Bautismo y cosas que estan impresionante!!‏

Hello loved ones!!

No, I didn't get transferred to a Spanish speaking mission; we just had the opportunity to have a spanish baptism!! We've been teaching Fransisco through his friend (master translator), Brother Ramos, and this week he was finally able to be baptized!! The service was entirely in Spanish, which was an awesome opportunity for those in the ward who had served Spanish missions to participate. Elder Longino and I were asked to give the prayers (in spanish), which was quite the experience... apparently, neither of us did too badly though, so all is well! The spirit there was palpable :) 

Incredibly, there was another miracle this week as well. Friday night, we went up to Fort Lewis College to do service running microphones between different drum groups for the Durango Hozhoni Days Pow Wow. That was quite the experience. Those drums are LOUD! While doing so, there was an intoxicated gentleman giving us a pretty hard time. The time came for us to leave, so we let him know we were on our way out, when he tells us that he was an asssistant to the president on his mission to Italy, about a decade ago. We got to talking a little more with him outside, and found out he was telling the truth as he started talking to us in perfect italian (and not many non-missionaries know of the term "trunky", which he used while talking to usXD)! We had to go, but we got his name and number, promising we'd contact him soon. We left that night pretty shaken up that something like that could happen to a missionary. We talked to the mission president, asking him how, when he told us how easy it is. Stop reading your scriptures regularly (ideally daily), stop saying prayers regularly, stop attending church every week; the devil will plant a seed, and we'll take care of the rest. Let that be a lesson to us all. By small and simple things, great things are brought to pass, but that road goes both ways. By small and simple things, we can lose the light and the joy and the knowledge of the gospel that we have. This story does end on a positive note though!! Sunday, we were able to bring Brother Chee over to see him. Brother Chee is one of the greatest member misisonaries in the ward, and he knows exactly what this RM, Josh, is going through, because he's traveled that same path not too long ago. They connected instantly, and we were able to have an incredibly spiritual lesson with Josh. He opened up to us, and expressed his desire to feel the spirit in his life. It'll be a long road back, but he's willing and we'll be there every step of the way to help him, our brother, to make it back to where God wants and needs him to be. It's never too late to begin anew, learning and taking part in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Learn of Him. Experience the power of His Atonement. "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

I love you all!!!

Have an incredible week! Do the small and simple things that will bring you and your families closer to Him!!

Oh and congrats to Taylor and Bryson!!!! This is what it's all about :) 

Annnd here's a pic or two from last week; we had the opportunity to drive to Silverton to contact a referral, and the drive there is BEAUTIFUL!

Mission Tour!!‏

Hello loved ones!!!

Once again, I must apologize for the length of the email. Time has a tendency to fly away....

Anywho.

This week was amazing. Spiritual feast? Most definitely. 

One of the highlights of the week was Thursday: Elder Corbridge (of the 70) came and spoke to the mission. One of the large things that I took away from it was the difference between above the line and below the line thinking. Above the line thinking creates accountability. You recognize a problem, accept responsibility for it, council with the lord (there's the tie-in to the general conference talk by Elder Ballard; ahhhmazing!) about what to do, and then you act. Annnd repeat. This is the way progress is made. This is the way people progress. This is the way family ties are strengthened and we come closer to Heavenly Father. At the opposite end of the spectrum is under the line thinking. This shifts all accountability to someone else. If I fail, it's a result of the circumstances which I was in. I'll do whatever the Lord wants, but if I don't get clear direction, it's His fault if I fail. May we all strive to be more above the line in the way we approach our challenges, and our relationships :)

In other news, we finally got in with the McKnight family!! We got the opportunity to share the message of the restoration and the Book of Mormon with them. Twas great :)

Annnnnd (drum roll please) Fransisco is getting baptized this Saturday!!! He's the investigator that only speaks spanish. The only slightly stressful thing is that my companion and I have been asked to say the prayers at the Spanish Baptismal service. If you didn't know, I don't really speak all that much Spanish. This will be great though; gift of tongues, here we come!!!

Anywho, have an excellent week everyone! I know God lives and that this is His Church. Follow Him, and discover new life!!!

Love you all!!

Elder Kraus

Zone and General Conference‏

Hello hello hello!!!

This week was a wee bit slower than is typical, due to some unforseen circumstances. Nevertheless, we had the opportunity to have an incredible Zone Conference and General Conference!!! So, here are some of my thoughts on those:

First, in Zone Conference, there was an INCREDIBLE training on Selfishness. There was incredible quote presented there that I'd like to share with you all:

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate, it is my daily mood that makes the weather. i possess the tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can Humiliate or Humor, Hurt or Heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming." ~John Wolfgang Van Goethe

This statement is true. God has given us agency, the ability to choose. Decisions determine destiny. I know that this life wasn't meant to be easy, but the hard times we encounter have the potential to shape us into who Heavenly Father would have us become, even as He is. I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can change. We can become better. We can choose to follow Him more fully, in thought, word, and deed. I love this Gospel. My prayer is that we can choose to rise above selfishness, that we can rise above the natural man. In the words of Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of God on the earth today, "may we ever choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong."

