The work is the salvation of souls

Well Hello !

So this week was again another week and WOW did it ever go SO FAST! I am absolutely amazed and so surprised when I lay down in bed on Sunday night because I always ask myself where the time went. Anyway, this week there was so many things that happened!

So on Monday was Preparation day again. not really much was different, played basketball (I'm getting better at it because its the only sport we play :S) , watched a few movies...yeah...there was a member in Hull 1 that had a copy of Monsters University and it was great! But anyway, while that time was going I wrote some letters and relaxed :) after P-day in the evening I went on exchange with Elder Coombs FROM EDMONTON!!!! :D! It was great because I could actually talk to someone and have them able to relate! :D It was fun! The most profound thing that I learnt that day was no matter how far the distance, home is where your heart is and always will be :)

Tuesday was a pretty good feeling being senior companion and having some responsibility and so that day I felt that it was all up to me to make it run as smoothly as possible. There were a few bumps in the road during the day that I had to handle by myself and it was a learning experience. We had our most promising investigator (named John) drop us through text. It was a sad experience but we still wish him the best. During lunch we went to a less actives home that we helped to reactivate him and they fed us lunch! :D It was great! After that we had some time to spare so we went to see John in person and see how he was doing. That went alright but he still says that it isn't for him. I look at it like everyone has their agency and as I said we pray that he will have some experience that will make him want to meet with us again. After that we had a very busy day , so much so that we forgot to have dinner till 900. We had my favourite meal :) Donairs :) Or kebabs as they call them here. The most profound thing that I learned Tuesday was that the temple is the only place that I want to be married in . When we were talking to our reactivated member, we asked what his goals in life were and he said that he wanted to get married in the temple. It made me ponder on this subject all day and I came to the conclusion that I will only be married in the temple. I want that day to be as special and wonderful and I have dreamed it can be. The main reason that I will only be married there is because I want to have the person that I love the most in the world with me forever. I want to have my best friend always by my side through everything. I want to be able to support her and grow with her though everything and have not only a temple sealing but a celestial and happy marriage. I want to have my family forever because that is the only thing that will bring me the most happiness in my life.

Wednesday - GUESS WHAT!!! We got on a coach in the morning and went to a MISSION CONFERENCE ! It was so great! I learned so many things from Elder Rasband, Elder Teshiera and ELDER M RUSSELL BALLARD!!!! It was great to be able to listen to apostles and representatives of the lord. The thing that they stressed the most is member missionary work. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT THE WORK WILL MOVE FORWARD!!! GET ON IT!!! One thing that I found that stood out to me was that I am so grateful to be a member of this church and to be able to suffer things for my saviour. I have learnt truly how much he loves us and is proud of us when we make the right decisions. I promise everyone that makes their decisions with the lord in mind can never go wrong and will be blessed for choosing right. The rest of the night we travelled back and didn't even get into the flat till 1030 :P I was beat! The most profound thing that I learnt that day was that the Lord trusts us to make the right decisions so we need to trust him.

Thursday - That day was interesting because we were unable to plan anything for the day so we essentially flew by the seat of our pants. We did missionary work, don't get me wrong , but it was kind of ...not really planned :P I guess the most exciting things were lunch, when I created food :P I wanted burgers but we had no meat so I used corned beef :P Haha it was tasty enough :P DON'T WORRY I AM SURVIVING! And the next most exciting thing was our mormon.org hour! I love watching these uplifting videos! They are truly inspired! The 3 main ones that I liked that day were 1- Mountains to Climb 2 Testimony of the Book of Mormon and 3 The infinite power of hope :) Please watch these :) I share these quotes, scriptures and videos so that you can all enjoy and experience my life as well :) Anyway, the most profound thing that day was a quote, " If the foundation of faith is not embedded into our hearts, the power to endure will crumble" .

Friday - IT WAS MY COMPANIONS HUMP DAY! He has been out a year now :) It was pretty good :) We bought cake :) Anyway, the most exciting part of that day was how 1- he has been out a year now and time is flying by for me as well! And 2- We gave a chapel tour to 2 teenage boys and scheduled them for baptism!!! WOO! That evening the Barber Family fed us again and we had chicken fajitas :) They were tasty :) The most profound thing on Friday was that time goes fast so we need to make the most of it and love those around us as much as we can. Also when we test god with faith, he will always follow through on miracles and blessings!

Saturday - It was a pretty good day! We got flogged a lot :P This just means that people don't show up to lessons that we set up with them :P I say it was a good day because no matter what happened my attitude never got down . The 2 lessons that actually came to fruition was a chapel tour where we scheduled this lady for baptism!!! :D and another lesson with our reactive member friend. We talked with him and saw that he had a rough week because he gave into his temptations and it made me think a lot. He was so happy on Sunday and Tuesday but when we met him he was depressed again. Just one split moment of bad decision can tear us up inside. So the most profound thing that I learnt that day was to stay away from things that can even lead you to temptation.

Sunday - It was a good day! Pretty nerve racking I must say because I taught Gospel Principals class but other than that it was good. In joint P/R meeting we had the 2nd counsellors brother in law come and give a presentation on the RBL ( Royal British Legion). It was good to see that people here have a lot of support for the troops. I love that fact about Britian. While he was talking about the conflicts of war and the losses it made me think a lot of my own life. I never discounted the military as an option and still don't but I realized that I do not want to put my those people like my friends, my family and my future family through loss. I will serve my country and give my life for my family and my friends if I must to protect them and their freedoms, but I do not want to voluntarily put my future wife, children and family through loss of my life. Its not that I will not serve in the military , but I want to spend my life with those I love. In GP class I taught the lesson on temples and FH and it was...good :) The most profound thing that stood out to me during that class was that its not always about marrying the right person, rather being the right person. Any 2 worthy LDS people can marry for eternity and get through life together and nurture their love for one another every day. It is about working through difficulties in life together and making selfless sacrifices for those you love.

As you can tell, This week was great! I am loving every moment of my mission and being the most effective missionary I can be. This work is the salvation of souls and there is no other work more important than this.

I know that Heavenly Father is watching over each and everyone of you and that is what brings me the most joy. You all are in my prayers. I love you all.

Have a great week

Sincerely,

Elder Dotschkat

We took a little trip to the Mariners Museum. Around 200 years ago Hull's whaling industry was at its peak. It was the largest whaling fleet in Britain. Whaling is now controversial and considered unnecessary. During Hull's whaling industry the products of whaling were considered crucial for Britain. Whale oil from blubber was used for lighting, for the preparation of leather and cloth, for making paints and oiling machinery.