On Monday, we went to watch the annual Colorado Springs Labor Day Liftoff. Tons of hot air balloons were at memorial park and we got to watch them fill up, take off, and float away. Some even touched down onto the lake.
We celebrated our Labor Day by going on a good hike. Now this wasn't going to be just any hike. We were going to do a summit hike. After some investigation, we concluded on hiking Mount Rosa. We were selective in the missionaries we took with us because we knew it would be a hard hike. So we took Elder Pexton and Elder Ward with us. They are our zone leaders. The trail head started at about 7,000 ft. elevation and we set off a-hiking. We used a lot of the same trail that we took to go to St. Mary's Falls and got to a point where the trail split and the one way went to the summit of Mount Rosa. It was a hard hike for sure. I was packing an extra 20 pounds of water in my backpack and we sure needed it. As we climbed higher and higher, the oxygen in the air got thinner and thinner. That's why it's so crucial to have water because you'll need the oxygen as well as the hydration from it. We took occasional breaks for rest and at some points near the end, our legs were cramping up. My thighs were cramping towards the top but we were all able to make it to the top resting at 11,500. The view was incredible from up there. Clear blue skies with not a storm in sight. To the east, we could get a great view of the springs and beyond. To the north, we saw Pikes Peak now only 3,000 ft. above us. To the west and south, we saw beautiful ranges of mountains both near and far with a lake down below us. We also played the song "High on a Mountain Top" and unfurled the American Flag at the summit:) we thought it was pretty funny.
We ate our lunch at the top and then had to book it down in order to get home on time. It was easier going down because our momentum carried us. Again, we took small breaks to rest our knees and made it back to the van. Overall, we hiked a total of 14.4 miles, climbed over 4,500 ft. in elevation, and did it all in a little over 6 hours. Needless to say, we were BEAT. But that doesn't stop us from being missionaries. We went straight to a dinner with a part member family where they grilled us some great chicken. Their names are Mike (nonmember) and Randi (member). A while back while I was with Elders Buxton and Constantine, we were walking down the street and this car pulled over to the side and gave us their address and told us to come and see them. This is them! We had been trying throughout the month to contact them, but they were both having hectic schedules for a while. So this dinner was the first time we were able to meet them officially. They are super great people too! Both are in the military and they don't have any kids yet. Randi was talking about getting Mike on board with the church and he seemed slightly hesitant about that. However, when Randi stepped inside for something, Mike leaned over to us and said, "I've really been thinking about joining the church. I know it would mean a lot for my wife and I want to do the right thing." It was music to our ears. Holy cow how do things like that happen? haha. So we talked about that and then just had fun talking about different things. They are such amazing people that the Lord has led to us. They also recommended an electrolyte drink that is amazing with soreness and it totally worked. It was a great day.
On Tuesday, we had a specialized training with the zone. This one was a little different. It was only for mission leadership and so President Rehm did some training and it was great. We saw Elder Pexton and Elder Ward and they were so darn sore haha. We were feeling it too but not as bad thanks to Mike and Randi. For lunch, we went to Cici's Pizza and had a pizza buffet. And guess what. They did NOT welcome us with a big "welcome to Cici's." Lame. After that, we got to email and everything. We then went to the office to work on the miles. That evening, we went to Applebee's for dinner as well.
On Wednesday, we had MLC for most of the day. This makes my 9th MLC and countingJ We had some great discussions and we were able to discuss what needed to be discussed as a council and we actually finished before lunch. Afterwards, we collected miles from everyone and got to work on that for a little while, figuring out different conflicts. Then we had dinner and afterwards, we felt that we should stop by Anthony. When we showed up, Anthony was there but he was feeling sick. But his wife Debra allowed us in to teach her! She was talking to us about how a lot of her family has been passing away due to different things, so we taught her about the Plan of Salvation and of the comfort it gives us regarding where we came from, why we are here on earth, and where we are going after we die. It was a great lesson and we were able to set up another time to come over and teach. We then had to go to the office to let some missionaries in so that they could grab a couple of things. While we were there, Elder Stark stopped in the storehouse where one of the people from his first area works and got to catch up with him.
On Thursday, we did our weekly planning at Memorial Park and then got some lunch. We then went to give a blessing with Brother Ramos. We had dinner on the base with General Taylor and his wife and they made us great shepherd’s pie. We taught our lesson about forgiveness and they really liked it! We went over to Mike and Randi’s again and Randi was recovering from a doctor’s visit so we just taught Mike. He is such a cool guy! We taught the Restoration of the Gospel and he accepted it really well! At the end, we asked him if when he knew these things to be true, he would be baptized and he said yes! We were super excited about that and promised him that he would see miracles and blessings come his way for doing so. It was a great night againJ
On Friday, we had zone training at the Broadmoor building. We got to be instructed by Elder Pexton and Elder Ward and from Sister House and Sister Topham. We learned about diligence and about setting goals in faith. Afterwards, we went to lunch and then had another Lesson with Anthony and Debra. After that, we went to Monument to get free haircuts from a guy Elder Stark knew up there. We then went and had a lesson with Jimmy and finished our final message for him. He is so ready to get baptized!!! After that, we came down and had a good dinner to celebrateJ
On Saturday, we started the day by going down to Fountain to help Mason Mismash with his eagle project of restoring trails. So we went down there, helped them out for a couple of hours and then grabbed some muffins and took a picture next to Drury lane haha.
We came back and had a great lesson with Jose Rodriguez and then got to teach Jesse and his wife! Jesse is another person who just walked into the church, saw us, and asked if we could teach him! What wonderful blessings. The lesson went really well! He has come to church now a couple times and that is awesome. After that we went by Joe and Ami’s and had a good lesson there. They weren’t coming to church previously but we asked them again and they said that they were making it a priority to go. After that we cooked dinner and made bacon wrapped chicken breasts. What was a downer was that there was a youth broadcast that was being held at the Aeroplaza building (which is like a mile from where we live) where Elder Rasband and Elder Gong of the Twelve and of the Seventy met with the youth and had a fireside. Unfortunately we didn’t get to go meet him.
On Sunday, there was a special stake conference so we went to church early to get seats. Elder Gong was going to speak to us that day. We had a great turn out too! Jimmy came and loved it. Mike also came and he really liked it too! It was great to hear from the leaders in the stake and they even had an 8 year old go up and bear his testimony to the congregationJ It was really cool. After church, we went and saw Anthony and Debra and taught a little more about the Plan of Salvation. They really enjoyed the whole concept. We then went to the park to talk to people and then headed to dinner. We had a great meal and message with the McEchron family and then booked it over to Mike and Randi’s. Randi was at work all day and missed the lesson. So we taught Mike about the Plan of Salvation and he really liked how easy it is to grasp. He also fed us hamburgers while we were over there and we had a great night. We finished by getting key indicators from all of the zone leaders and then heading to bed.
What a great week! We were able to find 5 new people to teach and have a new person willing to be baptized! The Lord is truly gathering in those people into His true fold. I know that this church is true and that we are led by the same authority that governed the earth in the days of Moses, Christ, and Joseph Smith. I love you all and wait for it… HAPPY BIRTHDAY LONDYN! Love you lil sis!
Elder LaRose
MISSION OFFICE:
4090 Center Park Dr
Colorado Springs, Colorado
80916
kyler.larose@myldsmail.net
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