FINAL EMAIL

Hello.

I really don't know what to write... 

2 years ago, it was my 3rd day in the Missionary Training Center. I still wasn't too sure about this whole "mission" thing. I never could have imagined how much I'd come to love the four-corners area, and the people who live here. Here a couple of things I've come to know these last 2 years: 

1. God lives, and He is literally the Father of our Spirits. I've felt his love for me and for those around me, more than I can explain. 

2. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, actually came to the Earth to provide the way, through his example, teachings, and suffering, for all of us, His brothers and sisters, to become like Him, and to return to live with God as part of His family after this life.

3. That way to return to God, along with the power to seal families together for eternity, was lost for a really long time. Great news: it's been brought back. There is a Prophet on the Earth, with power and authority from God, who teaches us exactly what God would have us know and do to be truly happy in this life.

4. I've come to know, more than just about anything else, of the power Jesus Christ has to change lives. He's changed my nature, and I've been privileged to be a part of that process for others while I've been here. 

My mission has been a miracle. I wouldn't trade the last two years for anything. If you have any questions about anything, especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ, please just shoot me an email. Here, orgarrett.l.kraus@gmail.com

Love you all, see you soon,

Elder Kraus

Pictures: My first P-Day in the Field, with Elder Hakala (my trainer), and my last P-day in the field, at the same place, on the same hike.

MLC pictures- Another Grand Week!!

Interviews and a Zone Conference coming up this week! Followed by Zone Training next week! There is so much happening here! Annnnd I'm singing for Zone Conference. No idea what I'm going to do. Should be interesting!

Staying In Tuba CIty ;)!!!!

Hello all!! Guess who's staying in Tuba City for another 6 weeks! Woot!

Here's pictures of the trailer.

WHAT A WEEK!

Goood morning!

This week was quite the grand one! I neglected recording a whole lot this week, sooo you get to experience Elder Kraus through the typed word once again this week.

This was one of the most event-filled weeks of the mission.

Monday-- Left for MLC amidst some light snow; got into town during the evening; had some Serious Texas BBQ (so good!), then went and did some missionary work with THE Elder Tollefson and his new companion, Elder Henderson. Twas a great time.

Tuesday: MLC! Went great; found out some of the information regarding a new church-wide missionary schedule change. Drove to Kayenta and began exchanges there! Taught the Mariano family (haven't seen them since October of 2015). 

Wednesday: Full day of exchanges in Kayenta! Taught a lot of wonderful people, found some old formers. Twas a grand day. Loved the opportunity to work with Elder Lee. He's going places :) Pulled back into Tuba City Wednesday night. Oh! Also found out about all of the new schedule changes! So excited to be implementing it all :)

Thursday: Spectacular day of missionary work; good to be back in the area. Started off the day with some wood chopping in Coalmine; did some reactivation work whilst there. Came back to Tuba to teach Bobby and Daisy (Ward missionaries and returning LA's), when their buddy Cly Whiskers (seriously) came in looking for some food. Sooo now we're teaching him! :) Was also able to find and teach a part member family with our ward mission leader--they're super promising, and the father prayed for the first time at the end of the lesson! Woo!!

Friday: Also a wonderful day; taught Thomas, someone we love to take out teaching with us, some of the basics of PMG that we applied later in the week. Then, some wonderful members invited their non-member relatives over, and now we're teaching them!

Saturday: Today flew by; most notable lesson of the day was with Garrett and his family; they live in pretty abject poverty (no running water or electricity), but they've been learning more about and loving the Gospel!! They've been practicing family prayer all of this week, and have really been seeing the blessings. Taught them more about the Book of Mormon and committed them to read it as a family.

Sunday: Today was wonderful, albeit not as wonderful as we had originally hoped. Quite a few of the families we had taught this week, who had committed to come to church, were unable to make it. That being said, we were able to teach people all day, and it was stellar. 

Thank you for your prayers and fasts on behalf of the missionary work here. Miracles are happening here because of your faith.

I love you all!!

Elder Kraus

14.3

Curious about the subject line? I've all but run completely run out of witty one-liners, so this references that this email is covering Transfer 14, week 3. Woo!

