My Baby Is 22!!!

Levi's card I'm 22!!!!!

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Tyler got baptized!! 

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My sister made me the cutest missionary sculpture ever and sent it to me for my bday :) 

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Sister Robinson and I freezing at the ward Pig in the Park.. What is this weather?? but hey, no complaints! Summers a coming...

This week was stellar

Hello!

This week was stellar. Isn't that a great word? And it perfectly describes my week :)

I got my new companion Sister Robinson and she is simply amazing! I have been so blessed with my companions and we've already seen how inspired this companionship is!

We've been slightly sleep deprived all week due to trips back and forth to the mission office to pick up a new missionary in our zone, and for a new STL meeting, but it really made me appreciate the time we had to just go out and teach some lessons and proselyte! There really is nothing that makes me happier :) 

Even though Sister Robinson and I didn't get much time to plan lessons/roleplay, we were able to teach the Restoration 2 different times to families and a sweet 14 year girl, and the spirit was practically tangible. A total of 8 investigators accepted baptismal dates this week! We were ecstatic. And exhausted. And a bit slap happy at times to be honest.. but we kept that contained to inside our apartment. No worries. 

The 14 year old girl we taught this week named Serenity is so cool! We had a "Meet the Mormons" movie night in one of our wards and her friend Victoria invited her and she came! She told us right after the movie that she wanted to meet with us and start taking the lessons :) Woot woot! Member missionary work is the best!!

                                                        Sister Robinson's stellar poster!

Andd Saturday was like the best day ever! It was my birthday,for one, so that was pretty sweet :) Sister Robinson made me a stellar breakfast of eggs, fruit, and nuts, and put a big poster up on the wall that said "I don't know about you, I'm feeling 22." She's a huge T swift fan, if you couldn't tell..

We walked out of our apartment after our studies and had our first street contact of the day with a cute 20 year old lady named Janelle. She was so friendly and excited to talk with us, and said that her and her mom just moved in and had been looking for a church! She also said that she had been feeling a weight on her shoulders and knew that meeting us was a sign from God that she need to start studying her scriptures more and getting closer to Jesus Christ. WHOA. talk about a birthday miracle! Our investigator Genesis got baptized this Saturday as well!! And to top it off, Sister Brooks, our relief society president, took us to Outback for dinner. Yum. It was so fun :)

And last but not least, Sunday! We had out investigator CJ decide he wanted to come to the "Why I Believe" fireside last minute and it was phenomenal. One of the speakers, when telling his conversion story, said that as he was sitting at a stoplight, with just 20 seconds until it turned green, he told God that he was either going to be all in and become Mormon, or all out and stop taking lessons and going to church. He said right after he said this little prayer, a car pulled up to his right and his eyes turned to the cars license plate which read "BE MORMON." And we all know the rest of the story. How incredible is that???? I know that there are no coincidences in this life, and that God absolutely answers each and every one of His precious children's prayers. This is the most stellar gift we have in our lives, along with the life and sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love Him with all my heart. 

Have an amazing week!

love you all

Sister Kraus

Genesis' baptism!

Transfers.already?‏

ANDDD, another week has gone by already.

Monday: I got asked to play "I am a Child of God" on violin at a baby's funeral. It was such a special service and the spirit testified to me once again that the Plan of Salvation is REAL, and that Heavenly Father loves us and knows us, even when really hard things happen. Trials are to help us become like Him. Without them, He would be robbing us of that opportunity! The baby's parents aren't members of the church and don't have a strong foundation on Christ, but I felt strongly that this baby came to earth to help his parents find the gospel. 

Tuesday: We had a miracle inspired knock! We felt prompted to knock on a random house, and this young man named Jose opened up and immediately invited us in! It shocked me, because people usually hide behind the door, or say they're not interested.. but Jose is actually a less active member of our church and wants us to come back and teach his family! His girlfriend and kids aren't members.

