Transfers! - Vicenza, Italy

Hello Everyone!

I hope that everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and is getting excited for Christmas! We got transfer calls last week and I found out that I will be staying in Vicenza this next transfer for Christmas and new years and I'm happy I'll be in a place I know with members that I already love. My companion swap out occurs tomorrow, and I'm going to miss lovely Sorella Tullis so much! This whole week has been me soaking in every minute I have with her. She's taught me so much in these 12 weeks but I'm excited for her to see her family in Utah! Anyway, my new companions name is Sorella Hoareau, and she's from Paris! I'm excited to get to know her and work with her this transfer.

A high point of this week was going to a mission conference in Modena. We had Gary Sabin from the 70 come and talk to us. He talked a lot about the promises we make to God and the promises he makes to us in return. It was so nice to have a day of pure spiritual recharge, and I walked out the door feeling like, "yeah! I can do this! Let's go talk to people!"

It was also fun to see some people from my MTC group again. I think I understand better now why our Czech Slovak missionaries always felt so tight with their MTC groups, even after their missions. It's just a small part of your mission, but you just bond so fast and from then on, they're your people! 

Other than that, all is well here in Italy. Fatima is still a wonderful member of our ward and she bawled saying goodbye to Sorella Tullis yesterday. It just about broke my heart.  

We're on a train currently to visit Venice again and I'll send more photos next week:) Happy almost December and I love you all! 

Con amore, 

Sorella McConkie 

A Week of Miracles - Vicenza, Italy

Ciao everyone!

It's been a busy week here. We have had a lot of work to do and it has been fun and exhausting all at the same time!

Last week was our pday to the town Asiago with the senior couple in our city. It was a BLAST. It's right on the edge of the country and is a well preserved and classy little European village that invented Asiago cheese way back when. We walked around and took photos and, of course, bought a block of asiago cheese.

 

Asiago

Saturday was Fatima's baptism and WHAT A DAY. President and Sorella Allen drove up for the event, and the entire thing was beautiful. Sorella Tullis and I gave talks in Italian, and the Anziani in our district did a nice musical number of "I like to look for rainbows" also in Italian. During the actual baptism, everyone stood in the little room with our font that looks like a wooden hot tub, and watched as she was baptized by a kind member of the Italian Ward. We had a lot of people come and celebrate from both the Italian and American wards which was also a tender mercy. Fatima is sincere and so spiritually aware, and after she got out of the font I think she was a combo of spiritually overwhelmed, joyful, and grateful. As a result, she fell to her knees still in her wet jumpsuit with a towel around her and started to cry as she thanked God over and over. I knelt by her and rubbed her back and quietly told her "you did wonderfully!" and when she was ready we helped her get up and walk back to get changed. The rest of the service flowed well and ended perfectly with a prayer from an American ward member who is also from Brazil and said the prayer in Portuguese. It was all so lovely.

Sorella McConkie, Fatima, Sorella Tullis

When we went to her house a few days after the baptism, Fatima seems calm and content and almost glowy. It's amazing to see the power of baptism can change someone and help them to feel like they've received a fresh start!

The rest of our week was good, and included some more awkward bus finding for myself, a meeting with some people from our zone, a fun relief society knitting activity, and some quality time with my companion who is going home in just two weeks. Holy cow where does the time go. 

Zone meeting

Sorella Tullis and Sorella McConkie

I love you all!

Love, Sorella McConkie 

Pictures! - Vicenza, Italy

I don't have a ton of time today to write, but I'll send along some photos to show my week. I love you all! God is real and he loves his children! 

Love, 

Sorella McConkie 

English class finding in Centro 

Yellow leaves walking to the church 

Fall scenery from pretty Verona exchange last week

My cute trainer coming down the stairs after a member visit 

Jumping for joy in Thiene (where Fatima lives)

Thiene

Lovin the trees by our apartment

Bishop's cute daughters

 Our pday last week with the Sorella Sorgiacomo in Nove. A city famous for their ceramics! My pottery major companion was very excited.

My pottery major companion was very excited.

Nove Ceramics

Nove Ceramics

Nove Ceramics

Nove Ceramics

Final countdown - Vicenza, Italy

Ciao you wonderful people!

The biggest and brightest moment as of now is FATIMA IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!! IN 10 DAYS! And we are so excited!! Last Friday we went to her house and we came in and she said "girls. Girls. God gave me my answer." and she said she had been reading the Bible and knew that God wanted her to do this! 

Although we have been doing more with our English class and working with some other people, most of our time and efforts are being put into Fatima and her baptism which is in just 10 days!! Sufficeth to say, we are very, very excited. Yesterday we went and talked a little about the Word of Wisdom lesson and that went well (when we told her no coffee she just kind of shrugged her shoulders and was like "that's ok. I like chocolate milk."), and we are visiting her in the little town where she lives called Thiene twice more before the week is over. She's such a sweetheart and we're grateful to get to see her so often. She requested a D+C when we went to her house yesterday also, and I'm excited to show it to her. I've been thinking a lot about my wonderful Doctrine and Covenants studies with Grandad when I was in high school, and I love that I get to share some of my favorite sections with her now.

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween! We volunteered at a Christian community trunk or treat where different churches came and gave out candy with a linked gospel message. Odd...but it was fun! The senior couple in Vicenza and Sorella Tullis and I helped set up 10 commandments display to the back of their tiny car and it was a blast.

Love you all! Thank you for your prayers for Fatima! Go drink some chocolate milk in celebration! 

Love, 

Sorella McConkie 

Pictures include: Cute Fatima, the train station in Thiene where we basically live now, reading with Chidera and her family, trunk or treat candy, breadmaking, and enjoying fall! 

Cute Fatima

Cute Fatima

reading with Chidera and her family

reading with Chidera and her family

train station in Thiene

trunk or treat candy

enjoying fall - Sorella Tullis & Sorella McConkie

breadmaking