I hit 9 months!

Hump Day!

Hello Y'all!!

I hope that all of y'all had a great week!! Ours was good!! We had a lot of learning experiences that were not too easy but that is one reason we are on missions right? To learn from hard experiences!

So lately it has been a little rough because most of our Potential Investigators the past few weeks have been canceling our lessons. It is always frustrating but I know there is a reason for all things! All we have to do is endure to the end I know that we will be blessed! 

So last Tuesday we had service in the morning with chopping wood. I think I am getting pretty good at it! I'll send you some pics and a video. That night though we were able to meet with one of our progressing investigators who wants to be baptized! He is so amazing! He was stressing a bit because he thought he would have to take a test in order to be baptized so he was trying to cram all the information in that he could haha. We told him that he doesn't need to take a test and that it was our job to make sure that he knows everything that he needs to to be baptized. I think that put him at ease and now he is doing better!

On Wednesday I hit my 9 month mark! So crazy! Two elders in my district actually came out with me, so we were in the MTC together and we all took 9 month pics together! Y'all are in for a treat haha! Later that day, the Primary President in one of our wards asked us to teach a couple 8 year old boys about baptism before they get baptized. It was a cool experience! One of the boy's family is less-active so it was good to be able to teach his parents as well! We are hopefully going to go see them soon and see if we can help them come back to church!

One amazing miracle that happened to us this week was due to the promptings of the Holy Ghost! (Then again that's were all of them come from haha) We stopped randomly at this one house and it was a member so we went inside and talked with her for a little and then asked her for referrals. She gave us this one family and then we left. I can't remember why but we were not planning on visiting that referral that night but on our way home the Spirit told us to stop at this one house so we did. We talked for a little and they told us that we could come back! The next day we wanted to go look up that referral and guess what?! The house that the Spirit told us to knock on was that referral! I thought that was so cool!!! I love how the Spirit works! I will keep you posted on them! 

On Friday I was able to go to a meeting and I realized that I have a lot of stuff to work on as a missionary haha! Good thing I have little over 9 months to figure things out! I am grateful though that our Savior does not expect us to be perfect! He just wants us to try our best and that is all that He asks for! 

On Saturday we had a really awesome lessons with a man that we are teaching. We had a lesson with him earlier in the week and we were a little concerned for him. He seemed to be losing interest and seemed like he maybe would not want to meet anymore. We invited him to read the Book of Mormon for 5 minutes everyday and then come to church with us. He basically said no to church but said that he would read the Book of Mormon. We came back to visit him on Saturday night and had an amazing lesson! He said that he did not feel a difference from reading the Book of Mormon but we sure saw the difference! He was willing to come to church and we could tell that his testimony of the Book of Mormon was growing! The next day he came to church and  he stayed for all 3 hours which he has not done before! I am so grateful that I am able to serve in this area at this time to meet these amazing people! 

So lately in my personal study I have been trying to make more of an effort to study the life of Jesus Christ and how He treated people and loved people! It has truly been a blessing! He loves us so much! I am reading the New Testament, Jesus the Christ, and watching the Bible Videos made by the church and I am learning so much! I am so grateful for how forgiving He is and how much He wants us to succeed! I invite all of you to do the same! Study the life of our Savior and we will know how we need to treat our brothers and sisters!

I love all of you so much and I am so grateful for the time I have to be a missionary! I know that this is the Saviors church and I am so grateful I get to share that with others everyday! I love y'all! Be safe and have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lacey

"I will be what I Believe"

Hello Everyone!!

First off, I am so sorry that I have not written a weekly email the past few weeks. The past few P-days have been busy! 

Anyways, the past few weeks have had their share of ups and downs but we just have to trust in God and know that He is there for us every step of the way and is ALWAYS helping us! That is something that I have learned, God will never leave us alone! Especially when we need Him the most!

So last week, as a district, we were able to go to the Rexburg temple as a district and it was amazing! The spirit in the temple is like no other place on earth! Heavenly Father actually gave me a tender mercy while I was in the temple. I was in the temple and I was missing my dad. There was this lady that was in the temple and  she saw my last name and asked if I was a college student and I told her I was a missionary. She said that she new people from Southern California and I said that's where I was from. She then asked me if my dad was Marc!! I was like "YES!!" She said that she was the Stake young women's President in Covina when my dad got baptized when he was 16!!! It was such a tender mercy to meet someone who knows my dad! 

