Tainara's Baptism

Date: January 23, 2012

Area: Paraíso, Alagos

Companion: Elder Araujo

From: São Paulo, Brazil

Hey Fam!!!
This week was good!!! I baptized Ingrid´s sister, Tainara this week. She´s a cute little 11 year old girl. She loves church and everyone loves her there already.

It was super rainy this week with a bunch of thunder storms during the night but we found a lot of great people to teach and we had 3 investigators at church... which is awesome because if we can get someone to visit  church, they are way more likely to be baptized.

 We are planning to baptize Angelica, and Rafaela this week and maybe their mom, Lucia. The 2 girls went to church this week. The family investigated the church about a year ago but the missionaries stopped going there.
Also there was a miracle at church that a member came to visit. We marked to teach her on Wednesday. it´s crazy because nobody was visiting church... but on the week that is raining like crazy, people show up.

 Eliene wants us to teach her husband and try to get him to visit the church, and so she´s kind stopped wanting to get married until then... but he is a very closed, shy guy that is hard to teach and talk to. So I don’t know we´ll see what happens.

We also had leadership training on Tuesday with president Gonzaga for the zone and district leaders. It was good! I´ll do a division tomorrow in the zone leader’s area after my district meeting. Remember Elder chandler??? He´s my zone leader. (We met him at the Missionary mall when we were buying some things for Bradley's mission)

That´s awesome that Trevor is going to the temple... that makes me happy. I hope Brian’s doing good out of the house.

The mission is flying by! I´ve only got like 3 month left...I´m super excited but I´m also getting nervous to go home. It´ll be weird. It’s so weird being old in the mission theirs only like 10 or 15 people older than me in the mission.



But anyways, that’s about it! I´m doing really good here, I love you guys!!! I am loving my mission and learning so much!!!! I know the church is true!!!
Love Bradley

Oi

Date: January 16, 2012

Area: Paraíso, Alagos

Companion: Elder Araujo

From: São Paulo, Brazil

Oi!
Hey guys!
This week was really good! I had a great birthday thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes. This week we had a lot of success, our only problem is getting people to church.... we marked with 11 people to take to church and only 1 person went. We found an awesome family this week that has already investigated the church and visited a bunch... they stopped going when the father of the family got killed. but they are all super interested. the son plays professional soccer for one of the the teams here in Maceió called CSA. they are all super cool. We´re still working with Ingrid's sister Tainara. We´re doing good here. a week from tomorrow we´re planning on marrying Eliene, that's another super cool family here. the kids are all members but she´s not married, but is way excited to get baptized.

I´ll send a picture of my birthday cake that some members made for me.

(Vanessa is a sweet lady who takes care of the missionary's we have messaged each other on face book, when I thank her for being so good to Bradley she tells me not to thank her because she loves that boy, - that just makes me so happy and grateful)


I hope Brian's loving St George. Just bumming around. i bet he´s loving it. It´s still super hot here, but I´m way more used to it than last year. but if you happen to send a package send me some gold bond lol.

 That´s crazy that it still hasn´t snowed there... maybe I´ll see snow in May!!!

I´m doing good here, my companion is super cool. We got a new missionary in the house from the Amazon, he´s got some crazy stories.

I'm still reading D&C... no  didn't get the letters from my cousins.

but that's about it!!! I love you all!!! be safe and have a great week.
 I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves us.

Elder Ludlow

Birthday

Date: January 9, 2012

Area: Paraíso, Alagos

Companion: Elder Araujo

From: São Paulo, Brazil

Hey guys,
So I stayed here in Paraíso with Elder Araujo. It´s still me and the three Brazilians. I´m pretty happy to stay, my comp is a cool guy and I like the members here. This week we found some good people, most of them didn't go to church. but we did take Ingrid´s sister. shé seems like a baptism. But yeah it´s crazy!!! I´ll pass 6 months in this area. but I´m whatevs. We´ve got some good investigators so it´ll be good. it´s just getting people to church that´s the problem.


