Week 35: Teaching Opportunities and Jam Sessions

I think it stopped raining....wait....oh...never mind yeah it's actually hailing now. Yay.

A swan at a Santiago park.  It is a popular place for wedding proposals.

I'll start with the funny stuff.

So there was this kid like 18 or 19 years old waiting at the bus stop across the street and we decided we were gonna go try talking to him. He was alone and looked kinda sad so we just thought we would see what's up. We approached him and said hi and he just started at us. We introduced ourselves and whatnot and he didn't say a word. We asked him if he was ok or if we could help him with something, but he just stayed silent with a scary glare on his face. I pulled out a restoration pamphlet and showed him the picture of Christ on the front and asked him if he knows who Christ is. And then the weirdest thing I've ever seen happened. He started hissing like a snake and then snatched that pamphlet out of my hand with his teeth, then dropped to all fours and ran away like a dog. On his hands and knees with the pamphlet in his mouth. It was crazy! I don't think I've ever seen a person run like a dog that fast! It was sooooo weird! But hey, at least he accepted the pamphlet!

We went to visit an old investigator one day this week to see if we could talk with him, but he wasn't home. We were about to leave until we heard this really loud music coming from a piso down the hall. It was some blues jazz or something, so my companion and I decided we would try knocking on the door and asking about the music or who it is or whatever. We figured it was an idea to start a conversation. This woman (like mid 30s) opened the door and we just said hey we heard the music down the hall and we were interested in what it is! She invited us in and started confessing to us her love for jazz and blues and stuff and her whole story about being in a band that ended when someone died or something... Idk. But Elder Trassierra and I told her how we're musicians as well! And then she lead us to this room full of instruments. A drum set, keyboard, sax, trumpet, guitar, everything. I sat down at the drum set and dropped a sick best and then Elder Trassierra hopped on the keyboard and we were straight jammin' and then the woman picked up an electric guitar and starts shredding and holy glorious Chickfila it was amazing. It was sooooo much fun! Unfortunately however, she has absolutely zero interest in the gospel. All the fun deescalated very quickly... Long story short, she doesn't want us to return... Oh well!

We found this awesome Dominican named Janet. She's gold! We met her in the street last week and had a lesson in her home a few days ago. And it went so well!! There was such a sweet spirit there! We taught the
restoration of the gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith. She said she would read the Book of Mormon, and she even said she would be baptized if she receives an answer! She's willing and prepared to hear the gospel. She has solid intent. We're excited to meet with her more in the coming weeks! The only challenge is that she has to work on Sundays... But we'll see where we go! More info to come...

Gonzalo came to church yesterday! I talked about Gonzalo a few weeks ago I think... He's an investigator that we found in our area book. He has already read the whole Book of Mormon and he knows it's true. It's been difficult getting a hold of him the past few weeks because he did the Camino de Santiago and then got a new job where he works a ton, but we finally had another lesson lesson with him Saturday night! And then came to church the next day! This guy is a stud. Except Justin Bieber is his favorite singer... But he's awesome! The members were really nice to him and welcomed him and talked to him and it was just great! He doesn't have a baptismal date at the moment, but we have faith that he will get there soon!

We met an AMERICAN this week!!!! Daniel is 25 and is from California. We found him on the street. His Spanish is perfect haha. We were speaking in Spanish and then he said he's from Los Angeles in the US and then I replied in English like no way dude I'm from Arizona! And then we made a connection haha. Finding other Americans in Spain is a beautiful thing. He gave us his number and said he would be so down to meet with us! So we had a solid lesson this week at the Bake's piso. He's so interested in why Mormons are always so happy. He said there's just something about Mormon families that's so noticeably different. We talked about how the gospel blesses families and such and it was great! We're gonna meet with him again hopefully this week. It was so cool to teach a lesson in English! Haha it felt uncomfortable and awkward, but it was cool!

We have a noche de hogar (family home evening) with this member family of chivales once a week. Jose (21), Jonathon (14), Katherine (21), and Rachael (16). They're all cousins from Ecuador and live in a piso without adults. That place is a madhouse sometimes haha, but we go visit them every Sunday night. They're from Ecuador. They talk soooo fast, but they're the funniest kids ever. We always share a message, have some snacks, and play a game. They sometimes invite friends over too! They really are awesome kids. We're working on trying to get them to come to church more. It's getting better!

