August 25, 2013

Dear Family, 

Thanks for all the emails. It's so amazing and it makes me so happy that Justin and Jacob are serving missions, I know that Heavenly Father has such a great plan in store for their lives and the lives whom they will all touch. Good to hear you're all doing so good as well, Drake's doing senior portraits?! That's so awesome, he's growing up! I saw the pictures of Demi and was shocked! She's growing up so fast! Hows dave? Tell him to shoot me an email next week i miss him.

This last week i went on lots of exchanges with many zone leaders of different zones. Its such a great opportunity to get to learn from all them, and to help them out in their areas as well. I got my philippines license as well, we took a 2 hour drive to cadiz zone leaders last week and had exchanges with them, that was awesome to go back to my old zone and see the progression. The days are just flying by faster and faster, because we are so busy with proselyting! I don't know if you know or not, but we spend no time in the mission office. We are 100% full time proselyting missionaries. Before the assistants did lots of office work, but now the Lord has us out on the streets setting the example for the mission! It's so great as well, i'm really doing a lot of self evaluation and  trying to find what more i can do to improve. Our investigators are progressing well! Especially the Occianas family, we are really helping them recognize the Holy Ghost answer their prayers, and its so powerful when they realize that those good and peaceful feelings they have are the Spirit of God testifying truth to them. We also have been teaching Venus, she is progressing so well, and accepted a baptismal date for Sep 21st last week. She is very noble, and ready to receive this Restored Gospel.

President also said next transfer Elder Peralta and I will be the only 2 left here in the area, so we know we've got lots of work to do. I have so many things that i've seen that we can improve here, to really make our area the model for the whole mission. I know the Lord can do it through us, because Elder Peralta have had many talks and discussed that we are going to be humble to the Spirit, and not be a hinderment to the Lords work here in Bacolod 3rd ward, we know miracles will come. He's a really great missionary, very humble and submissive to the Spirit, and I know that's how we're going to be successful. Keep reading the scriptures family, of old and new. Holding to the rod is the only way we will make it to the tree of life! And how great will be our joy, if while we are holding onto that rod, we are also holding the hand of one of our family members, friends, or someone that needs help to make it to that tree of life. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I'll keep sharing it every day with my Filippino brothers and sisters.

Love,

Elder Doane

August 18, 2013

Dear Family,

Thank you for all your emails, i love opening them up every monday and getting to hear how you're all doing. Sounds like Drake is just being hilarious still, and Demi's growing up! I remember seeing her on skype last time and it looks like she's changed a lot, I'm excited to see her again come December. Mom thanks for working that website! No worries, slowly but surely it will get done. Will you thank Sister Erekson as well for me? That's so nice of her to help. That's so cool that Dave has that new calling! He'll be great for it, he's got lots of creative ideas and things. That sounds like so much fun. Were you ever able to take family pictures? Or maybe just a few pictures that we took a while ago as a family. I don't mean to bug you guys about it, I just don't have any picture of us as a family! So if you could send one that'd be sweet.

Wow this last week just zoomed by, i can't even remember what all happened. We got out and just proselyted every hour that we could, and taught many lessons. I think we taught over 30 this last week, 26 of them with a member. The Lord is really manifesting His hand in this work, it's amazing how He really does qualify those whom He calls. Sister Michelle Minguillo was baptized saturday, and i got to confirm her yesterday at church. It's really awesome because she's setting a good example for her less active mother, who came to church yesterday for the first time in years. We also are focusing on a lot of other people who have baptismal dates in the coming weeks. One miracle last week was when Elder Mifflin and I were walking from one appt. to another and this girl called us, "Brother! Come here! Are you bible studying?" and we went up and talked to her, asking why she called us and wanted to bible study. As we got to talk to her, she expressed to us that her father had recently died a few days ago, and she was searching for solutions to problems in her life. We then testified of the plan of salvation, and how it was restored in our latter days so that we could know how our families can become eternal if we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She began to cry. And what was amazing about this, is it was 8pm at night on a busy 4 way intersection, but the Spirit still was so strong, and it was evident in her countenance that she felt it. We invited her to the baptismal service the next day, and said we would come by to pick her up to walk with her to the service. The next day I went to work with Elder Dy, and Elder Mifflin and Elder Peralta said they would go get her. When i walked into the church, there she was! She was super shy, but she really came! Before the baptism my companion and i were showing her gospel art pictures, and testifying of the resotred Gospel to her. After the service she said she felt so peaceful, and she didn't want to leave after. She also came to church on Sunday, and said she loved it. We have plans to go to her tonight and extend a baptismal date to her.

Once again the Lord has shown unto us that He will put us in their path, or them in ours. I have such a strong testimony that God is our loving Heavenly Father. That's not even including the other 3 families we're teaching and all the bunches of names He has entrusted us with here in Bacolod 3rd, I am just speechless at His hand that He has been manifesting here in the work. I'm about to cry right now even when i'm typing this. I just know this church is true, because I know the Book of Mormon is true. I'm so happy I read it, and prayed to know if it was true, because of that I'm here today. That Book is what made me who I am today, and will make me who I will become in the future. Thank you mom and dad for giving me this chance to serve, and grow up in the Lords church. I just know in 10 months we will rejoice so greatly when we see each other again. May we continually repent and change for the better every single day of our lives, that we will be prepared when we stand before Him at the last day.

