Week 50: Out of Time!

Elders Hendrix and Lopez in Madrid 2nd Ward.

I go home in one year today. Where the heck did time go? It's crazy.

This week was cool! We're continuing to meet with as many members as we can in attempt to work with them and get them pumped for missionary work. We had a ward activity last weekend and had a great turnout! One of the young women in the ward brought her boyfriend and we got to know him and he told us he really wanted to learn more about the church. We had two appointments with him this week and we invited him to be baptized and he said yes! So we're having a baptism on the 27th of August! We're meeting with him a few times this week to talk more about the covenant of baptism to make sure he's not just doing it for his girlfriend, but that he's doing it for himself. He really is a great kid! He's 14 and his name is Kevin. He actually came to church
yesterday and he connects really well with the other youth in the ward. So as of right now, it's looking good!

We did exchanges with the zone leaders this week and it was such a great experience! I got to spend the day with Elder Wade. He's an awesome missionary. I learned a lot of good stuff from him. He's a great teacher and I'm excited to apply what I learned into my own area here in B4!!

Sorry I'm out of time! I'll have more info next week! Love you all!

Elder Hendrix

Week 49: Barrio 4

It's been quite the week here in Barrio 4! We had an investigator that the missionaries have been teaching for a few months named Moises. And he got baptized on Saturday! He's such a cool guy! His sister, Esther, was baptized earlier this year, so the missionaries had been teaching them both and Moises finally decided to be baptized this weekend! It was a super cool experience for him! He was really happy and has such a strong testimony. I had the honor of confirming him a member of the church and giving him the gift of the Holy Ghost, which was such a sweet experience! I'm so grateful for that opportunity I had! We're really excited to continue teaching Moises and Esther. They're really great people. They're from Bolivia and they're in their 20's and they're a lot of fun!

Elders Lopez and Hendrix
with Moises at his baptism.

I love the members here so much already. The ward has about 70 active members and they're solid. This ward loves missionary work. There's so much energy here and I'm so excited to work with them! We got to visit a few families this week so I could introduce myself, and they're all just such nice people! There's a ton of Latinos here too. We have a ton of appointments to eat this week, so that's good! One thing I absolutely love about Madrid is that there are so many South American cultures here. Which means all kinds of food. Members are always feeding us unfamiliar foods. And it's awesome cause I love trying new things! The Bolivians make an empanada type thing called a salteña and they're sooooo good. It's basically a shepherds pie inside of an empanada. Basically, it's amazing.

Right now, we don't have a lot of people to teach. But we are determined to find some! We did a lot of street contacting this week and we received a lot of references, so we're super excited!

My companion Elder Lopez is a cool guy. He reminds me a lot of myself when I had his time in the mission. He's very shy and he gets discouraged about the Spanish, which is totally normal. That's how I was when I started the mission. He's only been out for three months, so I'm really excited to help him and teach him what I did to improve. Learning a language is not easy. It takes a lot of time, hard work, diligence, and patience. I'm really pumped to work with him and help him get out of his shell and build some confidence! His Spanish really is good. He just doesn't believe it, but I feel like most missionaries are like that. They're better than they think. He's a stud.

Today for P day, we played basketball with like half the mission. President Pack invited everyone to the stake center by the temple to play! So that's what we did all morning long. Fun stuff! I suck at basketball though.

Love you all! Have an awesome week!

Elder Hendrix

Week 48: Rosario's Baptism

It's been such a crazy week!

I'll start with the baptism. Rosario got dunked! Funny story... When we were filling the font, I leaned over the rail to feel the water to make sure it was warm, and I accidentally slipped and fell in. Luckily, there was only like a foot of water. So it could have been worse. But I had to run back to piso and change. But anyway, it was such an awesome day! The baptismal service was perfect. She's so awesome and I'm so happy for her and so grateful for the opportunity I had to watch her progress and take this step in her life. It's so crazy that we found her in the street just 6 weeks ago. She has come such a long way! After she was baptized, she shared her testimony and it was so sweet. This gospel really has changed her. Yesterday she was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Meeting her was such a miracle! She's already super excited to get a temple recommend and find names to take to the temple to be baptized for!

