Happy Thanksgiving!

So before I start, I'm sorry I left my planner in my house and the cable to my camera so pictures & stories I forgot will come next week. Today isn't pday (Thanksgiving Day is) but we still have an hour to email families & we just had a session at the Salt Lake Temple. 

**RANDOM SOPHIE MOMENT** Abby would be proud.  I debated going to our zone activity, because I knew it would be sports and I was kinda tired from last week.  But my awesome companion told me to change and so we went and I played volleyball.   I was the only girl on my team and the only one who knew how to play.  So they called me the "secret serving weapon" not that we were counting score.   But, I serve like 40 in a row and then an elder tells me to look down and I see blood all on my thumb.  I must have split my skin open from the ball hitting my thumb over and over.  Anyway, I'm running to the bathroom with my companion and we grab like 3 paper towels and made a make shift bandage and I came back to the game saying, "I can't set or serve, but I can still play".  So It's not pday until there is an "accident" from sports.  

Then on Tuesday we had a WONDERFUL SPIRITUAL experience with an amazing member and our investigator Maria who was so wonderful. We taught Maria the plan of salvation and there wasn't a dry eye at the end of that lesson. It was so amazing to share the knowledge and testimony that I have about that. I love this gospel and I love that families can be together forever. I'm thankful that our Heavenly Father puts us in families to learn and grow and have a place to NOT HAVE CONTENTION but to love each other. 

We met with the assistants and figured out which companionships are going with which ward. We also saw the new church Christmas video that is coming out! It is way good. Hermana Hanson and I are staying in Layton 3rd ward. We are so grateful and LOVE our ward.   We also went to Salt Lake for the follow up traineer/ trainee meeting. It was nice as well. 

I am honored to be playing piano for the ward choir Christmas program. I know 'Silent Night' but, I am currently learning 'Joy to the World' and 'Angels we have Heard on High'. It is fun to practice and have the opportunity to use my talents. 

Carmen y Kareli....THE BEST FAMILY EVER!!!!! We brought the young women president of our ward to teach with us.  We asked her to really explain more about the YW program because the girls are SO EXCITED to be apart of something like that. We taught them about reading the Book of Mormon and left them with the commitment to come to church. 

We met with Rosa and taught her the Restoration and had her neighbor there to invite her to come to church too. 

We also taught Guadalupe  the lesson on Chastity and she totally understands and already lives the law and has seen the blessings. 

We had exchanges with the STL's. I was with Sister Timuia and we were in an English/Samoan area. I went out and got honked at!  It totally scared me but, they were LDS and just letting the kids see "the missionaries"  We really laughed because it was funny how they were just trying to say hi. We also went to visit a couple of people with the Ward Mission Leader and I met some people from Denton. We taught a lady the Word of Wisdom and she totally understands and is progressing towards baptism! We also went to another place to do service, (clean the fridge) We contacted SO MANY PEOPLE!! (It is easier for English sisters here because there are NO HISPANICS outside).  I learned that I need to be more loving and bold in my commitments to my investigators. 

Saturday was great! We made cookies for the new bishopric, some investigators and people we had to visit. We took some popcorn bags to the family of Carmen and Kareli. They were so excited to see the passalong cards with Jesus and we told them to put them somewhere where they could see it daily and remember how much The Lord loves them and how much we love them. 

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.................I'm tremendously thankful WE HAD 7 INVESTIGATORS AT CHURCH. We prayed for a perfect fellowshipper for the family of Carmen and Kareli, and our prayer was answered. We found a family but luckily the whole ward just gathered to them immediately and introduced themselves. They loved it! 

Rosa and her family came to church too; Rosa and her husband Carlos had to leave after sacrament, but the kids stayed for the rest of church. Also, it snowed so we were totally excited and thrilled to see everything all white. We found a family that had kids their age, and a single mom. She came with us that night to their house and I extended the invitation for them to be baptized! They said yes!!  Then I told them about how on the 13th of December they could be baptized, and they said no.  I was so nervous because I didn't expect that, so I was trying to listen to the spirit of what I needed to do next. They said, "We work all day Saturdays, can we do it on Sunday the 14th?!" We were so happy and excited for them! Literally, we have been so blessed with this family and they are progressing amazingly. They have complete confidence to ask questions and love having us over. Hermana Hanson and I are so thankful for them and their willingness to do what we all have been asked to do in this life. 

We went to the temple and its crazy to think in about 3 weeks that I was there exactly a year ago for my first time. I love the temple. I love the Salt Lake City temple and I love the spirit there.

