Week 6 - Snow has fallen!

Happy Columbus Day! 

This past week has been a rollercoaster! My companion and I have been juggling various sicknesses this week, so some days we stay in, and other days we're out meeting and helping people. The days where we stay in tend to consist of a lot of sleeping and taking medicine, and the days where we go out have a lot more variety. We often do little service projects in the morning like moving wood or helping out on farms, and I'm proud to say that I haven't yet stepped in any cow manure. I'm sure that will come soon. In the afternoons we have a couple different options: we can either walk around the more tightly packed neighborhoods to knock on doors and meet new people, or we often have appointments set up. We usually get invited over to someone's house for dinner, and then we have more appointments in the evenings.

We have quite a few people that meet with us pretty regularly to learn more about our church, and we also have a lot of members of the church that invite us over to meet them and eat with them. I've really enjoyed getting to know people here! They're super down to earth and are willing to give you the shirt off their backs. Since my companion and I have been a bit under the weather, we've had tons of people offer to send us soup or give us baked goods. I'm definitely getting fatter. I can feel it. My companion says I'm just imagining it, but don't be surprised if Elder Doyle comes back looking like a balloon. 

Yesterday we took a trip up north to hike with other missionaries in the area, and it was gorgeous! The part of Idaho that I'm currently in is technically a desert, so there's very little rain and very few trees. But up north we hiked through a beautiful forest, and there was a fresh layer of snow! I think I finally figured my camera out, so hopefully I can add some pictures. 

Weekly Challenge: This week, try to find out something new about your ancestors. It could be as simple as calling up a grandparent and asking for a story about his/her family, or it could even be finding out where your name comes from. I've really seen the benefit of feeling connected to your family, even those members who you may have never met.

Thanks for all you guys do! I pray for you and hope you have a fantastic week!

Sincerely,

Elder Doyle

The view from basically anywhere in this part (the southwest) of Idaho

A hike in the mountains with forests and snow!

Hike in McCall Idaho (Elder Doyle and Elder Bacon...being goofballs!)

I purchased a Kangaroo Onesie at Walmart. Possibly the best purchase I've ever made.

Week 5 - One month out!

Howdy Ya'll!

I apologize in advance if I start using Southern slang more and more over the next few months. Elder Bacon, my companion, is from Texas and he insists that I'll be talking like a true Texan by the time he's done with me. I'm trying to resist. But life here in Fruitland, Idaho is great! Everyone is so nice here and sometimes we'll have people of other religions call out to us on the street and ask if we want water or anything. I'm starting to know my way around a little better, and that's been super helpful. We have a GPS in our car (our car is a 2015 Chevy Equinox btw) but it usually says our destinations are a few blocks from where they really are. Still better than nothing though! There are a couple things that have made this week especially great:

1. We were fed pizza 3 nights in a row. That's right. Pizza. My favorite food. 

2. Plenty of people play volleyball here! In fact, I think I'm going to play after I finish writing this. 

3. General Conference happened! For those of you who don't know what that is, it happens every 6 months, and it's a big televised conference where the leaders of our church speak. It's always super inspiring and uplifting, and this one seemed to be even more inspiring/uplifting than usual. 

I don't have tons of time, but I wanted to share that I've really felt God's hand and influence in my life this past week. These first few weeks have had a lot of ups and downs, but it's felt like God has known that and has given me exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it. Sometimes it's a song that will come on in the car when I'm feeling down, or sometimes I'll get a card from someone when I'm feeling a little homesick. Hopefully that makes sense. I know God is looking out for all of us, and everyone can receive that same help from Him. Look for the little things God does for you. 

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Hopefully these things aren't totally weird, and I hope people are having good experiences with them. This week, I challenge you to write in your journal. And if you don't have a journal, start one. I've written in my journal a lot recently, and it's been a huge blessing as I've been struggling with some things. So try it out, and hopefully it can help you like it's helped me. 