The weather isn't changing much. It still rains school buses every day. It's getting kinda old. But we still keep working!

Fun fact... There's a fresh water spring right in the middle of Santiago.

Oh here's an update on the pinewood derby activity! We're doing it on the 22nd. The members are really excited! People are already trash talking and getting competitive! We feel really confident that it will be a success!

I'm grateful to be here in Santiago. Being a missionary is the greatest blessing. I've learned so much in such a short amount of time. My testimony grows every day and I'm so grateful that I get to share it so often!

As always, thank you for all your support! I miss and love each of you so much! Send selfies with Chickfila. Have an amazing week!

Elder Hendrix

Elders Trassierra and Hendrix in Santiago.

Elder Hendrix poses with a local.

Week 34: Pull the Weeds!

Another awesome week!

We had a zone meeting in Vigo on Tuesday. It was really cool! We talked a lot about street contacting and what we can do to improve. One thing that I realized in that meeting is that, with street contacting, there are always second chances. If you try to stop someone in the street and it just goes awful, or your Spanish was really bad, it's ok! Because we are surrounded by people all the time so there's always somebody different you can talk to and retry! If you stop someone and they totally reject you and don't even look a look at you, don't get discouraged! Just keep going and keep trying! Street contacting is really growing on me. I love trying new things and thinking of different approaches and practicing them. Anyway, after the zone meeting, we were assigned to work with a different missionary in the zone to go contacting with for the rest of the day. And I got put with Elder Gustafson! He was my trainer! It was so cool to work with him again! Working with him made me reflect on the past 8 months. When I served with him, I was brand new in the mission. I didn't kow Spanish, I wasn't confident in my teaching ability, I felt uncomfortable all the time... But holy goodness gracious I've changed. It was so weird to work with him this week and actually speak Spanish and talk to the people and teach lessons and feel totally confident! It was a humbling experience. It just showed me that I've come such a long way in such a short amount of time. We had such a good day!

Zone conference in Vigo on March 29, 2016.

In the zone conference I got to be in a musical number! I sang a song with my district called The Olive Tree.

We met with our Rubik's cube investigator this week! Her name is Francinette. She's from Brazil and I can't understand a thing she says lol. She speaks to us in Portuguese with a few Spanish words thrown in. Elder Trassierra can understand most of what she says fortunately. I just kinda smile and testify of the Savior and stuff... It's great. But she's really cool! We taught her the plan of salvation and she was really interested! And she's reading in the Book of Mormon and praying!

So Elder Trassierra and I make brownies every single morning. We take brownies to all of our lessons. Members, investigators, everyone. Sometimes we just give them out in the street haha. But we've become expert brownie makers. Like Oxspring status. Almost.

So I guess my birthday was this week or something... Haha it was fun! Birthdays in the mission are weird... It just feels like any other day to be honest. But my district threw a little surprise party for me! Hermana Bake made a huge lunch! All American stuff! Roast, potatoes, carrots, salad, ah it was awesome! My family sent me a Betty Crocker cake mix for my birthday and told me to make my own cake. So I did that. And now everyone thinks I'm weird. So I'm blaming my family. Thanks guys! Haha I have to say though, that thing was gooooood. That night, Tyler and Summer Haws invited us over for dinner! They made us some real tasty American burgers. So my birthday was overall pretty great! The only bad part was that literally all of our lessons that day failed us... But it's cool because Elder Holt in my zone gave me some Chicfila sauce that his family sent him.

So this week we had a cool idea! We bought some chalk and went to a park and drew the plan of salvation really big on the ground. It looked so good! All different colors and stuff. A ton of people passed by and we taught a very brief explanation of the plan of salvation soooo many times! We got quite a few phone numbers, so hopefully a few of them are good! It was really cool and fun way to teach people in the street! We're hoping to try it again if we can find a few minutes of no rain!

