12 November 2008

Dear Family,
How are you Mom, Dad, Nancy, Evangelina, Neil, Amy, Ben, Katie, Annabelle, the little Clove on the way, Emily, Becky, Daniel, Spencer, Kevin, Stephanie, Sade, and the little DeVocht on the way, and Jenny?

I am doing great. I am now in Milan and am enjoying the big city and talking to lots of people. Our district consists of 5 missionaries: Sorella Glass is my companion, me, Anziano Boshell is our District Leader and his two companions are Anziano Elkins and Anziano Pfeifer.

I really do like Milan. We use the Metro a lot and it is great fun. I'm learning more of how to talk to people and how to be the best Sorella DeVocht missinoary that I can be :) Things are going really well.

I can't believe that I have already been on my mission for 5 months!!! And 3 months in Italy, and this is my 3rd transfer that I am currently in! I think that after a certain point, it is going to go by real real fast. Just now I need to remind myself to enjoy the moment and not look too deep into the future.

Oh yes, I almost forgot!

My new address is:

Via Pisacane 47-15
20129 Milano, Italia


I love you all and learning more and more everyday that I love my family and I am so grateful for the plan of salvation that our Loving Heavenly Father has for us. Vi amo tanto! Vi voglio bene!!!

Con amore,
Sorella DeVocht

October 22 Sick...again

Dear Family,
Thanks for all the letters and emails, you are great. Well life is going pretty good here in Genova. At the moment however, I am sick, yes, again. Last night I went to bed a little later and then I woke up at 3:30 in the morning because I couldn't breathe very well. It took me about 15 minutes to get myself out of bed, and take 2 garlic shooters, half a lemon squeezed, and one clove of garlic. I also took an advil because I hoped it would help me to go back to sleep. I ate crackers and nutella with it and then I washed my feet because I had been walking around the house bearfoot and my feet were dirty. Then I went back to bed, said a prayer that I would be able to breathe and sleep and be able to wake up on time. Well, I slept in a half hour and then I couldn't sleep anymore. Today we learned how to make pasta noodles and gnocchi. So we were at the church in Sestri for about 4 hours. But it was a lot of fun. I took a lot of pictures. Anziano Barker was wearing a red girly apron and it really made me laugh. Hopefully soon, before the end of the year I will send some pictures. I have a lot.

I love you all and thanks for everything.
Love,
Sorella DeVocht

October 29 WE WENT SWIMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

....in the street last night


LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!
La vita è bella!!!

Hello Family, life is good. It always seems like so much has happened and changed since the last time I email you all.

Well, I was sick last week and am still sick now, but I'm getting better. On Wednesday night I didn't sleep that much at all. I went to bed early and then woke up in the middle of the night and went back to bed and then I woke up again and this time I stayed up and read from Jesus the Christ for a few hours and thought about that. Then I went back to bed at 4am, woke up at 6:30 when my alarm went off, turned it off, went back to bed and slept until 8. we had one appointment with a one of our investigators at the church, and then one of the elder's in our district gave me a blessing. we went home and I slept pretty much all day. We cancelled the rest of our appointments for the day. the same thing pretty much happened on friday. expect we did have an appointment at 6:30 with Cate, who is the BOMB. she is from south africa and she has been a member of the church for 10 years i think. we are helping her prepare herself for the temple. even though i was still sick, it was really good for me to go. we went with our district leader and his companion, Anziano Robbins and Anziano McKinnon. Anziano McKinnon made german pancakes which were really good, and sorella harris and i gave the lesson and then we played a game and had snacks. sorry for all the lower case, this keyboard's shifts aren't working too well. but i really needed that night. it really helped me as a missinoary.

