A win for Netherlands, a baptism and a Kebab-tism

Hello Family, Friends (and biped acquaintances - lol I'm weird I know!)

Anyway, I had a great week!

Monday - Got a haircut, watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 on the big screen at the Royal Evitt family's home and then watched the Netherlands game! YEAH BUDDY!!!!! It was fantastic! Then we had a great lesson with George about faith and illustrated it with the trust exersize, defined the difference between belief ,faith and knowledge!

Tuesday we went finding the entire day! KNOCKING IN THE RAIN!!!! All the RMs know what that means! hahaha I got a lot of points that day lol Then we prepared our instruction for Zone training on why the sabbath day is important.  So that was great!

Wednesday we had zone training with President! That was entirely nerve racking because we were standing up in front of 30 people and our president :S That day I really learned what it meant to trust in God, trust in our companions and trust in ourselves! Then we went on exchange and I went to Meltham with Elder McGee! We had the car! WOOOHOO!!! (I didnt get to drive on the exchange but will today lol wish me luck! )

Thursday was a great solid day of village finding and we got in! Unfortunately the people didnt want to hear the gospel :S  Thats alright though!

Friday we drove back and it was raining.........again.............lol. We had our planning and then we had another day of finding because we have got dropped by Rob & Jackie's and so we are trying to find people to teach to replace them. That day we talked to a lot of Muslim people and it once again made me appreciate when people are truly invested in their faith.

Saturday we had finding all day again until the baptism in the evening..........Oh! Did I mention that it rained? Lol hahahaha, I like the cold water on my face but it sends shivers down my spine when it hits my scalp! In the evening was the baptism of the investigator of the other team and it was a fantastic service. We then KEBAB-TIZED Elder B at the flat and just had a great night laughing, singing hymns, talking about testimony and ........sad to say............TRYING to rap! Key word TRYNG!!!!! lol hahahahhahahaha

Sunday the best part was teaching Gospel principles and being able to liven it up by making people laugh! I love to make people laugh and appreciate when they understand my jokes because its pretty akward when you hear the cricket chirp...…lol

Life is great and my testimony grows greater every day !

Hope you all are well!

Take care!

CONGRATS KATIE ON YOUR GRADUATION!

The KEBAB-TISM of Elder B.

Me in front of the life sized game. Netherlands won! WOOT!!

The rolling hills of England (Manchester Mission border)

Farewell Elder Simon

HEYA!

So lets get down to business!

This week was a slow/fast week. I can't tell my feelings on it lol

So Monday was DDM! Yeah buddy! Elder Simon instructed on how to enjoy our missions day by day. The biggest thought that I had was WHY? Why do missionaries come on their missions and are they out here for the right reasons? The biggest thing that I learned was that we all go through periods of time asking why and we must have faith that these questions will be answered in time. We might not understand what the reasons for things are but when we trust in God, there will always be an answer to the question! The reason that I am here is because I know that God loves me and that he has a son who loves me more than I can completely comprehend.

Tuesday we went to Royal Evitt family's house and had a great P-day with them! We just had a BBQ all day, played with the kids, ate the food and just had a great time to talk about the gospel with them :) They are such a lovely family and good people. In the evening we went over for tea with President Pilkington's good friend (former mission President and Stake Patriarch) for tea. We had a great discussion on the priesthood and what power it has. Just think for a moment what it means to you.. It is the power of God given to man to bless his children. Simple.

Wednesday was a teary eyed transfer day. Elder Simon has been the big brother that I have always wanted. I will miss him but I know that he goes to the land of eternal P-days! hahaha  In the evening we then went and did service all day and got down to the dirt! I love working hard and sweating … its great!

Thursday the biggest thing that I learned was honesty. We had an opportunity to "bend" the rules and still be safe within reason and we deicided that exact obedience is nessescary for the blessings of heaven to be poured out upon us. So in the end, we may have missed a once in a lifetime experience but we have clear conciences before God.

Friday we met with Alexandra and were able to just be friends and listen to her needs. It suffices me to say that I am eternally grateful for the commandments of God and the protection they give to us.

Have a good week!

Love Elder Dotschkat

Make Time Count!

Hey everyone,
Not too much happened this week but I will tell you the highlights!

I'm staying in Dewsbury by the way.  Transfers were yesterday and we're still here.

We saw Lynn quite a bit this week and enjoyed our great time with her.  She is such a great lady.  We had a party a few nights ago because we just wanted to celebrate our missions and serving together in Christ.  President Pilkington talked on Sunday and we were laughing so much! He is a really funny man! The biggest thing is that I am grateful for the missionaries that are serving around me and with me. I have learned so much from each of them. The biggest thing that stood out to me this week was rather than count the time, MAKE TIME COUNT! Yes I know, I only have a year left and that's exciting BUT I only have one year left to serve the Lord entirely with all of my heart, mind and strength.
I have learned that patience is a heavenly virtue and to have success and accomplish what the Lord has for us, we must wait for his timing and the way that he will bless us.
I'm attaching a few meaningful quotes that will explain more what I have experienced this week.

