SNOWWW..well almost.‏

Hello!

Man starting this email is like the hardest part of my week.. 

So much happens and it's impossible to summarize it into one email. 

I guess to start off, I'll mention the crazy weather we woke up to! SNOWW.....In the mountains...ha. But it's a whopping 40 degrees outside and it's been drizzling a bit. I'll take whatever winter weather I can get before summer comes around. I'm sure everywhere else in the country got dumped on with snow.. lucky ducks!

Well it's been another roller coaster week.. but i'm starting to realize this is the norm for the mission..kind of a constant whiplash effect. People we're teaching will be doing super great, reading the scriptures a lot, recognizing the spirit as they pray, coming to church, then BAM. Satan just hits them. the stupid guy never sleeps. BUT, neither does our Heavenly Father, or Savior Jesus Christ. We just need to know which voices to listen to. It's so hard in this world to know.. especially when we are constantly going from one thing to the next. Sometimes I think we just go throughout our day feeling a bit numb. I know I have. That's when we need to take a minute to sit back, think about the eternal perspective and consequences of what we're doing, and seek His guidance. We must do the seeking!

Many of our investigators are still doing great though! Roger is getting baptized this week! He has such a cool story, and was actually introduced to the church in the 70s! (he worked for the company that sold/worked on missionary cars). We've been officially teaching him for a couple months, and let me tell you.. this man has incredible faith!! We taught him about the Word of Wisdom and he immediately quit drinking iced tea.. which he has been drinking a gallon of every day for the past 40 years! It made  me think of the scripture "and they straightway left their nets, and followed Him." Roger's greatest desire is to follow his Savior, and it has been incredible seeing him make the changes in his life to do so, without even questioning. He knows the church is true, because he has read and prayed about the Book of Mormon. With that knowledge, he isn't letting anything get in his way. He is an incredible example to me!

Tiffany and James are also doing really great! Tiff has finished the Book of Mormon and they are reading the New Testament and Pearl of Great Price together. They are the cutest and most hilarious little couple ever. I love them like family! We actually got permission to go watch Meet the Mormons with them tonight for an FHE. Woohoo! They're just waiting on a few things until they can be baptized as well. They are also so excited to be sealed in the temple someday!

We've found 7 new people to teach this week as well, and one of them is in training to become a youth pastor. We had a neat little discussion out on his porch the other day (a quick prayer turned into 30 mins). He is very passionate about the gospel and the teachings in the bible, so we are excited to come back and talk to him more about the fullness of the gospel that is found in the Book of Mormon. He has the cutest little family as well :) I have a good feeling about them. 

And last but not least, we were out teaching with our new member Flora, and were walking around in the neighborhood where she used to live. She suggested we go knock on the door of her old house and see if they would be interested.. so we did! Andddd, a sweet young mom named Kari opens the door and invites us in to share a prayer and scripture with her family. She had lots of questions, and was eager to have us come back to teach them more. The spirit was so strong, and Flora was beaming as we left. She was so inspired! 

Overall, it was a great week! I'm just learning to love the really good things, and not get discouraged by the bad..I'm thinking it'll be a good lesson to take with me for my life! Also, I read Alma 26 today.. and shoot dang Ammon loved being a missionary! and he is so spot on! There really is nothing greater, and nothing that could bring as much happiness and joy into our lives. verses 35-36 specifically are quite amazing. I love this great work, I love my Savior and Heavenly Father, and I love being a missionary :)

Have a sweet week! Go invite someone random to church!

Sister Kraus

pic. 1. Snow

pic 2. We street contacted this random guy who is a garage sellologist...apparently thats a thing...so he had 2 american flags he had picked up that he was trying to get rid of. He gave them to us and said we had to walk the streets with the flag on our backs...super random! we did it to the car...then thought we looked too much like evil kinevil..

How deep the Father's love is for us‏!

Man oh man, the mission is such a roller coaster sometimes! 

You know those times where you just sit and think and ponder on a bunch of things you already knew, but you come to understand and realize them in a completely different way that seems to blow your mind? Well today is one of those days. Heavenly Father's love for us is always there, and I've always known it was there, but I've had some really neat "ah ha" moments lately when I've really come to understand and realize how deep it is for each of us. Sorry if that doesn't make sense, I'm struggling putting my thoughts into words right now.. but yeah. Basically, if you're struggling with something, or you're confused about what to do, or where your life is taking you, just take a minute to breathe, look around at God's creations, say a prayer, and just ponder. Feel the peace that the knowledge of the Plan of Happiness brings to each of us. Feel the peace that comes from a simple line in the scriptures, and feel the peace that comes as you talk with your Father in Heaven through a sincere, heart felt prayer. These are the things that matter most in life. 

Welp, now that I got that off my chest.. I will do my best to touch on the highlights of the week!

Our investigators are doing so good!!! They truly are the elect. 

We've started teaching a 17 year old boy named Tyler who is just on fire with the gospel. He is already to 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and said his favorite passage is chapter 11 verse 14. He really understands the scriptures and is so excited to be baptized on March 14th! He came to the Why I Believe fireside last night and loved it! What a special kid who has prepared himself throughout his life to accept the fullness of the gospel at such a crucial time in his life. It's a blessing getting to teach him :)

Roger is still doing great as well and came to church for the second time! He is also excited to be baptized here in a couple weeks! 

