Week 99: Betty la máquina

Elder Hendrix on a hike in Oviedo

There's a convert in the branch named Betty. She's from Venezuela and she was baptized here in Gijón just a few months ago. We teach her every Tuesday. She's an incredible example to the branch. She's very faithful and is always looking to share her testimony. She has struggled with depression and other health issues, but man hearing her conversion story is incredible. She's a completely changed person. I love meeting in her home. I don't know her super well, and I didn't know her before she was baptized, but I can tell she has really changed since becoming a member of the church. She reminds me of an experience I had doing baptismal interviews for a family in Madrid last year. I had never really got to know these people very well, but I could just feel the change they had made in their lives. That's something I love about the spirit. It testifies to me that changes happen when the gospel is lived. You can see in the eyes of the people you speak with that they have felt the power of the atonement in their lives. I'm grateful for Betty and for her desire to live the gospel. Her 86-year-old father lives in her home, and we've invited him several times to join us for the lesson. He isn't very receptive andhas explained that he just doesn't have interest, but we continue trying. He usually goes to a different room until we leave. This week however, we had a cool experience talking to him. During our lesson with Betty, he walked in the room and asked if he could say something. He explained that although he personally isn't very religious, he loves the missionaries and what we do. He said he has seen a tremendous change in Betty over the past few months and that she's always happy and optimistic. He said that it has even blessed his own life to see his daughter become involved in something she loves so much. He expressed his gratitude and then gave Betty a big hug. It was so cool to see! He and Betty haven't always had the greatest relationship, but that day was another confirmation to me that the gospel really does transform you into what God wants you to become. He wants us to be truly happy. And he wants that happiness to be eternal. And the only way to achieve it is through living His gospel. I'm grateful he is able to recognize the power of the atonement. And although he may not be accepting the gospel in this moment, I know he has felt something. And the little things that Betty is doing to express her testimony, like simply being an example, will go a long way. I have faith that her father will one day open his heart and receive the gospel. Anyway, after the lesson, Betty taught us how to make arepas. And man those things are about as tasty as a caprisun on a hot day. #VenezuelaWins

So there's a really cool old lady in the ward named Nancy. Can't remember if I've talked about her before or not. She invited us over on Saturday for dinner since it was my companions birthday. So we had some bomb Cuban food. Anyway, so we have to be back in piso at 10:30 pm, and the bus from her house leaves at 10:00. So we would have been able to get back on time without problem. So we got outside at like 9:50 to be safe, but the bus never came. We waited until 10:20, but nothing. So we started walking. We had to walk about an hour to get to a different bus line where we could catch a different bus that heads toward our piso. But by the time we got there, the schedule on the thing said that the last bus had already passed. So we tried calling a few members to see if we could get a hold of someone with a car, but nobody answered. We didn't have a phone number for a taxi company either. And the streets were dead. And it was super dark. And all the stores were closed. So there was literally nobody to find a ride from. And we were basically in the middle of nowhere. So we had the idea of saying a prayer right there to ask for a way to get home that night. After we said amen, the was a taxi literally right in front of us that had just pulled up. So we hopped in and headed home! We finally arrived at 11:45, but hey we got home! So that was a cool miracle we witnessed. Prayer has power!

Anyway, p day was pretty fun. I did some clothes shopping today. But I just now remembered that America is not Spain. So my clothes are gonna look tight as heck when I get home.

Elder Hendrix hiking in Oviedo

The beach at Gijon

A Cristo statue in Oviedo with Elder Burt
and the Hermanas