October 30, 2017 Happy Birthday Mom!

First off I would like to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my absolutely amazing and beautiful mother this upcoming Sunday the 5th. In Gospel Principles yesterday the lesson was on family responsibilities and as we spoke about the mothers responsibilities I shared how the hardest thing about being a missionary for me is being away from my mom. 

In the Gospel Principles Book it says: 

“The Book of Mormon describes a group of 2,000 young men who rose to greatness because of the teachings of their mothers (see Alma 53:16–23). Led by the prophet Helaman, they went into battle against their enemies. They had learned to be honest, brave, and trustworthy from their mothers. Their mothers also taught them that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them (see Alma 56:47). They all survived the battle. They expressed faith in the teachings of their mothers, saying, “We do not doubt our mothers knew it” (Alma 56:48). Every mother who has a testimony can have a profound effect on her children.”

I love this story because it’s the same with my mother. I do not doubt that my mother knows it and I can never describe how much of an impact my mothers testimony and strength has had on me. 

This past week was good! Made some great progress with Mark. He has been taught almost all of the lessons except for lesson 5. He came to a ward activity and church and is keeping commitments. He moved his date up to the 2nd of December and is excited about it. Emma, Georgina’s sister came to church and will be coming to Institute this next week. Georgina is a great missionary and has been working on her sister. 

We got in contact with Carol and Rory and they said they’d come to church but then didn’t show up. Joseph is still doing well, he has his baptismal interview this week. Harrison’s Mom has dropped his baptismal date because of some family and school complications but we will continue teaching the whole family and he will plan on getting baptised in January. 

We had a nice miracle at our street Display on Wednesday. Elder Tuipulotu talked to a super nice lady and got a return appointment but sadly didn’t get any contact information except first name, Maria and town she was from. So we searched her on Facebook and found her! We have been chatting with her and she is amazing! We sent her some videos and she felt the Spirit immediately. We are excited about her. There is so much work to be done in this area! 

Random highlights: went on exchange with the assistants and so I was back in Man South which was fun. Tried by Malcolm and he is doing okay, still trying to get him to come to church haha. 

I love this Gospel and I love my mom! Have a great week everyone! 

-Elder Ludlow 

October 23, 2017 More Surprises!

Sooo LYN AND MICK WERE BAPTISED!

Here is the full story:

Sister Merrick moved into ward 4 in April. Before she moved in loads of members went over and got her house ready. Lyn and Mick saw this service and it was their first contact with the church. Brother Merrick had cancer and passed away soon after and Lyn and Mick loved the funeral service and felt welcomed at the church. Eventually we had tea all together and we started teaching them. Their progress was pretty slow but they had powerful spiritual experiences at the church for a tour and Sunday services. This past Tuesday they had a temple tour and they had all their questions and concerns answered. They went inside to the waiting room. While in there the Spirit was unbelievable and Sister Merrick asked if they were ready to be baptised and they said yes and then she said what about this coming Saturday and they agreed!! The crazy thing is that we were on exchange so our district leader interviewed them right then and President McReynolds was there as well so he approved them getting baptised so soon. The baptism was so great, a recent convert baptised them both and it was his first time. Elder Tuipulotu and I confirmed them. Another crazy miracle!

This week was just so great. We saw our friend Mark multiple times and he is doing pretty well. He is a little crazy so we are not too sure if we should keep teaching him but he skipped out on a concert this weekend so that he could come to church which is a good sign. We haven’t been able to see Carol and Rory because they want a little space but some members have been in contact with them. Harrison and Joseph are doing well. 

Random highlights: I was ill after eating KFC and napped almost all of Friday haha. Also, the recent convert who baptised Lyn and Mick got the Melchizedek priesthood last night! 

-Elder Ludlow 

Mick is right next to me and Lyn is right next to Elder Tuipulotu. 

October 16, 2017 Georgina Was Baptized!

So surprise! GEORGINA WAS BAPTISED!! Obviously this deserves a good explanation so I will tell y'all the full story:

Georgina is good friends with a family in the ward that joined the church a few years ago and they used to carpool to school. Recently Georgina had a reoccurring dream that this member was taking Georgina to her baptism. She eventually decided that she couldn't deny the dream and so when she saw a link to Mormon.org on tumblr she requested a Book of Mormon. We gave it to her on the last Sunday of September and by the time we went to message her on Facebook about and hour and half later she had already read the Restoration Pamphlet and a good amount of the Book of Mormon. She had so many good questions and we were able to answer them through the Spirit. We took her on a temple and chapel tour and the Spirit touched her heart. She committed to it and was excited. We taught her all the lessons but she had a concern about one of the commandments. She attended institute multiple times (always taking notes) and the second week she went she found her answer to her question through the notes that she had taken and the Spirit helped it click in her mind. But she still felt like she wasn't ready just quite yet. She then had a dream on Monday night this past week where she was by the baptismal font and someone took her away to a place and all of her fears and worries went away. So now a little side note to the story. On the last Sunday on September I was fasting for someone to be baptised on the 14th of October. That night we met Georgina and I felt like she would be ready for that date. She progressed really fast but then had these concerns, so we were a little concerned as well. But one thing I have really learned on my mission is that if you have faith in something then never give up. So I kept praying non stop that she would receive an answer and then on Monday night I prayed for her specifically to have a dream. AND SHE DID! So now back to the story, now that she has had all these experiences we presented to her the idea of being baptised in FOUR DAYS and at first she felt it might be too soon but that she would think about it. The next day she messaged us first and asked if she could be baptised on Saturday. WHAT AN ABSOLUTE MIRACLE. She had her interview the next day and we actually had almost 60 people at the baptism which was crazy! I have no doubt that when we fast and pray and never give up on it then miracles will happen. 

