Week 102: The Best 2 Years

Well, I guess this is the end. This week I end my 2 year service as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. While it's really hard to leave this country, I'm so very grateful for the decision I made to be here. These past two years have been the most amazing two years of my life. I can't believe how fast they went by. I'm so grateful for all the incredible experiences I've had. I've been able to serve in 6 amazing areas with 13 wonderful companions who have taught me so much:

Areas

Provo MTC: August 19, 2015 - September 28, 2015

Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid: September 29, 2015 - February 1, 2016 (3 transfers)

Santiago de Compostela, Galicia: February 1, 2016 - May 30, 2016 (3 transfers)

Carabanchel, Madrid (Barrio 9): May 30, 2016 - July 11, 2016 (1 transfer)

Hortaleza, Madrid (Barrio 4): July 11, 2016 - November 14, 2016 (3 transfers)

Tenerife, Canary Islands: November 14, 2016 - May 1, 2017 (4 transfers)

Gijón, Asturias: May 1, 2017 - July 23, 2017 (2 transfers)

Companions

(MTC) Colby Irene: Lander, Wyoming

Samuel Gustafson: Merrimack, New Hampshire

Ryan Bartholomew: American Fork, Utah

Kevin Wither: Lima, Perú

Carlos Trassierra: Murcia, Spain

Martin Sasso: Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

KC Lopez: Oregon City, Oregon

David Escobar: San Salvador, El Salvador

Hunter Knaphus: Salt Lake City, Utah

Nathan Bellon: Pleasant Grove, Utah

Caleb McDade: Modesta, California

Nathaniel Goodman: Salem, Utah

Brandon Burt: Northbridge, Massachusetts

With this being my last email, there are so many things I've learned while being here in Spain that I'd love to write about, but if there were only 3, they would be the following:

1) Jesus Christ is the living Savior of the world. He loves us. He died for us. He has taken upon himself all the pains and sins of the world so that we don't have to suffer. He has atoned for each and every one of us. I know that if we have faith in Him and in His atonement, we will receive so many blessings. 

2) I'm an absolute disgrace at futbol. Enough said.

3) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church. The gospel has been restored on the earth. Priesthood keys have been restored. There is a living prophet of God named Thomas S. Monson. And anyone can discover for themselves the reality of these truths though prayer and though trust in the Lord. "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." I know the spirit is real and that it testifies of truth, and that Moroni's counsel really does work.

I couldn't be more grateful for the support I've received during these past few years. I thank each and every one of you for all your prayers and encouragement that you've offered me throughout this journey.

See you all real soon!

Elder Logan Hendrix

Week 101: Vale La Pena

How does it feel to be going home in one week? Seems to have been the topic of every discussion this past weekend. Kind of impossible to avoid the question. Honestly, I feels like just yesterday Milan and I were camped out by the mailbox with our Sonic drinks waiting for the mail lady to come around the corner. Brother Mask pulled up out of nowhere in a car full of young men and told them "This will be you guys soon! Prepare for it!" I remember perfectly the day I opened that letter. Spain Madrid Mission?? I didn't even know where Spain was. But I remember how excited I was to just serve. I was nervous and didn't know what to expect. But I remember feeling so happy to just go out and do what God needed me to do. 

That was 28 months ago. And now here I am in the last week of my mission. And holy goodness gracious what an adventure it has been. This has been a decision that I know I will never regret. It has been the hardest thing I've ever done, but at the same time it has been the most incredible experience of my life. I remember first starting the paperwork for a mission, not entirely sure why I was doing it. I didn't know why I was going, but for some reason I just felt like it was what I needed to do. And I'm so grateful that I trusted that feeling. Because I now know why I decided to do this. I feel like I took it for granted being raised in the church. But being here in Spain the past two years has really opened my eyes. Living the teachings of Jesus Christ really is the most important thing that can be done in order to find true and eternal happiness. I didn't understand that before my mission. And to be sincere, I didn't fully understand why I was serving a mission even when I entered the field. But like I said, I knew there was a reason that I felt that I needed to go. Having had the opportunity to help others receive the gospel has been the most incredible experience of my life. And sharing my own testimony has not only helped me grow personally, but it has been the most amazing thing ever witnessing how the gospel changes lives. I've seen people go from rock bottom to the temple. And being able to see God extend his hand and his love in the lives of others and helping them feel the power and beauty of the atonement of Jesus Christ has made the mission worth every second. The atonement is perfect and real. And I feel that there are certain things that happen in the mission, that can't be experienced anywhere else, that have developed and increased my eternal perspective of life in general, as well as the reality of the living Savior. 

