Roller Coaster Adventure Called a Mission - Lampugnano, Milan, Italy

Friends! Fam! I miei cari! 

Happiest of Wednesday's to you all. I hope that everyone is having a lovely lovely day! This week has gone by pretty quickly and here are some highlights: 

1. I got to go back to Vicenza to finish up my visa work! It was so much fun to see people and walk around my old city. We got to the vicenza apartment late Wednesday night and our downstairs neighbor comes out of her door and sees me and says "SORELLA!!!" And I ran up and she gave me a big bear hug and a big fat kiss on the cheek. I got to go inside and talk with her for a minute and I felt so overjoyed that this woman who I thought hated me at the beginning of my mission was actually just going through a hard time and I got to love her and know her over my months of being there. She's the sweetest.  

2. The Anziani in our district had a baptism! We helped them get ready for it this week and we were so happy to welcome Milad into our ward. 

3. We visted again our little investigator boys Jacinto and Andy on Friday, and I've come to adore this family so much. We tried extending a baptismal date to them last transfer, and their mom said no. However, we decided that we are going to try again. So with a lot of a prayer and a lot of preparation, we are going to try again a week and a half from now to convince the mom that her son's are ready and amazing and that baptism is a wonderful thing:) 

I love you all so much! This mission has been so good to me and I am learning so much each day. I am grateful for my Father in Heaven for giving me the investigators I've taught, the companions I've had, the members I've worked with and the cities I've served in, and I'm oh so excited to see what else there is waiting for me on this roller coaster adventure called a mission. 

Have a gorgeous day!

Con amore, 

Sorella McConkie 

Favourite scripture from this week: Alma 5:26 

That They Might Come To Understanding - Lampugnano, Milan, Italy

Buongiorno!!!! 

Happy Wednesday from good old Milano. Things are going well and it's seems like just yesterday we had last week's pday!! Time is odd here. 

This week has been great!! I'm attaching some pictures of some English finding with our Anziani, a photo with some other sorelle and members at stake conference, and a package we made for a girl in our ward who goes into the MTC soon. Sorella Pearson and I have a mutual friend from back home in Utah who is serving a mission right now in Russia, who had always been so good at composing cute things like this, so we decided to "channel our inner Maddie" and make this little package for her to open and feel a tad less overwhelmed while in the Provo MTC where she won't know how go speak English and will feel a little further away from home. 

One of my favorite snapshot moments from this  week was with a member named Lara. She is a blind member who lives alone in a sketchy area and is depressed and has some financial problems but loves coming to church. Another problem that she has expressed is that it's hard because she wants to read the scriptures so badly, but the church hasn't done all the audio versions in Italian yet and that's the only way she can listen to them. We visited her on Monday after weeks of racking our brains as to how to help her, after having some technological attempts fall through, and decided that the best solution for now would be to go and just read the scriptures our loud to her once a week. We went to her house and asked her if that would be an ok plan and she instantly responded with a "yes! Yes! Of course! Immediately! Yes!" And also was so happy and excited that it was our own idea instead of the church telling us to do something for her. We read to her on Monday the first section of the D+C, because that is what she says she wants to learn more about, and this verse stood out to me as we were reading: 

24 Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.

That particularly touched my heart. I felt like a instrument in God's hands as we sat across from Lara, and God's prophecies coming into further light as we (the servants in weakness) were able to help someone come to further understanding in their own language. 

Other than that, I don't have too much to report on this week! We found a new investigator to teach, we met with a few struggling investigators and inactives, and have been enjoying the beautiful sunshine. 

Have a gorgeous week! 

Love, sorella McConkie 

I'm attaching some pictures of some English finding with our Anziani, a photo with some other sorelle and members at stake conference, and a package we made for a girl in our ward who goes into the MTC soon.

Week 2 as a mamma

Buongiorno tutti!! 

This week has been one for the books. My cutest greenie Sorella Pearson is doing so well!!! We had a lot of adventures happen this week and I'm learning so much from her and from the members here. 

We are currently on a train back from our pday right now, we went to visit this little town by a lake in our zone and it was beautiful! Pictures to be attached. 

One of my highlights from this week was doing exchanges with our sister training leaders in a different part of Milano. I got to walk around with another sorella and give out books of Mormon, visit a darling member couple, and visit a woman in the hospital. I didn't expect coming on my mission how many times I would go into little Italian hospitals or rest homes to visit people. Often, they are the loneliest and need the most love and support. The woman that we visited has been a member for many years, and we just sat and talked for 30 minutes and shared some of our favourite scriptures together. I shared this one in mosiah:

41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

The first part of this scripture is my fav. In an email from my mission president this week, he mentioned how it is important to always remember "we cannot achieve perfection without learning to feel joy and to enjoy being happy,". I thought about this as we talked with this old Peruvian woman and more throughout my week, about how reflective it is of God's divine influence when we see people who are striving to be HAPPY. no matter the circumstance, I find that it is often an indicator of those who are trying to learn, listen to God, and love others:) 

LOVE to you all!!

Sorella McConkie