Miracles are Raining Down

Elder Rae, Elder Lacey and Elder Lawson
(Daniel's trainees)

Elder Morris and Elder Lacey
(Companions in Las Piedras)

Guy off the Street 

February 16, 2015

Dear Family,

What a week! My new comp. is Elder Lawson from Provo, Utah! He is a really good guy and we are already working super well together. Lezica is sweeeeeet! We got here in a white wash so we didn't know anything about the area. We first met with the Bishop (who is awesome) and he gave us three families to visit. We went to the first family and it was a miracle. The daughter is going on a mission in June but the mom is inactive and the Dad isn't a member. We already have had a Noche de Hogar with them and it was super spiritual so we are hoping for some good things with that. The members here are awesome! We have met with many of them and they are all super excited to work with us. We have already received 5 really good references from members. When we got here we didn't have any investigators but on Sunday we found a huge family that wants to get baptized really bad. The miracles are just raining down. We have both been feeling the spirit a ton and so we are really happy. I love the mission. Sometimes when I bare my testimony I get a little choked up because I know that I don't have much more time to be a representative of Jesus Christ and bare witness as a missionary of the truthfulness of this message. Why does time have to go by so fast!

More good news, I forgot to tell you about Susana from Las Piedras. We had been working with her for a long time and it was really cool because at the beginning she was almost atheist but we were able to see her progression and now she is getting baptized this Saturday I think i will be able to go because it is super close so I will get to see my good ol' buddy Elder Morris :)

As a mission we are going to go to the temple but they want us to bring a name from our family to do endowments. We are going to have some time on P day but Do you maybe have a name for me or what should I do?

I am so pumped! I think I finally learned how to be a missionary! haha! I love the gospel so much. You should try and get in contact with Elder Lawson’s parents if you can. He is a stud!

I love you guys!

Elder Lacey

Lezica Norte

February 10, 2015

Dear Family,

Yep, changes again! I can't believe how fast this change went by. I got called to train in Lesica, Norte which is in Montevideo! I will also be a District Leader there. I am sad because Elder Morris is the best but I am also excited for what is up ahead. I am in the same situation that Elder Walker was in when he trained me. that is weird to think about. We will be doing a white wash so the first week is going to be crazy but I am looking forward to meeting all of the members and working with them. Elder Morris and I grew really close over these past 6 weeks and we have seen miracles. I have learned a lot from him too. We are going to be pretty close to each other though so we will keep in contact. I am so grateful for all of the comps that I have had.

Sad news with Antonella. Her ex boyfriend was building her a quick little house out of wood that was going to work out well for her and she was going to get baptized this week but...... She got in a fight with her ex-boyfriend and decided that she didn't want to receive anything from him. She moved to Pando to live with her sister. It is sad because we couldn't work with her anymore but the good thing is that she is really set on being baptized so she is going to go to the church in Pando. Hopefully I will be able to go to the baptism. 

There is some more good news though. We are working with the Silvera Family again. They were the ones where the Dad didn't want us to pass by anymore but we recently made friends with him and we were able to have a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) with all of them! A member family came over and we watched a short video and talked about it and the dad of the family was participating and everything! We also made some brownies to share with everyone :)  Hopefully Elder Morris and his comp will be able to help them all to become converted. 

It will be sad to leave Las Piedras but every single change that I have had has helped me grow. I am looking forward to it. I like the example that you shared of the crayons. I think that is how life goes sometimes. We think that we have lost something when really God is just helping us to progress and grow. 

I am so glad that you had an awesome Birthday party! I enjoyed seeing all of the pics. Luke Is Huge! Is he taller then you mom? He must be eating his veggies :)

I have a couple of questions regarding college. Am I going to take classes this summer? haha And what did you guys have planned for housing? My buddy Travis Bloomfield has an apartment that is on campus and pretty cheap but nice. I would like to stay with him and one of my football buddies that is in Chile right now. Did I already send you the link to the web page of the apartments? I also sent an email to Coach Holliday and he said to contact him when I get home and he will let me know what to do. Also, thank you for sending those packages. I am sure I will get them soon. I love power bars and jerky!!!!

