Hannah--Miracle Pizza

 Hola hola!

Wow this week was CRAZYYYY!!! I'm exhausted 24/7 but the happiness I feel is immeasurable!! Some highlights of the week include:

-Making a tiktok with some people we're teaching, 

-Burning not one but two loaves of garlic bread at a members house,

-The Census Bureau guy hitting on us,

-More helotes (thank you Reyes),

-Having a member deliver dinner to us on his motorcycle,

-Helping at 2 food banks,

-Getting a free car wash from the apostolic assembly of god church,

-And last but not least, holding one week old puppies! (Sadly no pics of them)

This last Wednesday the Sunnyside Trio became two! While it was so sad to say goodbye to Hermana Sperry, I have LOVED these past few days in a duo companionship with Hermana Middleton! We've been working super hard and are teaching tons of people! She makes missionary work so much fun, and she is such a great trainer to me. Also her spanish is amazingggg! Hopefully I can get to her level one day!

You'll never guess who we began teaching this week, our good friend Reyes! You know, the helotes guy! We were finally able to stop by his house and have a small lesson with him. He has had such a crazy life! He told us about a car accident he was in where he was going 80 miles in the snow! (not very smart) and he survived! We got to teach him about the Plan of Salvation and he loved it! He's seriously so awesome & his helotes are bomb :)

Every saturday evening we've been meeting with a less active member. He was once the branch president and very active in the church with callings and would come to lessons with the missionaries, but after his wife died he stopped attending. We've been able to visit with him and read scriptures together. He still quotes scriptures, remembers stories, and talks about members of our branch. From the first time we met with him until now, I have seen a massive change in him. His once sad and dark eyes have now been filled with light! He's reading his scriptures again! He's praying every day! We invite him to church every week, and he always says no, but I know we can get him back! Keep praying for Hermano Cortez for us :')

Here's a cool story for this week. It's a little long, but it has to do with the title of this email, and I promise it's worth it :)

About 2 weeks ago we heard a knock at our apartment door at 9:45 at night. When we answered it, it was a pizza delivery guy, which was really weird since we hadn't ordered pizza! He said, "it's free and it's for you!" So we obviously took it and ate it and we had no idea who bought us pizza! Fast forward to Friday night. My comp and I were sitting in the car when we decided to go stop by someone in the apartment complexes near our house. After saying a prayer, we felt the need to pull forward and park closer to the apartments, since before we were about 2 blocks away. As we were walking through the parking lot, a car quickly sped in right behind us. They stopped abruptly and said, "HEY! Are you guys the missionaries? I've been looking everywhere for you guys!!!" We turned around and it was a pizza guy, the same one who gave us the free pizza not too long ago!!! He then asked us, "Do you guys have the book, the mormon book? Can I have one?" He asked us for a book of mormon! Usually we're the ones asking people if they'd like one! We searched our bags and didn't carry one (rookie mistake) and so we told him, "One sec! We're gonna go get one from our car!" Thankfully, it was right outside the complex, since we had moved it after our prayer! Once we got back and handed it to him he told us that this book changed his life! He was reading everyday, and said he was a better man, friend, brother, and was so happy! He told us, "Jesus Christ became my role model and I wanted to be just like him." He said one day he lost his Book of Mormon, and fell into this pit of sin and started making really bad choices. After a particularly hard and long day of work he delivered his last pizza and it was to us! He saw our tags and remembered that we were missionaries! Ever since he saw us that night, he's been trying to turn his life around! When we asked him about the free pizza he said he actually delivered it to the wrong house, and it was a different apartment number that was supposed to get it! So the free pizza wasn't even ours to receive!

I know he was supposed to find us that night and remember his life when the gospel was present, and that Heavenly Father led my comp and I into those apartment complexes to find him again. Miracles happen today just as they did in the time Christ was on the Earth! I know that's true! I have seen so many miracles on my mission and have felt the love God has for each and every one of us.

This week we read in Helaman 12, and some of my favorite verses were 9,13, and 16.

9 Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake.

13 Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved

16 And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deep—Be thou dried up—it is done

These are all very impossible things for someone to do. I know I could never make mountains quake, the earth move, or cause oceans to dry up. However, I do believe that through the power of God, He can make impossible things possible. When we remember Him, and follow his will, we can cause a great change in us and experience miracles and happiness. As I've been on my mission I've learned that when we are obedient and constantly striving to align our will to God's will, we can experience great change, like the mountains that moved.

Before I go I want to express to you all how much I love being a missionary!!! Never did I think I could experience so much joy in my life! Seeing the light in people's eyes come back and happiness on their faces fills my whole heart. I know God loves us and He is watching over us in these trying times. He knows each of you personally. 

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week! Keep serving and loving others!!

-Hermana Blatter

pics!!!

1- helotes! seriously my favorite food now!

2- food bank!

3- twinning!!

4- more food bank!

5- the apartments where we found our miracle pizza guy :)

6- sunday!

7- our fave member nefi delivering us the food on his motorcycle!