Durochers Ditally Dot: March 2014

Ethan's Letter/photos 12 / 2014 Viedma, Argentina March 31, 2014

Dear Family,

I have been reading a lot lately, and i finished "Our Heritage" which is about starts a little before the first vision and ends with Gordon B. Hinckley and is a brief history between these times. the other is "Our search for Happiness" by Elder Ballard. its about the gospel basically and his own testimony.

I really have gained such a strong testimony about the Mormon Pioneers and all of the hardship that they have gone through. Most of them gave up every dime that they had just to be with the church, not that they had do but they did what they felt right and it was a great test for them. like the scripture (Jacob 2:18) basically saying, before you go seek riches, seek first the kingdom of God. I really love this scripture and it has really helped me to understand the pioneers more. In a way missionaries all over the world are doing that, they put there lives on pause for 2 years( away from school,work, getting money, family, friends, dating) and leave to find Christ. I am learning so much about myself and the true nature of Christ. I made up a saying that is " A GIFT THAT JUST KEEPS ON GIVING" I have been noticing this more and more in my mission as i am helping others, because there are thousands of missionaries doing the same thing i am, and how the light of christ is shown through all of us, missionaries, members, and others. Like John Tanner who was a rich in the 1830s, gave all his money and all he had the help the church. Joseph Smith blessed the Tanner family, and even today the family doesn't have money problems. I know that the suffering that the Pioneers passed through is the best example of what we can do. We often say, " we can even imagine going through those trials that they went through" and really we cant but we can learn by there Faith in Jesus Christ to do our best with the blessing we have. We aren't getting chased out of our homes, killed, attacked, beaten, tarded and feathered, and many other things because of our Faith and our Religion. We can do more. Be happy, be courageous, be valiant, be smart, be strong, be humble, BE NICE (Durochers to your significant other!), BE thankful, and BE the best you can be!!!

We have so many great opportunities in this life to be the best that we can be. We have been given the greatest blessing in the world which is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We can receive forgiveness from Christ, and we can feel lifted in all that we can do. His Atonement help those Pioneers to be able to continue walking, continue doing what they knew what is right. I know that we all have trials and not one person on this earth know what is going on exactly in your life, and most the time YOU YOURSELF doesn't know what is going on, but CHRIST DOES, he Atoned for all the sins of the world, but also for every pain that we have, every disappointment for any possible feeling that is some sort of weight on our spirit. He loves you and already suffered for our sins and these things. Some people think, " but i didn't ask him to do that!" but in reality we knew he was going to atone for it, when we were all in the heavens when Heavenly Father proposed this plan, and we all jumped up shouting for joy saying "YES!" that we were happy to be able to become like God and Christ, through Christ we can be perfect and live with god again. I know this to be true and am a witness, because i can feel it every time we say in contacts, " Hi, we are Representatives of Jesus Christ..." I know that i am HIS missionary for these two years. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I know that Christ lives. and i say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all!!!!

Con Amor Elder Ethan Charles Durocher!

with the keys, our branch president is a lock smith and it was fishing for keys and to see how many you could get in a minute, it was harder then youd think.

ballons- we had to keep three ballons in the air only using one had for as long as we could.

Ping pong/mesuring tape/cups- was to role the ball down the measuring tape in to the cup from a distance. way harder then it looks and the older gentleman was the only one to get to the second cup. (yes thats my blue plaid shirt... :( it was huge on me so i gave it to our branch president)

my bed is the best money can buy!! and my study area.. ha and me.

Morgans Letter 11 / 2014 Kona, Big Island, Hawaii March 24, 2014

Aloha,

I cant believe im here again at the computer, sending an email home. It doesnt feel like another week has passed by again, it just goes by so fast.

This has been another great week, Mom sent a picture of us at the Baileys home. We had dinner with them, and they showed us how to make Parachute Cord Bracelets. Just like Bear Grylls always wears in case of an emergency. So i made a bracelet that has 20 feet of Para Cord woven into it, the cord is tested for 550 lbs of strength. Pretty fun stuff!

So we had a lot of Amazing Lessons this week! To many to tell you guys about. But i will mention a couple of them. So we had a lesson with the Salvador Family, we just got a new senior couple, the Guinns from Washington, so they came to the Lesson with us. We Taught the Plan of Salvation simple enough that the 5, 8 and 9 year old could understand. Which that is my favorite way to teach anyways, because thats when the Spirit is the most strong, when its simple and they understand it. I love a quote from Preach My Gospel, “It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it.” The kids are so smart, they all understood the Plan perfectly. We were able to Bear Testimony of the plan, and especially of how important the Family is in this plan. That they are on the right path heading to the Celestial Kingdom, and they have made so much progress, but they need to stay strong. We bore Testimony on How much we love their family, and how important they are to us. Thats why we come over, because we know this will bless their lives so much. It was really an amazing experience to be their, i wish you all could have been a part of it.

The next lesson we had with Conrack. He is going to get baptized this Saturday MArch 29, at 4:30 pm. Please continue to pray for him. But we went over the Baptismal Interview Questions with him. He is so ready, he has such a powerful Testimony of the Gospel. And im so excited to be able to be a part of His Baptism. After the Interview Questions, we were just talking to him. And he was talking about the Word of Wisdom, and about how messed up his family is because of Drugs, and he doesnt want that for his kids. I was able to share Dads story, about him completely changing his life around, and giving up all those things, and joining the Church. And how much of a blessing that has been. It was awesome experience with him too.