This week was fan-flipping-tastic. In every way :)

Highlight of the week: our lesson with Josie and her family. Talk about a desire to come closer to the Savior. Wow. We've taught her all about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and she's preparing to be baptized on the 31st of December. This week, we began to cover some of the commandments that we live as members of the church. The first one we went over with them was the Word of Wisdom (the Lord's law of health for us--ways to keep our body and spirit healthy. see Word of Wisdom). This is generally a pretty tough one for people to start to live. Josie expressed that she'd been drinking coffee daily for many years. We started to talk to her about the process of overcoming habits and addictions, when she cut us off and explained: "I'm ready to give it up today; it won't be a problem. I'm just glad I know." You should have seen mine and Elder Tollefson's jaws drop. Every lesson with her since then has been remarkably similar. It's been wonderful having the opportunity to be with her as she learns more about the Gospel. 

Apart from that, the week has been excellent! Too many things to type about, so we'll leave it at that story :)

OH!! If you'd like a Christmas Card from my companion and I, please email me your address ASAP. 

That'll be all. Have a jolly week, and remember the reason for the season (hint: it's Jesus Christ)

Elder Kraus

New War Wagon!! And other happenings...

How do I even describe this week... It's been a while, but here's some highlights:

We were able to have a phenomenal lesson with an individual named Jonathan. He's investigating the church as a result of the interactions he's had with the mormon high-schoolers whom he teaches. We taught him and his family all about the importance of families and baptism. He's planning on coming to church this Sunday, and yeah! Life is grand in terms of teaching :) 5 investigators came to church this past Sunday! Wooo!! 

Other happenings...

Mission Leadership Council for quite a while on Tuesday, which was grand... hoping to see some good changes in the mission as a result.

Exchanges with Elder Trottier on Wednesday; that went well!

Trained at District meeting Thursday...

Friday was packed with lessons! Brought out fantastic members, got food poisoning (conquered it and lost a couple of lbs too ;)) and got everything ready for the Stake missionary meeting Sunday.

Saturday was a Mini-MTC all day!! Twas great being able to train prospective missionaries--couldn't get Bryant off my mind when working with them all... Any progress with your decision? :) Then we had the ward party, which so many people came to! That was fantastic!

Sunday we had Stake Vitality, which the Stake President finally came to!! Missionary-member relations are improving across the board, and great things are happening in Farmington. 

I love this work; I love this gospel. :) 

Stay wonderful, and go to Mormon.org!!

Oh! And the title line... we got a little change in mission vehicle.... 2017 V6 Toyota Tacoma, complete with backup camera and GoPro mount. It'll be rough transitioning to normal vehicles again someday...

Anywho, love you all!!

have a wonderful week.

Elder Kraus

Transfers!

Hello all, loved ones,

This week was an interesting one!

Charlene's got a renewed desire to progress toward baptism :D

Hector is progressing extremely quickly, and changing as a result :D

Annddddd transfer news! 

Elder Tollefson and I are...

Staying together :D

Staying in Farmington :D

Getting transferred to the 7th Ward!! We're so so sooo sad to be leaving 1st ward; they're our family (seriously just about broke down when asked to bear our testimonies). That being said, we know 7th ward is where we need to be, and we're anticipating miracles.

This is the Lord's work, so why not? :)

Challenge for the week:

Go to Christmas.mormon.org on the 25 of November. Get pumped. Do the thing, share with as many people as you can. Light the World with His light :)

Love you all, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Elder Kraus

What A Week!!

Talk about a quick week.... we had an excellent exchange with Elder Birch. He's really striving for improvement in every aspect of life. These last few weeks have been pretty humbling for Elder Tollefson and I. We've decided to use the lack of progress in the area as an opportunity to enlist the ward members as Amuleks, as we really need them and their help. Seeing success with that has been encouraging. It's hard to believe how quickly this transfer is already going by... If at all possible, please keep Elder Tollefson and I together next transfer. We have capacity for a 3rd missionary if needed, and would love to show anyone you send us the joy of missionary work in the Christmas season :) We did see quite the miracle this week, which came by way of meeting Kwasi. He's a neurosurgeon here in Farmington, who's now investigating the church. While there, we shared a lesson on the central role of agency in this life, and how it's best used in choosing to follow the Savior. He committed to begin reading the Book of Mormon, and we're excited to see where things go in the future with him. Through learning a little more of how Kwasi became who he is, the Spirit testified to me rather strongly of the importance of time. The wise use of it yields incredible results: we become like the Savior, and progress His work on the Earth as we help others to do the same. An unwise use of it yields, to put it simply, damnation (in just about every way). That's a lesson I will apply to the rest of my life.

