Hendrix Family

Hendrix Family,

  You guys are awesome.  Thanks so much for the picture of Grandma and Dad, that is an awesome picture. I am bummed that i missed out on the family reunion, and painting the house. I am so grateful for those who put together the reunion for grandma and grandpa I know that it means a lot to grandma, we talked about stuff like that when i was working at smith creek. I don't think very many people know how much she appreciated that, she always talked about how nobody wanted to be together or spend time with her. Tell grandpa to tell her i love her if you can, and tell grandpa that I love him as well. It is bitter sweet for me, many times i was around grandma i felt so bad for her being in such bad health so i'm sure she will be feeling better than she has in a long time. mom said she is sleeping with no pain right now. But on the other hand i will miss her so much, i loved walking into her house and hearing her say "who is that" i will always remember the feel of her soft wrinkly cheeks when you gave her a kiss. Thanks for spending time with her, she loved that so much, and it made her days easier. She was always so funny, she just look right with that smile in the picture you attached. Thanks I love you guys so much!!

Elder Hendrix

Ps: Ya know I really need some heavenly help right now and grandma being on the other side may turn out to be pretty timely

letter from Scott & Heather

Hey Jeff! 

Thanks for writing us that great letter, it sounds like you have some awesome things going on, and have met many wonderful people.  We'll be thinking of you and praying for you as you transition the new Mission Presidency. 

Things are good with us- Scott is doing an amazing job at his advertising agency internship.  I don't know if he told you but he's actually at the top agency in Utah, so it's a very cool opportunity.  He works very hard and puts in extra hours sometimes to help get projects done.  I can tell they are very happy to have his help. 

I am still very much loving my job as a publicist, I get to work with wonderful people and I love getting a discount at Deseret Book :) 

Nope...no kids yet!  We are surrounded by adorable nieces and nephews though who make us very excited for the day when it is our turn to have our own.

Yesterday Scott and I joined my family in the Bountiful Temple as my brother Luke received his endowment.  It was special to be there with him.  He leaves for his mission to Montreal, Canada in a few weeks.  He will get to speak French, which is cool because my other brother Jeremy served in France.  I'm sure they'll have fun speaking to each other.

Well, I hope you are well and that you will have extra strength to go through this President change.  I'm sure they'll all be relying on you heavily.  I look forward to hearing how it goes! 

Love you!
Heather

Heather said it pretty well, she's so great!  I'm reminded of talking with Grandpa Hendrix when he use to tell me to marry a girl like Grandma - and i'm so glad I did.  Our hearts are heavy thinking about Grandma today.  I'm so grateful that I took the opportunity to get to know her more out at the ranch and for the family reunion we had last year and for the opportunity we had a few months ago to paint her house.  I've thought a lot about your comment in the email you wrote us last week about all the family members who are on the other side helping us along.  I know she will be there for us too. 

When we were there in March painting their house I went through some old boxes and found a great picture of Grandma and Dad (i've attached it to this email).  I hope you know we are praying for you because we know of your special bond with her.  I know that the comforter can bring you comfort.  I love you so much.

At this point she is still in the hospital and they are trying to keep her until her kids can arrive.  Elaine was in Florida for a school trip.  Things can change quickly so when you get this it might be a different story.  I hope you are able to call Dad and talk to him for a bit   I wish I could convey how deeply we hurt for you and wish to bear your burden at this time.  We love you with all my heart.  Smile a Grandma smile!

Love Scott & Heather

Heavy Heart

Family,                                                                                   

   Wow that is heavy about Grandma. What a great lady!! There are few people in this world that I love like Grandma Hendrix. My heart does hurt to know that I may never see her again, but she is probably glad to meet the Lord as she surely will! Scott wrote me and we have been talking about the spirit of Elijah and the Sealing power, and weather she is on the earth or in the spirit world I believe she will be helping us and teaching us and watching out for us. I do count one of my greatest blessings that I had a couple summers to spend so much time around her because I came to know who she was and how experiences in her life shaped who she was. I think one of her greatest characteristics was humility, she never wanted to put anyone out. She thought about others, she always asked me what she could do for me, I’ll pray for her. 

