First Letter from Vietnam - Phú Mỹ Hưng, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hello everyone!

To start, this week was one of the most eventful of my life. I have stayed the night in 4 different cities all the way from Lebanon to Knoxville to Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. The longest day was when I woke up on Wednesday in Knoxville Tennessee at 5am and didn’t go to bed until Friday morning at 2am in Hanoi, 34 hours later. Then after getting to know the Mission leaders and learning about the characteristics of this mission on Friday morning, they put a few of us from this most recent group on a plane and flew us down to Ho Chi Minh City to start working in our areas.

My new area is called Phú M? Hung in Ho Chi Minh. I have once again been blessed with a great companion. His name is Elder Vuong. He is from Hanoi, but lived in america for a few years and even went to BYU Hawaii. His Vietnamese and English are both perfect. I am learning a lot from him.

We went to church yesterday and fast and testimony meeting was incredible! There were about 30 people in attendance and even though I couldn't really understand anyone, it was great to be there and partake of the sacrament with these incredible pioneers. 

Vietnam is too different for me to describe in just 1 email. I will try to write more often than I was before and let you all know what life as a missionary is like here in heaven. I also want to thank all the people back in Tennessee! It was an honor to serve with them for the last 4 months. But I do feel like now the Lord needs to use me here.

The scripture that comes to mind this week is verse 20 in Mosiah ch.3

20 And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

You all can probably guess why this verse has been on my mind. I am now in a different nation, surrounded by a different kindred, tongue, and people. Yet I still see the need for these people to learn about the same Christ that I have been telling people about in Tennessee. It is part of my calling to give my all to the wonderful people of Vietnam and I am ready to do just that!

Have a great week!

Anh C? McConkie

December Mission Meetings - Lebanon, Tennessee

December 19, 2022 - Lebanon, Tennessee

December 19th 2022

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. It's Christmas season! The holidays are amazing as a missionary! I'm glad I have the opportunity to celebrate these holidays with the great people here. I'm also happy to finally be able to wear my red and green tie. It's a great tie and it has already earned a good amount of compliments already. So pretty happy about that.

Cool story: we had a door approach with this guy who had a really cool old looking car. He opened the door and immediately we saw one of the greatest mustaches ever. He had a navy blue beanie on, with a gray hoodie and sweat pants. And he had a short but qualified length for his grey beard and then coming out from right below his nose was probably a good foot and a half of mustache flowing down on each side. He is a tour bus driver for different bands. He named a bunch of people that are famous but I don't know music very well so I don't remember very many. I do remember that he drove the band Kiss around for a tour of theirs once. Cool guy. Door approaches can be really interesting, I love them.

We had a baptism on Saturday for one of our friends! His whole family showed up and it was amazing! He is 11 years old and has come to this decision completely on his own. It was a unique (and a little hectic) service but he got baptized! He then was confirmed on Sunday and we were really happy for him. Anytime anyone that we serve makes any step along the gospel of Jesus Christ, whether it be gaining faith, repenting, being baptized, receiving the holy ghost, or enduring to the end, it makes me really really happy. Because it makes them and their family happy too!

We were at a members house for dinner last night and we were talking about inviting others to come and see Christ as He is. We talked about how in the Christmas story, there are multiple ways that people were invited to come and see Christ. God told some people using a star, and others using an angel. An invitation for others to come and see can come in many ways. Try to find your best way to invite others to come and see the light of Christ this Christmas!

Have a great Christmas and thank you for all the prayers! I am praying for you all as well!

Elder McConkie

Mom sent PHƠ! LETS GO!

Andrew and his family on Sunday. He
was baptized by a member from the 1st ward.

Farm view of a place we went to knock

Five Weeks in Tennessee - Lebanon, Tennessee

Hello everyone! 

I have now been in Tennessee for almost 5 weeks and time is passing faster and faster. And this area is doing really well right now. 3 weeks ago the ward split in half, creating a Lebanon 1st ward and a Lebanon 3rd ward (Lebanon 2nd is the spanish branch). So Elder Wakefield and I have cut our boundaries in half and are now just focusing on the Lebanon 3rd ward. It was sad to not see a lot of the 1st ward members as often as we did, but this change is for the best, and the members in the 3rd ward are incredible! 