In other news, today is Halloween! Which means we need to be inside by 6pm. Tomorrow is MLC, which means missionaries are coming in from all over the mission. It's going to be a missionary party at the assistant's home.... Woo!

Have a wonderful week, 

I love you all!!

Elder Kraus

How to Find JOY

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-01-1060-following-god?lang=eng&category=mormon-beliefs

Hello all!!

My lanta...how do I describe this week... had to say goodbye to some of my favorite missionaries as they finished their missions; investigators and others we're working with had crazy setbacks across the board. It was a tough thing (to put it lightly) seeing them suffer, either due to their own choices or the circumstances they were in. All of us, at some point, suffer grief, guilt, pain, regret, etc. The reason that I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that I have found the way to overcome those effects, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The principles of which will bring you to greater peace and happiness than anything that the world can offer. Regardless of circumstance. The link up top has a brief video which shows us how. Challenge for today: watch it, learn more of it (ask the missionaries! They can help!), and then share it with others. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, feel free to email me here with any questions. 

Have a wonderful week, 

Love,

Elder Kraus

Enclosed below is a transcript of said video, if for any reason you're unable to view it.

God sees us for who we can be. So how do we get there, and what if we make mistakes along the way? Every day we are faced with choices. To help us make good decisions, Godgives us commandments. Try not to think of them as a big list of rules that get in the way. Instead, each commandment is a light.

Together, they show us the best path in life so we can avoid things that make us unhappy. But we're not perfect. And sometimes we lose sight of God's path, and we find ourselves indarkness. It's a lonely feeling.

That's why we have repentance. It's not about feeling guilty. It's about asking God for help. After all, He loves us. In fact, because His Son, Jesus Christ, paid the price for all our sins andmistakes, we can experience one of the most joyful feelings in the world: forgiveness. It's a light so bright, it makes the shadows of our mistakes disappear. As far as God is concerned,it's like they never happened at all.

Temple Trip!!!!

Hello loved ones! 

Not a whole ton of time, soo here's the highlight of the week: We were given the opportunity to go to the temple!!! Annnd I didn't take a single picture. Sorry. 

Why is going to the temple such an exciting thing you may ask? It's in temples that families are sealed together for time and all eternity. It's in temples where those who didn't have the chance to hear and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ while they were on Earth are given the opportunity to do so after their death. "The end of all activity in the Church is to see that a man and a woman with

their children are happy at home, sealed for eternity." It's in the temple that that dream is realized. I love that place. If you want to learn more about the temple, ask the missionaries! They can and will help you! The blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are not meant to be reserved for a select few. You can learn how to receive them, and then you can act. Do something to come closer to Him today. Now. Don't wait! 

I love you all, and I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Have a fantabulous week.

Elder Kraus

Short Time

Hey hey hey hey hey!

Wow this week flew by... not much time, so suffice it to say, people were taught, service was done, testimonies were born (you may take that both ways), and lives were blessed (especially our own... kinda interesting how that works out.). Next Monday, we'll have the opportunity to go to the temple, and we could not be more excited. That's what it's all about. Loving God, making promises with Him to follow Him and His Son (thereby receiving His promises of peace in this life and Eternal Life after), and loving His children (our brothers and sisters) enough to share the way back to Him with them. There's not a greater joy to be found.

Do something to show your love for your Father and his Children this week. See how much joy it can bring. 

I love you all, have a phenomenal week.

Elder Kraus

Annnd here's a selfie done by THE Elder Hughes (front and center)

P.S. BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUT TO LEVI KRAUS!!! He's 14, and one of the greatest human beings I know. Keep growing buddy:) 

Transfers!!

Hello all!!! 

This week was quite the incredible one. I'll save the suspense--Elder Tollefson and I are both staying in Farmington 1st Ward!! Woo!!

We had quite the experience this week giving a priesthood blessing. We've been working with this guy named Manny. The Gospel of Jesus Christ astonishes him. He's been loving everything he's been learning so much. He's also had a ton of challenges in his life ever since he began investigating the church. Satan's really working hard on him... This past week, his car broke down, among other things, and he was really feeling the weight of it all. His main friend in the ward let him know about priesthood blessings, in which one holding authority given him from God is able to give a blessing of comfort, counsel, and healing from God to an individual. Manny was pumped to receive one, and the spirit present during it was powerful. Manny truly was able to feel the love God has for him... We're excited to see where things go for him this week. 

