Hey guys!
So I just wanted to tell you what is going through my mind right now. I just want to thank all the wonderful people that have supported me whilst I have been out here serving the Lord and say that I will forever be eternally grateful to each one of you as I look at who I was and who I am now. It is because of you that I have been able to grow into the man that I am today and I thank God for the blessing of having each one of you in my life.
I am grateful to all the men and women in my life that have taught me to have integrity and stand alone even when you are afraid to. I am grateful to those who have taught me loyalty when faced with hard decisions. I am thankful to those who have taught me compassion even though sometimes you may feel that someone is undeserving of it. I am thankful for those who have taught with God, I CAN DO HARD THINGS! I am thankful to my siblings who have taught me to love purely and to enjoy the special times and smile often! I am thankful to those who have believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself. I am thankful to those who have never given up on me even when I thought the war was lost. I am thankful to those that have taught me to express myself honestly with others and have courage in my thoughts, desires and passions. I am thankful to those who have taught me to work hard, play hard and laugh harder. Needless to say that the list can go on for eternity, but if you have been a part of my life in any way, from the bottom of my heart I thank you and wish all of the blessings of God to be upon you and your families.
God is good and because he is good we can be changed. I feel I have changed and that now I know who God is and who I am in his plan. We are all brothers and sisters and if we look at one another in that way and simply be kind to our fellow travellers in this mortal existence, then the world will be changed and be a better place because YOU were in it.
I hope and pray that you have a wonderful week!
Love
Elder Dotschkat
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Monday, 30 March 2015
Love one Another!
Hello Everyone!
Sorry for the quick email, there was a lot of mission things that I had to sort out but I will let you know that I am happy and doing well.
Here are the things that I learned this week
God is good and protects His children
God loves us, imperfections mistakes and all.
He knows what we go through and is willing to help us if we simply ask him.
As it was a commandment and still is in place to "love one another", we must also love ourselves. Took me 21 years to learn it to the point I am at now but I look forward to learning day after day about it.
God sends us to touch the lives of people for special reasons and his will always is done.
We must take care of those we home teach and visit teach so that the work of God will continue to move forward.
Have a great week!
Love
Elder Dotschkat
Sorry for the quick email, there was a lot of mission things that I had to sort out but I will let you know that I am happy and doing well.
Here are the things that I learned this week
God is good and protects His children
God loves us, imperfections mistakes and all.
He knows what we go through and is willing to help us if we simply ask him.
As it was a commandment and still is in place to "love one another", we must also love ourselves. Took me 21 years to learn it to the point I am at now but I look forward to learning day after day about it.
God sends us to touch the lives of people for special reasons and his will always is done.
We must take care of those we home teach and visit teach so that the work of God will continue to move forward.
Have a great week!
Love
Elder Dotschkat
 |
| Me on the bus! |
Monday, 23 March 2015
When the Lord says "be comforted" it is a commandment
Hey Guys!
So life is great here on the mission and I am definitely learning loads. I can feel myself change daily and I am grateful for this chance that I have to serve the children of God.
This past week was simply a really great time. I thoroughly enjoyed each day and the opportunities that I had to talk to so many different people.
So this past week was just a really good time for me to sit back and to listen to what the Lord had in store for me and those people around me. I went on some exchanges this week and it was really great to understand the needs of some of God's children and see how the gospel could bless their lives. We talked to this one couple this past week and we were quite grateful to see the husband open up and see the need for baptism in his lift to start new. I have seen on my mission the wonderful chance that baptism is so that people can feel clean and whole from the mistakes that they have made in the past and then when they enter they are overjoyed to feel God's love more abundantly. God's plan is perfect and he has a way for us to return to him in faith and peace and joy.
Then another person this week that we contacted showed me how to truly let the atonement play its part in covering all sin and in letting the past remain the past and learning from it. This wonderful person taught me that no matter what we go through, if we simply let God in, he will make up for all the things that life throws at us and will give us greater peace, understanding and knowledge from our experiences.
Then we had a wonderful discussion with this one couple and they were so great in helping us understand peace and tranquility. We read many scriptures with them about the comforts that we can have through the atonement and then I realized that when the Lord says to be comforted that it is a commandment to let His peace enter into our lives.
