July 23

happy july 16th! the day that officially marks my 1/2 mark through the MTC! i can't believe that i have already been here this long!! i am loving it still, and working hard through the hard work. this past week has been the hardest week yet, but again, there are always blessings that follow the prueblas. 

so i'll start off with today-

it's p-day which you think would be the most relaxing day of the week, but that's false! there is so much to do, but i love having a full day. :) we woke up at 5 to do our laundry so we could get it over and done with. we finished around 7, so we went back to the apartments to get ready for the day and catch the bus at 7;30. we planned to eat breakfast as a district up on main campus and then head over to the TEMPLE!!! finally! it's been closed for 2 weeks! i think i was the most excited of everyone to go. i have really learned to love the temple. so i's about 7;29 and we still haven't left the apartment, so we sprint to the bus stop to make sure we make it because it only comes every half an hour. we get on the bus and i realize that my temple recommend isn't in my wallet like it usually is. which was weird because i checked right before we left the apartment to make sure i had it and it was in there. i was really devastated because that meant i wouldn't be able to go! one of the amazing hermanas, hermana mcnaught said she would go back with me to our apartment to retrace our steps and everything and sacrifice getting breakfast. haha. i felt sooo bad. so we go back, look everywhere and cannot find it. i was so frustrated with myself because i knew i just barely had it! we checked everywhere, the lost and found, our apartment, i was staring to get worried too because my visa was with it.. 

so there was about 20 minutes until the next bus came so me and hma mcnaught decided to go get breakfast. she went to the bathroom before we left and while she was in there i prayed that i would find is someway or that some way they would let me go in the temple with out it. I knew heavenly father would help me because i was doing what he wanted me to do. so we went to breakfast and one of the sweet new elders in my zone had my visa!! he found it in a dirt mound by the bus. which i still don't understand how it got there. so i asked if he saw my temple recommend too and he didn't but he said he'd take me to check. soo.. it was there!! it literally was the craziest thing! i don't understand how it flew out of my wallet out of my purse into a dirt mound that i wasn't really even by.. so lesson for all - satan really will do anything he can to keep you from doing the Lord's will. I really had the best experience in the temple. the celestial room always blows me away with it's beauty and peace.. i could hours in there. they had the beautiful picture of christ with his hands outstretched in the clouds. that is one of my favorite pictures of him. 

so another cool thing about today, it was the day that miss kaycee fowers, or sister fowers, came in! she's only in the mtc for 12 days so i have been praying that i will get a chance to see her.. while i was in the celestial room i just said a little prayer for some way to see her and to help me through these hard times.. so i walked out of the temple and a butterfly literally flew into my hands. the big yellow kind that look like a monarch but not. I kid you not, it was straight out of a movie. I felt like heavenly father was giving me a big hug and telling me not to worry about my difficulties, or how hard the language is,but to be still, and know that I am God, and that I love you.. I started thinking of the song "i like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain, and ponder on the beauty of the earth made clean again." we too can be made clean again when we take upon Christ's sacred name.. I felt so at peace. As we were walking out of the temple there were so many new missionaries with their families taking pictures! it was so exciting to see them. it definitely gave me flashbacks. my comp was taking a picture for a family right by the gate into the temple so I was waiting for her when all of a sudden a car started to slow down, and I thought wow, that really looks like Stan (kaycee's dad) and then it clicked. I don't know if i started running to the car or crying first but before I knew it I was out in the middle of the road opening the car door. hahahah. i attacked kaycee with my tears and hugs and was blocking traffic. hahah. we were both in tears while tauni was taking pictures and recording us. it was such a tender mercy. what are the odds that her and her family would drive by right as I was walking out of the temple? God truly does know us. and what's important to us become important to Him because he loves us that much. it was so fun to see her and wish her luck. :) 

i love my savior. my relationship with him has grown so much.. he truly is my best friend and i know i can turn to him with anything. without Him and his atonement, i wouldn't be able to do anything here. the work is hard, but so rewarding. i need the enabling power of the atonement daily. my favorite part of the day is putting on my badge over my heart with my name and his name so close together. i know that he lives, and loves each one of us. i know that he suffered for our sins and whatever it is that we are going through, whatever trials, hardships, and joys - he knows exactly the feelings of our hearts and exactly how to help us. I invite you all to turn to christ. use the atonement. not only for repentance, but also for power. when we take the sacrament each week, we are literally taking his name upon us and are entitled to his power. i know that he can make more out of us than we can ourselves and what a powerful thing that is! i know this church is true and I am so excited to go to mexico! i love you all more than you know and pray for you daily. straight is the gate and narrow is the way!