We had Ward Conference and just got a new Bishop. Me and Elder Moala are going to stay together another Transfer!! YAy!! So im super glad i will get to stay in Kona for another 6 weeks! :) I love you all, thanks for Everything!

Love Elder Morgan Durocher

Ethan's Letter 11 / 2014 Viedma, Argentina March 24, 2014

Dear Family,

We has a district conference yesterday, we have 3 branches in our area so 3 churches or wards but called branches. President Parreño was there with his wife and we had 2 hour meeting in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. It was really good to hear the talks. Pres. Parreño gave an example on tithing that i liked a lot. The God is our Trainer and Coach, he knows what exercises we need. Tithing is an exercise that he has given us to exercise our spirit, to strengthen us spiritually. I like this example so much. That all the commandments that we have is to strengthen us spiritually and we have the best trainer in the world to help us to do that.

Thursday night i bought a bus ticket to travel 4 hours to Bahía Blanca to finally do the things for my Visa. After almost 8 Months i finally will be getting my Visa to be here legally. Sorry mom for all the work that you did and the stress you went through to get all the papers in to the office in time. Your the BEST!! or as people say here, "your better then bread" but really thank you mom. So Friday i was in Bahía Blanca all day running around with other elders from my group getting the paper work done and going to immigrations and other places. haha fun stuff.

I got to see Elder Hutchings, my second companion in the MTC when i was in a Trio with him and Elder Paskett. It was crazy how fast time has gone and that we have been here for so long already. I didnt have my camera to take a picture thought...

I have been reading a lot in the book "Our Heritage" it has strengthen my testimony of Joseph Smith and the saints so much! i dont have much time but i love you all and you should know that by now!!!! Love you!!!

Con Amor Elder Ethan C. Durocher

Morgan Letter/photos 10 / 2014 Kona, Hawaii March 17, 2014

Aloha Family,

A fun week here in The Big Island! So the Baptism we were hoping this week did not happen. We went to go see the Salvador family, and we all agreed the kids weren't ready yet. They didnt make church, and were still working on the lessons, and it just kinda came up fast. We are hoping to have the Baptism in the beginning of April sometime. To make sure they area all fully committed to it. We had a few lessons with them this week. They really love to learn, and have us come over, we have a lot of fun over there.

The other person were working with, Conrack, is set for March 29. He wanted to move his Baptism to that day so that friends and family could make it, Which is a perfectly good reason. So were reviewing the lessons with him and his daughter again, to just refresh on everything. He is super awesome. Im so grateful the Lord blessed me to be able to be here for his Baptism. I know its not anything i did, or could have done, that caused him to finally get baptized after years of investigating. But it was Heavenly Father that made things work out perfectly for that to happen. I am still amazed everyday in the Heavenly Fathers perfect timing, and how things work out.

This Saturday we met up with 2 other Elders to go to dinner. All of us wanted to go to a special Sea Food Buffet. Its like 1 of those things you gotta do once, just so you can try it out and have the experience. The reason i say that is because its $40 a person, plus tax, and Tip. We had been saving up for it, cuz thats pretty much all the money we get for the week, but we wouldnt need to eat the rest of the week after a buffet like this. So the Buffet has All you can eat Crab Legs, Shrimp, Steak, Chicken, Fries, and tons of other fancy foods, but those were the main selling points. So we were their, and we saw a Member of our Ward, The Comersarios. They are the Member we Skyped home for Christmas at their house. They came over and talked to us, and sat at the table next to us. We got up to go and pay for our dinner and head back home. We get to the place where you pay, and they told us that someone already paid for all of us, The Family over their, pointing to the Comesarios. So we went back to thank them, and offer service or help with anything they need. They are such a nice family! We found out the next sunday, that when the Comesarios went to pay for their own meal, someone had already paid for it. Another person at the Buffet who knew the Comesarios paid for their meal.

We just got a new Senior Couple in our Ward, Elder and Sister Guinn. They are from Spokane Washington, they are full proselyting. We had a meeting with them, and the Bishop, to talk about the Ward, and how we can all work together to push the work forward. It was a really great meeting. They are so awesome, Senior Couple Missions are awesome! I cant wait for the Day when i can serve a senior couple mission, or many senior couple missions. You dont have to worry about transfers. You can still go to the movies, and swim at the beach, and talk to your family every day. Haha when people say " Your going to Hawaii?" " Thats not a mission, thats a Vacation!!" People would tell me that all the time. But for the Senior Couples, thats totally true!!

Im Sad that i will not be able to see Granda Wanda again in this life. I was crying a little bit as i was reading the email, but The Spirit overwhelmed me with Comfort, and i know that i will see her again. I know shes from the Pain and Suffering of this life. She has reunited with those that have passed on before her. I loved her so much, i have so many cherished memories with Grandma. She was a great woman, and her example will shine to all who knew her.

Love Elder Morgan Durocher

Robin Bailey from Kona, Hawaii, is showing the 4 missionaries how to make the parachute cord bracelets! This family has been such a great example of supporting the missionaries in her area, but she's grown especially attached to Morgan! He loves her family as well and has invited them to come to Utah and stay with us! Sweet! So glad to know he has people watching out for him! Thanks Robin & family! They have a son serving a mission in the Phoenix area right now.