Week 28: Nephi 3:7

It's still raining. Ok.

Elder Hendrix on a tractor outside Santaigo.

This week was a bit slower unfortunately. My companion decided to become deathly ill, so I spent a ton of time cleaning up this mess of a piso. I'm not even sure if you can call it a piso. I could clean for weeks and it would still need work. But I've made some serious progress! I really wish I would have taken pictures when I first got
here. Past missionaries have destroyed this place. And we have no chairs right now... I sat down for studies one morning and my chair just collapsed underneath me and broke. I mean, yes, I've gained some weight, but these chairs were crap to begin with anyway lol. The kitchen walls have grease caked all over them... It's nice. But I'm so proud of the work I've out into cleaning this place up. There's some serious potential here guys. By the time I leave this place, it'll look brand new.

We actually got a few minutes of sunshine one day this week. It was the craziest thing I've seen yet. It's still freezing here and I'm pretty sure it's getting colder. Our piso doesn't have heating or hot water. It makes me think about how great America is. We really got it good over there. Little things like that make me so grateful for what I have. But I'm staying warm. Fried quesadillas make great hand warmers.

Elder Hendrix making cookies in his piso. 

We're continuing to contact people from those teaching records we found a while ago. Pretty much everyone that answered didn't want to have anything to do with us, so we didn't find much success there. But we're staying strong! We still have plenty of numbers to call and plenty addresses to pass by. The work up here in Santiago has really been teaching me patience. People aren't just gonna show up one day. We're the ones that have to bring the gospel to them. People in the north never let us in. But I know that sharing a simple testimony can go a long way. People will feel something. I have faith that seeds are being planted!

Along with that, I want to share something I learned in a zone training we had this week. An elder in my zone, Elder Holt, gave an insight about having a positive attitude. He talked about the word 'difficult' and how we use it too much. He compared Nephi with his brothers Laman and Lemuel. When Lehi told Nephi that he needed to go
back to Jerusalem with his brothers to obtain the brass plates, he responds "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." Nephi is such a grate example of someone with a positive attitude. He knows that what he has been commanded to do won't be easy, but he has faith that it is what he needs to do. And with the help of the Lord, it will be done. Laman and
Lemuel on the other hand, "And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a [difficult] thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord." They had an attitude of 'this is impossible, it's never gonna happen.' But where is their faith? If it is something that the Lord has commanded them to do, they will do it. Elder Holt said that we may sometimes be a little like Laman and Lemuel. "It's difficult to find people in the north. Contacting is hard. It's too hard to work in the rain. I miss Madrid where the work was better." We won't have success with these attitudes! If we say it's difficult, it's gonna be
difficult. He invited us to eliminate that word out of our vocabularies completely. His insight was so powerful. It really made me think about what I need to change. I feel like a lot of people think "oh I'm in a hard part of the mission. Nobody baptizes in the north." We can find success up here! It may require more patience, but with faith, obedience, and optimism, we will teach!

I got to do two musical numbers this week!! In that same meeting, I sang a duet of El Espíritu de Dios (The spirit of God) with Elder Pulotu from Hawaii. I wrote the piano arrangement and recorded it on the electric piano and we just sang to it. It went really well! I did another musical number in sacrament meeting yesterday. I sang Más Cerca Dios de Ti (Nearer my God to thee). I love doing musical numbers so much!!! I'm so grateful that I've been able to do so many already! My companion Elder Wither is awesome. We get along really well and I'm
really happy to be serving with him! He has been really helpful with Spanish since he's from Peru. Being with a native speaker is a blessing!

I hit my 6 month mark last week. A quarter of my mission is already gone. It's the weirdest thing ever. It's going way too fast. But looking back, I've learned so much in such a short amount of time. Serving a mission has been the greatest decision I've ever made. I'm so happy to be here sharing the gospel. I love the mission field
sooooo much. I know that this calling came from the Lord and this is where he needs me.

I love you all! Send me selfies.

Stay inside. My sister got her license.

Elder Hendrix

An interesting old building outside Santiago.

Elder Hendrix making pancakes at Elder and Sister Bake's piso.