Saying Goodbye to Uruguay

Elder Lacey and Elder Lawson

May 5, 2015

Dear Family,

I feel like Ammon when he finished in part his mission with the Lamanites in Alma chapter 26:16

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

I cannot even begin to express how I feel. I have seen such great blessings and miracles here in Uruguay and I know that I will never be able to repay my Eternal Father in Heaven for everything that I have experienced here. I have enjoyed every second of my mission and I am excited to continue to serve the Lord after the mission. 

I already had my last interview with President Cook and it was amazing. He asked me what I had taken away from these two years in Uruguay. It is difficult to pinpoint one specific thing that I have learned in these past two years but, I told him that I now know what it takes....what it takes to have an eternal family, what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I now know what I need to do. In the mission my eyes have been opened and I know that I need to love the Lord with all of my heart, which means a lot more than most people think it means. 

I am sad to say goodbye to this beloved country and to these people that I have come to love but I know they are in good hands because they have learned to put their trust in the Lord. Good thing that someone invented Facebook so that I can stay in contact with all of these people! 

I love the Lord with all of my heart. I will never deny him and I will live my life in a such a way that he will be proud of me. The church is true! Families can be together forever! I am so grateful for the wonderful family that I have, and I am excited to see you guys soon. 

Hurrah for Israel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love

Elder Lacey  

Mom

What a miracle! I can't wait to meet him! (We are bringing a non-member to Daniel’s homecoming talk in sacrament meeting) And I can't wait to keep seeing miracles together with all of you.

Gustavo (the man Daniel just baptized) is such a good man! I really love him a lot.

See you soon!

Love you forever Mom!

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

I love you! And I love all of your advice. I want to sit down with a spiral notebook and a pen and write all of the council that you have for me. You have always been a very inspired Dad.

I am so grateful for the mission and I am ready for my next mission. I don't know exactly what I am going to do with everything but the good thing is that I have good parents that have good council and I have learned to be obedient to the Lord and to my parents. 

I love you Dad!

Elder Lacey

Spiritual Boot Camp!

Elder Lacey in the streets of Montevideo

Elder Lacey and Elder Lawson

April 27, 2015

Dear Family,

It is weird to say that this is my last full week of work because it feels so normal. This past week we worked just as we have in these past 2 years. We had a conference with Elder Oaks on Tuesday and it was awesome! I have had the opportunity to hear 2 Apostles in person here on the Mission and both of those times I felt the spirit so strongly as they bore testimony of Jesus Christ. They truly are special witnesses of Him. Guess what he talked about first with us? That’s right, marriage haha! There we were, 500 missionaries strong and he talked to us about marriage! It was a little bit funny but everyone learned a lot. He also talked about a lot of other things that I loved. He talked about what real success is, how to be an instrument in the Lords hands, and consecration. I am grateful for our latter-day prophets and Apostles.

I will try to practice my English so that I can give a good talk on the 10th. 

I am really excited to see you all and to catch up on everything that has happened in these past 2 years. I have so many things in my head that I want to take a day or two just to write everything down and plan a little bit for the future. Maybe we can play a few IGP games as well :)

The work is going well and it will keep on going. There are many strong members here in Uruguay and they are living examples of how the Gospel blesses families. I will be forever grateful for the things that I have learned here and for the miracles that I have seen. I know that I am just at the beginning of my life mission but I feel a lot more prepared to face life now that I have gone through spiritual bootcamp. ¡Vamo' Arriba! 

I love you all!

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

I will seriously need your help when i get home. You have so much knowledge! I want to sit down with you and talk strategy for the future. There are so many things that I want to accomplish and the only thing that is against me is time haha! I don't think I am going to sleep, ain’t nobody got time for that.

I love this work. I can't wait to have my family as my companion so that we can go do some work together! 

I love you.

Elder Lacey

The Gospel is True!! Go Preach it!!

Gustavo!!

Gustavo's Baptism

April 20, 2015

Dear Family,

Sometimes I have the desire to sit down and write a book. I have learned and felt so many things here in the mission and I want to write down everything! I have so many things to tell you guys that I don't know what to start with. 

Building a house

One of the things that I thought was interesting this week was we were able to have an activity in the church here in Lezica where we watched “Meet the Mormons.” Luckily I have been able to see it about 3 times now in Spanish. It was a really good activity but what I liked most about it was the desire that it gave me to serve. I feel like that is one of the biggest things that has changed in me during the mission. I now realize the importance of going the second mile and magnifying your calling. Did I ever thank you for sending me that talk by Elder Eyring that talks about magnifying your calling? I think it is one of my favorite talks of all time. I really want to make sure that I am always involved in some sort of service all of the time.