So crazy news... I got transferred. It was definitely a surprise. My companion is going home, and I got moved. So our area in Barrio 9 is getting white washed. It's so weird. It's hard to leave an area that I just barely got to, but it's been an awesome experience here. The members in B9 are amazing and I'm sad to leave them, but I'm excited for my new area in Barrio 4! My new companion is Elder Lopez. He's from Oregon and has been in the field for about 3 months. I'm super excited to work with him! Also, the Lord has called me to be district leader here. I'm so excited for this calling and for the opportunity I will have to lead!

And that's about all I have time for... Here's a picture...Have an awesome week!

Elder Hendrix

Elders Hendrix and Sasso at Rosario's baptism in Madrid, Barrio 9.

Elder Hendrix with other elders at a member's home.

Week 47: Falcon Punch!

I found the solution. You have to sleep with a frozen water bottle. I'm a genius and have beat summer.

Funniest thing ever happened this week. We had exchanges in Fuenlabrada with the zone leaders this week, so I got to go work with Elder Gonzalez. We went to visit a family in their ward, and they have this super awesome 3-year-old daughter. She reminded me a ton of my niece Cora. She was showing me her notebook she draws all her pictures in. The cover of the notebook was from Smash Bros and had Captain Falcon in the corner (greatest character of all time). I asked her if she knows what Captain Falcon says, and she said no, so I taught her the "Falcon PUNCH" move that he does. So during our conversation with the family, she was off in the other side of the room falcon punching the air. Meanwhile, the dad walked in and gave us each a bowl of chips to eat. Later, the girl walked towards us being crazy and swinging her arms all over the place. She got too close to where we were sitting and she accidentally hit my bowl of chips, and it went flying out of my hands, straight into the TV and put a big crack in it, and then the bowl fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces. There was glass everywhere. Everyone just went silent and she looked like she was about to cry. But then all of a sudden she throws her fist in the air and yells "FALCON PUNCH!!!" Oh man it was the funniest thing! Luckily, her parents weren't mad, they actually laughed too. But wow I felt so bad! haha. Basically, you shouldn't teach kids how to play real life Nintendo...

So Rosario is doing so good! She's getting baptized THIS WEEKEND! She had her baptismal interview this week and it went really well! She's a little nervous, but super excited! I'll report on it next week!

There's this dude in our ward named Franklin. He's from Bolivia and got back from his mission in a Chile a few months ago. He goes on splits with us all the time. He's such a stud! Yesterday, he was showing us some pictures of his mission and talking about all of his experiences and stuff.  He said there was a kid in his last district that was a stud on the piano and played super good and he said that he reminds him of me. He did a ton of musical numbers. He showed me a video of this missionary playing the piano and singing, and it turns out, I know this guy! It's Chip Hixon!! Franklin served in Chip's mission and was his district leader before he left! Small world!

Before the mission, I hated fish. I just refused to eat it. I thought it was so gross. But ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to testify of the changes that happen to those who serve. I love fish now. This week, we had 3 food appointments with members in one day, all fish. I was soooooo full at the end of that day, but I'm not even mad. The Ecuadorians make some awesome Ceviche. It's basically raw fish in a salad. And it's super good! We had a lot of that this week.

Today for P day, we went bowling with some investigators and less actives and it was so fun!! Wasn't my best day for bowling unfortunately... But it's ok. The important part is that they all had a good time!

Transfers are next week! Updates to come! Love you all! Have a great week!

SHOUTOUT TO AMERICA FOR BEING THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! USA USA USA USA USA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Elder Hendrix

Week 46: Bautismos Por Los Muertos

We did 90 minutes of yoga this morning as a district and it was insane.

Anyway, this week was super cool! We got to go to the temple and do baptisms! Our mission president is now allowing us to go do baptisms once a transfer if we bring a recent convert who has never gone. So we got to take one of our converts, María del Mar, and do baptisms! It was such an awesome experience! Seeing the Madrid temple baptistry was so cool. I got to do confirmations for a while when we were there. And doing it in Spanish was SOOO COOL. I don't know why, but ordinances in Spanish are just way cooler than English. I loved being there in the baptistry! The spirit there is so sweet and it was just an incredible experience!