We had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators who wants to be baptized. We have not been able to meet with him for a few weeks but then we were able to this week and it was amazing! He is so excited about the gospel and learning more! He asks so many great questions and goes and buys new study materials all of the time! It is so cool to witness people who are so excited about learning more about Jesus Christ's church!

Last night we had a lesson with 2 young boys about the Plan of Salvation and they were engaged and learned so quickly. Lately, we have been encouraged to work with youth more so we have been going into the Young Men's, Young Women's and Primary a lot and I love it! I understand why in the scriptures it talks about us becoming like little children! They have such strong faith! So to explain my title of this email... I was having a rough weekend of the adversary just telling me that I wasn't a good missionary and I was just being too hard on myself. On Sunday, it was just amazing the love that I felt when I came to church. All of the members were so kind and asking us how we are doing and then we walked by the Primary room and they were singing, "I will be what I believe!" and it was another tender mercy from Heavenly Father! I love that song! If you have not heard it, you should go look it up! I love those little moments when you know that God is there for you not matter what!

We had another really amazing lesson with another one of our investigators and he said that he thinks that his wife sent sister missionaries to this area because he can't say no to sisters :) he is progressing well and I love him! 

I love how easily it is to love people when you truly get to know them and serve them! We were able to do a lot of service this week and I love it! It helps remind me that we are sent here to be the Lord's representatives and we need to do the things that He would do! I love all of you and hope that you all have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lacey

I need someone to feed my sheep

Hey Y'all!

I hope you have had a wonderful week!! I am so excited that I get to share with you guys about my week now! So where to begin?!

So last Monday we were able to teach this little 8 year old girl about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we told her that Christ's church was off the Earth for a long time but through Joseph Smith it was brought back! She then asked us with excitement, "What church is it?!" Sister Yun pointed to her name tag and told her that it was this church! She had the biggest smile on her face and was so excited to hear that! I love little children's faith!

So we were able to have Zone Conference this week and man it was truly amazing! I get so excited when Zone Conference comes around because it gives me that extra boost you need as a missionary! This transfers topic was based on what our Mission President always tells us to do which is, "Work hard. Be obedient. And have fun!". All the members from the mission presidency spoke and they were all so amazing! One member of the mission presidency can memorize passages from the scriptures and then he quotes it to us! This Zone Conference, he quoted the parable of the 10 Virgins and related it to use about how we need to be obedient and add "oil" to our lamps. He also urged us to develop our talents! I just love that! God has given us so many gifts and we need to use them! I actually think I realized another one of my talents yesterday at church. We had the opportunity to speak in one of the wards we and I realized that I like speaking in front of people! As long as I have the Spirit with me to help me in what I say haha! I am going to try and develop that talent!

That night we were finally able to teach an investigator that I have not been able to meet yet. We were scared that he was ignoring us but then found out that he had actually been in the hospital for a week! Poor guy! Thankfully he is doing better now! He is such an amazing person and has such a strong desire to know the truth! He is one of the Lord's sheep that needs to be fed!

The next day we were able to teach a man that has been going to church for actually awhile! During the lesson he kept saying how there is something missing in his life and also that there is something special about the LDS church! I think it is so amazing being able to witness how so many people literally thirst for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and all we need to do is to open our mouths and tell them where they can find the truth!

On Friday I was able to attend another meeting and we watched a video there that is for all missionaries about how we can work with members and gain their trust! It reminds me of a quote from President Thomas S. Monson, "Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him." No one can do this work alone! We all NEED each other!

 During the talk I gave, I shared this quote from Elder Holland's 2012 Conference talk. I want to share it with you guys today! It is just so powerful! 

"I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me,and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world."

I would like to challenge all of you this week to pray to your Father in Heaven and ask Him what you can do this week to be His hands here on the Earth! I love you all so much and I want you all to know that I know that this is Jesus Christ's church! I know that through the Prophet Joseph Smith, He restored His church! Let's all share this happy message with EVERYONE! Love you!

