Wow it’s been a crazy 2 weeks. Sorry for no email last week, it was very chaotic. These past 2 weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions. I was hoping to stay another transfer with Elder Anderson and finish training but it was unlikely since I’ve already been in Rowlett for 6 months. Sunday night we were driving home from a lesson and we get a call from President Seitz. My heart literally dropped. I answered it and he asked me to be a Zone Leader. I was pretty quiet on the car ride home. I really did not want to leave Rowlett. The members were so amazing and we were teaching so many elect people. Later that night we got transfer news and it said I was headed to Tyler TX. Not only have I been super sad to leave Rowlett but now I’ve been overwhelmed with feelings of inadequecy. I guess that’s just how it goes though.
We had a super good last week in Rowlett though. We had FHE with the Robles family which was super fun cause the dad isn’t a member. We also had a lesson with Carolina and she was telling us how some other guys like us talked with her and then gave her a little card inviting her to a Christmas party this Friday. I was like, wait, a card like this??? And whipped out a card for our live nativity. She’s like, yes! So the ZL’s had talked to her a few days prior which is sick.
Friday and Saturday we had our live nativity! It was so fun!! We dressed up as shepherds and ushered people through the program. It was just outside a little 10 min nativity scene reenactment. They had real sheep and real donkeys!! It was so sick. Then inside they had tables set up with nativities from all around the world it was so cool. There was also live music in the chapel. Sooooo many people came and it was a blast. We did the same thing Saturday night but it was raining so it was all inside.
Sunday night we had a super sick lesson with Cesar that the Medranos came with us to. Then driving home I got the call from Pres. Monday was just packing all day and then saying goodbyes. It was so sad. I hated leaving. I hate change. I hate change so freaking much but that’s all you do on the mission. I guess it’s good for me but I just hate leaving a place and people I’ve grown to love so much. Now I’m just trying to figure out why the Lord needs me in Tyler right now. That’s the next step.
But I’m comps with Elder Barnum who’s from Mesquite Nevada. He’s a super chill dude and this past week has been a lot of fun. Transfer day there was a tornado warning so we were all piled in the gym for a bit. The rain was insane but it passed by pretty quickly. We cover the YSA here in Tyler and of course I get here at the worst time. Finals was last week so of all the 4 colleges we street contact at, nobody is there. Everybody has gone back home for Christmas so we literally can’t find anybody. It’s been a tough week trying to find people especially since we aren’t teaching that many people. But we’ve seen some cool miracles.
We had a cool lesson w this guy Noah who was asking a lot of questions about the apostasy and stuff but it was cool. He seems pretty interested. We do service at this sewing place that makes clothes and blankets and stuff for people that have had miscarriages or lost a baby. It’s a really cool concept. That night we went over to the stake President Rhodus’ house. Wow that’s probably the biggest house I’ve ever been in. They have like 6 Christmas trees inside. That was sick getting to know him and looking around their house a bit. We started talking about Brad Wilcox and he said one youth conference he was gonna fly him down from Utah to talk to the youth but it didn’t fit his schedule. Crazy. But he gave us one of his books called “the continuous atonement” cause he ordered a ton of hardback copies. Then he also gave us a little christus statue. It was so sick.
On Sunday there was like nobody at church because they all went home. But it was good to meet the branch president and a few of the members. That night we stopped by a few inactives ans this one family let us inside and talked with us for like an hour. The mom is an artist so she showed us all her work and her little studio and it was so cool. It was so fun talking with her and asking about the whole process of painting and selling art. They also had really cute dogs so that was a plus.
Spiritual Thought
This week I studied the talk “The tongue can be a sharp sword” by Elder Marvin J Ashton. He talks about how the first principles Christ taught his apostles were centered around how we treat one another. Then when he came to the America’s he taught those same things. He then correlates conversion with the way we treat people. He says,
“The best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people.”
He continues later in his talk by saying,
“When we truly become converted to Jesus Christ, committed to Him, an interesting thing happens: our attention turns to the welfare of our fellowman, and the way we treat others becomes increasingly filled with patience, kindness, a gentle acceptance, and a desire to play a positive role in their lives. This is the beginning of true conversion.”
I thought this was super cool because when I think about conversion I think about gospel knowledge and our testimony of the scriptures, etc. But conversion really centers around the most important christlike attribute we can have. Charity. Charity is the pure love of Christ. This all makes sense because the first 2 commandments are to love God and love everyone else. Therfore true conversion primarily entails treating others with respect and truly loving them. Not just loving them for who they are, but loving them for who they can become, for the potential they have to be someone greater. Just something to think about in your day to day life. Ask yourself, ‘Am I doing everything I can to have charity?’ As well as, ‘Am I an example of striving to be converted to Jesus Christ by the way I treat other people?’ It’s rather easy to forget that everybody is dealing with their own unique challenges in their lives. Whether they are public challenges or silent struggles, everybody is fighting their own battle. Are you doing all you can to be converted to Christ?
Sorry this email isn’t very detailed. This week was such a blur and I’m still kind of in shock that I’m in Tyler. I hope y’all have an amazing Christmas and remember why we even celebrate CHRISTmas :)) love yall so much and praying for you. Muchos besos! And remember, God is good all the time, and all the time, God is g
ood
All my love
Elder Grubbs
