Week 100: Desafíos Asturianos

Well, this week was definitely different. I got an unplanned foot massage, which was followed by an application of some top quality Cuban skin care stuff. So that's solid.

Elder Hendrix gets a surprise foot massage

Honestly, this week was a little rough. Elder Burt and I have been working super hard this week trying to find new people to teach. Finding has been our biggest struggle up here in the north. This has definitely been my hardest area. In zone conference a few weeks ago, President Pack talked a lot about ideas to find people. Northern Spain has been growing a whole lot slower than Madrid in the past few years. So he made us some finding tools to use in the streets. He printed huge posters of a picture of Jesus Christ that we can put up on a little easel thing. So we gave it a shot this week to see how it goes. We feel like we've tried everything. At one point this week, we sat down for a few minutes and just talked because we felt pretty overwhelmed about how little success we've been seeing lately. We read through chapter 9 of preach my gospel and we feel like we've been working hard with all of the ideas it has. Old investigators, family history, member work, contacting.... 

Anyway, we were given our poster thing this week, so we went to a really crowded area in the city to stop people and start conversations using the picture. It calls a lot of people attention. We did it 4 separate days this week, and I would guess we talked to somewhere around 600-700 people at the very least. But nothing. We weren't even able to receive a single phone number. It's been pretty tough. This week I've found myself wondering a lot about why this area has been so difficult to work in. Last night Elder Burt and I had a cool conversation last night as we reflected on what we originally thought was a week of failure. We've been able to find little things to be grateful for that have helped us love the experiences we've had this week. Although we didn't find anyone receptive, we did exactly what we've been called to do: Invite others to come unto Christ. And doing exactly that is success. We were able to share the message of the restoration with a few people who were kind enough to stop for at least a few minutes. And even though none of these people had any interest, I feel very happy. I feel like my Savior is by my side cheering me on. Serving in this part of Europe has definitely not been the easiest thing I've done, but I feel just as successful as I could be in any other part of the world. That's something I love about the missionary purpose. I know that if we are obedient, diligent, faithful, and we do our best, the Lord will always bless us. But we must endure to the very end! This makes me think about how grateful I am for trials I'm given. What would life be like if we never struggled? If we were never given something hard to do? We wouldn't progress. We wouldn't get better. We are given challenges as an opportunities to exercise faith and show the Lord we trust Him. These past 2 years have been full of incredible experiences that have helped me strengthen my faith, as well as my love of the Savior. He suffered so much more than we ever will. He knows how we feel. I'm so grateful for Him, and for these next two weeks that I have left in the mission. I'm so excited to work my hardest and get as much work done as I possibly can.

Until next week!

Elder Hendrix

Spending time with members & missionaries in Gijon