Feliz Navidad

 

Hey everyone!!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  My first Christmas here in Mexico was pretty fun!  I talked to my family in the morning and then we went to go eat  lunch with a family but they live super far.  We look for a taxi for about an hour and a half and couldn't find one.  Luckily our Bishop found us and helped us out so it was a Christmas miracle!  And then I helped the family paint their house so that was fun!

Something interesting I learned that here in Mexico the big Christmas party is on Christmas eve.  They don't do much Christmas day because they're recovering from the night before hahaha.

We had our ward Christmas party this week and it was a lot of fun!  There was a lot of piñatas but I didn't hit it once because I was blindfolded.  Shameful I know 

We hiked up a mountain again this morning so that was a ton of fun!  The member we went with brought his dogs and they were chasing one another and ran into me and swept my feet out from under me and I fell hahaha.  It was pretty funny 

Something I have been thinking about a lot this week is how grateful I am for the Lords help with Spanish.  I remember when I first got here and couldn't speak and I couldn't be myself and it was hard.  It felt like I would never learn Spanish.  But now I can be myself in Spanish and I love it!!  I think it is always so important to have hope!  If we're doing the things we should be doing things will always work out for the best!

In this Christmas season I've been thinking a lot about Jesus Christ and the need of a Savior.  Without him we would be completely lost and without hope.  But because of him we will live again and can find complete joy in this live!  I love him!

Elder Lacey

I am the Godfather

 

HOLA AMIGOS!  I hope you all had a great week!

Ok so about the title of the email, our friend Osiris is getting baptized next Sunday!  I am so excited!  So yesterday we asked her who she wanted to baptize her and she thought for a bit and then started crying and gave me a hug and said, "I want you to be my godfather."  I didn't have the heart to tell her right then that we don't have godfathers in the church so 

Something funny I realized this week is that my brain can't talk to people in English if it's in the street.  I can talk to missionaries in English or my family but if it's random people in the street my brain is in Spanish mode.  For example, last week we went to Mitla to play sports with some other Elders and Mitla is really touristy.  I started talking with some tourists on the bus and the three guys were from Germany, France, and Switzerland.  We got off the bus and a Mexican guy starts talking to us in English about prices for a car ride to this touristy area.  The European tourists didn't speak Spanish very well but they spoke English.  I was talking to them in Spanish and they couldn't understand me so they were like, "Can you speak English please?"  ANYWAY it was pretty funny because it was a Mexican, American, French, Swiss, and German and none of us were speaking our Native languages hahaha.  The same thing happened later in the week when I hoped in a taxi with two Koreans hahaha it's so much fun!!!

We also had our mission Christmas party this week!  It was so much fun to see friends and learn more about how to be better missionaries as well!  We had a talent show and my district did a skit about all the reasons our appointments fall through hahaha.  Also we all received packages from our families and it was  so amazing!  Thanks mom!

I'm so grateful for this Christmas season!  It is truly such a blessing to remember the birth of our Lord and Savior.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to share with people that his Atonement can change their lives and carry them through their trials.  It is such an amazing experience and I love it!

Christmas Time

 

HOLA AMIGOS, BUENOS DÍAS!  I am much more awake today because we went for a hike this morning and it was so pretty!  I don't know why exactly but being a missionary has made me love nature so much more!  Especially watching the sunrise this morning with all the Oaxacan mountains was so pretty!  I also ran a little bit and it felt so good!  I think it might be because I've lost about 20 or more pounds since the last time i went for a run hahah.  For anyone who wants to lose weight I would highly suggest the Salina Cruz diet (Cerros, Calor, y Caldo) 

This week was really good!  We worked a lot trying to help some members of the church who haven't come in awhile.  Covid hurt the church attendance here a bit, but we getting it back up little by little and it's so great to see people come to church who haven't been for awhile!

I was talking with some members and they asked me what my first name was so I told them Gregory and they said that people named Gregorio have the nickname of Goyo or goyito AND I LOVE IT HAHAHA.

Also here in El Tule they're kinda going all out for Christmas and I love it!  There are lights everywhere and music and it is so pretty!  I love Oaxaca!

Also, I have been thinking a lot this week about how much God loves us.  I

t is such a special experience to testify to people who feel so alone that they have a Father in Heaven who loves them and cares about them.  Also my sister Morgan sent me a quote from Elder Holland that I love so much and I know that is true  

“Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful,  especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it.”

I testify that God lives and that he loves you!  Remember that!

Love Elder Lacey!

Servicio

 

Service Project

Lost...

Oaxaca

 

HOLA AMIGOS!  I hope everyone is doing well!

Ok to start of with a pretty cool experience from this week, we're teaching our friend Osiris who isnt a member yet but her husband is.  Years ago she hated the missionaries and would like throw them out of her house and stuff hahaha.  But now the Lord has softened her heart and she is so ready!  She told us that she just wants to know what church is true and I told her Joseph Smith wanted to know the same thing and I shared his story and the spirit was so strong and special.  In another lesson we were talking about baptism and all the blessings it brings and we shared our testimony with her and then her husband shared his and that all he wants is to be sealed with her for time and all eternity in the temple!  The spirit was so special!  We extended a baptismal date and asked her to pray if it was correct in that moment.  When she finished the prayer she was crying and said she knew its what she needs to do.  It was such a special experience! 

Also this week we had a big service project with a few stakes here in Oaxaca!  We cleaned up this big park and it was a ton of fun!  There were over 100 people there and some tourists from San Diego who are members saw us and jumped in to help hahaha.  I even bought a machete and I'm very attached to it if I'm being honest  also we had to wear yellow to the service project but I dont have any yellow shirts so this one lady let us borrow some and I wore a pretty sick yellow Polo

Also something interesting about being a missionary is i don't have fear of things i did before.  For example yesterday during church and during the sacrament i was feeling extra grateful for our Savior and his love for us.  So I went up and bore my testimony.  Before the mission I was always so nervous to do that but now it's not really a big deal and its in a different language haha.  The Lord really does help us grow and improve!

I think it is so special that we have a Savior.  Without him we would be a fallen people but because of him we have the opportunity to grow and to improve!  I know that we feel more Joy the closer we are to Jesus Christ!  So I invite you especially during this wonderful Christmas season to playfully ponder what things in your life are keeping you from Christ, and what things you can do that would bring you closer to him!  I promise that as you do so you will feel so much more light and peace and you will know our Savior like never before!

Les amo!