The Hendricksons
Monday, January 25, 2016
My First Daughter - Tender Mercies January 25, 2016
THIS WEEK WAS SO GREAT! one of our investigators came to church with is less active fiancee and stayed ALL 3 HOURS and he loved it he really loved the time in priesthood and felt the spirit. we are so excited and know that he will be baptized. We also had a time to visit a less family we are visiting. The dad Rodrigo smoked and drank i a few weeks back shared my testimony of how i changed my life to become who i am now and he really felt the spirit because he has gone 1 week without smoking and he doesnt even have th desire to smoke! he has started a diet and exercise routine and said i feel so much better i feel like i have life in me and purpose i love not smoking! as a couple they have started to pray together in the night and can really feel a spiritual difference. i could literally feel a HUGE change in there house spiritually. they looked so much happier and i could feel there spirit. These moments are tender mercies from the lord. I dont have many baptisms as a missionary and i at times feel that i a doing nothing but when i experience these moments i know i am helping push the work forward because all souls have worth in the eyes of the lord.
Once upon a time a missionary was told throughout her whole mission that she was going to be a trainer but she never believed anyone then one week in her mission before transfers everyone said she was going to train but she continued to deny it. dun dun dun duuunnn its9:05 sunday night and she gets a call directly from her missino president. Hermana kogianes I HAVE AN ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU! YOU ARE GOING TO TRAIN!
Wednesday in the morning i will be going to Osorno to find my first Daughter 
Hermana Luna She is from Argentina.
In the mission we have a joke here that when you train you recieve a daughter and you are the mother. I was so shocked after the call i didnt know what to do but i however felt that that i was going to train. Sunday morning when i woke up i asked heavenly father if i was going to train and if so let me feel that it ws really going to happen. When i ended the prayer i felt it in my stomach and my heart that the lord wanted me to train but i didnt want to believe it. During sacrament meeting my companion was giving her talk and shared a experience in her mission and when she talked of her companion that she trained i felt once again that i was going to train. Remember last week when i talked that the spirit will always help us when we sincerely ask him? I once aganin recieved 2 times revelation that i was going to train which leads me into my spiritual part of the week.
My companion a few days back asked me what it ment to have a contrite spirit and a broken heart. As i sat at my study desk pondering the question i thought back to the previous days and all that has passed here in our sector, i thought back to my other sectors and i also thought back to my life before the mission. I began to search the definition of Contrite spirit and Broken heart in the dictonary in the book of mormon...
Broken Heart or Contrite Heart....
To have a broken heart is to be humble, contrite, repentant, and meek—that is, receptive to the will of God.
When Heavenly Father and our savior ask us to come unto them with a broken heart and contrite spirit they want us to be broken or in other words ready to learn and to change into who they know we can be. This week was a week that i felt was preaparing me to be more submissive and receptive to the will of my heavenly father. I always try to do things on my own and i always feel that i can feel better on my own but it is not true. I was trying to hard to find my own answers to things and waited to the last minute to ask my heavenly father but when finally did a wonderful week passed by like what i told you earlier. I know now more then ever that it is necessary for us to be receptive to the will of god and go to him with a broken heart. most of us the moments when we most go to our heavenly father is when we are broken down with grief, pain and anguish but it is not necesarry so why do we do it?
It is because satan is so good at his lies. he puts a huge bander in our head with huge lights reminding us of all our past errors big or small telling us we can not go to our father that he will not accept us. i have felt this too many times to count but it just is not true. As members in these times we need to stay stronger to the truths me know and not alone lucifers lies to tear our faith from us. doubt the doubts before the faith or use the phrase my mom has taught me NOT TODAY SATAN NOT TODAY. A sister leader said hermana kogianes you are a missionary that satan hates and when you wake up in the morning satans says NOOO not again shes awake. Try to be like this (: when you wake up make it so scary for satan. I know my savior lives and loves us. He searches for all his lost sheep but we are the sheep that keep running ahead or hiding but he knows where we are at all times and will not let us be lost but he also accepts our agency. i love you all so much 
i pray for you always and i know you can all do hard things with faith in our Heavenly Father, SAVIOR AND REDEEMER everything is possible. until next week (:
January 18, 2016
What a truly wonderful week it has been here in Valdivia. We are now entering the last week with my companion. This next monday we will recieve a call and find out who my new companion will be and what time Hermana Parkinson needs to be in Osorno to have her last dinner with the missionarys leaving and then a flight home to Utah... The truth of it all is it makes me really sad. We have recently become really close. When i think of her leaving i really do want to cry! she is an older sister to me but she is an incredible missionary and will continue to be an incredible one after the mission i have learned so much from her.