Have a phenomenal week.

Elder Kraus

Miracles of being a missionary and "true greatness"‏

Hello hello hello!!!

Hoping and praying everyone's week was an excellent one. There's not a whole ton of time, so I'll get right down to the 2 things I wanted to share this week. The first is the absolute blessing it is to be a full time missionary at this time. Earlier this week, we had the opportunity to come into contact with Olivia, a Less Active who fell out of contact with the church years ago. The miraculous thing is that we happened to find her at the very time in her life when she's been feeling that she needs to come back. In our first lesson with her, I felt the love of Heavenly Father for her, a complete stranger, stronger than I have in a very long time. I know that God knows each of His children. We also had a similar experience with another LA who just moved to Durango recently--being a representative of Christ gives you the opportunity to interact with those you've just met in ways that most close friends rarely do... I love being a missionary. I love getting the opportunity to share the knowledge I've been blessed with that the way back to God, the way to true happiness, both in this life and the next, has been brought back. I love getting the chance to bear my testimony of the reality and the divinity of Jesus Christ on a daily basis. He lives. Because of Him, all will be resurrected; death has no sting. Because of Him, we can find new life every day as we make the conscious decision to follow Him, to live the way He lived. Ah. I love it :)

In other news, we also contacted one of the most well-off referrals I've ever seen this week. To give you a brief picture; the husband is a plastic surgeon and the wife has a PhD. Their home is brilliant--set into the side of the mountain, tons of windows, etc. etc. It looks like a place that Tony Stark would have as his summer home. As we drove away after a brief visit, I found myself thinking what I could do in my life to achieve that worldly greatness; what I'd have to sacrifice, etc. Then the thought struck me. There's a difference between what the world deems to be great and what God deems to be great. The teachings of Howard W. Hunter book has an excellent discourse on what true greatness is. Essentially, it is to be as much like Christ as possible; to truly fill the measure of our creation. To do the small things we can do every day to serve and uplift those around us. True greatness is not reserved for the elite few, but for every diligent follower of Christ. I know that may seem like common sense, but it was an epiphany to me. 

Anywho, that's all the time I have this week. I hope everyone's Easter was incredible!! Live your life the way that He lived His!!!

Love you all!!!

Elder Kraus

Week of bikes, tiny houses, giant dogs, and other happenings...‏

Gooooooooooood Morning!

This week was a little different; a lot of unexpected things came up, but it was great!! Here's a quick play-by-play:

Monday: Did a family home evening at the Hugentobler's home with some investigators and recent converts! It. Was. Awesome. Want to make a missionary's day? Invite them over to teach someone in your home! We shared the Easter Initiative (look up easter.mormon.org when you get the chance) and discussed our testimonies of the Savior :) Twas wonderful.

Tuesday: Had to run into Farmington for some things; picked up some better bikes whilst there (the tandem was awesome, but our vehicle coordinator thought it miight be a little more professional riding normal bikes, which is understandable), and had dinner/planned how best to coordinate missionary work in the stake with Bro. Farley.

Wednesday: Stake Vitality meeting!! Also had to change the truck's oil. We did get to have a great meeting with Brother Kehn though; he's really coming along on the path of discipleship :)

Thursday: District Meeting in Cortez; exchange with Elder Kartchner from the 4th ward there!! There were some issues with the bikes, so I also got to put on my bike mechanic hat (it's funny how necessity leads to sudden capability XD) Also had a lesson with one of our members who owns a >200 lb dog. Pictures attached, but it was awesome! 

Friday-Sunday: Nothing too crazy or notable; got the opportunity to teach Cody at the Fenberg's home on Sunday. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Quite possible one of my favorite lessons to teach, because it is the way to come closest to Christ. Through the continual process of building our faith in Jesus Christ, changing to become more like him through repentance, making and renewing promises with God through covenants and ordinances, and then receiving the Holy Ghost in greater measure, we can improve and be more of the people God needs us to be each day.

I love this Gospel. I know Christ lives. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is His kingdom and the vessel by which children of God can fully live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thereby be truly happy. I know it. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God on the earth today. 

Praying that everyone has an incredible week!!

Love you all, 

Elder Kraus

HIYA!!

 Hiya!!

