Bienvenido a Albuquerque

I've arrived safely in New Mexico and loving being in the field! Thank you for all the prayers and love from home! Surely need them...bronchitis is NO fun. Especially on your first day.

My new companions...Sister Allen  in the middle and Sister Chamberlain (who just left to Argentina this morning) on the left. We are in the Alvarado Park North Mission here in Albuquerque.

Happy Easter to my family and friends!

Love,

Hermana Silva

(yellow egg made especially for my very much missed Grandpa) 

Goodbye MTC!

 My dear friend Janna who I met and grew to love on our trip to Mexico! The MTC is the best place to run into friends!

 Our Roomie Door!

I swear...we just get more and more each week. Look how beautiful this sight of missionaries is!

Got to host Sister Maggert into the MTC. :)

  Finally got a picture with Elder Young. He leaves to Brazil!

 And MY ADORABLE ROOMIES.

 Sometimes...only sometimes are missionaries silly.

Me with Sister Fehrman who left to Canada this week, Sister North who left to Chile and again with Sister Mecham currently in Pocatello and my lovely companion Sister Biancardi. And then there's Elder Shaum photo bombing as usual. I'll miss our Zone sisters so much. 

 Big group! Our last Zone picture before everyone left. :'( Our MTC days are over! Que triste.

 Sister Mecham left us from our zone and Sister Biancardi and I saw her off. Seriously sad. I made sure Sister Mecham blew a kiss to my family in Pocatello where she was reassigned to. She will eventually be heading to Argentina when her Visa gets through. Buena Suerte Amiga!

 My friend Sister Church who also went to Mexico with me. Oh the memories. She is headed to Sydney Australia! Good luck beautiful!

 Seriously, look at Elder Hamm's tie! It's a built in water bottle! 
Perfect for hot Puebla, Mexico. (don't I know) :p

 And then of course there is Sister Hannah Melynn. Oh Sister Fellman, who is so much taller than me...typical Hannah face right? We have been talking about being missionaries for so long and would have late night roomie talks up at BYU-I about being in the MTC together...and now it's happened! Sister Fellman heads out to Reno this week. Love you "lamp".

 Good bye to our wonderful teacher Hermano Rock (aka...Hno. Piedra)

 And then...we found this ugly note on our door one morning. :'( Can you believe it? 

They're kicking us out.

 A little piece of home for me this week. I saw the Robertson's from the Paul Stake who are also going to New Mexico but the Farmington mission. It was SO fun to run into them! I turned around and we all were a little startled and then we just got excited. We talked about good times at Girl's Camp...(for those of you who remember our skit) ;) The Lord shot me a tender mercy this week all the way from home.

Goodbye to the MTC. :( I miss my district SOOOOOO much already. Here we are at the last temple walk with our Branch President, Pres. Caywood who was so so kind to all of us. Learned much from this great man. 

Reasons I love my Grandpa Jones

• Because he sang "Oh by gosh, by golly- it's time for mistletoe and holly" every Christmas. Sinatra's "Oh by gosh, by golly."
• Because he called my Grandma, "Rose" (even though that's not her name)
• Because of his love for horses (what a cowboy)
• Because he loved John Wayne movies!
• Because he let me play piano that one time during a golf tournament on TV
• Because he'd show up at the door randomly for a visit
• Because he married Grandma
• Because he took my brother and I on horseback riding trips to Caribou National Forest
• Because whenever he walked in a room he always cleared his throat (humph, hmm, hmmm)
• Because he'd always fall asleep with his mouth open
• Because he loved road trips visiting his grandchildren
• Because he cared about his pioneer ancestors
• Because he loved grandma's good food as much as I do!
• Because he brought us a trampoline one day after school
• Because he let us dog sit "Molly"
• Because he always smelled so good when he hugged me
• Because he called me "sweetheart"
• Because he and Grandma would come all the way to Rexburg to take me out to dinner when I was at school
• Because he'd often slip me money as a poor college student
• Because his testimony of the gospel was brighter than the sun.
• Because he loves the savior
• Because he's tough
• Because we both get to be missionaries together now!
  

Mall Field Trip in the MTC...Say whatttt?

My glasses (that I've had for less than a year) busted this week. I opened them and they crumbled in my hand. Not. Even. Kidding. So I took them to the front desk to see if they could send them somewhere to be fixed. Instead, they sent me and my companion on a field trip!

She sent us to the mall! You just don't understand how that sounds to the ears of an over anxious missionary who has been confined here for a month (no matter how much fun this place can be). It feels nice to stretch out a bit. 

So they shuttled us out on Tuesday and dropped us off at the mall. It was hard because it was just before lunch and we weren't allowed to eat anywhere but the MTC.

I'm telling you...walking by Orange Julius and Red Robin...holy cow. Temptation. I am proud to say I resisted and all was well in Zion. Glasses are now in the process of being fixed and we had quite the day. 

We originally had planned to split an airhead to celebrate our half-way mark here in the MTC, but going to the mall was "alright" too. (Our elders were pretty jealous. I think Elder Norseth was pretty close to breaking his glasses too so that HE could take a field trip...) 

To be honest though, I was excited to come back to the MTC. I missed the optimism and humor of our Elders and the powerful spirit here, being surrounded by missionaries. I love this place. This work must be true. Well, OF COURSE it is, haha. I am amazed how I come to understand the importance of my calling day to day through these little experiences.

 We got to host the new missionaries coming in this week! Over a thousand just this Wednesday. So fun!
(Just ask downstairs at the main office on the HOW-TO...they'll give you papers to sign up your district to be hosts.)

During cleaning checks. Elder Hamm decided to dance on top of the chair as he was cleaning the uh...ceiling. We failed our classroom cleaning checks last week because we forgot so this week we went crazy and cleaned EVERYTHING...even the ceiling. :) 

Elder Ballard came this week and spoke to us! Such a wonderful devotional! He told us to learn our message so well that we could share it anytime, any place, and to anyone. He promised that if we know the message, we will be able to find a confidence in that there isn't anything they say to you, that you can't answer or handle.

What a promise! It means so much to me as a missionary of the Lord. He also told us that the best missionaries understand the Atonement. I am so grateful for those trials throughout my life that have brought me closer to my Savior. Without those tests I would have never learned the answers for myself. I wouldn't progressively begin understand the Atonement. 

I still have so much to learn about that perfect sacrifice of the Savior of the world- I wonder if I will ever fully understand what the Atonement did for all of mankind. Most definitely not in this life, but I'm grateful for the knowledge that I do have of it. I have found that one of the hardest things to explain in my lessons is the Atonement (especially in Spanish). How do you describe the greatest event since the beginning of time? I'm getting better at it, but something I'm gonna have to practice!

Love,

Hermana Silva