"Did a full 180, crazy thinking 'bout the way I was"

Ok fam, to start off let me just tell you that this week was about a million times better than last, hahaha. I definitely spent a lot less time crying and a lot more time serving. For me a better week means literally getting to do service almost everyday. It makes my heart so happy. Tuesday was SUCH a weird day because it was a total 180 flip in one day (thank you Dua Lipa for the song lyric for this week's blog post title). I had such a hard morning on Tuesday. I was being so stubborn and wasn't being flexible at all, and it was rough. But then we did some service, and it turned into a pretty incredible night which went like this ... First we had dinner with the raddest lady ever from our ward. She was an interpreter for United Airlines for 33 years and has seen sooo much of the world. She has lived a pretty epic life and the spirit in her house was to great. You could tell there was a lot of spiritual power coming from that woman. I want to be like her when I grow up. I could tell she was strong from the moment we met, but of course that strength came through trial. She lost her husband suddenly 5 years ago, and has had to discover how to live her life on her own, having to raise her daughter during her high school years all alone. I really admire her. After dinner, we got to meet more super cool people. The first are Noe (pronounced No-Ay) and Diana. Oh man that was a trip. We were at their house for quite a while, but it was honestly such a good use of our time. In that time we were able to establish that trust with them in just one appointment, which is so important because if people don't feel like you love them, why on earth would they listen to you??? I already feel like we are best friends. Noe loves music. When I told him I play guitar, he got so excited and we got to playing! He handed me such a nice Taylor guitar, and I was in heaven. We got to play and sing with him. The spirit was totally with us, but it changed when we started discussing the gospel. We read from the Doctrine and Covenants and I could feel the spirit filling both myself and the room. There was a difference in the spirit when we were just singing fun songs that had some Jesus undertones, versus actually reading words he himself spoke to Joseph Smith. It was a cool moment for me to recognize. Diana also gave us chocolate on the way out, so she basically already knows the way to my heart. After that, it just kept getting better. We went and had a lesson with Arielle, the sweetest 12-year-old girl. I'm not sure if I mentioned her family last week, but they are super cool. She has been raised by her grandparents her whole life. Her grandpa, Brother Senior, is SO cool. I've met him before since I spent time in Los Lunas on p-days. He trades jewelry on the reservations and he gave me a free ring a month or so ago. He is SO funny. He has the driest sense of humor and I love it. And Arielle is such a sweetheart. She is totally adorable and we are becoming bffs with her too. Bro Senior is kinda a returning member, and his wife, Angelina, is catholic. We are sort of teaching her too, but she feels pretty overwhelmed at the moment. But she is so cool too and we are just focusing on loving her and helping her concerns feel heard! I'm super excited to just keep getting to know them better. Anyway, the rest of the week obviously had some good moments too, but you know me, this could turn into a novel, haha. But here are a few other updates/funny stories/cool things. So some of you may have already seen, butttt I'm on Instagram now!!! So wild. We got a call on Tuesday that me and my companion are going to be one of 5 companionships on the Instagram team for the mission! So basically we are some of the few missionaries piloting Instagram in the mission, which is honestly so exciting and humbling to me! It makes me happy to know God trusts me with this new thing. So yeah, go follow me if you wanna see how this adventure turns out! @lacey.grace.wallace Also, I'm a yellow driver lol. What is that? Well, basically, we all have this thing in our cars that says "check your speed" if you are going to fast. And I'm just a bit of a speeder and I guess with the stress of the last few weeks, my speeding went way up, so instead of being a "green driver," I'm in yellow. Whoops, oh well! Not gonna lie, I'm sorta proud and think it's hilarious. But I have to keep my speeding in check so I keep my driving privileges. Ouch! Also, this ward is definitely not as clued in as my last ward about how food allergies work. We went to this sweet members house and she was like "so we are having chicken pot pie. You will just have to take the bread off yours." Haha I died, it was so funny. Luckily, no reactions occurred. I also had a really cool experience in a lesson last night. We were teaching about how to know if the Book of Mormon is true, and our friend asked us how we came to know it was true. I got to share with him my experiences with the Book of Mormon, and how much it means to me. I shared how I had grown up in the church and had never really read the Book of Mormon all the way through for myself until I learned from my granddad's example when he got sick with ALS and couldn't do much, but he could read the Book of Mormon. And, that is what nourished him and got him through his days. And because I saw how much it helped him, I wanted that for myself, and I wanted to experience the peace the Book of Mormon can bring as it brought to my granddad under such really hard circumstances. So after my granddad died in December 2019, I decided that I was going to read the Book of Mormon in one month, and I did it! As I read it, I felt close to God, and I felt close to my granddad, and I prayed about it, asking God to know if it was true. As I prayed, I knew in my heart that it was true, and I knew that it was something that could bless my life. Every time I've read the Book of Mormon since, I've ended by praying about it, just to make sure that first answer was right, and every time I have, I've gotten the same answer. The spirit was so strong as I shared this experience, and it was a great thing for me to reflect on and think about again. Anyway. Jesus is so good. The more time I spend here, the more I realize how much I need Him in my life. He should be the focus and center of it all, and sadly I think so many things can overshadow Him. Which is so sad!! So I would encourage all of you this week (including me) to really reflect on where your testimony is rooted. Because if it's in your ward or congregation, or in the policies or in the culture of the church, it just won't be enough. And I'm having to realize that myself too. Jesus is where its at. He will bring you the most peace, light, and love out of anything else. I know that because I've tried to just rely on my own strength, and it just doesn't work. Rely on Him, and your strengths will expand and you will grow! I love Jesus and I know he is my Savior and Redeemer. But most importantly, as Abigail (a little girl from dinner the other night) replied when I asked who Jesus is to her, "he is my brother." Don't forget that Jesus loves you, Sister Wallace A note for mom lol: please proof read cause I didn't have time to read through this lol (mom: note to Lacey - I ALWAYS proofread AND edit your posts! lol!) Pics: 1. Hanging with the sisters last Monday!! 2. A real crappy pic of us and Noe 3. Had to flex my tan arms... 4. A way gross bug we found at service 5. Arielle and bro senior!! 6. Heart-attacking the seniors. What we do best lol