   We have had a good week, nothing to special happened we are trying to prepare as much as we can for Pres. Snow, who will be here on Saturday afternoon. I have spent a lot of time reading in the book of Mormon this last week, and It is just a pure truth that The Book of Mormon will draw you nearer to God. I love that book, if you aren't reading it every day, i encourage you to start now. I love you all, sorry I don’t have much time. I love you, have a great day!

Elder Hendrix

Happy Fathers Day!

Family,                                                                                               

  Well we had an interesting week. We have been preparing for Pres. Harding and his family to come to our mission. But bad news he just had emergency surgery and won't be coming until a couple months after he was regularly going to begin his mission (July 1). But the Satterfields are leaving on July 1......so that poses a problem. We will have an interim mission president until Pres. Harding comes (probably Sept or Oct). His name is Lowell M. Snow, he was just released from the 2nd quorum of 70, and has been a mission president twice, Mississippi and Temple Square. It was quite a shock, and we are not sure how it is all going to go down, but we know it will turn out for the best.

   Saturday I went down to Columbus with Elder Wiberg to attend the baptismal service of Sis. H, and her daughter Brooklyn. She asked us to speak on the Holy Ghost. It was really cool to see her family all united together has members of the Lords church. Bro. H shared a cool experience with one of the Elders who is serving there right now. He said that he pulled out his patriarchal blessing and read it for the first time in years and for the first time realized that it talked about his family all becoming united in the gospel. There were specific events predicted in his patriarchal blessing that unfolded right before his eyes with his family joining the church. The Elder he was talking with explained to him how these blessings were fulfilled- by living righteously and keeping the covenants he made, the Lord kept up his end of the promise as well. Bro Hatch connected the dots and cried some tears of Gratitude. This is totally the work of God. I read a cool scripture the other day, John 4:34. Christ tells his disciples that his "meat" or what gives him life, joy or spiritual support is to do "[the fathers] will", and to do "his work". On my mission it has been very easy to forget that my mission is really not mine, it is his mission and his work. He is doing the work, not a missionary, we are simply the tools in his hands. It is the same for us in our church callings, or our family callings, which are the most important (ie Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Grandmother or Grandfather). We do not raise children for us, they are not ours, they are His. Thanks to you Mom and Dad, for doing the fathers will and his work in raising us, we know whom you serve, thank you! Especially to you this fathers day Dad, Thank You for being a real Man, and a faithful obedient, hardworking and humble priesthood leader of our home. You have been an effective tool for the Lord in my life, and thousands of others,  and at some point even millions of others. Thank You!! I love you all!

Elder Hendrix

Traveled the Mission

Family,                                                                                                         

  Sounds like life back home is pretty fast paced, everyone is busy doing good stuff it seems like. We had a Great week. We traveled the mission this week. Every Zone was having a meeting so we had them set their meetings up so that we could go to all 6 in 3 days. We drove all over Georgia, and got to see every missionary and what is going on around the mission. It was good, and I was tired. We did two trainings as we went around. One was an object lesson on pride, I’ll have to show it to you when I get home, it’s pretty cool. The other one was on being effective with our time. Those two topics really made an impression on me and it helped me because I have struggled with both things. Fisher and I have had a tiny little bit of contention between us, it’s very common to have with anyone you spend a lot of time around, so doing a training on pride within companionships was very beneficial. Essentially we talked about when pride comes between companions then the work stops moving forward, so it was good to talk about that over and over because it helped me to see myself truly, and where I can change. It has been really cool to study effectiveness, because that is such an important principle of everyday life. We should always be asking ourselves if we are using our time on earth wisely. To be successful we need to always be evaluating our efforts and weather they are bringing us closer to God or they are not. So it was fun. So we taught Evan a few more times today and he is super great. He is loving what he is learning. When we finish teaching him we ask if he has any questions and he says "you pretty much answered every one of them". Man I just can tell you how impressed I am with him and how open hearted he is, and how much he wants to learn. He read 330 pages in the Book of Mormon in like 2 weeks; he is such a humble guy. I just love him. I love all of the singles in our ward they are so fun and just awesome to work with.  Actually it’s funny because a bunch of them are going to be at BYU-I next semester and so is Fisher, and then I will go there in Jan, it will be a blast. In fact Melanie found out that she got accepted today, she will find out her track in a week or two. She is doing great, but her family is not real supportive of her right now, so please pray for her. Another Girl from the singles ward that is coming out there that has become like best friends with Melanie and Evan (she’s dating Evan actually), her name is Melissa Coles. She is really cool, she comes to all of our teaching appointments and I swear she is a return missionary. Sometimes I think it would be better if she taught in my place, I don’t know how she knows but she really understands the Gospel at its core, I’m sure you will meet them mom. They all, along with Jakob are like this little crew that we spend a lot of time around, so we have become pretty close. A couple nights ago they came to our house and wrapped our car with a huge role of paper, it was kinda funny! They are constantly pulling pranks on us, even though we do nothing back! Anyway, God is really there! He is the best teacher, sometimes we try to make ourselves or others the teacher, but he is the real teacher! I love you all so much

