3/9/2015

This week has been fun, and a lot of work but that what I am here for! And I love working! One thing is that I love being the district leader’s companion. Because I get to meet all the soon to be baptisms. These people are the best, because they just have the spirit working so hard on them to go to the light, it’s amazing. They just know the best questions, and you can watch the spirit teach them for you.

 Also I love resent converts. Because they know what has happened to them, they have the great change of heart and remember what a gift and blessing from God there baptism was. They know and can see the difference in their life’s from when they didn’t have the spirit constantly with them, to now when they have the spirit as there companion. Its amazing to see and is an extra example for me. Sometime I forget how much the lord has blesses me, so I am working harder to remember that in my life now. It doesn’t matter how one simple day goes, you have thousands of them, and as long as you spend them with a loving heart and an eye single to the glory of God, it was a day well spent. And no matter who you are, what back ground you have or what you did or didn’t do, God loves all of his children. 

With the language, people are still super confused when I try to explain things or say something I haven’t said 500 times, ha-ha, but I can do things that they ask me to do!! I understand them enough now so that one member can ask me to get something or do something or change something and I can do the right thing! Ha, little victories make my day really happy! 

For solid investigator, we have Jezely, she is the ….almost wife of our last baptism, she just need to be get the witness from the spirit and she will be baptized. And a lot of new people that we only taught a few times, and always finding more! 

Well that all I got, that I remember at this moment. Till next week

3/2/2015 hard week

First the bad, then the good. 

No one likes the hard week, when everything doesn’t work out. This week, was hard, we work our butts off. Knocked so many doors, taught so many lessons, and by Saturday we had no one to take to church, everyone said they didn’t want to hear our message right now, and I just felt like I was failing. The only hope we had was a man and is soon to be wife, that we only teach once a week( and this week we couldn’t because they were out) and they said they would go to church, but they would have to go by them self.( we couldn’t walk them to church).

 But this is where God showed me faith and enduring to the end is very important. They really did come to church!, and the man ( Uelim said like William) said he wanted to be baptized, and I got the great opportunity to baptize him, and it was one of the most spiritual moments of my life. I got to feel a little of the joy God feels when one of his lost children come back to him. I got to share with this man, the power of God to cleanse people of their sins. It was the best feeling I could ever think of! So remember this, even in the hardest  times, in the worse weeks, when people reject you, there is always Christ, and God that love you, and knows what you need and what will make you better. And God knows how to make a wonderful experience even better. I KNOW God loves us, I know he knows us better then we know ourselves. I don’t know when a better time that baptism could of happen to me, and I know that was God plan. There will always be a rainbow after the worse storm, God will always give you the blessing exactly when you need it. 

1/15/2015

So I didn’t write yesterday, sorry. I was in the main city of my mission Vitoria to get my papers finalized so I can live here and not worry if a police coming up to me, because now they can’t deport me! ya! ha-ha so other than that it been a really good week, we had a lot of investigator come to church, a lot of them little children but that’s still great! They stay and after some asked me (because they all want to learn English when I want to learn Portuguese) how to say in English they liked church this morning. That made me feel good! 

I talked in some lessons this week! granted it wasn’t long and didn’t make much sense to the people, but I did it, I need to get over the ‘ I don’t know the language so I’m not going to speak’ because the only way we can learn is by trying to do it!  though, not to blow my own horn or anything, I’m getting pretty good at prayers that make sense, because in every meeting and in every lesson people always ask me to pray (or if they ask someone else they say I give good prayers. I don’t know how to say, I said a prayer one hundred times today) but it’s good, I need every opportunity to talk to my father in heaven, prayer is so important in my life right now. Its crazy to think about. I pray all the time, in my head or out loud. And I know that is what keeps my spirits up most of the days here. The peace and love you get from a prayer is so awesome. I love it. 

Conversation with other missionary that don’t speak English are getting longer, and my companion, that is learning English, when I trying to describe a word, I can say the word (sometimes) in English, (thou he is really good at English right now). So progress! 

Today, I just want people to remember to pray in their hearts. It is -probably my favorite type of prayer right now. Because you just talk you can just let all your worries and all or your stress and all of your joy and everything flow and go to God. And he will give you peace, joy, and blessing untold. I promise that! You are important to God. So keep a prayer in your heart at all times, because, that keep God in your heart at all times. 

Well lessons, I am starting to understand some. Still working on that. I know that they are really trying, and some of the quietest people, you can see it the messages touch them the most. Hopefully we can get all of them to come back to church next week, and get baptized! Woot! Well, I sure I forgot stuff, but I think that all for this week! 

Love you all a bunch! Pray always! And enjoy insanity and peace! 