every tuesday night we have our english class. it is always fun and i love our students. sometimes we go get pizza with whoever wants to go after english class. but this time, we invited those who wanted to hear more about the church and what we as missionaries do. it went really well. there was one lady who said she would be coming to church. she said she always gets bored at church (catholic). and a few other people were interested as well. i'm excited!!! then after that, all the missionaries and Sara, one of our investigators daughter, she is 24, i think, well we all went to good ol' McDonalds, to eat food. it was great fun. and then it was so fun walking sara home because it was raining like mad and we only had a few umbrellas and anziano robbins wasn't using anything, so he was soaked and then sorella harris was getting soaked too. to get to our apartment, sorella harris and i need to go under a tunnel, well, it's just the bridge for the train tracks. we were about to go under and sorella harris stopped, but i kept going and a car came by and there was a lot of water on the road, and i got wet!!! it was funny. but he best part was at the end, when a car was coming and there was a LOT of water in the road. it came rushing down and sorella harris yelled and i tried to block the wave of water coming towards me with my umbrella, but it didn't work out. we were completley soaked. i was laughing SO HARD. and this morning i was laughing hard too. rain and umbrellas make me laugh, hard. yes, i'm having a grand time in Italy. :) :) :)

we are doing scumbi today, which is a companinon exhange. i am staying in Genova and another sister from torino is coming down and then sorella harris is going up to torino. i'm a little nervous because i will be in charge of the phone and stuff and i'm just a little nervous but it will all be good. it will be a good experience. i've just got to fake it until i make it. i did that the other day, and it worked out just fine.

i can't believe that this transfer is almost over. we find out next tuesday, who is leaving and who is staying. sorella harris and i were thinking and trying to figure it out. but then later, i prayed for help not to worry about it because i worry about it a lot. and now i don't even really have the desire to think about it. I know God lives and He hears and answers my prayers. the Lord has helped me so much while I've been on my mission and i am so grateful for all that He does for me.


I am learning a lot about life here in Genova, Italia. oh, by the way, in english, Genova is Genoa. JFYI. I plan to soon send a few cds of pictures so you can put one in the Christmas newsletter. Be sure to send me one!!! even if it's through email.

with Sara, she offered to help me with my italian. so we are going to start tomorrow for the first time. we will teach her a lesson of the gospel and then after, she will help me with italian. i'm so stoked for this. sara is great, she helps me so much.

i am grateful for the gift of tongues. i love praying in italian, by myself because then i am not afraid and i say whatever and i think i actually speak better italian. this morning i prayed a lot of times. when i first woke up. when i woke up again. when i said my blessing, i didn't just ask for Him to bless the food, i talked to Him, and then for my personal study prayer. I LOVE ITALIAN!!! It IS becoming a part of me. there are times when i translate, just to myself what people are saying, and i think it sound so much better in italian. or sometimes, like last night when anziano robbins was giving an introduction to the church, i was sitting there listening and then it hit me: he's speaking italian. and i can understand him. i love those moments. i love italian and i love italy. there are things about this place and culture that are becoming apart of me. and there are some things here that i just love so much. like packaging for foccaica, a really good bready snack. sounds and smells, and tastes and everything. i've alson discovered more so on my mission that I LOVE TAKING PICTURES!!!! last p-day i took around 168 pictures. i love candid pictures and i love just taking pictures and videos of peopole being themeselves. the elders don't really mind it, but i need to be more respectful of sorella harris because it drives her crazy. ;)

just about 2 months until Christmas!!! which means i get to talk to you all!!! please let me know who is going to be home. i'm excited for Christmas. this will be my first Christmas away from home; but i am still really excited. I'm going to see if i can make our homemade peanut butter cups. that will be grand.

well, that's about all for this week folks.

this has been Sorella DeVocht reporting live from Genova, Italia.

Have a nice day and watch out for the rain!!!

November 5 TRANSFERS THIS WEEK!!! AND I'M GOING TO........................

MILAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Family,
How is everyone doing? Life is good just right about now. Yesterday President Dunaway called to tell Sorella Harris that she is training and then he talked to me and told me that the Lord has called me to be junior companion in Milan 2. Sorella Glass, who has only been out here 3 more transfers than me, will be my companion. Oh family! I'm so excited. I am really happy. It's time to go. It's time for a change. I don't feel real real sad to leave, just, no, I don't really feel sad. I'm excited for Milan! It will be an adventure!!! I am going to miss a few people here. Like some members that come to FHE and some of our English class students, and some missionaries here. Like Anziano Barker, I sort of knew him at the MTC, he wasn't in my district, but that's because there were 2 districts. I've gotten to know him pretty well and we're good friends. But hey, I've got my whole mission ahead of me. He's way cool, you all would like him.

I might write more later, I just want to write a few other people.

