"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