Apart from that, we went hiking at the badlands! Twas brilliant. All things testify of God's love for His children. I'm grateful to be in such an incredible place. 

Have a phenomenal week everyone! Annnd the challenge for the week: Let me know of an experience you have in which you recognize God's hand in your life. 

I love you all,

Elder Kraus

Week of Miracles

Hellooooo loved ones!

My lanta Farmington has been some of the fastest part of the mission so far.... feels like last Monday was just yesterday...

Anywho, time is short, so here's some highlights!

Zone Training Thursday!! That went really quite well... The dynamic here is definitely a little different with 24 missionaries, but it went well--hoping to see some powerful changes in the near future.

Other administrivia..... Annnnnddd

6 new people were prepared this week to start receiving the restored gospel!!! :D

The first is Charlene and her daughters. She's had quite the hard life, and is eating up the Gospel of Jesus Christ like my little brother used to eat up jello. Had a church tour with her and some members, and the spirit was there so strong! She told us she'd seen the church before, while in a coma sometime before. Super pumped to see what'll happen in her life in the coming week. 

Then there was another family, whom I'll have more details about next week. 

And this absolute champion named Manny. We'll be teaching him again tonight. Be pumped for an update next week. 

The most incredible thing about all of these people is the fact that they were found through the members. You have no idea how much of an effect you have on the people around you. The way you live the gospel, the way you treat others, say more about your testimony than anything else. Don't be afraid to invite your friends. That might be the only thing holding them back from receiving the gospel. 

Anywho, love you all!!!

Elder Kraus

Farmington Week 2

Helllllooooo family!!

This week flew by; twas insane. 

Took out the youth of Bloomfield for a day with the missionaries; that went pretty well!!! 

It's so hot here, but I'm starting to get used to it :)

Building relationships with the Zone every morning through Rugby; starting to get  a little better at it... Apart from that, life is going on as normal! Trying to up the member missionary work here. It's a work in process, but it's coming :)

Love you all!!

Elder Kraus

Week 1 in Farmington: A LOT of heat. And miracles and stuff (like growing an entire inch!!!).

Hello everyone! 

Week 1 in the land of enchantment was... well, enchanting I guess. My companion, Elder Tollefson, is one of the spiritual GIANTS of the mission, and it's been go! go! go! from sunup to sundown since I arrived Tuesday. It's wonderful.

It's a little bit different serving in Farmington than anywhere else I've been in the mission so far. It's the biggest Zone in the mission (22 missionaries), and everyone serves within the city of Farmington. It's a wee bit more compact than Durango was. What that means is every morning at 6am, the Elders of the Zone can get together for Rugby or Basketball (or helping an elder learn how to do knee-rehab and get some great strength work in without using your leg aggressively... never thought my bum knee would have led to an opportunity to help someone, but I'm glad it did). It's fantastic. Another perk of having a compact city that's not super upper-middle class and above is the amount of work we can get done every day. Look forward to miracles happening in Farmington!

Anywho, time is short this week, so here's an excerpt from the letter to the president:

Hello President!!! 

I'm loving being in Farmington!! :D Seriously; it's been wonderful. Missing Durango quite a bit, but it's been great here. Elder Tollefson is really teaching me quite a bit. 

Physically, I'm feeling great! Apparently, I've reached 5'8". Life goal achieved if that's actually the case. Working on developing more strength and control, and there's great infrastructure to do that at the field we work out at :)

Emotionally, missing Durango, but coming to love Farmington and the Zone more and more as time goes on.

Spiritually, I feel like I'm growing quite a bit. Change is necessary for growth, and I'm grateful for the opportunity I've been given to change.

Socially, I'm loving the Zone and my companion. I feel like there's so much I can learn from them, and I look forward to the time that I've been given here.

Miracle of the week: We were given the opportunity to teach a couple with a young child named Bree and Derrick. We felt directed to use the new pamphlet talking about families and temples as we began a discussion of what matters most to them. They were extremely open and responsive, and the Spirit was nearly tangible. Now we have another appointment scheduled with them for this Friday to teach the restoration, and I couldn't be more excited.

