Hello everyone!! This week went by super fast, it was ridiculous. This email will probably be a bit shorter than normal because Elder Bullock was sick so we stayed inside all of Monday part of Tuesday and then all of Wednesday.
On Tuesday he started feeling a bit better but I guess he pushed it too hard cause he felt pretty sick again on Wednesday. But on Tuesday we had dinner with the Shireys and they are my favorite! Brother Shirey is from Louisiana and has the best southern accent. Everytime we have dinner at their house, we don’t share a message with them cause Brother Shirey shares a message with us. It’s actually super cool and he shared some really good insights.
We had institute and Amelia came! We talked about “multiplying and replenishing the earth”. It was interesting because we talked about having children and how you should NEVER ask someone when they are going to have kids. Brother Richens said after their 2nd kid 3 LDS doctors told them they weren’t able to have kids anymore. People would ask “When are you gonna have another kid?” and it would just crush them. Obviously there are no bad intentions with asking this question, but it can cause so much pain. Brother Richens said when people would ask them that question he started responding with, “I’ll call you”. Then they would feel very uncomfortable and realize how their question was insensitive.
We also turned to 2 Nephi 5 and discussed the context. Up until this point Lehi and his family have all been together in one group. But then Lehi dies. Lehi was the only barrier stopping Laman and Lemuel from killing Nephi and those that followed him. So they split up into the Lamanites and the Nephites. The Nephites are forced to leave so they won’t die. They journeyed in the wilderness for “the space of many days”. Then they settled and began to grow crop and raise their flock. The people followed Nephi and built buildings, and gathered resources. Their next priority was to build a temple. It then says in verse 17, “I Nephi did cause my people to be industrious, and to labor with their hands.” So they are working hard! Because they had to leave and separate from the Lamanites, they have had to labor a lot! But after all these afflictions and trials and work they had to do, it all leads up to verse 27 which says, “And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.” We can learn a few different things from this scripture. Firstly a quote by president Nelson came to my mind as we read this. This quote was used 8 times in the last general conference. “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” That is completely evident in the people of Nephi!
The other takeaway we see from these verses is that Happineses=Labor. As the Family Proclamation to the World states, “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.” All of these things take work. The world views happiness as retirement, as relaxing and not having to work. It’s important to remember that it’s not called The Plan of Pleasure, it’s called The Plan of Happiness. Happiness takes work. The most rewarding things we can do is WORK together as a family growing your relationships not only together, but with God.
After Institute we talked with Amelia for a bit and it was so cool! She explained that about a year ago she talked with the missionaries (Which were Elder Maxfield and Elder Atkinson). She said Elder Maxfield helped her so much because rather than shoving the Book of Mormon down her throat, he actually tried to answer her questions and help with the doubts she had been having. She even said she had regrets for not letting them teach her more. Then a few months ago she reached out to the Elders in Whitehouse because she knew she needed to learn more. She was hesitant at first and didn’t like the book of mormon. But once she started reading it, she has seen how it goes hand in hand with the bible. She has noticed that she is happier when she reads the book of mormon too. It just blew my mind how she was realizing all of this herself. She still doesn’t quite understand why we need a modern day prophet and things like that, but she is progressing and reading the book of Mormon!! It was so cool to hear her talk so much about Elder Maxfield and how much he helped her. From his perspective, he probably didn’t think he had any effect on her. But a year later she is reading the book of mormon and coming to church every week. He doesn’t know that simple seed that was planted had grown and helped her so much in the future.
Thursday we went on exchanges and I was with Elder Magleby. It was a ton of fun but with service and other video responsibilities we had, it wasn’t much of an exchange. Then during dinner we got a message from President and Sister Seitz that a huge storm was coming and everyone needed to be inside. So we didn’t get to finish our exchange at all lol. But there were like 3 tornados in the mission that night. Unfortunately none were in Tyler so I don’t have a cool story and or cool pictures 
So for the 3rd time this week I was stuck inside. Very fun… But we sent voice recordings to Sister Sharp and Sister Carr of playing the guitar and singing parts of country roads, wagon wheel, and a few other songs. It was so much fun!
On Friday we had dinner with Denise and Bob! Elder Magleby and Elder Curtis are teaching them. Denise is on date for baptism for March 18th. Since their last visit, Bob told them he was done with the discussions and wouldn’t be involved anymore. So we had no idea what to expect at dinner. We go inside and sit down and within the first 10 minutes Bob says he wants a list of things he has to do in order to be baptized. He said when he has a goal and knows how to accomplish it that he always achieves his goal. So he is on date for baptism as well which a super crazy miracle!!
