La conferenza generale è stata bellissima

Hey guys!

Thank you for the emails and I'm so glad that everyone is doing well!

This has been a great week and I'm happy that things can start to go back to normal! We are finally settled into the new house and we had spent a lot of time preparing the old house for the senior couple that will move in there in a few weeks. Deejay is out of the hospital and doing much better after his surgery. We had spent a lot of time with him but we found that his roommate might have a lot of interest in the church!

I absolutely loved General Conference and I was really touched by a lot of the talks, especially the talk by President Uchtdorf during Priesthood session. I felt like he wrote that talk for me and I don't really ever remember feeling the Spirit that strongly during a session of General Conference. I cannot wait to print that talk off and study it more.

It also seemed a lot to me that the brethren spoke quite a bit on having a Christ centered home. I have been seeing the effects of how important it is while out on my mission because I can really see a difference between a family that tries to live the teachings of Christ and another that does not.

One particular family in the positive category I met on April 6th. Bishop called us and said that there was an American family from Utah that was here on vacation and wanted to baptize their son here in Rome specifically on April 6th. I thought it was a bit odd at first but that baptismal service was one of the sweetest and most beautiful moments in my mission! This amazing family of six showed up in the morning as we filled up the baptismal font and we had a great time talking with them. In this service for their eight year old son there was only us, them, our bishop, and Janus, one of our recent converts. It's hard to describe the beautiful Spirit that was there but the parts that hit me the most was first, when an 11 year old boy that reminded me of Greg read his talk and bore his testimony to his younger brother, and second, when the father baptized his son and with tears hugged him in the water. I was so grateful to be a part of that little baptism and I was touched by the gratitude of that family. They brought us each little gifts.

We were really excited this week for a new contact that we found who was really interested in the church. He came to conference and we did a few lessons with him but unfortunately in the end we found out that he is a little crazy. I absolutely do not understand how he thinks. I describe it like this: he loves logic but goes beyond logic to make up his own logic. That is the only way I can describe his thinking! He scared some members during institute so we might not see him anymore. He is taking a little bit of knowledge from each church to make up his own!

Other investigators are doing well but it's been hard to meet with some of them lately. We have really dedicated ourselves to finding work and we are hoping that we see some new fruits from our labors.

Another huge miracle this week for me was to see Janus give his first spiritual thought at a family home evening that we organized. He was just baptized in January but he has been working so hard to strengthen his testimony and prepare himself someday for a mission. He is 17 so as soon as he hits a year in the church he wishes to depart. He is such a stud!

That's the sum up of the week! Things are going really well and I'm loving the new heat that's coming in! Everyone says that Rome is gorgeous during spring so I'm excited to see the flowers when they bloom. I love you all so much! I love you Dad, I love you Mom, I love you Morgan, I love you Brooke, I love you Heather, and I love you Greg. Vi voglio bene! Splendida settimana e ci sentiamo presto!

Un abbraccio,

Anziano Clay Lacey

Buona Pasqua!

Hey guys!

 

Thank you so much for the emails and the loving words of encouragement! I love you guys!

 

This has been an insane week with so many 'technical' things to do that we haven't had much time at all to see our investigators and do some real teaching.

 

First off Anziano Juhasz had to go to Palermo for some things for his residence permit and he was gone Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday. I had to cover my area and also part of Rome 2's area but it was nice because I finally got my wish to serve with an Italian companion for a few days: Anziano Zito from Alessandria. We had so much fun together and we were both talking non stop the whole split. We had to be careful too because we even talked way late into the night after going to bed!

 

On Sunday we had a great sacrament service in church to celebrate Easter. Our bishop gave a very powerful talk and expressed his love for the Savior. It was a great meeting and I think everyone felt the Spirit. There was a girl from Canada and a girl from Belgium that were on vacation in Italy but that are living in Germany as nannies that came to church. They came to me after the services and asked me if I could talk to the ward to try and find them a place to stay with a member because they used the 'Couch-Surfing' site to stay with a stranger and I guess the situation was pretty sketchy. We talked to members and finally got them a place to stay and then we had lunch with Ottavio Caruso who leaves tomorrow for his mission in England. We had a fun lunch even though we burned a ton of food!

