October 3, 2016

It was a really good week for me to be honest. Something I have learned is fasting is so powerful so I have been trying to fast weekly. I fasted for Dad that first week and I hope it helped him!

That really stinks about Courtney! I will definitely pray for her because that like really stinks. Sometimes God just gets us home early for reasons we don't know. I know she will be fine though. :)

So like I said, I had a super fun week and we had a really good time working hard. Kinda awful weather as it rained every single day this week and the temperature dropped to about 48 during the day and about 30 at night. I think. jaja I am such an Arizona boy though because I seriously sleep in a hoodie and sweats and this pair of socks that heat up your feet and a beanie! I get super duper cold at night so yeah jajaja. But other than the rain we just worked really, really hard. It was an interesting week because they closed an area in the zone and the elders are living and working in our area right now so we just like constantly do divisions in our area. It is good but pretty sad that they had to close that area...

The area is really progressing and that family I mentioned last week is seriously just like the coolest thing ever. G went to 4 of the 5 sessions of conference with us and the rest of the family went to the 2 on Sunday. I am pretty sure they like really, really liked it and received a ton of answers to their questions. Speaking about receiving answers, I also was really uplifted by conference. I had been feeling pretty down about my abilities as a leader and how the zone was progressing and was really just not happy, happy. Like yeah I had fun and tried and such but like that happiness that we get that just kind of stays? Yeah that I did not have.

The prophets really came through for me because I felt about half the talks were for me in that moment. I have kinda of a new life motto coming along and I will think about it this week. However, I know without a doubt that true happiness does not come with any other thing than just centering our lives in the Savior. I felt super uplifted and that spirit is still carrying me today! :D

Today was super fun too. jajaj We got together as a zone and made this sweet food from the north part of Mexico called Discada. It is seriously just like a ton of meat that you cook together with spices and all sorts of love and then eat in tacos. It was super, super good to be honest. jajaja Tomorrow is another trip to Xalapa for the leadership conference so that should be fun. I am kind of just tired of traveling. jajaj With this trip, I will bring the total to 184 hours on a bus in my mission. jajaja

I am really trying to be firm in Christ and keep working with the quality that my Lord wants me to and I KNOW that this church is true. That is something that I have loved is that I don't only just believe in Christ in general but I have gotten to know who he is and become his friend :D

Love you guys!

Elder Bigelow

 

 

September 26, 2016

It really was a great week so don't worry about that! I have a new companion named Elder Hernandez hahah yeah same name but different guy! He really is pretty crazy but it has been fun to try and adapt to his style of being a leader and a missionary. I have learned a ton from him in this small time to be honest and I hope to keep learning this whole transfer. We had a really great week teaching and found the coolest of families! 

They are named G, the mom, and G, the 20 year old son, then D, the 14 year old daughter, and then they have two little boys. They were able to attend church and I really think they enjoyed it a lot. They are really taking in the lessons super quickly! I really enjoy teaching a family because I have yet to baptize a family and it is really fun seeing each of the family members support each other to make sure they read and to get up for church and stuff!

Other than that we really did not do much today just chilled out washing a ton of clothes and relaxing. My companion got here super stressed from being the Assistant to the President so he enjoyed just working normal for once jajaja.

That is actually crazy that the stake is being divided! That means that Taylor won't even be in our stake anymore? Wow craziness that the work is progressing so much there at home. I always pictured that the missionaries at home just like never baptise, and surely they don't baptize at the same rate that we do, but the work of the Lord is progressing really strongly there at home it seems. 

I almost have 17 months in the mission. To be honest, I really cannot believe it!

Elder Bigelow

 

 

September 19, 2016

If I could give you any advice that I have learned so far it is that we really cannot stress about things that cannot be controlled. We can stress and try our best with all the things under our power but the moment that we stress because the weather stinks we are going to have a bad time. It is not and will never be under our control. Something that I have been doing if I am stressed or sad about things that I can't fix is to just conquer something that I can. Like if one of our investigators just stopped listening and I am sad, I will like clean the bathroom. It is something that I can control and I will make it how I want it. Helps me idk and then things are somehow clean jajaja. So it is an idea, stressed about work? Clean out the junk drawer. That has helped me a ton and keeps my mind busy on other things. I also look in the Book of Mormon when I just can't control things, it really has a calming spirit and in those moments is when God can really talk to us and give us "ideas" that help so yeah! 

I am seriously missing ALL of the marriages so like woo... next thing I know Nathan, Bryan, Alex, and JT will all be married before I get home!

If it is like me you just have to explain things really, really well. I just always refused to do anything that I did not get the point of or it did not benefit me in some way. I probably asked why to about everything and sometimes you really don't want to explain. However, take the time to explain step by step why you are going to do something and maybe I will see the need of it. You as the seller need to create the need for him to want to do something. That is the secret of getting anyone to do anything, including teaching the Gospel. If I do not create the need for someone to change their lives and listen to the Gospel they will never ever do it, because there is no need. 

