July 2, 2012 Letter from Elder Ludlow

Hola mi familia (y otras personas)

 

I had an eventful week. Successful in many ways and not in others :)

It's a relief that Marissa seems to be doing ok. Im glad that you enjoyed the beach, although I am somewhat jealous. I bet Josh learned a lot from being over in Italy. I love being in foreign countries, there's a feeling about it that envelopes me.

 

Every day Im thankful for the amazing family and friends that I have. Thanks to the work, I dont find myself missing all of you too terribly but I feel more love for you everyday.

My desire to learn has continued. There is so much to soak up in the scriptures. Unfortunately the deep doctrine tends to pull me in and sometimes I forget to focus on the simple and vital parts of the gospel. Don't do that!

 

Thanks for your prayers. Yesterday was an awesome sunday. Eileen, Walter and Carlos all made it to church. The class was perfect for them and they shared touching testimonies about how the gospel has helped them and how us Elders have guided them in changing their lives. It was inspiring for me moving forward.

 

For the first part of the week, the only form of transportation was by bike. So we didn't teach very many lessons but we climbed a lot of hills! The people we passed by paid more attention to what we were doing than usual. We received  juice and food, which is not normal, two days in a row and had to carry it around in our bags :P Luckily the clouds seemed to come out and protect us from the heat while I was biking.

It was a tough experience but I felt like a MAN afterwards. Every true missionary has to ride a bike at some point right? Ok maybe not.

There was one driver, a lady, that made an effort to engage me in conversation while I biked over a bridge but she had to pull ahead. The same day we got a media referral and it was her! So we taught Wanda, the lady, yesterday. She is very very nice and slightly older african-american, with a daughter that is a member. She talked about how her daughter has found strong faith in God through the church and she is proud of her. A lot of potential there!

There have been some crazy heat waves. I heard about a lot of wildfires over in the west as well. A flock of turkeys invaded our yard for a couple of days but I dont know if that's related. ;)

 

I almost never eat latino food. There was one occasion where there was food that I didnt especially enjoy but I gulped it down. (Some kind of spinach quiche) Walter has given us some cans of food because he owns a little bodega (grocery store.) It's by a gorgeous catholic cathedral in Leominster. I need to take pictures of that area one of these days.

 

I will meet President Packard tomorrow at a "meet the President" zone conference in Connecticut. Very excited. I'll try to find a way to get a photo.

 

Yes I do read the Book of Mormon in spanish every day, along with in arabic. I find insights pretty often, whether it's reading the words more closely or finding a better flow/more clear sentance structure in arabic than in english.

 

This part of the vineyard feels like it's on the edge of becoming brilliant. I feel energized every day with the potential that is out there. It's a little sad because most of the results will come after Elder Torgesen leaves. We get transfer texts this next friday and he will be transferred back to Idaho! For one reason it's a good thing, he has been starting to pick up the New England accent...

 

Love you,

Elder Jared Ludlow Jr.

 

 

Boston Temple

Pday June 25, 2012 Boston Temple

Buongiorno!

I recieved a lot of excellent news from you this week :) Quite a lot to read but it was all very exciting and in some cases completely unexpected. I think it's awesome that Josh has been able to go to Italy! It is such an amazing country. Our family has got to be one of the coolest.

This week I went to the Boston Temple and had Stake Conference (in Ludlow, of course) among other things. I will dive into those more shortly.

I have some pictures to send! You can choose which one you like more from the two of me in front of the temple.

 

Thankyou for the info about the new Mission Pres. I keep forgetting his last name! This next transfer will be really crazy for me. We'll see where it goes.

Thanks also to Grandma Ludlow for the letter. I wish I had more time to reply to people. 

 

A highlight for this week is that we taught a lot of lessons to investigators! About 3 or 4 more than our average. That meant that we used our time effectively and expanded our teaching pool a little. I feel kind of bad because the rest of the district is really struggling. One of the areas has virtually no one to teach and has been tracting hours every day :/

 

Today I got through Alma 26 in my BoM reading. It is one of my absolute favorite chapters. I hope I can be like Ammon at the end of my mission. I also love the promise in verse 22. 

Our investigators arent progressing as fast as they should but there are a couple of people inches away (and a couple weeks) from being baptized. So along with that, my companion might see one or two more people join the church. The core of our investigators will take some more time. Mostly because of the rule that they need to attend church 3 times before baptism. Super difficult.
A lot of them are actually mad as well as sad that Elder Torgesen is leaving. Unfortunately it hasn't provided incentive to be baptized faster. :P

 

Exercising is hard for me because it's in the morning but we have made an effort to go running more and I do have some weights to work with. Always good. I have gained some weight, I wont say how much, but it is something that pleases me greatly, to put it in scripture language. You might be exceedingly astonished when you see me in a year and a half. Dont worry it's all muscle though.