Con Amor,

Hermana Blankmeyer 

You can take the girl out of Veracruz, but Veracruz will stay with her...

"The nearer a person approaches the Lord, the greater power will be manifest by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of his purpose." -Heber C. Kimball

WOW! This week was awesome!  Please excuse my typing and spelling errors because we have limited time and I just want to tell you all about it!

First off, Tuesday we had a member come out with us to do a church tour, but then it fell through so we had her come with us on a lesson with Ramon and his family.  Our member sister was very loving and bold she helped bear testimony a lot! Rosa we taught the word of wisdom and asked if she would come to church! She quickly accepted and we told her neighbor, her "fellowshipper", to remind her and invite her to come. Then that night we taught the Noche de Hogar (FHE) and I helped plan the lesson. What we did was take a picture of Christ and put sticky notes all around the room that were attributes of Him that we need to develop. Then we discussed them and put them around the picture of Christ and asked them at the end to imagine their own personal picture with the attributes surrounding it, and extended the invitation to pick one attribute of Christ to work on and focus on developing it. It was fun for our investigators, recent converts, and members. We even got the kids involved too. It went really well. 

Wednesday we had a lot of members come out with us, but the most important lesson was teaching Guadalupe the Book of Mormon. We had Zul (a recent returned missionary) come and read the book of mormon with us. She was reading and really felt the spirit. It was an incredible lesson. 

Thursday, we went to a referral that was kinda hidden. We were walking and both of the houses were either for sale or under construction. There was a man working on his car and I approached him and he started talking to us about Nefi and other stories. His name was Cristiano and knew a little about our church and the great things about it.  However, he just said it wasn't his time yet. HE WAS FROM VERACRUZ! so i totally talked to him about that. 

Friday, I finally met our investigator named Janeth. She has 2 little boys and lives with her husband. He works all week so we don't get to teach him.  She knows the church is true. It's just hard because he doesn't understand the need for religion but she told us about how much he has changed since they started living togehter when she was 17 and he was 19. She knows the Lord has helped him for all these years. She shared how she feels that she just needs to continue to pray and hope for his heart to be softened so it can be a family centered experience. We updated our area book and prayed for more people that we could go visit. My companion lost her wallet and we missed a lesson.  But, we were able to get a ride, thanks to another returned missionary named Adrianne Child, to visit with Guadalupe. She brought us and we taught Guadalupe the Word of Wisdom. She said it would be hard because she too, IS FROM VERACRUZ!! and lovessssss her coffee.  However,  she knows she can do anything with Christ's help and her desire to be baptized is more important than any substance. We then went to a members house and shared the experience of missionary work and learned about how her son is doing in Tennessee. She took us to Chick-fil-a and we found my companions wallet! We were thankful. (Side note: a bunch of teenage boys came out as we were walking in and handed me flowers and told me I looked beautiful today, my companion and I just laughed and now we joke about it all the time.) 

Saturday, We read the book of mormon with Maria and kind of understood the doubts she had about being baptized. She still is recovering from her accident, but she is super excited to be able to come to church once she gets the doctors okay. We decided to check out and ask for new investigators in an area in our ward, somewhere we don't work very often. We met a sweet elderly couple who didn't know of any spanish speakers in the area, we were going to share a message but everything was in spanish so we could only leave them with a prayer, but right after Colleen had the impression for us to go to a little spanish market and talk to people there! We made thank you notes for the bishopric, our ward mission leader, and the hermanas that vistited our investigators with us because our ward was splitting. We met with a couple more people and we met with Luis and his family! His mom actually took time to listen to us and ask about church and such and they all seemed really excited!  (Another side note, my companion slipped on ice and fell flat on her back when we were going to Maria's, and it made a loud noise and they had opened the door and she barely had time to get up and breathe. She's totally okay but it was super awkward and funny. ) We also raked the leaves of Sister Smith's home and I'm still sore from it (I am such a wimp) and I know I will live in California after Utah because raking leaves is too much work :) 

Sunday our ward met and we had the old bishopric and their wives bear their testimonies and the new bishopric bore theirs. We had dinner which was delicious (teriyaki chicken and rice) and then met with Carmen and Karley! Karley is also from VERACRUZ and she and her daughters all read the pamphlet.  All we did was answer questions.  Plus one of them is actually baptized she had such a great experience in Mexico that she asked if she could do it again. That family was so excited for church and the Young Women's program and we are still shocked at what happened in that lesson and we know how amazing the church is and the programs we have are here for a reason. We went to the ward "spilt" fireside and now we are still unsure about which ward we will serve in. There were two missionaries (elders&sisters) in Layton 3rd, where we are, and then two in the other and what they did was take some from both of ours and make a third ward. So now there are 4 sets of missionaries for 3 wards. We are pretty sure we will stay where we are, and so do the members because they have already asked if I would play piano for the ward choir Christmas program! Guadalupe came to church but left early because her son was sick. 

