A Beautiful Easter

First of all, spring here is amazing!! We get to study outside all the time, and they have THEE most gorgeous flowers blooming everywhere you look.  My favorite is the mornings when the little MTC "village" is nestled under the shadow of Y mountain and everyone is so happy and full of energy.  I love it here so much, that sometimes I'm afraid I won't be ready to leave in two weeks.  But then I have to remind myself that the people of Buenos Aires are ready and waiting for me, they're counting on me!

Which reminds me, you've been asking about Visas.  To be honest, us as missionaries get very little info concerning Visas.  Yesterday we had our first meeting with the consulate, did fingerprints and stuff, but we don't know how quickly the Visas are coming.  I do know that one of my friends from swim team, Elder Murphy, is going to my exact mission and he got reassigned to Pocatello, Idaho last week.  But then the Visas could start coming all of a sudden without any warning.  It's crazy how it works, but I'll keep you posted.  If we get delayed at the MTC, I'll get to call you and tell you what's going on.

Anyways, I really want to tell you about my Easter experience at the MTC because it was incredible.  I had a bunch of meetings in the morning (I forgot to tell you that I got called to serve as the Coordinating Sister for my zone which just means I look after the Hermanas. I really love it and it's a good learning experience.)  Then the entire MTC gathered in the gym for a giant Easter Sacrament Meeting (they blessed and passed the Sacrament for 2200 missionaries. It was awesome) and Elder Packer came!  He gave the most outstanding talk about replacing fear with faith.  He talked about his weekly meetings with the quorum of the twelve and how he often witnesses concern among the brethren but never fear.  We don't need to fear because we have the Atonement of Jesus Christ that can bring us ever constant peace and happiness.  It was wonderful and just what I needed to hear. Us hermanas sang in the choir, and we sang the most beautiful song I have ever heard, "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer." I had never heard it before, but it's my new favorite and I would definitely recommend looking it up on the Church website or something.

Anyways, Sacrament was unbelievable and then we got to go on the most glorious Temple Walk with the warm sunshine and beautiful flowers.  We had testimony meetings, ice cream in the cafeteria, and THEN as Hermana Andreason and I were studying outside in the evening, I suddenly heard beautiful men's voices singing in the distance.  We investigated and found the sound coming through the open doors of the gym.  We went in and there was the BYU Men's Chorus rehearsing!  They gave the MTC a concert that night and it was amazing.  I saw alot of familiar faces from BYU.  It was just the icing on top of the great day.

I couldn't figure out why it had been such an awesome day, but then that night as I wrote in my journal I realized that the whole day had been completely and entirely focused on Jesus Christ and His glorious Resurrection.  And having just spent the past seven weeks learning about what the Atonement and the Resurrection actually MEANS for every person on this earth, what it means for their happiness and potential, the day was a lot more special than it's ever been for me in the past.  I am so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and the joy and love He offers us, no matter how often we mess up or fall short. I love being a missionary!