Week 42: Caridad

I have no time, so sorry if this is short... I got transferred! I'm going to the center of Madrid to serve with my new companion, Elder Sasso. He's from Pennsylvania and has been in the mission for 22 months. I'm super excited to serve with him! And I'm so pumped to be in this area of Madrid!

My companionship with Elder Trassierra was quite the experience. I haven't written home much about how it went, so I'd like to talk about things I learned with him. The three months I served with him were the hardest three months of my life. He was extremely difficult to be with. There were days when he refused to speak to me. He was never open with me and it was just difficult to love him. I would wonder why the heck, of all people, I was assigned to serve with him. I felt so trapped in that companionship. I always felt so discouraged. I spent every night at my bedside just asking God to help me to understand why I was out with this guy. There had been times when I just felt alone. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I always felt like those 2 transfers were a huge waste. 

Though, as its over, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on it. In reality, I learned so much from him. I feel like Heavenly Father put me with him because He loves me. He knew I would experience a challenge, but He wanted me to be able to grow from it. In my companionship with Elder Trassierra, I learned a lot about charity. I thought I knew what charity was before, but now I really feel like I understand why it's so important. I think about the Savior. A lot of people rejected Him and had so much hatred towards Him. But He continued to love and serve them unconditionally anyway. I thought about this throughout this companionship. I tried so hard to serve my companion and do everything I could to help him. He may have never expressed gratitude, but that's when I am reminded of how amazing my Savior is. There were people who would never listen to Him or even acknowledge that He was there. But He still loved them. He still helped them. He still saw them as sons and daughters of God. 

I feel like Elder Trassierra taught me to love the Savior. He taught me what charity is. I've come to better understand the importance of enduring and keep trusting in the Lord, because He knows how we feel. Sometimes we are given trials that seem impossible to endure, but that's when our faith is tested. With faith, along with following the example of the Savior, we can do whatever God requires of us. My appreciation for trials has increased. I'm very grateful that we are given hard tasks, because it gives us an opportunity to show God that we trust Him and have faith in Him.

I love you all! More info on my new area to come! Have an awesome week!

Elder Hendrix