con amor,

hermana hobbs

July 16

wow what another great week here in the mtc, full of blessings, challenges, & a whole lot of love!

i'm not even sure where to start.. everyday kind of blurs into the other. i'll start out with the 4th of july. it was so awesome!! we got 2 new investigators this week - jaime and cristofer. the real kicker is that they are OUR TEACHERS. jajaja. it's way fun though. the people we teach here are usually just teachers, but their stories are always real & so is the spirit. me and hma. facer taught jaime on the 4th. it was a fun way to start the day off. i'm getting comfortable with teaching in spanish now. i can actually maybe 15% express the way i'm feeling. i think that is what i love about being here. watching the progress of not only myself, but everyone in my district. both with spanish and el evangelio. it's so nuts. last week this time was when i was basically saying how are you and now i'm inviting people to be baptized. i know it's because of the Lord, la expiacion, y el espirtu santo. It's so crazy. nooo sadly i didn't get to hear carrie underwood at the stadium, but i did watch 17 miracles and i would soooo much rather watch that any day. every time i watch it i love it more and more. my favorite part in the whole movie is one saint is saying how they would often look behind them to see who is pulling their handcart, but see no one. but then in the movie you see the angels who are helping pull the wagons. I know that without a doubt there are angels here pulling my handcart up the hill.. which leads me into the next thing i want to talk about.

this week was a real rollercoaster. meaning, one of the hermanas in my district, hermana mcnaught, (all 4 of us sisters are basically like companions because we are all so close) her grandpa passed away this week. it was super hard. but i was truly amazed at how strong she was. it was right in the middle of class and we got a phone call saying she needed to go meet with our branch pres. we all thought it was because she was going to be the new sister missionary training person. she came back and was bawling... it was heartbreaking. it took me back to when i lost my own grandpa and how hard it was. i literally only saw her cry that once though, the rest of the week you wouldn't have  known that had happened. the next day mi companera recieved a dear elder saying how her own grandpa is really struggling with health and how their family ahd done a fasting for him.. she took it really hard. she only met her grandpa this past year because of being a convert her mom never let her see any of that family before. so she was really upset. i couldnt even talk to her or comfort her because she was so upset. it was really hard on me because i felt helpless and didin't know what to do. later that night in our apartment after the day we heard a knocking on the door and low and behold it was the elders from our district. one of them, elder jones, was prompted that hermana facer needed a blessing. they didn't even know she was struggling. she has never before recieved a blessing of comfort. we had to shut the door and change because we were all in our pj's which you know what that means and me and her went back into our room and she was bawling in my arms. she said she didn't want one and i asked her why. she thought getting a blessing meant giving up and that you weren't strong anymore. i wanted to cry for her. all my life i have been so blessed to have the preisthood in my life.. it was a really humbling experience for both of us. i explained to her that it was not that at all and that blessings are literally from our heavenly father to comfort us. she finally decided she wanted one and our amoroso elderes came in to give her a blessing. it was the best thing ever. i love my district so much and i'm going to be really sad not being with them in just a short couple of weeks. our elders are such wonderful men. they are all sooo different too. one is also a convert of 1 year, another was inactive up until a couple years, one has been in the church is whole life, and one has a really really hard family situation. i feel like my little sheltered west weber bubble is starting to pop as I realize how much i have taken for granted in my life. I have learned so much from these amazing people.. i think that has been one my favorite parts of the  mission is meeting all these insanely amazing people!!!

