Birthday Boy!

Elder Lacey a couple of days before he turned 21
I found those party plates in the kid birthday party section in Walmart.
They were perfect for a missionary birthday too.

March 9, 2015

Dear Family,

I'm old. I can't believe that I'm almost 21! It is going to be a good birthday week because I love this ward! We had 6 investigators in church and we are seeing miracles. Sandra and Sofia are going to get baptized this Saturday and we are working a ton with Gustavo who is a dad of an active family. We are really good friends with him and he is starting to get interested in the message. His family is working a lot with him and it is amazing how far he has come. He came to church this Sunday and he is reading and everything. They are an awesome family.

I got all of the packages but I haven't received the letter yet. Thanks! All of those protein bars are going to help me because I realized that I am skinny! I was looking through the pictures that you sent me and I look fat compared to where I am now haha! Thanks for sending those pictures as well. That was cool to look through all of them.  Did you ever get the letter that I sent you for your Birthday? Also, for the Spanish class do I need to take the class in order to take the test or is it just so that I pass the test really well? And it is an advanced class right? 

Lately I found a connection in the scriptures that I love. John 17:3- Eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ. Luke 24:30-31 How did the disciples "know" Christ? Through the sacrament. In order to obtain salvation we need to really know our Savior. Not just his face or his appearance but actually know who he is. The only way we can do that is by taking the sacrament every Sunday and repenting of our sins and remembering him. 

I know my Savior. I know that he loves us and is there to help us through every step in our lives. He is the only way we can gain Eternal life and Eternal life is what we are looking for (D&C 6:7 ; 14:7)

I love all of you!

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

Time flies when you are doin work! So we must all be doing way to much work cause the time surely is flying. The good thing is that I am not trunky at all. The missionary work is just so natural now that there is no time to be trunky. I love working with all of our investigators.

I feel exactly like usted. I don't want to leave! But I also know that there is a lot of work for me to do up there in the States. 

I love all of those plans that you have for me. I don't need sleep! haha! One of these P-days in the future I will make a little calendar and send a picture of it because there are a few things that I will need to do when I get back. But I am totally down to work out a ton and work with those trainers. It will be a good time.....I am so skinny!

I love you dad!

Elder Lacey

I Like Miracles!

Susana with Elder Lacey, Elder Morris and others

March 2, 2015

Dear Family,

Miracles! I like miracles. Sandra and her family are doing awesome! It is crazy the changes that are happening in their lives. Here they went through one of the hardest years of their lives and they are able to see the blessings that have come from it. They lost their dad/husband last year and then a month ago they almost died in a crazy fire. They lost a lot of their possessions and they didn't have insurance so they just completely lost all of it. We have been able to do a lot of service cleaning and painting their house and the ward has helped out a lot and so they are living in their house again. The amazing part is that they see the fire as a blessing. I love going over their because they are so happy and peaceful. They lost their TV and so what they do is they play cards and chat with each other and drink mate haha! It is a testimony to me that real happiness comes from the gospel blessing families, it does not come from the world. Before the fire Sandra wasn't very open to the missionaries but now she wants to get baptized! She has felt the spirit very strongly in the church, in her house, and with the members. Sandra and Sofia are going to get baptized together on the 14th of March. Its going to be a good Birthday week :)

I have been learning a lot in these past 3 months about our job as missionaries. Elder Viñas came to the mission and taught us about establishing the church. It is sad because in many areas here in Uruguay the total church attendance hasn't changed much in the past 10 years even though the missionaries have been working really hard. Sometimes we as missionaries work super hard but we aren't working in the right way to edify the church. I am really pumped to help build the church in Lezica. We are going to focus on finding families and the church here in Uruguay really needs Priesthood holders as well so we are going to go find some good worthy men that can be leaders in the church. I love this ward because the members are super open to the missionary work!

I got 2 packages! Thank you guys! I got the one with beef jerky and power bars and then the Valentines day one. I'm happy :)

I can't express how grateful that I am to be here in the mission. I love it, I love it, I love it! I feel the spirit every day and what I have learned in these past 21 months is priceless. God loves us! Life is good.

I love all of you!

Elder Lacey

Lezica (Laceyica) is the best town in the world.

Susana's Baptism

February 23, 2015

Dear Family,

Another good ol' week in the best town in the world. Lezica (Laceyica) is the best. The members here are awesome and the work is good. The only problem is that we are running out of time to do all the things that we need to do! haha I guess that is a good problem to have so I am not complaining. This past week we had the best Correlation that I have ever had in my mission. We have 6 ward missionaries (which is 6 more then I have ever had) and 5 of them showed up to Correlation with the ward mission leader. And let me tell you, all of the excitement is contagious. On Sunday we had the best ward council that I have ever had as well. The members are really focused and want to help us a ton. We have had a ton of members ask to leave with us just to proselyte. I have fallen in love with this place. 

Susana got baptized! It was such a good experience and really spiritual. It was good to see how far she had come. When we were teaching her she would always say that she felt like a big bowl of green jello on a hamster wheel. Haha! She didn't feel at peace. When I talked to her on Friday she said that she felt like a big red balloon flying in the sky...that is her way of saying that she is finally at peace. It was also good to see all of my buddies like Elder Morris and all of the members. I forgot to bring my camera so I will send you pictures next week but it sounds like you already saw some through Emiliano. Emiliano is awesome! He is going to be such a good missionary. Tell him that I love him!

A spanish class sounds good! I have always wanted to learn spanish! But other than that I have no idea what my plans are going to be this summer. I guess just study and work out all day and read the scriptures. I guess I might have to go look for a job! But the good thing is that I don't have to worry about that for 3 months :)

I think I will be able to figure everything out with My Family Search. I will probably do Michael Martin Lacey. I will try and get the phone number of Travis' mom because I think his parents are in charge of it all as far as the apartment goes.

Tim and Nicole Lawson are the parents of Elder Awesome errr.... I mean Elder Lawson.

Oh! I promised a member that I would write you about an investigator that we have. Sandra is the mom and her son Santiago got baptized and her daughter Sofia wants to get baptized really bad. A little over a month ago they all got caught in a bad house fire. Sandra got badly burnt but is recovering well. The kids are fine. Sandra before was open to the missionaries but she didn't want to receive the charlas. After this whole experience things have changed and she is more open to us. We still haven't talked to her very much but she went to church this Sunday. She has also gone through some really horrible things as well. Her 2 oldest children are addicted to drugs and so that haunts her a lot. But she has seen a lot of miracles lately and she is really being prepared by the Lord. We are working really closely with the familia Barreiro. The Dad is the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Presidency and he suggested that we write our moms about what is happening and that maybe you could write a note to Sandra. I think that would be a great idea! So if you want you can send me an email and I can print it out and give it to her. If Dad could translate it that would be good or if not Hermana Carmen Barreiro Speaks English. I think that would help Sandra out a ton.

It is amazing to look back and see how far I have come. I love testifying of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The other day I finished Jesus the Christ. Over these past 2 years I have defended his name and tried my best to be a representative of him. He truly is our Redeemer. Through him all mankind can change and obtain Eternal Life. I love the Mission.

Love!

Elder Lacey

Dear Dad,

I love everything you said. I do feel like I have grown to love the people here even more than when I started. I am working differently as a missionary and I feel like that is why I am loving it so much in Lezica. We are super nice to everyone and we look for opportunities to show our love to everybody. Emiliano will be leaving to Peru for his mission in May. He is going to be a solid missionary. I wish that I could have learned all of the things that I know now before my mission haha! I thought that the last 50 Meters was supposed to be the hardest??? I am loving it! 

I love you dad!

Elder Lacey

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!!!!