Elder Cody McKay Hendrickson

New years (January) 2015

Well it is 2015, and I realized I will be in Brasil all year! ya me! So I been wondering why I been so hot this whole time I been here, and dead tired when I get home. Well my companion told me it is been 38-45 C, which means 100 to 115 F, with humidity, and it getting hotter! But its all good. I’ll live. They have told me that there is an area in our mission that gets in the 50s C (which is around123s F) with humidity. So ya! I not in the hottest area! 

Other than that, my week been good, lot of meals, and lot of lessons, I think I am starting to understand some of the lessons and what people say, but I still got a way to go before I am able to understand everything. Speaking is super rough, I don’t know how I am ever going to speak well, but missionaries from the US have done it before so I going and give it my all. 

Oh and I like their new year here, they all wear white all day, to be like ‘this is a new me’. That’s cool I think!

And I’m loosing weight here, I am now less then I was back at home! So MTC fat-gone, Chicago fat-gone! yep yep, doing good! 

I love the bakery here, they have freaking amazing sweet breads, and fruits, and fruit drinks.

But candy, not so great here. I am sad about one thing. It hasn’t rained yet, I want it to rain! Because they say it is so heavy rain they get completely soaked like they jumped into the river, and I could use a swim right now. Ha-ha. Anyways. That’s about it.

Just going with the flow, learning alot

Elder Hendrickson 

you can email cody at      cody.hendrickson@myldsmail.net

or mail at :

Elder Cody Hendrickson

Avenida João Baptista Parra, 633
Salas 1501/1502
Edf. Enseada Office, Praia do Suá
29052-123 Vitória - ESBrazil

Christmas 2014

Hello everyone!! It is great to talk to you! It feels like forever sense I been on a computer to write you guys! Brasil is beautiful! So amazing. Always hot- I sweat even when I sleep! I will not have a white Christmas; it’s actually the hottest time of the year now! Coming here is a super humbling experience, I can’t speak with people and I can barley understand them if they talk really slow. But you know what they say when you hit rock bottom, you only can go up from there. I have a great companion; he is going home though so I get another one next transfer.  People here are really nice I got a coconut for free! And drank it then and there, with a dissembled pen ha-ha. And again it is beautiful. I hope you are all doing well! I’m surviving so far, all of the Brazilian think because I am American I am "like glass" which is probably true

compared to them. Have an awesome week

From Brasil. Your "little" Cody 

So this week was good, Christmas and just getting into the swing of missions here in brasil. They are different then the USA missions. Still really hot, still no rain, I want it to rain, because everyone says that rain here is so crazy thick and I want to see that! I getting more relaxed too! (If you can believe that) just learning to go with the flow of the people. They are not rushed at all. So I am in the city, Linhares it’s by Vitoria, but I can’t see the ocean... But I know I will get an area by the ocean eventually.Your "little" Cody

Some other things Cody told us on Christmas are that their apartment is very humble, there are 7 missionaries living there and they only have cold water. Which he says is not that bad because it is so hot there the cold shower is a nice thing. His companion speaks English and Portuguese  so that is a tender mercy for him. I think not speaking Portuguese  for a month right after learning it really kicked his butt so it is hard relearning it when the native Brazilians speak so fast. But he says it is getting better, he’s catching words and sometimes sentences and has his companion to help fill in the pieces he misses. He says the Brazilian people are super nice – which is a nice thing for this mommy to hear! 

Well I just want to thank you all for your love and prayers and support of my sweet ‘little’ Cody.    Lora

Last week in Chicago !

So this will probably be the last time I write from Chicago, or North America! Next Monday is the day I fly to Brazil! So ya! I super excited and nervous, I hope I didn't forget too much of Portuguese! Ha
oh well we will see when I get down there!
So here in Chicago is still going good, we got another investigator this week, she is so awesome! She invited the missionary over because she said " God poked me and told me they have something you need" so
ya!!!!!! Freaking awesome! I love it when God prepares people like that! So she is so excited to learn and the next lesson she want to bring all here kids. Life pretty good. Still struggling with getting people to church on Sunday, but that the struggle of all missionaries.
Didn't have to bible bash this week! Super happy about that. And our original Jehovah whiteness investigator said he is reading the Book of Mormon now! So all well that end well ( he moving to Hawaii( or just a trip, but he says he not coming back) so when I leave he is leaving
Chicago too!) Oh and also this week coming up I get to go to the Chicago temple!
Because I am leaving and I wanted to, I miss the temple. the Mtc I
went ever week, so I excited. Still don't know if I going straight to
Vitoria or to the Ctm in Brazil. Haven't got the final flight planes.
We well see where I get to spend Christmas! It like a present!
Having fun in the cold, waiting for the warmth!
The "little" Cody Hendrickson