Monday 30 December 2013

Laughter ... the Holy Grail of Greatness

Hello!
This week was great! Thank you all for the gifts and cards that were sent :)
I really do appreciate the time, thoughts and effort that has gone into what was sent :)

So this week honestly felt weird because there was so much "time off" that I almost didn't feel like a missionary and this coming week isn't gonna be that normal either :P 

So Monday was half p-day because we get so much time off and so we just napped :) That was great :)

Tuesday was Christmas Eve and we went to Mavis's for tea and then were in the flat at 6:00. We tidied the flat up so that it looked better and then we messed it all up again with the wrappings! We kinda celebrated German Christmas. Then we watched and sang to Tarzan and went to bed.  We are going to have schnitzel this week! Thank you for the gifts and support that has been given!

Wednesday was Christmas!  I got up and then we had Reeses puff cereal for breakfast  (from a member!  A box is like 7$ for a small one here) and then we went to Mavis's for the day. Throughout the day people were skyping home, we were watching movies like Hook, Its a Wonderful Life, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Horton Hears a Who (we only finished hook though to the end) hahaha.  I got to talk to my family and it was great !  Hope that its not too weird.  But all in all, Christmas was great!

Thursday - Boxing day where it was treated as a p-day and so we took naps that day too  (I am starting to enjoy the naps). I feel a lot better after a nap. Oh and we worked out.

Friday - First normal day of work in a while and that was almost weird to have again. Elder M and I went beach contacting again and the wind was so strong that it BLEW ME OVER!  There were some really nice swells and I was DYING to go body boarding on them! Like tubular swells!

Saturday - We had a lesson with a less active and she just complained to us the entire time!  She said that she felt good after so I guess that helped her that we were able to be her sounding board.

Sunday - I gave a talk in Church yesterday.  I quoted Batman, Meet the Robinsons and said that life is not just butterflies and rainbows over the pulpit and guess what .. I GOT PEOPLE TO LAUGH! Thats a huge thing over here, its like the Holy grail of greatness!

Anyways, I have to go.  Its a short p-day again today so we're heading to the park.  
Have a great week!  Happy New Year!
Love you All
Elder Dotschkat

Christmas Card received December 24th

To Everyone!
Hello my wonderful family!  I hope that you are enjoying this fantastic Christmas season!  I know that I love Christmas so much just because of the wonderful memories that we get to make as a family :)
Now this year is going to be a little different because I'm in England.  Even though I'm far away now, I can still feel your love for me.  I appreciate every letter and email that you send to me.  I makes me feel like I am still apart of the family time and everyone's lives.  I hope that my emails and letters home make you feel the same way.
Now in the Christmas season, remember the true meaning.  Remember the love of God, the love of our family and the love of our Saviour Jesus Christ.  It is because of him that everything is possible.  It is because of him that we can find joy and peace.  It is because of him that we can be a family, not only for this life, but for eternity :)
Have a wonderful Christmas full of happy and fun filled memories!  Remember those who don't have much around them and to share your love because our family has enough to fill the entire world!
Thank you for all your support and confidence in me and my mission. You are all in my prayers.  I miss you all but I know that our family is forever.
Will all the love in the world
Elder Zachary Lee Dotschkat

Wednesday 25 December 2013

Skype on Christmas Day

Wearing the superman onesie that his missionary team wore for the Christmas party.  They played the human bagpipes!

He looks so awesome!  So proud of this young man!

Monday 23 December 2013

Merry Christmas

My Dearest Family,
I hope that you are having a very Merry Christmas and enjoying this wonderful holiday. I'm sure the Christmas cheer is in the air back home (especially with all the smells and sounds ) and it makes me think of memories, not only of Christmas past, but times that we have been together. I must admit there are points in my mission that I do miss you and I do long for that hug and that smile but I know that it is not too far away. Life sometimes hits us with difficulties, and we must recognize that they are for our good because we learn and grow from them. Sometimes its hard and sometimes it seems impossible but I KNOW that EVERYTHING is possible with two things. The trust in God and love of a family. My heart does wish to be there with you at this time to share a memory, a smile, a laugh, but I know that what I am doing now will change peoples lives forever. I want to thank all of you for everything that you have and continue to do for me. My heart truly does go out to all of you when I hear of your difficulties and of your struggles. You are never far from my prayers and always close to my heart. Now, just to settle some worries, I am doing great :) I want you to all know that I am happy and that I am learning a lot. I am learning to not only trust in God but to trust and have faith in myself. Heavenly Father puts us into situations so that we can grow and learn from our experiences. Not only for us but for those people around us, we can learn so much from the example of the Saviour. He taught us perfectly and I know that he is there. I KNOW IT. He would never give up on someone just because they have had a bad day, but rather he would stand close to them so that they can feel his love. At this Christmas season it is important to make memories of the excitment of gift giving but it is even more important of making memories of love. That's what Heavenly Father would do for us and thats all that he asks for us to do. Remember the true meaning of Christmas and remember that it is all because of love that everything is possible. When we have love, we are willing to trust in God and to help those around us. Love is the most powerful force in existence and when we use it to help other people and love God's children, we will then be filled with His love.

I hope that you look for those around you that need support and need this love because this is the greatest gift that you can give.
All I want for Christmas is for you to make memories and share the love with those around you.
I love you all, each and everyone of you
You are in my prayers,
Have a Merry Christmas,
Love
Elder Dotschkat

Monday 16 December 2013

Twenty-six missionaries in one house ... CRAZY

Well hello :) Its me. :)

So this week was a lot of fun and a lot of work! The area is slowly but surely progressing. We are having so much fun in our new flat! Its so nice! I'm actually so excited in the morning to work out and things because we have space enough to spare. Well that was everyday except for thursday night....Let me explain the rest of the week first :)

Monday - P-day again and we were asked to go to Newcastle because it was zone P-day. Unfortunately it takes like two hours out of our P-day so I write letters on the train (sorry if they are messy). Anyways, while we were there we watched some weird anime movie that I couldn't figure out the plot or anything!  Just like any other anime movie for me! haha. It was called Spirited Away. Anyways, after P-day we went carolling to less actives and elderly members of the ward with Bishops family. THEY HAVE 5 KIDS UNDER 10!!! Its so fun! And crazy sometimes ! I love it!

