April 17, 2017

Well, it really is coming to a close and I am soooo excited to see you guys and give the biggest hugs to everyone. I am a little scared for the
future and all but I just have a feeling that everything will work out :)

The finality of it all is scaring me that I will never ever be a full time missionary again, but its just kind of my time. Yeah, I am exhausted and I feel like rest is good, but I really don't know. I have so many goals and things to do that I feel I am going to be busy from that first walk off the plane.

I just wanted to bear my testimony a bit on Christ. I will be talking about this on Sunday too. I just wanted you to know that He is real, He exists and understands us. He has helped me more through my trials than anything else. Even when I am not perfect and get mad. He loves
us more than we know and I just want to apply so much more of what I learned about Him and His mission when I am home. I hope I can
continue to progress like I am and just to not make the same mistakes that I made when I was younger.

Love you guys so much and I CANNOT believe that I am coming home in two short days! Like where did these 2 years go! I am so excited to
be honest!

Love you sooooo much!
Elder Bigelow!!!!!!

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April 10, 2017

Well i can offically count the days i have left on two hands and its
kind of freaking me out! Its so unreal!

Jaja that's pretty great and very dad like to have him just have this face of ??? (Saul spoke in church today with a recently returned Sister missionary. She played a trick on him and got him pretty good. For a second, Saul thought he was going to have to speak for over 30 minutes.)
I just remember when he ate a huge spoonful of mayonnaise on that cruise. jajaja Super dad-like. jajajaja

I am really bored with writing all the time but we had a good week. We are just working with all of our investigators that have feches (dates) for the 22nd or 29th. My comp is excited to have like 9 people progressing! Woo!

Just working hard and excited mostly. jajaja I LOVE my topic by the way. I will have to prepare something awesome but humble to show my progress as a missionary! jajajajaja Return home talks are weird.

Miss you guys tons!
Elder Bigelow

April 3, 2017

Huh, I didn't even realize Justin is mission aged.... that means....LANDEN is almost mission aged! What the heck has happened while I have been gone!? That's super cool though, Columbia is a place that is blowing up right
now in the gospel because the government is controlling the drugs more so that's cool!

I am loving the mission right now. There were soooo many cool experiences this week but I have soooo much flojera (weakness) to write them all down. We found ten new people in a pueblo all at once and just were crazy teaching all of them at once. We also had a few cool investigators go to church. That was super awesome and they will be baptized next change which is exciting!

Loved conference it was a spiritual upbeat that was needed because I almost feel numb to always feeling the spirit. I feel it as a missionary and feeling like a learner and thinking of home was really fun.

Fun fact - I tried Nair yesterday in a pijamada (sleep over) that we had. Didn't know what it was but we put it on one of my armpits. I give it a 0/10. It removed 0 hair, smelled like old junk mixed with burnt hair oils, made my skin super dry and itchy, burnt me pretty awful and seriously my armpits still kind of tingle after 2 showers.... I called the hermana in our district because I was worried. jajajaja It is fine I guess.

Other than that just ya know keepin on keepin on!
Elder Bigelow!

March 27, 2017

Yeah, I also am like just super tired of writing to be completely honest. jajajaja Not enough crazy stuff happens in the middle of nowhere to tell a good story every week.
 
Kuntzy is STILL our home teacher? I don't think they are ever going to change him. jajajaja

My converts are doing really good here in Vega, a couple of them even went to the temple to do baptisms and its pretty awesome! We are also working with a bunch of different people right now. It is funny because the spirit works so weird with me to find people. Like I might be junior companion but I still feel like I call the shots and God sends me to places that I have no idea why and then suddenly we find new people to teach. Like on Saturday we didn't have much to do for like an hour. So, we went around to contact some people by the highway in the shops. I just happened to look in on some cool leather work things they had and the owner told me she wanted us to talk to her daughter and we taught a lesson with her right there in the store and she went
to church yesterday.

So yeah, I just keeping working and buying cool stuff for you guys. Don't think I will be able to buy everything that I really want to for everyone.

General Conference weekend is always amazing and I will be looking for some personal revelation for after my mission!

Miss you guys lots!
Elder Bigelow

March 20, 2017

We had a really good week just working alot to finish my goal. jajaja I am short 2 baptisms and I really want to finish it before i leave, like
the culmination of everything.

We found some really good new people that we are working with and trying to help. My companion is learning how to be a great missionary
and how to be better and do more quality with his work. That's kind of my focus right now to pass on the torch.

My converts here in Vega are really doing well. Ruben, the guy that was baptised like 3 weeks ago, went to the Veracruz temple and did
temple baptisms. It is amazing and made me really happy. I have also heard a lot about my converts from Cerro Azule, Edgar and
Isreal. They are doing soooo amazing and it really just makes me happy because everything I have sacrificed seems so... worth it <3

This Monday was awesome. I was pretty scared I was getting another ingrown toe nail and I got a type of pedicure. I got my feet all fixed up.
jajaja I guess I have some kind of problem called sobre uña which is like extra nail growth? So yeah kind of weird. But I am happy and
healthy and gaining weight again so yeah jumping rope a lot in the morning...

