January 30, 2017

Hello! It is another foggy day here in the culture capitol of Europe! I think that foggy days might be one of my favorite things about Denmark. I love how moody and mysterious and still it makes everything. It is just so pretty here, all the time.

My first week in Aarhus was pretty good! We were at the Mission President's house to discuss the schedule changes that the church has made, so we were out of our area for a couple of days. But we got to knock on quite a few doors and talk to people on busses and take accidental naps on busses.... basically a typical missionary life!

It is really fun to be with Sister Naylor again. We already know each other, so instead of having the awkward get to know you phase, we just jumped right into working. The only problem is that she has two large, rubbery, fake spiders... that she likes to hide EVERYWHERE. I live in terror of those spiders. But if that is the biggest problem we have, hey, life must be good, right?

So here's a good story: in Denmark we have this thing called 'loser island'. It is a part of the crosswalk that is halfway the two sidewalks, and people (us) get stuck there when crossing the street. Well, a few months ago, we role-played a situation where we had 2 minutes to get a good conversation with someone while trapped on loser island. This usually only happens to dumb Americans who don't walk fast enough, so it really isn't a super likely situation. but last Tuesday, Sister Naylor and I got trapped on loser island... but this time, someone was with us! That role play flashed into my mind, and i plucked up the courage and just started talking... 15 minutes later and a crosswalk later, we had his contact information, information on the cool buildings in Aarhus, and an appointment to meet later that day. There's a lot of things that we could have learned from this little situation, but the one that stood out to me was that the Lord used my past experience to inspire me or help me to do something seemingly scary. The Lord works with what we have, so it is SO IMPORTANT that we gain as much experience and knowledge as we can. Be open, learn as much as you can, and let the Lord work His magic! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Søster Ludlow

January 23, 2017

Hello everyone!

This was a pretty crazy week, and I don't even know where to begin!

First of all, I am no longer in Roskilde! President decided to bully me again (not really, he is inspired), and sent me to Aarhus to be companions with my trainer, Sister Naylor! So I am currently sitting in Aarhus, which is so cool. It'll be a really good area! I'm sad that I was only in Roskilde for 1 transfer, and I miss Sister Acosta's spanish danish english, but I am really going to love it here. Plus, Elder Dibble is in my district again, so it is just like having a piece of home! I'm really excited to see how things go.

 My favorite story from this week came while Sister Acosta and I were talking about Jehovah's Witnesses. She told me that the first time that she heard missionaries call them 'J-dubs', she was really confused because she thought that they were saying 'cheetos'. And she just couldn't understand why in the world all of these missionaries were so frustrated about investigators encountering cheetos, after all, what can a crunchy snack possibly do wrong?! She asked her companion that night and learned what it meant, but man, I can only imagine how concerned she was. Hahaha so watch out for cheetos, everyone!

 But my last week in Roskilde was good! We had a lesson with our investigator Kris, and he all of a sudden said "OH! I forgot to tell you! Recently, I haven't really been wanting to smoke... and a lot of time, if I do it anyway, my cigarette just tastes absolutely horrid!" WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. Talk about miracles! We haven't even asked him to quit smoking yet! He knows that he should stop and knew that we wanted him to, and because of the changes he's been making, This was just the next step. That was just a crazy huge testimony builder to me. We talk a lot about how we have to change to get the Spirit, but we forget that most of the time, it is feeling the Spirit that first prompts us to change... it is a cycle that can't be rearranged or changed - an increase of the Spirit will always motivate to change. So if you feel like you need the motivation to change something in your life to be more in line with the person you should be, start finding ways to invite the Spirit more into your everyday. It might take a while, but he WILL help you see the things that you can change and improve on. That's just how things work. And I am so grateful that Kris could start to experience that. I am going to miss teaching him, but he is stellar and I know Søster Acosta will take good care of him.

 I love you all and I miss you! thank you for your love and prayers! I hope you all enjoy the snow - play in it for a few extra minutes, just for me! Have a good week!

 Søster Ludlow

A map the the Roskilde apartment everyone signs when transferred out.  Sarah signed

next to Conner's MTC Companion, Aeldste Metcalf 

Hej Soster Acosta!

From: Elvia Silvana Acosta Nunez <elvia.acosta.nunez@myldsmail.net>

Date: Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 4:55 PM
Subject: mi churrita
To: sarah.ludlow@myldsmail.net

I wish the best to you, many blessing to you... I´m going to miss you so much.. but I know that you're going to have  the best time in Århus... enjoy lot.. I was so sad because I was distrative and I can't say bye to you, I tried to rum forward you train but that moment my train it was coming and sister batey call me for said that I needed to back and Me noooooooo... but will see you again soon.....

 Dont forgotten me... te quiero mucho... jeg elsker dig, I love you

--

Sister Acosta Nuñez

Misión Dinamarca

Copenhague

January 16, 2017

Hey everyone!

 

This week was good, but I don't have a lot of time.

We had a birthday party with one of our investigators and she made us barracuda! I didn't know that was possible but hey, add it to the list of weird foods! That was really fun and she is such a sweetheart.

