Found The Camera Cord!!!!

Elder Hendrix and Elder Carney

This week’s been a great week! Elder Carney and I were sore for about 3 days after our hike this past p-day, but we’ve been working really hard, nonetheless.

 Hiking into the Andes!

 What an amazing view!

 Santiago

Elder Gutierez( one of my roommates in my apartment)

 We have some investigators who are really progressing in the Gospel. It’s amazing to see their desire to change their lives for the better.  In one of our lessons this week, with one of our investigators, we taught a lesson and shared a video about Joseph Smith. Her niece, who lives in Puente Alto( a different city in Santiago) was there and was really intrigued with the video and The Book of Mormon.  She said she had always wanted to read the book but never had one! This was music to my ears because we have to pull teeth just to get an investigator to read a page of  The Book of Mormon! I am excited to see where this will go.

My day is very long, but it goes by so fast because we are always on the move. The food here is pretty good. Completos are to die for! The mayo here is amazing and empanadas are really good. Sushi is really big here too! Overall though, the food is so unhealthy. I’m praying I wont get a beer belly here…. :)

Elder Carney is a great dad. (here if you are a greenie (new to the mission field0 your trainer is called your dad) He is from Colorado and is really good at Track and is such a great trainer.  He’s made this transition period so much easier for me, especially with the language.

These past few days I have really been thinking about hindsight. We’ve had a few lessons with investigators and less actives who are struggling with their faith. There is a particular verse in The Book of Mormon I really like that talks about this topic, “And now, I Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6) This past week, I have received that witness! I thought back on how tough high school was and how challenging it was to stay the course. If I didn't have my beliefs and standards I have now, there is no telling what kind of person I would be right now, but because of the beliefs and principles I live my life by, I’m halfway around the world, inviting people to come unto Christ! How great is that?!

As I’ve studied, I’ve began to understand that answers do not come through answered prayers or miraculous miracles. Often times, faith comes by way of experiences. The beauty of hindsight is that I never had this perspective during high school.  I would endure and defend my beliefs with honor without these great experiences and feelings that I now have daily on my mission.  It was very tough, but as a result, I grew so much from it.  

Love,

Elder Hendrix

Elder Hendrix's desk( what a difference a mission is making on his cleanliness and organization) :)

No Comprende

 Aguas De San Ramon

This week has been so busy and very long when I look back on it, but very rewarding. I am understanding a little more each day, but it is still so hard. For example, we taught Peruvians a couple days ago and I followed the conversation very well and could communicate very well with them. The next lesson, we taught a Chilean with no teeth,.......Didn't get a word out of him..

We do A LOT of walking in my area. We are in La Granje which is in the southern part of Santiago.I love the people here. So great! They are so humble and amazing. We have really been getting to work. We have many menos activos and investigators who are really starting to progress and its awesome to watch them change their lives for the better.

Elder Carney is my trainer (Dad as they call it here) and is the man!! I love working with him.

Today, I am exhausted. We went on a waterfall hike in the Andes. It was so amazing!! It was 5 miles in and 5 miles out in tough terrain and sadly, Coach Tidwell, it wasn’t a chocolate waterfall (inside joke) 

A really cool thing about our District is that we have permission to leave our mission. We went with our district to the east mission and completed this daunting hike. We are so close as a district and zone because we are all so close together. I love these guys. I have photos but lost my plug. I’m in the process of finding a new one but the Andes are HUGE. They trump the mountains in the US!! 

This week has been so hard, but so rewarding. I know that I will struggle with Spanish for awhile, but I can use it to my advantage. What my President told me( President Gwilliam is so amazing. I had an interview and got to know him really well) that people will listen more closely to what I have to say because they are trying to figure out what it is I’m saying.  That will help them feel the spirit more and be more inclined to hear our message.

I love it hear. God calls you where you are supposed to go. It wouldn’t matter if it took me 2 years or if I never learned Spanish. I love the Mission. I love the people. And I am happy. Talk to you next week

Love,

Elder Hendrix

The day their district left the CCM.  

VIVA CHILE!!!

I’m going to apologize up front for my short email. This week has been so hectic and I haven't found any time to write! Our flight to Chile was great. I had two of the best meals I have had in 6 weeks!! The mountains are HUGE here, but the smog covers almost all but the tops of them. My companions name is Elder Carney. He is an amazing Elder. He is from Colorado, and is such a great guy! Im really looking forward to our time together these next 6 weeks. I am living in La Granja! We have the 2nd smallest mission in the world, but 3 million people live in this area. 

I had a funny experience on the bus today. A lady literally walked up to me and took a picture of me. It was so weird... She then proceeded to type to her friend or something as she kept glancing at me then at her phone and then back at me…..My companion was looking over her shoulder to see what she was writing. He said that she was texting someone that I was cute….

The Chileans are amazing people! They are so great and humble. However, I can't understand an ounce of what they are saying. Their Spanish is so bad lol but I can testify to them! Not going to lie. It is hard here but I know that abrupt change in our lives gives us the opportunity to grow more than we possibly can imagine! 

Chow! 

Elder Hendrix

P.S. in true Elder Hendrix fashion....he misplaced his camera cord.  Hopefully he finds it soon. :)

Completo(Chilean Hot Dog)

An email from Elder Hendrix's companion

Hendrix family!!

