This week was a pretty good one! We started off Monday meeting with Abner! He hasn’t been doing very well at all. Since the last time we saw him-at Angel’s baptism-he has dealt with Facial paralysis. We met him at the church to give him a blessing and have a lesson. We had a member join us who had gotten into a pretty severe car accident in the past and through the power of the priesthood and his faith he was able to fully recover. We discussed the power of the gift of the Holy Ghost with him and tried to push him towards committing to baptism. We gave him a blessing and it was really cool and the spirit was so strong. We talked for a little bit more and Hermano Aguilar asked him about baptism a little bit and Abner just kinda brushed it off and said that his facial paralysis is God preparing him and stuff. Then he asked if we could close with a prayer. Elder Hansen and I were gonna say a lot more stuff but Abner had to leave. We were gonna promise him that if he got baptized, his facial paralysis would be healed but we didn’t have the chance to ask him. Keep praying that he will understand that he is fully prepared to be baptized.
Tuesday night we were walking around knocking a few doors. We went by an apartment complex that an inactive family lives it and tried to stop-by but they weren’t home. We went back to James and Juan from last week and had an interesting lesson. Juan got in the shower so it was just us, our members (young couple in the branch) and James. When we first walked in he said he’s always down to hear a message but is currently “trying to become Catholic”. So that was cool… he did remember Helaman 5:12 that we shared last week. He really liked it and it’s pretty cool that he remembered what we talked about.
On Thursday we had a 2 hour lesson with Suzeth which was actually super productive. We showed her how to use the footnotes at the bottom of the scriptures and went over a few questions she had. We showed her JST and she was blown away. It was fun teaching her about all of it. She has been inactive for awhile so we went over the Restoration and Joseph Smith again and discussed priesthood authority and the great apostacy. Teaching is so fun!
We went down to Allen after dinner and tried to talk to a few people. We don’t usually have a ton of luck in Allen cause there isn’t a huge hispanic population. We definitely get rejected a lot and it’s kinda funny. We walked down one street and ran into this guy who is actually a member, Hermano Ortega. He told us he was a member and served a mission in Mexico and everything. His testimony is still really strong and he even goes to Utah to watch General Conference, but he had a bad experience many years ago. I don’t know exactly what happened but he was either trying to get a temple recommend or trying to work in the temple with his parents or whatever and they wouldn’t let him. So he left and never turned back. It’s really sad to see. He doesn’t feel any support from the members because nobody knocked on his door or tried to help him. So now if anybody from the church came to his door he would turn them away. He was fine talking with us and said we’re always welcome to come by, but nobody else in the church. In our records it shows him as a red dot which means “do not contact”. Usually they are only a red dot if they’re hostile or potentially dangerous but in this case he reached out to the church saying he doesn’t want anybody contacting him. He was a super nice guy and even said one of his sons wanted to serve a mission. He told him he could but he wouldn’t go to church with him or support him at all. So his son went into the military instead. He also had another son that just turned 8. It’s just sad to see all of this affect his family. His decision to walk away is restricting the blessings his family could have.
On Friday we went on exchanges and I was with Elder Gauruder. We went to Samaritan Inn and cracked probably 100 eggs. Elder Gauruder dropped a whole egg in the bucket and had to dig around to find the shell it was hilarious. Later that night we randomly knocked on a door and this guy trey (Spelled trai) opened the door and was like “Yoo wassup!!” He has talked to missionaries in the past and is super dope. He has 4 girls ages 9, 6, 3, and 1 with a baby boy on the way! He was such a sick dude and we had a really good discussion on fasting. We talked about the Spiritual power we can receive through fasting. He said they haven’t been to their church in awhile and kind of fell away from God but want to come back. He said we could come back and immediately gave us his number. Then he’s like, “Also here’s my wife’s number in case I don’t respond”. It was crazy! Super elect dude but we’ll have to pass him off to the english elders :((
Saturday was a crazy day but we taught our friend Teresa before dinner! She has been coming to our English classes and we asked if we could share a message with their family! She said yes and last week but had to cancel because her 9 year old daughter wouldn’t be home, and she loves our spiritual message at the end of our classes. So she wants her daughter to be there! We get there and start talking to them and find out that her husband is a member! He was convert but was baptized in his youth and before he was ordained a teacher he didn’t go to church and has been inactive for 20 years. They just moved here from Chile 2 months. It was such a cool lesson and it was awesome teaching them about the book of Mormon. They’re such a cute family and I’m super excited for them to come to the Branch! Also last week they came to our branch party and already know a few members so that’s super sick!
Other Highlights: Coach visited me!! My friends dad came and took us out to dinner which was super fun! Crazy all see them in just a few weeks. At Salvation Army there was a ninja course set up which was super fun! We messed around a ton and did some flips, it was sick
I wanted to share this story from a talk I read recently by President Nelson
“That happened to Jerry, a Protestant gentleman in his mid-60s who lives in Mesa, Arizona. Jerry’s father was a Baptist minister; his mother, a Methodist minister. One day Jerry’s close friend Pricilla shared with him the pain she felt from the death of her child during childbirth and a bitter divorce that occurred shortly thereafter. Struggling as a single mother, Pricilla has four children—three daughters and a son. As she opened her heart to Jerry, she confessed that she was thinking of taking her own life. With all the strength and love Jerry could muster, he tried to help her understand that her life had value. He invited her to attend his church, but Pricilla explained that she had given up on God. Jerry did not know what to do. Later, while watering trees in his yard, this man of faith prayed to God for guidance. As he prayed, he heard a voice in his mind saying, “Stop the boys on the bikes.” Jerry, a little bewildered, wondered what this meant. As he reflected on this impression, he gazed up the street and saw two young men in white shirts and ties riding bicycles toward his home. Stunned by this “coincidence,” he watched them ride by. Then, realizing that the situation required him to act, he shouted out, “Hey, you, please stop! I need to talk to you!” With a puzzled but excited look, the young men stopped. As they approached, Jerry noticed that they wore name tags identifying them as missionaries in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jerry looked at them and said, “This may sound a little weird, but I was praying and was told to ‘stop the boys on the bikes.’ I looked up the street, and here you are. Can you help me?” The missionaries smiled, and one said, “Yes, I am sure we can.” Jerry explained the worrisome plight of Pricilla. Soon the missionaries were meeting with Pricilla, her children, and Jerry. They discussed the purpose of life and God’s eternal plan for them. Jerry, Pricilla, and her children grew in faith through sincere prayer, their study of the Book of Mormon, and the loving fellowship with members of the Church. Jerry’s already strong faith in Jesus Christ grew even stronger. Pricilla’s doubts and thoughts of suicide turned to hope and happiness. They were baptized and became members of Christ’s restored Church.”
It’s crazy seeing these weeks fly by. I hate thinking about leaving all of this behind; so many relationships and memories I have made. I love finding people to teach and see them feel the spirit and watch their conversion grow. It’s just sad knowing I won’t be able to continue watching their growth and progression in the Gospel. But all things must come to an end in this life and I know I need to move on to the next part of my life. It’s just crazy thinking it’s already almost been 2 years. I love and appreciate all of you who have read my emails and supported me on my journey. Love y’all!! Muchos besos! And remember, God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good! 
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All my love,
Elder Grubbs
