Farewell Hull & Hello Sunderland

Hello one and all! 
Sooooo many changes and learning this week!!!!! WOW!

So guess what!?!  I'm moving!!! I'm going to the Sunderland University Area. I am training again, only halfway through this time and I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve more! President called me to be the District Leader. 

Monday I went shopping all P-day with Elder Ivins and it was so much fun!!!!! hahahah....its not what we normally do and so it was just great, got new shoes!!! They look pretty good! Then I went on exchange with Elder Coombs (Edmonton boy). 

On Tuesday Elder Coombs and I went finding all day, by some potentials, one girl is from Ottowa but we never met her. We also went to Pizza Hut buffet for lunch and almost ate them out of house and home ! HAHAHHAHAHA! So GREAT! And then on our finding we went through this really old graveyard! It was so cool! 1805 was the oldest gravestone that I remember. The biggest thing I learned that day was that we need to have patience, charity and love for those around us. 

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday in Huddersfield.  We were up at 5:22 and on a bus for 2 hours. It was great! President talked to us about the power of love and how when we rely on charity, Heavenly Father will help us. We watched these two inspirational videos. (I can't remember which ones so remind me to find the name)

Then on Thursday Elder Ivins and I went to Bransholme. We went finding.  We talked to some people that were not interested but planted seeds!!!!!! WOOOT!!!! In the evening we saw P and J, they gave me an invite to their wedding :)  They are such a wonderful couple! She is growing a testimony!!! SOOOOOO SOLID!!!! After that we had volleyball!!!! I can jump over the net!!!! :D 

On Friday we did something different! We put our names into the funeral homes around our flat as grief counselors :) 

Stake conference was on Saturday and it was so was great! The members are super pumped about missionary work now and we got refferals!!!!!! :D

The President had a fireside on Sunday.  He is so funny.  We were so excited because we had 224 people there too!  

Anyways, sorry so short !

But just remeber! 

Proverbs 3 5-6- TRUST IN GOD!!!

Elder Dotschkat

Note from Mom:

So, as noted in his letter above Elder Dotschkat has been transferred.  In the message he sent with his new address he said that he's trying hard to focus on the here and now and has felt just a little sad to say goodbye to everyone.  He's really grown to love the people in Hull, they mean so much to him and all he wants is for them to be happy.  He's growing a lot and thinks we're going to be so surprised to talk to him because he's so comfortable with who he is - he's different (I cannot wait for that Christmas phone call :)  He also said that he's really sticking to his guns now and is not letting anyone push him around, not even the drunks (not sure what that means but I have faith he's ok).  

Anyone wanting to send letters or packages for Christmas can send them directly to his flat address.  The mission home wants the letters and packages to go there so they ensure that the missionaries receive them in time for Christmas.  If you want his address, let me know (email, call or PM on Facebook).  I am unable to publish his actual address on the internet due to safety issues (as per the missionary department regulations) but am more than willing to share it with everyone. Any packages and mail sent to the mission home (the old address) prior to this will still get to him and possibly in time for Christmas too as they have zone conference the week before Christmas, this is just in hopes that all the missionaries get something from home in time.

Thanks for supporting our Elder.  It means so much.

M

Jared Sims & I

Moroni 8:16

So this week was pretty good :) 

We are finally seeing progress in the ward here :) 

Well there always has been, just more so now :) 

WE GOT A REFERRAL THAT TURNED INTO AN INVESTIGATOR!!!! :D

I'm happy:) This has been what we have been waiting for in the past little while :) I can see why Elder Ivins and I had gone through this time without "strong and progressing" investigators. 

On Monday it was P-Day and we watched Tarzan and I loved it! I sang to every song! Just so good! Hahaha...secretly I love watching Disney movies just for the music. Well....not so secret now :P.....Whatever.

Tuesday - We had our referral! Her name is Sarah. She is 28 I think and very intelligent. She is an "atheist" but believes that something is there. So she is doing SO GOOD! 

Wednesday - We had district meeting and I got shot in the butt with a needle nerf dart at lunch.

Thursday-  Learned more of what type of man I need to be through the example of others.

Friday - Took a nap at lunch so I appreciate sleep so much now because I am SHATTERED at the end of the day

Saturday - Miracles happen! A member gave us two more names of people they want us to work with

Sunday- The family is the single most important thing of this earth, Treasure EVERY MOMENT that you have with them. LOVE IS TRULY SPELT :T-I-M-E !