I hope you all enjoyed conference this weekend! I know I did! I loved all of the talks, but I have to say that one that really stuck out to me was President Uchtdorf in the priesthood session. He was talking about finding happiness in a marriage. One thing he said that I LOVED was "Pull out the weeds and water the flowers." Stop pointing out the things that are irritating and causing yourself harm, and start looking for the good. Focus on what's beautiful and uplifting. I feel like this applies to life in general. We need to stop complaining. If there are weeds, get rid of them. Look at the flowers. Happiness is a choice. So make that choice and water them! With effort and diligence and charity, you'll get some dang nice lookin flowers. And then you won't even notice the weeds anymore.

I love you guys! Thank you so much for all of the birthday wishes!

Elder Hendrix

Elder Hendrix made his own birthday cake!

Elder Hendrix gets a surprise birthday dinner at
 Brother and Sister Bakes' piso

A yummy American birthday dinner.

Week 33: Pressing Forward

This week was so different! It rained everyday...  So actually it wasn't really different.

So we've been trying to think of new ways to teach the restoration. I'm sure this has been done before, but I thought of teaching with a Rubik's cube. A solved Rubik's represents the church that Christ established. Perfect in every way. But after his crucifixion am the death of his apostles, things were changed. Their authority was no
longer on the earth. The doctrine was changed. When explaining this part, we start to mix the Rubik's cube. A mixed cube represents how, because of the changes, there are so many different churches. But no side is perfected. No church had the fullness of the gospel. And then we talk about how the church was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and then I solve the cube like lightning speed, like faster than your mom can eat a chick fil a waffle fry, and then boom. Christ's church restored. The same church He established. The same doctrine. It's genius right? We put it to the test and tried using this in the street contacting. And with the very first person we tried it with, it worked. She was so engaged and thought it was so cool! We got her phone number and taught her again this week. So yeah the Rubik's cube got us a new investigator! We've been using the technique so much this week and we're seeing so much success! It's a really cool visual and it's fun!

I had an exchange with Elder Holt in Vigo this week and we had a good time! We taught one of their investigators with the Rubik's cube and it went really well! Beforehand though, the scariest thing ever happened. We were outside sitting on a bench planning how we were gonna teach, when this huge sumo wrestler approached us. He just stared at me, like he was expecting me to move so he could sit down. He didn't say anything. Just blocked my view of the sun. So I got up, and he sat down. I said hello, and he just looked at me, and I kid you not, he growled like a bear. And holy heck I was scared to death haha. He spit in my face and just kept growling. So we said have a nice a day and walked away... And thus it is.

The weather this week has been the craziest I've seen yet. Saturday was soooooo insane. It was pouring rain with like 61937mph wind. I've come to the conclusion that umbrellas don't help. They really just make life harder. It's fun. And lucky for us, all of our appointments that day just happened to fail. But the weather didn't stop us from going to work! We spent all day outside passing by homes trying to find people to teach! And in the whole day, ONE guy let us in. And this guy is gold. The guy we were looking for actually didn't live there anymore, but this new guy let us in and we talked for a while! And he's interested in learning more! We had a short lesson about the plan of salvation and it went really well! It's so amazing how the Lord will bless when we put in the effort. The weather can be really annoying, but a positive attitude and some faith makes such a difference. I LOVE missionary work. I LOVE feeling drained of energy from walking against insane wind while totally drenched, all day. I go to bed exhausted every day, but the opportunity I have to be here is so rewarding. Elder Trassierra and I find ways to make it fun. Like when we're walking outside and the weather is so bad that we can't even hear each other talk, we act out slow motion fight scenes while we walk. Haha it's the best. Especially when the wind is so crazy that you can lean forward without falling down.

Easter in Santiago... To be totally honest, I didn't even realize it was Easter until I checked my email this morning haha. Easter Holiday isn't really a thing here. Hermana Bake, one of the senior missionaries, got all of us little bags of American candy which was super nice!! And that's about all that happened this Easter. But hey I
hope all of you had an awesome holiday and dyed eggs and ate candy and stuff!

I leave you with my testimony of the Savior. I KNOW that he lives!! For that, I am here serving in Spain. Sharing this message of the redeemer of the world is the BEST. Serving a mission was a sacrifice that I'm so grateful I've made. If leaving family and friends means being drenched and cold all the time, I can't complain, because I get to do the greatest thing ever at the same time. I love my Savior. And I know that he loves me. And you. And everyone in the whole world.