Tuesday - I can't remember that much except we visited with Mavis for a long time that day. She is a truly wonderful lady. She cares about the missionaries like we are her own sons and feeds us so much. Everytime that we go there we discuss our lives and who we were before the mission and sing for her and Sarah (her CP foster child) . Its wonderful :) I love to sing. (I have been singing all day everyday this week in our finding)

Wednesday - My first official exchange! I went with Elder McGee into his area and Elder Mielacher and Elder Fischer went in ours. The best part of Wednesday was beach finding! We went to the North Sea because normally people when they are at large bodies of water and hearing the sounds of the waves they think more deeply and contemplate life. With this knowledge we went and had 5 fantastic conversations with people. They are all checking out MORMON.org . Its great :)

Wednesday NIGHT- CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY TIMES!!!! I thought that we were going to get kicked out of our new home or the cops were going to come because we had the mission tour Thursday and the WHOLE 2 ZONES slept at our flat (just the Elders of course :P). WE HAD 26 MISSIONARIES IN 1 HOUSE!!!! It was so fun and crazy! AND THE BEST PART WAS I WASN'T STRESSING OUT!!!! HAHAHAHA!

Thursday - We had the mission tour in York. I drove with the zone leaders down. It was great! We had McDonalds for breakfast and then listened to great music as we traveled down! The 1st counselor of the Area Presidency (Elder Kearen) came and talked to us . It was a fun time! I learned quite a lot. Especially about real intent and how if we want anything or to have things done in life, we must have real intent and be able to work for what we desire. Nothing comes easy and sometimes life is difficult but it will ALWAYS be worth it in the end :)

Friday - We had weekly planning again (yup! suprise suprise! hahaha my schedule doesn't ever really change :P) and after that we went finding all day! It was great! And we took mormon.org time, WATCH THE VIDEOS! They are so great! In the evening we had ward coordination and it was interesting talking about our desires and what we need from the ward. The investigators of the other companionships are progressing very well :) My District is doing so good! Woot ! Young Gunz District !!!! (thats our name :P)

Saturday - I had District Leader Specialized training and that went very well. It was more of a council and how we can get the Zone to further the work. we also planned the Christmas talents that we are sharing. It is going to consist of (hopefully) a circus, Called to Serve rap battle and a capella songs :) After that we went to the birthday party of a recent convert who was JW so he has not had a birthday in 15 years! It was great to celebrate that with him. I had a huge burger :) Thats me! I LOVE MY BURGERS! In the evening we went to the Christmas Devotional :) I love Elder Russell M. Nelsons talk about peace. Its amazing how Heavenly Father answer our prayers and knows exactly what we need.

Sunday - Had church and it was so funny! Just things that the missionaries were saying and doing made me laugh so hard that I was nearly crying! After that we went back to the flat for lunch (I had this very nice shrimp and rice with a lovely coconut sauce and piri piri spice and honey all mixed together :) I am eating a lot healthier and because of that I am getting into better shape! I CAN DO A SIT UP!!!! Hahaha! Just kidding, I always could have but now I am seeing results with my work outs :) Its great having a German trainer.  In the evening we went caroling again with the members and it made me so happy to be able to brighten someones day with a little Christmas spirit :)

Well that was my week!
Can't wait to talk to you next week!
Take care!
Love you
Elder Zach Dotschkat







Monday 9 December 2013

Sick missionaries are no fun :(

Well, weather back home sounds like it sucks! Hahahaha …  NO SNOW HERE :P!!!!! I'm actually laughing really hard. It's weird, almost Christmas and NO SNOW! 
On Monday we went to Newcastle and had p-day! We watched Despicable Me 2!!!! Then we took the train for 2 hours and met our 72 year old recent convert. Apparently this was the first time that a lesson went under an hour or so! He has so many questions. He is quite a funny old man :)

Wednesday was my first DDM and I was so nervous. My goal is that our District becomes more of a brotherhood and that we love each other and rejoice with each other just as the Sons of Mosiah. So we showed pictures of our families and really got to know one another. After that we had IKEA lunch (hot dogs, meatballs, fries and gingerbread milkshakes) and moved into our posh new flat!!!!!! ITS HUGE!!!! I will send pics next week. Then the Zone Leaders took us to dinner at a nice place called NANDOS :) It was really good! Until the other set of Elders (McGee & Fischer) were sick all night. Elder Mielacher and I took care of them :)

Thursday- BLESSINGS FROM HEAVEN!!! I NEARLY CRIED I WAS SOOOOOOO HAPPY!!! I was exhausted in the morning because of taking care of the other elders (ps- thanks mom & dad for taking care of me when I was sick  :)) . We then got a call from the zone leader saying that the weather was too bad and that President said to not proselyte that day. The wind was tearing rooves off of houses!!!! WOAH!!!!! Like our 1800's (I think) house was shaking but sturdy :) So because Elder Mielacher and I wanted to be effective, we moved what we could from the old flat (in our large suitcases) to the new flat. Elder McGee and Fischer were out for the COUNT! They were so sick! hahaha :) That evening I made dinner for the flat (consisted of pizza and fries :P) but I am proud of myself! hahaha. Anyways, t'was a good day!

On Friday we went finding all day and really got to know Elder Milacher a lot better:) He is such a great chap! Quite a quiet guy, but nonetheless a true missionary. He has his heart in the right place and we are very much alike (except I'm not quiet :P) hahahaha. Um.......Friday was a good day of bonding with my companion :) OH! BEST PART: HE LIKES FOOD TOO!!! AND NOT ALERGIC TO ANYTHING!!!!

On Saturday we had ward correlation and our ward mission leader is quite good. He just recently returned from his mission in Australia and so he knows how missionary work is moving forward in the world. He has very good desires and makes sure that what we need from him is met. That evening we had Mavis (kings dinner lady :)) She is really wonderful :) We have actually been invited over to her house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!  (thats when I will skype home- further updates to be said later)

Sunday was pretty good...I am not gonna lie though, I was a little cranky because I was HUNGRY! Hahahaha...Anyways, the talks were great especially a sister in the ward talking about trials and how life trials are like driving through a tunnel. Soon you have complete darkness that surrounds you, then as you keep going, having faith, little bits of sunshine are let in. At the end of the tunnel you emerge into a beautiful vista showing Gods blessings for you. That evening we made steak COVERED in Cajun spices!!!! SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!!!!