Thanks for the happy birthdays! it´s crazy I´ll be 21. The time is flying by. Tonight we´ll go to Vanessa´s house to celebrate my birthday. we´ll have a family home evening.

That sucks Isaac broke both wrists. that would be terrible...

Today I got the Gubler´s package tell them thanks! It was nice to here from them.

How´s Brian doing in St. George? I hope he´s good. have him email me this week. who´s he living with??

It´s hotter than ever here in Maceió. I hate the heat. January and February are the worst. It´s super humid here too.

I hope Lym heals up quickly. thanks for the bracelets!

Next week I´ll take my companion to eat Açaí for my birthday.

But yeah guys I´m doing great, just trying to take advantage of my time here! I know that this Church is true and that Jesus Christ is our savior. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

Until next week!
Bradley

Happy New Year!

Date: January 2, 2012

Area: Paraíso, Alagos

Companion: Elder Araujo

From: São Paulo, Brazil

Hey Guys...
I hope that everyone had a great week and a good new years!!!!
This week we had the ward party... it was cool we went to both ward parties. one of them had a mechanical bull, it was fun.

This week the other ward had a missionary get home. it was really awesome. He got home and baptized his dad on the same day, he got home at like 11: 30pm and went straight to the church and at like midnight he baptized his dad. President let us go to the baptism and I did the baptismal interview for him. The guy had been investigating the church for over 10 years, and he´s wanted to be baptized for a while now but he wanted his son to do it.

Transfers are this coming week. I feel like I´ll probably get transferred. Transfers will be on the day of my birthday.
I got my packages this week, thanks!!!! It's nice to have new shoes and socks!!! tell Lym thanks for the bracelets, a lot of people have been asking for them... I sent my Christmas cards today, so they will be late but whatever.

Our neighbors had a huge party this weekend, it went on forever and they had super loud music playing for a few days!!! it was way hard to sleep. this week was way hard to work because everyone was drinking and partying.

Have fun in St. George Brian! be good buddy!
I hope dad´s work is going good, have fun working in Nevada this week.



It was awesome to talk to everyone on Christmas... I'm glad that the Internet worked and everything!! You all look good!!! It´s crazy that my mission is almost coming to an end!!! it´s going by so fast!!!

but anyways I love you guys!!!



Be safe

Elder Ludlow

Trip to Arapiraca for p-day

Date: December 19, 2011

Area: Paraíso, Alagos

Companion: Elder Araujo

From: São Paulo, Brazil

Hey Fam!!

Today I went to Arapiraca. It was cool to see my first area and visit the people that I met there. It was just a long, tiring pday.

But it´s going good here. the work is going okay... the closer it gets to Christmas the more people are partying and drinking. But we found a 2 great families this week. just that one of them had family in town and we couldn't get a hold of the other so no one went to church. This week I did a division with Elder Rowland. He´s supper cool. My companion, Elder Araujo  is awesome, he teaches really well and gets along well with everyone.
So they called wanting to know about my flight plans. I told them that you guys might come pick me up and he said to figure it all out on Christmas...

I´ll call to mark a time for the phone call. it might have to be on Saturday. I´ll let you know though.

I hope it snows for you guys this Christmas... it so muggy and hot here... but I remember I suffered way more last year. I´m getting used to it I guess.

Bubba's long board videos are cool. He´s gonna have to teach me when I go home.

I´ve been thinking a bunch about what I´m gonna do when I go home. It´s getting super close. I gotta have a plan for school and stuff.

I´m gonna read All of Doctrine and covenants. I´m gonna start with section 138 and go backwards for the last 138 days of my mission.