Some answers to mom's questions:

Mom: Did you receive the packages that I sent.  I sent one from the states with Sister Allen and I sent another one from Canada.  Elder D: I received the box that Sister Allen sent. You will want to send Christmas Packages by the end of the month so that they get here in time. I know that you love me and I appreciate every one of them :) 

Mom: So how is the work?  Elder D: The work is good, it is FINALLY moving forward in the ward. Got me stubbornness and bluntness and now that I have set fire to the members bums they are getting stuff done. :P 

Mom: Are you doing a lot of service?  Elder D: Not really much service anymore. We are always offering to help.

Mom: Are you still getting fed?  Elder D: Yes we are getting fed :P But feeding ourselves more often now because we had to split up tea appointments. Having take out quite a bit but not hungry at all. 

Mom: Do I need to order some food and have it delivered to your flat? Elder D: I will tell you if we need one. We also have members that will feed us in emergency.

Mom: Do you know what you're doing for Christmas? Elder D: I don't know anything about Christmas yet.  Next week are transfers.  We are going to Skype.

Mom: Are you warm enough? Do you need boots and did you get a jacket yet? Elder D: I am warm enough.  I just got new meeting shoes, and a jacket :) I look like a million bucks!  I'm going to get a new grey suit from here because they are CHEAP!  I don't know about boots yet. I will tell you if I do. 

So yeah! Those are the highlights of my week other than the ordinary threatening, yelling in my face, doors slammed, and being falsely accused as Jehovahs witnesses. Hahahahahha. I love it because there is also happiness, joy, peace, beauty, laughter, miracles, the spirit and heavenly fathers tender mercies in my life every day :) 

If you want to know what where I'm living looks like, go on google earth street view :) 

Transfers are next week so I will then know where I will be for Christmas! :) 

Love you all 

Moroni 8 :16 - " I fear not what man can do for perfect love casteth out all fear" 

Elder Dotschkat

Lest We Forget

Well Hello Everyone. First of all I want to say you are all amazing :)
I never really noticed how each one of you mean to me until I have been out here and let me tell you that I love you all! Each of you! You mean so much to me. :)

Well this week I am  going to change my letter up just a tad. I am going to say the things that really stood out to me, not each day though. Maybe if I have time.

So the two things that really stood out to me were quotes that I heard. With remembrance day being today, we had sacrament on it and it was wonderful. I am truly filled with gratitude towards every person that has, are and will serve in any military in the world. I know its quite
a lot of general statements but these men and woman have sacrificed so much so that we are able to have the freedoms we do. We remember those that make these sacrifices once a year but I feel that we need to remember them everyday. Not only them but their families who have and still sacrifice in the name of freedom. It makes me think of a
scripture, " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." - John 15 :13.

We must honor these people. Please take a moment to remember those who have sacrificed.
Listen to this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kX_3y3u5Uo

And read this :
             Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
     Between the crosses, row on row,
  That mark our place; and in the sky
  The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
  Loved and were loved, and now we lie
        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
  The torch; be yours to hold it high.
  If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
        In Flanders fields.

A quote that was said in sacrament that really touched me was that these people gave their today so that we could have our tomorrow.

Lest we Forget

The other main thing that stood out to me this week was when we were visiting with a member in the ward. They are a young couple, both converts and have two wonderful boys. I knew that the spirit was within their home as soon as I walked into their door. I could just
feel the love and serenity within those walls. Their little boy is 3 and I was amazed at how tame he was. Just a wonderful quiet little kid who takes the world in his own way. I played legos with him for a little bit as we talked to his parents and then he just turned to his dad and said that he wanted to go to bed. Then he just cleaned up his toys and left for bed. I was truly very impressed, there was no arguing or crying or yelling or ANYTHING! I want my home to be the same. These little children are in their parents hands not to be ruled over and dictated to but rather guided and helped through the trials of life. I have seen so many wonderful examples of parenting and I love each one in their own ways. I must say that to be honest, I have really started to miss you. My family is so important to me and I pray for you each night. ALL OF YOU. Individually. I know Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers still and always will because he loves us. I asked them how they had their son so.....responsible and they told me that they based their parenting of this quote.

"There should be no yelling in the home unless there is a fire " - President David O. Mackay.

I was amazed . It makes sense and this is how I want to parent. I want my children to know their limits and to make their own decisions and know that they can always talk to me about their problems. I want them to know that I love them. Family is the most important thing in this world. It is the only thing that will give you true joy. Always remember that.