Love,

Sister Lacey

Hey Everyone!!

Car selfies

Met a new friend when out knocking on doors

Yummy Korean food!

Hey Everyone!!

I hope that all of you guys have had an amazing week!! Ours was so good! 

So this week we the weather has been warming up and it has been the best! I even got sunburned!! I was so happy!! So just to explain Spring weather here in Idaho, on Tuesday I looked outside and it was completely sunny and you could see clouds in the distance so I decided to wear more sunny clothes. We go out tracting and it starts snowing..... Yeah it was great! Not really! The rest of the week was warm though so that was good! 

So this week Sister Yun and I have made the goal of making sure that we do talk to 10 new people a day and man we have seen the blessings from doing that! We have met over 60 new people this week and have a lot of potential people to teach! God is just waiting to bless us!

On Tuesday though we were able to meet this girl and set up an appointment with her! Long story short, she is our newest investigator!! She is so sweet! She thanked us for taking the time to share our faith with her and I think that was so cool! So many people just want to know about our faith and we just need to share it!

On Wednesday I was able to meet one of our progressing investigators and he seems more willing now then ever to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized! I know that God is preparing people EVERYWHERE to be baptized!

On Thursday we did a service project and I learned how to chop wood!! I feel like a true Idahoan now haha! We were able to do a lot of service this week actually and that is how I got sunburn but I need some color! It was good to be outside and do some yard work too!

Right now we are trying to work with the members a lot too and there are so many blessings that come from that! I feel like we all want to share the gospel, we just sometimes do not know how! 

I am so grateful to be in such a beautiful place! I am so grateful for this time I have to be a missionary and share my testimony with others! I know that the Book Of Mormon is the word of God! I know that if we follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost we do not need to fear in this life! I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lacey

Hello from Rigby!!

New companion, Sister Yun

Hello Everyone!!

I hope all of you guys have had a great week! Ours has been a crazy, long week but still amazing! So the first part of the week was crazy because we had to do a lot of missionary work, packing, cleaning, and saying good-bye. 

We headed up to Rexburg on Wednesday night to stay the night and then to Idaho Falls Thursday morning to get on the transfer train. We headed to the Rigby Transfer Site and I got my new comp!! Her name is Sister Yun and she is from South Korea! She has been out for 3 months and she is amazing! We are having so much fun together! I am excited to work with her for hopefully these next couple of transfers!

The members here in Rigby are amazing! The first night we were here we went to go visit this member but she did not answer. We went to the next door neighbors and were able to ask them for referrals and their son actually gave us his friends name. We went over there and she invited us right in and we talked with the mom for a little bit. We asked if she wanted a Book of Mormon and she said yes, and that she has always been curious about it. We are hopefully going to go see her this week sometime and teach her about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

On Saturday we had a once in a life time opportunity to hear from 2 of God's chosen Apostles! We were able to hear from Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Ulisses Soares. It was so amazing to receive council and guidance from 2 of God's chosen witnesses. A big thing that I learned from them was to learn to listen and rely on the Holy Ghost! It is so cool because we have been receiving that same guidance from our mission President and at General Conference from the Prophet of God! So amazing! We all need to follow this council. They also told us to become eloquent/ master teachers to help others come closer to Christ. I have been thinking a lot about this and I realized that the way we improve is by trying and then failing but then trying again. I forgot who said that in General Conference but anyways it reminded me of a talk from there. The Spirit was so strong during that meeting and I am so glad that I was able to hear from them!!

Church was great! We get to go to 3 Sacrament Meetings now instead of 2 so that's exciting! I am just trying to get to know the area as quick as possible and get to know everyone here! I love being a missionary so much! It is hard but it is so worth it to be able to find, talk and teach all that are willing to hear our message! I love you all and hope you all have a great week!!

Love,

Sister Lacey

I'm being transferred to...

Saying goodbye to new loved ones in your first
area can be as hard as leaving home :-(

The wind in Idaho :-0

Nighttime at the ranch... Between 9pm and 10:30pm...
Still obedient :-)

Hello Y'all!

I know you are probably all very curious to where I am being transferred to for the first time in my mission life but I had to wait forever so I am going to make you wait.... Just kidding!! I am being transferred to.... (Drum roll please!)... RIGBY SOUTH AREA!!!!!!

