dear sister hobbs. . .

dear sister hobbs:

you are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. you are assigned to labor in the méxico mérida mission.

you should report to the provo MTC on wednesday, june 25, 2014. you will prepare to preach the gospel in the spanish language.

these two short sentences have already changed my life & will forever. i received my call on a wednesday (march 12th to be exact) on my way to sunny california for spring break. my bishop had told me the sunday prior that my call had not been assigned & not to plan on it coming that week. i said okay & instantly prepared myself to endure another looooooooooooong week waiting for it to come. luckily i had spring break + amazing friends + lots of fun adventures up ahead to keep my mind off waiting for my mission call. at least that was my plan. heavenly father seemed to have a different one for me. :) 

so i left that sunday & kicked off my spring break with my best friends (which easily made it to one of the best weeks of my life.) i spent a couple days in st. george going to zion's national park & off-roading up honeymoon trail. then on wednesday morning we set out for san diego, california! we were probably two or three hours from reaching our destination when i got a phone call from my dad. the moment i saw that it was him calling, i knew what it was about.... yep. my mission call had come!! the first thing i told him was "HIDE IT FROM MOM" i just knew she was going to open it & i was right (that's another story all in itself.) he was so excited for me, my dad is really the sweetest guy. he sent me a couple pictures of my call - he even took a selfie with it in the mailbox. haha. everyone in the suburban with me was freaking out & making their guesses of where i would go. 

it was so  s u r r e a l. 

after spending months and months with my two best friends (who are also serving missions) wondering where we would go, mine was finally here. or there really, since i was hundreds of miles away from home. my mom was freaking out. haha. she even offered to fly me home from california so i could open it. surprisingly, i was very calm about the whole situation. i had been assigned & there was a certain peace that came along with that. the moment i clicked the button to submit my papers i made a covenant with my heavenly father, myself, & the people i was about to serve. i would serve with all my heart, might, mind & strength to bring forth His kingdom & to serve wherever he needed me. i didn't care where i would go, because i knew he would put me exactly where he needed me.

"i'll go where you want me to go dear Lord"

 after having an absolute blast in cali, i was finally home with the call in my hands.. i waited until sunday night to open it. i was so touched at how many friends + family came to support me. before everyone arrived i took time to get down on my knees and pray with my heavenly father. He is real. he truly hears our prayers. i was overcome with His love & i knew i was doing what he wanted me to do. seven o' clock rolled around & the moment finally came.. both my hands & voice were shaky as I read the words that will forever change my life..mérida méxico. june 25.looks like i'm continuing on the tradition. i'm the 4th missionary in my family & the 4th to go spanish speaking. i couldn't be more excited. my oldest brother also served in mexico in the tampico mission & our missions are literally across the sea from each other. it was the weirdest feeling opening up my call. it was like i knew i was going to merida all along. i am so excited for this opportunity to serve my heavenly father + the people of merida mexico! i'm so honored to begin my work as a full time missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. sometimes it's hard to think of all the people + things i'm leaving behind. but it's even greater to think of all the opportunities + experiences that are waiting for me ahead. there is nothing else i would rather be doing with my time. how sweet is the work! 

con amor, 

m a i s i e  e l l e n