CONGRATS CASSIE ON YOUR GRADUATION … WELL DONE!

Take care
Love Elder Dotschkat

A Letter to the great men in my life

To all of the Great men in my life, past, present and future.

As I sit here to look at where I am now and what it means to be a man, my mind is caught up in thoughts and memories of the great men that I have had in my life and the wonderful lessons that I have learned from each of them. I have been very fortunate and blessed to live in such a beautiful country with so many freedoms. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for those men that had left their friends and families, sometimes to never return, so that I would be able to enjoy all of the great things that Heavenly Father has in store for me and my family. To all of the people that have served or currently serve to make our country better, I thank you. No matter what capacity you may be in, you make our country and the lives of those who live here better. Thank you.

To those men that have made the change in my life, I cannot thank you enough for all of the time and effort that you have put into my development and growth not only in the gospel but as a man. There were many times that I felt as if I was falling into a place where I could not return from but these great men who I hold dear, lifted me up, pushed me harder and helped me to overcome the mountains that I have to climb. The best part of all of this is, they did it with me. Each step of the way I knew that there was someone beside me cheering me on to the point that I am at now. Many men have influenced me both inside and outside of the church and I thank each one of them for what they have done. They taught me to work hard, set you sights high and to never, never, NEVER give up! Sometimes life is hard, but we are never failures in Gods eyes. We came here to learn and grow and sometimes that means we have tough times but we get through and learn from them. Trials are never desirable but they are worth going through for the blessings of Heaven to be abundantly over us. I thank the men that have given me an example of being steadfast in a good cause. I know that these men have blessed my life and bless the lives of others for generations to come. I thank the men who taught me how to be honest and to be true to ones self. We are sons of an eternal God who knows and loves each one of us. I am and will always be eternally grateful to know that these men that have helped me are not just men, but my brothers. Thank you for all of your support and strength, even when you didn't know I was weak, you built me up to make me strong. Thank you for showing me what it means to be charitable, loving, kind, honest, virtuous men of Christ. Through your example I have learned how to go through trials with faith in God that all things will turn out for my benefit. I have learned what it means to truly love someone when you sacrifice and even put everything on the line for them just to support them. Thank you for teaching be of being faithful not only to your families but to Christ and your eternal nature. To being honourable holders of the high priesthood of God and to magnifying your calling and duty to bless the rest of the lives of Gods children.

I pray that you and your families will be blessed in abundance and that you will find peace knowing that you have eternally changed someone's life for the better.

Happy Fathers Day

With love

Your Brother and Fellow servant in Christ

Elder Zachary Lee Dotschkat

Its raining so much I might grow gills!

Hello there!

So this week was great! It was one of personal development for each of the members of the district and because of the spirit we are now more dedicated to the work and to the people that we interact with!

So I told you all about my CRAZY Monday! It was great!

So then Tuesday guess what! Everything cancelled and we were in the rain! We had a great day of getting to know one another though, it makes me happy to be able to talk openly with my companions and be able to build the friendships that will last a life time. I know that sometimes I am miserable to be around but I am grateful that I can have a companion to make me goofy! We laugh quite a bit! In the evening we had a tea appointment with a member that is a widow and it was a sobering experience to once again realize the need and blessings of the plan of salvation! It makes my heart have courage to know that there is more after this life!

On Wednesday my companion was nearly dying of sickness >:( It seems like this flat is cursed! People that don't ever get sick on their mission always get sick in this flat. It gives a lot of time for their companions to think and ponder. So that's what I did all day after district meeting (which was in the flat!) I sat at the kitchen table listening to music that would uplift me and it definitely brought the spirit to my heart. Throughout the day I read my scriptures, cleaned the flat and wrote some letters home! Fathers day letters are on their way! Then I made some Chinese food (spicy noodles) for Elder Koojiman to kill all of the sickness that he had! It definitely cleared his nose though! Maybe a little too spicy!

Thursday was pretty great! In the morning we were blessed to have a lesson with one of our investigators at a members home and again watch the Prophet of the Restoration movie. It was great to feel the spirit and be able to recognize and testify of the truth of the message that we share with people. It was a wonderful spirit of peace and truth within that lesson. Anyone that has not seen that video should watch it to strengthen their testimony of the restoration. After that we went to the flat and made some sandwiches for the other elders and went to service. On the way the sandwhiches got all mixed up and it was really gross! BBQ sauce, cheese, peanut butter and jam all together with some lunch meat :P GROSS! lol but they ate it anyways!