Well with investigators we have recently started from scratch! Nothing really happened monday with investigators or contacting.
Tuesday was such a crazy day. I have been going to the doctor lately because i have had headaches and sometimes stomach aches when i eat. They thought since i had diabetes in my family that it was that but after test they didnt find anything so after they thought it was a urine infection but it wasnt that either so i sat down with the doctor and we talked about my diet and what i ate here and at home. We then found out that i gained a little weight here in the mission (hehe) so i now have a little diet for a bit that will help with the stress and my headaches and this week i really have seen a huge difference. however we also met with Luis with a member and his wife. Veronica the wife of luis was not home so the lesson was a bit awkward but in the end he had a lot of questions and they were able to answer them all and he felt the spirit. Luis is so awesome he reads everything we give him and he loves to learn he is currently waiting for an answer to see if baptism is possible a second time since he was baptized in the catholic church. we are trying to work really close with him but his schedule and family make it a little difficult
Wednesday was the coolest day for district meeting and we really got spiritually fed and talked about knowing if our investigators really have true desires to be members or no.
Thursday was weekly planning. After praying and talking for a good hour we decided to drop almost all our investigators because they didnt have a really desire to learn. It was really hard for us but we both felt it was necessary. We also sang in a funeral for a sister in the ward that lost her brother. we taught a less active family and are hoping to see them in church.
Friday we participated in a water war with the young men and womans and also met with an investigator that read and MARKED the book of mormon YESSS wer were so happy.
saturday was a knocking doors all day and Sunday.
Okay my more spiritual part of this week was an experience i had with an investigator friday and what happened sudnay. So friday we met for a family night with a less active and his non member girlfriend. She made a dessert that we ate before starting the lesson. When she gave it to me i had a thought his is wine. but thought to myself no its not how could it they know we can t eat or drink it so we began eating it. my comp had a few bites but didnt like it. i found it weird and each bite felt weird like something was wrong but my comp said it has a strong taste. and the less active says its wine! i said WHAT and he said no really its wine then his girlfriend says no really its wine but i cooked the alcohol out. i said we cant eat this and then she was really sad and felt bad but we helped them to understand why but needless to say i woke up with A POUNDING headache. lesson learned for not following the spirit and sunday we were out knocking doors and i felt to knock one end of the street so we knocked and knocked but nobody answered but i still felt the need to knock so the last house we knocked and a girl answered and she now wants to learn more and meet with us today! As you can see this week i really learned to follow the spirit. The holy ghost really is here to help us and teach us all things but we have to be willing to listen. I have learned that at times just a little thought that at first seems weird can be a powerful prompting of the spirit trying to help us. i also had the oportunity of teaching relief socity this week and gosel principles. The 2 lessons really had a focus on the peace our savior has for us but it requirs us to come unto him and not the things of the world. when we have a problem or a trial where to our thoughts turn? to satan or to our savior that can give us peace... do we liten to the right spirit or the wrong. i want all of you to try and have moments this week to just sit and try and feel of the sprit and try everyday to note the spirit and blessings it brings. JOHN 14:27
P.S no pics because no cord again sorry!
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Con mucho Amor y Carino Hermana Kogianes
Monday, January 11, 2016
January 11, 2016
First of all last night was so fun because we had exchanges but we did it a little different in the way that both hermana leaders stayed the night for a slumber party and after we planned for the next day we watched the other side of heaven. Today we went to the beach and prosletying starts soon so i dont have a whole lot of time to write today so i will just write a little.
This week has really been a spiritual strengthing week for me. I have really come to love and recognize the hand of god here in the mission and the saving power of the atonement for those that are not yet members but still are loving brothers and sisters.
As i sat outside on a step to our house this week waiting for my comp to finish getting ready i was petting the neighbors dog and looking up to the sky watching the huge clouds just float by and marveling at how our heavenly father created all it when out of no were a beautiful white butterfly came and landed on my lap and just sat there for a minute. i could feel the spirit so strong as i felt the love the savior had for me as a missionary but more importantly as a daughter or our loving heavenly father
Whenever the adversary cannot persuade imperfect yet striving Saints such as you to abandon your belief in a personal and loving God, he employs a vicious campaign to put as much distance as possible between you and God. The adversary knows that faith in Christ—the kind of faith that produces a steady stream of tender mercies and even mighty miracles—goes hand in hand with a personal confidence that you are striving to choose the right. For that reason he will seek access to your heart to tell you lies—lies that Heavenly Father is disappointed in you, that the Atonement is beyond your reach, that there is no point in even trying, that everyone else is better than you, that you are unworthy, and a thousand variations of that same evil theme.
