Ho già finito il tempo a Trapani

Hey guys!

Well we got transfer calls and I'm heading out! It's pretty crazy and I wasn't really expecting it but I am really excited! I'm still going to be on Sicily but I'm going to the ancient Greek city called Siracusa! (Syracuse in English) (Look at your Scriptures with the picture of Paul's journey to Rome and he goes through it!) My new companion will be Anziano Hoover. I talked to him a bit at zone conference and he seems like a stud. He is from Idaho Falls and he's pretty young in the mission (4th transfer). It will also be my first time to work with sisters in my same city and same district! One sister is from France and the other is Sister Hicks, a great friend from Sardegna. Anyways, I've never been more excited about a transfer call and it just feels right.

Everyone has been really surprised that I'm leaving because I've only been here for one transfer. It was funny because when the branch president announced that I was leaving in sacrament meeting, he messed up bad on my name. There has only been about a handful of members that could pronounce my name correctly so maybe it was always a sign! I'll put a list of what people have done with my name here in Trapani. I've kept track because it makes me laugh so bad! Anziano Lacky, Laggello, Leo, Lace, Lacci (It means 'shoe laces' in Italian), Lezly, Leppy. I think that's about it. One time I almost busted out laughing when someone prayed for me and said Lezly... Haha I love and I'll miss the people here!

This week we went with a member to Erice, one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to on my mission! It is an old medieval city on a mountain above Trapani. The clouds blow in from the sea and surround the mountain, but don't rise any higher than the castle that stands on top, so one feels on top of the world looking down at the top of the soft white clouds and the coast touching the sea below. It almost feels like it was frozen in time. A real dream! We took a gondola to get there and it was absolutely beautiful! It was in the evening so this tourist hot spot was lit up with a beautiful array of orange lights as the sun set. It was sweet! We went to this famous pastry shop where I tried for the first time the very famous Sicilian sweets. When I come back to Italy in the future it will definitely be a place I will visit.

As far as the work is going, and as far as me finishing up my time here, things are going great! Sergio is still progressing well and is working hard for his baptismal date. Nearly every morning he studies the Book of Mormon with his brother using the student manual! He is understanding things very quickly as you could imagine. Since it is so close, I'm going to talk to President about coming back here to Trapani for his baptism. Usually President allows it so it would be a great experience.

Sunday night we worked hard and even found a new family to teach! We taught them about the Book of Mormon and they asked us to come back the next week. I like working hard right before leaving an area because I hope that the elder I'm replacing would do the same for me. Trapani's missionary work is looking very positive. There is another part member family that became investigators, and members are bringing friends to church left and right. It's hard to leave when the work is looking so good, but I have no doubt that Siracusa is where the Lord wants me.

Other than getting ready to go we have received quite a bit of meal appointments so I've been enjoying the extra food! Other than that and the excitement of the transfer calls, not much had been going on except saying goodbye to people. The goodbyes in Trapani were a lot easier than those from Sardegna to tell you the truth, just because of the amount of time I spent there with them. A lot more than my short six weeks or so here!

I love you all so much! Have a great week. I can never thank you all more for everything you do for me, even though I'm halfway around the world! 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 un sacco di bene!

Un abbraccio!

Anziano Clay Lacey