We then had a lesson with Lynn about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it blesses those who follow it. I have seen my life change everyday this week from learning more of the gospel. After that we split up to go to 2 lessons and as I was waiting for my ride to come and get me I was like "a frog in a frying pan" (as L says) I was so nervous and antsy and uhg! I never thought that I would get to this "akward missionary" phase.....well......I guess I just needed to be a missionary to get to that because I was already akward! hahahahahahahah I'm growing into it and into who I am! :) God made me the way that I am and loves me for me! lol

So when my ride finally got me we went back to their house to teach George! The guy that came and got me was the Elders Quorum president (George's brother). When we went there it was great because we just had a lads night! We ordered pizza and then we talked about the restoration and George said that he might want to be baptized at the end of the month! After the lesson their dad came home and we played game called Spoons with them and that was great fun! When I returned to the flat Elder Koojiman said that Alexandra had a great lesson, that she wants her family to be taught and that she wants to get baptized at the end of the month as well! 

Transfer calls are Saturday night and I really hope that I stay to help these wonderful children of God more and see their baptism!

Friday the ZL came to weekly planning and we had a great chat with them! We were told that there is now a competition from our mission president saying that whoever gets the first picture of their companionship in the back of a Rolls Royce Phantom that he will take them out to dinner! So now we are talking to almost everyone about where we can find one! Anyways, later in the day we had a great lesson with Rob & Jackie!  They opened up to us and he let me play his electric guitar! I forget the kind but it was nice once again to pluck the strings and hear some music from home! 

Saturday was good, had a meeting in the morning in which we discussed the needs of the zone and how we can help the mission become better. Lately there have been many rules that have been put out and some missionaries are getting stressed with all of the more restrictions and so we discussed how to help the missionaries understand the blessings of obedience to these rules and how when we do that it supports our priesthood leader! After that meeting we went home and it POURED! There were warnings for the area about excessive rain and I must say that they definitely were needed! As we got into the train station it just chucked it down on the roof and it was so loud that we could not hear each other speak! Then we saw some pirates.....or rather people dressed as pirates!  When we got home we just worked in the rain!  GREAT!  I think I might grow some gills soon if it doesn't let up lol

Sunday was pretty good! We had correlation in the morning, we sat with Alexandra and her fellowshiper Beth during church and then had a good lesson in priesthood! I understand more now the need of being obedient to mission rules and supporting our leaders.

So that's my week! I hope that you all are well and HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!

Love you

Elder Dotschkat

Lessons with Superheros & Don't Eat Pete!

Heya everyone!

Monday I told you about the bike ride and how grueling was ... Just kidding I loved it!  In the evening we had a great lesson with L about the restoration of the church. The DVD flopped out on us .. seems like I can't trust technology lol.

Tuesday - the most exciting part of Tuesday was the lesson that we had with Alexandra. She is doing a lot better now and is so strong with all of the troubles that seem to come her way. We brought the stake patriarch to the lesson with us and it was great that he said that no matter what happened that the ward would be there to support and uphold her. I can see that he meant it because I felt the spirit as he testified that God loves each one of us.

Wednesday we had district meeting where we watched some motivational videos and the general message was that everything that is worth something or is desirable is hard to get but valuable beyond comparison. Just think ... gold, diamonds, jewels and all of the treasures of the earth have taken time, pressure and effort to create them and they take that much more effort to harvest them. The point is that something definitely might not be easy but it is entirely worth all of the effort to attain it! In the evening we had a great tea and visit with the George family. We went over there at 7:30 and before we knew it time was passed!! It was great to have a conversation about how life's ultimate blessings are received after faithful diligence and work to the goals that we set for ourselves. After tea the Elders Quarum president drove us home in his new BMW and let me say .. I liked it! Work for one in the future possibly!?!

Thursday was a good day. During the morning Elder Simon and I went and got new watches and mine said "no fear". I read 2 Timothy 1:7 and it made me think that I have the opportunity for a wonderful future ONLY if I live life in the present, appreciate the past and have goals for the future! I can't live in the past because the world will pass me by and I will stay the same. Change is scary sometimes but always necessary. The gospel isn't one one of being happy where you are at and sitting on your bum! Its one of service, work and dedication to the Lord to help him achieve the goals he has for his children. If we let him, we can and will be marvelous tools in His hands and reach our ultimate exaltation! My thoughts every now and again during the day had passed to the thoughts of my wonderful mother. I am so grateful to have a mother like mine. I feel so blessed to be able to have such a wonderful family who cares for and supports me no matter the mistakes I make because they love me. I feel blessed and thank Heavenly Father every day for the knowledge that my family is eternal. During the day my companion and I worked on finding new investigators through our former's sheets and we got two return appointments this week! In the evening we had tea at the D family's house and they made us homemade fish and chips YUM! And then we had a great lesson with Alexandra again and we were able to have the spirit guide us as to what to say and do in her behalf. I know that the Lord blesses those who study with knowledge returning again to them in the moments they need it.

