The gospel gets truer as we get truer to it!

Family,                                                                                                                                 

  Mom I have no idea what "Que Pasa" means. Everyone in the branch that I’m serving in is trying to convince me to learn Spanish, but I’m resisting, I guess I should though, I mean it would be nice to know when I’m in the real world. We had a great week. I think I told you about the family that showed up at church last week. The Mother, Margarita, has 5 kids and she is dead set on joining the church, she is just so awesome!! The kids speak really good English, so what we are going to do is teach mom and the kids separately. I will teach the 3 boys over 8 yrs old and Montiel will teach Margarita. It actually works out great because it would be hard to teach them together, everyone will be able to learn faster this way and I will actually get to teach. This is definitely an answer to my prayers because I have been hoping to get to prepare an investigator for baptism before I go home. I was worried that it wouldn’t happen again. They came to church again this week. We also had an awesome meeting with President Satterfield this week. We were discussing clarifying what the vision of this mission really is. We met for like 4 hours and it was so cool to sit with him talk with him about how he sees missionary work from the Presidents perspective. I grew to love him even more, he truly is one of the most humble men I have ever met. What he wants is for us to learn how to do the right things for the right reasons. He wants us to righteously fulfill our purpose to bring people to Christ through the covenant of baptism. He doesn’t just want us to baptize people, he wants us to help guide them to a relationship with Christ, and to do that we must know how, we must know Christ. He wants us to learn how Christ’s church works and how we can help with that work. It was a great meeting; I learned a lot and love that man. And oh Sis. Satterfield she is such a hard worker, can’t wait for you to meet them. Lastly I went to a baptism in Thomaston on Saturday, it was Ashlyn's baptism, if you can remember her. That was a sweet experience. Some of the Bailey kids came and there mom Sis Baily came and she bore her testimony, and in melted my little heart to know how much that meant to her. The gospel is so true, and it gets truer and truer as we get truer to it. It also makes us happier and happier and realizes how great our God really is. I love you all so much. Keep up the Good work!!!!

Elder Hendrix

Hablo Española (???)

Family,                                                                                               

  Well since its Tues I won’t write much. But there has been a funny development in my mission. There was one brand new missionary who didn’t come from the MTC, but his trainer had a visa-waiter companion, well he got sent off to Argentina, So since we are in a trio (me Fisher and Hansen), and they live in the same apartment complex as us and because the Lord probably thought it would be funny again. I’m serving in a Spanish area again, and I still don’t know anymore Spanish. So I will be here till April 18th, then I will probably be just with Elder Fisher again, ha ha. So my new companion is Elder Montiel, he’s real cool I’ll tell you more next week. Love you guys.

E. Hendrix

keeping busy

Family,                                                                                               

  Well it’s been a crazy week. Pretty much non-stop after transfers. Let’s just say the bed at 10:30 rule hasn't applied to us. We have driven a lot, pretty much around the entire mission. It’s great though, my companions are so so awesome. Elder Hansen is from St. George and has been out on his mission for 18 months. He is just a spiritual giant, kinda like Joe, he's just closer to the Lord than the rest of us. Elder Fisher (from Pocatello) on the other hand is a little more rough around the edges I guess you could say. He likes to have a good time, but he has the biggest heart of all time, he is a great leader because he loves those that he serves and just knows how to get down to their level. So they are a pretty super combo and I’m right in the middle and pretty confused so far.  They are great leaders, very smart and they know the gospel really well, and how to be successful missionaries. They are so much fun to be around, they are always playing pranks on each other and I feel like I am constantly laughing. We also were able to have a meeting with President Satterfield last week, it was so cool. We didn't know exactly what we were going to do at first, but we counseled together, President is so good and leading a council, and we came up with some great things. The spirit was definitely there and it was just a fun experience! Us Three (the 3 amigos) also planned out our entire transfer, because we go on exchanges with all of the Zone Leaders and any other companionship's we can go with. We are going to be so busy this next week it’s not even funny,  pretty much each day of the next 6 weeks is already planned out.  It’s been a wild couple of days and I’m extremely tired. Thanks for the advice mom, you’re the best! To all the family; I love you so so so dang much!

Elder Hendrix

Julie,

  Hey there ya crazy cat! How are you doing? How is school? Who are your friends that you play with now?  Are you excited for summer break? How can I be a good missionary Julie, will you please give me your best advice and maybe a good scripture I could read? How is Darren doing, are you keeping good track of him for me? I love you and think about you a lot and I just think you’re ............. awesome!

Elder Hendrix

The Book of Mormon is stinkin legit!

Family,                                                                                                           

  Hey hey hey, things are going just great. Except that I’m getting transferred. Man I wanted to stay so bad, I love my companion, I love the area. We are working with some great people too, and we were working a lot with the members of our zone on a pretty cool program to help us improve. It is really hard to leave people that you have seen do so well and progressing. It is also difficult to leave great members. There is a specific member in our ward, Bro and Sis Berta, they are from Uruguay, they are some of the best people I have ever met. I hope to keep in touch. Then Sis Hatch, she is going to get baptized by her husband and her son will get baptized too. Hopefully next month. I’m going to go to a YSA ward in Peachtree City/Fayetteville, and be in a trio again as an assistant. I’m excited for the challenge but it is going to be a hard thing for me because I am not a great organizer or administrator, but I guess the Lord wants me to learn.  We will be getting a new mission president in July (Jon R. and Debora Harding).  I might not get to go out and do real missionary work, like finding and teaching every day which will be kind of sad. We should teach a little bit, but our assistants usually don’t teach investigators much. Well I’m out of time. I love you all, pray for me. I will chat at you next week.

