November 28, 2016 Chris Was Baptized!

This past week was amazing. Chris's baptism went well and I am so grateful I had the sacred and wonderful opportunity to baptise him. I could not stop smiling after the baptism and he was very happy as well. In his prayer to start the service he said: "I am grateful to be joining God's true church on the earth" and that made us happy, especially because he used to be very strongly attached to the Church of England. 

The Meet the Mormons night didn't quite go as we planned. Actually, it was a failure haha. We only had Chris who came even after handing out over a hundred fliers and inviting many people. The good thing about it was that Chris was able to interact more with the ward members who came. 

Other than the Meet the Mormons night and Chris's baptism, we didn't have very much success. I was able to teach my first investigator family though! This family is from Yaman so you can probably guess what religion they are. They are very kind and I actually spoke a little Arabic with them! We will see what happens with them. Sylia said she would come to church but didn't show up and we have a few other investigators who's appointments didn't work out this week. But there is lots of hope and potential for the future of this area! 

I would like to give a shoutout to my family in Provo, I got the Christmas package! Just a little bit early :) It is so nice to have american candy again. Also, shoutout to Grandma Nelson for making sure I had some healthy things with all the candy I was getting haha and also for addressing her letter to me by my Instagram username ("Elder Joelow")

Thought for this week: I really hope everyone has seen the "Light the World" video it is amazing! Also, I really like these scriptures: Alma 37:36-37

Take care everyone! 

-Elder Ludlow

Happy Thanksgiving November 21, 2016

This past week was good! Chris is on fire and we found a few new solid people to teach! Chris passed his interview and we only have a few things left to teach him and he will be ready for this Saturday for baptism! He is very excited and loves studying the Gospel. 

We found a few new people to teach which we are excited about. We found a family who seems really nice and we will see them this next week. It will be my first time teaching an investigator family. We also found a lady named Sylia who was really excited to read the Book of Mormon and wanted to go to church. She also said that she thought that it was a sign that we knocked on her door the day we found her because she was having a bad day and we really cheered her up! It was inspired that we found her. We have a few other people who we hope to be seeing this next week. We had many appointments with other investigators fall through this week which was disappointing, but we are keeping our expectations high! We tried by Stephen with Brian but he said that he was "busy" and that he would ring us. We are praying hard for him. 

Me and Elder Fan saw and met a lot of members this past week. We did this so that Elder Fan could meet them but also to prepare for the Meet the Mormons night that is coming up this next week! Should be lots of fun and we hope to be able to find some new people to teach through this event. We will be doing a tour of the chapel and then will show the Meet the Mormons movie.

Random highlights:We had a zone meeting and also conference on Sunday in Liverpool this past week and I really enjoyed both. Chris actually got a lift from Stefan our ward mission leader to the conference so it was great to have him there! We also went on exchange this past week and I went with the district leader Elder Kitchen here in Warrington so that he could interview Chris. Also, it snowed this past week! Well, kind of snow, more like sleet. Still was neat! 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Will be weird to not celebrate it but I hope you all know that I am grateful for you! Hope you have a great week. 

-Elder Ludlow

Picture: it is getting cold here in England and so I have my 7 foot long scarf ready to go haha. 

Amazing Faith November 14, 2016

This past week was good! We were able to see Chris almost everyday and he is progressing really well towards the 26th for baptism! He is keeping all the commitments and is just so ready. We had a really good week otherwise with the work but we did have two promising investigators Carole and Pam drop us which was really sad. They both said they believe in everything but Carole has concerns about tithing and Pam's husband isn't keen on us teaching her. They will accept the Gospel later :)

So Chris has amazing faith. He has met with missionaries in the past and knows lots. He walked an hour and a half to get to church. And yet we have other investigators who live near but don't come. He says that he has felt the Spirit many times while studying the Book of Mormon and also the leaflets. 

We tried by Stephen on Saturday but he was not in so we left a note expressing that we are praying for him, inviting him to church and saying that we hope to hear from him soon. I have faith that he will contact us soon and will be baptised soon also. 

Kate did not come to church again which was frustrating. We have decided that we are going to give her over to the sisters because she connects better with women. I have faith that she will be baptised soon but it could take some time. 

Random Highlights: We got an announcement saying that we would be using the area book and planner app on the iPads which should be interesting. It will make reporting everything easier but I definitely prefer paper planners. We will see how this goes. In Sacrament meeting we had a moment of silence for the British veterans, which was an interesting experience. 

Elder Fan is great. His English is good but he is very humble about it. He is from Chendu, China and is a convert of 2 1/2 years. He has been on his mission since January but has only served in the Manchester YSA area so it is a bit of an adjustment coming to a family ward where we do lots of finding as opposed to lots of activities. I think we will have lots of fun this transfer. My poor companion had to hear a lot about Donald Trump this past week though..

I know that Heavenly Father is directing this work and have strengthened my testimony of that this past week. I love being a missionary. 

Elder Ludlow

P.S. It is so nice to have a companion that isn't a stinkin ute fan. 

Picture (sorry about the terrible quality)

We volunteered again at the poppy appeal. 

Staying in Warrington November 8, 2016

I am officially done with training! I will be staying in Warrington and will be serving with Elder Fan! He is from China and is actually a Chinese called Elder. (Shoutout to Melia) 

This past week was great. Although things haven't been working out with Stephen and no one came to church, we found a few new investigators! Me and Elder Tate worked really hard this past week and we were determined to finish the transfer strong and I think we did that. We had some neat experiences with inspired finding and even though not all of the people we found ended up being solid, I am grateful for those experiences of being directed by the Spirit. 

So we were not able to get ahold of Stephen after he didn't come to church. We couldn't get ahold of him until Wednesday when he called us and told us that he needed some space and that he needed to work somethings out with his family and that he would contact us in two weeks. So we are just praying hard for him that he won't give up on everything and that he will be able to sort things out. 

We saw Kate on Friday with two sisters in the ward and the Spirit was really strong and she connected really well with the sisters. Kate has done a little reading but she wasn't able to come to church. She did say she would come next week though! We were not able to see Carole because she is very busy but we have daily contact with her. 

In church yesterday, there was a man named Chris that the sisters invited and they asked if we would teach him. He is so prepared. His fiancé is a member and he knows lots about the church. In Priesthood at church we talked about the Word of Wisdom and Chris said after that it just makes sense and he even said that he would go give away all his tea and coffee that night! Then we saw him on Monday and it was really great and he committed to baptism! 

Random highlights: carved pumpkins on Halloween, had tea with lots of members which was really lucky and we also volunteered for the Poppy Appeal which is an organisation which supports veterans. (Look it up) Fun week! 

I am excited for this next transfer. It should be a great, new, different experience. I am also excited about the future of this area. I think the work is moving along and there is lots of potential. I am grateful for Elder Tate and for all that he taught me and did for me. He will be the new district leader in Crosby, which is still in the Liverpool zone! 

Hope you all have an amazing week! 

-Elder Ludlow