We teach English classes every Wednesday in the chapel. Elder Sasso teaches the beginner class and I do the advanced one. There's only one guy that comes to mine and we usually just spend the whole hour talking and having a conversation so he can practice speaking fluently. And it's so much fun! His name is Julian. His English is so good. He's from Madrid and he's like 40ish. He travels around the world to run different marathons. He's a pro. His fastest marathon was under two and half hours. He goes to the United States a lot to run, so he comes to English class so he can practice speaking more. But it's awesome meeting with him! He helps me a ton with my Spanish! He says helping me with my Spanish helps him with his English cause he explains everything in English and it makes him think more. So we both win. So talking with him has been super helpful!

I have now been shoved a total of three times on my mission. We went to pass by an old investigator this week, and as we were having a conversation with this dude through the intercom, some random midget Romanian came out of no where and shoved me out of the doorway and opened the door and told us to get lost and then slammed the door shut. Fun stuff.

Rosario is gold still! I love having lessons with her! I've seen so many changes in her in the few weeks we've been meeting with her! It's crazy how just 4 short weeks ago, we met her in the street. And now she's getting baptized in 12 days. She's doing perfect with the word of wisdom! She hasn't had a single cup of coffee since we taught it to her! We've taught her all of the lessons now, so now we're just reviewing and helping her feel ready. She's so excited to make this covenant and take this step in her life! I'm so happy for her! Teaching Rosario has been a confirmation that this gospel really does change lives. We really can have true happiness when we learn and live gospel principles!

I love you all! Have an awesome week!

Elder Hendrix

Week 45: Power of Prayer

This week was pretty great! We had two lessons with Rosario and they went super well! Her baptism is in 3 weeks and she's way excited! She came to church again yesterday and all the members keep on asking about her baptism and how excited they are for her! She has already made a lot of friends in the ward. We went over the Word of Wisdom this week, and she said she would drop the coffee and start living the commandment because she loves the Lord. She said it will be hard, but that she will put her trust in the Lord because she knows that He will help her. And that's so true! When we trust Him and show our faith in Him by keeping His commandments, He will bless us! And how great is the joy that comes!

Elder Sasso and I made a goal of praying more often throughout the day. We've had quite a few lessons fail us lately, and we always wonder if the Lord is trying to guide us somewhere else when that happens. Earlier this week, we met this Bolivian dude named Diego. He seemed like a really cool guy and we were super excited to meet with him this past Tuesday! Our lesson was at 9:00 at night, but he texted us at like 8:58 and said he was at work late and couldn't come. Things like this happen sometimes, but it's important that we don't get discouraged or lose hope. Times like these are when we need to keep going and keep working and find other things to do! So Elder Sasso and I sat down on a bench close and put our goal into practice and said a prayer asking for guidance. We decided to go pass by some old investigators on a nearby street. While we were walking, this couple came out of no where and stopped us. The man, Eddy, told us he had a friend back in his country in Bolivia who is a member of the church, but he had never really investigated or talked to his friend about it. He said he was interested in what we do as missionaries. He and his girlfriend invited us over to their piso right then to eat some Bolivian food that they had made earlier. So of course we went! We talked about Jesus Christ and His gospel and they were so receptive! They're such nice people! It was such a miracle running into them! They invited us to come back, so we will probably meet with them again this week. But this experience increased my testimony of the power of prayer. Sometimes our plans will fail us, and sometimes things don't go the way we would like, but when we trust the Lord and pray for guidance and direction, He will give it to us! We just have to show our faith and act! And pray! And read scriptures. And go to church. And drop coffee. And all that fun stuff. I testify that miracles happen when we put our faith into action!

Elder Sasso is awesome. We have a super great relationship! I love his attitude towards this work. He goes home in 3 weeks, but he's still on fire! He doesn't want to stop! He really is a great example of someone who endures to the end. He reminds me of one of my young men's leaders, Brother Mask. Back when I was in young men's, we did a lot of hikes as a quorum, some of which were definitely not easy! But one thing Brother Mask always did when it got hard was relate it to a mission. He would relate the distance left of the hike with the number of months left in the mission. Like when someone would start to slow down or take their backpack off for a while cause it's so heavy, that's when he had the most energy and motivation. "Month 21! Only 3 left! You got this! Finish strong!" Elder Sasso is someone who wants to finish strong. He doesn't drop his pack and just take it easy for the last mile. He just keeps on killing it. Yeah the trail is steep sometimes. Some days are really hard. But we shouldn't lose motivation or get lazy. Elder Sasso understands that. It's inspiring. I want to finish my mission like that. I'm grateful to have been blessed with such a stud of a companion.