Well I just want to say that I love you all and know that God exists and that all will be well if we are simply loyal to the Lord and trust in his eternal plan and purposes.
Love
Elder Dotschkat
So life is great here on the mission and I am definitely learning loads. I can feel myself change daily and I am grateful for this chance that I have to serve the children of God.
This past week was simply a really great time. I thoroughly enjoyed each day and the opportunities that I had to talk to so many different people.
So this past week was just a really good time for me to sit back and to listen to what the Lord had in store for me and those people around me. I went on some exchanges this week and it was really great to understand the needs of some of God's children and see how the gospel could bless their lives. We talked to this one couple this past week and we were quite grateful to see the husband open up and see the need for baptism in his lift to start new. I have seen on my mission the wonderful chance that baptism is so that people can feel clean and whole from the mistakes that they have made in the past and then when they enter they are overjoyed to feel God's love more abundantly. God's plan is perfect and he has a way for us to return to him in faith and peace and joy.
Then another person this week that we contacted showed me how to truly let the atonement play its part in covering all sin and in letting the past remain the past and learning from it. This wonderful person taught me that no matter what we go through, if we simply let God in, he will make up for all the things that life throws at us and will give us greater peace, understanding and knowledge from our experiences.
Then we had a wonderful discussion with this one couple and they were so great in helping us understand peace and tranquility. We read many scriptures with them about the comforts that we can have through the atonement and then I realized that when the Lord says to be comforted that it is a commandment to let His peace enter into our lives.
Well I just want to say that I love you all and know that God exists and that all will be well if we are simply loyal to the Lord and trust in his eternal plan and purposes.
Love
Elder Dotschkat
Monday, 16 March 2015
A visit to North-East England and Alnwick Castle
Hey guys. So I haven't much time because I was sorting out some stuff for flights home and everything but lets just say that all is well in Zion and that I'm happy :)
Life is great here on my mission right now! I am loving everything about it! Especially the new people that I get to meet during my travels :) So this past week I have been all the way up in Alnwick on exchange and had some crazy fun driving again! It was crazy because I have not drove in nearly a year! But I did it and we are alive! So this past Monday though was seriously one of the best Mondays on my mission because I got a sweet thing to bring home with me! Someone gave me a guitar! Its got a few bumps and scratches but that just reminds me of how the mission is. You get a few bumps and scratches over time but if you tune yourself in (to the will of God) and take on some new strings (Christ like attributes) and not forget your purpose (to help other people enjoy what you have to share with the world) then you will be that much more valuable at the end of the day. You will look like an antique (not old, just well used and mature) and you will feel like a million bucks! So on Monday D, the partner of a member in the ward, took the day off work to hang out with us! By the end of the day I got a 100 pound guitar case for 35 pounds so I am pretty pumped about that!
The next two days I spent in Alnwick enjoying the North-East England countryside and the nice people that live there. I had some fun driving and even more fun talking to the great people about the history of the place. At the end of the week, I returned to Ashington with Elder Dickson and we worked ourselves to the bone! To the point that I was dizzy from working so hard! It was great because we saw success! We are now teaching a great young couple and an elderly widow about the gospel. The young couple has got a seven month old daughter who is adorable and a bundle of fun and the elderly lady just loves to chat and is scheduled for April 11th for baptism!
So this week all in all was great and the biggest thing that I learned was simply if we do the Lord's work and if we trust him that he will sort everything else out for us.
Last night I and a fantastic chance to Skype my wonderful family :) I truly do love them and would do anything to see them happy :) Funny thing! The cat ended our phone call! Talk to my mum about it if you wanna know more!
Well I must run because my time is gone and I just want to say that I love you and that you are in my prayers!
Have a great week everybody!
See you soon!