Well thats my week!
LOVE
Elder Dotschkat
ps - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

Monday 2 December 2013

Thank you to my leaders for teaching me to navigate

Hello all!
Well this week was great! So I got transferred out of Hull finally and let me tell you that it was so weird! Like it was almost leaving home for a second time, I am definitley going back there one day to see everyone :)

Anyways, so I was on the bus for like 5 hours on Wednesday to Leeds and then to Sunderland. It was pretty good seeing people that I knew again, like my trainer Elder Richards, who is a Zone Leader in Newcastle now!

On Wednesday I met my companion, Elder Mielecher, from Austria! He has siblings and his dad is the stake President of Austria!  He speaks pretty good English and is so fun! Its pretty great having a son/brother hahahahah.....(missionary lineage, just ask an RM). Anyway, umm...I am pretty all turned about here but I know how to get to the important things like the METRO (train) and uhh...food. Yup! On Thursday the most exciting thing was getting lost! I have no clue where I am :P Second area and wow...I knew Hull like the back of my hand but here I am lost. I must thank my Scout and YM leaders for teaching us to navigate during our Man Tracker camp :) Ahhh....The good times :) So my district is completely multi cultural!  None of us are from the same country.

Elder Dotschkat - Canada
Elder Mielecher - Austria
Elder McGee - USA
Elder Fischer - Germany
Elder S - Australia
Elder K - Latvia…..I think....will find out Wednesday.
So I'm going to be honest, I haven't unpacked yet because we are moving to a HUGE flat on Wednesday! I have been told that you could fit like 4 teams of missionaries there!

The ward is pretty good, everywhere I go they know Calgary, like one of the members daughters lives there and is friends with Brother Hall of the Fish Creek Bishopric or something....Anyways, people are familiar of where I come from and it is nice :)

We are getting fed! (DONT WORRY) We have this nice old lady named Mavis who feeds us every Saturday! And sooo much that we have to take some home!  She has had 33 foster children and I think 4 of her own! She is such a nice lady :) She has invited us over for Christmas. Apparently, she sends a taxi for the missionaries every Christmas morning and we go to her house for a bit :) That is where I most likely will be skyping home :) 

Well.....the ward is good and I'm still alive :) My companion is super funny! 

There are a lot of hills around here and I am working to get used to them again (lived in a flood plain for the last 6 months of my life :P). 

Well I'm gonna go now! I hope that you all have an exciting week because I definitely will by getting lost a few times!!!

Thats my week!
Love you all
Elder Dotschkat
ps- We sing Christmas hymns every morning :)  

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Farewell Hull & Hello Sunderland

Hello one and all! 
Sooooo many changes and learning this week!!!!! WOW!
So guess what!?!  I'm moving!!! I'm going to the Sunderland University Area. I am training again, only halfway through this time and I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve more! President called me to be the District Leader. 

Monday I went shopping all P-day with Elder Ivins and it was so much fun!!!!! hahahah....its not what we normally do and so it was just great, got new shoes!!! They look pretty good! Then I went on exchange with Elder Coombs (Edmonton boy). 

On Tuesday Elder Coombs and I went finding all day, by some potentials, one girl is from Ottowa but we never met her. We also went to Pizza Hut buffet for lunch and almost ate them out of house and home ! HAHAHHAHAHA! So GREAT! And then on our finding we went through this really old graveyard! It was so cool! 1805 was the oldest gravestone that I remember. The biggest thing I learned that day was that we need to have patience, charity and love for those around us. 

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday in Huddersfield.  We were up at 5:22 and on a bus for 2 hours. It was great! President talked to us about the power of love and how when we rely on charity, Heavenly Father will help us. We watched these two inspirational videos. (I can't remember which ones so remind me to find the name)

Then on Thursday Elder Ivins and I went to Bransholme. We went finding.  We talked to some people that were not interested but planted seeds!!!!!! WOOOT!!!! In the evening we saw P and J, they gave me an invite to their wedding :)  They are such a wonderful couple! She is growing a testimony!!! SOOOOOO SOLID!!!! After that we had volleyball!!!! I can jump over the net!!!! :D 

On Friday we did something different! We put our names into the funeral homes around our flat as grief counselors :) 

Stake conference was on Saturday and it was so was great! The members are super pumped about missionary work now and we got refferals!!!!!! :D
The President had a fireside on Sunday.  He is so funny.  We were so excited because we had 224 people there too!  

Anyways, sorry so short !

But just remeber! 
Proverbs 3 5-6- TRUST IN GOD!!!
Elder Dotschkat


Note from Mom:
So, as noted in his letter above Elder Dotschkat has been transferred.  In the message he sent with his new address he said that he's trying hard to focus on the here and now and has felt just a little sad to say goodbye to everyone.  He's really grown to love the people in Hull, they mean so much to him and all he wants is for them to be happy.  He's growing a lot and thinks we're going to be so surprised to talk to him because he's so comfortable with who he is - he's different (I cannot wait for that Christmas phone call :)  He also said that he's really sticking to his guns now and is not letting anyone push him around, not even the drunks (not sure what that means but I have faith he's ok).  

Anyone wanting to send letters or packages for Christmas can send them directly to his flat address.  The mission home wants the letters and packages to go there so they ensure that the missionaries receive them in time for Christmas.  If you want his address, let me know (email, call or PM on Facebook).  I am unable to publish his actual address on the internet due to safety issues (as per the missionary department regulations) but am more than willing to share it with everyone. Any packages and mail sent to the mission home (the old address) prior to this will still get to him and possibly in time for Christmas too as they have zone conference the week before Christmas, this is just in hopes that all the missionaries get something from home in time.

Thanks for supporting our Elder.  It means so much.
M


Jared Sims & I



Monday 18 November 2013

Moroni 8:16

So this week was pretty good :) 
We are finally seeing progress in the ward here :) 
Well there always has been, just more so now :) 
WE GOT A REFERRAL THAT TURNED INTO AN INVESTIGATOR!!!! :D
I'm happy:) This has been what we have been waiting for in the past little while :) I can see why Elder Ivins and I had gone through this time without "strong and progressing" investigators. 

On Monday it was P-Day and we watched Tarzan and I loved it! I sang to every song! Just so good! Hahaha...secretly I love watching Disney movies just for the music. Well....not so secret now :P.....Whatever.

Tuesday - We had our referral! Her name is Sarah. She is 28 I think and very intelligent. She is an "atheist" but believes that something is there. So she is doing SO GOOD! 

Wednesday - We had district meeting and I got shot in the butt with a needle nerf dart at lunch.

Thursday-  Learned more of what type of man I need to be through the example of others.