We also were out knocking on doors and we started this conversation with someone, and this is how the conversation ended up going:

Him (looking at Soster Acosta): are you Muslim?

'No, I'm from Ecuador, I'm not Muslim.'

Me: are you religious?

Him: Yes, that is my wife. 

hmm........ it was quite the conversation... apparently, he didn't want to answer our questions. That went on for a couple minutes until Soster Acosta started laughing so hard that she couldn't talk, and then we left. I love missionary work :) 

We had a lesson with one of our investigators where we watched The Testaments and by the end, she was crying and just started saying "I know that it is true, I don't have a single doubt about it, it is true. I know it" and it really just hit me how much power the Book of Mormon has. Think of all the lives that it has changed, and yet we let it just sit on our shelves at home without giving it another thought. I just want to challenge all of you to think about a verse in the Book of Mormon that has changed the way you see the world, and then think of someone you know that needs to hear that same message... the world needs help, and we're the ones to give it. So use the tools you have and go bless lives! I love you all and I hope you have an incredible week!

Søster Ludlow

We went to the viking museum for P-Day...We make good vikings! Right?

January 9, 2017

Hej all! 

This week was another good one (they all are when you are doing good work). We started the week off by knocking some apartments.... and then kept the week going by knocking some more apartments.... and finished off with playing ping pong and then knocking more apartments! It never gets old! I also got to play a little bit of lacrosse during a sport activity that we had on Saturday, so that was fun!

Sister Acosta's english vocabulary lesson this week included the words "hangry" and "natural habitat". She thinks that english is hilarious, and also loves the idea of watching people in their "natural habitat". I love the way that she sees the world. She has no fear, and will say anything, to anyone, at anytime. I love her so much!

I guess maybe it wasn't as exciting as a week as I thought, because I can't think of any other good stories. But there is something from our testimony meeting yesterday that I want to share. A man in our ward named Poul got up. I was translating, so I was only have paying attention to the words that he was saying, but there was a few phrases that I can remember very specifically and I loved them. He said "God is not dead. And He sure isn't sleeping either. If anyone is sleeping, its me, not Him. He is not indifferent to what happens in our lives, but we may be indifferent to how He is in our lives. He is NOT dead."

The way that he said it was just so calm and so powerful - and it really struck me. I hope that you can feel the power behind them, but a simple email can't do them justice. Just know that God is not dead, and He is not sleeping. He's aware and is doing His part. 

It really is so incredible to be a missionary and see how He influences even the tiniest details of our lives. I am so grateful that I have this chance to be here, helping others to learn to see His hand. I love you all and hope that you have a good week! Don't forget to smile!

Love, Søster Ludlow 

The city building in Frederiksberg - I had to go there for my citizenship test today.

January 2, 2017

Hej everyone!

Sorry that I have been M.I.A. these last couple of weeks - we have had a lot of silly things to take care of on Mondays. So hopefully this email will do justice to all of the things that have been happening! 

Update on Søster Acosta's English vocabulary: she has now learned the proper time and place to use the phrases "punch it, Chewy!", "M.I.A." and the word "impertinent". I don't know where she learned that last one... but I am having a lot of fun with teaching her the way that Americans speak. She likes it too :)

Christmas and New Years were so much fun here! People keep asking me if they celebrate them just as much in Denmark as they do in the States......... They put us to shame. Everything in the city has basically been shut down since 2 days before Christmas (they call that 'Little Christmas Eve'), and people just relax and hang out and eat and party and eat and relax and eat.... did I mention the eating? DANISH CHRISTMAS FOOD IS SO GOOD. We got to be a part of all the traditions that the Danes have - My personal favorite is lighting all the candles on the Christmas tree and then dancing and singing around it. It is just the Who's from the Grinch, but better. People also refuse to use too artificial lighting (it ruins the hygge), so they just put candles EVERYWHERE. Just imagine the coziest couch with a roasty fire and candles and little children gently playing on the floor, with gentle music in the background. Now multiply that by 500 and you will almost have how cozy it feels to be a part of a Danish Christmas.

 Also, New Years was insane. There were literally fireworks EVERYWHERE for hours on end. It is a hard night to be a missionary because it is just so loud that you can't sleep even if you want to. But it was gorgeous - people save up for the entire year just so that they can buy good fireworks. I was sad because all of our investigators told us that they couldn't come to church the next day (hmmm, I wonder why), but then when we got there, 2 of them came! It just goes to show you that there really are people who want to learn and want to get to know God better, even if they were up until all hours of the night. 

 

My last thought from today comes from D&C 10:4. Go and read that, and then apply it to whatever long terms goals/projects you have - just remember that is is important that we do what we can, and the pace that we can, and that we just keep swimming. The Lord has given you what you need to accomplish things, you just need to do what you can and rely on His help to do the rest. Keep working, keep being diligent, and keep going. The Lord is with us always, we just need to look for Him. I love you all and I hope that you have a great year. Happy 2017! Make it a good one!

Søster Ludlow