As always, stay in touch! I'd love to hear from you all. Letters probably work best, just because I don't have much time on email. The address to send any mail to should be in last week's post. I think about you and pray for you daily! Stay classy.

Love,

Elder Doyle

 

 

Week 4 - Emailing From Oregon!!!

Howdy Y'all!

I finally made it! On Tuesday, I left the MTC (missionary training center) at 4 in the morning, and landed in Boise, Idaho around 10 a.m.. After meeting with other missionaries and the Mission President (the guy that kinda oversees the whole mission) I got assigned to serve in Fruitland, Idaho. We drove there that evening and I've been here ever since.

Fruitland is a little town right on the border of Idaho and Oregon. We cross the border a couple times a week. In fact, we email from computers in Oregon. Everyone in Fruitland basically works at 4 different places: you either farm, you work with potatoes in some fashion, you work at the prison, or you work at the hospital. There are a few exceptions of course. A lot of people work graveyard shifts, so schedules around here are pretty difficult.

People out here are super nice and friendly, and members of the local Mormon congregations feed us every night. There are 4 wards (or congregations) in Fruitland, and my companion and I cover two of them. We have a car, so we travel around meeting with people and trying to help them in any way. That might include doing yard work, teaching them more about God and Jesus Christ, or helping them eat their food haha.

My companion's name is Elder Bacon, and he's from Texas. Cool last name, I know. He's been here in Idaho for 6 months, but neither of us had been to Fruitland before. We're the first missionaries to be assigned to this specific area, so there's lots of organizational and logistical stuff we've had to do. I'm still getting to know him, but Elder Bacon finished college already, so he's quite a bit older than me. He loves to dance and went to school for applied mathematics and physics. He's got a lot more experience than me, so it's been interesting to learn from him. I would send pictures, but I'm still figuring out how to hook my camera up to the computer.

I don't have tons of time today, but I wanted to start doing something. I thought I'd end my emails each week with a little challenge or commitment. It'll just be a little thing, and shouldn't take much time, but I'd love to hear from people about how their experience with the commitments go. And feel free to share this challenge with your friends! This week, find someone who is struggling. It could be with school, work, family, health, etc. I challenge you to pray for them, and then find a way to go out of your way to help them. It might be to drop off cookies or mow their lawn, or maybe just be a listening ear. Can't wait to hear your responses!

Oh, one more thing! I can respond to letters a lot more easily than emails, so feel free to write! The address to send any mail to is 1370 Caldwell Blvd. Ste. 300 Nampa, Idaho 83651

(Jack only has one hour a week on the computer so he can't always respond to every email. He can however write and receive letters every day.)

Thanks for being awesome,

Elder Doyle

Week 3 - Hello Idaho!

Elder Doyle did not have a regular P-day (Preperation Day) this week because it fell on the day he was flying out to Idaho. His P-day is the day he can email and catch up on laundry, shopping etc. so he was not able to write a big email but he did get to call home and we got an email saying he arrived safely in Idaho.

He did want us to say "hi" to everyone back home. He was excited to get out to Idaho and meet his Mission President. He loved the training center and the friends he made there but is ready to get to work! :)

In his arrival email we learned that he is in a small agricultural community called Fruitland on the border of Idaho and Oregon. It is named after the many apple orchards that surround the town and is known as "The Big Apple" of Idaho. :)  His companion is Elder Bacon from Texas.

His P-days are on Mondays now and he can only respond to emails on P-days.


He is grateful for all of the love and support coming from home. He loves the emails and mail he has received and wants you all to know how loved he has felt.

Week 2 - MTC

Howdy friends and family!
  