guess who i listend to last night?? an apostle of DIOS! neil l. anderson spoke to us last night for our tuesday devotional, and wow was the spirit there in abundance. i sang in the choir for the first time and it was such a fun experience. also a tender mercy that we sang my favorite hymn, be still my soul in such a unique way. elder anderen spoke of the holy ghost and i think my favorite part of the whole meeting was when his wife said "the holy ghost means more to me now then it did when i was confirmed as a little girl." it took me back to my fathers words of saying how his mission continues to mean more to him more and more every day. i love my dad. and my mom. and all my siblings. i miss you guys, but i also would rather be no where else in the world. my mission continues to mean more and more to me every day. but all the small little steps i did previous to my mission do as well. i love that i took my own scriptures. i love looking at everything i marked up in seminary and institute because i feel like i'm starting to understand and appreciate the scriptures more than i ever have in my life. I LOVE PERSONAL STUDY. every time the hour is up i want to cry a little because it flyyyys by. there is seriously so much to learn and i just want to fill my head with everything! 

we also got some sad news.. our maestros brother pemberton y rasmassun are taking like two weeks of for family vacations. it's like they actually have lives outside of the mtc and our little district or something ;) no, i am super happy for them and excited. they work so hard and love us so much. it just stinks because i love them so much and two weeks is a big chunck of my time here. they have already impacted my life soooo much it's insane. they are so gentle yet so powerful. true men of god, exactly what i want in a husband like 4 years from now.

also p-days are pretty much awesome and the sports here too. my volleyball & basketball skills have increased tremendously. i think it's because i have the spirit with me and i'm not focused on winning... at least not all the time. also i just discovered main campus and their food. holy cow. i don't know why people ever complain about the food on main campus because it was literal heaven compared to what we have here at W.C. jajaja. 

well. i love my mission. i love this gospel. i love my savior. i love teaching. i love learning. i love life. :) i also would LOVE to get mail. i finally feel bad for never sending my siblings letters or dearelders because it really stinks when everyone in your district gets like 7 letters+dear elders+packages.

Sister Maisie Ellen Hobbs

AUG04  MEX-MER

2023 N 900 E Unit 849

Provo UT 84602

con amor!! 

hermana hobbs

July 9th

wow what another great week here in the mtc, full of blessings, challenges, & a whole lot of love!

i'm not even sure where to start.. everyday kind of blurs into the other. i'll start out with the 4th of july. it was so awesome!! we got 2 new investigators this week - jaime and cristofer. the real kicker is that they are OUR TEACHERS. jajaja. it's way fun though. the people we teach here are usually just teachers, but their stories are always real & so is the spirit. me and hma. facer taught jaime on the 4th. it was a fun way to start the day off. i'm getting comfortable with teaching in spanish now. i can actually maybe 15% express the way i'm feeling. i think that is what i love about being here. watching the progress of not only myself, but everyone in my district. both with spanish and el evangelio. it's so nuts. last week this time was when i was basically saying how are you and now i'm inviting people to be baptized. i know it's because of the Lord, la expiacion, y el espirtu santo. It's so crazy. nooo sadly i didn't get to hear carrie underwood at the stadium, but i did watch 17 miracles and i would soooo much rather watch that any day. every time i watch it i love it more and more. my favorite part in the whole movie is one saint is saying how they would often look behind them to see who is pulling their handcart, but see no one. but then in the movie you see the angels who are helping pull the wagons. I know that without a doubt there are angels here pulling my handcart up the hill.. which leads me into the next thing i want to talk about.

