Hooray for Julio!!

Family!

Happy Julio Day!

I have the best news! On the 15th of February, 2020, Julio Esmerlin Castill Soto was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ! And it was a happy day.

I met Julio my first day in Independencia, the 4th of December. He was walking home from school and me and my two comps were contacting. He asked if we spoke English. We told him we did. He said he was interested in the Book of Mormon and wanted to know where the church was. He said he was an atheist. We met with him the next day and he explained why he didn't believe in God (he didn't understand why bad things happen if God is good). Julio kept every commitment and read everything we gave him. On the last day of my second transfer in Independencia, he got baptized!

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to teach Julio, but now I am being transferred. I've never found and taught and baptized anyone on my mission, so this was a really special experience. I made him promise that he's not going to stop going to church and that he's going to get sealed in the temple. :) It was so sad to say goodbye 😢 but I also felt so much JOY from being able to introduce Julio to Heavenly Father's church. My favorite thing is when Julio prays because I know he is communicating with his Father, and it's very sincere and pure. And when he bears his testimony, he looks like a future missionary. He has come so far!

Also this week, my comp decided that she was going to do something about my leg hair because she's confused as to why it's so thick and black. She was convinced I was shaving wrong and that I just needed shaving cream. So I bought the cream which was really expensive and she told me she was going to shave my legs for me. The smoothness lasted for 12 hours. Then my hair grew back!

I bear my testimony that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. He directs His work here on the earth. He leads and guides us personally in these latter-days. I'm so grateful and blessed to be a member and that I am a missionary! And I get to share my testimony to EVERYONE. I'm also really grateful to be in the DR, where testifying of Jesus Christ and His love is a normal thing. Last night, a guy casually stopped to talk to us just to tell us his testimony. Everyone lets me tell them what I know is true. 

It's not fair that I only have 3 transfers left! 18 weeks.

I love you, Fam!

Love,

Hermanita Ludlam

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Henry and Vielka grilling for the hermanas

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