"Perfection Comes Not in this Life, But in the Next"

Temple

Garden by the Temple 

愛する家族へ

Hello everyone! Thank you for the emails and pictures! I'm g,ad you
are having a great summer vacation! This week was really good! Our
lesson with our member referral didn't quite go as planned but
hopefully she'll come around again soon! We were able to go to the
temple on Tuesday and it was amazing as usual. It definitely refills
me spiritual and gives me an extra boost. I also had my last zone
conference. I had a lot of mixed emotions. Zone conference was perfect
and it was everything that I needed to hear. Leading up to conference
j was really nervous and had mixed emotions about me going home soon
and it just felt so weird giving my final testimony but right after I
bore my testimony I felt overwhelming peace and comfort. I know my
time to go home will come and I will be heartbroken to leave Japan but
I know ending my mission isn't ending everything. I can still learn
and progress after, I just need to work as hard as I can right now and
serve others and not think about myself and I will feel that same
peace and comfort when the end comes.

I just wanted to share something I learned the other day. I was
watching the Mormon Message "Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them" by
President Russell M. Nelson. He talks about how if we have faith we
can handle difficult times because we have an eternal perspective and
know all will be well.

He says, "People are afraid. Men's hearts are failing them and that
includes women. Because they forget their identity and their purpose."
I find it so sad when I talk to people on the street and ask them what
they think the purpose of life is and many times they never have
thought about it or they don't even care. I have trying a lot more to
have Christlike love for everyone I speak with and that comes with
blessings and also trials. The blessing is that I have pure love for
people and want to help them, the trial is I get heartbroken when
people reject their Savior and I just wish they would open their
hearts.

President Nelson also says that heartaches will come but we need to be
patient with ourselves [and others]. Perfection comes not in this
life, but in the next." We need to not want or demand things that are
out of reach but we need to strive for improvement. I testify to what
President Nelson says is true and if we let the Lord help us, He will
make up the difference because He is full of love and mercy.

This morning I was reading in Mormon and it goes along with the Mormon
message. Moroni is crying out to our generation for us to trust in the
Lord and not fall away. He saw his people die and become extinct and
he testifies and pleads and asks "Why are ye ashamed to take upon you
the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of
an endless happiness than that misery which never dies--because of the
praise of the world?"

I pray that we are all never ashamed to take upon the name of Christ
and we don't let our hearts fail us because of the troubles of the
world. I know that if we keep an eternal perspective in mind then we
will accept our Saviors mercy and we can allow Him to strengthen us.
We need to be aware and accept the fact that we and others are not
perfect, but we are striving to be. We all need our Savior and
Redeemer.

I love you all very much! Thank you for your examples and continues
love and support. Have a great and safe week! Aishiteimasu!

レイシー姉妹より

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Over 7,000 views!!

Sister Lacey's blog went over 7,000 views this week!  Thank you to those who continue to show interest and support as she serves her mission in Japan.

"Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage."

皆さん、こんにちは！

Thank you all for your emails! I love you all! This week I have
learned a lot and have seen so many tender mercies of the Lord. It
started off with a rough week but I can say without a doubt that I
know the Lord is guiding this work.

On Monday, we finally were able to meet with Saito... She ended up
kind of dropping us... But I know that was God's will. We asked her if
she received any answer to her prayers and then she said "yes, God
told me to tell the missionaries my true feelings and I don't want to
change my life right now." As soon as she said that it answered my
prayers and I felt peace. I believe that was Heavenly Father helping
us know she's not ready and we need to find others who are ready and
focus on them. I was still pretty sad but I kept praying so diligently
that we would finally find prepared people. I read Mosiah 24 and it
helped bring me so much comfort.

14 And I will also ease the aburdens which are put upon your
shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while
you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses
for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord
God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma
and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them
that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit
cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their
patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be
of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

Let's just say we are starting to see the fruits of our labors! Last
Sunday, a YSA member told us he might have a referral for us soon. He
said to pray for him that he would be able to share the gospel with
his friend. Well, Saturday, while we were out finding we get a phone
call from Akiyama Kyoudai. He asked us what we were doing and we said
we were finding and then he said, "well I found someone for you to
teach!" It was the greatest phone call I have ever received. We are
meeting with Izumi later tonight. I don't think I've studied or prayed
more in my entire life.