Friday - Took a nap at lunch so I appreciate sleep so much now because I am SHATTERED at the end of the day

Saturday - Miracles happen! A member gave us two more names of people they want us to work with

Sunday- The family is the single most important thing of this earth, Treasure EVERY MOMENT that you have with them. LOVE IS TRULY SPELT :T-I-M-E !

Some answers to mom's questions:
Mom: Did you receive the packages that I sent.  I sent one from the states with Sister Allen and I sent another one from Canada.  Elder D: I received the box that Sister Allen sent. You will want to send Christmas Packages by the end of the month so that they get here in time. I know that you love me and I appreciate every one of them :) 
Mom: So how is the work?  Elder D: The work is good, it is FINALLY moving forward in the ward. Got me stubbornness and bluntness and now that I have set fire to the members bums they are getting stuff done. :P 
Mom: Are you doing a lot of service?  Elder D: Not really much service anymore. We are always offering to help.
Mom: Are you still getting fed?  Elder D: Yes we are getting fed :P But feeding ourselves more often now because we had to split up tea appointments. Having take out quite a bit but not hungry at all. 
Mom: Do I need to order some food and have it delivered to your flat? Elder D: I will tell you if we need one. We also have members that will feed us in emergency.
Mom: Do you know what you're doing for Christmas? Elder D: I don't know anything about Christmas yet.  Next week are transfers.  We are going to Skype.
Mom: Are you warm enough? Do you need boots and did you get a jacket yet? Elder D: I am warm enough.  I just got new meeting shoes, and a jacket :) I look like a million bucks!  I'm going to get a new grey suit from here because they are CHEAP!  I don't know about boots yet. I will tell you if I do. 

So yeah! Those are the highlights of my week other than the ordinary threatening, yelling in my face, doors slammed, and being falsely accused as Jehovahs witnesses. Hahahahahha. I love it because there is also happiness, joy, peace, beauty, laughter, miracles, the spirit and heavenly fathers tender mercies in my life every day :) 

If you want to know what where I'm living looks like, go on google earth street view :) 
Transfers are next week so I will then know where I will be for Christmas! :) 

Love you all 

Moroni 8 :16 - " I fear not what man can do for perfect love casteth out all fear" 

Elder Dotschkat




Monday 11 November 2013

Lest We Forget

Well Hello Everyone. First of all I want to say you are all amazing :)
I never really noticed how each one of you mean to me until I have been out here and let me tell you that I love you all! Each of you! You mean so much to me. :)

Well this week I am  going to change my letter up just a tad. I am going to say the things that really stood out to me, not each day though. Maybe if I have time.

So the two things that really stood out to me were quotes that I heard. With remembrance day being today, we had sacrament on it and it was wonderful. I am truly filled with gratitude towards every person that has, are and will serve in any military in the world. I know its quite
a lot of general statements but these men and woman have sacrificed so much so that we are able to have the freedoms we do. We remember those that make these sacrifices once a year but I feel that we need to remember them everyday. Not only them but their families who have and still sacrifice in the name of freedom. It makes me think of a
scripture, " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." - John 15 :13.

We must honor these people. Please take a moment to remember those who have sacrificed.
Listen to this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kX_3y3u5Uo

And read this :
             Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
     Between the crosses, row on row,
  That mark our place; and in the sky
  The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
  Loved and were loved, and now we lie
        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
  The torch; be yours to hold it high.
  If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
        In Flanders fields.

A quote that was said in sacrament that really touched me was that these people gave their today so that we could have our tomorrow.

Lest we Forget

The other main thing that stood out to me this week was when we were visiting with a member in the ward. They are a young couple, both converts and have two wonderful boys. I knew that the spirit was within their home as soon as I walked into their door. I could just
feel the love and serenity within those walls. Their little boy is 3 and I was amazed at how tame he was. Just a wonderful quiet little kid who takes the world in his own way. I played legos with him for a little bit as we talked to his parents and then he just turned to his dad and said that he wanted to go to bed. Then he just cleaned up his toys and left for bed. I was truly very impressed, there was no arguing or crying or yelling or ANYTHING! I want my home to be the same. These little children are in their parents hands not to be ruled over and dictated to but rather guided and helped through the trials of life. I have seen so many wonderful examples of parenting and I love each one in their own ways. I must say that to be honest, I have really started to miss you. My family is so important to me and I pray for you each night. ALL OF YOU. Individually. I know Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers still and always will because he loves us. I asked them how they had their son so.....responsible and they told me that they based their parenting of this quote.

"There should be no yelling in the home unless there is a fire " - President David O. Mackay.

I was amazed . It makes sense and this is how I want to parent. I want my children to know their limits and to make their own decisions and know that they can always talk to me about their problems. I want them to know that I love them. Family is the most important thing in this world. It is the only thing that will give you true joy. Always remember that.

Well I hope that you all enjoyed this letter home this week. I know that I enjoy reading each of yours :) I love you all. Until next week just remember this,

I love you

Elder Dotschkat

Sunset in England


Coming in from the snow

Gui Fawkes day - a bonfire night celebrating the initial attack on parliment by Gui Fawkes who didn't believe in the current political party that was in power. English people are crazy and just burn random stuff to celebrate the night while they light off fireworks. Elder Putnam standing in front of a burned out couch.

Monday 4 November 2013

He will ALWAYS fulfill His promises to us.

Well hello! Has this week gone fast or what!?!  Like wow! I can't believe how fast time is going! Like the weeks are starting to feel like days! ( well.....almost:P) 

This week was one truly filled with miracles! I have seen Heavenly Father's hand in my life every day this week. I can feel him guiding me in what I do and how I act. I can feel his spirit comfort me to the point that I don't even know that times are rough. The weather here is starting to get CRAZY!!! I love it! Like P-day was almost cancelled last week because of the storm! 

So on Monday the most profound thing that l learned was that we need to just take life day-by-day, trusting in God and the future will turn out the way that it is meant to become! Also it stuck out to me that no matter how many times you have the spirit testify to you of something, your testimony will grow every time thereafter! 

On Tuesday I learned that I will fight for what I want. Well I didn't really learn this but it made me realize how determined I am to get what I want. Nothing will stop me, I will fight for what I want till the day I die. This is only possible if we rely on God and Jesus Christ. We can have whatever we want as long as we trust in God and do what is right .