Ciao per adesso
Con amore,
Sorella DeVocht, reporting live for the last time in Genova

15 October 2008

Dear Family,
How is everyone of you doing? How is school, work, life, the kids, everything? Life here in Genova is going pretty well. I have noticed that the Lord blesses us when we obey His commandments, even if it is small and we think that it will not make a difference. I'm sorry that I really don't have anything to say.
Nancy, yes and thank you, we did receive the letters, awhile ago. But if you want to be on the safe side, it's ok if you send them to the mission office\home, which ever one it is, I can't remember.
Well, I am learning lots and Italian is coming along. Yesterday we were speaking in Italian for a lot of the day and my head hurted a lot.
I've never really had seafood before but I've been having it here it Itali. Sorella Harris said that this morning :) It made me laugh :D But the other day I had mussels and octopus which the octopus is not my most favorite thing in the world.
Mom, I was wondering if you would be interested in creating an email account so I could email you :) And you can practice using the computer. I love to write letters but last week I did, I'm going to send them today, and I got really distracted and well at least for now, email is pretty good. But this doesn't mean that I'm lazy or that I don't love you all! It just means that email is what is working best for me, but I will have time and I will write and send snail mail before I come home ;)
Last Thursdsay, we taught the 3rd lesson, The Plan of Salvation to Silvana. It went really well. During language study I prepared some things that I wanted to say and I also made a little diagram thingy for her. When we gave the lesson, I spoke up a lot, I explained the diagram and it just went great! I'm excited to be more of an instrument in the hands of the Lord.
Well, thanks again for all the love and support and letters! I love you all. Even though at times, being on a mission has been hard, I know this is where the Lord wants and needs me to be. Besides, I can do hard things :)
ETTE and RWYA and RWH and CTR and NGU because "because you are loved" Alma 7:11-13

Until next week this has been
Sorella DeVocht
Reporting live from Genova, Italy

TEMPLE IN ROME, ITALY!!! (8 Oct 2008)

Dear Family,
I am SO stoked, you don't even KNOW about the temple in Rome, Italy. We were able to watch General Conference, but it was all in Italian and I didn't understand a lot. But when I heard about the temple, at first I wasn't really paying attention, and then I looked at Sorella Harris and she was crying her eyes out and I said, "The temple?" and she said, "Yes, oh my gosh." Then I started crying and could not focus on the next talk. Ben, the Italians cheered. It's crazy because when I was in the MTC, one of our teachers, Fratello Garlick, told us that there was a rumor going around that they would be able to build the temple soon. And then Anziano Hooker said something like this, "Yeah, we'll be in conference, and they'll annouce the temple in Rome, and all the Italians will cheer." And that's excatly what happened. So our district in the MTC guessed it right!!! Ben! That is SO exciting about Billy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can hardly believe it. I remember that letter you sent me in the MTC telling me about him taking an Italian class in school and you were saying wouldn't they be cool if he went to Milan, Italy? And I thought, yeah, he's going to go. I am SO stoked!!!! I told the missionareis who are here now doing email, my companion, Anziano McKinnon and Anziano Robbins. We figured that Billy will come in when Anziano Robbins leaves because he leaves in March. Then Anziano Robbins said, "Man, I won't be able to train him." ANd then Anziano McKinnon said, "I can." That would be crazy if he did.
The other day after district meeting we went to get kebabs, but the zone leaders didn't come with us. As we were sitting on our bench eating, Anziano McKinnon says, "I feel pretty young. I'll be going home the same time Sorella DeVocht does." It's weird to think that he still think he's young, when he has beeen out here for about 6 months and I have only been here for about 2 months.
Well, life is real real good here in Genova :) We have zone conference next week, and Elder Per Malm wil preside. I'm pretty stoked. President Dunaway gave us some promises so I'm going to work on those things. I'm feeling pretty good just about right now. My companion and I had a real great bonding experience/time last night. I am so glad that we are companions!!! I am SO glad that she is my trainer!!! She is "THE BOMB" you don't even KNOW!!! I know this is where the Lord wants me to be. I was talking about this with Sorella Harris last night and telling her about that this is right. This is the right time, the right place, and everything. I woudn't trade this for anything. Even the hard times I had because it has made the goood times stand out even more. I am know that the Lord wants me to be a missinoary and that He has a plan and purpose for me. I haven't figured it out yet, but I am so grateful to be here. I just KNOW that this is EXACTLY where the Lord wants me to be. I am so grateful that we have this gospel and that we can have assurances like this that we KNOW something. I love you all and I love all the support you give me. Being away from home, and living a completley different lifestyle, you start to appreicate the things you had back at home more. You start to realize that your family is the BOMB!!!! Thanks for all the things you have said to me in the past, whether for my mission or not, because they have really helped me. Nancy, I told Sorella Harris about the thing you told me about music and if you're having a bad day and your favorite song comes on, just listen to it. We were having one of those days last transfer and we were in the metro and a song came on that just calmed us. And now whenever we hear that song, it reminds us of that day. And we are closer too because of that. Sorella Harris said that she's started to do that now, she never did it until I told her about it. so i wanted to say thank you. the things all of you say really help me and change me and affect me, but they can also do the same for those i come in contact with and so by you saying just that little thing, you have affected people's lives. Thank you.
I love being a missionary and I love inviting others to come unto Christ. I am learning tons out here and I am also changing tons too. Last night I was thinking about how I was just a couple of weeks ago, which feel like months, and I thought to myself, "I've changed a lot." Time is so funny and strange on the mission. Something that we did last week feels like a month ago. This is only the 2nd week of our transfer and it feels like it's been forever. it's not because it's bad, it's just how time rolls here.
I always feel bad about not writing actual snail mail letters. I might be able to today, but I am so thankful and grateful for the letters you have sent me. Thanks so much. It's great to get something in the mail from home :)
I love you all so much!!! Thanks for being a great family and being so awesome!!!
Until next week
This has been
Sorella DeVocht
Reporting live from Genova, Italia

