Last Letter!

Ola Minha Família! 

I dont even know were to begin. I am so thankful for the things I have learned on my mission. I am so full of gratitude. 

You all know my favorite scripture is Helaman 5:12 and I know without a doubt that it is true, it says, ´´ 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to dag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo,because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.´´ I have seen this everyday on my mission every missionary, family, branch, ward,or individual who was truly built upon Christ, did not and could not fall! 

I also thought about and listened to 'Savior Redeemer of my Soul' throughout my mission and I feel like it applies even more too my life now thinking back on my mission. It says

Savior, Redeemer of my soul,

Whose mighty hand hath made me whole,

Whose wondrous pow'r hath raised me up

And filled with sweet my bitter cup!

What tongue my gratitude can tell,

O gracious God of Israel.

2. Never can I repay thee, Lord,

But I can love thee. Thy pure word,

Hath it not been my one delight,

My joy by day, my dream by night?

Then let my lips proclaim it still,

And all my life reflect thy will.´´

 It explains perfectly how I feel. He has made me whole through out my mission I cannot repay him for this 18 months that I was blessed to share for the things I have learned on my mission and I will proclaim it still and all my life reflect his will! 

I cried this week as I read in Jacob 5 that chapter is all about missionary work. In verse 72 it says,´´72 And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.´´ I have labored with the Lord these last 18 months in Portugal, and I cried out of gratitude and sadness that it may be my last time to labor along side him in Portugal. I love him! 

This is God's work! He is our Father and he loves us! He sent his son, our Savior! As the apostles testified in 2000, I add my testimony to theirs that, ´´Jesus is the living Christ, the immortal Son of God... he is the light the life, and the hope of the world.´´  I know that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer. Never before have I felt such a love for my Savior as we have labored together in this great and marvelous work. He is my Savior, my redeemer my best friend. Oh how I love him and his gospel. It truly is good news!

Eu amo vocês! Eu amo meu Salvador! Isso é a Igreja dele! E ele vive e via voltar para reinar aqui na terra! 

Com tanto amor, Sister Lacey

https://countingdownto.com/

Nasceu O Salvador, O Melhor Natal

They got Heart Attacked 

Family Home Evening

Food from the Branch members :-)

Portugal :-)

Ola Minha Família!

Hey Guys! I cannot believe how amazing it was to talk to all of you on Christmas. It was seriously amazing and to make it even better Brooke and I were able to talk for the first time in a year! It was seriously so fun! I just loved being able to share advice for each other and to see that we are both happy and learning so much! And yes we cried for most of the time. 

I loved this week of Christmas! I am not going to lie I was a little sad to not be home for Christmas again but this week was amazing! It was amazing to be a missionary for one more Christmas. Like I shared  during Skype Sister Selk and I were just overwhelmed with the gratitude for our callings! We recited our purpose and sobbed as we said, ´´As disciples of Jesus Christ our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ...´´ we then recited the young women theme and cried even harder as we said,´´We are daughters of our Heavenly Father who loves us and we love him.``  I love our Young Women theme and it is of even more significance to me now then ever before. 

I know that it is not Christmas anymore but I wanted to share the things I learned this last week. 

In Luck 2:10-11 the angel says to the Shepard, ´´...Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.´´

I have read this scripture many times but as Sister Selk and I talked about it she explained the way her dad looks at this scripture. First of all the angel said to´´ fear not´´ and then he says ´´which shall be unto all people´´ that is why I love the video A savior is Born because it shows that Christ was born to save not just some people but all people and I testify that this is true! I have seen it here in Portugal, and with Brookie in Japan. But more than that he was born for all people the angel said,´´unto you´´ meaning the Savior was born unto me, unto you, each of us individually! We are so blessed for this knowledge that we have. 

Sister Selk and I also loved prepared a message to share with the members this past week. It was actually really cool because we were feeling that we need to share about Christ and that he is the Light of the World and then we listened to Elder Bednars talk for the Christmas devotional. This is what we shared in our message. we started in 3 Nephi 1:9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.1 19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day.And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.´´ We then had the memeber s imagine that they were there and we had them imagine that they were about to be put to death but not only the sign of Christ birth but his light, he saved them.

We then had them imagine that 33 years had passed and now it is the sign of Christs death it says in chapter 8 20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness; 23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the  groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come  upon them.´´ Can you you see the great contrast of his birth and his death? 

And then going forward 3 days this is the first thing Christ said as he appeared saying 11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world;and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath  given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.´´

I testify that Christ is the Light of this world. We have nothing to fear he is our Savior. I love him! 

Eu amo vocês!! 

Com amor, Sister Lacey