On Wednesday we had district meeting in which we discussed becoming our full potential and it made me realize that we can only become our full potential if we trust in God and follow the teaching of Jesus Christ. He is our perfect example and if we follow him, we will become who we are meant to be and we will end up where we are meant to go. I hope that makes sense....can't tell if my grammar is bad there but yeah! That's what stuck out to me that day! 

On Thursday it was a day full of miracles and so because it was it stood out to me that miracles do and will happen, we just need to have faith. The things that we desire in our hearts that are righteous, they will happen as long as we do our part. Life has its ups and downs but if we go through the downs, trusting in God that He will fulfill his promises, then we will be so much better in the long run. 

On Friday the main thing that struck me was that we need to set goals that will make us stretch, then we need to work as hard as we can for them and the Lord will bless us. If we have faith in the promises that the Lord makes to us and do our part, he is bound eternally by his promises. Miracles WILL happen, He will ALWAYS fulfill the promises that he makes to us. 

On Saturday the main thing that stuck out to me was that we need to show that we love people more. The Savior did everything out of love for those around him, he is our elder brother and loves each of us so much that he has set a way for us to be able to return to our heavenly home. We need to lift those who are struggling, we need to help those who are in trouble. We need to follow our Saviors example, that is where true joy is found.

On Sunday the biggest thing that stood out to me was that when we have righteous desires, Heavenly Father will pour out his spirit upon us in our time of need. I learned this during our lesson with Jenine through the spirit. Heavenly Father is willing to teach us, we must be willing to learn. 

Well thats all Folks! 
Hope you are well! 
Take care! 
Love you dearly
You are in my prayers!
Elder Dotschkat

Monday 28 October 2013

Put your trust in the Lord

Hello all! 

Its me again! I hope you have had a great week full of learning and fun because I have! 
Even though some days are harder than others, I enjoy this work! Thank you for supporting me in this :)

Don't have much time so it might be a little short so I'm going to tell you all what I learned this week.

Monday - The tender mercies from Heavenly Father are everywhere, we must look for them and appreciate each one individually. 

Tuesday - We must do all we can do, trust in the Lord and give our all to him.

Wednesday - I want to be the man that is trust worthy, responsible and an example of a righteous priesthood holder for my children.

Thursday - The scriptures and family prayer are what we need to base our families off of. "A home that is founded upon righteous principals will be a place of refuge and safety" - Preach My Gospel

Friday- We need to be honest and open with people. We must let them know how we feel and why we feel that way. If we do this we will help them learn, grow and become their full potential. 

Saturday - "I fear not what man can do because perfect love casteth out all fear."- Book of Mormon. 

Sunday - Enduring to the end is not just pushing through your trials, it is persevering through them trusting in God, with an attitude of optimism and a brightness of hope. 

So yeah. That is what I learned this week through the missionary life :) I am really working hard to be effective with every moment and not just "going through" trials but loving and learning in each one of them. I am grateful for trials because they make me into the man that I want to be and that the Lord wants me to be. I can feel his spirit in my life abundantly and I strive to keep it with me every moment of every day. The best part of being a missionary is those little moments when you can feel Heavenly Fathers love for those around you. When you put your trust in the lord and ask him for help, he shows his abundant mercy and love. The biggest thing that has stood out to me this week is how much we truly need Heavenly Father in our lives. We need to always be praying for His help and thanking Him for everything that he gives us. I thank him EVERYDAY for you and what you mean in my life, you have helped me get to this point in my life and if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here. Thank you for your support and confidence in me. I love you. Always remember that. 

Well I must dash!  I hope you all have a wonderful week where you can see how Heavenly Father loves you because HE DOES!   Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each one of you no matter what.  And so do I.
You are in my prayers,
With love,
Elder Dotschkat



Monday 21 October 2013

Study your Scriptures & Feast upon the Words

Well hello everybody! It is your favorite Elder again! haha....just kidding....well...I will let you all decide ;P Anyways, you all are probably keen to hear about my week! 

Monday evening Elder Ivins and I went to a family in the ward for their family home evening. They are memorizing an Article of Faith each month and so we helped them with that. It was so fun and the brownies that Sister Brown made were divine! They were so good :) In competition with a few of the women's back home!  The most profound thing that stuck out to me was that I want to hold family home evening every week with my future family and raise my future children in the gospel.

wait a minute......I already told you all about this in last weeks letter! haha :P woops....okay ...well then ... uhhh... I will start with...Wednesday! 

Wednesday - The most profound thing that I learned Wednesday was that when life seems rough and we are getting really nowhere we must look for those little miracles and tender mercies that Heavenly Father gives us. This came to me in the day because well guess what? It rained all day! I guess that just goes to show that sometimes stereotypes are true. Apparently I am extremely polite and the stereotypical Canadian man. IDK....I live with Americans. 

Thursday - The biggest thing that stuck out to me was that this is the Lord's work and we cannot do anything by ourselves. We need him to direct us and guide our thoughts actions and words. Sometimes we get too caught up in ouselves and we just need to slow down and let the Lord do his work. We need to let him help us, we need to let him comfort us, we need HIM. 

Friday - Well....now this was different! The most profound things that stood out to me were:
1 - Endure in Patience
2 - We need the spirit 
3 - Suck it up princess
I know this really isn't what people are expecting to hear from me but that's what I learnt! Friday was a tough day. Rained, cold, I wasn't feeling that well and noone was listening. Missionary work at its finest! I am not gonna lie or even fluff it up, it was hard but now that I look at it, I'm glad it was hard. I wouldn't want it any other way! Wanna know why? Its because in the end it is good for me and will make me a better man and I LOVE IT!!!

Saturday - I prayed really hard Saturday morning to have a better day and saw a miracle! IT WAS THE SAME WEATHER, THE SAME SITUATION AND THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AGAIN!!! and guess what? I LOVED IT!  I had a far better day! I know that the spirit will bless us in mysterious ways and Heavenly Father may not answer exactly how we want but he will always hear and answer our prayers!

Sunday - The most profound thing that stood out to me was that when we truly study our scriptures and FEAST upon the words of Christ, we will ALWAYS find what we are looking for. Sometimes we may not be looking for it, but we will need it later. 

