This week has been crazy! We put on a music and the spoken word concert in the church yesterday, so we spent a lot of time this week preparing for that! We also had 3 different sets of sisters visiting for splits, and had a church tour/doctrine explanation session with a class of 45 20 year olds, which was way fun. Plus, we went all the way to Copenhagen! That was easily the highlight of the week.
Can I just say that Satan will use literally anything he can to stop us from having success? This week, while we were getting ready for the church tours and concert, 2 out of the 4 elders ripped their pants RIGHT before everything started. Don't worry, their companions covered them with flags and chairs until new pants could be found, but Satan literally was biting at our pant legs trying to stop us from putting it all together. Luckily, all it did was provide a much needed laugh and everything still went smoothly.
But you might be asking, why were you in Copenhagen, Sister Ludlow? That's all the way on the other side of the country! A whole 3 hours by train! (Haha Europe is so tiny) Well, remember when I served on Amager? One of my sweet investigators, Mads, made the decision to be baptized. It was one of the happiest days of my entire life. When we found him, he was in the process of trying to stop with misuse of drugs and alcohol, and trying to mend broken relationships caused by 20 years of misuse. And now, he is completely drug and alcohol free, has self confidence, and his adult daughter came to his baptism because she was so proud of the changes he has made in his life. I can't even begin to describe how different he is. But when he saw me walk into the church, his face lit up and he ran over and shook my hand with vigor because he couldn't hug me - but man. What a feeling. After he was baptized, the branch president stood up to welcome him to the branch, and he said something really profound. He said "Mads, you're a part of this family now. We need you, and you need us. We promise that we will be there to watch out for you, love you, and support you, no matter what comes your way. Welcome to our little family, Mads". Isn't that so profound in such a simple way? Every single one of us needs the support system the church provides - but the church also needs us. Every single one of us is needed. We watch out for each other, we support each other. We aren't here to tear down or envy or compete - we are here to be the strength others need when they are weak, and in return, we receive that strength back.
I just feel so blessed that I could be a part of that day. Mads' life is now changed forever - and the lives of his family and friends have already begun to change also. How blessed are we that we get to be a part of this work. I don't care how stressed, how difficult, how long, or how scary the coming weeks are - my mission will be worth every ounce of pain and discomfort just because of Mads alone. I love being a missionary. I love Denmark with my whole soul. Good luck trying to get me to come home. I love you all, and i hope you have a good week!
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