And another week gone (And another week gone and another week bites the dust)‏

Ya'at'eeh everyone! 

So, this week was FANTASTIC! Annnnd here's the highlight reel: 

Monday: Got to do FHE with Eric and his boy at the McCurdy's house!!! Talk about member involvement! The McCurdy's are literally the greatest. Fantastic FHE, the spirit was there, and Eric and his son had an awesome time! Woot!!

Tuesday: What a day! Awesome awesome AWESOME lessons, not too much time for the specifics, but yah. Life is good :) And the wrist is getting marginally stronger! Woot! 

Wednesday: interesting happenstance of the day: almost went and hugged an endurance biker because he looked so much like Nate Scadlock. Instead, taught him a lesson, gave him a book of mormon, and warned him about the craziness of the road to Tuba City! Hope he's still alive and stuff...

Thursday: Wow!! Awesome district meeting, awesome lessons, and got to meet some Referrals we've been trying to find ALL TRANSFER. Twas good. 

Friday/Saturday: Exchange to Dennehotso with Elder Timoteo. Awesome Elder, awesome area, awesome people, annnd there's actual TREES there. So yeah. Also stood down a pit bull, and got some AWESOME letters! Oh! Oh! Also measured my height, and I'm officially 5'7"!!! Look out world, I'm growing up!

Sunday: Flew by. Great Church meetings, great studies, then found out that the ENTIRE DISTRICT had an awesome week that night. So yeah! I'm walking on sunshine.... (Cue the music)

Monday: Got to tour MONUMENT VALLEY!!!!!! ahhhhhh!!!! pics and stuff to follow.

This was a stop we made on the tour and I LOVE SAND DUNES

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Zone Conference! (Amid other happenings)‏

Allrigiigghhgthy! So you know how sometimes you blink and suddenly an hour goes by? Picture that, but for an entire week. Geez. Annnnd here are the weekly highlights!

Monday: Found out that a decrepit vent in our ceiling had been a hideout for ~10000000000000 flies. (Cue Lord of the Flies joke, ba dum tissss). One broken fly swatter later, they are now all gone. What a rush. Also got to do an incredible church tour with Eric and his son today!!!! They weren't able to come to church Sunday, but hopefully this coming week that'll change. They rock so much.

Tuesday: Incredible Zone Conference in Tuba City!!! Learned so many great things, and gave a training on teaching simply! Went much better than expected :) Also found out my foot's been a wee bit too heavy on the gas pedal from the vehicle coordinator. So, now I'm the safest driver on the Rez. My goal is not to have a single "check your speed" from the little tiiwii box (like an electronic backseat driver) for an entire week. Should be good, even if the old shumas are passing me :)

Thursday-Saturday: Got a lot of great work done, nothing too noteworthy, except for a dlaanii (drunk) named Looking Glass stopping us on the side of the road and chatting us up for half an hour. We left him with a good message, and away he went! That's one of the saddest things we deal with out here... it's terrible knowing there's really not much we can do for them other than love them until they're sober, because nothing we say gets through when they're intoxicated... geez...

Sunday: Flew by! As usual. Didn't get a single 'check your speed today :)' Unfortunately had to drop an investigator, as she wasn't keeping any commitments... That's the second saddest thing ever. We KNOW she could feel the spirit, and we were teaching with the spirit, but no matter what we taught her, she wasn't willing to put forth any effort to change on her own. Agh!!! Agency is an incredible gift, but I think I'm beginning to understand, at least in part, how sad Heavenly Father must be when we use it foolishly.... this was cause for some introspection as to how I'm using my agency--are we doing all we can to become the men and women Heavenly Father needs us to be? This week is a great opportunity to ask, "What lack I yet?" As we do, we will get customized counsel from the Holy Ghost as to how we can do and BECOME better. Because that's a major purpose of this life: who we become. 

Anywho, I'm about out of time for this week! Hope you all have a great one! And if you're having a rough week, remember, God created us to have JOY! (Men are that they might have joy) So change what you need to, focus on what's most important, and look for the good that's all around you! I love this Gospel! Christ lives, and His gospel is on the earth today! How fantabulous is that?

Nizhoni na'ash!

Elder Kraus

5 Months! (and other happenings of sorts)‏

Ya'at'eeh everyboooddyyyy!!!

Hopefully your week has been just awesome. Because mine was. :) Allriiighhty, here we go with some of the highlights!

Monday: One of da chillest P-Days ever; sent half of the district to Page to shop at Walmart (aka rez missionary heaven, there is SO MUCH cheap foods there), recovered from the nastiness of being sick, attempted to play some guitar, and a gnarly board-game. That night, I was feeling much better, so we got to teach Eric again!!! Hopefully we'll be doing a church tour with him today, and help him to continue to progress! He's just doing awesome. Then that night it was raining a TON when we got a call to go and give a blessing at the clinic, so that was interesting. Awesome spirit during the blessing, which was great!

Tuesday/Wednesday: Went on an exchange to Monument Valley with Elder Searle!!! He's one of the greatest missionaries I know, and I learned a lot from him. Got to teach some great people out there (MV is my second favorite area in the mission, right behind K-town ;)), put Peggy on date! :D Chopped a tonnn of chizh (firewood), and did some yardwork. Also went tracting out in the actual Valley; pictures to follow. 

Thursday: Zone Training in Tuba City! Learned some fantastic things with carryover from MLC. Extremely pumped for the direction of the mission in the coming months. Typical rest of the day, finally got to teach Norman and Eilene1! That just rocked. They're an incredible family.

Friday/Saturday: Exchange with the Zone Leaders! Two of the most rockinest missionaries and leaders I know, I was able to learn so much from spending time with Elder Thompson. Saturday was an interesting one...

Sunday: Typical Sunday, just awesome sacrament meeting, got to teach some people, etc. etc.

Annd that's my week! Conference was awesome! Challenge for you all: PONDERIZE. It'll change your life.

Love you all.

Hozho nana

Elder Kraus