Well thats all folks 
love you all
Sincerely 
Elder Dotschkat

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Never Give Up. Never Lose Hope. Let Light Shine

Hello everyone! Sorry its so late. It was transfers this week and we didn't have time yesterday so I am here now and that's what matters! Haha

This week has been one of a lot of learning and testing experiences and so if I seem like I a rambling on...its because I am. Haha. I'm loving every minute of the mission though :) Gotta keep positive right? First of all, I want to tell Josh, keep your chin up buddy :) I promise that you will see some field time :) I had somewhat the same experience in rugby and so I know how it feels. Work hard, play hard and FIGHT HARDER! Love ya bud :) 

So to everyone else! This week was a true learning curve for both Elder Ivins and I. Let me explain. 
Monday - So the biggest thing that I learnt on Monday was that when you forgive someone or what they have done wrong, the love of God fills you :) So all day I was pondering the messages in the talks during conference and it touched my heart to realize that when you forgive someone for what they have done wrong the love of God fills you. Just thinking about it right now makes me feel like a burden is taken off of my shoulders. "I will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive ALL men " - Idk the reference :P 

Tuesday - It really stood out to me that we are accountable to the Lord for our time here on earth and how we utilize our time so we MUST make EVERY MOMENT COUNT! Our lives here on earth have been given to us as a gift and we must utilize the time that we have to work for the Savior. We must tell everyone we know that Jesus Christ lives and that we can all find peace and joy. This message that we have to share with the world is so important that we have a DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY to share it! 

Wednesday - The most profound thing that stuck out to me in my mind was that no matter the circumstances, we MUST remember what we stand for and who we are. We must NEVER GIVE UP. "There are times in our lives that seem dark and dreary, but these are the times that the light at the end of the tunnel will shine the brightest"- Me. Haha. Just made that up on the spot. :P Anyways though, life is hard sometimes. Trust me. I meet so many people with so many different problems and the one thing that they all have in common is they cover up the light at the end of their tunnel. We must let it shine. We must let it glow. How are we supposed to be guided and see all the beauty of life if there is no light? NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER LOSE HOPE. LET THE LIGHT SHINE. 

Thursday - The biggest change in my life this day was in the morning when I learnt what true charity was. I learnt that "charity never faileth" and if you are upset with someone, SERVE THEM! So in the morning I learnt what it meant to have true charity for your fellow man and how the love of Christ will fill you. Elder Ivins and I had a disagreement the night earlier and we were just not seeing eye to eye. In the morning as I was in the shower, he made me Bacon and Eggs :) and then while he was in the shower I made him some delicious toast (I know it sounds gross but try it! Philadelphia cream cheese and....NUTELLA!!!!) and a nice thing to drink (pineapple orange juice ) . I learned that no matter what you circumstances are, if you are upset with them, serve them!!!

Friday - I learned on Friday that we MUST always be evaluating and re-evaluating ourselves so that we can grow into our full potential and become who we are meant to be. Well we had to take a survey for the mission just to see how we were doing and so because of this it made me think ask if I was doing my best and everything that I could do to serve God. I thought about and pondered on this topic all day and realized that there is always more that we can be doing to serve God. So yeah. Do your best. If you don't know what your best is, imagine serving someone you love and how much effort you would put into making them happy. There is your start point :)  

Saturday- I learned that we must love and enjoy all of those people around us. When we are in the service of our fellow beings, the love that you have for them will show.  Saturday was different for me because well...our teaching pool has been struggling for a while and so to help us, our Zone Leaders, District Leader and his companion came and went on a blitz with us to build it. It truly made me feel loved and cared for because I was struggling trying to help Elder Ivins keep positive and a happy outlook on missionary work but because of this blitz we have 3 new investigators! If we are doing our best, Heavenly Father will hear and answer our prayers :) 

Sunday - The thing that stood out to me the most was even though we have our own fears and cautions, we must trust other people in life. During Sunday I was reading the story of Job in the Bible and it amazed me how much he trusted in God. He had all manner of afflictions and torment upon him and his family and yet he did not speak ill of the Lord. We as mortal human beings are imperfect, but if we put our trust in the Savior we can become the people that we are meant to be. We can achieve our full potential. We can do ANYTHING that we set our mind to.

Monday - Transfers day, I am staying in Hull with Elder Ivins (crossing fingers until after Christmas as well :D ). We evaluated how this past six weeks have gone and what we want to do better. We realized that there are so many things that we can do better but we can only accomplish all of these goals with help from the Lord. This is such a common fact in life because no matter what we do by our own means, we will always fall short. We must trust in the Savoir so that we can achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves. When we trust in God and plead for his help, he will raise us and help us exceed our goals. 

Tuesday - It stood out to me that sometimes we need to take ourselves out of a situation, analyze the problem and try to understand the other persons point of view. Last night during planning for the day Elder Ivins and I were having a disagreement and not seeing eye to eye again.  I thought about it for a minute and the situation that we were in and realized that sometimes you just need to step back and try to understand what the other person is trying to say. Once I did that, we both calmed down and were both trying to understand one another. If you are having a difficult time with someone, take a step back, a few breaths and listen.

Well that's all folks! That was my week.

Once again, sorry for the lateness and confusion. 

Have a good week! You are all in my prayers because I love you all! 

May Heavenly Father bless and watch over you

Regards

Elder Dotschkat

Monday 7 October 2013

If we do our best, we need not stress!


Hello everyone. First of all I just want to thank you for all of your prayers and your love. I do need it sometimes to get me through the days and I know that Heavenly Father sends his blessings to those who ask. You are all in my prayers and I truly do love you all. I am so grateful for the support that you show me while I am out here. I love you. This week has been such a one of faith building and strengthening especially with conference.

So I kind of missed a few days on telling you what was most profound to me and I promised that I would tell you everyday and I keep my promises. So on Saturday the most profound thing that I learned that day was that if we trust in Heavenly Father that everything will turn out the way that it is meant to be. On Sunday it was just a reaffirmation to me about how much I want to be a father. To be a parent is the most sacred and special "job" that we can have on this earth in this life. This stood out to me while the primary was giving their presentation and while I was looking at their parents faces. I want to have that same joy. I know without a doubt that I want to be a father and help some of Heavenly Fathers special children return home to him. 

Monday - We had P-day, played some Gator-ball (mix of all sports), watched some movies and wrote letters like every P-day :P It was really fun! That evening Elder Kruse and I were on exchange in my area and we got lost :P haha. it was quite funny...you think that I would know it all by now but I guess that I just have to keep learning. :P We all do. Thats why we are here , right? So the most profound thing that stood out to me that day was that if we do our best, we need not stress. Give yourself a break, things will turn out the way that they are meant to be. 