This week we are preparing Gustavo and Sandra (our 2 most recent converts) to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. This week Gustavo will also be receiving the priesthood. We have been really blessed to be able to witness the progress of many people and we are continuing to find more investigators. I'm glad it hasn't really hit me that I am coming to the end of the mission. I guess it will hit me when I see you guys at the airport haha :) 

Tomorrow we have a conference with Elder Dallin H. Oaks! I am really pumped. In the CCM Elder Cook came, but since then I haven't seen an apostle. It is going to be a good time.

Elder Lacey, Gustavo, and Elder Lawson

Elder Lacey and Elder Lawson

The Gospel is true! Go preach it!

Love

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

That is crazy that you will be introducing big ol' Drew Brees in your meeting. Make sure you let him know who's boss. haha! Hopefully I will be able to accomplish a part of what he was able to accomplish in his football career. I believe that I can do it.

Oh, sorry for not emailing you back last week. I ran out of time really fast. The good thing is that I will be seeing you guys here pretty quick. I am so grateful for everything that you guys have done for me. I am so happy and grateful for the mission and I am going to do everything that I can to keep having spiritual experiences to finish off my mission. I also want to stay in contact with all of the converts here just like you had contact with the Diaz family for so long. 

Like one of your shirts says "Life is Good"

I love you Dad!

Elder Lacey

My Beloved Uruguay

On the shores of my Beloved Uruguay

April 6, 2015

Dear Family,

I went to General Conference with a few questions written down and my mind ready to receive revelation for the end of my mission and also for the future. If you saw the Saturday sessions you will know that the majority of the talks were about families and getting married. I guess the Prophet and the twelve apostles want me to get married as fast as possible! haha! No, but I received answers to all of my questions! I am so grateful for the restoration of the gospel and for all of our church leaders. It was weird because this was my last General Conference in the mission and so some of my questions that I had written down had to do with what would happen in the future. One of my questions was what can I do now in order to prepare my family in the future. My hand hurts because there was so much material to write down! The Gospel is designed to help our families. (We watched 2 sessions in English and 3 in Spanish)

Speaking of families, Gustavo Andreoni and his family are doing awesome. We are going to have his baptismal service this Friday. It is so awesome to see the change that he has gone through. We have seen many miracles and I can see more and more light in his countenance everyday. In the charla that we had with him yesterday I shared with him a quote from General Conference. "There are many good things, many important things, but there are few that are essential." We need to have an eternal perspective to see what are the few essential things that we need to do. Cake is good, ribs are good, money is good, football is important, but what is essential is making it back to Our Father in Heaven together with our family. I am so happy to be here helping other families to see this.

Bishop, Elder Lawson, Elder Lacey, Gustavo and his wife

General Conference also gave me an opportunity to see Mariana and Susana from Las Piedras they are both doing super well! It is awesome to see converts that are firm in the church. I hope to keep in contact with them like Dad has kept in contact with the Familia Elmo. 

In one month from today I will be heading home....I want to cry! The mission is so awesome. I have changed so much here in la Tierra Prometida, my Beloved Uruguay. I am going to make the most of this last month and I am going to preach my heart out. 

I love all of you so much!

Elder Lacey

Elder Lawson and Elder Lacey enjoying PDay

Yo Sé que Vive mi Señor!

March 30, 2015

Dear Family,

I now realize why those who go to spirit paradise are also missionaries. Its because the mission is paradise! If we really want to be happy we need to share the gospel! Well that is how I feel. We have some investigators that are really progressing and you can see the difference in their lives and in the lives of their families. Elder Lawson and I are really happy to be here in Lezica because it is the promised land :) 

This week we were able to do a ton of things. We helped an investigator build a house which was fun. Here all of the houses are made out of cinder block and so he taught us how to make the walls and we went at it. I will send you pictures of it next week. We have also made friends with a herd of pigs that live in this garbage field that we walk through to get to a recent converts house. I at least think we are friends with them because they don't make angry noises at us anymore. haha! 

Here in Lezica the work is progressing. The members are super pumped and we feel like we are helping out the ward a lot. We have been having activities and Noches de Hogares a lot and so everyone is happy. It helps the recent converts out a lot when you have so much participation in the ward. 

That is interesting that in Sunday school you were talking about that because If I remember right my last talk that I gave was about the difference between testimony and conversion. If we truly have a testimony then we should be truly converted. Faith without works is dead. We need to go out and do it! 

In church yesterday for the last hymn we sang numero 73 Yo Sé que Vive mi Señor. I think it has become my favorite hymn now. It is very simple but it is what I feel and I love the last line of the last verse because it is like a testimony from the heart!

Yo sé que vive mi Señor!

Love,

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

I miss good ol' Lace pops humor haha! When I get home we will have to invest into some app building because I have a few ideas of my own. 

That is awesome that you are working well with that family. I would love to meet them when I get home. It is crazy how fast time is flying by. 

