So this week was pretty interesting and let's just say that I learned a lot from what I talked with people about, the feelings that I had, the people that I met and the experiences that grew my testimony of the Savior. I know that it is always the darkest before the dawn and that if we simply trust in the Lord and his direction that he will bless us in abundance. I know that if we do the Lord's work and focus on others that all other matters that worry us and those feelings of fear will be washed away in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The atonement is not only a redeeming power but an enabling power that makes miracles capable to be performed by the children of men and by the priesthood power of the Lord's servants.I know that if we are bold and simply proclaim truth and testify to those around us of the blessings of the Gospel that they will feel the spirit pierce their hearts and have courage and faith enough to act and follow our Savior and Master Jesus Christ. I love my mission right now and the truths that I am able to learn through my trials and tribulations. I thank God each day for how he teaches me and molds me into not simply becoming someone new but refining who I am so that I will one day become like him through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So on Tuesday we had a wonderful preparation day full of laughter, relaxation, answers, revelation, reassurance and most of all the spirit. This past Pday we were allowed and blessed to spend some time with a member couple in the ward and they were loving towards us and took us to experience the culture and heritage of this wonderful country. I absolutely loved it! Since I served in Sunderland I had dreamed about traveling to Bamborough Castle! It was a fantastic journey that we had! It took a while to get there but we filled the time with heartfelt conversation and I must say that it truly helped me with a couple of questions and concerns that I had been having lately. We talked about how God will bless us with our sincere desires if we first simply desire the kingdom of God and to return to him. ( 3 Nephi 13 :33, Matthew 6:33) "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" It was a great time of reflecting and realizing that the Lord has many great and wonderful things in store for each of us and all that he simply asks of us is to trust Him, do His will and work whilst we are here in this probationary state of our mortal existence and keep the commandments.
Wednesday was a pretty good day as well! Due to the great preparation day that we had we were ready and willing to work our hearts out on Wednesday. And that's what we did! hahaha We went finding and door knocking ALL DAY! I must say that it was fairly cold but we realized that time goes much quicker if you try to enjoy it rather than try to do it simply to get it done. Life is not a race, it is a marathon of a thousand journeys and we must enjoy every moment of it because it goes far too quickly! I have seen my mission speed up in these last few months and BOY! its going fast!!! So our first 30 minutes of knocking was drudgery but we had this epiphany and we started to talk about things that we enjoyed to do or memories of good times and hand on heart the next 45 minutes felt like 10! Crazy huh!?
Thursday was the day that I learned the biggest lesson that stood out to me. Our missionary work was very busy and exciting that day and we were very blessed to be able to focus on other people rather than ourselves :) We have been working as everything is up to us and praying as if everything is up to the Lord! Because of the inward commitment that we have to the Lord that has been strengthened and become a greater resolve to do his work we were able to sacrifice some comforts for the greater good and for the benefit of others! I feel very fortunate to have an opportunity to do this work and I glory not in my sacrifices but I glory in the blessings that other people receive from our father in Heaven and I am grateful to simply be a tool in his hands to accomplish his work and his purposes. We worked pretty hard Thursday and ran from appointment to appointment to be able to see as many people as possible! We ended up needing a favor ( a ride to the next area over) from a member because we had become so busy! hahaha As we were traveling , we got lost.....Now I don't mean just a little turned around, WE GOT SO LOST!!! The member didn't even know where we were! lol I said a little prayer that "Lola" the GPS would work and guess what! 2 minutes later she stopped blabbering on about recalculating and whatever and she finally directed us to where we wanted to be. When we finally got to our destination we were given some news that could have shaken our world, especially mine but thankfully the members that we were going to visit are great friends to us and simply took care of us whilst I got my head together. They reassured me that everything would be okay and that all will work out for the benefit of the Lords servants (members included) and that I simply needed to trust in the Lord and his plan and get on my knees and talk with Him. I had been doing that lately more and feel the sincerity of my conversations with my father growing and I am grateful to have a testimony that he is always there and going to always be there for us, especially in times of confusion and turmoil. The members then made me laugh a lot with their funny stories and jokes and then we talked about their future sealing date and it made the whole situation that could have shaken me a lot better. They drove us home and it was great to be embraced in their arms and feel the love and care that a friend would have for another friend who is struggling. These people have definitely helped me out with understanding who I am, who I was and how I can become a more refined me! I love the Horton family.
