Born 6 February 1834 into a poor family on the island of Nordstrand in Schleswig-Holstein district—now part of Germany but then under the control of Denmark—Ludwig was expected to work as soon as he was old enough. At seven, he began earning money by tending geese and sheep. An accident at age twelve nearly put an end to his useful life. While playing one day, he somehow fell under the wheels of a horse cart which rolled over both his legs, crushing them. It seemed that he would never walk again: a year later, Ludwig was still bedridden. Visiting doctors did their best, but he didn’t respond to their treatments.

His parents, who were devout Christians, kept assuring Ludwig that he would walk again one day, but looking at his frail legs, the thirteen-year-old found this hard to believe. One Christmas, while reading his Bible, he came across John 14:14: “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Trembling, he asked his mother, “Is this true? Do miracles still happen today?”⁴

Ludwig’s mother hesitated. The doctors had expressed doubt that her son’s legs would ever recover fully, but she couldn’t bear to disappoint her dear son. Trying to look confident, she smiled and replied, “Of course, dear. It’s true because that’s God’s Word.”

For Ludwig, that answer was good enough. If his mother said so, then it had to be true! For the first time in many months, he felt the assurance of hope as he began to ask God to heal his legs. If he could walk again, he vowed, he would become a missionary. Ludwig believed that if God gave him his legs back, it would be for a specific purpose.

God’s answer, as far as Ludwig was concerned, came soon after. Sometime after he began to pray for healing, a doctor who occasionally checked on him prescribed a new medicine, and his wounds began to heal. A year or so later, he was walking normally. Ludwig had no doubt that God’s hand was behind his healing and didn’t forget his vow. Walking into a church one day, he got down on his knees, thanked God, and asked Him, “Do You want me to become a missionary?”

While no voices rang in his head and no Bible verse came to mind, Ludwig felt convinced that God had replied, “Yes.”

While Ludwig was ready to respond immediately, he had to undergo several tests of his patience and determination. First, his father died, so he had to continue working to support the family. Only after his oldest sister married and could take over his role was he able to enrol at the Rhenish Mission Society. There, he faced a brief test. Arriving at the mission house, he was given a cold welcome by the inspector because he had turned up before being officially summoned. Made to stand at the man’s office door for two hours and be studiously ignored, Ludwig waited patiently. That impressed the inspector, who later said of the young man: “Who can wait patiently for two hours without being offended, can surely do more.”⁵

That enduring patience would turn out to be one of Ludwig’s greatest strengths.

Around 1859, Ludwig began to hear about the need for God’s messengers in Borneo and Sumatra, two large islands that were part of the Dutch colony in Southeast Asia. Several missionaries sent to Borneo had made some headway, but a violent revolt by the natives had broken out, killing several and forcing the others to evacuate. Some of the missionaries had fled to Sumatra, where they saw a potential mission field among the native Batak.

The reports inspired Ludwig, who had long been wondering where God would send him. “Before this I have had little ambition to go to Borneo, but now all the more,” he wrote in a letter to friends.⁶ “The blood of the brethren is crying over to us, to you, to all Christendom. This blood is the seed for Borneo, which will bring forth fruit a hundredfold.”

After being ordained in 1861, Ludwig put in a request to be sent to the Batak in Sumatra. It was quickly approved, and after undergoing some language lessons in Holland, he was on his way.