This is Elder Carney from Denver Colorado, and I am training your son Elder Hendrix!!! Just wanted you guys to know that he is an INCREDIBLE missionary, and will do amazing things here in Chile Santiago Sur! We have only had one day but he is ready to get down to work! I hope you guys know that  I am here for whatever and that I am super excited to be training your son. He is the man! Please let me know if their is anything that I can do for you guys or for him! Have a great week! And here is a picture of his first completo (hot dogs but so much better!)

Elder Carney

An email from the mission home

LA IGLESIA DE JESUCRISTO DE LOS SANTOS DE LOS ÚLTIMOS DÍAS

Misión Chile Santiago Sur, Francisco Aranda 530, San Bernardo, Santiago Chile, 807086

September 13, 2016

Aimee Hendrix 

USA

Dear Sister Hendrix:

We are happy to send the exciting news that after weeks of preparation in the Mexico MTC, Elder Hendrix has arrived safely with his group of fellow missionaries to the Chile Santiago South Mission.  He was transported from the MTC to the Mission Office where he met his trainer, participated in a New Missionary Orientation and was transported to his first assigned area. 

Your son has been assigned as a junior companion to Elder Carney, from Littleton, Colorado. Elder Carney is an exceptional missionary selected by President Gwilliam to guide Elder Hendrix through this important training period of his mission.  They are assigned to labor in the Pensamientos 1 sector in the La Bandera zone. 

You can expect to hear from Elder Hendrix by email Wednesday which is preparation day.  We trust that you will also write to Elder Hendrix on a weekly basis. Your positive messages of support and love will be a great source of strength and encouragement to him. We will send you our weekly newsletter as well as other occasional messages. To send a letter or a package we strongly recommend you use USPS, and the following address:

Elder Hendrix

Chile Santiago South Mission

Apartado Postal No. 544

San Bernardo, Chile

We thank you for all that you have done to help prepare Elder Hendrix to faithfully serve a full time mission. We know that your family will be blessed for his sacrifice and commitment to serve the Lord.  Thank you for entrusting Elder Hendrix to the Lord and to us.  We look forward to getting to know him well as we labor together.  We want you to know that we will love and watch over him while he is in our care. Please feel free to communicate with us at any time, with any concerns that you may have.

Most sincerely,

                                    

   President Douglas G. Gwilliam                                   Sister Stephanie Gwilliam

Elder Hendrix meeting his Mission President, his wife and his companion, Elder Carney

Mexico City MTC-Week Five

This week’s been a good week.  Last P-day, on Wednesday, we played Ultimate Frisbee and soccer for four hours.  We were so worn out by the end of the day! I forgot to mention this last week, but I was stoked when I heard how well Nick is doing in Cross Country. 13th overall in 5A for the state of Texas.  It’s awesome seeing his hard work pay off!

The Elders in my District

As for my week, it’s been a week that I will remember for the rest of my life. It has been a very trying and testing week for me, but despite our trials/ difficulties we can see the Lord in our lives, IF we are willing to look for Him. On Saturday. I had the impression to study a particular Christlike attribute from Preach My Gospel (a missionaries teaching guide) and it was exactly what I needed help with on that particular day.  Whether that prompting was the spirit or my subconscious picking a topic to study, It didn't matter. Either way, I could see the Lords hands in my life.

For the rest of the week, it consisted of typical missionary training.  A lot of studying and learning the language.  Each day we taught a lesson to one of our investigators. The lessons are going really well.  Elder Hair and I are really progressing with our Spanish. We have come a long way from originally testifying of the “escritories” (desks) instead of the “escrituras” (scriptures) in our first lessons as missionaries. lol!! Lessons continue to get easier to understand and interpret but the grammar continues to be more difficult.  This week, we are studying the subjunctive tense which doesn't exist in English…..Needless to say, I’m feeling unprepared as I’m getting ready to leave for Chili next week. I can’t believe I have been here for nearly six weeks. It’s crazy!

This week I was thinking about a video I would watch a lot before I left on my mission. The video is called “Success is not an Accident”. I would recommend that you al watch it.  The video is a story about Steph Curry in high school.  He was invited to a camp with some of the top high school recruits that were going to attend big time basketball colleges such as Kentucky, Duke and Kansas,  Steph never received an offer from big school.  Davidson College, a smaller school, was the college he attended.  In this video, one of the coaches noticed that Steph would show up one hour before practice and stay one hour after, while the rest of the players would show up 5 minutes before the practice would start. 

Now, I can’t promise you that if you apply this principle in your life that you will reap the same rewards as Steph. Steph Curry is a two time MVP and World Champ, but I can promise you that success is not an accident.  How hard we are willing to work, practice, and do the little things in life has an immense impact on our success. I’m willing to wager that Steph Curry is as successful as he is because of those habits he had in high school. This story is directly applicable to each of us in our lives. If we are going to do something in life, why not give it everything we got? If we want success, we need to work because no matter how big or small, we will receive some sort of reward for our effort and diligence.  I know without a doubt that these things are true. I’m applying this principle in my life every day for missionary work. Why not apply this in your life? 

If you would like to email me directly, my email is matthew.hendrix@myldsmail.net

I look forward to talking to y’all next week!

Elder Hendrix

I love to look up at the homes on the mountains that surround the MTC 

 A few of my favorite pictures in the MTC( he needs to work on his photography skills(:)