I love being here in Utah! Even when I have to wear like 2 layers of tights because it is so cold and it's not even snowing much yet! The gospel changes lives and I love seeing the miracles I get to see everyday! I love love LOVE this gospel and teaching families so they can be together forever. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! 

Con Amor,

 Hermana Blankmeyer 

SERVING IN LAYTON

"The only safe ground is to get as far from danger as it is possible to get." -Heber J. Grant 

AHHHH!! One week DOWN! Crazy to think how time flies because we are BUSY missionaries! 

First off, I hope you got my first letter Mom and Dad, but if not... I arrived off the plane and got to meet my missionary president and his wife at the airport.   While we were waiting for another sister missionary, coming from the Mexico MTC, I see ELDER ROBBINS and his wife! What a wonderful welcome to Salt Lake City within a couple of minutes there is ELDER OAKS & his wife! It was crazy to think I had been in Utah for like 10 min tops and already met so many influential people! I love it here. 

I was assigned to serve in the Layton 3rd ward, which is about to be split. There are so many members (about 300) and we cover 9 english stakes. Its a LOT but its amazing how its been here. My companion is Hermana Hanson and she has been out for 14 months and in this area for 3 months. She is only going to train me for 6 weeks, rather than 12 because I have been out and trained before, just not as a Utah, Salt Lake City mission. We have so many investigators, members, less actives, and a huge area that really makes it hard to keep things straight.  However, I am trying my hardest to really learn because I feel that in 5 more weeks I'll have a new companion.  I will likely be in this area and she will ask me where and who everyone is. I don't even know where to really begin but I will start with the two miracles that happened this week. (Also, I live in a members home- Sister Smith, she is awesome) 

Guadalupe is an investigator who has gone through her fair share of missionaries. (Hermana Adorable taught her) She was having a really hard time because her husband has 2 other women and someone keeps slashing her tires on her car.  She is unsure what she needs to do. She doesn't have much money, it cost a lot, and it has happened more than once. When we came over her kids (oldest turns 8 next month) were all sick, and she had a lot of stress. She was just very unsure of what needed to be done. We sat and helped her pray to ask for help. Then the next day, we received a message from her asking when her daughter could be baptized! She told us that she and her daughter want to be baptized on the same day. Even though it is a while away, SHE put herself down for a baptism date! We have been teaching her and the stories she shares are so powerful. She has a desire and we can just see how much the gospel will bless her life.

Rosa we just got to talking and meeting, we invited a member who is her neighbor. We just started trying to get to know her and she started talking for super long about how she had 2 miscarriages, (she has 2 kids now) and she was told in a dream that the catholic church wasn't right, but to join the correct one. She believes that she will see her kids again. She is such a sweet parent and so ready to hear the message we have to share! 

I placed a book of mormon with a sweet lady named Maria. She recently got in a car accident and has a 6 week recovery period. She is from Guatemala and her kids live there now. She has 3 more weeks before she is allowed to leave the house and hopefully come to church with us! 

I've noticed many differences between this mission and Mexico. I love that I know more spanish now so I am able to contribute more to the lessons. In a way I feel like I'm getting a second mission opportunity and for that I am grateful. 

Sunday was really good! The sacrament talks were focused on friendship, family, and obedience. Gospel principles was really good too, and relief society was amazing. I love the ward and members here. Everything about this work makes me happy and so excited to get referrals and meet new people to teach the gospel too. 

Please remember, families are a gift of god. Marriage is a gift and we need to cherish that always. We need to do service to everyone in the family and to those in need. Pray for people who are ready for the gospel and go to the temple with them in mind.  Then OPEN YOUR MOUTH and invite them over for a Family Home Evening, or sunday dinner with the missionaries.  This way they get to meet them and have people to teach. So what if its scary? or they say no? Pray for confidence and strength then watch miracles happen as your invite! 

I love you all and know without a doubt in my mind that this gospel is true.  I hope you all take the time to think of people to share this message with. 

Con Amor,

Hermana Blankmeyer