We started having car problems 2 weeks ago, so we got bikes and were on bikes for a few days until the car was fixed. But then, when we got the car, it started having the same problem again just 4 days later. We turned it in again and were on bikes for almost another week. Cars are much more effective for missionary work, and much safer. But I actually loved the bikes! It felt like I was cheating and getting more exercise time each day and it was awesome. We now have a loaner car until transfers (which are next week).

We had zone conference on Wednesday and it was fantastic! President Graham is an incredible leader. There are more people on date for a November baptism than any other month in the history of the mission. After President Graham told us this, he started talking about the need for a temple. They have officially marked a spot for the Knoxville temple and it is going to be incredible! This part of the world is ready to better help people on the other side of the vail. Exciting times in the Tennessee Knoxville mission!

On Saturday, Elder Wakefield, a member friend of ours, and I went to visit a house of someone who had met with missionaries in the past, but due to lack of contact, it was tough to keep teaching her. It had been a few months since anyone had tried so we decided to stop by unexpectedly. The lady we were looking for was not there, but her son in law was. He seemed fairly set in his ways, and while we did tell him about our Church and the Book of Mormon, he felt the need to try and teach us as well. He said that with his non denominational beliefs, and listening to different pastors throughout his life, he has come to the conclusion that we must become 1% better each day. Really nice fellow. As we walked back to the car, we just kept realizing the similarities in the principles he taught and the principles we believe. There are a whole lot of Christians here, and they are such great people. But like President Hinckley said, we are just trying to add to their knowledge. There are a lot of great people everywhere. But this gospel is the next step. And the only way by which we can enter the gate. Everyone can be a great and happy version of themselves. But as I've come to learn, only this gospel, the true and restored gospel, can each individual become the greatest and happiest version of themselves. 

I hope everyone is doing well! I love being a missionary!

Elder McConkie

hyrum.mcconkie@missionary.org

October 17, 2022 - Lebanon, Tennessee

First, because this is my first email since the MTC, I gotta start by wrapping that up. I just wanna say thanks to my teachers, my group (both Vietnamese districts) and my comp Elder Crotty. Fantastic people and I love them all. I’m really excited to see everyone again in Vietnam.

I have now been in Lebanon Tennessee for almost 2 weeks and I feel really blessed to be here. To start, I have an amazing trainer named Elder Wakefield. He has only been here 1 transfer and is already training. And due to my super long Vietnamese MTC, he has only been on his mission for 2 weeks longer than me. But let it be known, he is absolutely ready to train and is the best trainer I could’ve asked for and he has a lot to teach me. He knows a bunch about missionary work in Lebanon and missionary work in general. He is super motivated. Really glad I got a great trainer! We had a baptism on Saturday for a lady named Kristine. She has been fully committed and on date since I got here and is wonderful. She seems so happy and has great friends in the ward. Her 2 best friends in the ward are Brother Fowler and Sister Alack. They found Kristine initially and have been in every lesson with her. Us missionaries have come over to teach, but it’s really those 2 friends that taught and helped convert Kristine. This ward is incredibly missionary minded and it helps us out a ton. It has made me more motivated to be more involved with local missionary work for the rest of my life even after the mission. Member missionary work can have a great powerful influence on Gathering Israel. It was a great baptismal service and I’m really happy for Kristine! There are churches EVERYWHERE. And they are all different. Everyone loves Jesus. Everyone loves the Bible. Everyone loves to pray. Everyone loves to go to church. I love the people here. But being around them has strengthened my testimony of the importance of the Book of Mormon. Just the fact that it is true makes the decision of what church to follow so much easier. Being from SLC I didn’t see many other churches. But I can see why in other places of the world like this it is such a common question of what church should I join? Just like Joseph Smith asked. The answer is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Book of Mormon is why. It really is a missionaries best tool for conversion. Our doctrine is what sets us apart from all these churches I have seen here in Lebanon alone and the Book of Mormon is what proves us right. -Elder McConkie

The Vietnam group

Chrysanthimum's baptism

Me with President and Sister Graham

Right after I met Elder Wakefield and found out I was going to Lebanon

Kristines baptism, with Brother Fowler and Sister Alack

Driving down the highway, there are a lot more trees here

How about the Vols! EVERYONE here loves the Vols and so do I. And, clearly, so does this member of the bishopric