Grateful!

With President!

Jani at the temple

 

Elder Lacey lost some weight in Mexico!

This is my last weekly email which is so crazy!  These past two years have gone by so incredibly fast!

I was reading the last letters of all of my siblings and I loved seeing the common themes between Clay, Morgan, Brooke, Jason, and Heather; the common themes of how much they love the people, how grateful they are, their testimonies of the restored Gospel and the Book of Mormon, and especially their testimonies of Jesus Christ.  I absolutely loved reading their letters.

A recent convert, Jani, who I taught over a year ago, who got baptized, went through the temple to get endowed this week!  She is going on a mission next month.  I was able to go to the temple with her and it was such a special experience!  It is such an amazing opportunity to see someone learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and then now prepare to go teach it.  I am certain that the temple is the house of the Lord.  His presence is evident there! Being able to go through the temple with someone I taught was the best way to experience my last week as a full time missionary.

I would like to join my testimony with the testimony of my siblings.  I feel like my heart broke when I left my home and now I feel like it's going to break again leaving Oaxaca.  I'm not exactly sure where my heart came together again.  I love the people of Oaxaca I came here to teach them but they have taught me so much.  I feel like I'm leaving my family and best friends between missionaries, members, and people I taught.  

I am so truly grateful for these two years.  Something I have learned is that the Lord doesn't necessarily need our help to do his work.  He is God and has power to do all things.  But he lets us participate in this work so we can learn and grow and how grateful I am for it! 

Reflecting on the mission now it is so easy to see the Lord's hands at work, I feel like the adversary works so hard so we forget these moments that were once so clear.  But I know that we can protect ourselves thanks to the Book of Mormon, it is truly safety for the soul.  I have yet to meet a person who has truly read and studied the Book of Mormon and then asked God with a sincere heart who hasn't received an answer that it is the word of God.  I know the Book of Mormon is true, I have seen its witness of Jesus Christ change lives.  I know Joseph Smith translated it as he said he did and that he is the Prophet of the Restoration and the Russel M. Nelson is God's prophet today.

And finally I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, Redeemer, and Friend.  As missionaries we represent Jesus Christ and have the opportunity to feel a portion of the love He has for us.  I know he loves us and knows us.  He cries with us, and laughs with us.  I know he died and suffered for me.  Thanks to this I know I will live again and can have the same Joy he has.  I love Him!

¡Yo se que el Señor vive!  Yo se que esta es la iglesia de Jesucristo!  Yo se que las familias puden ser eternas!  ¡Les amo!

Pics

Pictures in the temple 

Pictures I found of me giving trainings that I thought were funny and of me sharing my testimony 

With President 

A picture of me when I first got here because I think it's funny how chubby I was

Elder Lacey comes home!!

Greg comes home!!

Nachoooo

 

Howdy!  These past two weeks have been great!  We have had more time to work in our area and that has been great!  Being able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ is something so special!  Not everyone let's us come in to share a message or sometimes they get mad at us but it always helps my own testimony grow.

I think one of the biggest things I have learned as a missionary is the we truly to have a Loving Heavenly Father.  That is usually the first principle we teach people, it's basic and most people belive something like it but I think it is so powerful.  God is all-powerful and all knowing but his glory and his purpose is that we can have joy like him.  How special is that?  Being here in the offices I've had the opportunity to work with President closely and see him act as a representative of Jesus Christ and help other missionaries and me come closer to Christ.  I am certain the God laughs with us and cries with us.  We truly have a loving Heavenly Father!

Last pday we went to play lazertag!  That was fun!  My team won

This week was also the tour all the missionaries go on before they go home.  I've gone a few times but this time it was actually for me and I was in the pictures instead of taking them hahaha.

We went to the street where the filmed a scene from Nacho Libre!!  It's the scene where he jumps on the guys back while he's eating tortilla chips jajajaa.  Photos below

I know that prayer is real!  If you haven't been praying recently or if your prayers haven't been as meaningful as you would like set goals to pray more often or study in the scriptures how you can make them more meaningful.  One of the secretaries here in the offices, Elder Flores is from the Domincan Republic and he has such powerful prayers!  His prayers are so genuine and it's like he's talking as if God was right un front of him and that's how it should be!  God truly answers are prayers!  I love this gospel!