Happy Birthday Mom! October 31, 2016

Before I say anything else, I need to give a big birthday shoutout to my absolutely amazing and beautiful mother (on the 5th). I could never thank her enough for all that she has done and continues to do for me. I will always be a proud mamas boy ;)

Happy Halloween everyone! (still my least favorite holiday)

This past week was really good until the end. Stephen was progressing really well and was looking great for baptism on the 5th but then didn't come to church which was really disappointing. Also, we have a new investigator named Carole who said she was coming to church but then was ill. We popped by Kieran's house earlier in the week and he said that he should be able to come to church but then didn't come. Kate just said she was too busy to come which was also disappointing because earlier this week she said she could possibly come. 

So Stephen has gone a whole week without smoking or drinking tea. Which is amazing. We have taught him all the lessons needed before the baptism interview and was ready for it but the date will now have to be bumped back because he didn't come to church.

Carole is our new investigator. We were inspired to knock on her street (there is another investigator on that street also) and she is so prepared. She has met with missionaries before and almost got baptised before but has a few concerns. She believes in lots of what we believe in and is really just so prepared to find her home in Christ's church on the earth. 

We went and read some Book of Mormon with Kate on Saturday which was good. She is determined to read more and find out if is true but she seems to be what some might call an "eternal investigator". She has been listening to the Book of Mormon though and she said it brings her peace. She really needs to come to church and needs to put forth more effort, she isn't reading enough. So we will see what happens with her in the future. 

Random highlights: We had tea at the bishop's house which was really fun, his family is super cute. We visited a less active named Henry Mwesigwa who is from Uganda and we are very close with him. This past week we talked about football (soccer) for almost all of the visit haha, he LOVES Manchester United. Also, "British Summer Time" ended this past week and clocks went back an hour so I am only 6 hours ahead of Provo now!

I finished reading the Book of Mormon today and it is most definitely still true and always will be! Reading the Book of Mormon is my favorite part of everyday and there truly is a real power that comes from it. I love it. 

It was pretty disappointing to have so many investigators say they would come to church but then not come. My expectations are still high though and I am confident that they will come to church! I have faith that the work will keep improving and moving forward and that there are those who are prepared to receive the happiness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

-Elder Ludlow

P.S. I will write to you all next Tuesday! (transfer week)

Here are some pictures from last P-Day!

1. The Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. 5th largest cathedral in the world!

2. The view of Liverpool from the top of the Cathedral.

3. Another view of Liverpool

4. Picture with the Elders from Wigan. Elder Kitchen (district leader) and Elder Kellogg

5. China town in Liverpool

October 24, 2016 Some Progress

So this email was supposed to send last week but the lame wifi wouldn't let me send it. I hope I didn't ruin anyones monday ;) 

This past week was pretty good! We were able to see Stephen and Kate and also found a few new investigators who we will be seeing next week!

Stephen is doing well. He was too sick to come to church but he really wanted to. He still has true desires to change and it is amazing. We saw him two times this past week both with a member Brian who connects perfectly with Stephen and they are already good friends. Stephen even expressed that he feels most comfortable around Brian. Please pray for him to have the strength to overcome his addictions. 

Kate is doing okay. We ended up just talking about the word of wisdom again and she doesn't see why having an occasional cup of tea is bad. She understands how it can be addictive but she just doesn't see it as a commandment yet. We quickly found out that the main reason why she has these concerns is because she is not reading the Book of Mormon and so she doesn't have a testimony of that and therefore of Joseph Smith as a prophet. We told her that she needs to do her part and we were about to leave and not schedule another appointment until she has read more, when our ward mission leader dated her for baptism on the 19th of November. She agreed despite not agreeing to baptism dates in the past and we have the faith she will receive an answer before then. 

Random highlights: we had a multi-zone conference in Manchester on Wednesday which was fun. We learned lots and had some break out sessions with many trainings. Today for P Day we went to Liverpool and went to the 5th largest cathedral in the world. It was really neat. 

It's very hard to describe the joy that comes from sharing the Gospel. On Saturday we met a lady who was really struggling and we shared with her the happy message of the gospel and our Heavenly Fathers plan and she said that we made her feel lots better. That is what missionary work is all about. I love it. 

-Elder Ludlow

Spiritual Feast October 17, 2016

This past week was pretty good. Work wise it wasn't the best but spiritual wise we had many uplifting and powerful experiences! 

We had the wonderful opportunity to be in a meeting where President Nelson, Bishop Causse (Presiding Bishop), President Hallstrom (Presidency of the Seventy), Elder Homer (of the Seventy) and President Johnson (Europe Area Presidency) and their wives all spoke! It was absolutely amazing. The theme was the joy that comes from the Atonement and Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone mentioned something about President Nelson's talk from conference and I loved it because it was my favorite talk! We had to wake up at 5 and run to the train to get to the meeting but it was definitely worth it. 