Last week our zone was focusing on meaningful contacts and a few days
ago we set the goal to talk to 100 people. About the 90th person we
talked to was Aya. She is Japanese but studied in America and her
husband is Nigerian. She said her husband is Christian and sometimes
she goes to church but she has a lot of interest in our english
programs for her 15 year old son. She also has a 3 year old daughter
and asked if we could teach her and we mentioned we have a family
eikawa program and she had a lot of interest! We exchanged phone
numbers and she has been in contact with us. We planned to meet this
Saturday and we will give her a church tour. I can truly testify that
God hears and answers prayers.

I am loving being a missionary and I am so grateful for my Heavenly
Father and for His guidance. I have a new motto which is everyday I
tell myself, "It's a great day to be a missionary!" Kinda cheesy but
it helps me have a positive attitude and enjoy everything, excluding
the difficult times. Thank you all for everything! I love and miss you
all so much!

Love, Sister Lacey

P.S. Quick funny story. We were out finding around the lake yesterday
and this guy in maybe his 50s was running and he had a shirt that said
"run!" On it. I said (in English) "ah, I like his shirt." Then he
kinda looks at me and said thanks and kinda caught me off guard. Well
he is a really good runner because he passed us around the lake like 3
times. On of the times he stopped to talk to us and ask who we were.
He said he knows of our church and he wanted a flyer. He said how we
were doing good work and we also talked about running a little. It was
just funny and every time he would pass by us again we would high five
or cheer him on. Anyways, moral of the story. Well I'm not really
sure. But give people compliments!! I love you all!

P.P.S. Another story, more on the scary side. We were walking down a
busy street doing finding and a guy comes up behind us and starts
talking to us. The feeling was really weird and I could tell it was
bad news. He kept asking us questions and wouldn't stop following us.
He then asked if we would go to his house with him and i of course
told him no and tried to ignore him. When we realized he still
wouldn't leave, We told him we were missionaries and asked if he had
interest and he said no then we said "okay, then bye!" But still no
luck. I called the elders and they talked to him on the phone. He was
finally starting to get the hint. Then he tried to give me a hug
goodbye but I think I may have thrown my hands in to fists because
when I said "DEKINAI!" He kinda took a few steps back and said "sorry,
sorry" and look a little scared and then we walked away. The end.

I hope you all got a good laugh :-)

Sent from my iPad

Transfer 11

Good morning everyone!

This has been a crazy week! It was so hard saying goodbye to Sister
Solomon. We had to separate in a busy train and I was practically
pushed out of the train as we yelled goodbye to each other. Gotta love
trains in Tokyo. So my new companion is Sister Batchelor from Arizona.
She's 19 and so cute and has a lot of good desires and I'm excited to
see the miracles this transfer!

This email will be a little short so I'm sorry about that! Since I'm
still in Mito I rearranged the whole apartment, well as much as I
could, so it felt new to me. This is the first time I've stayed this
long in an area and I want to make sure I haven't gotten too
comfortable. The ward members were definitely really surprised that I
stayed but to my reassurance they do seem happy to still have me and
also they know I'm training again so they kept telling me, "wow you're
an amazing missionary so you're training again!" (Totally not the
case) and it kinda worked out though because we received two new
referrals yesterday from members! I'm really excited to meet with them
in the coming weeks!

The other day I was talking with President Nagano and just expressing
some concerns and asked for advice and he helped me so much. He said,
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." Whatever has
happened, today can be totally different and we can live each day with
perfect brightness of hope."

I'm grateful for his counsel and help he has given me. We can always
keep trying. It just reminds me of Elder Hollands talk that as long as
we desire we will be blessed. Let us keep pressing forward with a
perfect brightness of hope!

I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and support! Aishiteimasu!

Love, Sister Lacey

Training again!!!

Mother's Day Skype

Conference with Elder Yamashita 

Ohayo Gozaimasu Everyone!