Love always,

Elder Doane

August 11, 2013

Elder Peralta and Elder Doane at a
Fireside in Manapla

Dear Family,

Time is going by faster than it has ever before in this area. We are being so blessed with so many miracles, i can't even begin to think what to type right now. Thank you so much for all your emails, its so good to know you're all doing well.

Last week we had mission leadership council and Elder Peralta and I gave a training on harnessing the power of the members, it went very well. Everyone said they felt a very strong spirit as we gave the training as a companionship. He's such a great Elder, and he is very spiritually mature, knows how to work with the Spirit. The work has just been miraculous. As assistants we go on about 3 exchanges a week! With all the zone leaders, so we do lots of traveling, but it's all for the purpose of improving the work! It's so wonderful, i'm getting to meet so many new people and help them see how the Gospel fits into their life through the power of the Spirit.

In our area the work is progressing so well, the Lord is showing us His tender mercies in every aspect of our work. Last sunday we had 21 investigators at church, which is just a testimony that this is truly God's dealings with the people here in Bacolod, and I'm just being used as an instrument in His hands. One amazing thing, last week Elder Dy and I were trying to contact a referral, and we had no clue where to go. So we just found the right street and started walking down it, and we approached a house that we had never seen before and asked them if they knew who we were finding. After a while of talking to them, they let us come in and we sat down and began talking with them. They helped us find out where the person lived, and then to thank them we offered to share a message about Jesus Christ to them. As we began to share with them the Doctrine of Christ, and how it has been restored in full in our latter days, the room was filled with the Spirit. We testified simply, and taught clear and sound doctrine, and I knew the Spirit was there. We asked them how they felt about what we had shared, and the brother said 'I feel something inside of me i've never felt before, and the hairs of my arms are all standing up'. We testified to him that that was the Spirit of God testifying to him that what we had shared was true, and the father, Joseph, and his son, Glen, and their house help, Riley, all accepted the invitation to be baptized on sep. 14, and came to church this last sunday.

I have such a great testimony that Heavenly Father will put those people in our path, or put us in their path, who are being prepared to hear this message of the Restoration. I know with all my heart Heavenly Father loves us, there's no doubt in my mind. All the questions we have can be answered through the Book of Mormon, if we will just open it. I know Heavenly Father sees more in us than we see, we just need to submit to His will and let that potential come out. I love you family, thank you for your love and support to me serving the Lord here. I pray for you day and night!

Love,

Elder Doane

August 4, 2013

Family!

This last week was probably the fastest week ever, I know i say that every week but it's true! On monday my companion Elder Borromeo was coming to Bacolod because his mission is all finished, and the assistants texted me that I needed to come with him as well. I hurried up and packed my bags, and when we got to Bacolod, President Lopez interviewed me. I really love going into interviews with him, i really feel for that small time I'm having a conversation to the Lord, it's so wonderful. He told me he wants me to be his new assistant. He said he has trust in me to look for opportunities to be a servant to other missionaries, just like Christs disciples in the Book of Mormon. So now I'm here in Bacolod 3rd Ward, in Bacolod Stake. This is actually the same stake as my first area! So it's great to be in the city again. My companion is Elder Dy, he's been an assistant for a while now, so he's really teaching me a lot of administrative things. There's also 2 more assistants, Elder Mifflin and Elder Peralta. Elder Peralta and I are the new ones. Our area is so great, we have been so busy with our investigators and inviting people to the waters of baptism! It's been so wonderful, and I've never been so happy because of how busy I am. President told us our first priority is proselyting. We need to be the examples of all aspects of missionary work, finding, teaching, rescuing, and baptism. It's so wonderful because we have so many investigators to teach and invite to baptism, we also found 14 more last week!

Last week was so great to welcome the new missionaries into the field, and give trainings to the new missionaries and the trainers. Their testimonies were so powerful! I felt so blessed to be in their presence, and to hear so much more training of President Lopez as well. We'll also be doing a lot more exchanges across the island, so we will be traveling lots these next upcoming weeks and teaching/training missionaries through proselyting. So busy! But i love it. More than anything. If anything i've learned lately and been applying is how to be an effective Christlike leader. It says in the missionary handbook 'the best way to be a Christlike leader is to help others feel of your love.' I've really been applying that, not just with other missionaries but with every single person I come in contact with. I'm here as a representative of Charity, the pure love of Christ. And it's my duty to share that love with others, to lift them up. I've felt the Spirit in my life more recently than ever before, and I know it's because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that I have that sacred opportunity to feel His Spirit. I know the Book of Mormon is true. It's our church. It is the message of the Restoration. It's my life! It has all the answers to our questions, problems, and challenges in life. I love this Gospel. I love you family, please read the Book of Mormon, and pray every single day. I remember the quote 'Pray as if everything depends upon God, work as if everything depends upon you.' and that's how our faith brings miracles.

Love,

Elder Doane