And He's Home!

En route home ... a final selfie of the missionary

As the flight continues ... excitement builds!

Waiting (im)patiently!

HE'S HOME!!!

Letter from Mom posted on Facebook - May 12th

I just posted Elder Zachary Dotschkat's final letter home. He returns from his two year mission to Leeds England on Thursday night. You can see his final post on his blog. He will be speaking in church at 9am on Sunday May 17th.
I'm certain this is a bitter sweet moment for him as it is Wednesday morning in England and he is waking up to a transfer to the mission home where he will bid farewell to the Mission President & his wife and the missionaries that he's grown to love. He has made many  many wonderful memories and he has met many many amazing people ... How grateful we are that he has had this opportunity. How grateful we are that he has been in the hollow of His hand. How grateful we are that he is coming home.

This is my final letter home

As I contemplated with much thought and effort the last thing that I want to be written down so many great and wonderful experiences have some to mind but how can you summarize the miracles, mercy and love for god that you experience over 2 years? It must needs suffice to say a few words further than what I have already expressed before. 

I want to thank all of you, each one of you for your support, prayers and continued love during this wonderful season of my life and as it comes to a close I can look back on it with fondness and see that I did my best, I gave it my all. All my heart, might, mind and strength. The only way I was able to do this was because of you guys :)

Thank you for continuing to help me and strengthen me into becoming the man that God wants me to be. I feel that I have got to know my Father in Heaven more, and even though I do not know him perfectly I am grateful to know Him better than I did before. 

I know that the Atonement is a true power to all who utilize it to helping them make more of themselves through the love and power of Christ, more than they could do by themselves. 

I thank my Father daily for the special people that I have met and the wonderful experiences that have made me grow into who I am now. The good and the bad are both as necessary as ying and yang because one is not complete without the other. We cannot measure joy or know joy if we never experience the trials.

I know that God answers prayers. The earnest and sincere seeker of righteousness and truth will always have that assurance that what they ask for, if it be right and in the name of Christ, it can and will be theirs according to their faith. 

I am thankful for all of these wonderful things that I have learnt and the many things that I continue to learn and I look forward to the day when I will see my Savior and can thank him for all that he has done for me :)

I love my mission.

I love my family.

I love God and Jesus Christ.

and I love each one of you. You are important and you are children of God.

2 Timothy 4:7- 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith!

Have a great couple of days!

See you all soon and looking forward to the onslaught of hugs and smiles! :)

Love always and forever!

Elder Zachary Lee Dotschkat

Happy Mothers Day

Hey guys!
So here's hoping that you have had a great week just as much as I have and I am thankful to God for the blessings that he has given and continues to pour out on His children.

So to put it simply, this week was full of some great times and full of some great joys!

On Monday we went to the MetroCenter in Gateshead to do a little shopping and it was good fun. The place is massive!

On Tuesday we had a meeting with President Pilkington at our District Meeting and it was a good time to be able to have him give us some great advice. We discussed the importance of diligence in all aspects of missionary work and what we can do to encourage and grow in our diligence. After the meeting I was on exchange with Elder Jardine and we had a blast! We went and taught one of our investigators and they talked about how to take care of horses and let the gospel into your life as well. That night we had a great talk and got to know each other a lot better. I guess needless to say the biggest thing that I had learned was that God works in very mysterious ways.

On Wednesday the biggest thing was the funeral for one of our investigators. It was a very uplifting service (as far as funerals can go) and many people were very touched by the words that were shared. It is sad to see him go but we know that he is in a better place now :) Later in the day we had a good time discussing the gospel with his family members and friends that met at his home later in the afternoon. 

On Thursday we helped some wonderful members with their horses and had some good fun with them. Elder Jardine was in his element there and it was great to see him happy. It was really good to also have a great talk with the members about missionary work and how we can all participate in our own individual way with it.

On Friday we had the special mission meeting in Leeds where we found out that we are going to be 1 of only 86 missions in the world that will have the opportunity to be a "test mission" for iPads and to see how they help the work. We are going to be the ones that help this work go forward in the technological age. The biggest thing that stood out to me that day is that I feel very privileged and blessed to be in my mission at this time under the direction of President Pilkington. He is a great man and I know he is called by God. 

On Saturday we had a full day of finding and boy! it was a pretty good day. We went out to a little village by the coastline and it was very beautiful to see the wodnerful sandy beaches. We met a few really nice people but alas did not meet anyone that desired to hear the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the evening we had tea with a member and her husband and played a fun board game after with them. It was a great time to get to know them both, especially after she admitted to us that she is from Edmonton . 

On Sunday we had a great time at the Carlins and watching the Mountain of the Lord dvd. It was a great time to be able to explain and expand our knowledge of the restoration and feel the spirit empower us as we watched the film. In the evening we had a great missionary meeting to discuss the developments of the work in the branch and how we can help to move it forward. 

Well thats my week!

Staying focused and working hard!!!

Leave it all in the field!

Have a great week!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL THE WONDERFUL WOMEN IN MY LIFE! :D

Love 

Elder Dotschkat