth pulled too, that was a blast. But we still managed to have some success! The Delgado family is doing alright, but sister has work on Sundays! It's really a bummer, so hopefully as she keeps reading in the Book of Mormon she will change. We also found Bruce this week. Bruce is actually a former investigator who moved away. but now he's back and he actually was just married to a returned missionary in our ward. Bruce committed to baptism on february 16, we are also trying to help him overcome a word of wisdom problem, but the amazing thing is, is that he's being doing it all on his own! He's working really hard and has a plan to lose it completely, its amazing what the Gospel does to people. ALso Brother Jem received the priesthood sunday! He was ordained a priest, we're so happy for him. Other than that, not much more news, we're doing our best though! This next week hopefully we'll have much more success.

This last week I had the oppurtunity to attend a Family History fireside, wow how amazing that was. Also read a talk from last conference from Elder Richard G Scott about family history, and oh boy was i smacked with the stick of repentance. I never realized how important family history is! We have the oppurtunity to bring people the saving ordinances of the Gospel who are waiting on the other side for us! It's missionary work! And before my mission i completely neglected it. Grandma Doane is the best example, and when i get back i will for sure fulfill my priesthood duty of doing family history work. I challenge you to do the same, and take those names to the temple! I read in 2nd Nephi chapter 25 verse 23 and 26.. it shows us the whole reason why the prophets took the time to record their times. To convince their children to believe in the Christ, to persuade them to come unto Him and live His Gospel, so that they could feel those same blessings that they were experiencing! How cool huh? They took all that time to write down and record those things so that we could all come unto Christ, to recieve eternal life and become like our Father in Heaven. If we go a day without spending time in the scriptures we are neglecting the sacrifice that was made on our behalf. I love this work! Building up the kingdom of God is the greatest thing i've gotten to do, and will keep doing till the end. I love you all, hope you're all great.

Elder Doane

January 6, 2013

 Heller how yer derren!

Hello family!

Thanks so much for all your emails! So good to hear from home and what's going on back there. We've really been eating a lot lately. Remember before when i said we wanted to get closer to the members? well mission accomplished. Cuz every night we have dinner appts scheduled at members houses, and they just keep feeding feeding feeding us! I'm for sure gaining weight, i'll just diet the last few transfers of the mission :) But its been awesome! I'm falling in love with this food.

This last week was just full of miracles, it was so amazing. Elder Malit and I are really being blessed here in Santa Fe! First of all, Clysyl Joy was baptized on Saturday! We had it at night time so her dad could make it, but he didn't end up making it because he had work late. It was still good though, there were tons of ward members who showed up to support her. I got to baptize her! It was such a privilege. Usually when we teach Clysyl Joy she doesn't say much, as in she's like SUPER shy. But she's really been opening up lately as she's drawn nearer to Christ. So after she was baptized she was invited to bear testimony in front of all the ward members, and she did it! She stood up and said "I'm thankful for Elder Doane and Elder Malit for forcing me to be baptized." and a bunch of other stuff. Haha! She was just kidding around, because she's been an investigator for about a year now but hadn't been baptized yet. But it was so amazing, she really expressed her feelings of being clean and becoming a member of the church, i was so blown away! Also last monday when we were going to her house to teach her, we didn't knhow if we should go to her grandma's first to get her or go straight to clysyl joy's. So we felt like we should go to her grandmas' first, so we did and then we all went to Clysyl's. Right when we arove there, her father showed up on his motorcycle. Her fathers been less active for over 15 years! And he invited us in, and let us share a lesson with him and Clysyl Joy. The miracle was that brother has never let other missionaries in their house before! Whenever he's there he just says no so Clysyl Joy would have to be taught at her grandparents. It was such a miracle, and he said he also wants to come back to the church and the rest of his family become members.

Another miracle was the Delgado family! Brother Elbert, Sister Bessy, and their 2 kids Gwen (8) and Gabriel (2). They were a referral and we taught them twice this last week, and they are way awesome! They're very open to the gospel, brother Elbert said he's seen the difference it makes in someones life when they become members of the church, because many of his cousins are members. Just last night, Brother Jem came with us to teach them because he lives super close, and they committed to February 9th for a baptismal date. What a miracle. Brother Jem as well played such a huge role in the lesson, because they were a little hesitant at first for the date, but Brother Jem explained to them how he felt when he was baptized and shared his testimony, and it all worked out great. After the lesson Jem said, "Is this what missionary work feels like? I just want to go spread it to everyone. Tell me next time youre going over there, because i want to feel this unexplainable feeling again." It was so powerful! Brother Jem is going to be a general authority one day.

I feel so close to the Lord right now. I know its through exact obedience that these miracles come. Through repentance we can become more like the Savior. We need to be repenting every day! Living the Gospel, not just studying it. I'm drawn back to 1st Nephi ch 10 verse 18, where the Lord promises us, that if we repent and come unto the Lord, he has a pathway prepared for us. How sweet is that? All we have to do is sacrifice our pride and repent, and He has the way prepared. And He knows what's going to bring us the most joy and happiness! Because He's the one who created us! I've never been so happy doing anything in my life, it's so cool! Sorry mom but i won't be coming home, i'm gonna stay here and serve till the day i die. :) Just kidding. Only the day before i die. I love you all so much. Thanks so much for all the emails and stuff! I'll try to send pictures next week. I'm gonna go eat some McDonalds.

Love,

Elder Doane