Sorry for no email last week, pday was craaaaazy with transfers. But Elder Reed and I are staying in Rowlett for another transfer. Elder Wait and Elder Daley are leaving so their area is getting whitewashed which is super sad but the new elders are super cool. Funny story though, we were talking to the Zone Leaders and their prediction was that Elder Wait (our district leader) would leave and I would stay and be the new district leader. So usually president calls you the day of transfers and asks you if you’d be willing to do it and what not. I never got a call so I was like “they were wrong” but then we get transfer news and it says I’m the DL. I was so confused because president never called me haha.
Last P-day one of my former companions Elder Speyer came to Texas to visit and he stopped by our apartment. It was so sick and so good to see him again.
I’ll try and highlight a few things from the previous week since I didn’t write an email. We had a lesson with the Rojas family again and at the end of the lesson we usually ask how we can help them and what not. But I felt prompted to specifically ask their dad what we could DO for him right then. To my surprise he asked if we could give him a blessing. Of course we agreed. Elder Reed did the annointing and I did the sealing and the blessing. It was actually my first blessing I’ve given in Spanish. I was pretty scared at first cause I had no idea what to say. But the words somehow came and I tried to express my feelings through the vocabulary I did have. It was a very spritual moment and I think it impacted everybody. It was definitely good for the kids to see because I don’t think they’ve ever had a blessing or seen a blessing be given before.
I had an exchange with one of our zone leaders Elder Sauer and it was so fun. We got permission to do service after dinner so we went and helped this family move out. They weren’t members but somehow knew someone from the church so their were a ton of members there to help. We were told “Not very many boxes” and “Nothing big or heavy to move, no furniture”. Elder Sauer and I basically rolled our eyes when we read the text. Sure enough we had to move a piano, 3 couches, 2 beds, and 2 desks. Plus unmount the TV fromo the wall. But we packed that truck FULL. And I mean FULL. We finally fit this big desk in the truck but forgot about the top part which was like a shelf piece ontop of the desk. I ran inside and grabbed it. Elder Sauer was like “There’s no way that’s gonna fit” and I was like, “Oh she’ll fit. She’ll fit.” We get to the truck and everybody looked at me like ‘That’s not going in the truck’. Walking up the ramp I recite part of Mathew 8:26, “Oh ye of little faith!” and let me tell you. Faith can not only move mountains, but can make a desk fit in an overpacked uhaul.
Before that there were 2 little boys probably 10 years old. They crawled to the front of the truck and we would hand them boxes so they could stuff them up top. I handed him a box and it slid down a little crack next to him with a good thud. The boy shouts, “I hope that box wasn’t fragile! Oh. It says ‘fragile this side up’! Whoops! well that’s definitely broken!” It was so funny. I’m sure their parents were just cringing. But then his dad said he needed to be careful because if he broke anything he would have to pay for it. The kid shouts back, “Dad dont worry. I’ve got almost 17 bucks!” He was so proud of himself. It was so funny. I could not stop laughing.
Friday Elder Reed was throwing up all day so we stayed home. I listened to 6 talks, probably 3 hours of Dulingo, and probably 3 more hours worth of conversion stories. Unfortunately I did not read the Old Testament for 5 straight hours like I did the last time I was quarantined.
The 2 new Elders are Elder Jackson and Elder Flint. Elder Jackson is from Washington and hes 24! He graduated a year before my oldest sister. It just blows my mind that He is on a mission at that age when my sister is younger and has been married for a few years and has an 18 month old. Like wow. But good on him for deciding to come out. He’s been on the mission for almost 8 months I think. And then he is training Elder Flint who is brand new. He was called to Peru but waiting on visa stuff.
We had dinner at the Ortega’s on tuesday and I always love going because Hermana Ortega watches her granddaughter Kalici. She’s 3 and just a fireball of energy. She is not shy at all and she’s just the cutest. When her dad came to pick her up she ran out but then came back to say bye to her grandma. Then Hermana Ortega was like, “Say bye to the missionaries too!” She pokes her head in and goes, “Bye church!” and runs off. It was so funny.