I am always so grateful for the counsel that you give me. I always try to apply the things that you send me in my life because I know that I will be blessed if I listen to the counsel of my parents. You guys are spiritual giants.

The other day I was thinking about all of the things that I have learned in my mission. As a leader I have learned a lot of tips and skills and what not. For example, how to make contacts in the street, how to make a good zone plan, how to react in certain situations etc etc. There are a lot of things that you can learn as a missionary but I realized that what makes a great missionary great is his testimony in Jesus Christ. If you truly have a strong testimony in Jesus Christ you will do what he wants you to do. If you go through your mission and you learn how to be a missionary but you have not strengthened your testimony then you didn't really learn how to be a missionary. 

I know that Christ lives.

Love,

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

1/8 of the mission = 3 months

1/8 of a 400M race = 50 M

Elder Lacey runs 50 M in around 5 Seconds

3 months=50 M= 5 seconds = BAPTISM

Hopefully you can follow my math but 1/8 of a mission equals baptism. These last 2 changes are going to be awesome haha!

I can't believe that time has gone by so fast. You nailed it on the head with me training. It will be a good experience.

I am planning to get back into shape as quick as possible. I will probably go lift in the morning and then in the afternoon go run and play catch etc. everyday. I feel pretty good and I feel like I could put on good weight pretty easily and get faster at the same time. I hear that the people in my new house like to work out so we will get big together.

Thank you for everything Dad!

Love

Elder Lacey

The Temple is the Best!

Elder Ve'e, Fabian, and Elder Lacey

Members from San Carlos

Elder Lacey in Las Piedras

February 2, 2015

Dear Family,

We went to the Temple this week! Fabian from San Carlos went to receive his endowment and he got sealed with his wife so Elder Ve'e and I got to go and see it all. We taught Fabian and he got baptized 2 weeks after we left but we stayed in contact. I also got to see a lot of the members from San Carlos which was really cool. They all said that I am a lot skinnier now haha! I will send you the pictures that we took together.

The temple is the best! I learn so much every time I go and I always leave with desires to do the very best that I can. I am going to go every day when I get home!

The work is going well here in Las Piedras. It has been hard because so far we haven't baptized anyone even though we feel like we are working better than we have ever worked before. We have found a lot of people and we feel like we have taught them well and that we have felt the spirit but then they use their agency to make dumb choices. The good thing is that we are helping a lot of less actives and recent converts come back to church which is a big thing that we are trying to do better in this mission. Also there are some more potential houses for Antonella so we will see what happens. (She has to move out from her boyfriend so she can get baptized)

Even though we are always doing something and we are always really busy and sometimes stressed I love the peace that the Gospel brings. I love taking the sacrament and feeling that spirit that comes after renewing your covenants. The Gospel is true.

I love you guys!

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

Take care of mom for me on her Birthday!

It is crazy to think about time and how fast it flies. We cannot forget who we are for even a second because that second can turn into an eternity. Elder Morris and I have been able to work really well together. Even though we are both from the same group and we go home together, a lot of missionaries get "Trunky" but so far we haven't been hit with any trunkiness and have been able to keep ourselves focused.

I love you dad!

Elder Lacey

Mariana Got Baptized!