As long as you allow these voices to chisel away at your soul, you can’t approach the throne of God with real confidence. Whatever you do, whatever you pray for, whatever hopes for a miracle you may have, there will always be just enough self-doubt chipping away at your faith—not only your faith in God but also your confidence in yourself. Living the gospel in this manner is no fun, nor is it very healthy. Above all, it is completely unnecessary! The decision to change is yours—and yours alone.
I loved this part of Elder jorgs talk Aproaching the throne of god with confidence. Satan tries to put so many things in our head that distracts us from the truth and from the spirit. the spirit is the only thing that helps us to feel the love of god and our savior jesus christ. I have tried to put a picture of my savior that i love where i wil always see it. i want to challenge you all to do the same and really work to focus on the things the savior wants for us! focus on the person you can become and not just the person you are right now and do the same for those around you. we are not perfect and we can always change for the better i love you so much
December 28, 2015
FELIZ NAVIDAD FELIZ NAVIDAD PROSPERO ANO Y FELICIDAD (: I WANT TO WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Well I hope you all had a great chirstmas and thought alot about your savior and the significance of his birth (:
Monday was a slow day and we knocked doors trying to find people and ended up visiting a recent convert family that is really struggling right now to come to church and struggling finacially. I shared a story with them of a rich man and a poor man that lived in the street. One day the Rich man was walking in the street and saw the poor man. He had 7 pieces of Gold. So he had mercy on the poor man and thought i have to much gold so the rich man gave the poor man 6 pieces of the most highly pricest gold in the world and then continued his path down the road well this poor man was not satisfied so he followed the rich man and stole the last piece of gold the 7th piece. was it right? how would you feel as the rich man? The same happens with us. When we use all 6 days during the week to work or do the things we want and do not keep the sabbath day holy we are robbing our heavenly father who gave us 6 days. He only asks us for 1 days to not buy things, share time with family and go to church. is it too much to ask for?
Tuesday was a really special day for us. We had been trying to visit investigadors all day and nothing was working out. As we were walking down the street my companion said we need to do contacts we havent done any. so i said YEAH lets do it. so she picked a street and asked what house i said a house here with the dinosaur looking plant that is soo good to eat her and she said i too want to knock the door because of the car so we knock and a lady answers and says COME IN. We both looked at each other and then said okkaaayy. because that IS NOT NORMAL here for people to just tell us to come in. Chileans always answer the door not even half open and ask us what we want. Well after 15 of talking we found out she is a less active member of about 10 years and wants to come back to church but she is orignally from Rancagua so she didnt know who the missionaries were, what time the church started or where it was but that she had been praying that maybe just maybe we would come by and knock here door. After my compy and i were stunned. We had not realized that the spirit was leading us to her house.. we had only had the feeling to do some more contacts.
Wednesday we stopped by a less active members house and they had huge bags of gifts for me and my companion. We just had our mouths open like wow we cant believe this. The best part was they came to church yesterday and we spent the day with their daughter Camilia that is 17 and really rebelious. She reminds me a lot of who i used to be and so my comp is convinced i can help her and get her to serve a mission so we will see how it goes and if she will listen to us she wants to spend more time with us.
Thursday and Friday we spent time visiting people. Here in chile the navidad is celebrated at 12 midnight because they believe thats realy when christ was born and should be celebrated they have a feast of whatever food you can think of thats mostly meat at like 10 or 11 then eat treats sweets and then at 12 open gifts visit and then sleep alllllll day the 25. When me and my companion woke up we usually hear cars outside of our house but this time we heard absolutely nothing. NO ONE was out side the hosue before 12 or 1 that day and everyone was not about to open the door to visit with us.
Saturday was a great day we had lunch with a member that is a return missionary and we spend an hour talking about the book of mormon and the things we can learn from it. he also gave us some really good scriptures to use with investigators. at 10:30 at night during our verifications with our district leader he says oh hermana kogianes you have a talk tomorrow aobut the atonement good night click. i was dying because we need to be in bed at 11 soooo
Sunday I gave my talk and winged it the best i could and thankfully my words touched the hearts of some members struggling right now and they were really grateful.