Elder Hendrix

 

Julie, 

  I love you! How are you doing and do you like softball. What are your plans for the summer, I think you’re old enough to start working for Dad. I think you can go out and deliver for him! I miss you so much and can’t wait to see you in November.    

Busy Week=Typo Error

Family,                                                                                                           

  We had a very busy week. Yes mother last week was transfers. It was first off a very emotional transfer meeting, again. So this was the Satterfields last one, so Elder Fisher and I organized putting together a scrap book for them. We had each missionary write them a letter about how Pres. and Sis Satterfield have taught them and helped them become more converted to the gospel and become better people, because that is really what they care about, is us and our conversion. We had some sister missionaries make the book up and they did a great job. We surprised them with it during the meeting along with a special musical number by Elder Hansen (He's an amazing pianist) and I tell you what I absolutely lost it!! I love those people so much, I wish I could describe to you how much good they have done for me and this mission, and how good of people they are. I wish the missionaries could know how hard they really work, they are constantly doing things, and they do it out of pure Love. I can’t express you to how thankful I am for the service, teaching and love they have given to me. I can’t wait for you to meet them again. Anyway I bet the entire mission thinks im just a big baby, since i always cry in transfer meeting. The next one I won’t cry, but the next one Fisher, Hansen, and Wiberg all go home, that will probably be the worst of all. You know you just build some great relationships and are filled with Love while on your mission, these are special relationships that will hopefully live on. So now for the bad news. When president calls out all of the new companions and new areas in the transfer meeting, he just reads it off a script that we type up and give to him before the meeting. Well i typed it up, and a few days later some of the transfers changed so I had to go back and make all of those changes, But I messed up so we sent the wrong missionary to the wrong area, and it is the type of missionary who you have to specially place because they are a little hard to get along with, So it is not a good situation. We didn’t catch it till after everyone left and went to their areas so we just went with it. I feel like such an Idiot, and President wasn't really happy, but I talked to him and he said, it’s just a mistake and their really isn’t much we can do with it now. I was so so so mad and Elder Fisher thought it was funny, again I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, ha ha. 

  We are teaching this guy named Evan. He is like 25 and wants to be baptized on June 30th! He works at a car shop that is owned by a member, that member and his wife actually serve in our ward. There are a couple of members that work there as well so he got to know one of them, who is in our ward named Jakob. Jakob has pretty much walked the same path I did, and is now preparing to serve a mission, so it’s fun to work with him, but he gave Evan a Book of Mormon, and Invited him to church and Evan has been coming ever since. He is a lot like Melanie, His heart has been softened by the goodness of our members and now the doctrine is changing his heart. We are having a great time teaching him he read 330 pages in the Book of Mormon in a week and a half, so he's hungry. It is just so clear to me that the scripture "ye are the light of the world" is so true and vital. It is people that begin someone’s conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the life of a Christian that changes the world little by little. I think it is this way because people can show "Love" to other people, and Love is the power by which the Atonement was planned and developed, carried out and shared to mankind. The example of the lives of my family is what began the softening of my heart. So thank you so much!! You are all wonderful examples to the each person in darkness around you, members (active or less-active) or non-members. I love you so much!

Elder Hendrix

Choices determine destiny!