Elder Zachary Lee Dotschkat
Life is great here on my mission right now! I am loving everything about it! Especially the new people that I get to meet during my travels :) So this past week I have been all the way up in Alnwick on exchange and had some crazy fun driving again! It was crazy because I have not drove in nearly a year! But I did it and we are alive! So this past Monday though was seriously one of the best Mondays on my mission because I got a sweet thing to bring home with me! Someone gave me a guitar! Its got a few bumps and scratches but that just reminds me of how the mission is. You get a few bumps and scratches over time but if you tune yourself in (to the will of God) and take on some new strings (Christ like attributes) and not forget your purpose (to help other people enjoy what you have to share with the world) then you will be that much more valuable at the end of the day. You will look like an antique (not old, just well used and mature) and you will feel like a million bucks! So on Monday D, the partner of a member in the ward, took the day off work to hang out with us! By the end of the day I got a 100 pound guitar case for 35 pounds so I am pretty pumped about that!
The next two days I spent in Alnwick enjoying the North-East England countryside and the nice people that live there. I had some fun driving and even more fun talking to the great people about the history of the place. At the end of the week, I returned to Ashington with Elder Dickson and we worked ourselves to the bone! To the point that I was dizzy from working so hard! It was great because we saw success! We are now teaching a great young couple and an elderly widow about the gospel. The young couple has got a seven month old daughter who is adorable and a bundle of fun and the elderly lady just loves to chat and is scheduled for April 11th for baptism!
So this week all in all was great and the biggest thing that I learned was simply if we do the Lord's work and if we trust him that he will sort everything else out for us.
Last night I and a fantastic chance to Skype my wonderful family :) I truly do love them and would do anything to see them happy :) Funny thing! The cat ended our phone call! Talk to my mum about it if you wanna know more!
Well I must run because my time is gone and I just want to say that I love you and that you are in my prayers!
Have a great week everybody!
See you soon!
Elder Zachary Lee Dotschkat
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| Alnwick Castle |
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Monday, 9 March 2015
I got a FREE guitar!
Hello Everyone!
So this week was another week of good progress and great growth! I am thankful to note that I am still alive and the weather is warming up! Also I cannot believe how fast the time seems to be going!!!! WHERE IS MY LIFE RUNNING TO? Anyways, so this past Monday was another resting P-day and it was really good to work out and to rest a while. In the evening we went and saw a brother that races motorcycles and has a son in the military. Funniest thing for an umbrella holder, a used tank shell casing! I will get a picture soon lol
Tuesday we had a great day! It started off pretty great as well because the day before a brother in the ward phoned us saying that he found a guitar in his house and asked if I wanted it. So of course as you do, you say yes! And I was thinking that he wanted to sell it to me but now its proven that he just wanted to give it to me for FREE! Pretty sweet price I must say and life is looking up from here! It needs a little TLC but hey, ITS A FREE GUITAR! I won't complain lol. So the entire Tuesday was spent going to people's houses and knocking to offer service with summer coming up and people needing their yard work done :) Sadly no takers but we just had a great day of laughter and just great memories. Elder D and I feel like brothers now and I look forward to traveling to South Africa one day :)
Wednesday was great as well because the members here once again took care of me. I have recently ripped the stitching out of my crotch on my trousers on three different sets and the lovely sister offered to mend them. Needless to say, my answer was yes and I really appreciated her offer. I just simply don' thane the spare time to sew. Anyways, Wednesday's day of work was a lot like Tuesday just in a different place and it was a place that we will return to because we enjoyed the people there.
Thursday I had a meeting in Newcastle and it was great to receive some great revelation and to know the exact direction that the Lord would desire to take me in!
Gah!!! I'M OUTTA TIME!
Well lets just say that I am happy, healthier and having a great time!
Will fill you in more next week.
Love Elder Dotschkat
So this week was another week of good progress and great growth! I am thankful to note that I am still alive and the weather is warming up! Also I cannot believe how fast the time seems to be going!!!! WHERE IS MY LIFE RUNNING TO? Anyways, so this past Monday was another resting P-day and it was really good to work out and to rest a while. In the evening we went and saw a brother that races motorcycles and has a son in the military. Funniest thing for an umbrella holder, a used tank shell casing! I will get a picture soon lol
Tuesday we had a great day! It started off pretty great as well because the day before a brother in the ward phoned us saying that he found a guitar in his house and asked if I wanted it. So of course as you do, you say yes! And I was thinking that he wanted to sell it to me but now its proven that he just wanted to give it to me for FREE! Pretty sweet price I must say and life is looking up from here! It needs a little TLC but hey, ITS A FREE GUITAR! I won't complain lol. So the entire Tuesday was spent going to people's houses and knocking to offer service with summer coming up and people needing their yard work done :) Sadly no takers but we just had a great day of laughter and just great memories. Elder D and I feel like brothers now and I look forward to traveling to South Africa one day :)
Wednesday was great as well because the members here once again took care of me. I have recently ripped the stitching out of my crotch on my trousers on three different sets and the lovely sister offered to mend them. Needless to say, my answer was yes and I really appreciated her offer. I just simply don' thane the spare time to sew. Anyways, Wednesday's day of work was a lot like Tuesday just in a different place and it was a place that we will return to because we enjoyed the people there.