Saturday we went on exchanges again but this time I was with Elder Curtis. From 8-12 we helped this one guy at Walmart. He does a bunch of Charity donation things and always asks us to help him when he does it here. We basically stood outside the doors and handed out these little papers/flyers of items people can donate. At first it was a little rough just standing there, but it got more fun. Surpisingly we all got a little sunburned haha. Elder Bullock was FRIED it was so funny. My cheeks were a lil rosy but not bad. For 45 or maybe an hour another group of girls came to help too. Talking with them they said they were in a Sorority at UT Tyler. It was so weird cause they didn’t talk to us very much 
I tried having a conversation with them but they didn’t really keep it going lol. Eventually as I asked more questions they opened up a tad bit and asked questions about us and our missions. One of them has family in Gilmer and Salt Lake that are members. Her family is like the only one that aren’t members. The other 2 had a friend that was a member but left to Utah for college. So it was interesting to see how they have been exposed to the church.
The APs asked Elder Curtis and Elder Magleby to make a bike safety video so we helped them and it was so fun. They video is so stupid but it’s so funny! I’ll probably put it in my email next week after the video is shown to the mission. Elder Curtis and I had a lesson with this guy named Jesse. The first 30 minutes of the lesson was him bearing testimony about the church. It was crazy. He told us his story about how God led him to our church and he just couldn’t shake the feelings he was having. He said he was here for the ‘long run’ and wanted to join the brotherhood and the family. The book of mormon has changed his life. Every lunch break he sits down and reads the book of mormon. Sometimes he even reads with his coworkers too! It was just unbelievable. Talking with some of his coworkers he wanted to get them reading the Book of Mormon and eventually come to church and talk to us! It was so cool!! He bore testimony of Joseph Smith and how he knew God led him to restore the true church on the earth today. I just couldn’t beleive how strong his faith was. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and talked about Baptism. We put him on date for March 18th!! Their member Brother Ceasar in the bishopric was there too and gave some really good input. Jesse said he would talk to his boss the following day and let us know if the 18th would work. Brother Ceasar stopped him and invited him to have more faith. He said, “Jesse I invite you to exert more faith in Heavenly Father. You commit to God that you will be baptized on the 18th and have faith that he will provide a way. He gave you that job and if it’s his will, he can give you a new one.” It was just crazy. Brother Ceasar invited him to act in faith and trust in God. After the lesson Brother Ceasar offered Jesse a priesthood blessing. So we gave him a blessing and blessed him with added strength against the adversary while he is preparing to make baptismal covenants.
Sunday was insanely busy but it was a good day. For fast and testimony meeting Austin was the first to bear his testimony! He said he knew God led Sister Williams to message him on Facebook. His testimony was so pure and genuine. The whole branch became his family just when he needed it. At the shelter he has faced more opposition than he ever has in his life just because he’s a member of the church. He said, “I will not be moved” and continued to bear his testimony of the Savior and how he is his rock and foundation. It has been so cool to see Austin grow. You can just tell that he is so much happier and his testimony grows every single day.
I also bore my testimony but when I got up there, Amelia-not too sneakily- took a picture of me. I still don’t know how to feel about that lol. But I bore my testimony on the Book of Mormon. I have always loved the last chapter of 2 Nephi. Chapter 33 is Nephi bearing his testimony and it is so powerful. I love how he acknowledges his weakness and doesn’t even know why he has been commanded to write these things. But he knows God commanded him to, so he will obey. I just love how bold he is that you will face God at the day of Judgement and know that he was commanded to keep a record of all things. Elder Holland also gave an amazing talk mentioning this part of the Book of Mormon called “Safety For the Soul” From october 2008 I think. Don’t quote me on that. But it’s such a great talk!!
We got transfer news last night and Elder Bullock and I will be staying for another transfer. We’re super pumped but it’s really sad seeing other missionaries leave. I have grown so close to them and they really are my best friends. Definitely one of the hardest parts about the mission is building relationships with people and seeing them leave. But it’ll be okay and I’ll obviously see everyone again.
The past few days I have been studying in Alma 36. I love this chapter so much! It’s Alma talking to his son Helaman and counseling with him. There are so many things we can learn from this chapter but one thing that stuck out to me was verse 14. He says, “Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction.” It just amazes me how he compares leading away the hearts of men to murder. The eternal torment and horror that he felt because he led people away from God was so immense. It’s interesting to think about the actions of those around me that attack us and mock us and bash us and how they don’t even understand the consequences of their actions. But the more opposition we face, the greater our conviction and conversion 
I love you all so much and pray that the spirit has taught you something as you have read my experiences this week. God is our loving Heavenly Father. He is keenly aware of every trial we are going through. I know that as we put our trust in him, all our efforts will be consecrated for our gain. Muchos besos! And remember, God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!
All my love
Elder Grubbs