Family,
 Thanks for all of the updates on the baseball tournament. Mom i want to write to all of the cousins who are graduating ( Katie, Tyler and Jared) so could you get me their addresses please. I liked Darren's graduation pictures, except for the fact that i wasn't sure if the one picture was Usher or Justin Beiber, and i thought the other one may have been Calvin Klein or something, haha. Did Scott do those? Little Garrett is way cute, thanks for the pictures!! Its been a great week. We finished up our zone-conferences, we had 4 different ones, and this last one was definitely the best. That is a lot of work to put those things on and it sure takes more organization skills than i have. It was a great learning experience, and i learned a lot about who i am... because that is what Elder Fisher and I talked about. Its cool, when you really know who you are, outside influences don't affect you in any negative way. "If all the elements combine to hedge up thy way..." we know that we are a completely loved son of God. When we understand that the plan of salvation requires that we have trials, tests, failures and weaknesses we are built up by those tests, we overcome our weaknesses instead of them overcoming us and the tests causing us to fall. When we understand who we are, we will do the right things for the right reasons, because we love God. But how do we come to understand who we are? I probably don't understand how to answer this question completely, but I know that it does come as we experience the atonement, and as we live the Doctrine of Christ. When we truly feel the Love of God, we cant help but feel special, that we have a purpose on this earth.  Also we will never find out who we are until we lose ourselves in the service of God, when we serve our fellow men, "whosoever will save his life shall lose it, whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it".  I really know that that is true doctrine, i have seen it on my mission over and over. When we forget ourselves and give our heart to Gods work, his children, then we gain confidence in who we are and what we should be doing with our time here on earth.
 I had an interesting experience this week, where i learned a great lesson about choices. President Monson has said "choices determine destiny". I was on an exchange in Eastpoint (where i served last summer) in Atlanta, it is mostly ghetto's. We went to a less-actives sisters home, we talked with her for about 15 min outside her house. She has 4 little kids and lives with a pretty low-life husband who doesn't work, so she has to work. They live in a very bad neighborhood, and she knows all of these things are true. She recognizes that she is living in sin and isn't at all happy and knows it's not a good environment for her kids. The really sad part is that.she grew up in the suburbs of LA, in a good home. She was well educated, her father works for NASA and she has 3 siblings. She has been a member her whole life, born under the covenant and knows a lot about the gospel, she was active all her growing up years. But now she is in a very bad situation and completely unhappy, treated like she is an object instead of a daughter of God, and her children are growing up in that environment as well. I thought about how she has come to where she is, from where she has come. I bet you the difference can be found in as little as 5-10 choices she made as a young teanager, maybe less. Those seemingly small choices have now lead to a course of events that have not only put her and her family in satan's territory, but have caused her to forget who she is and who her children are. She can recognize that she is unhappy but she doesn't know how to get out of her situation. It has been one of the saddest experiences of my mission, and some of the saddest words i have ever heard come out of the mouth of a child of God. "I know where im going when i die... to spirit prison...God knows my heart and knows that i'm a good person, i know i won't make it to the celestial kingdom, but maybe i can get the second one". We definately bore our testimonies that she was most definately as capable of recieving joy in this life and eternal life in the celestial kingdom as any person on earth, and tried to re-asure her of the hope of Jesus Christ, because she was so wrong. But I felt so inadequate to help her and that was hard. The good thing is that she still understands the differnce between how the gospel makes her feel, she is begining to recognize the need for her God in life and I believe she will find it in due time. She really was a great girl. But truly decisions can have far reaching effects, and its so hard to see as a teenager. This experience has instilled within me a strong desire to reach out the best i possibly can to all young kids in hopes of saving at least one, because that will be so worth it. They are the most vulnerable and the most important. I thank those great leaders that i had, like Brad Whitehead, who loved me even though i wasn't very loveable, his friendship always had an impact on me, and others as well. It is a bad world out there and satan is so real, and he just wants u to be miserable. But on a happy not the Gospel of Jesus Christ can overcome all things!! It is true, this church is sharing its fullness with power. We have missionaries all over the world changing lives. I love you all, keep being so awesome!

Elder Hendrix