A Day for the Eternities

Mosquito bites make a nice smiley face :-)

 

I GOT ROBBED?!

I hope you are all doing so well!  This week was absolutely so incredible for me.  

We got called to see if we were going to be transferred yesterday.  Elder Pano thought I was going to go and I thought he was going to go.  When we got called we definitely got what we least expected.  We are both staying!  The was definitely a big shock hahah.  We thought for sure one of us was going but I'll be here in Salina Cruz for 6 more weeks and with Elder Pano and I'm so excited!  We have lots of exciting things coming up and I love the people here!

This week I had such a truly life changing experience that I truly believe I will remember for the Eternities.  We were doing intercambios (exchanges) so I was with another Elder.  This Elder and I have around the same time in the mission.  This was my first time in my area with someone who knows about the same Spanish as me.  So I had to put a lot more effort it to understand everyone and to teach.  But I'm so glad I did!  When we truly focus on people and their needs the Spirit will guide us to help them.  We were teaching this one Lady about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We invited her to be baptized and then she just completely opened up her heart to us.

She shared things that she has been struggling with for 20 years, that she hasn't shared with anyone.  She has felt like a bad person for years.  When I shared of God's love for her and the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ the Spirit was so incredibly strong.  All three of us were crying.  It was such an incredible experience that I can't accurately describe but it was such a blessing to have the opportunity to be their with her and testify of our Savior.

The next day we went to Morro.  Morro is a super tiny town 30 minutes away from Salina Cruz that has a small branch of the Church.  Because of everything with Covid we haven't had a chance to go, but we finally got permission to this week!  We took a community taxi there so basically they just fit 6 people including the driver in the taxi.  3 in the front 3 in the back.  However this ride There were two adults in the back and like 4 kids so Elder Pano and I went in the front.  All of the cars here are stick Shift, I was the lucky guy that got to be squished next to the driver by the stick shift.  Let's just say that driver and me are good buddies now

In Morro I had another really cool experience!  We visited a ton of families who hadn't seen missionaries in over a year and a half.  It was so nice to be able to visit them.  Most of them live in very humble conditions.  Some of them I just wanted to help so bad and change their conditions.  As I was thinking this I got the distinct impression that no I couldn't change what they were going through nor understand completely what they do, the Savior does.  I know there is no wrong that Heaven can't fix thanks to the Savior.  I truly do stand all amazed.  This week I feel like the complete magnitude of Savior's Atonement has started to click and I am so grateful for this.

Also a kind of interesting story that happened this week.  Our chapel got broken Into at night.  We don't think they stole anything valuable because the offices have really good locks but Elder Pano and I felt like detectives finding where they broke in and how they did stuff.  They weren't very smart criminals but as my brother Clay would say no criminals are  They broke in through a window but the kinda cool thing about that is I saw a few days ago that the window was open, so I got the feeling to close it and lock it.  Well I did, but they just broke the lock to get in so no I didn't stop them from breaking in, but I did save my conscience from feeling like it was my fault 

I don't have a lot of pics this week because we were pretty busy but I have a few!

A la Playa

 

Trip to the ocean!

They can't go in the water, but it's beautiful!

Uh... Not sure what's going on here?

Got drenched in the rain

Hey there!  I hope you are all doing so well!!

We just finished visiting the beach! The bishop of the other missionaries took us and his wife to the beach and we walked to this hill that's on the beach and it was so beautiful!  Also we heard that this hill was enchanted so that was interesting.  But we didn't see anything wild so we're all good  

Also we just bought 30 tacos for like 7 dollars.  It was 5 pesos for each taco so I hope I survive  I'm not going to lie they're pretty good tacos hahaha

Also I absolutely love Oaxaca and it's people! There are so many families that we just love and it the best!  The people here are so incredible and they love us so much as well.  Oaxaca is the best!!  Also whenever kids see my eyes they're like "woahhhh tus ojas son chidos!"  (

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to see the gospel change people's lives.  When people start doing little things like reading their scriptures daily and praying personally and with their families they change so much and there is so much joy in their lives!  It is so incredible!

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to see the Atonement of Jesus Christ work in my life and work in the lives of others.  It is such a beautiful experience!