Well I hope that you all enjoyed this letter home this week. I know that I enjoy reading each of yours :) I love you all. Until next week just remember this,

I love you

Elder Dotschkat

Sunset in England

Coming in from the snow

Gui Fawkes day - a bonfire night celebrating the initial attack on parliment by Gui Fawkes who didn't believe in the current political party that was in power. English people are crazy and just burn random stuff to celebrate the night while they light off fireworks. Elder Putnam standing in front of a burned out couch.

He will ALWAYS fulfill His promises to us.

Well hello! Has this week gone fast or what!?!  Like wow! I can't believe how fast time is going! Like the weeks are starting to feel like days! ( well.....almost:P) 

This week was one truly filled with miracles! I have seen Heavenly Father's hand in my life every day this week. I can feel him guiding me in what I do and how I act. I can feel his spirit comfort me to the point that I don't even know that times are rough. The weather here is starting to get CRAZY!!! I love it! Like P-day was almost cancelled last week because of the storm! 

So on Monday the most profound thing that l learned was that we need to just take life day-by-day, trusting in God and the future will turn out the way that it is meant to become! Also it stuck out to me that no matter how many times you have the spirit testify to you of something, your testimony will grow every time thereafter! 

On Tuesday I learned that I will fight for what I want. Well I didn't really learn this but it made me realize how determined I am to get what I want. Nothing will stop me, I will fight for what I want till the day I die. This is only possible if we rely on God and Jesus Christ. We can have whatever we want as long as we trust in God and do what is right .

On Wednesday we had district meeting in which we discussed becoming our full potential and it made me realize that we can only become our full potential if we trust in God and follow the teaching of Jesus Christ. He is our perfect example and if we follow him, we will become who we are meant to be and we will end up where we are meant to go. I hope that makes sense....can't tell if my grammar is bad there but yeah! That's what stuck out to me that day! 

On Thursday it was a day full of miracles and so because it was it stood out to me that miracles do and will happen, we just need to have faith. The things that we desire in our hearts that are righteous, they will happen as long as we do our part. Life has its ups and downs but if we go through the downs, trusting in God that He will fulfill his promises, then we will be so much better in the long run. 

On Friday the main thing that struck me was that we need to set goals that will make us stretch, then we need to work as hard as we can for them and the Lord will bless us. If we have faith in the promises that the Lord makes to us and do our part, he is bound eternally by his promises. Miracles WILL happen, He will ALWAYS fulfill the promises that he makes to us. 

On Saturday the main thing that stuck out to me was that we need to show that we love people more. The Savior did everything out of love for those around him, he is our elder brother and loves each of us so much that he has set a way for us to be able to return to our heavenly home. We need to lift those who are struggling, we need to help those who are in trouble. We need to follow our Saviors example, that is where true joy is found.

On Sunday the biggest thing that stood out to me was that when we have righteous desires, Heavenly Father will pour out his spirit upon us in our time of need. I learned this during our lesson with Jenine through the spirit. Heavenly Father is willing to teach us, we must be willing to learn. 

Well thats all Folks! 

Hope you are well! 

Take care! 

Love you dearly

You are in my prayers!

Elder Dotschkat

Put your trust in the Lord

Hello all! 

Its me again! I hope you have had a great week full of learning and fun because I have! 

Even though some days are harder than others, I enjoy this work! Thank you for supporting me in this :)

Don't have much time so it might be a little short so I'm going to tell you all what I learned this week.

Monday - The tender mercies from Heavenly Father are everywhere, we must look for them and appreciate each one individually. 

Tuesday - We must do all we can do, trust in the Lord and give our all to him.

Wednesday - I want to be the man that is trust worthy, responsible and an example of a righteous priesthood holder for my children.

Thursday - The scriptures and family prayer are what we need to base our families off of. "A home that is founded upon righteous principals will be a place of refuge and safety" - Preach My Gospel

Friday- We need to be honest and open with people. We must let them know how we feel and why we feel that way. If we do this we will help them learn, grow and become their full potential. 

Saturday - "I fear not what man can do because perfect love casteth out all fear."- Book of Mormon. 

Sunday - Enduring to the end is not just pushing through your trials, it is persevering through them trusting in God, with an attitude of optimism and a brightness of hope. 