Mariana's Baptism

Elder Lacey with Elder Morris in Las Piedras

January 26, 2015

Dear Family,

Well... Antonella won the award for hardest baptism ever. The problem is that she still isn't baptized :( But she definitely will get baptized in the near future just because she has so much faith and so much desire to get baptized. It is sad because it is not her fault that she can't get baptized. What happened was that she was going to move into a house last Tuesday and we had everything set up. We had done about 10 hours of service on that house (which is a house of a recent convert) just to get it prepared for Antonella to move in. We went there on Tuesday to get the house set for the move and we found out that a young couple came the night before and offered cash to the recent convert so she took it. Like a thief in the night! Snap. We were sad but we didn't worry to much. We just went straight back to work. We prayed constantly for a miracle and an hour later we received a call from the other missionaries who saw an old member in the street who was crying. They talked to her and she said that she needed someone to live with her because she felt alone and she couldn't cook for herself etc. So we went straight over to her and talked to her and she was happy that Antonella wanted to move in to her house. Everything was good and it was even a better living situation for Antonella. On Thursday Antonella had 7 small boxes packed up. She has so much faith! She was willing to do anything to get baptized. anyway, we had everything packed up in a van when we started receiving calls from the Bishop and the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Presidency who lives in our ward. Basically there have been problems with this old member before. She is a little bit crazy. She suddenly changed her mind and said that Antonella couldn't come over. The Bishop was really trying to help her out. It was kind of frustrating because here we did everything possible to help one of the best investigators ever but it didn’t work out.  Anyway, that is what happened and so we are still in the search for a miracle. Antonella is doing well. She is really sad that she couldn't get baptized but she is staying strong. She even started her family history work the other day!

The Good news is that Mariana got baptized! Elder Havens and I taught her a lot together but she doesn't live in our area. She would always come to a members home that lives in our area and so we would teach her there. We actually found her at a ward activity. We finally got her in contact with the other missionaries and they took it from there. She is going to be a super firm convert in the church. She has already read through the entire Gospel Principals book haha! I will try to send a picture of her baptism.

That was basically our entire week. Elder Morris and I get a long really well and we are teaching better then we have ever taught. I finally know how to be a missionary! I think I said that about 6 months ago and I will probably say it again haha! Truth is, I love the mission. 

Tell everybody that Elder Lacey loves them. I can't believe Sean Farley is home. Send him my apologies..... Its hard to be on the sidelines hearing about other people in the mission field ;) Send Adam my love. They are such a good family.

The Church is true! Miracles exist!

Love

Elder Lacey

PS Antonella is going to get baptized!!!!

We Choose

January 19, 2015

Dear family,

Sounds like a lot is going on up there! There is a lot happening down here as well. For example, my computer is the slowest thing I have ever seen! So I will try to write as much as I can to you but we will see what happens. The good thing is that it is a good test of patience :)

This week we are going to have the baptism of Antonella on Saturday! We have to move her out of her house on Tuesday and then she will be good to go. We have been working with her for a long time. She has changed so much! It is amazing to see the changes that people can make in their lives if they just put Christ first.

This past week was a little bit rough but we are still going strong. Things were going too smooth for us a week ago so I guess we had to go through some tests. On Friday Elder Morris and I both were sick but we went out anyway. It just so happened that on that day the whole world decided to join against us. haha! A few investigators dropped us which was really sad because they were investigators that had felt the spirit during the charlas and everything. The good thing is that Elder Morris and I took it all with a smile. He is a really good missionary and we get along super well. This week is a new week and we have found some good new investigators so we are ready to go! Lets do it!

Well family, I have one quote for you and one quote only. "We choose" (I think Sarah’s basketball coach always said that) We choose what we want, if we want eternal happiness or eternal sadness (2 Ne 2:27) The only thing that we need to do is choose today to put Jesus Christ first in our lives. Read the scrips, Pray, Go to church, develop the Christlike attributes, serve. I have seen this message change the lives of many people and it has always been people who are willing to choose and do what is right. The Church is true!

That is really really sad about Alex Morrow passing away. Sam and I grew up with Alex and Adam. I have a ton of memories with them. I hope everything is alright. Give all of them a hug for me. I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation that God has given us. Alex Served a good life.

Love,

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

I am always so glad for your example Dad. You are the best! I am feeling really good right now in a lot of aspects. I feel really good spiritually and I feel like I am growing everyday. I have felt really good physically (except for a little bit of sickness that I had) because we have been playing a lot of soccer and so I have been running a lot which is getting me back in shape. And I also feel well mentally. I beat my comp in a chess match today :) haha But I also feel like the mission has helped me learn a lot. I am looking forward to these next couple of months!