 

We havent taught Marcelo and Erika (the couple that lost their son) again yet. We did teach them once and it went alright. We feel that timing is very important because there are many other churches trying to console them at the same time. I think they have some future potential but im not sure.

 

There was stake conference down in Ludlow yesterday. It was great! However it did throw a wrench into my investigators' church attendence, because Ludlow is an hour and a half away. So none of them were able to go.

The weather has been unpredictable. For a while it was extremely hot. Like in the upper 90's. During the weekend the wind was going crazy. Then today it rained like mad. We ran out of the grocery store today and got soaked even though we were in the rain for only a minute. Good thing it's P-day.

 

We took our car in to get fixed today and it will be there for a few days. Therefore, I will have to move by bike. I have no idea how it will turn out but let me say that this area is not exactly bike-friendly. There are a lot of hills. New Englanders drive rapidly around turns. Our area is very spread out. Oh and it's hot. This week should be fun.

 

My companion insists that he has a lot of time left and hates talking about home. So the opposite of trunky. Members are mostly just suprised because they didnt know he was going. Some of them are planning things for him.

Because his time is coming to an end we got to go to the temple. It was really nice and refreshing to go. The boston temple is beautiful.

 

Mom- Norma said that you are amazing and awesome. Just so you know.

Next week in Jerusalem then? Except me? (Like "next year in Jerusalem", Passover, you know)  Keep up all of your great works and build faith daily.

The Lord has given us everything that we have in our lives and everything points to Him!

Love you! Have a fantastic time.

 

-Elder Jared Ludlow Junior

June 18, 2012 Letter from Lunenburg, Massachusetts

Hola, Buenas Tardes,
This week has felt like an eternity, but it has gone pretty well.
The Israel excursion must be heading into its final stages. Things are about to finish up. There are some significant changes in the near future for me as well. The current mission president will be leaving in less than a month. My trainer follows about a week after him.

There were some interesting stories that I liked from your emails. Especially the first child baptized over there and Bro Muzawi.

I had a district P-day last week and it was really fun. We went down to the sister's area to a national park called Purgatory Chasm. We enjoyed roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire and hiking through the "chasm" which involved some climbing around and over boulders. I took some pictures of the trip.

Another difference in the week was exchanges with the zone leaders. I took control of the area for about 24 hours and got to serve with Elder Lawter. He's from Las Vegas and can't eat protein because of a condition he has had from birth. It was exemplary to see his energy and enthusiasm in every aspect of the work.

One story from this week. On a whim, and a terrible one at that, I decided to visit one of our previous investigators in Fitchburg on saturday. The man is a preacher for the unitarian church in town and one of the members of the congregation was there. She didn't take too kindly to us being there at first and started to talk non-stop about the aspects she didnt like about the church and what she believes. We could have turned our backs and left but we just listened and gave brief answers when we could. As time went on, she softened and changed her tone and attitude. By the end she agreed to read the book of mormon (because she has an "open mind") and we gave her a pass-along card. There most likely wont be any future potential for her, in total seriousness, but it was a good example of setting an impression for the church by being respectful and friendly even when it's difficult.

Im excited about the NBA finals turnout this year. I hope someday I can review the games. I haven't seen signs of loyalty to any college team out in my neck of the woods. The majority of people are strong Sox fans and there are quite a few Patriot fans.

I recieved an invitation about Sussy's baptism. I thought it was really cool.
A couple of my investigators have strengthened their commitment to preparing for baptism and it has been great to see. They have come to church a few times and are reading the book of mormon plus getting things out of it. Two HUGE key things for invest. to do. A month ago there was no way I would have foreseen the progress they have made.
Now we just have to get the rest of our solid investigators to do the same.
I dont think we have any plans for the 4th of July as of yet, but im not looking forward to it. New Englanders are very absorbed in their holidays and hate to be bugged during them. (I noticed that with even Father's day) I hope that members will invite us to a get together like they did on Memorial day. The important thing is to be with people and keep our line in the water, or in other words, make sure there are opportunities for people to see/talk to us.

I haven't been able to teach at church but I wish I could. The meetings are pretty normal i guess. Maybe i dont understand your question. It's true that I've been out as long as my MTC stay now. The time has definitely gone by faster. It feels awesome to do work in the field, it is totally different. I felt like in the MTC there were a lot of comparisons, possibly even competitions, between missionaries. I didn't enjoy doing role plays or the workshops very much. Although overall everything was very positive and in a comforting LDS atmosphere. In the field there is more of a rollercoaster of up's and down's. Good weeks and bad ones. The work involves getting to know people of various kinds and trying to help them.
I would say im comfortable with the missionary life. :) However im still working on being fully comfortable in public and not being angry when people forcefully reject me.