I have no idea really what goes on in Rigby but.... I really have no idea what goes on anywhere besides in my Salmon District haha! I am really excited! My new comp's name is Sister Yun. She just got done with her training so she has been out for about 3 months!

So to tell you a little about my week, it was seriously amazing! 

So on Tuesday we went on exchanges and I was with Hermana Bishop and... we had a mishap at the gas station... we took a video of what happen... Hope y'all enjoy!! Other than that exchanges were amazing! We were able to find a few potential investigators. We are also able to help the President Stokes on his ranch! We helped him tag the yearling heifers, which was fun but also a little scary haha! They are not use to being handled like the experienced female cows, it was good though!

So on Wednesday we were able to witness an amazing miracle!! A couple weeks ago the River ward put on an activity called the "Whitestorm" and so we decided to contact some of the referrals we receive from that activity. We went and say this couple and we were a little nervous because from the info we got made it seem like they did not like Missionaries very much. When we knocked on the door, they were a little cold to us but surprising they let us in! Sister Allen was praying the whole time that we can just have a good conversation and not have it end up being an anti-situation. It was actually a great conversation and they are our newest investigators now! God is good!! 

On Thursday we got the call that Sister Allen is training so that was pretty nice because then we basically new for sure that I was leaving. That was definitely a tender mercy because the Bills who have helped us SO much here were leaving on Sunday and if she wasn't training then we would not have been able to say good-bye! 

To top the whole week off, we were able to see one of our investigators get baptized! He is the sweetest little boy! I am so excited for him to receive the Priesthood soon! I started getting emotional during the baptism when we were teaching the first lesson when he was changing because the Spirit was so strong and because I knew it was going to be my last time witnessing a baptism in such an amazing place! I have truly been blessed to be able to start my mission in Salmon! It really is the Heart of Idaho!! 

Well I love you all so much! Thank you for the love and support that you give my and the missionaries around you! This is God's greatest work and I am so happy and grateful to be apart of it! Love y'all!!

Happy Easter!!

Sister Hulme got called to serve in Roseville California

Hello Everyone!! Happy Easter!!

I hope all of you have had an amazing week! Ours was so good! I cannot believe how much God loves all of us! He has given us so many blessings!

I am so grateful that we were able to hear from God's Prophet so many times this weekend. I am grateful for the guidance and council that we were able to receive. It reminded me of a scripture on Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 "...whether by mine own voice or by they voice of my servants, it is the same." We were literally able to hear what God wants us to know this weekend! What a BLESSING!!! And... we were able to sustain/support the Prophet Russel M. Nelson in the Solemn Assembly! The Spirit during that time was undeniable! 

So just to share something funny that happened this week! So the people we live with got two little piglets! They are so cute and live right next to us! I got permission to feed them a banana and lets just say... they are vicious! I will send a video of them attacking me for the banana! Haha

Sister Allen and I were able to witness an amazing miracle this week! So last week we had a district meeting and the main thing that the spirit spoke to my comp and I was to talk to everyone. So later that day we were tracting this trailer court and see these two people outside. We knew that we needed to go up and talk to them but... we were scared! Haha we decided to just do it anyways. They ended up being super nice and we ended up being able to come back and teach the woman. We had a lesson with her on Wednesday and it was AMAZING! She has such a strong testimony of her Savior! During the lesson I could feel for the great love her Father in Heaven has for her. That is one of my most favorite things about being a missionary, is feeling God's love for others. We are going to be teaching her again this week and I am so excited for it!

Another exciting thing happened this week! We were able to meet with one of our investigators we have not been able to meet with for awhile. It was really cool though because the way were able to get ahold of them was through facebook. They don't have very good signal to text or call but we can talk through Facebook! I am so grateful that we are able to use technology to how hasten the Lord's work!

I was able to finish the Book of Mormon this weekend and I know that it is from God. The Book of Mormon is a powerful witness that God loves all of His children and that Joseph Smith is was called to bring back Christ's church and to translate the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for the the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that Christ runs this church! I love you all and think and pray about you everyday! Don't be scared to share your testimony with others!

Love,

Sister Lacey