 

The biggest event of the week happened as we were finishing lunch. Deejay, our recent convert called me and told me that he got beat up near the train station so we went and got him, cleaned him up, got him some ice to put on his face at the church and then we went to his home to confront his mother about it. He is doing fine but has been in the hospital awaiting a surgery that he underwent just this morning to adjust his broken nose. We've helped with the process a bit as I've done some translating for him and the doctors because he doesn't speak any Italian. It was a sad event but I think it has ultimately brought his family closer together. It goes to show that you can always find positive things in these kind of situations.

 

Another big change was us moving into our new house! A senior couple just left and the mission moved us there so that has taken up a few days of cleaning and organizing. I like the new house but the only downside is that there is not a balcony or a place to enjoy the great weather that should be coming in soon!

 

The highlight for my week happened last night as we met Ottavio in church. I've written about it before but he is a recent convert that has a family that is very against the church and against the fact that he's wanted to serve a mission. I remember when Dad gave me a blessing of comfort before I left for my mission and what a great aid that was and continues to be for me now. Well Ottavio asked me to give him this kind of blessing before leaving and I've never felt more honored to do something like that for a missionary about to depart. I literally felt the Spirit guide my words and it was one of the strongest points in my life in which I knew I was a vessel for the Lord to bless someone's life. It's a little hard to express my emotions for that experience but it was unique and very special. I hope to do it again for my children someday.

 

I love you guys so much! Thank you for everything. I love you Dad, I love you Mom, I love you Morgan, I love you Brooke, I love you Heather, and I love you Greg! Have a great week and I'll talk to you soon! Vi voglio tanto bene!

 

Anziano Clay Lacey

Ho visto il Papa!

Hey guys!

I'll start real fast by updating on sightseeing in Rome! Today we went to the Vatican because we were ready to finally go inside St. Peter's Basilica, but it was closed. It was closed for a good reason though because university students from all over the world were gathered in St. Peter's Square and the new Pope, Franceso I, was giving a speech! We stayed for a little while and it was a neat experience being able to see him! I think I'm really going to watch this Pope because it's a once in a lifetime chance being in Rome as he was elected! After passing some time in the square we went to the other side of the Vatican and did the Vatican Museum tours. It was great seeing all of those beautiful statues and other kinds of art throughout centuries of time and then to finish in the Sistine Chapel. I saw the famous painting on the ceiling by Michelangelo of God touching Adam's finger. It's a beautiful work of art!

Sharon's baptism went very well and it's very beautiful to see the change that has taken place in her. When we were both dressed in white she whispered to me: "I'm scared of water!" and I reassured her that it would go well! There was a good turnout and it was a special experience having baptized her (she did well and we didn't need to redo it - thank goodness!). The best part of the service was hearing her bare her testimony. She was full of tears as she testified how the Gospel has changed her life and made her a happier person. I am grateful to have played a small part in her conversion experience! God truly loves each and every one of us.

This has been a great week with my new companion, Anziano Juhasz. We have had a lot of fun and we've been doing some great work. One of our Filippino investigators, a fifteen year old named Kevin, brought his girlfriend Dalin to a lesson and we taught them together and then watched the Restauration video in Tagolog. Even though the language was different and I understood nothing, it was amazing to note how the Spirit you feel is the same! Now she is a new investigator!

I'm district leader again this transfer and it's different because we are completely outnumbered by sisters! Both of the sisters, Clark and Christiansen are training so now there are four sisters in the district and our district meeting this week was fun! I like to give assignments to everyone so they all can participate and doing that is difficult in such a large district!

Giovanni is doing great but unfortunately doesn't have a new baptismal date due to the same few issues. He came to a quorum activity with us and the spiritual thought turned into Giovanni pouring out questions to the high priest and elders quorums and them teaching him and sharing their testimonies. It was very powerful and everyone is making great friendships with him. We will keep trying our best this week to work with him and help him get closer to baptism like he desires so much.

I am so glad that everyone is doing well! I want to get souvenirs for everyone so let me knoe if your have any ideas so I start searching! The best thing I'd say to get from Italy that you can't find in America is obviously the food, but it might be difficult to bring a stash of pasta, olive oil, fruit, and other ingredients that make the Italian food so great. We were given a box of Hamburger Helper from an American base and the pasta just isn't the same and it gave me a terrible stomach ache! American food is a little tough on the body!

