This week definitely had its ups and downs but it was a good week nonetheless. This week I’ve constantly found myself caught up in toxic and negative thinking. Someone I dearly look up to and so grateful for has had me say this phrase over and over countless times: “The greatest battle in life is fought in the silent chambers of one’s self” And it’s true. It becomes so natural to compare yourself to others and start believing these lies you tell yourself. So it’s really important to be aware of your attitude and state of being.
We had a huge storm blow in Wednesday night so the first presidency actually reached out and made us go home asap before the storm hit. We ended up being stuck inside all of Thursday and Friday. We didn’t get a ton of snow but we got a lot of ice. It was really bad and there was ice everywhere. Our car even had almost 1/4″ of ice surrounding the whole vehicle. It was crazy. But it was kind of fun to stay inside and do some calls and read. It was cool to have a 3 hour personal study instead of the normal 1 hour. It was a lot of fun.
A miracle that I would like to share is an experience I had with Alfred, who we’ve been teaching. Alfred was on date for baptism for the 12th of February and so we’ve really been pushing him to quit smoking. He’s been doing super good and we’re proud of him. Saturday night we went over with the bishop and his son to visit Alfred just for a couple minutes and set up a lesson. We went over and talked a little bit and asked some questions about his baptism. He then told us how his wife talked him out of being baptized. He’s hard-core Baptist so he hit us with the usual “I’ve already been baptized. Im already saved”. It absolutely crushed me. I have grown to love Alfred so much and to hear him make that decision was so sad. I’ve been teaching him ever since he told us to leave and didn’t wanna see us, then have a change of heart and accept the book of Mormon. I’ve seen him grow his testimony of Joseph Smith and the restored gospel. He could tell I was off and and said, “I can tell there’s something on your mind, what’s bothering you?” I was just trying so hard not to cry. But I looked up at him trying to gather my emotions. Then as I was looked at him I said, “Alfred you know I love you. So my heart hurts a little bit right now. Because I want what’s best for you. And you have no idea the blessings that will come as you recieve the gift of the holy ghost.” It was so hard to say it. But I told him I wanted to explain a little bit more about the importance of baptism and stuff the following day.
So Sunday comes around and we knew what we wanted to talk about with Alfred but we didn’t know how to say it or even tie it all together. But we walk inside to see him with the talk “Hear Him” by president Nelson pulled up on his TV. So we watched the first 2 minutes and I couldn’t believe it. President Nelson within the first 2 minutes of his talk said everything we wanted to talk about. So I paused it and went over what he said and it was so cool. He said he was planning on going to his Baptist church that morning but didn’t end up going. He said he hasn’t been there in months and his pastor hasn’t checked up or called them once. So it was cool to see him recognize how much we cared about him and the effort we were putting in to call him every day and to help him stop smoking. He mainly just got scared because he was worried about getting baptized and then sinning again. So we explained that nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes every single day. And that’s why we have the atonement. We explained the significance of the sacrament and how we renew ourselves and our covenants with our heavenly father as we partake of it. So every week it’s basically like being baptized again. We repent and partake of the sacrament and come closer to our heavenly father. He was thrilled to learn about all of this and was super excited to come to sacrament meeting next week.
This experience wasn’t just a miracle, but also a testimony builder to me. Saturday night some other missionaries and myself decided to fast for Alfred. I was also fasting and pray to gain a testimony of the power of fasting. Then after having this whole experience with Alfred was so eye opening and comforting. I knew that my Heavenly Father had answered my prayer and strengthened my testimony of fasting.
That being said, my invitation to you all is to strengthen your testimony on fasting. There is great power in fasting and I can testify of that. It not only strengthens us, but shows our commitment to our savior. It shows that we are willing to act on our faith and put forth effort to receive blessings. I love you all dearly and hope to hear from you soon. I pray everyday for your safety and protection. I truly am grateful for all the love and support you show me. As this mission experience hasn’t been the easiest thing in my life, I have grown to know that I have so many friends and family that care about me and love. I wish you all the best and hope you have a fantastic week. Muchos Besos! And remember, God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!!
Love Elder Grubbs
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