Week 31 - 70s and baptisms... but not 70 baptisms! :)

Hi Peeps!

It's been a great week (or 2 weeks)! General Conference was THE BOMB, and the good times have just gotten better. I don't have a ton of time, but here are some highlights:

General Conference: we got to hear and sustain our new prophet, sustain two new apostles, and hear some awesome new steps the church is taking to help us become more like Christ! I'm so grateful for modern revelation and for the Holy Ghost! I felt so on fire after last weekend. If any of you didn't catch any of general conference, I invite you to take a look at lds.org!

Elder Natress: we got a visit from Elder Natress of the Quorum of the 70! It was like the general conference train just kept on rolling! He really gave our mission a boost, and I'm excited to see what cool things come from it.

Sokmon got baptized!! It was such a great day, and it her words,  "it's so excited it feels like I'm getting my marriage!" The Spirit was so incredibly strong, and she's gonna be an awesome addition to the ward.

I love you all and pray for you! Keep sharing God's love with everyone you meet!

Sincerely, 

Elder Doyle

 

 

Week 29 - "God hold me in His hands"

ជំរាបសួរមិត្តភក្តិ!

Hi! It's been another awesome week here in Meridian and I'm pumped to tell you about it! I'll just jump right in. 

We have been meeting with a lady from Cambodia named Sokmon (hence my greeting up top in Khmer), and teaching her has honestly been a highlight of my entire mission. She's so humble and sensitive to the Spirit, and she ends up teaching me a lot. Hearing her pray for the first time in broken English made me cry, and she's an example to me of when Christ tells us to be like little children. Anyway, Sokmon has decided to be baptized! We've been super excited for her, but we were also worried that she didn't know exactly what baptism meant or wouldn't end up following through with it. But a few days later, Sokmon sent us this text:

"Last night I had a good and I can’t believed this dreamed is so amazing. I dreamed about I went to baptism then when I got up to the water and I feel in my spirit that God hold me in His hands."

Moments like this as a missionary are what make it all worth it. I'm so glad that God speaks to us in ways that we will recognize and understand. I know that God answers prayers!

This week, I invite those of you with an LDS tools account to go check out the Church's new referral system. It's super duper awesome and makes missionary work so much smoother! And for everyone, I invite you to prayerfully consider which of your friends, family, or acquaintances might benefit from the message of Jesus Christ's gospel. Once you have a person in mind, do something about it. I love you all so much!

Sincerely, 

Elder Doyle

Week 28 - Meridian is Awesome!

Good day Ladies and Gents!

This week has been filled with so many new experiences, I don't even know where to begin! Just as way of introduction, Meridian is much more urban than the towns I've been in previously. Boise was just ranked as the fastest growing city in the US, and the Meridian area (which is kind of a suburb of Boise), is following suit. I live with some local members, and they're awesome! Elder Wheeler and I are pretty spoiled. We live about 3 minutes away from the new Meridian temple, and did a lesson inside the waiting room a few days ago. We've got a Chick-fil-A and a bunch of other restaurants, so my weight can only increase. I've got mixed feelings about that.

Elder Wheeler is great! He's from Arizona, and loves music! You can often find us driving down the street in our white minivan,  jamming out to choral music like total nerds. Never have missionaries looked so cool.

For whatever reason, fire has been a common topic of conversation this past week, and I wanted to share some thoughts. Fire is often referred to in the scriptures in phrases such as "fire and brimstone" or "the fiery darts of the adversary." It often connotates pain and suffering that accompanies Satan and the choice to fall into his temptations. In contrast, we also talk about "the refiner's fire," which is the trials and challenges that can eventually make us stronger and more like the Savior. It's so interesting to me that God let's us choose which kind of fire we want to experience. We can either choose to follow Satan and experience an eternal suffering kind of fire, or we can choose to experience the heat of the fire for a short time in order to become pure and Christlike.

This week, I invite you to think about your purpose. What is your purpose in life? What is your purpose in your family? Even things as little as "what is my purpose in picking up my smartphone right now?" I think we often get distracted by things that don't matter, and we waste the precious time God has given us. I invite you to cut things out that don't help you fulfill that purpose.

Love you all!

Elder Doyle

Week 27- Happy 6 Months!!!

Hey Family and Friends!

It's been an amazing week! So much to say and so little time! But I officially hit my 6 month mark! It's been an amazing 6 months of growing, learning, and loving. I've never loved more or felt more loved by God than I have in these 6 months. I've learned so much and met so many people I will never forget. I'm so excited for the growth, love, and learning that will take place over the next 18 months!

On Saturday I received word that I'm being transferred to Meridian! It's going to be a big change from Middleton, but I'm excited to go where the Lord needs me! My new companion will be Elder Wheeler from... Arizona? I'm not sure, I haven't met him yet haha! But I'll update you next week!

