July 4, 2011

FAMILY

  Well sounds like things are running good. Mom and Dad, thanks so much for pleasing the Lord in your parenting, and teaching me correct principles!  I am so glad you talked to Serina, she is so awesome, she calls me her White son, funniest lady I’ve ever met. You should call her and tell her to be baptized, I’m serious she knows it’s true she is just scared to make a commitment, i was very sad to leave them! Well i bet you all want to know where i am serving.... I’m serving with Elder Wunderli, he just came from being AP so i got to know him cuz they lived by us.  He is from Sandy, he Loves sports which means that there are two kids serving together that know way to much pointless random sports info, last night we talked for like 30 min about Mo Vauhgn, ya only Brad knows who I’m talking about, it can be distracting but he is so focused, even though this is his last transfer. Everything we do is toward the work, and how we can baptize, he is focused on baptism, he is definitely one of the best missionaries in our mission. Yesterday we were late for a huge black families family reunion (it was a real southern experience at the reunion/cookout), and we took a wrong turn somewhere but it lead us past a members home and as we drove by he saw a lady that he taught a year ago (he served here a year ago for six months so we just hit the ground running, it’s nice) and he just pulled over and we got out and went up to the front porch and the first question he asked was, "so Kelonda, when are you going to be baptized", she expressed some concerns but we talked with her and she is going to let us teach her and pray about baptism. He really understands our purpose, but he doesn’t do it in a overbearing, rude, way at all it’s just that he understands the importance of what our purpose as missionaries is, and he is ridiculously personable, I’m going to learn so much and we are going to baptize for sure this transfer.  It is so cool too because this area had really bad missionaries in it last transfer, so they haven’t been doing anything, and the Lord has prepared the area for this time, 4 of Wunderli's converts have told us that they want to start coming back to church, and we have 4 really really solid investigators.  We are in Atlanta, and we honestly live in the Ghetto, we were driving around the other day and i said "is this the ghetto part", he says "ya we live just right over there", haha, we cover a huge part of the city of Atlanta, its pretty much everything south and West of downtown and the downtown area.  But ya, this is a real different experience, but there is so much good work to be done, i have already learned so much about how to be an effective missionary, Wunderli is awesome!!  We have been so busy you wouldn’t even believe, we are going non-stop all of the time, i haven’t been to bed by 10:30 in like 5 days, we just have so much to do, that’s what happens when you whitewash in (two new missionaries move into an area).  I am so excited, i can’t even express it. Yesterday, (we cover two wards, a singles and family) we were in the singles ward and a member brought his friend to meet us after sacrament who is looking for some direction in life, and we are going to teach him on Wednesday.  Wow I’m excited and today for P-day we are getting together with our district and the Assistants to grill-out, and just relax and celebrate the 4th.  Yesterday a kid bore his testimony in church, he told a story of a 24 year old soldier who just got sent to Afghanistan, he had just been married recently.  But they were dropped into the mountains and got into a bad spot and 28 of 45 men were wounded or killed. He was on the radio calling in support and was mortally wounded, he died with a radio in his hand trying to get support for his troops. I was very touched and i am so happy, that there are people willing to give there all, that kid gave up everything to protect us and not even us, the entire world as an American Soldier.  "Home of the Free, because of the Brave", and "One nation, under God". I love you all, can’t wait to E-mail you next week, hopefully i don’t get shot. Love ya!!

Elder Hendrix

PS: Mom i love what you said about member missionary work, call up the local missionaries and invite them to teach you.