Merry Christmas!!

First off I want to say Merry Christmas and it was amazing to Skype you guys yesterday! I love you all!

So first off I wanted to share something I noticed this week. It is a comfort to know that whenever something hard happens in life there are always going to be people to help out and no matter what we will always have our Savior! This week I have been realizing more and more that God answers peoples prayers through other people. I have seen a lot of people give this time of year weather it be giving Christmas presents to people who are going through a financial struggle or just giving someone counsel when they are going through a hard time.

I have had an amazing week this week! It is crazy all that I can learn in just one week as a missionary! One thing that I have learned is that as a missionary you not only realize how much the Holy Ghost is speaking to you but I have also realized that you understand when Satan is also working on you and trying to tare you down. It has been a blessing to realize that more because then I can tell myself that it is Satan saying I am not good enough and not it really being true. (I hope that makes sense!) That being said, I am having an amazing time here in Salmon! I am learning a lot and we are so blessed! You are exactly right when you said that this is sacred time!

A miracle that we are able to witness came from talking with everyone. We went to go visit this one guy and talked for him a little bit but he had to go to work so we started going back to the car. We heard someone chopping wood a few houses down and Sister Gaston went over and asked if we could help. They said that they were almost done and that they do not need help so then we asked if we could come over later that night and he said yes! So we went over and taught him the first lesson. His name is Nick and he is amazing! He already has so much faith in God but had never really been brought up to go to church but is willing to go when he knows more! It was amazing!

My testimony has also grown of praying for specific things. A few weeks ago Sister Gaston and I prayed that we could find a teenage boy to teach so that a young man in one of our wards can go teaching with us and get excited for his mission coming up. Anyways, later that day after we prayed we went to a house and the lady we visited was a less-active and has a teenage son and his friend were over! Then this past week we were able to teach one of them! I hope and pray that he prays and wants to learn more! Right now he is not really sure if there is even a God so I hope he tried praying!

Something cool that happened this week was that we were able to attend a Methodist service for Christmas! It was my first time going to another church! We got invited be this young man's mom. The young man just got baptized last year into our church. Anyways, she invited us and we were able to attend and it was a great experience!

This past week we read one of my favorite parts in the Book of Mormon! My family and I always like the part in Alma 44:10 when Moroni says, "Behold, we will end the conflict." I love that he is so willing to do God's will and also that he is so willing to give his enemies so many chances to surrender. It is my goal to be more and more like Moroni as my mission/life go on!

Love,
Sister Lacey

Jack Frost needs to Chill ;)

It's getting cold in Idaho!!

Hello everyone!!! 

So to explain my subject.... It's cold here :D 

That being said, I am very blessed with a warm car that we drive around in! 

My companion and I were able to witness so many miracles this week! My companion has taught me that they more you get to know someone the more you love them and man is she right! The more I am here in Salmon getting to know everyone, it is amazing the love I feel for them! There are so many people in this world who are hurting and they just need to talk to someone and feel Christ's love for them. I am so grateful for this time of year and how everyone wants to serve others.

I know that God hears and answers our prayers. So we have been working with this family since before I even came to Idaho and their baptism date was forDecember 16th. We had a lesson with them last week on Wednesday and they told us that they would have to move their baptism for the 30th because the father would have to work on weekends. (Someone had quit their job and he would have to cover until they hired someone else) We were all a bit bummed out because we all know how ready they are to be baptized, so Sister Gaston and I started to pray that they would be able to find someone to be hired so he does not have to work on weekends again. On Friday, we received an amazing text that they were able to get baptized on the 16th again!!! We were so excited and we later found out that they were able to hire someone else! Heavenly Father answers our prayers!

Ok so something funny that happens here when we ask people for referrals. So if people do not let us share a message with them we try to always ask them for someone else we might be able to teach and it goes pretty much like this. (And dad you can decide if you want to include this in the blog haha)

Missionary: "Do you know of anyone who may be needing a message about Jesus Christ in their life right now?"

