Week 85: Carnivals are lame

Elder Hendrix enjoys the ocean view in Los Cristianos.

Elder Hendrix lives just a short walk from
this beach in Los Cristianos.

Elder McDade and I are killin it out here in Spanish Africa. He's a really cool guy. We had a great first week together and we're excited to keep working hard. He's about 18 months old in the mission. He entered the field a transfer after me, so we're a really old companionship. Which is super cool actually. We've both had really young companions for the past year, so it has been a really weird but relieving change for both of us. We're both pretty experienced missionaries and we have no problem with the language, so we're gonna take advantage of this companionship and get things done. It's so much less stressful, so we're really motivated and excited to be together. Elder McDade is really cool. We get along super well. He's really tranquilo. We have a really similar personality.

Elder Hendrix with his new companion, Elder McDade.

As for this week, we had lessons with several investigators! We were able to visit Mayalene and Miguel finally, which was awesome! They're doing really good. They haven't been able to come to church lately because Mayalene got a job kinda far away and had to move there. So that stinks. But at the same time, we're really happy for them because they've been looking for work forever. It's really hard to find work on this island. But they're continuing to pray and read! We had a really good conversation with them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They still have a strong desire to be baptized, which is great! They think they'll be able to come to church a little more next month because Mayalene will start having Sunday mornings off. So we're excited to continue teaching them and helping them learn more!

So we got probably a solid 10 minutes of sleep this entire week haha. The carnival is here. It comes to Los Cristianos once a year, and it just so happens to take place literally right outside our piso. We have a perfect view of the whole thing, which is cool, but it's always so loud and they blast music with like 7382 inch subwoofers until 5 am. It's insane. And on the weekends they have huge parties. Literally thousands of people come. There's a huge stage they set up where they have like bands and stuff. It's cool hearing modern music again, but it's ridiculously loud. It's cool watching the mosh pit though. It gets pretty insane. I took a few pictures of it from our apartment. I'm so excited for it to be over this week. I think there's only like 5 or 6 days left. We'll be able to finally do studies and not have to yell at each other to hear haha.

A view of carnival from the piso.

Today for P day we walked around the boardwalk and took some awesome pictures. I've been here for almost 5 months already, and it's still not getting old. Haha I love Tenerife! Check out my blog to see all the cool pictures I took today.

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Hendrix

Week 84: Make sure all the digits are there!

That week number is getting pretty big... :(

It has been a pretty busy week over here in Tenerife! We saw lots of miracles this week! We found lots of new people to teach and we're continuing to work hard.

We had a cool experience with a Nigerian dude named Antony. After having spent a solid 3 hours contacting in the sketchy streets of El Fraile without seeing much success, we found ourselves waiting at the bus stop to head back to Los Cristianos for lunch. A man approached us at the bus stop and asked who we were. We were happy to introduce ourselves and talk about what we do. We had a cool conversation with this man, Antony, about the Savior Jesus Christ. He's a very religious guy and loves his church. He said he would love to hear more about what we preach. He even told us that the spirit told him to come speak to us, which is already a miracle that he recognized that! So we wrote down his number and scheduled a return appointment. We called him the next morning however to find out that the number he had given us was wrong. It didn't exist. So that was pretty upsetting. So we prayed hard that we would be able to meet him again one day so he would have the opportunity to hear the gospel. And the very next day, exactly that happened!! We were on our way to an appointment and we ran into him by the bus station in Los Cristianos! I can't even imagine the odds of that happening. I mean this island isn't big, but it's not too small either. I know this wasn't just a coincidence! 

Anyway, we discovered that Elder Hendrix is actually just dumb and missed a digit when writing down the phone number... Haha he said he was anxious to get a call! So we sat down on a bench and taught him the restoration right there. And it was such a miracle lesson haha. As soon as we got talking about Jospeh Smith, it seemed like Satan was just trying to do all he could to stop it. A man approached us and asked about a bus schedule, then another dude asked us for money, then a woman asked us if we had a lighter so she could light her cigarette, then a kid tried selling us carnival tickets and wouldn't leave. There were sooo many distractions that came up during the lesson. But as soon as we finished talking about Joseph Smith, they all stopped. It's just interesting how that happened. Satan clearly doesn't want people to hear about the restoration. Haha but the lesson ended up going really well! Antony was really engaged and not distracted. There was a good spirit there. I'm so grateful he was so focused and had real intent to learn about what we're here to teach. We're excited to teach him again!