I just had a pretty cool week so I will have to keep the descriptions short! 

1 Baptism on Saturday! It was super cool and she is named B and is the mom of a member that was resisting the church but finally gave in. She will be going to the temple in December (already signed up) and hopefully in a year can be sealed to her son and step daughter! Woo!

2 Mexican Independence Day! Super fun and I totally bought this super cool Mexican customized thing that I am so excited to show you. jajajaja It was fun and me and Herm Christensen totally got all super Mexicanized for the event!

3 Changes! I will be staying here for another change in the best weather in the mission! O thank goodness! I will be changing Hernandezes though because the Elder Hernandez that is my comp is leaving and I will be with the Elder Hernandez from Torrejon Mexico. He is actually the Assistant to the President right now so I am pretty excited to learn and have a lot of success together! Just kind of worried because it is starting to get really, really cold!

Alex is almost home and Bryan soon after that! I just have 5 changes left or 7 months! I have to get in gear because there is not enough time!

Elder Bigelow

September 12, 2016

This is the week that he was told about his Dad's car accident.

 

I am going to fast. That is kind of crazy. But don't worry I am ok, a bit surprised but ok :) I also have the best support system that there is because really to be honest Christ understands these kinds of things and can really support us. So I am going to focus on finding that comfort and peace for Dad. I love him so much please tell him that! <3 

Also tell him this: Que la verdad no estoy nada preocupado y que sanaré super rapido porque todavia tiene demasiadas viajes al Rio Negro para estar de nena ahorra jajaja.

I caught a rabbit jajaja

Elder Bigelow

 

 

September 5, 2016

Well this week was kind of hectic with so many things to try to do and divisions and craziness! But we got some fun work done to be honest. The only thing is that no one made it to church this week... this is the first time I have had this happen in like 7 months and it hurts. I honestly feel sometimes that I have wasted a whole week of work because they just don't get it to go to church... But other than that it was super cool!

Tomorrow we have consilio so that means another sweet bus ride. That will bring me to 168 hours in a bus during my mission D: I love it there because it really makes me better as a missionary and helps me focus because I just focus on my missionaries. We also eat like super good food from Hermana Greer yay!

Sad Story Time: On Saturday we went walking in our area and got to this members house that is super cool to us. Well her neighbor has a dog named LaLa that seriously looks exactly like Athena. She acts exactly like Athena too. She is super loving and still a little pup. So we always play around with her a lot. We did the same thing this Saturday as usual. Well LaLa is getting braver to go farther and farther away from her house and always follows us for a good while after we see her. Well on Saturday she followed us for like a super long way and it was fun to contact and preach with my dog jajaja. But then the worst thing ever happened and a mean dog scared her into the street and she got smacked by a car :( It just seemed to really damage her leg and put her into shock. Oh did I mention it was raining? Yeah, so I would not leave her there. I carried my little LaLa back to the member's house. It kind of sucked and I smelled like wet dog and was seriously filthy, but I felt good about it. Just the things you never expect to do as a missionary I guess. 

Still loving it here but the rain and cold are kind of killing my sleeping habits! I had to go buy foot warmer thingies to warm my feet jajajjaa

Love you! 

Elder Bigelow

August 29, 2016

Did we teach you how to work? You kind of gave me the option to learn to work. I just figured it out myself I guess. Yeah, I might find the easiest way to get something done, but I get it done. 

It is funny how that actually applies in the mission. Like we work in everything but we should always be looking for the easiest and most effective way to have success as a missionary. That is working with the members. I can contact about 2,000 people in the street, but maybe just one of them will get baptized. I do it because it is what we are supposed to do but I know the best way to work is to work closely with the members. So we are applying that in our area and seeing success! 

This week was cool because the assistants came with us and worked with the trainers in our zone. I think they really helped and did a lot. They also taught us a few things that we can do to help out and become better missionaries. So that was fun plus they are 2 crazy dudes that are my friends sooo yay!

We worked hard with our missionaries as well doing a few sweet divisions so that was fun.

Other than that we saw some cool miracles with our investigators and they are just progressing. It has been really hard because a lot of people that know that this is the true church just cannot trust God enough to change their lives to be baptized. They end up falling away from the church well before they even get baptized. I want to help them so much but at that point I am powerless but to teach them what is true repentance. It hurts me really bad sometimes...

I had the worst sickness of my mission this week. Just straight diarrhea for the week... it was terrible jajaja but getting better and Hna Greer gave me some pills to take to help out so yay! She also found me some pants! woo! Hna Greer is the best!

Being a leader is expensive though because I try to be the one that helps out other missionaries and basically when I am on divisions I kinda pay for everything... and all the divisions means a lot of costs in food and travel and things. So yeah I have been burning money I feel... but yeah I can't really do anything else about it because that's how I am.

Love you guys and miss you tons!

Elder Bigelow