Tuesday - The miracle of that day was just how much I am changing and growing into the man that not only do my family and loved ones want me to be but the man that the Lord wants me to be. I am standing for truth and righteousness and proclaiming that we have a loving Father in Heaven to the world. I love every moment that I have to share this with those around me. The most profound thing that stood out to me that day was that we MUST be bold in our testimonies and our desires because that is what truly makes us who and what we are. We are children of God, children of Truth and children of Light. We must stand up and rise above the world. Don't let it get you down. Rise above the blues, reach up for help and the Lord will lift you up. 

Wednesday - The most profound thing that stood out to me that day was in district meeting. We were talking about virtue and knowledge. These two Christ-like attributes are life long journeys and they are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven and the atonement. We must repent and make changes in our lives to become our full potential. To virtuous is a life long travel, when you fall down you MUST NOT give up. Keep going. Keep trying. Look forward to the future with faith. The Lord is there to help you and carry you. He will help you. While we were in district meeting I also finally felt a sense of belonging. I know that I am a missionary in the England Leeds Mission and there are many more like me but now I feel like I belong more than I did before. Sometimes the Lord will bless you with things you didn't even know you needed. 

Thursday - The most profound thing that stood out to me that day was if you ask for specific things, God will give you specific answers or blessings. It may not be in the way or time that you want it but He will give you what you need. This is truly a sobering thought that an all powerful, all knowing being will take time just to answer our prayers. He loves you. He knows you. Rely on Him. 

Friday - The most profound thing that stood out to me that day was that we need to read our Patriarchal Blessings often! They are specific blessings from God to YOU! They are so amazing and it just makes sense that we should read them as often as possible. They will answer your questions, give you comfort and advice. Listen to the counsel that it gives you and you will know where to go, what to do and what will help you in your life. I find so much strength from reading mine and I know that you will all find the same from reading yours. 

Saturday - The most profound thing that stood out to me that day was just the humbling idea that I am just a tool in the Lords hands, like the prophets in the Book of Mormon I glory not in myself but in my Saviour and my God. He knows and loves each one of us and this is his work. We must be humble in our circumstances but if we have faith, He will help us because he loves us. 

Sunday - Well all I want to say is that a prayer that I have had for a long time in my heart and in my mind was finally answered during conference. I feel like a burden is lifted like a new man. I know what to do and take strength from KNOWING that Heavenly Father KNOWS and loves EACH ONE OF US! HE KNOWS YOU! HE LOVES YOU!  Look to him for strength. He will guide you in life and if you trust in Him, you will be where you are meant to be. You will be with the people that you are meant to be with. You will become the person that you are meant to become. 

Well that's all folks! haha....Yeah! That was my amazing week! 
I have grown so much! I love it!
I love this work! 
I love my Savior! 
I love my Father in Heaven!
I love my family!
I love you! 
I love the gospel!

Sincerely with love! 
Elder Dotschkat

Monday 30 September 2013

"God trusts us to make decisions"

Well hello all! 

I have had a truly amazing week! I must say though, it seems like every week is speeding up! I love the work and the people here. The ward members are amazing and taking care of us. Its truly wonderful that they support us as much as our own families and wards would :) I love this work. I love being a missionary.

First of all I want to congratulate Jessie and Melissa Potrie on the birth of their baby girl! You will be wonderful parents! I know that the rest of the family must be extatic about the new addition to the family and I am so happy for all of you. 

So this week was amazing! I want to tell you all about the important things I learnt this week first and then I might expand on them. 

Monday - The most profound thing to me that day was during my personal study. I feel that I have grown so much and I am becoming the man that the Lord wants me to be. I learned that its okay to have certain feelings because we are only human, its just how we act on them that makes the difference. Another thing was that we need to bring the spirit into our homes. These are our sanctuaries against the world for our families and we must fill them with love. One thing that also stood out to me was that if we are having a rough day, take ourselves our out the situatioon for a minute and do something that makes you happy because its no use working and not being effective. 

Tuesday - The most profoud things was that even though life gets hard, we must NEVER give up on being happy. Being happy is the entire reason that we are here on earth. We are here to learn, grow and have joy. 

Wednesday - I learnt that to be confident we must have faith in Christ. Only when we have faith in Christ is when the Lord will bless us. Also that humility is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of spiritual strength 

Thursday  - I learnt that no matter the circumstances we MUST move forward in faith. Sometimes life gets hard and we just have to keep moving forward. We can never give up. That is NOT the reason we are here. We are here to learn and grow. These things require moving forward, increase and growth. Whatever you call it, you must KEEP MOVING FORWARD. 

Friday - Mormon.org quotes:

"Whether or not it is inspiration or just our own thought we will not know until we act"
"God trusts us to make desicions, we must trust ourselves"
"Surviving is about two things - Courage and Faith!"
"Everything that we experience in life is to enrich our lives and help us become the people that we want to be in eternity"
"A marriage eternal in duration and God-like in quality never contemplates divorce"
"Don't withhold expressions of love"
"We must run as fast as we can to spiritually higher ground"

Saturday - we had the baptism. Here is my letter to President Pilkington :