That's about it... i don't have a lot of time today, plus I´ll talk to you this week. but I love you all and I´m learning a lot and loving my mission. be safe!!!
Love, Bradley

Ingrids Baptism

Date: December 12, 2011

Area: Paraíso, Alagos

Companion: Elder Araujo

From: São Paulo, Brazil



Elder Araujo, Ingrid, Elder Ludlow

Hey family!!!
This week was a good week! We had quite a bit of success and baptized Ingrid this week. She was really happy and excited. We let Elder Rowland baptize her. It was his first Baptism on the mission. We baptized her at stake conference. It was via satellite. Elder Ellis, Silvia Allred, Elder Eyring, and Elder Christoferson. They spoke to everyone in the northeast of Brasil. It was good. We had Edjane´s baptism marked for the same day. We did the interview and everything, but she said her mom was sick on the day of the baptism. We´ll try and baptize her this Saturday.



Elder Araujo, Elder Rowland, Ingrid, Elder Ludlow



This week we played a joke on Elder Rowland. We hung up this super ugly fruit on the wall called jaca; it seriously looked like some kind of animal. It was super funny he freaked out when he saw it. I´ll send a pic.



Super ugly fruit called Jaca



That´s awesome that Julie went to the temple. I bet that was awesome to see her and Joe there.

I´ll write grandma a letter. She said she wants another pic.
I sent a letter to KY like 2 weeks ago; she should get it any day. That’s good that she´s going to institute. I´m excited for institute and stuff.

This Wednesday I´ll go renew my visa. I’ve got to go to the federal police to do it.

I´m stoked for Christmas! It´s coming up fast. I just don’t know if the internet is fast enough here to use Skype. I´ll figure it all out though.

Bubbas video was good, he´s getting good. Bubbs should make some more longboard videos and send them to me, and Brian playing guitar.

I´m doing good! My companion is awesome. He´s super humble and teaches way good. We´ve had some awesome lessons this week.

But one thing is that my comp broke our toilet. It apparently wasn’t screwed down and he knocked it over and it shattered. lol

There´s a couple of families that I love here, I'll take some pictures
Oh and I forgot tomorrow is the mission Christmas party. The whole mission will be together, that’s never happened before so I’m stoked

I love you guys!! I´m doing well!
Have a great week.
Elder Ludlow

New Companion

Date: December 5, 2011

Area: Paraíso, Alagos

Companion: Elder Araujo

From: São Paulo, Brazil

Hey guys!!!!


So, I got my new companion! Elder Araujo from São Paulo. He´s a way cool guy. He has 3 months on the mission. He has only like a year and a half in the church. He´s an awesome guy. We have been working great together and we have already had a ton of success. We are still working with Edjane, we´ll try and baptize her this week. She knows the church is true, it´s just the question of leaving her church. We also found a girl named Ingrid that went to church a bunch already and went yesterday. We marked her baptism for this week also. We are also working with Eliene, but she´s got to get married... we´re going to have a family night to make friendship with her husband. I love that family! They have 3 kids that are all members; they always ask me to baptize their mom. And also her sister Luciana. Her baptism is marked for the 17th and she has a daughter that will be baptized with her.



We´re also teaching a lady who´s son got shot this week. We went to visit her and said a prayer for her son, and we went back the next day and he had died. So we´ll go back and teach the plan of salvation.



It´s almost Christmas! Everyone is starting to buy trees here and put lights up on their houses. And it´s getting so hot.



That´s awesome that Julie and Joe are going to the temple, I wish I was there to go! I miss the temple.



My companion lost his wallet this week on the day we took out money. So he has nothing till the 15th. I´m helping him out and so are the others in the house.



Elder Becker left the house. I´m going to miss my red headed friend, and now Santána is training, so we have a new missionary in the house. His new companion is Elder Rowland, from Sacramento. He´s cool. It´s funny to remember my first transfer in the mission, I´m still district leader, it´s been like almost 6 months. But I like it.

I got a card from you guys, Grandma Hall, Kylee and the Nottingham’s. Tell them all thank you and I´ll write back this week.



I´m going to the office on Thursday to renew my visa. it’s been expired since I made a year.



That’s about it I’m doing good and I’m excited to baptize and it looks like it´ll be a great transfer.



Love you guys, I know this church is true. Have a great week!!!!



Love you!!
Elder Ludlow