Week 51 - It's almost Hump Day!

That's right folks, in just a few days I will have been out for a year! The time has flown by, and I'm sure this next year will fly by even faster. I don't have much time to email today: but here are a couple cool highlights from the week: 7 people accepted the invitation to be baptized, we met with a Eastern Orthodox priest and his wife (they actually want to be baptized as well, but that's a long story), and we helped remodel a burned out kitchen! Tons of cool stuff! The work in Weiser is really exploding.

Sorry this isn't longer! But I love you all and I'm grateful for the examples you are to me!

Sincerely, 

Elder Doyle

Week 50 - Pics of the Week

This super cute puppy wanted us to focus on him rather than the kitchen we were remodeling... and we gladly obliged.

 

 

 

Sometimes we do our district councils up in the mountains! We found our new favorite spot this week.

 (ignore my sun-deprived white legs) The mosquitoes are HUNGRY!

Week 49 - One Transfer Down in Weiser

Howdy Folks!

I know I've said this before but golly gee, time flies! It feels like I just got to Weiser and it's already been 6 weeks! And it's been a great 6 weeks! We just had a wonderful baptism this past Saturday for Zoe Garcia, who will be starting her senior year in high school in a couple days. She's such a great example to her family, who have been going through a lot of tough stuff. 

Zoe's is awesome! I'm so honored to have been a part of her journey!

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago how there are a bunch of fires burning in the area. Bad news: they're still burning and it's pretty smoky everywhere, but Good News: We had like 10 minutes of rain the other day for the first time in months! Man, I miss the rain. And trees. But dead grass is cool too! Haha the wonderful people make up for the lackluster landscape!

Okay cool story from last week: One of the people we were teaching was having a bunch of back pain. It was keeping her from work and she was worried she might lose her job. Well we went over and explained priesthood blessings to her, and asked if she might like one. She said yes, and as we did it, she visibly relaxed. It was pretty awesome! When the blessing was over, she looked at us with huge eyes and said "I feel so much better!" The pain wasn't totally gone, but she felt peace and relaxation, and she got out of that chair a lot easier than she got into it. Miracles really do happen! I'm so grateful that God allows lame 19 year old kids like me to help do his work and see the blessings that come from the Gospel of Jesus Christ! 

Love you all,

Elder Doyle

Week 47 - A Few Pics From the Week

Pday hike up to goose falls! McCall, Idaho is gorgeous!

Elder Nicholas' last district meeting! (he's the one to the right of me)

There's a burger joint in Baker City that sells half gallon milkshakes, and every missionary that comes in has to see how fast they can eat it! Only two of us could finish it without throwing up, and I ended up getting the 4th fastest time ever! Felt awful though for the next 24 hours...

Turns out my great aunt lives in my area! It was so great to visit with a relative!

Week 46 - Sorry Smoky the Bear, I Tried!

Walmart is never more fun than while you're on a mission

Howdy Partners,

It's been another hot one here in Idaho folks! I can't remember the last time it stayed under 100 degrees during the day! And all this heat has caused a lot of fires to spring up in the area, burning a few of our members' houses and lands. It also has shut down a bunch of roads, so we've been stuck in Weiser without being able to drive to the other towns we cover.

In other news, one of my companions, Elder Nicholas, is heading home this Saturday. He's served a great mission and I've been blessed to be his companion for these few weeks. Elder Washburn and I might be getting another companion on the day Elder Nicholas leaves, so trio life isn't over! 

The work in Weiser is going great. Zoe, who accepted the invitation to be baptized last week, is doing great! The ward is doing a great job of taking her in and making her feel welcome. It can be kind of intimidating to show up to a new church with a whole bunch of new people, but a little bit of love can make a huge difference. We also had the Szary family come to church for the first time, which was awesome! 

Big news: One of the members that fed us dinner made homemade donuts. They were pretty dang good. So the three of us decided that we could try making some back at our place. After much practice, deliberation, and trial and error, we have perfected the donuts. We've now made them three days in a row, which is definitely not healthy, but it's worth it. But don't worry, we watched a lot of videos about overcoming addictions this week. We're gonna be okay. 

I hope your mouth is watering

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers! Please pray for those fighting and dealing with the fires in this area! God bless!

Sincerely,

Elder Doyle

Elder Washburn and his big mouth always get us into trouble haha

We gave a training at zone conference this week on how to fulfill your calling as a royal messenger!

Week 45 - Happy Early Pioneer Day!

Howdy folks!

It's interesting to see my life, and my mission in particular, kind of go in phases. In some areas I've served, I focus a lot on visiting and strengthening members of the church. In others, we focus a lot on helping the other missionaries. Here in Weiser, we're doing the good old nitty gritty missionary work! We walk the streets and talk to everybody and it feels good! We did some walking last night and met a bunch of new people! And we only got sworn at once! Elders Nicholas and Washburn are great companions, and I can tell this is going to end up being one of my favorite areas in my mission. 

In district meeting and throughout the week, we've talked a lot about the roles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit. It's so important that God has a way to speak to our hearts and minds, and I testify that if we listen to those thoughts and feelings, we'll be happier. We'll be more successful. And we'll be more of what God wants us to be. I've also really enjoyed studying the Holy Ghost's role as a sanctifier, and would invite anybody to do some studying on that subject as well. 

Sorry this email is short! Love you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Doyle

Blessed to serve with such awesome guys!

This is my new ride! Haha jk! But I'm totally taking him up on his offer to go dune bugging in it after my mission! 

Week 44 - It's already been over a week??

Well folks, time is flying by here in Weiser! It feels like I just got here yesterday but it's already been over a week! I'm so blessed to be serving here though! A little bit about the area: I cover about 10 little farm towns which all attend one of 5 different wards (or congregations). It takes over two hours to drive from one end of my area to the other, and most of it is just hills and hills of dead grass. I sure do miss trees. But it's beautiful in it's own way! The people here are so humble, and since the towns are so small, everyone in the town knows everybody else! We drive a truck (which I am enjoying very much). His name is Tyrone and he is currently very dirty from all the gravel roads we drive on.

My companions, Elders Nicholas and Washburn, are awesome! They're from Arizona and New Mexico respectively, and they're great missionaries! 

 

Selfies happen often when you're in the car for hours and hours everyday

 

There's a lot of potential in this area and I'm excited to be here. It always blows me away to see what miracles can happen when you humble yourself and do what God wants you to do. That goes for missionaries as well as all you normal people haha! God can make some amazing things happen when you realize that His plans are better than yours. Just last night, we were heading back to the church when both Elder Washburn and I had an address pop into our heads. Although we never found the address we were looking for, we met a ton of new people while searching! And we would have never found them if we had gone to the church! Thanks for all the prayers, but don't forget to pray for opportunities to share what you know with others!

Love ya,

Elder Doyle

 

 

Crazy wildfire right outside Weiser!