Post Hurricane Sandy

Here in Massachusetts it feels more like Halloween than usual, but at the same time it doesn't. Probably only because i'm not really participating this year. We have to be in before six tonight. Maybe Elder Swasey and I will switch name tags or something but that's about it.

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We survived hurricane sandy! There wasn't really much to survive here in Boston. Only some windiness and hours of rain. We were going kind of crazy since five missionaries were stuck in a small apartment all day long.

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I don't have a lot of time today to write an email sorry! I had a lot of pictures to send over and that takes time. I've heard news from all over, family and friends and have appreciated the updates. My heart goes out to Grandma Ludlow in this tough stretch for her. 

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Questions are welcomed! Whether it be through email or letter form. I'll try my best to answer all of them, but let me know if I haven't responded for a long time. I don't want to offend anyone. Contention is of the devil after all, as is Halloween. Jk :) Really though, remember whose name we have taken upon ourselves today.

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One of the most important doctrines that we can internalize is found in 3 Nephi 27. I'll let you search it out on your own.

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Remember: To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life eternal!

Letter from October 22, 2012

New England truly is a sight to see in the fall. My companion and I were walking through Boston on the way to the house and got sidetracked by an old cemetary with trees full of brilliant colors. It was definitely worth walking through. The autumn has lived up to expectations and it surely will next year as well.

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It was a fairly normal week, not many huge changes for me to report but the work is increasing and I thank you for your prayers and support.

 

The first presidency message about families is really great. I remember often finding faults with my brothers and sisters or even sometimes -gasp- with my parents but I realize now that I could have easily forgiven them for the tiny things that happened. The message is short but profound. Here is an excerpt:

"It is through our Savior’s sacrifice that we can gain exaltation and eternal life. As we accept His ways and overcome our pride by softening our hearts, we can bring reconciliation and forgiveness into our families and our personal lives. God will help us to be more forgiving, to be more willing to walk the second mile, to be first to apologize even if something wasn’t our fault, to lay aside old grudges and nurture them no more. Thanks be to God, who gave His Only Begotten Son, and to the Son, who gave His life for us. "
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I exhort each of you to read the rest of the message and put into practice the great family principles that it has. This week i'll be having interviews with the mission president. Today for pday we're going to the Boston museum of fine arts. Im excited. This week was excellent as far as postage. Thanks to all of the marvelous people that sent letters, it really buoys me up. Now I have plenty of letters to respond to and precious little time, fun fun fun. I really am very happy to have family and friends to keep in touch with.
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 May the Holy Spirit guide. Keep spreading that gospel fire.
-Elder Jared Ludlow Jr.

October 15, 2012 Letter

Hola. Buenas Tardes a todos.

Fall has hit us here in Massachusetts with cooler weather and rain too. Although I have to say that i've really liked it so far. The leaves are finally cooperating and turning orange, yellow and red.

I have to tell you about this week, because it was a monumental one for me. In as much as missionary work goes (i.e. minus the meetings and things) it was the worst week of my mission so far. It started with cold chilly weather out of nowhere. My companion and I continued to troop it out and make our best effort but the worst aspect of the week was that everyone cancelled our visits with them. We had around 10 cancelled appointments. 6 or 7 of them were in a row. Because of that we were only able to teach a few investigators, and spent a lot of time trying to plan backup plans for our backup plans.

However, the important thing is that I persevered. I think Elder Swasey and I got closer and more unified as the times got tougher. We never complained about the situation or gave up. It was a learning experience for me and the loss really goes to our investigators. They could have been spiritually fed. We'll see if the "pattern" continues and now we go on an up-sweep. It would be nice to receive a shower of blessings now after climbing this bumpy hill.

I wanted to talk a little bit about stake conference and then go into some details about my investigators, since there seems to be interest in that.

Stake conference in Weston was amazing. I felt the spirit very stongly and thought that all of the talks were excellent. Of course, it's always a blessing to be able to hear from a living apostle. Elder Andersen was there and spoke to us! My mission president gave a great talk about missionaries. The many ways that we can help the members as well as our importance in the last days. Elder Andersen also touched on the topic of the last days. He said that our church is a standard to the world, and our standard is perfect. As the morals of the world decay, the standard seems to be higher and higher but it really is the same. It's so true.

Right now I have a good pool of investigators. Two teenagers preparing for baptism, Yobo and Osagu. Two spanish men that should be baptized already, Jose and Tony. Natalia, who I taught in my last area. Michael, the ex-marine from Hawaii and a few other people around the edges.

Yobo and Osagu are preparing for October 28. Pray for them.

The reason why I havent been completely open about my investigators and their baptismal commitments is because a lot of those efforts have only died out and i dont want to get anyone's hopes up for nothing (my hopes have been up many times.)

I actually did have a brazilian experience. I contacted a referral over on Mass Ave that turned out to be some brazilians. This one man, Edval, was pretty interested and we tried to teach him in spanish while he spoke spanish and portuguese. Unfortunately, his friend kicked us out of the apartment and made him return the book of mormon that we gave him. That was just another part of the horrible week.

