Week 36 - "Only YOU Can Prevent Bad Fellowshipping" ~Smoky the Bear

Hello All!

It's been such a great week! This Eagle/Meridian/Boise area is becoming such a special place for me! Transfers are this upcoming week so I'm praying that I end up staying for another 6 weeks with Elder Reid. But anyway, here's what's up: 

Lots of tender mercies from the Lord that have brought us new people to teach, new service opportunities, and have kept us super busy! One such tender mercy in my life was Zach! He just showed up at church last Sunday, agreed to meet with us on Wednesday, and then agreed to be baptized next month. It sure strengthened my testimony that this is God's work, and we're just here to help. Bringing souls to Christ isn't something we can do without Him! And when we run into something that we can't do without God, we lend our faith and obedience, pray, and fast. And that's when the miracles happen!

Love you all,

Elder Doyle

Week 35 - I'm Ready for Fall

Hello from Sunny Idaho!

It's been an awesome week so I'll cut to the chase and give you some highlights: 

Elder Reid and I are basically the same person. We say and think the same things at the same time, and we end up rolling on the floor laughing at least twice a day. Never a dull moment, and I'm blessed to be serving with him!

The other day, we were asked to come give a blessing to a young lady at the hospital. As I was saying the blessing, I kept accidentally calling her by her middle name! Annoyed at myself, we finished everything up and got ready to go. That's when she tells us that she actually goes by her middle name with close friends and family. I was so glad that I could be a part of that blessing, and I'm grateful that our Heavenly Father is aware of us individually!

Lately we've been going to a lot of people's houses to just share quick 15 minute messages, and let me tell ya, testifying about the Savior brings in such a special spirit. It doesn't take an hour long discussion, and it doesn't take a well-worded, premeditated speech. When we testify of things we know are true, the Holy Ghost is there. I know God loves us. I know Jesus Christ is real and alive and that we can find the most amazing happiness we've ever experienced as we access His Atonement.

Love ya,

Elder Doyle

 

Elder Reid and I make weekly videos in the mini van. Email won't let me send them, but maybe I'll release them on Netflix or something when I get home.

 

Week 33- I Love My Mission!!!!

Howdy Folks!

It's been such a stupendous week! Like I mentioned last week, I just got a new companion, Elder Reid! And he's great! We've gotten so much work done and had so much fun! We found 3 new people who want to learn more about Jesus Christ, and holy guacamole that always gets me excited. I have quite a few pictures, so I'll let them tell more about the week.

1. One of our wards had the coolest ward activity ever!!! A barbecue and rocket competition! 10/10

 

 

2. Elder Reid and I met a lady named Karen who taught school in Australia for a few years and used to hang out with my childhood hero, Steve Irwin! She even let us play her didgeridoo! One of the highlights of my mission, not gonna lie.

 

 

3. Layla Dawley got baptized (the girl on the left)! I had the pleasure to teach her in Middleton and we got pretty tight, even coming up with our own secret handshake.

 

 

4. Sokmon went to the temple for the first time! She is such an amazing example to me. And I'm so grateful for temples! I invite everyone to make the temple a bigger part of your life. And if you aren't familiar with what temples really are, I invite you to research more on lds.org!

 

 

I love you all!

Elder Doyle

Week 32 - Same Spot New Comp!

Howdy Folks!

Lots of big news! This has been an exciting week, and to top it all off, today I get a new companion! I'll be staying in the Meridian/Eagle area in which I've been serving for the past month and a half, but will now be companions with Elder Reid! He and I served around each other in Middleton, ad we're great friends, so I'm super excited. I'm sad to see Elder Wheeler leave, but he's going to do some great things down in Nampa!

As I read in the book of Luke in the New Testament, I came across Christ's parable of the Woman with the Ten Coins. For those of you who may not be familiar with it, a woman has ten coins, and loses one. She cleans and sweeps the house until she finally finds it, and she celebrates with her friends because of the recovery of her lost possession. Christ used this parable to illustrate the joy He has (and we should have) when one of our lost brothers or sisters is found and brought back into the fold. Here are a couple thoughts I had which I thought I'd share. In this case, contrasting with the parables of the lost sheep and the prodigal son, the coin was lost because of the woman's own neglect or lack of attention. Although the decision to desert the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a personal one, we never want to be a reason or driving force in someone else's falling away. We need to be diligent in helping our loved ones progress and learn more about their Heavenly Father. Another part of the parable that I loved was that by the time the woman found her lost coin, the house has been cleaned! As we help others return and grow, we often end up learning and growing ourselves! That's one of my favorite parts of my mission; I get to become a better man, brother, son and disciple of Christ as I help others do the same. I invite you all to seek opportunities to serve, and be the type of example through which others come to know Christ because they know you. I love you all and love hearing from you! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Doyle

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