The most exciting thing here is the member missionary work that's been happening--we've been trying to make Durango a self-sufficient ward, so even if there are missionaries in the future who don't want to do anything, the ward can still do pretty well on their own. So far, we have one family doing a weekly discussion night at their home (shoutout to the Hugentoblers!), a frequent (every couple of weeks) dodgeball night for the ward to invite friends to, an entire sacrament meeting coming up in April devoted to missionary work and the ward mission plan, which is one of the best I've ever heard. We're trying to help the entire ward pray nightly and fast monthly for missionary work and specifically for the opportunity to invite others to hear the message of the gospel. So yeah! The fire is really starting to catch here, which is awesome sauce. 

As far as companions, I have 2! This is Elder Longino and I's 4th transfer together; we'll have been together 6 months by the end. He's awesome, and we really get along great. We also work together great, which is good. He's also working on handstands! My other companion is Elder Waite. This is my second transfer with him. Elder Longino and I love him!

In other news, this week was supah dupah exciting!!! We've been working with Mike Kehn quite a bit; he's our recent convert with a new wee little one who's been keeping him and his wife up until super late at night... the amount of progress he's made since we first started meeting with him has been incredible... he still has some issues he's working on, but he know's the power of the atonement, and nothing is going to keep him from making full use of it. I also made mom's wheat berry salsa, and it is ahhhhmazing. Can't believe I went 10 months without that stuff... Oh! And we got a tandem bicycle to use from the bishop!! Durango is super bike town, so it's a great tool for greater visibility and getting out among the people (kinda hard to talk to someone about the gospel when you're driving a Tacoma....) See attached pictures, but it's been so fantastic. To inaugurate the new transfer, and the bike, we may or may not have shaved our legs as a tripanionship this past Monday (no pictures attached, for good reason. Worst mistake evah.)  We also helped set up the Pinewood derby and weigh cars in! And I thought wrestling weigh-ins were intense... Got the chance to give a few blessings! Durango is kind of the medical hub for the surrounding area, so we get called in to give blessings relatively frequently... This week we had the chance to give a blessing whilst wearing rubber gloves and masks! (the recipient had a mix of pneumonia and the flu... If I don't email next week, you all know why XD). I've got to be honest, giving blessings is one of my favorite part of being where I am... It's incredible to have revelation work in such a way that you know what the Lord needs the recipient to hear... And that's been my week!!

To close, here's an excellent parable told to us yesterday by our rocking ward mission leader: 

Once there was an apple tree. All of the apples were happy until one day, one apple said o another apple on the other side of the tree: "Hey! You're hot!" From that point on, all of the apples tried to look just like that apple; polishing themselves, beefing themselves up, slimming down, etc. etc. Time went on, as it tends to do, and winter came. All of the apples fell off of the tree and died. Spring came, and the seeds from within the now rotted apples (even the shiniest apples rotted) began to grow into something more. They became apple trees. It was at this moment that the former apples realized something--in all the time they worried about looking like the ideal apple, they lost focus on who and what they were destined to become. Trees! You were meant to be more than just an apple. Be healthy and temperate in all things, but don't lose focus of why you're here. You have the seeds of divinity within you. Cultivate your divine nature. Never forget your eternal identity, and recognize that even the worst looking apples have the seeds of trees within.

I love you all!!!

Have an incredible week. 

Elder Kraus

MLC, Zone Training, Exchanges, Transfers, and other shindigs and happenings‏

Helloooo loved ones!! 

This week was all types of crazy.... in a good way though :)

Had MLC on Tuesday, went on splits and taught 5 lessons in 2 hours, had a last minute Zone Training on the Doctrine of Christ and the upcoming Easter Initiative, went on a great exchange with the Cortez 4th Ward Elders, got the chance to teach some of our favorite members more about missionary work (Durango 1st ward is doing SO well in terms of what the members have been doing) and found out we'll be staying together as a trio for another transfer! Woot! Oh, and this is a 7 week transfer, so that's all types of exciting. All in all just a fast, great week. Pumped for the future. Here's an excerpt from the letter to President:

This week was a pretty good one... One of the most stressful Zone Trainings ever, as we felt we needed to do one before the end of the transfer, and MLC was 2 days before we held the Zone training, but it went so well! I also had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Lethco. He's improving, and seems to be pretty excited for this next transfer. As for the transfer news, I couldn't be more excited to be staying in Durango with Elder Longino and Elder Waite! By the end of this transfer, I will have spent 1/4 of my mission with Elder Longino. I've really learned a lot from our time together, and I'm excited for what this transfer will bring. 

And challenge for the week for everyone: 

Make your prayers more fervent. Actually converse with your Heavenly Father. Miracles are wrought through prayer!!

I love you all!!

Have an excellent week,

Elder Kraus