So that's been the week so far! This next one looks like it'll be crazy good (emphasis on the crazy).

I love you all. I know God lives, and that this is His work. Take some time to study Preach My Gospel this week. It will inspire you as to how you can become more of the person and the missionary that God intends you to be! 

Praying that this week is a wonderful one for you.

Elder Kraus

Transfers!!!

Hello everyone!!!

So this week the unspeakable actually happened. I'm no longer serving in Durango. 

It's been a super quick 9 months; Durango's been phenomenal, and I'm going to miss the people here like I miss my own family. That being said, change is good, and I know that Durango is in great hands with Elder Gray. He'll do great things here :) 

I'll be moving to Farmington 1st Ward tomorrow! Serving with Elder Longino's trainee--Elder Tollefson. I'm excited to see what growth this transfer will bring :) 

Anywho, be pumped to hear of all the adventures of Week 1 in Farmington next week!! 

I know God lives and that He is mindful of all of His children. More than anything else, my testimony of that truth has grown in my time here. There's no greater privilege than to be here, learning to serve and love and teach and give as the Master would if He were in my place. I love you all; have a wonderful week! Pray for opportunities to serve!!

Oh! and mail and packages and the likes go to:

Elder Kraus

400 West Apache st.

Farmington NM, 87401

Annnd here's the montage (so far, I'm still saying goodbye to family(s)) of glorious Durango:

 1) Saying goodbye with a morning hike up Smelter Peak (overlooks Durango; quiite the morning workout :))

2) The Kehn family; the growth Mike's shown since his baptism in January has been nothing short of miraculous. Oh, and little Lydia is adorable.

3) The Davison family. He served in this mission speaking Navajo a couple of years ago, and has one of the most powerful testimonies of the Book of Mormon of anyone I've ever known.

4) The Simons family; (Sister Simons is the daughter of the Davisons). Brother Simons has been flying through the Book of Mormon and is working every day on getting his witness of it; he's an inspiration to us all. Oh, and little Addie is also adorable.

5) The Hugentoblers!!! Essentially one of the families that recently kick-started the member missionary work FIRE that there is in Durango. They are awesome. Oh, and Travis and Annalynn and Lissa-Rue and Wesley are also adorable. I'm a sucker for little kids...

Anywho, keep serving, keep loving, and keep growing in your knowledge and faith of the Savior and of His Gospel. There's no other power on the earth that can unite families forever, both here and after. And that's what it's all about. 

Bikes, Fasting, and Miracles‏

Hello All!!!!!!

So this week was incredible. Unfortunately, I have like, 5 minutes. So here's the highlights:

Zone Training on Thursday went so well!!!! :D Afterwards, got in with Dottie Mazidi, who's seeing miracles in her life and is coming back to activity!! Woot woot!!

One of the commitments for Zone Training was to fast for miracles in your area. Elder Gray and I started that fast Saturday morning, before starting a day full of biking in 100 degree weather. Things kept lining up, one after the other. There was a member who had been losing faith in God, with all of the terrible things that had been going on in her life. Then, she gets a call for an amazing job that she didn't even apply for!!! Then, Dustin, someone we've just started working with, came to church and made connections with tons of the members. And we meet someone at church who just moved in from Flagstaff and wants to be baptized. One fast and about 10 lbs. of sweat later (from the biking without water), Elder Gray and I are once again convinced of the power of fasting. I love this work :)

I know God lives, and that we are His children. This is the Gospel of His Son, and the only way to lasting happiness in this life and life with our families, forever, after we've passed on.

I love you all!!

Elder Kraus

Crazy fast week...‏

Hello all!!!

This week was a quick one.

Monday night, we went to Farmington for MLC. Ended up staying at the same place Elder Longino was staying at, which made for an interesting night; lots of conversation of how things are going both in Durango and Tuba.... 

