Hey everyone!!

First off... Osama's dead!! woot woot haha :) God Bless America... :) Finally lol

Things here are going really well, This week was pretty hectic.. Since Elder Ashton was getting transfered to Negril, he was going to be riding a bicycle again, and unfortunately didn't have one anymore. So, I got to work on my bicycle again, and get it in riding shape for him, so that was really fun... and once again, it rides as smooth as butter.. :) Oh, and I got my first good Jamaican haircut... I went to the barber, and for once, he cut it right!! Most barbers here only know how to cut Jamaican's hair, so when a white guy walks in to get a haircut they do it the same way (line up the front and everything....) but this guy actually did a good job... so he's definately my permanent barber as long as I'm here in Santa Cruz haha....

Transfers on Wednesday were pretty intense. We drove out to Negril Tuesday night, and stayed the night with the missionaries there to travel to Spanish Town on Wednesday morning for the transfer. It was a long night, because Negril has two mattresses, and there were four of us there... haha so, ya, long night to say the least, and Wednesday was tons of driving!! We all drove to Spanish town, and met up with all the other missionaries. While we were waiting for everyone to show up, we played a pretty intense game of ninja... it was way fun!! haha just so you get a feel for the intensity level.... my pocket on my shirt got ripped off lol... um.... what else... oh, once Elder Dale, (my new companion) and Elder Weldon (a brand new missionary Elder Ashton is training in Negril) showed up, we had lunch at Pizza hut (a transfer day tradition, because its like the only Anerican pizza place on the island), and touched the road!! We didn't make it out to Negril until like 9:30, so we just stayed the night there again (another awesome night).. haha and then, me and Elder Dale drove back to Santa Cruz in the morning, and went to work!!

And to be honest, it was a really good week. We talked to so many people!! And Things are starting to pick up here again. :) We did a lot of tracting, and had some pretty good success.... One of the best things thats going on lately though, is that Mongo (mangoes... they're pronounced mongo here) season just started, so like everyone we talked to was giving us mongos.. It was awesome!! That's pretty much what we've been living off lately, because we have like 40 mongoes in the house right now haha.... there are so many different types!! my favorite kind is definately bellyfulls, because they are like bigger than a softball, and I can eat like 2 and I'm full lol....

This week, we did some service for a recent converts husband (Shane).. We chopped down this really thick grass/bush all around the perimeter of a big field that he is going to burn so he can plant crops...It was tough!! But it was really fun too... oh, and Elder Dale chopped through an anthill, and the ants didn't like that too much, so they went into attack mode, and he got bites all over his arms and legs haha... but he's all recovered now... so no worries..

One of the sweet things about Santa Cruz is that we have 3 members who come teaching with us pretty regularly (Khani, Lisa, and Chevaugn), and its super fun. One of the days, we were teaching, and this massive spider crawled onto Omar's porch, Khani didn't even hesitate.. haha he grabbed Lisa's Book of Mormon, and before she could say no, he smashed the spider with it haha... Lisa was pretty upset, and had to clean off her Book of Mormon, but it was hilarious!! We couldn't stop laughing, because he just put down his book, and smashed it with hers.... lol... It was a pretty funny lesson....

Sunday, was pretty much the best day ever... ... Felicia, and Akeileah (her sister), came to church!! At first they seemed to have some pretty crappy attitudes about it, and didn't really want to talk to anyone.... and just didn't look happy.... but by the time they left, they were beaming and loved it!! :) It was awesome!!! They are doing really great, and we are gonna extend them baptism dates this week for sure. They walked to church, and its really far, oh, and they came down for Friday night activity too... :) Its really a sacrifice, but their testimonies grow every time they make the trek.. :) The next most awesome thing about Sunday, was.... I got to Skype with my family!!! WOOT WOOT!! HAppy mothers day again mom!! I love you!! :) It was amazing, we found a member, who had a computer, so ya..... it was like the shortest 45 min. of my life... but.... ya.... Sunday was awesome!!

Monday we had Zone Leader Council in Kingston with President Hendricks, all the other zone leaders, and Elder Anderson of the seventy... so we had another road trip, but it was amazing!! I learned so much!! Elder Anderson is awesome!! And President Hendricks always unloads some deep stuff, so it was way cool... But we were able to make it back to Santa Cruz by 8, so we went strait to Felicia's family to have a quick lesson with them. It was really awesome, and right when Felicia was bearing her testimony about church, and the spirit was really strong... this massive spider (like as big as my hand)... crawls out of the ceiling and of course, everyone freaks out.. haha...but ya, there house was like infested with them!! There were like 5 or 6 more in the hall way.... Me and Elder Dale were the most scared I think, because they were used them, and thought it was pretty funny to try and knock them on us... but then a lizard crawled in a hole in the ceiling, and I smacked it onto the floor, and they freaked out... (they're terrified of lizards, but not spiders... weird huh?)... so definately got even with them.. :) But lessons over at there house are getting to be amazing... At first, we had a hard time getting them to settle down, and have a focused lesson, but now, the spirit is really strong, and we are starting to have really good lessons, and their faith is really starting to grow. Its awesome!!

But ya, this week has been sweet, and I'm really excited for this coming week too. :) Its gonna be amazing I'm sure. :)

Life is good... Keep reading the Book of Mormon, and ... Keep writing me!! :)

One love!!!

Elder Kraus