1 October 2008

Ciao Family!
Time is so weird to me these days. It feels like a year that I last wrote my 'weekly' email and I don't even really remember what I wrote. But I can't believe that I have been here for a whole transfer already! At first, time was going by really slow and I thought about the future all the time, which didn't help with the days going by slow for me. But now, time is going by slightly faster, and I'm thinking less of the future. Ok, you are my family and you all know me, especailly Mom because I was around her all the time before coming on my mission. You know that sometimes, or a lot of times, I am unmotivated. So, a couple weeks ago, I think, I was feeling like that. And I didn't want to go home, but I was trunky. Now I know I've only been here for less than six weeks at the time, but yeah, that's me for ya. I was trunky, but different. But, I've decided that since I was trunky in the beginning of my mission, I'm not allowed to be trunky at the end of my mission. Just like with my calling in with the stake singles: At first, I didn't do a lot and felt kind of bad about not doing anything. And then towards the end I was working hard and I was doing just about everything I could do. Now don't worry. I'm not doing nothing here in Italy, but I do struggle with some rules and I beat myself up a lot for not being better. A few weeks ago, I wrote to Presidnet Dunaway and said something about it's taking me awhile to get into the groove of things. He wrote back the next week and said: It takes a while to get all the elements of missionary work and life in place. Don't be hard on yourself if it's not all clicking just yet. Keep doing your best and striving to make those little improvements. I'm very pleased with the progress you have made and the direction in which you are headed. -Presidente Dunaway. That really helped me out. I'm like a lot of different things, like a child learning how to read and write for the first time. I guess that's basically what I am, I'm a little child in missionary work because I do not know a lot of things. But I hope that soon, once I start striving my hardest everyday and keeping all the rules, even the ones I struggle with, the Lord will see my willingness and I will be happy. Just so you aren't freaking out or anything, the rules I'm struggling with are, going to bed on time, beause I'm busy writing in my journals or getting other things done, waking up on time, mostly because I don't want to exercise, and exerising in the morning. And also small ones, like being completely ready to go before starting studies, leaving the house on time, having language study everyday, talking to people, and little rules like that that make ALL the difference. But I am working on these things so do not worry.

Well, I love you all and I appreicate all the letters and packages and emails and prayers and love from all of you. I also feel bad for not writing ANY letters to ANYONE. HOPEFULLY, today we will be able to.
Anytime anyone is online when I am, feel free to write back :) That would be a pretty cool experience!!! It would totally make my day!

Well, until next time,
Love from,
Sorella DeVocht