I love you all! Have an awesome week!

It's still raining.

Elder Hendrix

Week 32: Don't take the cheese block

The sun is shining, the tank is clean, and we are getting out of here!  *dramatic gasp* The sun is shining. THE SUN IS SHINING IN SANTIAGO.

Another awesome week full of teaching and weird food!

I don't have any huge stories this time, so this is just a little update on how things are going here in Santiago!

We're working a lot with members now! This awesome for us because the members haven't always trusted the missionaries. I guess something happened a while ago with some elders offending someone, idk, but things are changing! We visited just about every member this week. I feel like they trust us and are excited to work with us! It's awesome!

The Bujan family invited us over for food this week... I love that family, but chicken feet and rice pudding don't really work in the same meal. It was interesting... I'm glad I got to experience chicken feet, but if I never had it again, that would be ok. Everyone in Spain makes rice pudding for dessert. I don't understand why. It's not
dessert. It's literally rice and milk. Dessert doesn't really exist here... Like the other day we went had lunch with a member named Belenda, and the postre was a block of cheese. A block of straight cheese. And Spaniards love that stuff. Like Belenda destroyed that thing like it was a Texas Roadhouse roll. I don't get it.

We met with Pedro, an investigator, twice this week. He's doing really well! He's always asking questions and really enjoys the lessons. Were just trying to get him to wake up on Sunday to go to church! He has a 13-year-old sister named Cielo that the Hermanas are teaching. They live with their mom in a piso. The mom is super nice and is really supportive. She tells us she loves when we come over cause it gets Pedro out of his room haha. She doesn't usually join us for the lessons, but we're trying! We want to have a noche de hogar with all 3
of them this week. We'll see!

We have English classes every Wednesday.  I LOVE teaching English! We have two classes, a beginner and more advanced. I teach the advanced one, so we do more practice with conversations. It's so much fun! We
were talking about our favorite music and this one girl said her favorite singer is Michael Buble, and I told her that I saw him in concert one time, and she started bawling. She was seriously crying. I thought she was laughing at first... But she walked out and didn't come back... I have no idea what I did.

We have a noche de hogar with these 2 guys from Ecuador every Monday night. Jose and Jonathon. They're 21 and 13 and they're brothers. They always invite a lot of their friends and the turn out keeps getting better! First it was just them 2 and one cousin. And then Jose invited 2 friends that always come. And now Jonathan brings his girlfriend. And tonight, Jose says he has another friend coming! We're so excited! Lessons in that house are soooo much fun! We sing a song, have a short lesson, and play a game and eat food. We have a good time! Hopefully, we will be able to start teaching some of these people soon! There's some solid potential!

We had an activity with branch this weekend. A tortilla de patata competition! Everyone made a tortilla and we all tasted them and voted on the best one. The winner was this less active girl named Sheila. I'm so glad she won because she seemed so happy! She came to church on Sunday and everyone was talking about how they want her recipe! Tyler and Summer got destroyed. They got last place haha.

A tortilla-making contest at church.  Tyler Haws is the
tallest one, and his wife Summer is in red.

Tyler is awesome. He's the coolest mission leader ever. He's super encouraging and always has awesome ideas. And every time we go to his house for correlation, he has American candy. And sometimes Summer
makes pancakes. It's the beeessst.

The branch threw a surprise party for a girl named Ana Clara. She turned 15 this week. Elder Trassierra and I decided to invite ourselves and we had an awesome time! We really are building great relationships with the members! Which is why we went. Kinda. I mean there was free empanadas, but the members are cool too. :)

Ok here's the crazy story of the week. A few days ago, Elder Trassierra and I were in a papelería getting some stuff laminated, when all of a sudden this random guy comes out of no where and shoves me into the wall and gets up in my face and starts yelling at me. I had noooooo idea what was going on! I couldn't understand a thing he was saying and didn't know who the heck he was or what he wanted! I've never seen this guy in my life! Some of the employees in the store came over to try to get him to come down and then he just growls "You got a problem with me? I saw you staring me down in the conference (we had stake conference last week). You can't just talk to me face to face?? If you got an issue with me you better tell me." I was scared haha I have never seen this dude in my life and had no idea what he was saying. I didn't see him at the conference. I didn't even talk to many people at the conference cause I was playing piano! But basically, I told him it must be a misunderstanding and that I have nothing against him. I guess he's actually a member, but he's been inactive for years... I'm still confused about the whole thing. But I'm pretty sure we're on ok terms now. Weird stuff. So
random. I didn't do anything I swear!