this week was a real rollercoaster. meaning, one of the hermanas in my district, hermana mcnaught, (all 4 of us sisters are basically like companions because we are all so close) her grandpa passed away this week. it was super hard. but i was truly amazed at how strong she was. it was right in the middle of class and we got a phone call saying she needed to go meet with our branch pres. we all thought it was because she was going to be the new sister missionary training person. she came back and was bawling... it was heartbreaking. it took me back to when i lost my own grandpa and how hard it was. i literally only saw her cry that once though, the rest of the week you wouldn't have  known that had happened. the next day mi companera recieved a dear elder saying how her own grandpa is really struggling with health and how their family ahd done a fasting for him.. she took it really hard. she only met her grandpa this past year because of being a convert her mom never let her see any of that family before. so she was really upset. i couldnt even talk to her or comfort her because she was so upset. it was really hard on me because i felt helpless and didin't know what to do. later that night in our apartment after the day we heard a knocking on the door and low and behold it was the elders from our district. one of them, elder jones, was prompted that hermana facer needed a blessing. they didn't even know she was struggling. she has never before recieved a blessing of comfort. we had to shut the door and change because we were all in our pj's which you know what that means and me and her went back into our room and she was bawling in my arms. she said she didn't want one and i asked her why. she thought getting a blessing meant giving up and that you weren't strong anymore. i wanted to cry for her. all my life i have been so blessed to have the preisthood in my life.. it was a really humbling experience for both of us. i explained to her that it was not that at all and that blessings are literally from our heavenly father to comfort us. she finally decided she wanted one and our amoroso elderes came in to give her a blessing. it was the best thing ever. i love my district so much and i'm going to be really sad not being with them in just a short couple of weeks. our elders are such wonderful men. they are all sooo different too. one is also a convert of 1 year, another was inactive up until a couple years, one has been in the church is whole life, and one has a really really hard family situation. i feel like my little sheltered west weber bubble is starting to pop as I realize how much i have taken for granted in my life. I have learned so much from these amazing people.. i think that has been one my favorite parts of the  mission is meeting all these insanely amazing people!!!

guess who i listend to last night?? an apostle of DIOS! neil l. anderson spoke to us last night for ourtuesday devotional, and wow was the spirit there in abundance. i sang in the choir for the first time and it was such a fun experience. also a tender mercy that we sang my favorite hymn, be still my soul in such a unique way. elder anderen spoke of the holy ghost and i think my favorite part of the whole meeting was when his wife said "the holy ghost means more to me now then it did when i was confirmed as a little girl." it took me back to my fathers words of saying how his mission continues to mean more to him more and more every day. i love my dad. and my mom. and all my siblings. i miss you guys, but i also would rather be no where else in the world. my mission continues to mean more and more to me every day. but all the small little steps i did previous to my mission do as well. i love that i took my own scriptures. i love looking at everything i marked up in seminary and institute because i feel like i'm starting to understand and appreciate the scriptures more than i ever have in my life. I LOVE PERSONAL STUDY. every time the hour is up i want to cry a little because it flyyyys by. there is seriously so much to learn and i just want to fill my head with everything! 

we also got some sad news.. our maestros brother pemberton y rasmassun are taking like two weeks of for family vacations. it's like they actually have lives outside of the mtc and our little district or something ;) no, i am super happy for them and excited. they work so hard and love us so much. it just stinks because i love them so much and two weeks is a big chunck of my time here. they have already impacted my life soooo much it's insane. they are so gentle yet so powerful. true men of god, exactly what i want in a husband like4 years from now.

also p-days are pretty much awesome and the sports here too. my volleyball & basketball skills have increased tremendously. i think it's because i have the spirit with me and i'm not focused on winning... at least not all the time. also i just discovered main campus and their food. holy cow. i don't know why people ever complain about the food on main campus because it was literal heaven compared to what we have here at W.C. jajaja. 

well. i love my mission. i love this gospel. i love my savior. i love teaching. i love learning. i love life. :) i also would LOVE to get mail. i finally feel bad for never sending my siblings letters or dearelders because it really stinks when everyone in your district gets like 7 letters+dear elders+packages.

Sister Maisie Ellen Hobbs
AUG04  MEX-MER
2023 N 900 E Unit 849
Provo UT 84602

con amor!! 

hermana hobbs

July 2

MOTHER I AM ALIVE. I AM HEALTHY. I AM LOVING IT. 

please don't come to the mtc. I am really really really sorry for not writing you last week, but as I will explain in my letter that will soon be coming, our P-days are on wednesdays. we are not suppose to write letters/emails any other time of the week & i have already promised heavenly father i am serving my mission with exact obedience por que exact obedience = miracles. i want miracles not only for me, but for my companion and investigators. 

wowwwww. that's all i can say. i seriously love the mtc. i've also debunked some myths and learned the keys to success here in the mtc.