Next week we find out if we have transfers.  Elder Pano and I are pretty certain that one of us is going to go:(   it will be a bummer because Elder Pano and I have so much fun together but im excited for the future as well!

Love Elder Lacey!

Hola Mis Amigos

 

Top of the hill!

Tie dye shirts for Elder Lacey's birthday

One of the friendly dogs

Hello everyone!! I hope you all had a great week!

We had some pretty awesome experiences this week! Well first we climbed some big hills to get around the city but that's not new haha!  

I was with another missionary for a day and I made a new dog friend .  To be honest dogs aren't my favorite here in Mexico because they always want to eat me, but this dog was cool.  Also we taught a super cool lesson!  The family lived in very humble circumstances and there were babies crying and the neighbors were playing mariachi music but when I shared my testimony about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon the Spirit was so strong!  So cool!

Also we taught someone who knew missionaries 20 years ago but lost contact with them.  She was having a rough time so she Googled how to pray and found our page! It was one of the most spiritual lessons I've taught and her prayer was so wonderful!  I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Salvador!

Also my wonderful mother sent me and birthday package and it had tie dye kit so Elder Pano and I made Tie Dye shirts today 

Speaking of Elder Pano we were talking and he was trying to describe an animal.  He forgot the name in Spanish and I didn't know what it was in Spanish.  But then he said, " It's like a handsome Turkey."  He was talking about a peacock  We were both laughing pretty hard after that.  But you gotta admit he's right!

Love Elder Lacey!

Elder Ojos Azules is back!

 

Aldo's baptism

New hammock!

Hey there friends and family!

I hope you all had a great week!  Elder Pano and I sure did!

First off, yes people have started calling me Ojos Azules (blue eyes) again.  These two older ladies liked my eyes a lot and kept saying they were going to steal them and all sorts of stuff.  Fun stuff!  They were very nice, just a little bold hahaha.

Speaking of my name I love seeing people write my name. It is the funniest thing  For all my life my name has been super easy for people but now no one can pronounce my name.  For example this one guy thought my name was Elder Leicer.  So Elder Pano likes to call me Elder Leicer  One time I couldn't open a package and he said, "Wow it must be Leicer-Proof!"  We were laughing for awhile after that

We had a baptism this week!! His name is Aldo and he is super awesome!  We've  been working with him for awhile and he is our age so it's been fun!  It is so awesome to see the gospel change people's lives!  The change and happiness they receive after the gospel is so evident!  Being a missionary is the best!

We had zone conference this week but it was online, but it was still so spiritual and awesome!!  

-Elder Lacey

Hamacas y Cumpleaños

Huge Iguana!

Que tal como esta? I hope you all had such an incredible week!! This week wasn't too crazy but we had such amazing lessons and spiritual moments so it was amazing!! Well I did have one crazy moment. I bought a hammock and it's super cool looking so I was impatient to use it. We didn't have the right hooks so I tried using these pillars outside of our house. Turns out the pillars aren't the sturdiest things in the world and crumbled😂 Elder Pano and I had a pretty good laugh though.😂😂 We finally found the right hooks for the hammock and now we just need a rope so I'll send pictures of my hammock next week! I also finished my English fast today!! I tried talking to Elder Pano in English but it is so difficult because I'm so used to talking to him in Spanish. Also English is hard and I forget a lot of words so I'll stick with Spanish because it makes more sense to me😂 The English fast was such a cool experience though! I'm not like amazing in Spanish by any means but I believe I've improved haha. ALSO I CAN FINALLY ROLL MY Rs SO HALLELUJAH. Only took me 19 years😅 Something I have grew to appreciate more this week is why the mission is so great. My absolute favorite thing about being a missionary is that we are representatives of Jesus Christ. I feel like my relationship with him has grown so much and I can feel a small portion of the love he has for these people. It's truly such a tender miracle to be here sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know he lives. I know that because he lives all injustices will be righted swallowed up in love if we choose him. How lucky and blessed we all are to have him has our Redeemer, Savior, and Older Brother. Love Elder Lacey (Thanks for all the birthday wishes😊)