Being away from the family makes me remember the good things about each person and the ways that I treated them, for good or bad. You're all really great and I have been exceedingly blessed to have the family and life that I do. I know a lot of that comes from the church and gospel of Jesus Christ. When I keep that in mind the mission becomes a small sacrifice.

June 11, 2012 Letter from our Elder JJ

Hola,

It has been one of those "lightning weeks" where you feel like yesterday was the same day of the week. I wish that I could respond/comment on a lot of the things that I heard from the family this week but suffice it to say that I read the stories and enjoy the great amount of updates. I am able to add some pictures today but they're not high quality and they are few, so I apologize :)

I want to ask Mom if she noticed that there were a lot of flies in Jordan. That was something that caught my attention. Petra is always a great stop.

So what you're hinting to me is that Miami and OKC are in the NBA finals? If thats true, then im ecstatic, because both are teams that I like. (The heat more so)

A bunch of people were talking about how they watched the last game. Boston vs Miami. Some of our investigators like the Celtics. While they should be reading the Book of Mormon instead, I think it's cool.

Wow we really do have a priesthood presence in the family. How nice.

Im happy that Joe had a fun b-day and liked my card. We kind of celebrated the birthday of one of our investigators, Eileen, on saturday with the Stokes, who are great members that live right next door to us . There was a barbecue and a cake. She came late but it was still fun. One of the pictures is of us there.

 

It has been a really tough week. Things have just been sliding downward with our investigators that we thought were solid. There are no firm baptisimal dates at the moment. There were quite a few a couple of weeks ago but the number has been halved twice now. The hardest challenge still has been getting people to go to church. That is where people display their agency the most, I believe, in choosing not to attend.

The river continues flowing, however, and our pool has slightly shifted. So we'll see what happens. Things never stop. Hope is in the air and our determination is steadfast.

A typical daily schedule would be waking up at 6:30, exercising for a half hour, breakfast, studies in the morning until lunch at 11, then missionary gametime through to the night. We are usually back home between 8:45-9:00.

I have been trying my hardest to be obedient and recieve spiritual impressions but it's somewhat discouraging to notice a lack of inspiration. Last night I sort of had a feeling though, to knock on a door next to where we were parked and making phone calls. We had a long and very interesting conversation with a vietnam vet and past buddhist monk. He was really kind and talkative but we'll see if anything happens from that.

To be honest, the american food that i've enjoyed the most is the little snacks and things that are so readily available now. Burgers have been good too. I particularly miss shwarma, pita bread, filafel and dozens of other things.

 

I hope your week is fantastic. Sorry for not really having questions or stories this week. My mind has been all over the place. Today should be fun, we are going to have a barbecue and stuff as a district.

I pray for all of you as well. Remember to continually convert yourselves to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

From,

Elder Jared Ludlow Jr.

June 4, 2012 Letter from Elder JJ

Happy beginning of June

The itinerary for Elliot and family looked really awesome. They're having lots of adventures every day for sure.

Thought I should tell you right off the bat, im having problems with the computer again so I dont believe I will be able to send pictures. Sorry! I am still working on doing the pic a day idea. Maybe someday I'll get there.

 

It is hard to believe that you will be leaving soon. You will be returning in a few years though right? Wish I could say the same.

I love hearing about your mission experiences. I have to say that the dynamics are really different, but that's expected when comparing the States and a South American country.

Yes, I am reading the scriptures in spanish as well. It's great. I always read very carefully and often notice more details than in english. Just about every time I do it I will make a sound like "Ohhh" out loud.

Some days, like today, I would welcome some heat. It has been cold and rainy again. Nature can't make up its mind.

Next time I go down to Ludlow I will be sure to get a photo of me with a sign. There should be a zone p-day coming up.

Yeah I bet each group has been awesome. It's hard to imagine other people there (especially in my bed) but I can see Josh and Joe chilling with the students every night and Dad teaching the same excellent subjects. I'll add Mom doing all of the things that she does, even though that should be implied.

 

I hope that Joe has a super-duper superb birthday. I bet he will milk it for all it's worth, and more.

Before I answer the questions from this week I wanted to talk about yesterday a little bit.

We had a few investigators make it to church this week. Our gospel class (2nd hour) was pretty much full! So that was exciting. We also helped a really great less active woman make it. A lot of people dont come every week but the ones that do make all the difference.

It seems like Mitt Romney is hardly brought up at all. One of our investigators has talked about him somewhat (not in the most positive ways)

I've learned from my companion to rejoice in small achievements. With my personality Im only jubilant when something big happens or things are going well overall. He has helped me to notice the small effects that we are having or the baby steps that people are making towards the Savior. Also, he does only have a month and a half left. Everyone keeps joking that I'll be training or become district leader when he does. Or both.