1. the orange juice is wonderful and delicious, so that's a lie whoever said to not drink it.

2. one main purpose for the mtc is breaking in shoes. i think i've used up half my bandaids from my first aid kit.

3. west campus is SO fun! it's all for little spanish speaking missionaries so anytime you pass anyone it's HOLA, buenos dias/tardes/noches, como estan. etc. quick funny story. we went up to main campus today to get some alterations on clothing (SO HELPFUL) and someone bumped into me in the bus and I said "los sientos" which means i'm sorry and they looked at me all funny. It's fun to speak in spanglish.

4. i love my companera! her name is hermana facer. she is one I met thanks so social media! she is from washington, went to utah state for spring semester (AGGIES UNITE!) and has been a convert for 9 months. isn't that so crazy?? 9 months ago she wasn't in the church and now she is my companion helping others come unto christ. She is so cute and stylish and sweet. Her story is pretty crazy too.. it's definitely made me so thankful for my family and my good parents who taught me to always love my savior. it's been hard for her. she gets down on herself as do I, but I think heavenly father put us together because he knew there were things we both needed to learn from each other. before one our last lesson teaching our investigator Carlos (yes, i've already taught 4 lessons in complete SPANISH) she was telling me how low and inadequate she felt and the part in the joesph smith story where Joesph smith and that one big guy are playing that pole game kept coming into my mind. "The lord must bring you low, so he can bring you even higher." everyday we help each other, she teaches me how to be strong and i teach her how to be happy & trust in the Lord. We motivate each other and as hard as it is sometimes because we are sooo different, we find a way to work together becuase we love this work and we love our savior. 

4.The work goes a lot better when you're happy and positive. the language is pretty difficult at times, but i'm so thankful for my junior high spanish teachers, please be sure to tell brother turner that. It's helped so much. I can understand 65% of what my teachers are saying. The times when it's hard is when you let yourself feel defeated and low. When you think your so much more behind then everyone in the class, that's when your going to feel like that. It's kind of weird though because I have this new desire to WANT to learn. I have really loved feasting upon the words of christ, and feasting upon spanish!! I love praying + bearing my testimony in spanish. As simple as it may be, the spirit testifies of the truthfulness of what I say. It's been wonderful. Sometimes I catch myself wishing I was english speaking because it's so frustrating not being able to say what I want, but then I remind myself that I have been called of God, and that He needs me in Merida Mexico. As much as I seek to do what is good and right, He will bless me. I am basically turning my life unto him to shape and mold me into what he wants.

Also I basically have already seen everyone I know here at the MTC!! 

Jill richardson, morgan robinson, kylie johnson, megan frodsham, kaline maples, alec bradford, max messerly, amber allen, lincoln something (he's an new ambassador) like 4 girls I had classes with up at USU, i hope i'm not forgetting anyone.. it's been super fun to be able to see familiar faces! I need to start carrying my camera arround so I can take pics... I got in the bad habit of not taking pictures because I always had friends who did that (kayc and aub I blame you)

The mission is truly the Lord's work. I have already seen His hand in just one short week! It was such a blessing to see Jeannie and have her pick me up from the curb when I got there.. I didn't see them before I left since they exiled me to the West Wing, but that was just what I needed. I can't believe I let myself thing that a mission wasn't for me. It's e x a c t l y what I need. I've already learned so much in this short amount of time! I encourage ANYONE who is even thinking about serving a mission or has a small desire to it, DO IT. meet with your bishop and begin your papers as soon as you can. 

I love you all so much. I really don't miss home. like at all. all the girls think there's something wrong with me because I haven't cried or said how much I miss something yet. I literally love it! The mtc/mission is what YOU make it to be. Heavenly Father won't force you to learn, it's all up to you to make that decision. but yes mother, i do miss you the most if I do miss something ;)

con amor,

hermana hobbs