I love you all so much! I love you Dad, I love you Mom, I love you Morgan, I love you Brooke, I love you Heather, and I love you Greg! Have a great week and stay safe! Vi voglio una galassia di bene!

Un'abbraccio forte forte per esprimervi tutto il bene che vi voglio!!!

Anziano Lacey

Eide Shama Mobarak!

Hey guys!

 

'Eide Shama Mobarak' means 'Happy New Year'  in Persian! Yesterday was the Iranian new year and I'll explain more in this email why I said it!

 

Things are going great! I just said goodbye this morning to Anziano Cardinet and I'm officially with Anziano Juhasz now and I'm very excited to be serving with him! When we did a p-day together a few weeks ago to the Colosseum we got along great because we were the only ones who wanted to stop and take pictures so we'll both have a lot of pictures this transfer.

 

This has been a great yet sad week as Anziano Cardinet has been saying goodbye to all of the members and investigators. He doesn't get very emotional but I was about to get emotional for him! I'm so pathetic sometimes... haha. Anyways most of our time has been dedicated to goodbyes but the work is going well. There are actually quite a bit of members that are giving us referrals now. This lady from the Dominican Republic wants us to teach one of her friends and he seems really interested in the Gospel so we are excited about that!

 

This Saturday I'll be baptizing Sharon and I'm very excited! She has been really welcomed into the ward and she had a great interview with the bishop. Giovanni is doing well but Anziano Cardinet's parting has been pretty hard on him. Hopefully we can set a new baptismal date with him this week! On Saturday night we found two new investigators named Josè and Arnel and they are awesome! We had a very good lesson with them about the Book of Mormon and we bore strong testimony. They work a lot but hopefully they'll come to church this week!

 

I am absolutely loving English course! I learned a really important lesson the other day that I'd like to share. Being American I've always been pounded by negative media and mindsets about Iran and the Middle East in general. This new guy from Iran named Sajjad came last week to English course and we became friends right away and he has interested me so much as a person. I gave an assignment to everyone to make a project talking about their culture (because we have a ton of people from all over the world here in Rome). He was the only one who came prepared and he talked about his culture and the new year and it was so interesting! One of the most beautiful things that I've been able to have in my mission experience is the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people from all over the world. It's amazing to see how similar we are instead of how different we are and I think it is important to discover individuals instead of basing our thoughts or beliefs off of groups or governments. I am so thankful to the Lord for this opportunity He has given me and my testimony that we are all children of God has been increasing exponentially!

 

We are excited for this new week! Things are going very well and I'm happy and so glad to be a missionary! I love you guys so much! Have a great week! I love you Dad, I love you Mom, I love you Morgan, I love you Brooke, I love you Heather, and I love you Greg! Thank you for your love and support and prayers! Vi voglio un mondo di bene!

 

Anziano Clay Lacey 

Piove ogni p-day a Roma...

Hey guys!

 

This has been a great week and things are going good! It has rained every p-day since I've been here though... It makes sight seeing a little more difficult! Where's the spring!?

 

There is a lot of exciting things going on here in Rome with the Conclave to decide who the new pope will be. It was really cool, today we went to go see one of the smoke displays and a news reporter from Aljazzeera (I think it's famous in all over the world except America... I dunno) asked me if they could interview me live and I accepted. Unfortunately breaking news from Turkey came in so they ruled out my live broadcast so I was almost on TV as a missionary! We saw the black smoke which indicated that they still haven't agreed on a new pope yet, but it was fun being with all the people who all gasped when the smoke came out of the Sistine Chapel and then I got to get to know some news reporters from CNN and a lady who just made a documentary about Christians in the middle east. I'm hoping that we will be able to see the announcement when they decide given that we pass by the Vatican a couple times a week. We'll see! It is exciting to be in Rome during a historical time.

 

I got to go in the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Piazza Navona, Castel Sant'Angelo, and many other monuments today and last p-day. There is just so much to see! I think I heard someone say that 66% of the world's treasures of art are in Italy and a lot of it is here in Rome! I love it!