So yesterday at church, this random guy in the street walked in and came to sacrament meeting! We talked to him afterward and he said he was just walking by and and saw the church and just felt like he needed to come in! His name is Leo. He said he really enjoyed sacrament meeting! We got his info and we're hoping to teach him this week!

I'm once again grateful for the random talents I worked to develop before the mission. A few months ago, I used my ability to ride a unicycle in a contacting situation. And this week I got to play the ukulele! We were going through a park and we saw this huge group of kids about 16-17 years old and there was a kid in the middle playing a ukulele. Everyone was clapping and singing and stuff. So we walked over there and joined them! I asked if I could give it a try, and she said sure! So I played ukulele and apparently I was playing chords to a famous Latino song, so everyone was singing to it but I pretended that I knew it, but to be honest, I have no idea what song it was. So that was fun. But then they asked about us and who we are and stuff, so we got to talk about the gospel with a bunch of jovenes! Some of them gave us their information and have interest in hearing more! So that was super cool! It's so cool being able to use my talents in the mission field!

And that's all the time I've got! Thank you everyone for all of your emails and support! Have an awesome week!

Elder Hendrix

Sister Pedraza fed Elder Hendrix and his comps in Madrid
and sent this picture to Mom.

Week 44: Plan of Salvation

There's a woman in the ward named Rosi. Her mom has had cancer for a few months and was in the hospital and was very sick. Rosi asked us to come visit and give her mom a blessing this week. It was such a great experience. We sat there in the hospital room with the whole family all gathered around the hospital bed and we shared a spiritual thought. The spirit in that room was so powerful. After the message, we proceeded to give her a blessing. We went home to our piso that night with such a peaceful feeling. Rosi's mother really wasn't doing that well. But I know that she was in God's hands. The next morning, Rosi called us. Her mother passed away shortly after we left. She expressed to us her gratitude for our visit and for the spirit that was left in that room. She said her mother's passing was very hard, but at the same time it was very calming and happy. She shared with us her testimony of the plan of salvation and it was super moving. It strengthened my own testimony of the fact that she is doing great things up in the spirit world. I didn't get the chance to get to know her very well, but from what I've heard, she was an amazing woman. She was only 70, but she did so much good in her life. She was always serving others and following the example of her Savior. I know that the plan of salvation is real. Death is not the end. I know that families are forever!

Elder Hendrix and Rosi.

Rosario, our Peruvian investigator, is progressing so well! She's reading the scriptures every day and praying and is so excited to be baptized! She wants to make sure she's really prepared for her baptismal date of July 9th. She even made herself a baptismal calendar where she can mark whether or not she read and prayed each day before her mission, which is awesome because we were actually planning on making her one. But she beat us to it, haha. She's so awesome. She came to church this Sunday too and loved it!

Speaking of church, yesterday was my first normal Sunday here in my new area in Barrio 9 because last week was conference. So I got to introduce myself in sacrament meeting! But funny story- During the sacrament ordinance, the bishop walked over to where I was sitting and asked if I could give a 15-minute talk as well because one of the speakers didn't show up. I've only heard stories about this happening, haha. I didn't think it would ever happen to me. But it went alright! It was a great reminder that I need to be prepared at all times because you never know when you're gonna get called on, especially as a missionary!

We had a zone conference this week! It was super cool! Our mission president was here and spent like a solid hour talking about the importance of having a clean piso and making a serious effort to fix it up. And I'm so grateful for it, because there are definitely missionaries here that needed it! Some people here refuse to clean their piso and it's disgusting.

My old investigator Felix came to visit me here in Madrid! He still lives in Torrejon and he drove over here for P day today! It was so awesome to hang out with him! He's doing good! He's still reading scriptures and praying. He's such a cool guy!

It's getting so hot here in Madrid! I'm sure it's not as hot as Arizona, but it's dang hot! It makes me very grateful for the United States where air conditioning exists. There's hardly anyone here that has air conditioning. But it's ok because literally every member we visit gives us a giant cup of horchata and like half a watermelon. I'm getting some sweet tan lines too.

That's it for this week! I love you all!

Elder Hendrix