Friday was a PARTY! I can't believe that it has been a year that I have been in England on my mission! Time has flown by and it feels so weird! It made me think about the type of missionary I want to be for the next year and has made me understand more that I have to work harder and magnify myself so that the Lord can work with me to help me become the man that he desires me to be. I know that the Lord can only help me to become something great if I let him. Fear and doubt are the opposite of faith and if I am scared of the future how I am supposed to have the moral authority to invite people to have faith? How am I supposed to help people understand something unknown until you experience it unless I know what I am talking about! It doesn't make sense so from this point forward I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WITH FAITH! I may slip up every now and again but I have a determination to be better and to improve daily!

Saturday was the day that I was looking forward to all week. I was so excited to be able to just have fun! So in the morning we took some time to get ready and to re-evaluate what the spirit is guiding us to teach all of our investigators. We felt confident that the Lord was with us so we departed into the unknown world (lol). We had a pizza lunch with Rob & Jackie and just had a great chat with them about going back to the basics. We talked about how we have to build ourselves upon correct principles so that we would be able to help ourselves grow right! We talked about how the decisions that we make affect our families and how we have to make the correct ones to bless them. We talked about Helaman 5:12 and how when we make the right decisions the Lord will stand with us and always will be there to protect us and life is up! After our lessons with them we had a great couple of hours with the Royal Evitt family and George. The main reason that I was excited for this lesson was because of the way that we were teaching it ... with SUPERHEROS!!! We brought my Kinder egg superhero team and got little Mikey who is seven to choose who each one of us were. I was Ironman, Elder Koojiman was Hulk, Beth was Thor and mom was Venom hahaha.  So we taught the plan of salvation with a great discussion on why we feel it is so important and then we had pizza for tea! More pizza lol! I also brought over my onzies and was going to take a picture with little Mikey in our matching Hulk onzies but he didn't want to :(  That's ok, maybe some other time lol.

Sunday was a great day! The best part was that our investigator George bore his testimony!!! He is doing so great and I absolutely enjoyed his testimony.  He said that he thinks that the church is true and that he can see himself being a part of something so great! After church we went and saw Allen, one of our investigators that we had lost contact with for a while. He is doing alright. We just sat there and listened to him talk about his life. Lets just say that it makes me so grateful to have my standards that I was raised with and this wonderful gospel in my life! It has saved me from making some decisions that wouldn't just impact me for the moment but for my entire life. I am so happy to have a testimony of change. It is possible to change and be the people that we are meant to become. After that we had a good lesson with brother Land and Emily and we just talked about how important it is to study. We can't find answers unless we study and search for them!

Now for yesterday! We had a very different and interesting p-day! Sorry that I didn't write yesterday but we had an emergency. Sunday night Alexandra texted us at 12:30 and said that she needed to talk to us. Then when I saw the text it was early in the morning so I left to call after 10:00. She then called us and asked if we could see her and talk to her so we set it up to see her at 2:00 in the afternoon. For the next hour we were looking up scriptures on finding strength and faith in the Lord to help her. Then we cleaned up the flat (don't be surprised but I mopped lol) After that we had a quick lunch of cheesecake and meat sandwiches. Then we got some quick groceries and went to meet up with Alexandra. We met her at the park to be able to talk to her. Then for the next two hours we just listened to her and there is great news. She still wants to be baptized and she says ASAP. So we are expecting in the next few weeks one of the biggest miracle sof my mission. Heavenly Father truly answers prayers. After that we rode on a bus with her to the Royal Evitt's home for FHE. We showed up way early so Elder Koojiman and I went to a park and played on a flying fox! We were doing that for about 20 mins and then it started to POUR! When we had finally made it back to their house we were SOAKED! Luckily we put some p-day clothes in our bags! So we got changed and had a wonderful tea! It was so delicious! Then we watched the Prophets of the Restoration video on their projector screen. That was great! We just sat there in silence and let the spirit to work within George & Alexandra. I know that they felt the spirit because I definitely did! I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. After the video we played Don't Eat Pete! Haha its a game in which you try to eat all of the candies before you eat the one that is Pete. During it we started to make the game a little more interesting by putting English mustard and chili seeds on the candies. It was so gross! It tasted like rotten soap! (I don't know what that tastes like but I am assuming it is as horrible as what I tasted!) Then when we were full of sugar and laughter Brother Royal Evitt drove us home! I was so grateful for that because it was chucking it down!

So that's my week! Until next week!
Love you all
Elder Dotschkat