Elder Hendrix

PS: The Book of Mormon is so stinkin legit!!

February 27, 2012

Family,                                                                                                           

  Hey hey, we are doing good here in GA. Let me just tell you, the weather here is so so nice, I don’t think (with the exception of 4 or 5 days) it has got below 50 degrees. We went to a ward members business party on Saturday and it was an outside party at night and we were fine in our suits. I’m telling you snow and 0 degrees is overrated, though I do miss snowboarding. Anyway, I am curious I feel like my e-mails are not that interesting, what would you all like to hear about. Mom that other Journal you told me about, send that one too. Thanks. 

  So we have been pretty busy again. We have gone on like 5 exchanges in the last 2 weeks, so time has flown by, out transfer is over next Wednesday, this transfer has gone by faster than any other on my mission.  It has been a tough transfer for me. I have tried to do so many different things that I haven’t really ever tried before and I'm not doing a very good job of it. I’m learning, and that is good but it’s like we have been treading water for the last 4 weeks. We haven’t really found many new people to teach, and most of the people we have found have not been making any progress. We just had one guy (the guy from panama), who without a doubt knew that we were teaching him truth and that he needed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, dropped us. There were some family issues going on, we think his wife didn’t want us to teach him. It is sad because he had been prepared for sure, but agency is agency and we each have to choose for ourselves. A lot of our other families that we were working with are kinda falling off. It’s sad, and just frustrating (that we have to watch people choose to be less happy). In other words our area has been suffering, in part becuase we need to go to the Lord and ask him where he wants us to go, and also because we are really focused on helping missionaries develop skills too. But we are teaching a family, the Hatch family. Dad is a member; Mom is an inactive Catholic, and 3 of the sweetest little kiddies. Anyway, things are going pretty well with Sis Hatch has felt that what we are teaching is good and she has felt the spirit, but she hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon very consistently yet. And she needs to so that she can have that spiritual witness that every member of the church needs, that the Book of Mormon is true, to remain active forever.  Speaking of the Book of Mormon, it is so stinking true!  I was reading it last night and it just teaches so clearly the doctrine of Christ. I know that a person cannot come to a true and complete testimony of the Savior until they accept the divinity of the Book of Mormon. You know something I have learned about on my mission is that the sacrament is, A TIME FOR REVELATION. So on Sunday I was thinking about how our work was going and how I didn't feel like I was doing good enough and that I needed to work harder and how I was weak and how I felt inadequate, and how I struggle to be an effective missionary because of my weaknesses and sins and I, I, I, I. It was all about me, and the Lord simple taught me that great principle "if any man will save his life shall lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake shall find it". It has been a re-occurring theme throughout my mission, and it is amazing what change can happen, immediately after our attitude switches from me, me, me; to selfless service to others. I know that I am engaged in the work of God the Father; I know the I teach the Only true way, and happiness and goodness come, only, through the Grace of Christ. I love you all, thanks for being so awesome!! Yall have no idea how often I think about my family, and how wonderful you are, and I’m inspired to be a better person... thank you!

Elder Hendrix

February 13, 2012

Family,
Everything is going great. We had a crazy week, we are really busy but not with actually teaching. We have a million things to do its all good though. We didn't teach a lot this week but we did start teaching a great great guy we have taught him 2 times already and each lesson is so spiritual, he has really been prepared. His name is Bro. L, he is from Panama, when we first talked with him he told us about the only mormon he ever knew, it was a missionary in panama, named Micheal. This missionary made a very big impression on Bro. L and he has never forgot him, I guess that missionary use to teach his family when he was a teenager probably 35 years ago. But he was very interested in the book of mormon, and always wondered about the "Great white, bearded God" the ancient aztecs talked about. He said he would be baptized when he recieves his answer. So it has been fun teaching him. I will send some pictures and we dont do to much exciting on p-day. Today we are going to an army museum on the base. I love you all and thank you so much for your support and love and prayers.

Elder Hendrix

Thanks to our Soldiers!

Family,
Everything is going so well. We don’t have a ton of people to teach right now, so we had a week of just going out trying to find people who are being prepared. We are really busy with lots of other stuff too so we had a pretty hectic week and things will just be more and more hectic through the rest of our transfer. We had a great Sunday, all three of the part member families that we are teaching came to church and had good experiences, we are excited and confident that they will be baptized soon. Because our ward boundaries cover Ft. Benning, one of us goes to a branch on the base for all of the Soldiers in basic training. So I went this week it was cool to see the guys blessing and passing the sacrament all dressed in their camo. I just went around and shook all of their hands and talked with them, many of them were returned missionaries. It was fun, there was about 100 soldiers all of them were really young kids. But I felt sort of low in their presence. During the sacrament there was a spirit there that felt different than the normal sacrament meeting. I don’t know how to explain it, but I thought about how pleased God must be for their service. And how good their service was to us all, and how courageous they are to become a member of the US Army. Then after church, they had a baptism and one soldier baptized his friend. There were some other soldiers that were there and it was cool to see their brotherhood, it’s pretty similar to the brotherhood we have out here on our missions, with those that we serve with. But still it felt different knowing that they are being trained to put their lives on the line, I don’t have to worry about that. It was an eye opening experience and I can’t wait to go back. The work is going well. We had a missionary meeting this week and there were 18 of us in the meeting with President Satterfield. At the end we were able have a testimony meeting. I witnessed young men with many weaknesses get up and bear there testimony about how their mission experience has brought them closer to God, and felt the spirit and knew that is what it is all about: developing a relationship with God, there is no greater knowledge we can have. And missions do that to young men no doubt this is Gods work. I love you all so much, thanks for your examples of devotion!

Elder Hendrix