A spiritual message from this week is about prayers. I honestly think on of the biggest things my mission has taught me is how to pray. Before the mission i said my prayers but it was out of routine with the same things and the fastest way possible. I can not lie and say my prayers are perfect and that i am always 100 percent focused in my prayers sometimes at night i am so exhausted that i fall asleep on my knees praying or in the morning but recently this week i have tried to really focus on having deeper prayers. Real conversations with my heavenly father. This week we have had THE WORST TIME WITH FLEAS i literally have bites on my face, neck, arms, feet and legs. i am dying and i am constantly iching i try not to but it doesnt work at times i cant sleep because i am itching. So i decided during one of my prayers to ask heavenly father to please just help me help me with my fleas so i prayed and nothing happened the fact of the matter is they got even worst and i found some new bites. the few nights after i decided to just solamently pray for everyone else but me so i prayed and prayed i also have struggled to feel the spirit to help and investigadors in this moment something marvelous happened. My legs began to tingle almost. My desire to scratch my legs went away and i have since decreased the scratching. I can truly testify that heavenly father answers prayers. Shirley the less active got an answer to here prayers when we knocked her door. I got my prayer answered when i focused less on myslef. I also had a problem skyíng my family on the 25th the internet would not work and the computer kept having problems so my comp and i decided to pray after i had a feeling to check the router but didnt do it. later when the internet still wouldnt work a brother of the church called and said to check the router so i did and we fixed it! the internet began to work. i was kicking myself in the butt because i should have followed the spirit and answer to my prayer. i know we recieve answers but we need to be willing to answer even if htey seem dumb or someting we dont want. heavenly father wants to help us and knows the bst path i know it is true i love you so much!
P.S no photos again! im sorry the computers have been dumb
December 21, 2015
I want to wish all of you a very Merry Chistmas this week (: Enjoy the snow for me because all we have is intense heat and but right now ALOT of rain so just know that im still cold hahaha
Well i got transfered to A BEAUTIFUL part of the mission VALDIVIA. it really is so beautiful here i am adjusting slowly because it is a huge city! it has a ton of people and my sectors before were of fields for farming and really really small but i love it here i am able to talk to more people and have a lot more interesting conversations. My companion is from SPANISH FORK how small is the world again! she is a year older then me and we might have known eachother before because she played soccer for a few years! her name is Natalie Parkinson. Hermana parkinson. we get along SO WELL and really have a lot to do here! i was really worried about having another gringa for a companion because i have the history to just speak english but we only speak spanish so it is awesome! it really is a blessing to work with here and our many investigators here! i am still trying to get to know everyone here so give me some more time before i tell you who everyone is because we do not have anyone with a date for baptism but we are close (: they are so awesome and really progressing fast and i get along with all of them so well and i love them so much already! this will be a VERY FUN last transfer for my comp i am determined to help her finish so strong! It is so sad that i will be ¨killing¨ another companion in the mission but very happy i get the chance to help my compy finish with some great experiences (:
HMM this last week i have really taken a step back to focus a lot on the things that christ wants of me as well as what my family thinks of me as a missionary. For the past few months everyday i sit down on the floor and really ponder ALL that has passed in the day and write down a few miralces or blessings from the day. I have managed to fill a lot of pages and am really pleased that sometimes the blessing at the end of the day is ...... ¨i didnt get bit my a dog or a flea today so i think we are getting somewhere¨ hahahah no but really to sit and ponder the day and see the lords hand in his work is amazing. My comp had a great idea to make a sign and do a questionaire type of contacting that worked really well we went around showing people this sign asking them what the first thing in their mind when they think of chirstmas and a lot of answers where love, family, god and we then asked what they wanted from this christmas and when they gave an answer i would write it down on a card with the page for the new christmas video and then take a picture of them with it and they would walk off with a huge smile. I have thought a lot of christ this week and all that has gone on. A Few times in my mission i have recieved news from family, friends, members, companions or investigators that makes me feel like my whole world has gotten turned upside down. that my heart has fallen to my stomach and that i want to lie down and cry cry cry but this week has really helped me to see that my savior is here for me. That he too feels in his heart what i am feeling and that he wants to help me for this reason he was born, for this reason he suffered for me and took everything upon him. How many of us for christmas really think of him? other then when its christmas sacrament or our family nights? A lot of time we get caught up in the gifts, the plans of where we should go or not go who we should buy gifts for and who we havent. where is our savior?...... have you thought to look around in the ward at someone that may just need a little note for christmas or a little card? Here in chile i have recently started to make little notes. i sneak them in the bags of the members or just hand it to them and walk off and the next day they are so happy. i want to challenge you all to sit by the fire, look at a temple, a picture of christ or a picture of your family and think of all your miracles of the day, week, month, year. where was the savior? i can promise you in every thought you will see him or feel that he ws there for you when you thought no. also challenge you to write a note to someone or bake some cookies and without them knowing give it to them. do not look for the recognicion. just make them happy give them something they can not give themselfs at times (: i love my savior and i know he lives. i love everyone of you and i pray for you all sometimes i even fall asleep praying but i always wake up with a smile and a laugh and crawl into bed (: this christmas is so beautiful because we recieved a redentor a savior. i know all of these things are true in the name of jesus christ amen
Much love Hermana Kogianes
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