WEEK #4 - FIRST AREA!!! You Won't Believe It...

OH. MY. GOSH. You will all NOT believe where my first area is!!

I was literally FLIPPING out when I got my assignment because I INSTANTLY knew that God called me there specifically! 

HOLY COW, I cant express in words how much I wanted to explode with pure happiness that made me want to run up and down the streets outside the Mission home shouting and jumping for joy for where my first area is!!

BUT... I have to tell you about Tuesday and Wednesday first! Haha...

Tuesday: August 13th

We woke up at 4:30 to say goodbye to those in our district leaving. That was sad but exciting to see them start their missions! Elder Bethers and I went to the Provo Temple and I had a very powerful experience inside, I love the peace and joy we can feel in there :) We went to our last devotional in the MTC which was really great, I even got to see off a few people before I left including Anziano Barnes, haha. Imma miss all y'all for two years but what I am kidding, this is going to be so fun!!! Haha.

Wednesday: August 14th

Finally got all packed and rushed out to the travel office at 8am. All 19 missionaries who were going to the CDSM were there! I barely could contain my excitement but we got our fat ton of luggage on different trains and headed up to the airport. After a short 55 min flight I was in Denver!! President Rees (The mission president over Denver South) was there to greet all of us and we drove to his home in Denver and stayed the night. Whatta crazy day, but I'm glad to finally be out of the MTC and eager to get started wherever in Denver South!

Thursday: August 15th

Basically the whole morning was training for all of us new missionaries and instructions from the President. We don't find out our first assigned area until tonight so we got to go around with local missionaries for the day, I was the only one assigned to a bike which was actually pretty awesome to skirt around Denver and help people around there. :) Around 9pm when we got to the mission home President Rees FINALLY sat down all 19 of us and one by one told us who our trainers would be and where our first area is! Of course I was told last.... I was exploding with excitement and nervousness but finally President Rees told me that I got assigned to the.....

Naturita Branch!!!!! Yessssssss!!

Now hold up, before you're confused, let me tell you. This area is about 7 HOURS away from Denver and is the FURTHEST area in the whole mission, haha! And to rock my world even more where I'm living is 10 miles away from Paradox and literally 50 miles away from my hometown Monticello!!!! Are. You. Kidding me?!?! The Naturita Branch covers Highway 141 from Bedrock down to Telluride and literally borders the Monticello, Utah Stake. Dannnnnng. :) 

Map of the Naturita Branch right next the the Monticello Stake!

I truly see this as a blessing from Heavenly Father, everyone who's known me knows how hard it was on me and my family moving out East but I know it was worth the 5 years of experience and trials. Now Heavenly Father is like "Here you go Elder LaRose! You're home now. But you're not back there for yourself, you're there for others now" :) I'm so glad and excited to help others come closer to Christ and serve my people as a missionary now!! Also the Naturita Branch is in the Montrose Zone/Stake.

Cool skull pic by my trailer home...

Friday: August 16th

We woke up at 5am and left the mission home to go to the "Transfer Train" haha! We got to the church building and all the new trainers from the Denver Metros side were there (The area before the Eisenhower Tunnel) but no trainers for anyone going to the Western Slope were there because it was too far away to drive (The area past the Tunnel). President Rees announced the new missionaries and their trainers so they could meet up. When I got up and he announced that I was going to the Naturita Branch and the ENTIRE chapel of trainers all went "oooooooh" because Naturita used to be seen as an exile area as if it was all bad like haha. Little do they know how AWESOME of an area it is being only 50 miles away from Monticello!! President Rees kinda rebuked the trainers by telling them that I was a last minute change so I wasn't originally going to Naturita but he felt really strongly that I needed to be assigned there for some unknown reason without him knowing that I'd have an immediate connection with the people here! I know the Lord needs me in this awesome area so close to home :) We drove to Grand Junction through many tunnels I've grown up passing through, what memories haha. There I met my trainer Elder Gunson! He is very cool and we drove right by the Dolores River until we got to our trailer home in Nucla, Colorado! It's a very small town and I love our run down trailer in the middle of nowhere haha. 

Dolores River selfie

Saturday: August 17th

My first full day with Elder Gunson. FUNNY STORY: We were teaching this man named Matt who's had a rough life and he would only meet us by the bench near the Catholic Church so we taught him about the Book of Mormon and he sits down with a bag of nacho cheese chips and a plate full of straight weed. Haha! Awesome enough he really loved reading Moroni 10:3-8 and we had a great discussion. The plate of weed was like 12 inches away from me but he never even touched it during the whole lesson and was really touched by the message we shared so he bookmarked that page with a cigarette box he tore in half... haha, I love this!! So crazy but I just love helping people feel Gods love for them and ponder the scriptures in their hearts! :)

Me and my trainer Elder Gunson!

Sunday: August 18th

We went to church in the Naturita Branch with the other 45 people who showed up haha. The branch is actually in the Monticello Temple District so they had a picture of the Monticello temple I drove past a million times as a kid in the very church building that I now go to! *Mind explodes* I love seeing such cool miracles each day, even getting flashbacks of roads I've gone down with my family to turn down towards Dove Creek, woah. :) Elder Gunson and I taught a great family about Christ's teachings to have faith in Him and return with a full purpose of heart. Meaning we have to humble ourselves and have a desire to change things in our life that are holding us back from being like our Savior. Going back to my awesome little trailer home at night is so cool seeing the stars and the actual Milky Way in full detail. Beautiful. 

The Glorious Trailer Home in Naturita

Monday: August 19th

P-Day is now Monday!! So email me whenever today, I don't have wifi at my trailer home which is fun to be so secluded but I still want to hear from all of you! Today Elder Gunson and I went on an awesome hike but more on today in next weekly. 

NEW ADDRESS: Aka middle of nowhere :)

-- P.O. Box 821

Nucla, Colorado 81424

EMAIL: keldon.larose@missionary.org

I love you all, cant wait for more crazy weeks!

Love,

Elder LaRose