Have not been able to play piano sadly. I only see the instrument when I go to church. It's about the same with basketball. I've only played once with the zone.

A random thing I learned this week is that Leominster, the city where we do the most work, is supposedly the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed.

It feels like the vineyard is growing here and on the edge of flourishing. I have a nagging feeling sometimes that certain people are out there that I need to find. The Lord's hand is evident in everything though. Even the timing of where we go as missionaries. Im a firm believer that we are often in the right place at the right time.

I promise to start recording my stories better and to share them. I exhort each of you to stay strong in the faith and continue learning something each day. There is always something to gain from the gospel. Progression is eternal.

 

Have a brilliant week,

 

Elder Jared Ludlow Jr.

May 30, 2012 Letter from Elder Ludlow

Hey,

It's transfer week so my P-day is on wednesday. I apologize for not sending the memo. Hope you figured it was something like that.

Thankyou again for telling me about what everyone is up to. I appreciate it.

From what I've heard, it's starting to heat up over there in the Holy Land. It was really rainy and moderately cold for a while here and i was wishing every day for warm weather. Then sunday and Memorial day came around and we were burning up outside. Missionary clothing is not the most comfortable when it's hot. However, yesterday it cooled down and we enjoyed it.

So the Pentecost is going on right now? I have just been reading about it lately.

Things are going pretty good then? A quiet week in Jerusalem is still a significant one. I have to tell you about my Middle Eastern phase that's going on right now. I started reading the Book of Mormon in Arabic again in the evenings. And I love it. I've forgotten a lot so I want to build my knowledge back up. Also I walked into a store and saw some writing that looked like arabic and the worker seemed Indian or similar. I got excited but it turns out that he is from Pakistan and speaks Urdu (?) Close but not quite.

There is a mosque in Fitchburg. I have to resist the urge to walk inside. Although I do have that problem with the Chistian cathedrals all around too. That's what Jerusalem will do to you.

Q's and A's:

Food- We usually don't cook much besides lunch. I've been making a few things from recipes in the cookbook. My mind is blanking out on the things I cook for lunch but they're mostly simple. I eat fast food probably once or twice a week. It's a tradition after district meeting to go together to a place. The members still feed us well. I find myself looking to that part of the day. It's relieving to be with people that accept all of the doctrine that you teach :P and to rest a little bit.

Yes, transfers are happening tomorrow. I didn't see much speculation beforehand. The transfer texts are somewhat suspenseful though because they come one at a time and you can infer from them things like: who is training, shotgunning etc.. A few people were expressing that they did NOT want to be transfered. One missionary from our district is leaving and he was really sad. We developed a quick friendship and had an exchange this last week so it's tough for me too. From the texts we believe that he will be shotgun training. So in other words, training a new missionary in a new area. Fun!

Personal study... I read from each of the testaments (O,N,BoM) and Jesus the Christ (Almost done) plus Preach my Gospel (Which is gold)

What does it mean to pass off teaching? Im assuming I don't do it

I could do better with spanish study but I enjoy it. It's hard to improve rapidly in that area when >75% of our teaching is in english.

Had zone meeting this last week. Down in Ludlow again :) It was pretty good. Afterwards we played Cricket with the Mission Pres and wife plus the Corbins, who are an awesome senior couple from England; they taught us how to play. They know about Ludlow England and think it's one of the most beautiful parts of the country. It was fun to see how enthusiastic President Evans was. Sister Evans is pretty awesome too.

It was tough again to get investigators to attend church which lead to other discouragement but the work keeps moving forward. It seems like excellent weeks are always followed by slow ones. It's a rollercoaster.

We have contacted a ton of people in the last few days and we'll see what comes from that. They came from trying to find past investigators. I met some guys from Brazil. One from Campinas (Sp?) and they wanted a portugese book of mormon.
Do the new students like to watch a lot of movies? Do they hangout in the main hallway late at night like we did? Are either of the classes (Harp or Hunts) remotely close to being as fun as mine was?
Im glad that my bros and sis' are involved in a bunch of things. Don't waste a single minute!
 Mom, I'm with you. The history is so rich and expansive that there is always something more to learn. It intrigues me a lot. We'll see what I do with that after my mission.

I dont have any cool stories to share this week. I'll try to do a better job of recording them when they happen. I also decided that Im going to take at least one picture a day. So keep me committed to that. Every week I'll send about seven pictures. Don't worry, I wont let this get in the way of my missionary duties.

Shalom and talk to you on Monday! Hasta Luego!

-Elder Jared Ludlow Jr.