Thursday I had a meeting in Newcastle and it was great to receive some great revelation and to know the exact direction that the Lord would desire to take me in!
Gah!!! I'M OUTTA TIME!
Well lets just say that I am happy, healthier and having a great time!
Will fill you in more next week.
Love Elder Dotschkat
Monday, 2 March 2015
Car trouble won't get us down
Hello Everyone!
So this week has been one of learning and definitely one of hopeful progress into refining myself into who God wants me to be.
I'm at a loss of where to start with my explanation. Lets just start at the beginning of the week I guess ... thats whats only logical lol. So to remind everyone, last Monday was transfer calls and Elder Dickson and I are both staying together in Ashington for another six weeks. Then Tuesday was P-day and was a great preparation day. Elder Dickson slept whilst I worked out and listened to talks by general authorities. In the evening we saw Tony and had a great time just once more discussing the gospel and all of the blessings of living the gospel joyfully. We are now currently re-teaching him everything so that we can help him with his next step which is the priesthood.
Wednesday was super crazy but a great day full of revelation and what I believe to be the hand of Heavenly Father. So it was transfer and I was meant to go to the transfer meeting in Leeds and go on the bus but one thing and another (me first getting dog poo on my shoe and then on my suit!) happened and I ended up issuing the transfer bus and traveled down with another senior couple even though I told people not to leave without me ... note to self, when you ask something to be done, make sure you get a response! So anyways, the drive down was phenomenal time full of revelation, encouragement, answers and the spirit. I have had a few questions lately for things in my life and as we drove I confided in the senior couple my hopes, ambitions, dreams, desires, fears and plans for my mission and what I got to get done after it. We then discussed the ambitions and goals that I have and how they are achievable and definitely will make me stretch into becoming who God wants me to be. So as we were driving we ended up having car trouble and had to wait to get road side assistance. During that time, the couple told me of their history and why they were so happy. They gave the advice to immediately plan for a senior mission later in life and to work for everything that I desire. They proceeded to tell me of their life experiences and what they learned about themselves as they were going through life. AS we discussed this and many other things we deduced that a few important elements in learning from the trials of life are that:
1. God will NEVER give you more than you can handle and he will always provide a way to overcome the obstacles of life (1 Ne 3:7)
2. To always take a step back and to look at the bigger picture so that you can make educated decision based upon the needs of you and your family.
3. To always trust that the Lord knows best and that if he asked you to do something that it will always be for your benefit.
So then after nearly 90 minutes of waiting for assistance to come and save us from the roadside and the man actually giving us assistance, we got back into the car and headed on our trip again. WE FINALLY MADE IT TO LEEDS - WHEW! but the meeting was finished hahahahahahaha. At least we made it there and luckily we called people to tell them of our situation. Anyways, we stretched our legs for a bit and then we returned up the road to march north again.
Thursday was my birthday. Thank you to all those people who made it such a special day for me :) It was truly appreciated. The biggest lesson I learned that day was first - distance is better than resistance and second, obedience is better than sacrifice. In the evening we spent some time with a wonderful family and we just had a great time of fun and laughter there. The father of the house has offered to take a day off work and to take me and Elder D to a guitar shop. COOL!
Friday was good we went to an area that we normally don't go to and we went finding all day. Man that was heavy! I found a few nice shops and apparently the best fish and chips shop is somewhere around there .. definitely returning to that spot!