I like what Dad said about becoming perfect in Christ. He really is the ideal example for us. Sometimes I wonder what to do to become a better missionary and the thought pops into my head to only become more Christlike. There's a reason why Preach my Gospel has a section on the attributes of Jesus Christ.

Best wishes and Godspeed to all of you. Take care of yourselves.

-Elder Ludlow

Post Conference Letter October 9, 2012

Hello all of my brothers and sisters,

Yesterday I wasn't able to email because of Columbus day. I did have the opportunity of going to the temple though, which was a great experience as usual. Every time that I do temple work it's a huge bolster to my spirits.

Well, it's post-conference week. It was an excellent conference. I don't want to compare it with others, but i feel like this conference was especially powerful. Now we decide what we want to do with what we learned. Remember that a sermon without action is like a fire without heat.

The announcement at the beginning of the session was definitely a highlight. Wow, a change to the mission age. When I heard President Monson give the announcement I almost couldn't believe it for a few seconds. The other missionaries in the room (the only people there at the time) and I gaped at the screen openmouthed for a moment and then let our excitement out. It would be a huge boost to have more sister missionaries in our mission. Also I was reminded that now i might have some 18 year old companions in the future. Of course, my thoughts went to Josh and I wondered if he would be leaving sooner now. It sounds like he will.

There were many good talks with spiritual food to be feasted on. I really liked Pres. Uchtdorf's first talk, the "oil of conversion" and "lamps of testimony" in Elder Bednar's talk and Elder Holland's explanation of Peter's Primacy. That story is one of my favorites.

Does anyone else feel that every speaker was inspired? I don't want to make light of special callings, but our church leaders are like spiritual superheroes. And now they are trying to save a world that is in darkness and confusion. I didn't know how bad things were while living in Utah or even in Jerusalem. Out here in the mission field, i see wickedness everywhere.

One topic that was repeated is helping the youth. The youth are the future of the world and the adversary knows that. Those of you that are young, make sure that you have a sure testimony and conversion. 

It's my belief that things are not going to get easier here on out. There will be some very difficult times coming up. My companion mentioned today that we often fall into the trap of feeling secure and totally fine. We should make sure that we watch our pride. To finish, let's boost each other up! We have friends and family all around us that can be a support. Everyone encourage your team mates!

Wow today's email was almost all preaching. I'll have some good stories for next week. 

Until then, take care.

-Elder Jared Ludlow Jr.

The Misty Breath of October

The misty breath of October has descended. There really is like a strange rain/mist going on today in Boston. I've got my blue rain jacket on and Patriots t-shirt. Im sad to say that fall still hasn't really arrived. Im slightly disappointed. There are a few trees that have shown their colors but not many. 

     A lot of amazing things happened this week in the work. Yesterday we had two new investigators. One of them was a man named Pedro that we were talking to on the street and we asked if we could accompany him to his house and talk for a little while. He accepted the offer. There was a feeling of distrust/disbelief from him but it was cool to be able to meet his family and give them a Book of Mormon

      The other investigator came to church on sunday with his wife, who is a member. We were able to teach him last night and he absorbed the lesson of the restoration, repeating it to the most minor details when we asked him what he learned. He served in the Marines at Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii and his wife went to BYUH. Their names are Michael and Melody.

      Something that i thought I would share with you: It's really unfortunate, but the city of Boston is not very good at keeping the Word of Wisdom. Everyday I see the terrible consequences of smoking, drinking and doing drugs. This week I ran into a lot of drunk people and the smell has seemed to linger around everywhere I go. These drunks completely lose their decency and do weird things in public. Of course, as missionaries we automatically attract attention and they gravitate to us. One man dressed up like a cowboy pretended to shoot my companion with his hand. I've seen some drunk people dancing in the train. It's just sad that they ruin their lives in such a way. Don't drink!

        With Halloween approaching I decided to learn some spanish words for spooky things like Calabaza (Pumpkin) and Espectral (Ghostly) Just something fun.

        This week transfers happened but there weren't many changes for my district. We will be welcoming another Haitian speaking elder to our apartment which will be fun. (There will be 5 of us.) Elder Swasey and I are excited to able to spend another transfer together. Our companionship isn't perfect, but we have a unity in our purpose and desires that drives us forward. He is really good at speaking spanish, so i'm learning the language better than ever before on my mission, although there is still a lot of knowledge lacking.

         I was happy to hear that BYU has really good defense this year. It obviously made me think of gospel parallels. Are we defending ourselves from the bad things that are going on in the world? Are we defending our religious rights as people are striving to tear down the moral standards that we have? There will be difficult trials in the near future but as long as we are built upon the rock of the gospel, we will be strong. Helaman 5:12. I also enjoyed hearing that my family is reading around John 14. There are really good scriptures there about becoming servants of Jesus Christ and unifying with him. 

        I would like to thank my family for being the best. I really don't deserve the amazing family that I have. My prayers are extended out to you. I think often about my grandparents, cousins, siblings, parents, everyone. You are the biggest blessing that I have. Im really grateful for all of the little things that you do for me.

        My friends are cool too.

Adios a todos.

-Elder Ludlow

P.S. Pics: Half colorful tree, a dead snake by my shoe and my district at the picnic we had last week after district meeting