Friday was the day of miracles and testimony building experiences. In the morning I go some answers and direction from the Lord and his chosen servants on how to react to everything that happened in the 24 hours of Thursday. In it I was given the direction to work about the work of the Lord where I am at and God will take care of all the other things in my life and he will watch over, bless and take care of those whom I love so dearly. I was told that I need to trust Gods plans and even though I don't understand them now that He will reveal it to me through time and that I will gain experience understanding and learning from all the experiences, the good and the bad, that I have in this sacred time that I have to serve him. I know that this is not my 2 years, but the Lords 2 years and that if I serve him, even though I am an unprofitable servant and can never repay him for what he has done for me, that He will bless me and those people I love in abundance. So that's what I did! I gave all my troubles in my heart to the Lord and focused on His work and His children. Sometimes as humans in this mortal existence of ours we forget a few things and we focus on pointing in when our supreme exemplar Jesus Christ always pointed out! We sometimes forget that we are eternal beings and that we are Gods children. Just pause a moment and think what it means to be a Child of God to you......I will give you some time.....
To be a child of God is to be the offspring of one eternal supreme being who knows all, sees all, creates all and LOVES ALL! God loves each one of us, our faults and imperfections included and it is his supreme purpose to firstly have created us , but to also help us to become like him and have all that he has. He desires for us to return to him in glory and perfection and to be able to eternally progress in the futures to come. We learn this many times in the Holy Scriptures (Moses 1 :39) but we need to learn it for ourselves! We need to learn who we are and what potential we have and then we must give a place for hope and faith and mold our desires to become like our father! When we finally do this and draw close to him, he will then draw close to us and bless us infinitely!
So....That wasn't my immediate thought, I have pondered what to say for these past few days and that's what has come out. My immediate thoughts were, trust God and he will take care of you even though you cannot see the full picture. ( Ether 12 :6, Proverbs 3: 5-6, Isaiah 55: 8-9 , Doctrine and Covenants 6 : 33-37). I had a moment of reflection and then we went to work....That day was truly miraculous! We were blessed to see 3 of Heavenly Fathers children commit themselves to coming to him through the waters of baptism at the end of February! I know know much fuller in my mind and soul that God has a plan for us, will protect and bless us and that "It is always the darkest before the Dawn"
Saturday was another day of reflection and of growth. Due to the recent days events I had given my opportunities to pour myself into my scriptures in my personal study and was very grateful to see such gems that my father in heaven had in store for me at the exact time that I needed it. I know that God is there just as I know that I exist. I know he is there because there are too many things that I experience to blame on circumstance or chance. A wise friend of mine back home once told me that " There are no such things as coincidences, coincidence is merely a name that our Father in Heaven uses to stay anonymous when He wants to bless us ". The most exciting thing that we....welll...Elder Dickson might not have been as enthusiastic about it as I was but we went to the home of a part member family in the evening and we had a great time just chatting about normal things,, getting to know them and slipping in Little snickets of doctrine to the husband during the conversation. I won't say what the topic of conversation was but let's just say that it was super fun, funny and exhilarating to talk with someone of a similar mind set and theology to my own ideas of the unknown mysteries of this great world that God has given us. If you want to know what we discussed, email me hahahhahahahhaha lol
Sunday was a day that I wa once again grateful to my mission president for his direction and guidance. The branch president came up and asked if we could bear our testimonies and for some reason out of the blue I suggested that I could give a talk on any subject that he needed.....Still have no clue where this confidence and the words that I spoke came from but the Lord. He then assigned me only a matter of minutes before the meeting to give a talk on member missionary work. The biggest things that I used as an idea was what our reaction is when we find something that we enjoy and when we find somethings that we know other people could enjoy. I used the analogy of the Peters drive in back home which is a great milkshake shop and I look forward to having one again! hahahah YUM! Anyways, I am thankful that the Lord blessed me enough to know what to say. I know He is there.
Well I must run!
I hope that you all have a wonderful week full of learning and testimony building times as I have done.
I love each of you
May god bless you and protect you this week!
Love
Elder Dotschkat
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| Grace Horsley Darling was born on November 24, 1815 in her grandfather's cottage in Bamburgh. She was the seventh child of nine. At three weeks old she was taken to live on Brownsman Island where her father was a lighthouse keeper. In 1826 the family moved the new lighthouse on Longstone. A 4am on September 7, 1838 during a violent storm a steamship struck the Big Harcar rock and over 40 lives were lost. Grace saw the wreck and spotted surviros. Grace and her father launched their coble and rowed for nearly a mile to reach survivors. Grace soon became a national heroine. She died four years later from tuberculosis. |
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| Bamburgh has over 2000 years of history. Its the ancient capital of Northumbria. Perched high on a whinstone outcrop, with spectacular views along the coast, Bamburgh Castle was a must see during my stay at Northumberland |
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