So yeah. That is what I learned this week through the missionary life :) I am really working hard to be effective with every moment and not just "going through" trials but loving and learning in each one of them. I am grateful for trials because they make me into the man that I want to be and that the Lord wants me to be. I can feel his spirit in my life abundantly and I strive to keep it with me every moment of every day. The best part of being a missionary is those little moments when you can feel Heavenly Fathers love for those around you. When you put your trust in the lord and ask him for help, he shows his abundant mercy and love. The biggest thing that has stood out to me this week is how much we truly need Heavenly Father in our lives. We need to always be praying for His help and thanking Him for everything that he gives us. I thank him EVERYDAY for you and what you mean in my life, you have helped me get to this point in my life and if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here. Thank you for your support and confidence in me. I love you. Always remember that. 

Well I must dash!  I hope you all have a wonderful week where you can see how Heavenly Father loves you because HE DOES!   Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love each one of you no matter what.  And so do I.

You are in my prayers,

With love,

Elder Dotschkat

Study your Scriptures & Feast upon the Words

Well hello everybody! It is your favorite Elder again! haha....just kidding....well...I will let you all decide ;P Anyways, you all are probably keen to hear about my week! 

Monday evening Elder Ivins and I went to a family in the ward for their family home evening. They are memorizing an Article of Faith each month and so we helped them with that. It was so fun and the brownies that Sister Brown made were divine! They were so good :) In competition with a few of the women's back home!  The most profound thing that stuck out to me was that I want to hold family home evening every week with my future family and raise my future children in the gospel.

wait a minute......I already told you all about this in last weeks letter! haha :P woops....okay ...well then ... uhhh... I will start with...Wednesday! 

Wednesday - The most profound thing that I learned Wednesday was that when life seems rough and we are getting really nowhere we must look for those little miracles and tender mercies that Heavenly Father gives us. This came to me in the day because well guess what? It rained all day! I guess that just goes to show that sometimes stereotypes are true. Apparently I am extremely polite and the stereotypical Canadian man. IDK....I live with Americans. 

Thursday - The biggest thing that stuck out to me was that this is the Lord's work and we cannot do anything by ourselves. We need him to direct us and guide our thoughts actions and words. Sometimes we get too caught up in ouselves and we just need to slow down and let the Lord do his work. We need to let him help us, we need to let him comfort us, we need HIM. 

Friday - Well....now this was different! The most profound things that stood out to me were:

1 - Endure in Patience

2 - We need the spirit 

3 - Suck it up princess

I know this really isn't what people are expecting to hear from me but that's what I learnt! Friday was a tough day. Rained, cold, I wasn't feeling that well and noone was listening. Missionary work at its finest! I am not gonna lie or even fluff it up, it was hard but now that I look at it, I'm glad it was hard. I wouldn't want it any other way! Wanna know why? Its because in the end it is good for me and will make me a better man and I LOVE IT!!!

Saturday - I prayed really hard Saturday morning to have a better day and saw a miracle! IT WAS THE SAME WEATHER, THE SAME SITUATION AND THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AGAIN!!! and guess what? I LOVED IT!  I had a far better day! I know that the spirit will bless us in mysterious ways and Heavenly Father may not answer exactly how we want but he will always hear and answer our prayers!

Sunday - The most profound thing that stood out to me was that when we truly study our scriptures and FEAST upon the words of Christ, we will ALWAYS find what we are looking for. Sometimes we may not be looking for it, but we will need it later. 

Well thats all folks 

love you all

Sincerely 

Elder Dotschkat

Never Give Up. Never Lose Hope. Let Light Shine

Hello everyone! Sorry its so late. It was transfers this week and we didn't have time yesterday so I am here now and that's what matters! Haha

This week has been one of a lot of learning and testing experiences and so if I seem like I a rambling on...its because I am. Haha. I'm loving every minute of the mission though :) Gotta keep positive right? First of all, I want to tell Josh, keep your chin up buddy :) I promise that you will see some field time :) I had somewhat the same experience in rugby and so I know how it feels. Work hard, play hard and FIGHT HARDER! Love ya bud :) 

So to everyone else! This week was a true learning curve for both Elder Ivins and I. Let me explain. 