I hope September is treating you well, and life is going just splendidly. Life really flies by here at the MTC, and I'll be in Idaho a week from today. I've gotten a lot more used to the MTC schedule, and I've gotten even closer with the people in my district. I emailed last week about a lot of the logistics and schedule of the MTC, but I thought I'd focus more this week on the fun side. Here are some of the highlights:

- volleyball every day during exercise time

- chocolate milk with every meal (haven't missed a meal yet)

- jamming out to the Prince of Egypt soundtrack every night with my roommates (if you haven't heard it, you should)

- throwing secret parties using the food people send us

-using the photo booth app on our iPads to make each other look ridiculous

(In order from left to right)

-Elder Young: my companion and one of my roommates, from Minnesota, likes reading and drawing, going to Nampa Idaho

- Elder Barbachano: our District Leader, Alaskan Native, plays basketball, going to Scottsdale Arizona

- Elder Smart: distantly related to Marcus Smart (who plays for the Boston Celtics), from Pocatello Idaho, going to Scottsdale Arizona

- Elder Dunlap: a runner, somehow distantly related to Shaq, from Virginia, going to Scottsdale Arizona 

- Elder Talbot: one of my roommates, likes to bike, from Mississippi, going to Nampa Idaho

- Sister Scott: plays water polo, addicted to Taco Bell (she hides Taco Bell sauce packets in every outfit she wears), from Utah, going to Albuquerque NM

-  Sister Wimmer: conducted her Marching Band, from Utah, going to Albuquerque NM

- Sister Johnson: stellar pianist, from the same place in Alaska as Barbachano (but she isn't a native), going to Albuquerque NM

- Sister Christopher: races motocross, from Detroit, going to Albuquerque NM

- Sister Galten: from California, likes to do California things I guess, going to Albuquerque NM

- Sister Thompson: from California, just joined the church a few years ago, going to Albuquerque NM

- Elder Martinez (crouching): my hilarious roommate from Arizona, likes sports, going to Nampa Idaho 

- Elder Bernecker: competitive dancer, from Utah, going to Scottsdale Arizona

- Elder Hallstrom: talks like a 30-year-old, plays rugby, from Washington State, going to Scottsdale Arizona

- Elder Oldroyd: we call him Father Oldroyd because he acts like a dad, football player, from Washington State, going to Scottsdale Arizona

Love you all! Email me with any questions, or if you just wanna. I can read emails any time, any day. I just won't be able to respond after today(till next week). Next time you hear from me, I'll be in Idaho!

Love,

Elder Doyle

Week 1- MTC

Hello my people! 

Tomorrow I will have officially been gone for a week,
and boy has time flown. Just an FYI for anyone trying to communicate
with me, I can only email and write letters on tuesdays, at least for
the next couple weeks. I can still read your emails and letters on any
day though, so don't think that I'm ignoring you. Currently, I'm here
at the missionary training center (MTC) in Provo Utah, where
missionaries learn how to be missionaries before they're actually
doing missionary stuff. It's basically a college campus, but everyone
here is getting ready to go to their separate missions throughout the
world. When you get here, you're assigned a companion, which is
someone who you room with, go to class with, eat with, etc. You
basically become their conjoined twin. My companion is named Elder
Young, and he's from Minnesota. He loves to read and draw. He's pretty
quiet in public, but he opens up a little bit once you get to know
him. We go to a lot of classes and such to learn about how to interact
with people and basically how to help people find happiness. Here's a
rough schedule of the average day here:

6:30 a.m. - wake up and get ready for the day
7:15 a.m. - daily planning with your companion
7:45 a.m. - breakfast
8:30 a.m. - class
11 a.m. - exercise
12:15 - lunch
1:30 - more class
5 - dinner
6:30 - devotional (big meeting with everyone at the MTC)
9:30 - must be back in your rooms, prep for bed
10:30 - lights out

It's pretty exhausting, and I don't get the naps that I started to get
used to back home. But it's super fun! You're put in what's called a
District, which is about 15 people. You all have the same classes
together, so you get pretty close with them. The food here is pretty
good, but the lines to get it are often pretty awful. I was told I
might gain some weight here, but I actually wouldn't be surprised if I
was losing some since I've been walking so much. Well, I hope you're
all doing well. Please keep in touch and let me know if you have any
questions! Miss y'all!

Sincerely,
Elder Doyle

Elder Jack Doyle - And He's Off!!!

Elder Jack Doyle - And He's Off!!!