It was so amazing to skype you all yesterday! I love and miss you all
so much. Happy Mother's Day! Okay, I'm sure you're all wondering
what's happening with transfers... So.. I'm staying in Mito. Annnddd
I'm training again!!! President Nagano said I'll probably finish my
mission here. I'm really excited but also nervous. Sometimes I like
transfers because it kinda gives you another boost if you start to get
too comfortable in an area. If I do stay here until the end I'll have
been here in Mito for 7 months! But I know this is meant to be. I have
felt like I'm not finished here yet, and after the Elder Yamashita
conference, I've set new goals and I'm excited for what's to come!
Part of me is confused why I was asked to train again because there
are a lot of missionaries who may have seen more "success" but I know
I will see many new miracles with my new bean chan. I don't know who
she is yet but I will find out on Wednesday! There's also a good
chance I'll train a Japanese Sister! I'm so excited! Sister Solomon is
going to the city. She's headed to SHIBUYA! It was seriously my dream
to serve there but I know I'm needed here. She's actually going to be
with one of my previous companions, Sister Parker!

Last week was seriously so amazing but busy. On Thursday, we had the
Elder Yamashita conference, Friday we taught Kodomo eikaiwa and
visited with members, Saturday we visited some less active's and also
had a lesson with some members but during all this Sister Solomon was
preparing a talk for sacrament and I was preparing the relief society
lesson because we were asked to teach it. We just have been super busy
but I love being busy!

I learned so much at the conference and it was seriously exactly what
I needed to give me a push to the end. I was almost in tears the whole
time just by feeling the Spirit so strongly. One of the main things I
learned is I need to show more love to the people of Japan. Sometimes
I think I was holding back because it's so hard when the people I love
and serve reject our message but I realized I need to not let myself
get in the way because if I show love and talk to people from my
heart, they will be open to hearing our message. Another thing I
really learned, well, more like was reminded of, was that I need to
stop thinking about myself and I have no time to be discouraged. I
learned that the people in Japan are very special and they are waiting
and need to hear the gospel. I know I need to try harder in everything
I do as a missionary to find my eternal friends. All of my questions I
had wanted to ask were answered in the conference. I learned a lot
about following the Spirit and how to do so but I especially learned
that I can use and feel the power of the Atonement at anytime and I
need to teach others about it. Definitely one of the best conferences
ever. I committed to not get discouraged but to be happy, keep
smiling, trust in the Lord, and OPEN MY MOUTH. I also want to show all
the love I can for Nihonjin and love them with the depths of my soul.

We saw some pretty amazing miracles right after the conference. It was
a late when we got home but we still stopped some people on the
street. We stopped one girl named Yua and she said she had interest
and she willingly gave us her number! She hasn't texted us back but we
still have hope. Then, the next day we were making sure we talk to
everyone and we met Aoki. She is a Christian and she said she'd be
willing to meet with us! She said she has been to a different
Christian church but she doesn't like paying all the time but we told
her ours is free! We set up an appointment for today and she said
she'd come! She said she'd call us if she couldn't make it and so far
no call so yay!!

Also, recently, Nakamura San has had a close friend suddenly pass away
from cancer so that was pretty hard for her but she told us she has
interest in learning about life after death! I'm glad she's starting
to show interest now!

I love my mission so much. Japan is an amazing place and I love the
people here. I know I have a lot of work to do here in Mito and it
will be challenging at times but I will enjoy every moment of it. I
love you all so much! Thank you for your love and support!
Aishiteimasu!

Love,
Sister Lacey

Hello!

Japanese BBQ

Add caption

Since I don't have much of a general email today here's a story that happened.
This week was pretty busy. We worked with a lot of members again and
were able to get a good amount of referrals!  On Wednesday, Umino
Shimai took us to go visit less active's and we saw some cool
miracles. We visited Takahagi Shimai and she talked about she feels
her faith and testimony is weak. We asked inspired questions and were
able to get her to bear her testimony to us and we told her it is not
weak at all. She is just having some doubts and she needs to trust in
the faith she does have. We planned to study the Book of Mormon with
her regularly and I'm really excited! Then we visited Matsumura Shimai
who lives in kinda like a retirement home. Her husband passed away a
few years ago and I don't think they had any children so she's pretty
lonely. She still has a strong testimony and watched all of conference
but I think it's just too difficult for her to get all the way to
church by herself. We found out that her birthday was in a few days so
after church in Sunday we went to visit her again. She was surprised
to see us and we sang happy birthday to her and gave her a few gifts.
I don't think she wanted us to leave because she kept talking and
bringing up new conversations. Then she also brought out an iPad she
had recently been given and asked for me to help her fix it and let me
tell you, I thought I was getting pretty good at Japanese but not when
it comes to talking about technology. I realized I have a lot more to
learn! But we had a great time and we want to visit her more regularly
now.