I also found some cool hotwheels that I already had that Elder Romans really liked. It was like a lifted Jeep Cherokee and a Delorian from back to the future. I bought them and put them in a box for Elder Wait to give Elder Romans at transfers. Him and Elder Sauer called us later tuesday afternoon and told me he was bringing his 4runner hot wheels for me. I have been coveting that car for like a whole transfer. I could not believe he actually gave it to me. So shout out to him for being a dawg
We had mission conference this week and it was sooooo good. A few things I liked were some quotes that a lot of people have heard but just made a big impact on me. The first one was, “Are you counting the time, or making the time count?” That just kind of hit me because towards the beginning of my mission I really had an attitude of just trying to pass the time. Like a “get it over with” kind of attitude. Which sometimes it feels that way, but my perspective has really changed a lot since I came out. I’ve realized a lot of things and I’ve been so much more dedicated and diligent in the work because I know that I’m on the Lord’s errand. If I waste time, I’m not wasting my time, I’m wasting the Lord’s time. And then the other quote I liked was, “You can’t do God’s work without God.” And yes that sounds kind of obvious but in reality it’s not always that simple. We can always include God in our lives more. Everything we do should involve God. If you’re frustrated by something, ask God to help you understand. If you need dirrection in your life, ask God for guidance. If you are hurting physically or emotionally, ask God to help you heal. If your testimony isn’t growing, ask God for experiences to feel the spirit more. Ask God to see the power of the Atonement in your everyday life. Include God in everything you do. You would be surprised the impact these simple things can do. Not only for these specific blessings you need in your life, but also to strengthen your relationship with and dependance on God.
But now that I’m a district leader there’s like so many little things and responsibilities I totally forgot about. Most of my mission I have been companions with a District Leader and I know it’s a little stressful but like now that I have to do it, it feels like a lot of pressure haha. I’m super excited but also dont feel qualified haha. I’ll be fine but it’s just so weird having to worry about the district and how I can help them individually and blah blah blah. On top of that, the social media specialists called me and asked me to be the Video team head of the Spanish mission page. So basically every video has to be approved by me before it’s posted. I was on the video team last transfer and I do enjoy it but I was definitley not expecting to become the head. So that adds a lot more responsibility too haha. Elder Grubbs has a lot on his plate but the Lord is definitely doing all the work.
On Saturday it was just meeting after meeting after meeting. Very hectic but it was good. Saturday night we had a lesson with Marcia and her sister was their with her 7 year old son. He was so funny. He only speaks Spanish and little kids speaking spanish is sooooo adorable. We played a little pokemon which consisted of him putting a card on top of mine saying he won because the number on his card was higher. It was fun. Then he looks at me and says, “Yo tengo diez novias!” me: “Seguro?” him: “No, tengo cien novias!” For which I responded, “Yo tenÃa una novia, pero ella se casó con otro chico.” He just paused, looked at me and then Elder Reed, then proceeded to talk to me about his novias haha (WARNING: TRANSLATE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION)
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Spiritual Thought:
Wednesday night we had another Stake President Deviotional and it was President Newman from the Longview Stake. While I served in the Longview zone I really liked President Newman. At stake conference he shared some really cool thoughts and he is a very powerful speaker. So I was excited to hear that he was doing the deviotional for us. President Newman talked about our purpose as missionaries, but he shared D&C 6:36-37 which says,
“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.” He specifically emphasized the phrase “Behold thy wounds” and how we need not fear, like it says in verse 36. W don’t need to be afraid because Jesus Christ has already felt it. He has felt all of it.
He then quoted a scripture in Joshua that I can not find for the life of me. It talked about how we need to see how far we’ve come. If you find it pleeeease tell me haha. But it was just a good reminder for myself because I always feel like I’m not doing enough and I’ve not really seeing a lot of fruits of my labors but looking back I know that I’ve come a long way. Like I never really thought about my teaching skills and understanding of the Gospel. Being a trainer I remember how I was when I first came out on the mission. I couldn’t teach super good and everything was super choppy and all that. But looking forward I do realize that I’ve come a long way.
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Thank you all for taking the time to read my ridiculously long emails. It means a lot to me and I hope I have in some way uplifted you or provided means to feel the spirit or be taught by the spirit. I love you all so so much and I’m truly grateful for the love and support I have received. I hope your week is beyond spectacular! Please let me know if there is anybody I can pray for specifically. Muchos besos! And remember, God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!
All my love,
Elder Grubbs