Yesterday, we had a special stake conference in Liverpool and we had the opportunity to hear from Elder Homer and President Hallstrom again! Both meetings were so uplifting and powerful. 

We also were able to have interviews with President Ulrich and it was great. I talked to Sister Ulrich for a while about Jerusalem because they have been there multiple times. I have many opportunities to share my experiences from Jerusalem and I am so grateful for that.

So Stephen (steven) cancelled on us four times this past week.. and so we were only able to see him once. He is struggling with some of the commandments and with keeping commitments. Please keep praying for him. We were not able to see Kate or Keiran this past week but we did find a few new investigators who could have potential. 

We went on exchanges on Tuesday/Wednesday which was pretty fun. I went with Elder Kitchen our district leader who is from Gilbert Arizona. He is a wise man and I enjoyed talking to him. Another highlight was that Elder Tate had driving lessons which was crazy. He hadn't driven for over a year and of course had never driven on the left side of the road! But he did a great job and I was able to take a nap in the back haha. 

Thank you all for your prayers and support! 

-Elder Ludlow

P.S. GO COUGARS

Pictures for this week: 

1. view of the neighborhood near our flat. 

2. picture with our ward mission leader Stephen (stefan).

3. Warrington town centre. Where we do our street displays.

4. with the best car on the planet. there are so many of them here. I miss Spaz. 

The Church is True October 10, 2016

This past week was pretty good. Had a few ups and downs but mostly good. We saw Stephen many times, not quite as much as we expected but that's okay. He is doing pretty well with the Word of Wisdom but some other concerns have been brought forth and so his baptismal date could be bumped back. He did come to church though! He connected well with the members and actually went up to lots of people after church to say bye to them. He got a lift with a member and the member told us that Stephen told him that he had wanted to leave at one point but something told him not to (The Spirit) and he ended up enjoying it! 

So last Monday Keiran sent us a text saying he wouldn't be meeting with us anymore (His phone finally got fixed). We were pretty bummed but we know he still has potential. We ended up seeing him in town two times last week after getting the text and he says he is still reading the Book of Mormon and feeling the Spirit and really wants to come to church with his family but his work makes it almost impossible to do so. He totally knows the church is true though and I know he will be baptised when the time is right. I have lots of love for him and his cute family. 

We saw Kate twice this past week. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and it will be hard but we know she can do it. Please pray for her to have strength. She is so great, she just really needs to come to church! 

Because I didn't really give many details about conference last week I would like to tell you all more. We watched General Conference at the Liverpool Stake Centre. On Saturday. we watched the Saturday morning session live (at 5 pm). On Sunday, we watched a rerun of the Priesthood session (at 10 am) then the Saturday afternoon (at 1 pm) and then watched the Sunday morning session live (at 5 pm) We had to wait until yesterday to download the Sunday afternoon session and we have started listening to it! My favorite talk was "Joy and Spiritual Survival" by President Nelson and I really enjoyed what our wonderful Prophet had to say. 

I invite all of you to look up the Mormon Message: "A Book of Mormon Story". It has a really good message and also some of the buildings look very similar to the buildings in this area! Also, the room in the church that he is in looks like almost all the churches here. 

Take care! 

With love,

Elder Ludlow

Stephen, the Ward Mission Leader

Token picture with the English telephone booth

Picture of the Neighborhood where Elder Ludlow lives

Warrington LDS Church

October 3. 2016 The Miracle of Change

This past week was absolutely brilliant. We saw Stephen and Kate multiple times and had lots more appointments and have even more this next week! 

Stephen is amazing. He has true desires to change. We saw him three times this past week and he is progressing really well. He has already cut down so much on his addictions and it is amazing. We have already seen the change in him. The Gospel truly does change lives. We made him a baptism calendar and he really liked that. We wrote out on sticky notes the different lessons that we would need to have and he moved all of them to this next week, meaning we would see him every day haha. He has become very comfortable with us and I have lots of love for that man. 

We painted more of Kate's fence on Wednesday and then saw her on Friday. We had a really bold lesson with her and she is more determined now to find her answers. She is great. Please keep praying for Stephen and Kate and also Keiran whom we were not able to see this week again. We tried going by and he was either not home or was busy. 

General Conference was amazing! It was really weird being away from family but it still was a very powerful and uplifting weekend! My testimony was most definitely strengthened and I am so grateful to be able to represent God's church on the earth, as a missionary. I have so much love for the leaders of this church especially our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson. 

Missionary work is the greatest. I appreciate all of you so much, thank you for your support. 

-Elder Ludlow