Week 31: Spiritual Gut Punch pt 2

Elder Hendrix at a park in Santiago.

Elders Hendrix and Trassierra at a park in Santiago.

Elder Trassierra and I are a powerhouse! We're getting so much work done! We had an amazing start to this transfer.

Elder Trassierra is from Murcia in southern Spain. Being companions with a native is really different. The culture is so different. It can frustrating and annoying at times, but I'm getting used to it. I'm just really grateful to have been raised in the greatest country in the world haha. But I really do love Elder Trassierra! He's a machine! He's motivated, he works hard, and he has a strong testimony and desire to be here. This past week has been quite an experience. My Spanish is coming along so much faster. Elder Trassierra's English is crap, so I can't really speak it much... I'm teaching him to pray in English though. He's doing good! Besides that, he knows two phrases that he says probably 50 times a day. "I own this place" and "That is just rubbish." Haha he's a funny dude. OH AND HES A PIANO WIZARD. He's sooooo good at piano. He's been playing for 10 years. He's going to study piano performance after his mission at a big music school in Málaga. We're most definitely gonna do some musical numbers together soon. He's a great missionary and I'm excited to work with him!

Anyway, this week... Not sure where to begin. It's been crazy.

We found a teaching registro in our carpeta for a guy named Gonzalo. He was taught a few years ago by some elders. We gave him a call, told him that we're the missionaries, and he actually asked us if we could meet him asap. This never happens haha so Elder Trassierra and I were so pumped. Gonzalo is from Paraguay, has lived in Santiago for 5 years, and is 21 years old. We met with him  on Thursday, and hoooooly heck it was a miracle we've been waiting for. To start, we asked him about his experience with the missionaries in the past. He said he loved meeting with them. He had great spiritual experiences learning the gospel. He went to France to study for 2 semester though, and apparently the missionaries didn't take note of it. So he was forgotten about and wasn't in contact with the missionaries when he came back. Well, last week (about 2 years later), he found his Book of Mormon in his room and felt prompted to open it up and read a little bit. Well, he didn't stop. He read the entire book in a week. And literally the very next day, he got a call from the missionaries. We were talking about his experience with this, and he explained to us that he KNOWS it is true. He said he doesn't understand it very well, but he has no doubt that it is a book full of precious truth. He said after he finished the last chapter of Moroni, he knelt down in prayer, like the missionaries taught him to do years ago, and he prayed. And he said he felt so much peace and comfort. He has received a testimony of the truthfulness and power of the Book of Mormon. And he said when we called him the next day, it was just another confirmation that God loves him and that this was no coincidence. And I can testify that is true! This was no coincidence! I know there was a reason why we called Gonzalo at that particular time. The Lord has prepared him. He will be baptized next month. We're so excited to see him progress and make that covenant with God. I don't even know him that well, but I have so much love for him! Hearing his testimony was so powerful. He's ready. Ah! I'll keep you updated!

Next... Pedro. Another guy we found in our carpeta. There wasn't a phone number on his registro, so we passed by his house this week. He was home and he let us in! He last heard from missionaries about 5 years ago. We taught him the Restoration of the Gospel and he was so engaged! He was asking so many questions and had so much interest! I see some solid potential in this guy. He's from Paraguay as well, and is 18 years old.

Oh next. I KNEW I LEARNED HOW TO RIDE A UNICYCLE FOR SOME REASON. We were walking around the center of Santiago doing some street contacting, when we saw this dude riding a unicycle in the plaza. And so I thought, hmm, I can ride a unicycle. So I looked at Elder Trassierra and said "Hey I'll bet you've never seen an approach this original." Haha I walked up to this 20ish year old college kid and asked him how long he's been unicycling and such and where he bought his unicycle and I told him I could ride one. He didn't believe it, so he asked me to try. And I did. I rode that thing. I may still be a bit of a greenie in the mission, but unicycling is engraved in my soul. I haven't lost it at all. Haha so there was an instant connection made. He said he's never met anyone in his life that can ride a unicycle. He started teaching me some tricks and stuff. And then I was somehow able to transition our conversation into a gospel topic and it was just perfect. Best contact ever. I always knew that all the work I put into learning to ride a unicycle wasn't for nothing haha.

Elder Hendrix riding a unicycle in Santiago.

So as I've mentioned, Tyler Haws (former BYU basketball player) is our mission leader. We had an idea of seeing if we could take investigators or less actives to see one of his games. We were almost sure that President Pack would say no, but we figured we might as well try. So I gave him a call last week and asked, and he's like "Tyler Haws? You talking Haws?! Get 6 extra tickets and we'll call it good." Hahaha so we got to see Tyler play on Saturday with my mission president and his family!! We brought 2 less actives, Jose and Jonathon. And wooooooooaaahhhh that game was amazing!!! The game ended 77 to 77. And so they went into overtime. And that ended 88 to 88. So they went overtime again! And then like halfway through that, Tyler's coach just started flipping out and threw his clipboard on the ground and walked out. It was soooooooooo intense! We're supposed to be in piso by 10:00, and at this point is was like 10:20, so I looked at President Pack and asked him if we need to head out, and he just stands up and shouts "Nobody is going anywhere until we figure out where the coach is!!!" Haha it was hilarious! I'm not a huge basketball fan, but I don't think I've ever been more into a game. It was awesome! Unfortunately, they lost 99 to 100. It was soooooo dang close!!!! And Tyler played so well! That was so cool we got to go! AND the mission president and his family came! Our less actives we brought loved it too! Ah such an awesome night!!! I got to see a basketball game on my mission hehehe.

Elder Hendrix with other missionaries and two members at
Tyler Haws' basketball game.

President and Sister Pack, their son, the missionaries and
two members at Tyler Haws' basketball game.

Anyway, this week has been such a success. Elder Trassierra and I are working in unity and getting work done! We found new investigators, less actives, and everything is just going great! We are having success up here in the north! Things are changing!

The north may not have a lot of members, and it may seem really hard to find people to teach, but it's not impossible. The start of this transfer has been amazing and I'm so grateful to be up here with Elder Trassierra. I have a testimony of the importance of exercising faith in the work. As Nephi promises us, if we press forward with faith, with a steadfastness in Christ and a brightness of hope, He will bless us. I know that He knows the challenges we face. He loves us. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to understand that our trials are only benefiting us and making us stronger. If we put our trust in Him, and faithfully go forth doing His will, he will perform miracles in front of us. I KNOW this is TRUE!

I love you all and I hope you have an amazing week!

Santiago should have won.

Elder Hendrix