I can't wait for conference either. I am going to really study hard this week to be prepared for what they are going to tell us. Save some cinnamon rolls for me haha! 

It is great to be a missionary. Yesterday we actually taught 2 charlas in English which was interesting. It is a little bit harder to teach in English than in Spanish! I had to ask my companion how to say a few things in English....I am losing it! haha

I love you Dad!

Elder Lacey

Last Transfer

Valientes!!

A Super Missionary on his 21st Birthday!!

No Birthday is complete without a pinata.

Sandra's Baptism

March 24, 2015

Dear Family,

Can you believe that it is already change week again? That was the fastest week ever. Me and Elder Lawson are staying together here in Lezica for my last change. Down here they call the missionaries who are on their last transfer, valientes. The weird thing is that I don't feel any different, I know that the end is coming quickly but I still feel like there is a ton of work to do. These last 6 weeks are going to be a good time.

We are still seeing miracles everyday down here. Yesterday in church there were 3 complete families there that got me thinking. The three families were Sandra’s family, Gustavo Andrioni's family, and Edgardo and Lorena’s family. I loved having them there in church because we are working with all of them and they all showed up including all of their kids. There is a such a good spirit in the church when people go with their whole family. I could see a little bit into the future and I could see the happiness that all of these families are going to have if they just stay firm in the church. I am so glad that when I was little and was causing a wreck, my parents fought the good fight and took me to church every Sunday. 

The temple was amazing this past week. It always helps a lot to go and feel the spirit and pray in the temple. We also had interviews with President and he told me about what he sent you guys haha! You can always tell when you have  a true blue cougar fan. I got my card but I haven't tried it yet. I think it should work fine though.

Well, I am going to make the best of these 6 weeks and go to work. There is still a lot that I want to study and learn and there are still a lot of almas to save. I love this work with all of my heart! And I love all of you!

Love

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

I am so excited for General Conference. It is to bad that I won't be there for the cinnamon rolls but I might buy myself an alfajor haha! I will definitely write down some questions and study the talks a lot. 

I would love to help out May 15th and 16th! I think that would be awesome!

Recently I have been thinking a lot about all the things that I have learned in my mission and I think it would help me remember everything I have learned if I share it a lot so i would love to help out with the jóvenes.  

I love you Dad!

Elder Lacey

Sandra and Sofia were Baptized!

March 16, 2015

Dear Family,

The mission is the best! Sandra and Sofia were baptized on Saturday and then confirmed on Sunday. It was such a good service and all of the members helped out a ton. Sandra and Sofia are doing super well and they are all situated in the ward nice and snug so they aren't going anywhere. All of the members are so excited to share the gospel, its amazing. I have been sharing a scripture lately with a lot of members that is in Mosiah 27:14. it is when the angel is talking to Alma the Younger and the angel tells him that it was because of the prayers of the people and the prayers of his father that the angel visited him. If you get an entire ward together united in prayer miracles are going to happen. We are seeing those miracles with Gustavo. He is doing really well and we have had some really spiritual charlas with him and his family.

Also for my Birthday the members treated me super well. Lets just say I was really full at the end of the day haha! Everyone just kept giving us food! Its fine with me :)

I received 2 letters today but I haven't had time to read them yet. it looks like one is from the Steinagles and one is from you guys with drawings. Thank you! You are all the best. That is really cool that Dad was talking with Pres. Newsome! And that is really nice of Pres. Cook to send a letter to you. They are both really great men.

Life is good. The mission is going great. This Wednesday we are going to the Temple and I have everything ready to go through for Michael Lacy. I am so grateful for everything. The only thing I can complain about is not having more time to preach the gospel....the good thing is that I have non-mormon friends back in the states :) 

The church is true! 

Love

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

Good ol' mom stealing all of the compliments from Dad. Haha! Its hard to compete with the best. But don't worry dad, I still love you! 

(Just so you know what happened: Mike spoke in another ward as a member of the High Council. After his talk a lady came up from the audience and shook his hand and said, “I know who you are! You’re Diana Lacey’s husband. She gave the best talk a few weeks ago in our Stake Women’s Conference!” She didn’t say a word about Mike’s talk. The good thing is that later that night Mike got a very nice email from a man who had been in the audience and he complimented Mike on how strong the spirit was and how much he loved Mike’s talk. He also mentioned many other people who made similar comments!)

If you would like to enter a bracket for me with all of the underdogs, do it. 

I love that story in Luke! I am pretty sure that a couple of weeks ago I talked about it in my Email to you guys. I love how when they took the sacrament they knew him and how in John 17:3 it says that eternal life IS so know God and Jesus Christ. It is a powerful story.

I am excited to see you soon! I still have some work to do down here though :)

I love you

Elder Lacey