Thank you so much for all your emails, you all sent me an individual email and it made me so happy. I'm so happy the Lord is blessing you all while I'm away in His service, I was really brought to tears of joy when i read some of the things i read in your letters, so thank you so much. As for a xmas package, maybe just some socks, and some more shirts? I really like this new kind one of the couple missionaries gave to me, but i forgot the brand. I'll let you know in the next email what kind and what size. Other than that, just peanut butter. I really love peanut butter now, I don't know why haha. And family pictures! That's all I really would love, just pictures of our family. If anything else comes up ill let you know. Sorry dad i'm taking some money from my personal, i'm getting some pants done here, they're like 10 dollars a pair and they're tailored to the fit so it's really nice.
I'm so full of the Spirit right now, even just as I'm typing this email i just feel so happy that i have a loving family supporting me here in the service of the Lord. I told myself this morning, i think this is the first time in my whole mission that i can say that I am 100% focused on my purpose, and don't care about anything else. Just last week i lost my usb and my memory card to my camera, and i really was not phased at all. Those things have no eternal value, and are just wants, not needs. The Lord is really helping me work out my weaknesses, He really shows me what i need to work on and is trying my faith to see if my desire is real to improve. I'm just so happy being here on the mission, in service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Last week i got a new companion, Elder Rakuro. He's from Fiji, and he is the most humble missionary i've met. We have experienced so many miracles together and we've only been together for 5 days. He's obedient and submissive to the Spirit, which is really what i've been waiting for in a companion. I love him so much. President told me to give Elder Rakuro the best 3 weeks of his mission, and the first time i saw Elder I promised him that these 3 weeks would be the best of his mission. We had a baptism last week, sister Bebe. She's 10 years old, and she is so awesome. She was literally jumping up and down she was so excited on saturday. This saturday we have 6 baptisms, one group of cousins who are ages 9-14, and also brother marvin (13) who has been an investigator for a few years now. I'm just so excited for all our investigators who are progressing towards baptism, it's such a miracle.
I was reading in Helaman chapter 8 and 9 the other day, and was really pondering about the Book of Mormon. Nephi had such a hard mission, preaching to all these Nephites who would not soften their hearts. He was spit upon, rejected by the people, and pretty much suffered every trial you can in the mission. Until the end of chapter 8, he gives them an evidence to try and see if he really is a true prophet, to go and see if their chief judge is dead just like he prophesied. In chapter 9, the 5 that were chosen 'run' to see if the judge really was killed, because they did not believe that Nephi was a prophet of God. When they arrived on the scene, and saw their chief judge lying in his blood, they believed, fear fell upon them, and they fell to the earth because of the prophecies that were fulfilled.
This is the Book of Mormon, the prophecy of many prophets of old. It is the evidence of the Restoration of the fullness of the Gospel, and the priesthood authority that Christ administered to His apostles when he was upon earth. If one will 'run', just like those 5 did, and read, ponder, and pray about the Book of Mormon, they will not be able to deny that it is of God, and they will arrive to the scene just like the 5 did, and believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that the Lord has restored His church on this earth because of His everlasting love for His children. Even if one does not believe, just like those 5, all they need is a desire to believe. Those 5 that ran to the scene showed their desire by running with hasteness to find out if Nephi really is a true prophet. I know and bear testimony that anyone who reads that Book with a real intent to know if Joseph Smith is the Lords prophet seer and revelator in these latter days will come to know through the power of the Holy Ghost that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lords kingdom established upon the earth, so that we may become ready to enter into His kingdom at the last day.
I love you family, and pray for all of you every night. Continue in obedience to His commandments and we will be eternally happy.
Elder Doane
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