Monday - So the biggest thing that I learnt on Monday was that when you forgive someone or what they have done wrong, the love of God fills you :) So all day I was pondering the messages in the talks during conference and it touched my heart to realize that when you forgive someone for what they have done wrong the love of God fills you. Just thinking about it right now makes me feel like a burden is taken off of my shoulders. "I will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive ALL men " - Idk the reference :P 

Tuesday - It really stood out to me that we are accountable to the Lord for our time here on earth and how we utilize our time so we MUST make EVERY MOMENT COUNT! Our lives here on earth have been given to us as a gift and we must utilize the time that we have to work for the Savior. We must tell everyone we know that Jesus Christ lives and that we can all find peace and joy. This message that we have to share with the world is so important that we have a DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY to share it! 

Wednesday - The most profound thing that stuck out to me in my mind was that no matter the circumstances, we MUST remember what we stand for and who we are. We must NEVER GIVE UP. "There are times in our lives that seem dark and dreary, but these are the times that the light at the end of the tunnel will shine the brightest"- Me. Haha. Just made that up on the spot. :P Anyways though, life is hard sometimes. Trust me. I meet so many people with so many different problems and the one thing that they all have in common is they cover up the light at the end of their tunnel. We must let it shine. We must let it glow. How are we supposed to be guided and see all the beauty of life if there is no light? NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER LOSE HOPE. LET THE LIGHT SHINE. 

Thursday - The biggest change in my life this day was in the morning when I learnt what true charity was. I learnt that "charity never faileth" and if you are upset with someone, SERVE THEM! So in the morning I learnt what it meant to have true charity for your fellow man and how the love of Christ will fill you. Elder Ivins and I had a disagreement the night earlier and we were just not seeing eye to eye. In the morning as I was in the shower, he made me Bacon and Eggs :) and then while he was in the shower I made him some delicious toast (I know it sounds gross but try it! Philadelphia cream cheese and....NUTELLA!!!!) and a nice thing to drink (pineapple orange juice ) . I learned that no matter what you circumstances are, if you are upset with them, serve them!!!

Friday - I learned on Friday that we MUST always be evaluating and re-evaluating ourselves so that we can grow into our full potential and become who we are meant to be. Well we had to take a survey for the mission just to see how we were doing and so because of this it made me think ask if I was doing my best and everything that I could do to serve God. I thought about and pondered on this topic all day and realized that there is always more that we can be doing to serve God. So yeah. Do your best. If you don't know what your best is, imagine serving someone you love and how much effort you would put into making them happy. There is your start point :)  

Saturday- I learned that we must love and enjoy all of those people around us. When we are in the service of our fellow beings, the love that you have for them will show.  Saturday was different for me because well...our teaching pool has been struggling for a while and so to help us, our Zone Leaders, District Leader and his companion came and went on a blitz with us to build it. It truly made me feel loved and cared for because I was struggling trying to help Elder Ivins keep positive and a happy outlook on missionary work but because of this blitz we have 3 new investigators! If we are doing our best, Heavenly Father will hear and answer our prayers :) 

Sunday - The thing that stood out to me the most was even though we have our own fears and cautions, we must trust other people in life. During Sunday I was reading the story of Job in the Bible and it amazed me how much he trusted in God. He had all manner of afflictions and torment upon him and his family and yet he did not speak ill of the Lord. We as mortal human beings are imperfect, but if we put our trust in the Savior we can become the people that we are meant to be. We can achieve our full potential. We can do ANYTHING that we set our mind to.

Monday - Transfers day, I am staying in Hull with Elder Ivins (crossing fingers until after Christmas as well :D ). We evaluated how this past six weeks have gone and what we want to do better. We realized that there are so many things that we can do better but we can only accomplish all of these goals with help from the Lord. This is such a common fact in life because no matter what we do by our own means, we will always fall short. We must trust in the Savoir so that we can achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves. When we trust in God and plead for his help, he will raise us and help us exceed our goals. 

Tuesday - It stood out to me that sometimes we need to take ourselves out of a situation, analyze the problem and try to understand the other persons point of view. Last night during planning for the day Elder Ivins and I were having a disagreement and not seeing eye to eye again.  I thought about it for a minute and the situation that we were in and realized that sometimes you just need to step back and try to understand what the other person is trying to say. Once I did that, we both calmed down and were both trying to understand one another. If you are having a difficult time with someone, take a step back, a few breaths and listen.

Well that's all folks! That was my week.

Once again, sorry for the lateness and confusion. 

Have a good week! You are all in my prayers because I love you all! 

May Heavenly Father bless and watch over you

Regards

Elder Dotschkat