And so with all of this being said, I direct the following guidance to young men or women who may be preparing for, thinking about, or even doubting the idea of serving a mission. First of all, God loves you. He is aware of your concerns, your worries, your interests, and everything that may be at hand. Second. He will never leave you. He is always by your side and will always guide you with His spirit if you're continually striving to be a worthy of it. And lastly, He needs you to trust him. If you feel that He is telling you something, trust that feeling and go for it! It might not seem convenient, or the easiest, but as the scriptures teach us, everything good comes from God. The adversary will always be working heckin' hard to stop you and prevent you from doing what ever He may want you to do, but that's why He needs you to trust Him. He needs you to trust Him so you can exercise your faith and overcome weaknesses. I promise that as you do this, you will witness the power and beauty of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and that you will have desires to follow Him. I know that this is true because I've personally experienced it.

As always, I'm so grateful for all our your support over these past 2 years. This week will be full of goodbyes, and it'll be hard to leave all these amazing people I've met, but I'm excited to see where the Lord will guide me.

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Elder Hendrix

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

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

Week 98: Rerouting...

This week was pretty interesting. We had to take a 3 hour bus ride down to Leon for zone conference. It was a great meeting! President Pack gave us some great instruction. We discussed the power of the message of the restoration. That's often the first thing we teach people and so we talked about how important it is to understand and have a testimony of the message. We practiced teaching short simplified versions of the message so that we can be prepared to teach at any given moment. So this week me and my companion were able to see several miracles when putting this into practice! We talked to tons of people in the streets this week and were able to share a brief message of the restoration of Christ's church several times. It was a cool learning experience to know that we don't have to have a formal lesson set up in order to teach others that priesthood authority is on the earth. As missionaries, our purpose is to teach others to come into Christ. And how do we do that? By testifying of the Savior and His restored gospel! We felt the presence of the spirit several times out in the sketchy streets of Gijón this week. I love teaching the restoration so much! It's so simple but so powerful. I know that a good amount of people that we spoke with this week felt something as we shared with them the story of Joseph Smith. For me, the spirit is always present when I hear and teach that lesson. We're excited to continue teaching people this wonderful message this week! I'm grateful for my mission president. I know he's inspired. I love the advice and counsel he gives us. I was able to provide a musical number in the conference as well. So that was a cool opportunity! I arranged Come Thou Fount mixed with Be Still My Soul. It went alright!

This week I'm especially grateful for a member here named Pedro. He's 24 and is such a great example to the branch. He has such a strong testimony and a desire to follow Christ. This week, he shared with us his testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost, and he shared a cool analogy that has helped him understand it. He related it with the google maps app. If we need directions from point A to point B, all you do is type in the address on your phone and then it shows you a route to follow. Sometimes however, we get distracted on the road and we accidentally miss the turn. So what does the app do? It reroutes and finds you a new road to take to get back on track. And so imagine you're about to get to the turn that you're supposed to take to get back, but you again get distracted and you miss it. Like maybe the music was too loud and you didn't hear Siri warning you of the upcoming left? Or maybe you were in the middle of a phone call and ignored it? Well, the app should once again find you another route that gets you to the right road to continue towards your destination. Pretty sure we all understand how that works. You mess up, but it's all good because the google maps app is a champ and saves you. But what happens if you continue ignoring the new routes and you continue driving aimlessly? The app stops finding routes. But the location service is always on, even when you're not using google maps. So what does any of this have to do with the way the spirit works? In life, we all have a destination. That destination is eternal life. But as we know, there's a road we have to follow. There's an iron rod we've got to hold on to. But what happens if we miss the turn? Or in other words, what happens if we get off path? Google maps speaks up and finds us a route. That voice that comes up and tells us to take a different road represents the spirit speaking to us. Our Heavenly Father blesses us with that guide so we can get back on track so we can find our point B. But what happens if we don't hear it at first? And we ignore the new route? We continue to lead ourselves off track and we move further away from the road. However, that still small voice will continue speaking to us and giving us a new route. Anyway, after a while, google maps will eventually stops giving us new routes, until we put the address again ourselves. When we recognize that we want to change and get back to the right road, our Heavenly Father will always bless us and help us recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost so that we can find our way back to right road. But we have to remember our destination and makes plans to get back. The new routes represent the gospel. The gospel is the guide to the road we need to be on. And so what happens if we find ourselves ignoring the "rerouting... take the next left"? We do the simple things we've always been taught. Read the scriptures, attend church meetings, service others, pray frequently... The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the way back to road which takes us to our destination of eternal life. So if you ever drift away, pay attention to the new route that google maps gives you! Trust it! It will take you back! Love your Heavenly Father and trust him. Because He needs you to have faith in him so that He can bless you. After all, we all want to be happy. And what better we to achieve that happiness than by loving him by keeping His commandments? Read Mosiah 2:41. It's good stuff.