Hello President! We were very grateful to hear from you last night. Thank you. We know the amount of work that you do and the amount of stress that you deal with and we are always so grateful when you take the time to get to know and talk to each one of us. These calls that we receive from you help us understand that we are all working together in the wonderful work of bringing Heavenly Fathers children back to him . We support and sustain you in your calling and we are very grateful for the insightful pieces of advice that you give to us because they not only help us build and strengthen the areas that we work in, but they help strengthen and build us into better missionaries and better men. 
So this week was truly amazing and to be honest, when the time came I was nervous and a little stressed but I knew that if I had faith in the Lord that everything would turn out the way that it is meant to be. I am very grateful for the experience to be training. It takes a lot of effort and change. I was working to improve on my Christ like attributes when I was being trained and now I am working on them even harder so that Elder Ivins can see my love towards him. He is a great missionary and growing every day! His confidence in himself is increasing and his desire to work hard always amazes me every day. I love working with him. His teaching skills are improving, we have some work to do. I have really taken to heart the counsel that you gave to teach from the heart and love the people. Due to this counsel I am trying to help him know the doctrine but more so internalize it and reach inside his heart for his testimony to teach with. I know that teaching with your testimony is the perfect way to show the people that you are genuine and it will always bring the spirit. His skills in finding are increasing, in the past few days we have felt that our approaches to people have been redundant and we are not seeing a lot of fruit from them so we are changing it. We are working on being "normal" with people and using quick 1 minute summaries of what we teach and always asking if we can step in. When we have asked to step in we have had a lot of success because people generally let us in or give us return appointments. We are truly seeing the lord touch the peoples hearts with the spirit, so much so that we saw a miracle at our baptism this weekend. 
It seemed like everything that could be going not according to plan was happening. I was getting fairly stressed and running around trying to get everything ready and done so that the baptism would run smoothly and then I realized that we need to trust in the Lord all the time. When I did that, the miracles started appearing and everything started to run better. Sometimes it is our own hearts and minds that stall the work of the lord. We MUST trust in him in all phases of this work because we are NOTHING without him. This is His work, not ours. We are only tools in his hands. We must be submissive and have His purposes in our hearts. When we do this, miracles happen. From the beginning of our teaching experience with Laura and her son Akam we saw miracles! First of all when they came to church the first time the ward perfectly fellowshiped them. The ward members saw her and freely went up and introduced themselves to her. We didn't even have to ask! The ward here in Hull 2 is truly amazing! Later on in the teaching process, they both admitted to us that they got their answer! They knew it and could not deny it!  Laura has had such an experience that she desires to have Akam and her daughter Hanifa raised in the church! Akam has the burning in his bosom and he told us that he knew that it was the spirit telling him that everything we were teaching is true and because of that he desired or rather hungered for baptism! As we were getting everything ready an unfamiliar face walked into the chapel. We went up and introduced ourselves to the man and found out that it was our investigator Akam's school teacher! Akam had told him about his baptism and invited his teacher to his baptism! It was truly a miracle! The pinnacle shinning moment of this while experience was when Akam, who is 9 years old and just baptized, gave his teacher a copy of The Book of Mormon with a mormon.org card in it to his teacher!!! Miracles happen, we just have to trust in the Lord. 
This whole entire experience has truly strengthened my testimony not only of Heavenly Fathers answers to our prayers but how much we need to love and appreciate our ward members. They are our families, our support and our strength. We MUST love them! 

Regards

Elder Dotschkat 
(end of letter)

So that was my week.  I will send pictures next week.  
Love you
Elder Dotschkat


Monday 23 September 2013

A Tourist in England

Well Hello everyone, first of all I just want to tell you that you are in my prayers, in my heart and I love you. 

So this week was really good! I cant wait to tell you of all the miracles that Elder Ivins and I have seen. We have truly seen Heavenly Fathers blessings all around us, I know that he blesses all of his children. We just need to look for it. .

So on Monday we went over the Humber River to have zone P-day at Grimsby. This was a first (and hopefully last) time that I have gone over the bridge on p-day. The only reason that I hope that it will be the last is because it took over half of the day to travel there and back :P But whatever I had fun! We had a foosball tournament, ping pong battles, watched Prince of Egypt and Tangled! I had no idea how good that movie was! Haha. I know it sounds funny but we were all singing to all the songs on tangled :P It was great!

I got the package that mom sent from Idaho that day as well :) It was so full, I waited to open it at the flat :P Anyways. I then went on exchange with Elder Coombs from Edmonton! It was great. I realized that missionaries are not just for bringing people into the ward but they are here to strengthen the members already there.
The most profound thing that I learned on Monday was that we all need the gospel no matter at what point in life we are. 

Tuesday - This was probably the fastest day on my mission so far. We went out to Patrington and met one of our less actives and because of that she came to church yesterday!!!! I was very happy to see her there :) Anyways, in Patrington we took the classic "tourist in Enlgand with the phone booth" picture :P I have been wanting to do it since I got here but I just couldn't find one. I FINALLY GOT IT THOUGH!! HAHA! Anyways, we then in the evening we had ward coordination and to be very honest, I am blunt and make sure that the point of missionary work within the ward gets across. I cannot stress enough how vital the ward members are for this work. Missionary work WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT THE MEMBERS INVOLVEMENT.  If the missionaries call you up, try your best to give them time to go with them. These people that they teach are important and children of God. Sometimes they might even turn out to be your best friend. Make sure that you have the missionaries over and feed them every so often, I don't know how it is at home but here we have a meal appointment nearly 5 or 6 days a week EVERY WEEK. So yeah....I don't really know where I was going with that but I just want you all to know those things. 
Most profound thing that I learnt that day was that if you truly care about someone, you will do anything for their happieness. I have already known this and its deep within my heart but the resounding message struck my heart on tuesday. 

Wednesday went so fast as well! Only like four things happened though haha. 1st - District meeting was great! I love Elder Kruse as my district leader. He was my first real friend in the field. We kinda have the same background and so we can talk about certain things and he understands. I enjoy time that we have together because it is always just so fun! Hahaha.  It was good and the most profound thing that I learned that day was in district meeting. It was that we need to make every moment count and make every second memorable. I have so many wonderful memories but all them have one thing in common, I am with those people that I love. Days at the lake, in the snow, watching fireworks, on the beach, in the woods, on the mountains, watching sunrises, sunsets and most of all at the temple. These are the moments that lift me up when I have a hard day because these memories are full of joy for me. The best thing about it is that I am with those people that I love.  The rest of the day just consisted of doing service for a member in the ward and having tea with a member family. 

Thursday - DAY OF MIRACLES!!!! Wow! So I am just going to say what the miracles are because I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. So in the evening we saw the family that we started teaching last week and well guess what!!! THEY ACCEPTED TO BE BAPTIZED!!!! :D I am so excited about them! It just makes me so happy to go over there. There is Phil - 37, Louise - 32, Jack - 13, Ben - 10 , Grace-  turns 8 on October 21 and Oscar who is 18 months! All I want to say is that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. Just have faith. That was the most profound thing that happened that day. 

Friday - Well in the morning we had weekly planning and the most profound thing that stood out to me was once again the importance of communication. The world and everything crumbles in it because of bad communication. DO NOT LET BAD COMMUNICATION IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.

Saturday - The most profound thing that happened on Saturday was answers to prayers and plans. We had people that we wanted to see and we said that if they were unable to see us we would knock around their homes and because of that we saw people who are interested and are returning this coming week so stay tuned!  HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS!

Sunday - Once again the point of good communication came up because we were talking about eternal families and a family must be based on love and communication. Thats the most profound thing I learned

I hope that you all have a good week
Remember this
I love you
Elder Dotschkat

Elder Dotschkat with his England phone booth

My awesome package that mom sent me from Idaho. Each item has a corresponding scripture. It was pretty cool