Hopefully I can live up to what you accomplished!

Love

Elder Lacey

I LOVE THE MISSION

January 12, 2015

Dear Family,

Something has changed in me. I used to bleed green (FHS) then I bled Blue (BYU) but now I am just bleeding whatever the color of this mission is. I LOVE THE MISSION!

Elder Morris and I are doing super well. We have learned a lot from each other from applying this new change that we have in our mission. Our biggest focus in our companionship is just following the spirit which is what we always need to do. I know that this is where I am supposed to be right now. 

I don't have too much time to write you because I have gotten behind on all my emails but I love you guys! I received  a lot of mail recently from 5th ward and even from our ward in Alpine. We have always been surrounded by super good people.

Luke is flying! I love hearing about how well he is doing. Keep it up Luke!

This past Zone Conference that we had was really cool. We got everyone pumped up. At the end I was in a huddle with 1/3 of the elders in our zone and we basically all committed ourselves to give everything. I felt like I was back in football for a little bit. We all left on fire! 

I love what you sent me about the Atonement. It made me think about how I have come to learn about the atonement. Before the mission I don't think I really knew exactly what the atonement was. I still have a lot to learn but I feel like I have learned a lot in these past 19 months. Christ truly does love us. It is our choice if we want to show our love for him and accept the gift that he has given us or not. I hope that I can always choose to sacrifice everything that I have for him. Those who are willing to lose their lives shall find it. (I think that is in the end of Mat. 10) May we all do everything we can to accept the atonement in our lives.

Love

Elder Lacey

Dear dad,

I was thinking the other day about what exactly is the word tired? How can we be tired? Is it something that will always get at us or is it a decision we make? I came to the conclusion that it is a decision. So if  you decide, you really can give 120% even when your body is begging for mercy. I love that Elder Eyring talk when he talks about his rally cry "Remember him". Jesus Christ gave us everything even though he was tired and beaten.

I love you! 

Elder Lacey

God Knows Each One of Us

January 5, 2015

Dear Family, 

Another great day in the mission field. Elder Morris and I are getting along great and we are seeing miracles. I love the mission so much! About 2 weeks ago I heard that Rebeca got baptized in Melo! She decided to dump her boyfriend and become a member of the church! That was really great to hear. Recently Elder Morris and I found a young couple and they are both super excited to hear the Gospel. They told us that the first contact that we made with them in the street they felt the spirit, and they felt it again in the first lesson. Elder Morris and I work really well together and we had one of the best CCE (How to Begin Teaching) ever! They are really prepared.....the only problem is that they need to get married. Why is it so hard to get people married here?! The funny thing is that his nickname is Bin Laden. I want to baptize Bin Laden! I have no idea why that is his nickname.

Here in Las Piedras we now have 28 Missionaries in our zone which makes it the biggest zone in the mission. The good thing is that all of them are really good people. It is such a testimony builder to see so many good missionaries who sacrifice a lot to be here doing the work of the Lord. On the day of changes we all arrived back to Las Piedras with the bags of everyone and we were waiting for taxi's and such when all of a sudden a massive rainstorm came in with lots of wind and everything. It was so powerful that it knocked down a ton of trees all over the city. Luckily we were all safe in the church. The problem was that at this time of the year there is a giant feria (market type deal) in the street right in front of the church. Chao tents and tarps and everything. That wind made everything fly. But all of the missionaries saw it and so we all ran out to help these people. Luckily the storm only lasted a little bit but it was still raining pretty good. We helped a lot of people though and it felt good. Many of them were crying because that is all that they have in this life and much of it got destroyed. It was so cool to see a bunch of missionaries out there working in the rain helping people out. The Hermanas were out there doing work too! We have a good zone.

This is the work of the Lord. I have never been happier in my life. God knows each one of us and so it doesn't matter how hard things get, if we truly love him and we show him our love through our obedience we will be blessed. The church is true!

Love,

Elder Lacey

I wondered why Elder Lacey sent us a picture of his chicken dinner....
Then I saw the teeth and the snout!!!