Random Person: Umm well I know the person a few doors down goes to your church

Missionary: ..................... Ok thank you!

What missionary is thinking: They already found Jesus!!!!!!

Another amazing miracle we had this week was with one of our recent converts who is 12. So we went over to his house and he had invited two of his friends to come and listen to the lesson as well! He was so excited to answer the questions that we asked and show his friends all that he had been learning this past two months. He is an amazing young man and is going to make an amazing missionary someday!

So it was pretty cool because one night Sister Gaston was praying that we would be the answer to someones prayers and it happened! We also pray every day before we leave to have the Holy Ghost with us to lead us and guide us. Well we decided to go see one of our investigators that we had not seen in a little bit and just visited with her for like 10 mins. Anyways we came back a few days later and she told us that about 15 min before we came she was praying that God would help her in her life because she feels like she is in a rut and then we came to her door! It was amazing! I am glad that God trusts Sister Gaston and I to do his work!

I want to end with one of my favorite scriptures and we read it this week!

21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

If any of you have questions about anything, ask God and have faith! Well I hope that all of you have an amazing week! I love you all so much! 

Love,

Sister Lacey

Over 2,000 views!

Sister Lacey's blog went over 2,000 views this past week! 

I am staying in Salmon!

Hello everyone! 

Ok first off.... CONGRATS to Jason and Brooke on their engagement!!!! I love you guys and I am so happy for you both!! I hope that you all had an amazing week! I had a great week but I feel like I cannot remember it for some reason!!

So first off we got transfer calls and I get to stay in Salmon!! So excited!! I am not going to miss a baptism of one of my favorite families!!

We had another fun run in with someone who does not like "organized religion"... And that is pretty tough when they just bag on everything you love for like 30 minutes... All you can do is just pray for them and tell them what you know to be true. 

This week was great being able to visit with member families. Sister Gaston and I pray and ask God which families in the wards we serve in know someone is ready to hear about the gospel. So we were able to meet with some families and talk with them. It was awesome! Being able to work with members is the best way to do missionary work!

Thursday night was amazing! Last week we went out with our Ward Mission leader and he was able to help us get in a door that we had been trying to get in for like 2 months (we could never get them when they were home). Anyways, we had a great first lesson with them then and then on Thursday we had another amazing lesson with them! In one week the wife had listen to all of 1 and 2 Nephi!!! That was an amazing miracle! Then her husband said that he is willing to try this out because he feels like there is something missing in his life. They are such a cool family! We had a church tour with them and they said that they would like to be baptized! They also came to church on Sunday. 

We are also teaching this young man who is in high school and his little sister got baptized earlier this year. He was sick this week which is not always good but since he was sick he started reading the Book of Mormon! I can really tell that he wants to learn and that he wants more in his life!

So this week we were able to have a lesson over the phone. It was so spiritual! So I can not remember if I have told you about him yet but I know Sister Gaston has. So we were able to talk to Brent a little this week over the phone and man he is so ready for the gospel but something is just holding him back! When we taught a quick restoration over the phone and after Sister Gaston recited the First Vision, Brent was just crying and said, "That's amazing". It was an amazing experience!

I was pretty bummed out yesterday because I woke up early in the morning and I had the stomach flu so I was not able to go to church and I really wanted to. Man being sick any time is bad but being sick as a missionary is the worst! I was grateful though because I was able to get a priesthood blessing and I know that it was from my Heavenly Father! The Priesthood is the best and I am so grateful for worthy men who hold the priesthood!

Well I hope you all have an amazing week! I love you all and make sure this month that you all #LightTheWorld!! I want to share this scripture with you guys. It is one that my mission president shared with us. 

Alma 19:6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the LIGHT which did LIGHT up his mind, which was the LIGHT of the glory of God, which was a marvelous LIGHT of his goodness—yea, this LIGHT had INFUSED such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the LIGHT of everlasting life was LIT up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—

Missionary work is the best!! Be a light to others!!

Love,

Sister Lacey