So transfers came out this weekend. My companion Elder Bellon got transferred. So I'm getting a new comp this afternoon! His name is Elder McDade. Updates to come! But I'm super excited for a fourth transfer here in Tenerife!! We've got lots of work to do!

Hope you all have an awesome week!

Elder Hendrix

TELL MY MOM HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON SATURDAY SHES TURNING 29!!!!!!!

Each of Elder Hendrix's companions sign his guitar.

Week 83: Talents

This week was weird. We went through a heat wave. It was like 68 degrees one day, and then literally over night it went up to 90. So weird. So we had a sweaty week with insane humidity. But it's all back to normal now thankfully! 

So Mayalene and Miguel moved to a little pueblo up north called Alcala. Mayalene got a job up there which is awesome! She works in a rest home 24 hours a day for 6 days a week. Finding work over here is really hard. So they're really grateful she found something! So we're really happy for them! We just can't teach them as often now. Which is tough. But they're doing really well! They're reading and praying together when they can and they always have questions about what they've read. We went up to visit Miguel one day this week. He doesn't see Mayalene too often, so I think he gets a little lonely. So we went up to eat lunch with him. He showed us around Alcala too. It's a cool little town! There are some amazing views from the coast too.

Sacrament meeting was really good yesterday. The theme was developing talents. Claudio, a member of the bishopric, gave a really great talk. He talked about how the Lord has blessed each of us with special talents and abilities that are waiting to be developed. We just need to look for them and use them. He talked about a quote of some famous golfer. I can't remember who he was, but there's was one game where he totally destroyed and set some kind of a record or something. One of the players told him he's a very lucky player. Then he responded "Yeah. It seems like the more I train, the luckier I get, doesn't it?" Claudio talked about how if we work hard at developing our talents, we will be able to master them with the Lord's help. He wants us to use them! That's why He gave them to us! This golfer wasn't lucky. He had found a talent that he chose to strive for and develop. And after hard work and dedication, it paid off. Cool stuff.

Anyway, sorry this is short. I love you all! Have an awesome week! 

Elder Hendrix

Week 82: A living prophet

Elder Hendrix on a p-day trip to Teide.

It has been a busy week! We're continuing to work hard out here in the island of Tenerife. We've seen several miracles this week. We were able to get in contact with several old investigators that we are finally reaching again. So that was cool! We had several lessons with new people and we're excited to continue teaching them. 

This past Saturday, we got permission to play beach volleyball with our investigators and several less actives. We had so much fun! I haven't walked barefoot in sand for a long time! It was incredible. Everyone really enjoyed the morning! Several people showed up, as well as some members that wanted to come support! I've got some pretty solid tan lines now, so as is well.

This week we were out in the ghetto pueblo city of Guaza knocking doors. That place is sketch. But we talked to so many people. Unfortunately, nobody was receptive, but I have faith that at least some seeds were planted. We get rejected so much here in Tenerife. But we're doing good at staying positive! There was one contact in particular that really made me think. We knocked the door of a old islander, who was initially quite pleasant to converse with. He invited us in and we started preachin. He was quick to reject us by expressing his assurance that we have no clue what we're doing. He called us liars and let us know that we have no idea how God works. He said that God doesn't call prophets anymore. We simply shared our testimonies of a living prophet. We boldly represented our Savior by sharing restored truths of His gospel. However, this man continued to criticize us for our silly beliefs in a living man that receives revelation from God. He kicked us out of his home. 

Reflecting on this experience however, has helped me better understand how much of a blessing it is that God continues calling modern day prophets. I know that God loves His children. He called Joseph Smith to be a prophet and restore the same church that Jesus Christ has organized. President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. And every person has the right and opportunity to receive the greatest blessings of this knowledge, but it is essential to first allow yourself to accept it. I know that God calls prophets, because I have followed the counsel of the scriptures, which teach us that by applying what they teach we are promised a confirmation of their reality. Ether 12:6 says "...dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." Man, this man's trial of faith is accepting the fact that God has called a prophet. In order to receive that witness, it is necessary that we exercise our faith by following their counsel and trusting that God himself has called them. 

Today for P day, Hermano Villalobos took the four of us missionaries on a little road trip around Tenerife! It was so cool! This island is absolutely beautiful. The Lord sure knew what he was doing when He put this little piece of land in the middle of the ocean. There are so many amazing views and things to see. I'll try to attach pictures...

Well, as always, I hope you all have a great week! Until next Monday!

Elder Hendrix