Tuesday morning, a lot of missionaries and I woke up supah early to go play some touch rugby as a workout before the meeting! Twas fantastic :) Reaffirmed rugby as one of the greatest sports with a ball. MLC went extremely well; we figured out quite a few things as a council on how we can help the mission improve, especially with upcoming Zone Conferences and Transfers (2 weeks away already!!). Swung by Red Mesa Tuesday evening to pick up Elder Erikson for an exchange, which went wonderfully. Every time we're with Elder Erikson, we learn so much about just loving the missionaries and the people we serve. It's awesome. :) 

Fast forward a few days... we had the opportunity teach this guy who called himself Turtle. We taught him the Restoration, and he didn't seem all that into it, but he accepted the commitment to learn more, annnnd he showed up to church on Sunday! Twill be interesting to see where this goes with him.....

On to the craziest part of the week:

The 4th of July.

To start with, Durango is a bit of a tourist town. 

When I say a bit, what I mean to say is that it's absolutely a tourist town. Visitors from out of town at church on Sunday outnumbered Durango natives by more than 2 to 1. 

The city was packed; using the truck would be futile, so Elder Gray and I hit the streets on our bikes (see enclosed picture). I've never seen such a high concentration of people in this mission before; it was a fantastic opportunity to be able to share the message we have with as many people possible in as short of time as possible. Durango puts on quite the show for the 4th!

And suddenly week 5 has begun....

Should be a great one :)

I love this church; I love this gospel: I love this country, and I couldn't be more thrilled to have the opportunity to serve and love these people. My people.

Have a wonderful week everyone!!!

Elder Kraus

P.S. I swear there's nothing drastically wrong with my arm... Resting it on the handlebars just made it look a little weird....

And the second picture: Driving to Cortez with Elder Erikson and Elder Gray.

Members on Members on Members (Increasing member missionary work across the board!)‏

Hello everyone!! :)

This week has been so good!! We had the opportunity to have a meeting with President Johnson and our Ward Mission Leader to discuss how the Durango First Ward can start implementing what's known as Phase 2 to help all progress towards the temple (through the Ward Council and members). Then Sunday, Brother Cooper kick-started it in Ward Council. Twas wonderful!! Pumped to see what happens in the next couple of weeks... I say this all the time, but the members in Durango astound me all the time with their desires to do missionary work. I love serving here so much! The church is true. Christ lives. There's no better way to have lasting joy in this life and the next than following Him, through living His Gospel. That's what we have the blessing to share. The Book of Mormon shares how the Gospel of Jesus Christ was taught and lived here, in America. It, along with the Bible, shows us the love of God for all of His Children.

I love you all!! 

Have a wonderful week :)

Elder Kraus

Andrew's Baptism!!! :D Super Service and Hiking Adventures‏

Hello loved ones!!!

Sooo these past few days have been absolutely insane. Let's start with the week's highlight: his name?

Andrew Lindbloom.

Andrew is somewhat of a legend. I've had the blessing of teaching him since I first came to Durango in November. He's been steadily learning and living the Gospel for such a long time (he's literally been a full tithe-payer for over a year) and this past week, (the 4th, to be exact :)), he was finally baptized. The spirit there was indescribable. People like Andrew remind us every time the absolute joy that comes from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Andrew included on his baptismal program the following words from Boyd K. Packer:

"If we could only understand

All we have heard and seen,

We'd know there is no greater gift

Than those two words-- "Washed clean!""

I know that that statement is true. There's nothing that brings greater peace or consolation than the knowledge that, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and through the Ordinances and Covenants of His Gospel, we can become clean. Clean from our mistakes, and comforted through the mistakes of others. All that is unfair in this life will be made right through Christ. I love that!

On a slightly less serious note, Andrew makes the greatest Reuben (king of sandwiches) that I've ever had. Ever. If you're ever in Durango, go to Bart's Deli (across from Walmart). It will be one of the greatest food choices you've ever made. :)

In other news, transfers happened! Annnnd (drum roll please) I'm staying in Durango! :D this'll be 9 months here... I've been blessed with 2 of the greatest areas in the mission (Kayenta and here), and I hope never to leave.

Anywho, it's been a long time since I've sent any pictures, sooo here's pictures of some of the adventures from the last few weeks! We hiked with the Red Mancos District last week in Vallecito, and the Cortez District this week in Mesa Verde! At the risk of sounding somewhat elitist, I must say we have the most beautiful Zone in the mission. And this last Saturday, before the baptism, we got the opportunity to help Brother Monie clear some ENORMOUS trees off of his property. We're not able to use power-tools, but that didn't stop us from being the greatest lifters and clearers of logs and brush there ever was! Enjoy the pictures :)