Wednesday: Had a mission wide conference call about ways that we can use to be more innovative in our missionary work, and to help the missionaries in our zone be more excited about upcoming holidays/events! Earth day is coming up.... so why not tell everyone why/how the earth was created in our street contacts?? Should be interesting...:)

Thursday: We taught a new guy named Dwayne about the restoration. He was So engaged! The spirit was strong during the lesson and he recognized it. When we invited him to be baptized at the end, on May 16th, he immediately said YES! What time?? It was awesome! He's so prepared.

Friday: Had a powerful lesson with our 11 year old investigator Genesis at the church building. She's getting baptized next Saturday (on my birthday!! woot woot) and is so excited. Another missionary at the church asked her if she had a brother named Leviticus, or Deuteronamy... she was a bit lost. Looks like we need to teach her a bit more about the bible..haha.

Saturday: Got to go back to Anthem for Zion's baptism!!! IT was such a blessing to be back, and  my sweet sweet member Sister Olenslager (who has 6 kids under the age of 10! Wonder woman!!) was kind enough to drive me down :) I loved getting to see Tawny and her family, and so many other amazing people that I love! The members there are amazing. 

We also had transfers and Sister Herman is going to Lake Havasu! I'll be getting Sister Robbinson, who already is in this zone, so it won't be too much of an adjustment :)

Sunday: Amazing as always. 2 wards is a bit exhausting, (we're at the church from 8:30-4) but it's awesome. We got a whole new bishopric in our  Mountain Shadows ward, and the new bishop is the brother of someone in my first ward on the mission! Crazy!!

It was fast week! But super fun :) as always. Missionary life is the best.

Have a great week!!

Hearing the music!!‏

Wow. What. A. Week.

Seriously the most spiritual of my mission. Well, at least that I can remember. 

We had MLC and received some of the most powerful, spirit packed trainings ever. One of them was all on the atonement and how we as missionaries MUST be accessing it everyday in order to be qualified to teach the gospel with the spirit. It also brings the power and joy into this work, and also into our individual lives! What an incredible gift our Savior has given us.

After MLC we turn around and give the same trainings at ZTC to the rest of our zones. I got to give the training on the power of the atonement in missionary work, and it was so neat to be able to receive revelation on how to present it, and specifically on who Heavenly Father wanted me to choose to bear their testimonies about this magnificent gift. I felt very strongly to pick a certain Elder and a certain Sister. After I asked them to share their testimonies, each of them came up to me and said that they knew Heavenly Father had inspired me to pick them, and that it was a sign to them as well that God is very aware of them. I KNOW that revelation is real, and that we must receive it everyday in order to do exactly what God wants us to do here. What a privilege it is to communicate with our supreme creator and to receive guidance in our day to day lives in order to reach our divine potential. I LOVE IT!

We also had a super neat experience on Thursday. We had planned a district blitz, and our whole district, along with 8 members, came together to work in our ward areas to visit as many people as possible. We had written up a bunch of lists of names that we had selected for each companionship to visit. Just a couple hours before the blitz we looked in the binder to pull out the lists to make sure  everything was ready. However, 3 of the lists seemed to be missing! We went into panic mode. After we had searched the car, we decided to drive back home and retrace our steps. As we walked up the side walk to our apartment, I looked on the ground to my right and found the 3 lists rolled up at the base of a small bush. They must have fallen out of the binder as we were walking to our car. They had been sprinkled on by the sprinkler, but we could still read them perfectly! The blitz was amazing and we found 5 new people to teach and got around 15 return appointments, from the combined efforts of the missionaries and ward members. It. was. amazing. I know Heavenly Father protected those papers so we could visit His sons and daughters who were ready to hear the message of the restored gospel!! 

And lastly, GENERAL CONFERENCE! Man. It was amazing. I left on such a spiritual high, and it's still with me :) I loved how much the prophet and apostles talked about families, and Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness, that is of course centered on our beloved Savior JEsus Christ and His atonement. However, to feel the true joy from the gospel, and to have the desire to live the teachings, we must hear the music! Then dance to the beat :) Otherwise, it's awkward, and no fun! 

This gospel=joy. Because God loves each of us. So go. Be happy this week! And LIVE what you  LOVE. Then SHARE it with others :)

Sister Kraus

pics. matching Easter shirts!

we love to match! MLC=revelation station