Week 2 in the MTC

Elder Hendrix (5th from left in purple tie) and his district at the MTC.

This week has been amazing!! We had our first lesson entirely in Spanish on Friday. I was way nervous, but as soon as we sat down, the spirit totally took over. It went so well! Since then, we've had six lessons with our two investigators. I love teaching so much! If there are two things I've learned this week, its 1) The gift of tongues is amazing. I could be listening to an investigator, having no idea what is being said, but then Spanish just starts rolling out of my mouth and we're able to communicate and the spirit is so there. And 2) I'm pretty sure I've learned more Spanish in a week at the MTC than I did in high school in 2 years, so that's pretty great :)

The MTC is the coolest place ever. There are thousands of missionaries that are called to serve all over the world in totally different crazy cultures. And its amazing that no matter where you serve, the gospel is the same. It's so fun talking with so many people from all over the place.

Since I didn't really have a ton of time last week, I'll talk more about my district. There's 10 elders. Four are going to Madrid (Elder Phillips, Lords, Hendrix, and Irene), four going to Malaga (Elder Sant, Smith, Howard, and Seely), and 2 going to Barcelona (Elder Martin and Winsor). I love my district so much! We have so much fun! We all have a lot in common and we just mesh really well. Everybody is super nice to each other and everyone lifts each other up and nobody is ever left out. And they all have such incredibly strong testimonies! Everyone participates in class and wants to learn! I love it! Elder Howard is the comedian of the group. For those of you that watch The Office, he's Michael Scott. It's amazing! My district plays basketball just about every day during our gym time, unless you're elder Winsor, who spends the whole hour running. He's insane! This morning he ran 76 laps on the track in like 45 minutes (7.6 miles). He was the state champ for track this past year with a 4:16 mile.

Sundays in the MTC are super cool. Sacrament meeting can be scary though, cause we don't know who the speakers will be until the branch president announces it at the start of the meeting. So everybody has to have a talk prepared for that week's topic, in case we get called on! Did I mention everything is in Spanish? We have devotionals every Sunday and Tuesday night, and they're amazing! They're usually with someone in the 70. I've heard rumor that Elder Holland will be here next month...We'll see!

The Branch president is a funny dude! President Price always has some jokes to tell, or some crazy riddles.  He's from Orem and has been here in the MTC for like 20 years. I love that guy! There are a ton of missionaries from Gilbert here! I've run into a few from school and my ward, like Elder Benesch, Elder Berrett, Elder Packer, Elder Pace, Sister Lee, and a ton more from Chandler and Higley.

The Logans:  Elder Logan Hendrix and Elder Logan
Bond, who will serve in Fiji.

Elder Nick Berrett, who will serve in Montana,
 and Elder Logan Hendrix.

I love the MTC sooooo much, but I'm so anxious to get into the field! I finally got my visa yesterday and I'm all set to go on the 28th of September! Even though the investigators here are members role playing, the spirit is still way strong and I can only imagine what the field will be like!!! 

Well everyone, thanks so much for all the support and love! I'm so happy to be here in the MTC and I'm so incredibly grateful for the opportunity that I have to go serve the people of Madrid in a few short weeks! I miss all of you so much! Mail is always the greatest thing ever, so if you'd like to, you can write me through dearelder.com, or you get mail me a letter! Hope everyone has an amazing week! 

Te Amo, Elder Hendrix

Elder Hendrix (right) With his companion Elder Irene and Kenya, an investigator.

Week 1: I'm in the MTC!

I'M ON A MISSION, WHAT THE HECK! WHERE DID TIME GO?

So the first day was crazy. We got dropped off, got our nametags, and went straight to work. My companion, Elder Irene, is from Lander, Wyoming. He's super cool and wants to work! My district has 10 elders, all going to Spain. They're all so amazing! We already have tons of inside jokes and they're so much fun. We had a devotional with the MTC president that night with all new 500ish missionaries, and it was amazing! I'm so happy to be here and I'm so excited for the next 6 weeks!

My Spanish is coming along pretty well! Having a teacher that doesn't speak English can be a bit frustrating, but I'm definitely learning to be patient. So this is our schedule just about every day: wake up, breakfast, class for 5 hours, lunch, class for 3 hours, dinner, class for 3 hours, then go to bed. The days are super long, but the teachers make the classes really fun. 

Tonight we are teaching our first lesson to an investigator named Kenya, entirely in Spanish. So that's a bit nerve-racking, but I'll report back how it goes. So I'm definitely not missing the heat! We played soccer in 60 degree weather this morning! 

Well anyway, I'm doing great and I love the MTC!! I miss all of you and appreciate all your love and support! I don't have a lot of time to email today, so hopefully next week's email is better! (My p day is Friday)

Te amo,

Elder Hendrix

Logan ran into his friend, Elder Conrad Belshe,
who will be serving in the Czech Republic.

Attached is a picture of two elders in Logan's district,
Elder Phillips and Elder Lords. "We made a chain with the
number of days left in the MTC. The yellow ones are our p days."