We were able to hear from a popular LDS public speaker named John Bytheway this week, and I really liked something that he said. He said that Satan chooses his followers when they're idle, and Christ chooses His when they're busy at work. This week, I invite you all to fill your time with wholesome activities and service, and I promise you will be a more effective instrument in the Lord's hands! I love you all and love hearing from you!

Sincerely, 

Elder Doyle

Dakota Fielding got baptized on Saturday! Love this girl!

Played an awesome game with the Walker family in which the loser had to press his face into a pan of flour

Doesn't take long for people to find the way to my heart: sugar

The Bethel family tried to make it a little more difficult for me to leave Middleton this morning

Week 26 - February is the New January!

Quote of the Week: "Dang that snowman is ripped!"

Hello My Peeps!

It's been another great week in Middleton! Might be one of the last I have! I'll find out whether I stay or leave on Saturday, and rumor has it that I'm heading out. But for now, Middleton is awesome! We've had a few inches of snow fall almost every day this week, so we were able to do some shoveling which 1. was great exercise and 2. opened some doors for us to talk to new people! 

We've visited the one family a few times since transferring here, and the wife is a member of the church and the husband is not. The husband is a big guy with a gruff voice and I'm not gonna lie, he intimidated me a little bit. I know what you're thinking, "Elder Doyle got intimidated? There's no one bigger and gruffer than Elder Doyle!" But believe it or not, he was. Anyway, we began to share a message about the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, and the hard exterior began to melt away and the man began to tear up. It hit me that often I deny people a chance to hear my testimony or feel the spirit because I make judgments based on their appearance. It is so important that we give every single person the opportunity to hear the message of the restored Gospel!

This week, I invite you to share your family history with one of your friends or family members! We've been able to use the Family Search app on our smartphones, and it's opened a lot of cool teaching opportunities and ways to connect with people!

Love ya,

Elder Doyle

Week 25 - Winter is finally coming!

Quote of the Week: "I think someone just stabbed me in the belly button with a hot knife."

Hi Friends!

It's been a crazy week! And it's finally been getting cold! The first half of the week was sort of unusual and filled with lots of fun stuff like urgent care visits and appendicitis scares! But the last few days have been awesome! As you know, I now have a smartphone, which has given us a lot of new opportunities and ways to spread the good news! Here's a cool smartphone-related story from this week:

I was on Facebook (feel free to send me a friend request!) and found my Brother Ashdown, my ward mission leader from Fruitland! I was super pumped,  especially when I saw that we had a mutual friend! Curious, I tapped on the mutual friend and found out it was the Sister Irwin! Sister Irwin moved here to Idaho from Seattle and we've been teaching her kids and husband! To make a long story short, Brother Ashdown was the missionary that had interviewed Sister Irwin for baptism 7 years ago in Seattle. We were able to bring him to our lesson at the Irwins on Saturday, and upon seeing him, Sister Irwin started crying happy tears and it was awesome. The spirit was so strong! I'm so grateful for a gospel that lets us connect with people and make lifelong friends! 

This week, I've got two challenges for you. One, go friend me on Facebook if you'd like. I try to post inspirational messages that have strengthened my testimony and brought the spirit into my life. Second, go connect with an old friend. See how they're doing. See if you can serve them. I know that it can bring light into both their life and yours.

Love you all, 

Elder Doyle

Clearly my eating habits have gone downhill

When you're hungry enough to eat an entire loaf of French Toast #everyday

Week 24 - New Smartphones!!!!

Quote of the Week: "I'm fat, but I love being fat!" ~from a 5-year-old

Hello Friends!!

This has been a week full of new experiences and it's awesome! On Wednesday, the Idaho Nampa Mission rolled out smartphones, which has totally changed the way we're doing missionary work. As some of you may know, I'm now on Facebook, which helps us reach people who we may not be able to physically meet with. If you ever have any questions or comments about missionary work or the LDS church, please reach out to me on Facebook and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

This week, another elder and I were able to help out at a local food bank. At first, I wasn't too excited. We had made other plans, and the food bank wasn't the first place I wanted to be. But after I started to forget about myself and focused on the people I was helping, I enjoyed it so much! People were so grateful and friendly, and I thought about how this is what Jesus Christ spent basically his entire life doing. I thought about how although he lived the hardest life of anyone to ever live, he also lived the happiest one. I testify that service brings happiness.

My challenge for you this week is to serve a member of your family. It can be big or small, anonymous or not. But I know it will bring you happiness and will bring you closer as a family.

Love you all!

Elder Doyle 

When you realize you're gaining weight and need to change what you're eating​