 

Our investigators are doing pretty good! Unfortunately Giovanni cannot be baptized yet... The good news is that Sharron, a Filipino investigator of the sisters' is getting baptised on Sunday and she asked me a few days ago if I'd perform the baptism for her! I'm honored and excited to be a part of the experience and she is such a sweet and kind lady that also cooks amazing Filipino food! She is the best friend of the mother of DeeJay, our recent convert of a few weeks ago.

 

Mauro and his family are progressing well and we finally heard him say a prayer for the first time and it went well. The main thing we have been pushing them to do is to pray together as a family and they finally did it so we are so happy! Unfortunately Mauro couldn't come to church but Rosa did and brought a friend!

 

We have been working a lot also with members and strengthening them. We went to the birthday party of a little 11 year old Filipino girl in the ward and her family was very happy and they had invited us to give us referrals of their friends who were there. We made some great friendships and we hope that something will spark from it. There is also an awesome American family that has been here for a few months named the Flitton's. Now I'm not sure if I've mentioned them but they live in Park City and have a beach house at Dana Point so I already set up a family dinner with them for July when we are there. Prepare to have some new family friends! They have seven kids that relate perfectly to the Weasly family from Harry Potter except they are all blond instead of red-heads. They are amazing!

 

That's the sum up of the week! Anziano Cardinet is getting a little anxious as he is about to go home but he's working hard and going strong and is a great example to me. I love you all so much! I love you Dad, I love you Mom, I love you Morgan, I love you Brooke, I love you Heather, and I love you Greg. Have a great week! Thank you so much for your love, support, and emails! You guys are the best and I love you all with all my heart!

 

Un abbraccio!

 

Anziano Clay Lacey

Un'altro battesimo... ma ad Olbia!

Hey guys!

I am still loving Rome so much and I feel so lucky to be able to serve here. I want to start out with some amazing news:

September, 2011- Olbia, Sardinia, Italy

I called the Anziani from Olbia yesterday and they confirmed that Iona (Nina) Frimu, the lady that I taught back in Olbia and found on that Island, was baptized February 23rd! I was so happy and excited so I got her number from them and called her yesterday to congratulate and greet her. She is doing so well and it made me so happy to have the opportunity to speak with her. She was very content to hear from me and the Olbia Anziani said that she still talks about me and Anziano Vitali in all of her lessons and testimonies. It was very powerful to feel the love that she has towards us and I'm so grateful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to help her out in her life. She has such a strong testimony of the gospel and she bore it to me on the phone.

October, 2011 - Olbia, Sardinia, Italy

It was so cute: She told me how she had an interview with the branch president and he gave her a calling but she can't say anything yet because it's a secret! Man, I wish I could have been there at the baptism but I'm hoping the Olbia guys will send me the pictures here soon! What a miracle though, right? The Lord truly has His hand in this work.

Things are going well here in Rome. This week we have done a lot of finding and we had great splits with the zone leaders. Giovanni is progressing well and he loves the church. Him getting baptized is actually something really hard at this moment in his life. It looks like he is losing his girlfriend and his job (because his girlfriend's parents are his bosses) because they are so against the church. He is strong and is confident in the decision he is making.

I don't remember if I mentioned it but I have kind of started learning Spanish since there are so many South Americans here in Rome. I love them so much and I told them to speak to me only in Spanish and I bought a dictionary to help me out. We had a meal appointment with our investigator Mauro and his companion who is a member is from Ecuador and she cooked some amazing food! I love South American food!

Seeing the sites here in Rome is fantastic and last week after writing you guys we saw the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon (which has to be one of my favorite places here in Rome), and today we will do some more exploring. My little detailed tourist book of Rome is marvelous and we'll see where it will take us today. I feel like a little boy on Christmas morning each day we get to see a monument or historical site.

I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and support. It means so much to me. I love you Dad, I love you Mom, I love you Morgan, I love you Brooke, I love you Heather, and I love you Greg. Have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you soon! A presto!

Un'abbraccio forte forte!

Anziano Clay Lacey

Over 9,000 views!

The blog went over 9,000 views last week!  Thank you for all of the support of Clay and his mission.  Please continue to pray for him as he finishes this wonderful two years of his life.