Palermo, Italy

Alicia is currently serving in Palermo, Italy. She is serving with Sorella Sleight and continues to learn the language. These first two pictures are in Erice. The first one is a castle, and the second one is in front of a church.

Sorella Jenkins & Sorella Sleight

Here is an excerpt from one of her recent letters:

"We had some time so we decided to do Parco, which is now one of my favorite things in the world to do. Slla Jones worked with us on parco so it was something I was eager to make the most of, and to this point parco was going in and trying to share the gospel and getting rejected. But on Thursday we went in and Slla Sleight found someone she felt she needed to talk to. I didn't want to stand there while she was doing this so I tried to talk to someone else, and she turned me down. Then I saw a woman sitting on a bench by herself. I had noticed her when Slla sleight was approaching her new friend, Vittoria, and this woman seemed apprehensive that we would come talk to her, but I decided to go sit by her anyway. I went and sat down and just chatted with her. Her name is Liliana, and she asked if I was italian (did NOT think that would happen in my first month!!) but she's from Romania so everyone seems as italian to her as they do to me. I commented on how I'd met a couple other Romanians and they are all wonderful people. As we talked I could see in her eyes that what I had previously thought was apprehension, and gathering her things to leave, was actually an eagerness to talk to us and she was gathering her bags to her so there was room to sit down. She was a miracle for me. And, because she just got to Italy 4 months ago, she speaks about as much italian as I do so it was perfect! She gave us her number and her romanian address and her palermo address, so no matter what we can find her. We're meeting with her tomorrow and I'm praying with all my greenie soul that everything goes well."

This picture is in the Catania Italy Mission Home: Sister Jenkins with her MTC companions and their respective trainers.

Alicia at the MTC

Sorella Jenkins reported to the MTC July 15. She has been there for half a month!

This is the family dropping Sorella Jenkins off at the MTC. We were all very sad to see her go, but very happy and excited for this exciting time of her life.

Sorella Jenkins at the MTC

We ate breakfast at Mimi's Cafe in Provo. It was delicious! Oddly enough we met one of Sorella Jenkins MTC companions there before we dropped her off! Another girl sitting right behind us was going to the MTC and was called to serve in Catania Italy as well! It was crazy. Later we found out they were companions, crazy!

Sorella Jenkins has written a few letters to family. She is learning the language, but her German and Portuguese background "keep getting in the way". She is very busy, but we all know Alicia...she is thriving in this environment!

"Farewell" Party

I will be posting periodically for Alicia, Sorella Jenkins, while she is on her mission. Alicia was called to the Italy Catania Mission. She reported to the MTC July 15!

Alicia had her farewell get-together a few weeks ago. There was an abundance of delicious food.

We had a pillowcase that everyone signed, kind of like a year book. People wrote advice, funny sayings, and kind words.

What a beautiful sister missionary!

6 Days!!

I've been working on my papers for a couple weeks now. When Brett got his call about a week and a half ago, I was so anxious for my own. Last Sunday, I had my interview with Stake President Stewart and he told me I'd get my mission call in about 2 1/2 weeks. So I've been preparing myself for that timeline. Then tonight, Bishop Larson called. He said he checked online and my call has been assigned and is in the mail, and I should get it this week. Brett's hoping it will come Monday, but we're planning on Thursday.
I'm so excited just to know when and where. For the past ten years, I've thought I'd serve a mission and where was always the exciting mystery. Well, in a few days, the mystery will be solved and I'll be so happy no matter where I go, whether it's Okinawa, Japan or Okaboji, Iowa.
Brett and I are kinda hoping I get called to the Philippines so we can come home and speak Tagalog together. Our own secret language. But there are so many places I would love to go, and so many people I would love to teach.
Just 6 more days and we'll know...!!!!!

I'm becoming my...brother?!

So I've taken a job at a small (but growing incredibly fast) web design company. At first it was just a job to pay for my mission and one that I wouldn't dread going to everyday. But I'm enjoying the work and all that I'm learning. I'm also learning however, there are other perks to the job. For example, I can now carry on a google Talk conversation with my older brother for the better part of a morning. While we've always has a pretty good relationship (he and Cec would introduce me to new music, and I would humor him by spending hours looking at websites and hearing about the coolest new site or system he'd learned about) we now have even more to talk about, and when he shows me a website I actually know what to look for and I can anaylze it better.
The flip side of this is that I feel bad for Cec the next time I visit them. It's bad enough that she has to put up with his geekiness, but for another of us to cross over, she'll be outnumbered.

P.S. J/K Cec, I'm not that bad yet ;)

It's Official

So I've decided to make it official and tell everyone that I am planning on leaving in June to serve a full-time mission. I don't have my call yet, and I'm starting on my papers now, but I am planning on going about 3 months after Brett leaves. Mom and Dad are a little worried about how to pay for two at once, but since we're both paying for at least half, it shouldn't be that big a deal. Anyway, I'm really excited about this opportunity. I prayed about it a year ago and it wasn't right then, but I got the "ok" now and I'm probably more excited than ever!!!

Ha! I haven't posted anything since Thanksgiving and its even January now! Yay for the new year!!! Anyway, Christmas was wonderful! It was so nice after a crazy hectic semester to just chill with the fam and enjoy getting dumped on with snow while playing games and enjoying hot chocolate (this christmas my mom got a cocoa-motion and I got an insulated cup that you can plug into your car to keep it warm so it was a cocoa-y christmas). Brett, Emma and I made a snow cave in the front yard but due to warm weather followed by super heavy snow it collapsed :'( Ryan and Cec came up and bopped back and forth with the Bennetts and us but we got them Christmas morning, and Kalia flew in from LA. We were all together and that hasn't happened since April (which isn't all that long ago but it seems like ages ago) and we won't all be together for a couple years while Brett's on a mission. I'm gonna miss that kid like crazy!!!