Also, I went and bought a lot of stuff for you guys and for me. jajaja I hope I got sizes right but i bought some really cool stuff. Not as cool as Holden because its more expensive in general here and almost everything that you can get here is the same in the states. Sooo its kind of hard. But I bought some cool stuff. ajajaja

We are working really hard though and I am trying to take it like the 4th quarter of a football game. I just want to leave everything on the field.

Love you guys,
Elder Bigelow

P.S. Yeah, I want breakfast to be honest when I get home, that's what i have missed most..... jajajajaja

March 13, 2017

I CANNOT wait to go to the temple! I feel like I just started to understand it when I left and then nothing for 2 years. jajaja It hurts!

My week was good, I have a companion who is motivated and awesome and really wants to work. So, I have shown him the entire area and am in the process of really helping him find out how to be a Senior companion. Just going with all my old investigators and also finding new ones!

I also on Saturday night was in Martinez with my Zone Leaders and guess what!? After 23 months of being in the jungle, I fed a monkey!!!!! It was awesome. jajajaja Her name is Micah and was really nice to us and ate all our candies. jajajaja

We had stake conference and that was good. The 70 that came from Sonora was super funny and talked about the importance of the priesthood. He actually challenged my convert of only 3 weeks to prepare for the
priesthood of Melchizedek. jajajaja It was funny but super cool because my convert, Ruben, was super impressed!

5 weeks fam and then we can just hang out again and be a family <3 I'm excited but I know there still are things I need to finish here!
Elder Bigelow

March 6, 2017

It's the final countdown! With that comes transfers. jajaja These transfers were far from expected because drum roll I will be staying here until the end of my mission in Vega. jajaja

Yeah, Elder Ari is going to Poza Rica and I am going to be junior companion for the first time since my own training! Elder Monreal is
going to be senior companion for the first time in the mission with me. So, I am going to show him the ropes. jaja He is a missionary from Durango that I actually watched be born in Tetzuitlan and was his first Zone Leader. So, huh, look how the tables have turned!

Yeah, I am super excited to be entering my last change but I really want to make the most of it and pass on my amassed knowledge to the
next generation of missionaries and be able to go out working hard. I already have a huge connection with the people here and it will be my
3rd area of 6 months! That is crazy!

Other than that it was a calm week. Just working like normal. I am really focusing on my prayers recently and I have really been enjoying
the strength that he has been able to give me. I cannot say that I have been perfect but I have been able to make it through! Still loving the mission and the thought of going home is all a daze. jajaj Yeah, the trunky moments come on strong sometimes honestly.

I am trying to buy all the recuerdos and I wont be able to buy everything I want because I am in the middle of no where.

Love you!
Elder Bigelow

My card reader se chufó so i will have to find a way to send pics... :(

February 27, 2017

The computer that I am on has an awful keyboard and I really have 0 drive to write on it.

I am alive though and super happy with all the news and everything so we can talk about it all soon enough!

Miss you guys so much!
Elder Bigelow

February 20, 2017

That blows my mind honestly that Braden is at the age and a bit more than when we moved into this ward. :) That is so cool.

Yeah, I actually talked to my buddy in the offices and he will be sending exact flight plans this week but I almost know everything because well "sources". I will be back if I'm not wrong the 19th of April at about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. But you will be getting that this week, I think so yeah don't worry.

I had like the funniest week ever btw. So first off we have 2 baptisms. I want to tell you a bit about them because they are really interesting. They are named Ruben and George. They contacted us in the street about 5 weeks ago wondering why our church is never open jaja. Ruben is about 55ish and is a really interesting guy. He doesn't have work and is pretty bad economically but is a mason and also a lawyer. jajaja He accepted the gospel like a boss and just has completed everything like a rockstar to be ready for this past Saturday. Then his friend, George, is a 76 year old crazy guy that just fell in love with how the spirit made him feel and just followed that to the waters of baptism. He makes some of the craziest comments ever when teaching and also plays about 7 different types of guitars. He takes them to every sacrament meeting and randomly will play them and just be noisy but loving. jajaja I love it!
 
This Saturday was their baptism and we did it in a river. Well it went ok until we all tried to get out. My comp and George fell face first in the water and mud. After helping Ruben out, I fell straight back into the water and lost my flipflops in the water and had to literally swim after them. jajajaja It was crazy!

Then after that we went to all eat chicken at a members house with everyone that went to the baptism. George brought his guitar and started playing a ton of songs and everyone was just having a great ole time laughing and playing. It was the funniest thing ever to see the members just accept this weird old man. jajaja We laughed
our heads off and then went home.

Things like that make the mission you know?

Other than I am working on little things and trying to plan my future..... weird
Elder Bigelow!