Saturday we went finding all day again and went out by the sea. MAN WAS IT COLD! We saw a pretty cool statue and thought that it was some unfortunate couple that got stuck out in the sea and I was laughing so hard and then Elder Dickson told me that it was statue and boy I felt silly!
Sunday was a great day. We had church and Peter passed the sacrament for the first time. It was such a wonderful moment on my mission to see a person progress to their Father in Heaven so much more. I know that this is the work of God an that he will always be there to help us:)
Well I must run! Once again, thank you for all the birthday wishes. Love you all!
Have a good one!
Elder Dotschkat
So this week has been one of learning and definitely one of hopeful progress into refining myself into who God wants me to be.
I'm at a loss of where to start with my explanation. Lets just start at the beginning of the week I guess ... thats whats only logical lol. So to remind everyone, last Monday was transfer calls and Elder Dickson and I are both staying together in Ashington for another six weeks. Then Tuesday was P-day and was a great preparation day. Elder Dickson slept whilst I worked out and listened to talks by general authorities. In the evening we saw Tony and had a great time just once more discussing the gospel and all of the blessings of living the gospel joyfully. We are now currently re-teaching him everything so that we can help him with his next step which is the priesthood.
Wednesday was super crazy but a great day full of revelation and what I believe to be the hand of Heavenly Father. So it was transfer and I was meant to go to the transfer meeting in Leeds and go on the bus but one thing and another (me first getting dog poo on my shoe and then on my suit!) happened and I ended up issuing the transfer bus and traveled down with another senior couple even though I told people not to leave without me ... note to self, when you ask something to be done, make sure you get a response! So anyways, the drive down was phenomenal time full of revelation, encouragement, answers and the spirit. I have had a few questions lately for things in my life and as we drove I confided in the senior couple my hopes, ambitions, dreams, desires, fears and plans for my mission and what I got to get done after it. We then discussed the ambitions and goals that I have and how they are achievable and definitely will make me stretch into becoming who God wants me to be. So as we were driving we ended up having car trouble and had to wait to get road side assistance. During that time, the couple told me of their history and why they were so happy. They gave the advice to immediately plan for a senior mission later in life and to work for everything that I desire. They proceeded to tell me of their life experiences and what they learned about themselves as they were going through life. AS we discussed this and many other things we deduced that a few important elements in learning from the trials of life are that:
1. God will NEVER give you more than you can handle and he will always provide a way to overcome the obstacles of life (1 Ne 3:7)
2. To always take a step back and to look at the bigger picture so that you can make educated decision based upon the needs of you and your family.
3. To always trust that the Lord knows best and that if he asked you to do something that it will always be for your benefit.
So then after nearly 90 minutes of waiting for assistance to come and save us from the roadside and the man actually giving us assistance, we got back into the car and headed on our trip again. WE FINALLY MADE IT TO LEEDS - WHEW! but the meeting was finished hahahahahahaha. At least we made it there and luckily we called people to tell them of our situation. Anyways, we stretched our legs for a bit and then we returned up the road to march north again.
Thursday was my birthday. Thank you to all those people who made it such a special day for me :) It was truly appreciated. The biggest lesson I learned that day was first - distance is better than resistance and second, obedience is better than sacrifice. In the evening we spent some time with a wonderful family and we just had a great time of fun and laughter there. The father of the house has offered to take a day off work and to take me and Elder D to a guitar shop. COOL!
Friday was good we went to an area that we normally don't go to and we went finding all day. Man that was heavy! I found a few nice shops and apparently the best fish and chips shop is somewhere around there .. definitely returning to that spot!
Saturday we went finding all day again and went out by the sea. MAN WAS IT COLD! We saw a pretty cool statue and thought that it was some unfortunate couple that got stuck out in the sea and I was laughing so hard and then Elder Dickson told me that it was statue and boy I felt silly!
Sunday was a great day. We had church and Peter passed the sacrament for the first time. It was such a wonderful moment on my mission to see a person progress to their Father in Heaven so much more. I know that this is the work of God an that he will always be there to help us:)
Well I must run! Once again, thank you for all the birthday wishes. Love you all!
Have a good one!
Elder Dotschkat
 |
| Newbiggen Couple (see why I thought they were stranded people - they look real) |
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