Anyway, thanks for all of your support everyone! You're awesome!

Elder Hendrix

Week 97: Ancianas, etcétera

This week was pretty crazy. We got permission to go to a wedding of a member who married an investigator of the hermanas who is getting baptized next month. We got to go to the party afterwards too. It was pretty lit. We actually had a few investigators come too because they're friends of the couple. That night was crazy. We may or may not have been a little late getting home, but it's chill because one of the mission president's counselors was there supervising. All is well. Man that wedding cake was huge. It tasted a lot like a tire, but man it sure was good looking.

We had our first district meeting of the transfer this week. We made a goal as a district to give away 84 Books of Mormon. Random number, I know. But it was inspired haha. So far, it's going well! Me and my comp had a cool experience last night in downtown Gijón while we were looking for people to teach. We went to talk to two old Spanish ladies sitting on a bench. Fun fact, Gijón is actually full of old Spaniards that sit in benches all day and watch the wind blow. Nice people. Anyway, their names were Manuela and Astención. They were super nice! We started chatting about cool stuff to do in Asturias, etc, and then we asked them what they knew about the church. We talked about the Bible for a while and then we introduced the Book of Mormon. They both accepted one! Which was such a blessing because the people here are really weird about the thought of additional scripture. But it was such a cool experience! We have a return appointment with them this Wednesday and it seemed pretty convincing! I'm sure they'll be there. There was a strong spirit when we shared Moroni's promise in Moroni 10:3-5. They seemed to be very interested and ready to read! Miracles are happening!

Oh yeah, on Tuesday last week, I had a weird dejavú moment. We had to go to Oviedo to be in a trio with Elder Davalos because he's training and he had to wait for his new comp to get to Oviedo in the train and he can't be alone. Elder Davalos is from Mexico and doesn't speak any English, and his new missionary is American and knows no Spanish. So when we went with him to the train station when his companion arrived, it made me think a lot about my first day in the field. I didn't understand any Spanish and had no clue what was going on. So watching Elder Davalos and his comp try to communicate made me reflect on all I've accomplished in the past 22 months. It was a satisfying feeling. Learning this language has not been easy at all. But I feel like I've put a ton of work in it and it has paid off. The mission is so cool. Learning a language has taught me a lot about patience, endurance, faith..... I could see myself in Elder Davalos' new comp. I was there once. And seeing him made my testimony of the importance of endurance increase. Fun stuff.

I'm currently drinking a shake with chocolate and orange. It's alright. Anyway, hope you all have a great week!

Elder Hendrix

Week 96: To the windows

First of all, I'd like to give a shoutout to my brother-in-law Gary for teaching me like 10 years ago how to clean windows like a champ. I was able to put that skill into practice this week and totally destroyed the window cleaning contest we had when doing service for a widow. Way to go Gary. You can take that credit. I would share with you the last slice of cold pizza that I was given as a prize, but I already ate it. But hey the sweet old Cuban lady has some pretty dang good lookin windows now. Now we get an additional 30 seconds of notice for when the bus passes. It used to be only 15 seconds. With spotless windows like these, we can see that thing from a kilometer away. Good things are happening here in Gijón.

We've actually had quite a few service opportunities this past week. We helped a member of the bishopric work in his lettuce field, we dug a big hole in the ground for Enrique, we cleaned sweet old Nancy's windows, we guided an old man into a parking space... Its been a fun week! I have to say though, the highlight was this past Saturday. We got permission from our president to go on a day trip with the branch president to this awesome place called Covadonga. It's in eastern Asturias. We went with his family, some investigadores, and some lessactives. We had a ton of fun! We only had half a p day last Monday, and the other half was Saturday so that we could go. Covadonga is beautiful! The drive up was about the scariest thing ever though. I'm surprised I'm alive and emailing right now. Those roads were sketchy. We went up in 3 cars. But yeah the views were amazing! We saw this really cool lake too. We all had a little picnic thing for lunch and it was a ton of fun! I really love our little branch here in Gijón. They're a lot of fun and they're so welcoming to the people we teach!

Transfers are today... My companion Elder Goodman got transferred to Madrid, and I'm staying here in Gijón. My new companion (who will also be my last) is Elder Burt from Massachusetts. I'm super excited to work with him! He's pretty new in the mission. We're gonna have lots of fun. I'm excited for this last transfer. It's crazy that this is the final 6 weeks. I'm ready to work my hardest and stay motivated until the end!

Thanks for all your support everyone!

Elder Hendrix

Elder Hendrix at Covadonga

Elder Hendrix at Covadonga