Man, I hate having time restrictions, but I about out of time for the week! But pretty much this area has been exploding lately and it's so exciting to be a part of it! Heavenly Father never ceases to amaze me. I know He lives. I know He is intimately aware of each and everything one of us, and every thing that we go through. I know that my Savior lives and wants us to enjoy life! The way we do this is by following His example and accessing His atonement every chance we get. We are so blessed :)

Have an incredible week!

Sis Kraus

ps. We rode bikes this week and got to talk to 33 people in 1 day! Man is the weather beautiful out here...Bracing myself for the summer though.

pic. Taught Tawny and her 2 boys with the Bradshaw kids (4 boys in total) and Tawny is pregnant with a boy... 8 future missionaries in the making! :)

Christmas everyday!‏

Hello! 

My mind just feels like mush today. The past week feels like a month of events have happened, but it feels like it only lasted 2 days. The mission does weird things to your brain...

But, it was a great week like always!

I really gained an even firmer testimony of prayer and fasting. Over the past couple weeks Sister Hill and I weren't having much luck in finding new people to teach. When you don't find new people to teach, missionary work pretty much comes to a stand still. We decided to fast on Thursday night, and also had the opportunity to go to the temple with a recent convert in our ward named Bernie. We broke our fast on Friday and found 4 new people to teach that night! This is after a week and a half of finding no one. Saturday we found 2 more, and found another on Sunday. Heavenly Father is way too good to us! I know He is aware of each of our circumstances and is just waiting to pour out blessings upon us, as we make an effort to ask for them. 

On Saturday I also got to go on an exchange with Sister Hirsch! My MTC companion!!! It was such neat experience, especially since we have both been out for about a year now... shoot dang time flies. We found the cutest little family to teach as well! They invited us in to share a scripture and prayer with them, but it turned into a 45 minute lesson about the Restoration of Christ's gospel. Their eyes lit up several times as we explained where the Book of Mormon came from, and how the church has grown and truly is the Lord's kingdom here on the earth, preparing us for the Second Coming. Oh wow, they're elect! We also taught Roger that evening about the Plan of Salvation, as well as the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy.. (he's a little hesitant to come to church). We read Exodus 31 with him... probably a bit intense.. but it got the point across and he finally came to church! He loved it :)

Speaking of church miracles, Mais and her 2 kids came to church as well, though Mais's little 6 year old girl threw up in the car on the way over :/ They had already driven 20 minutes over though, and Mais was determined to check it out, so we cleaned her up a bit, and they ended up staying for about an hour and also loved it. Now that's dedication! Poor Nicolette was such a trooper.

We've also been teaching Tawny's two boys and wow are they incredible. Aaron is 10 and Zion is 8, and their prayers and comments during lessons are unlike anything I've ever heard. When they pray, they know that they are speaking to God. They know that they can get an answer as well, and they know what the spirit feels like to them. Zion said as he was reading in the Book of Mormon, he found an answer in a simple verse that talks about increasing faith in Christ and repenting when we do. He knows that baptism is the next step for him. He also asked if he could bring his Book of Mormon to school because it's getting to a really interesting part! Aaron is having similar experiences and they are both so excited to be baptized and promise to Heavenly Father that they will follow in Christ's footsteps. Teaching them is like Christmas morning every day!

And last but not least, we had a zone conference on Thursday and President Snow gave us an incredible training about our own personal growth and eternal progression. Sometimes as humans, we get so focused on the little ups and downs of life, the trials and tribulations, that we forget why were are here and who we are striving to become like. We came to earth to be tested! We understood our purpose before we came, and we accepted the fact that it would be terribly hard at times. I have seen people go through some of the hardest trials I've ever heard of out here on my mission. The only thing to bring them some sort of peace and relief is the knowledge of who we are, WHOSE we are, and where we are going after this life. We are here to become like our Savior, to gain experiences that will help us recognize the divinity inside of each of us. Once we know this, and understand this, we can make it through anything. And not just make it through, but ENJOY every minute of this life. 2 Nephi 2:25. Men are that they might have JOY :)

So go and have a joyful week! And help others do the same :) 

ps. Apparently I sleep talk every night about the importance of being an instrument in God's hands.. my poor companion..

Sister Kraus

pic1. Our little friend Boe wanted to come be a missionary with his momma.. he soon realized that missionary work is exhausting!

pic.2. Exchange with Sister Hirsch! Sorry it's upside down..computer wouldn't let me rotate it..

I don't know what to put here this week.‏

Hello!

And I can hardly believe another week has gone by. Make it stop! I love this work more than words can describe.

We had another sweet week! I'm short on time, so I'll do my best to hit the highlights!

First off... SETH AND SKYLAR ARE ENGAGED! Didn't see that one coming... Seth proposed to her a few days ago and they want to be married in the temple when that time comes! He's super excited to be baptized so he can prepared to enter into the temple! He just gets it. We taught him the word of wisdom/law of chastity last lesson and he was like, "yeah i'll live it.. I already have been my whole life." Woooot woot! What a blessing. Him and Skylar are my favorite :)

We also had a mission leadership training and Zone training council this week, with 2 exchanges in the middle of those.. so it's been a bit of a hectic week to say the least. But I learned a ton about how to be a better missionary! And how to help the sisters and people we're teaching. I like to call the meetings REVELATION STATION. 

Ok the computer is beeping at me like it's about to explode. Soo this is super short.. sorry!

Have a sweet week and talk with people at the gas station about the gospel! Its super fun!

Love ya!

Sister Kraus

ps. Our investigator Tiffany finished the Book of Mormon!! 

pics. best text message ever.

My new comp Sister Hill and I.