And that's about it! Things are going great here! I'm having an awesome time and I've loved every second of my mission. I'm so grateful for this opportunity I have to share the gospel in Spain. Being a missionary is the best ever. Definitely the best decision I've made. I love teaching others about this knowledge that we have. This
church is true!

I hope you all have an awesome week!

TELL MY MOM HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON FRIDAY! SHES TURNING 29.

Elder Hendrix

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

Week 30: La Carrera

So as I've mentioned in previous emails, the work here in Santiago is slower and a bit discouraging sometimes. We haven't had many teaching opportunities. The relationship between the members and the missionaries is not great. We really don't have any of their support for some reason. I think there was a companionship a long time ago that might have offended them or something, so it has been really difficult to work with them. We really want to change that because, with their help and support, Santiago could have some serious potential. So our district got together one day this week and we started brainstorming. What is an activity we can plan to do with the branch that will provide them an opportunity to bond? I went on a split with another Elder in my zone, and he was telling me that they are having a ton of success with finding people because they plan fun activities for their branch to invite friends to. Literally all of their investigators are references from members. And that's what we need in Santiago! We need member support! And so I explained this to my district. Guys, we need to have an amazing activity with the branch that will be fun and exciting and successful. We have tried an FHE type of thing several times, but it hasn't worked out. What is something that will catch everyone's attention? What is something that they would want to invite their friends to? And then the most brilliant thing ever popped into my head. Pinewood Derby. Hahahaha what if we had a little pinewood derby in Santiago? It was just a fun idea. But then we started looking at it more seriously. We made a car out of a block of styrofoam and made wheels out of thick poster board, and it works! And then we made a track. And it worked! So we decided what the heck. Let's do this. So we went and bought a ton of styrofoam blocks and stuff for wheels. And we made little flyer things to give to members. And they are SO pumped!!! Everybody wants to do it! They're all talking about how cool their cars are gonna be and how excited they are! We've never had an activity where more than like 5 people come, so this is so exciting!!! It's gonna work!!!!! We are officially holding the first annual carrera de la Rama de Santiago on April 9. This activity is gonna be a success! Members are starting to trust us! I'll keep you all updated! Great things are happening up here!

Elder Hendrix built a pinewood (styrofoam) derby for the ward.

We had stake conference on Sunday. My companion and I had to go a few hours early because we had usher, so while we were waiting for people to start coming, I was playing some piano. And then the 70 that was presiding came up to me and asked if I would play some prelude. They never told me when to stop... So I played piano for almost 2 straight hours.. Haha it was great!

Transfers are today! I'm staying in Santiago, but Elder Wither is going to Madrid. It was a short 5 weeks with him, but it was a great experience. I love that guy! My new companion is Elder Trassierra. ANOTHER native! He's from southern Spain. His train doesn't get here until tonight, but he sounds like a cool guy! I haven't met him, but I'm excited to! This is gonna be a fun transfer!

While I wait for my new companion, I get to hang out with the Bake's all day. They took me and Hermana Bingham (who is also waiting for her new comp) to the beach again today! We went to this really famous sightseeing place called Finnesterre (end of the world). It's like a big cliff that goes over the ocean. It was sooooooo ridiculously windy. There's this tunnel place thing in the rocks where you can stand and lean forward and the wind holds you up. It's so cool! Pictures to come...

Elder Hendrix at Finnesterre (the end of the world)

This weekend has been really difficult. I received news that a very dear friend of mine has passed away. Any of you that knew Keli know that she was an amazing young woman. I am so grateful to have had such an awesome friend like her. Times like these are when I'm especially grateful to be teaching others about the plan that God has for us. I know that He knows each of us personally and knows the challenges we face. He loves us. I know that the Plan of Salvation is designed for us to be able to experience eternal joy and happiness. Keli and her family will most definitely be in my prayers.

I love you all and I'm so grateful for all of your support! Have an awesome week!

Elder Hendrix