Ether 12:12- "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith."

This week was just amazing. Georgina's sister Emma came to the baptism and to church and Georgina has been talking to her lots about the Gospel. She is already a great missionary. Another fun fact is that Eleanor and Georgina grew up together, went different ways and now they both are baptised! We also had someone named Mark that walked into the family history centre come to church and we will see him tomorrow. 

We saw the Colemans a couple times and they are so great. We did service for them with some members of the elders Quorum in ward 4 and it really touched them. We were able to teach them and Lyn came to church. They said they see themselves joining the church, it will just take some time. We were able to see Joseph and Harrison as well and they both should be good for their baptisms next month. Carol and Rory are struggling a little bit with their relationship and so we haven't been able to see them but they should be fine.

Random other highlights: had a zone Conference on Thursday which was good. I conducted the first half of the meeting and Elder Tuipulotu and I gave a training on Online Proselyting. We also had a Europe area broadcast with Elder Ballard and that was amazing. He spoke about miracles and really just motivated the members to try even harder with missionary work. He shared a story about how he went to Ethiopia in the early 80s when they had their terrible drought. He was a seventy and went with the president of the welfare program. There was only one known member of the church in the country at the time and they somehow found him. They have a Sacrament Meeting with the 3 of them and then Elder Ballard called down the powers of heaven for it to rain and two hours later it started pouring down rain. It rained every single day they were there. 

I am filled with so much joy. I love this work with all my heart. Miracles have not ceased!! 

-Elder Ludlow 

Georgina was baptised by a convert of about 2 1/2 years and it was his first time baptising. He was very crucial for her progress. He is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. 

October 9, 2017 More Miracles!

Another week full of miracles! Had a member tell us at the end of a
tea appointment that his son was 9 and hadn't been baptised. It was
really surprising because the family is very active but we are working
with Joseph towards baptism! Georgina is doing super well. Saw her
multiple times, she has been taught everything, attended institute
again and the missionary fireside. She continues to read the Book of
Mormon and has received some amazing answers to prayers! She is just
waiting for an answer on one more thing and then she will be set! She
has fit in super well with the YSA and is hanging out with them on her
own.

Carol and Rory are super committed. Saw them at their home. Only Carol
was able to come to church but both are keeping commitments. We will
see them soon and hope to get the hand off to the Bolton missionaries.
Saw Harrison (the 10 year old) and he's so great. He wants to be
baptised and we are hoping to have him and Joseph be baptised on the
same day!

Lyn and Mick, the neighbors of a member are AMAZING. We saw them
multiple times and they loved it. We had a chapel tour with them and
at the end there happened to be a baptism for a child of record
happening and they witnessed it and thoroughly enjoyed it. They
attended church yesterday and were so welcomed and enjoyed it as well.
They have had so many spiritual experiences and now it's just a matter
of them fully committing to baptism!

We had two day Mission Leadership Council this past week which was
interesting and different but it was good. We were really able to
establish a vision for the mission.

I am so unbelievably grateful for the Spirit and how it works on
people. There were so many experiences from this past week where our
friends were able to feel of our Heavenly Father's love and also that
they were able to recognise it! It's such a blessing and privilege to
be able to be set apart to carry that Spirit and to be an instrument
in the Lord's hands. So #blessed.

-Elder Ludlow

Had a Zone P-Day today which was fun!

October 2, 2017 Miracle Week

This past week was amazing! We saw many miracles and we truly have
been blessed by the Lord. Our media referral Georgina is doing super
well. She has been taught so much already, attended institute and
loved it, committed to baptism and came to Conference! Another miracle
with her is that she is dyslexic but when she picked up the Book of
Mormon she was able to read and understand it! So she knew it was true
right away.

Carol and Rory and doing super well! We finally got to teach them both
after showing them around the temple and chapel and they said they
wanted to be baptised! Rory went to institute and really enjoyed it.
They also came to Conference and loved it. We are so excited for them.
We also had a part member family attend conference and their 10 year
old boy Harrison who isn't baptised really enjoyed it. So we had 4
investigators in church this week which was a miracle! We also watched
Conference with Abby in the members home.

Another miracle is that we had tea at a members home and she invited
the couple from next door to join us and we got to teach them! They
have lots of potential and we will be seeing them again tonight! The
Lord is hastening His work in this area and we are just so blessed.

Found out this week that Elder Tuipulotu and I will be staying in
Chorley for another transfer! Super excited. General Conference was
amazing! We were able to watch 4 of the sessions. I really enjoyed
Elder Pingree and Elder Rasband other than the classic super good
talks by President Eyring and Uchtdorf and Elder Holland!

I hope y'all were able to receive guidance for yourselves from General
Conference. I always feel like the speakers are speaking directly to
me. Take care!

-Elder Ludlow