July 27, 2015

This week was really busy and fun and crazy all at the same time! We really got down to work. Elder Morillo is a cool dude and we just get along. He is sort of quiet and speaks little to no english so I have had plenty of practice with my Spanish this week and for the next 5 lol. After transfers it just kinda feels like there is an energy to work and find new investigators! We found a few new ones and had 5 investigators at church! That is way more than we have had yet. I am excited to see how they progress. That is one thing I have been worried about is that I lack experience to help someone to progress and how to see if they are or not. I really just lack experience in everything lol. I feel like I can teach and even Elder Morillo says that I seem like a missionary with like 6 months in the mission.  I do kinda feel like I am the senior companion though because Elder Morillo is pretty quiet and I just seem to make all the decisions on where to go and who to teach. It has been stressful making that change from literally in training to leading lol. Elder Morillo is a powerful missionary and everything but he just seems to be lacking the leadership part. He is the district leader and everything and it is his first time with that so he is stressed about these responsibilities and I can't help because I have no clue lol.  But mostly I am doing just great and having a fun time. We are trying to apply and work with the members more and are trying to find some new investigators. I want to baptize a lot this transfer because I know that we can do it! Its crazy that summer is almost over! How are Landen, Braden and Holden? Of course they are not writing me because thats how life is so if you could shoot me an update about them that would be super cool lol. Love you guys so much! Elder Bigelow

 Hayden/Elder Bigelow and Elder Morillo

July 20, 2015

Hey Everyone!  So this week is cambios(change)! Crazy it has already been 6 weeks in the mission! Time is flying so fast I can't even believe it. So the news about transfers in that Elder Bravo got called to be a zone leader in Martinez which is just north of Xalapa. So I will be receiving a new comp named Elder Morillo to finish up my training. Elder Bravo says that I pretty much have finished my training so it will be more like he is just a regular comp for me. I will be staying in Cerro Azule so that is pretty awesome because I have just built a strong relationship with some members and they are starting to really be a help in the work. Sometimes we don't even ask for references anymore they just give us them lol. We have some really good investigators that I am excited to possibly become baptisms in this next transfer. My goal is 3. These include 2 familes that I am super excited for!  I had some cool spiritual experiences this week. One that was Tuesday that involved a recent convert that needed our help badly and I felt the prompting that we needed to go to his house. We are trying to help him with some addictions that have remained since baptism and help him be free of any doubts about the church. The other was that I went on divisions with a member of the ward, a 17 yr old named F. It was my first time teaching without my Papá and it was kinda scary. But my spanish could not have been better I felt. I taught two lessons all by myself and they were pretty spiritual and made me happy and feel confident about this next transfer. There really isn't much more news to report except for today, we will have to head to Tuxpan where I will chill with the zone leaders until tomorrow when my new comp will arrive. I hope you are all enjoying what is left of your Summer vacations! Love, Elder Bigelow

July 13, 2015

Everything was good for me this week! Just everything was like super fast, I felt like it was Sunday and then another Sunday. I swear. lol I gave a talk yesterday in church and that was really, really cool. My convert J got confirmed this week and he was so happy! He feels so clean, and me and him have this awesome relationship. We are always laughing together and just being weirdos. He really wants to find his eternal companion and get married in the temple when he can because we have been talking about the temple and families a lot. He never really cared for a family before and just has a couple of kids, but now he knows the eternal importance and wants to enjoy the blessings.  We had a decent week of work, met a few new investigators and have 3 that are progressing really fast and should be ready for baptism in the next change. It is fun to watch people change their life's.  My teaching has gotten so much better and Elder Bravo says that I teach like I have been here for 7 months and speak spanish like I have been here for 6. That makes me feel really cool lol. He said that I have a ton of potential to be a leader in the mission and has been telling President that since like the 2nd week.  We had to go to Tuxpan today for interviews with the President. Pres said something cool- that I will have many assignments and leadership in this mission! I don't know exactly what that means but I am excited to serve the Lord however I am asked.  Nothing really big happened. Just working and working, walking and walking (same thing right?) With us having Cerro Azul to ourselves we usually have appointments like across town from each other and then back again so we are running around all day. lol  I love you guys so much! Enjoy your vacation and stuffs. Elder Bigelow

July 6, 2015

I am doing fine and just being a missionary ya know? Like I am understanding more and more everyday and try to be in on the conversations as much as possible. I am learning the lessons and have pretty much taught every lesson at least once. We have some hopeful new investigators and are excited to teach them. 

But yesterday was super awesome! I got to baptize my first convert and he really is a pretty swell guy. He has such a testimony and was crazy to watch him change and he accepted commitments and lived them. I got to preform my first baptism and that was so freaking cool. 

The world is going nuts... But I could kinda care less right now because I'm in Mexico and the Lord´s work presses on!

I am also no longer in a trio lol. Our third buddy got transferred to Paponcla. Now its literally me and Elder Bravo alone in Cerro Azule, which is a giant area! My mission is losing like a ton of missionaries this transfer and in the next few months so we don't know what exactly is going to happen. 

Anyway I love you guys so much!

Elder Bigelow

So this is how Hayden celebrated the 4th of July in Mexico!

Then he saw this and looked like this . . .

 actually he said that he saw some cool bugs!

 He also found this really cool waterfall, but it happens to be very muddy and gross.

 He says that these are the things that missionaries do for a baptism!

 It took them like 3 hours to empty the dirty font. They had to do it bucket by bucket.

 Then they had the baptism and Hayden is extremely happy for the new member.

June 29, 2015

Um this week was rather good nothing honestly too crazy except for a couple things lol. 

So our district leader had some crazy stuff go down and we are not exactly sure what but essentially he left for Xalapa on Saturday at 10. So, now we are in a trio and my trainer is going to become the district leader of Cerro Azule which is literally the trio lol. We don't know what's going to happen after this change but right now we are trioing it up and whatever lol. Because of the trio I actually had my first baptism on Sunday and that was pretty cool! I didn't get to teach him at all but it was cool to be at the baptism. 

But onto better news my investigator accepted baptism for this coming Sunday! His name is J and he is such a boss! We taught him a lot but he never wanted to commit to a date because he wanted to learn more and more before he made his decision. But I was prompted to just straight up ask him and he accepted! And he wants me to be the one to baptize him which is super awesome too! I am so excited and will send pictures and stuff next week. 

Other than that just a ton of walking and getting used to talking to people. My Spanish is like way better and everything but I still have a hard time with some grammar tenses and stuff. I also don't know half the words I want to use and its hard for me to just memorize words, which is annoying, but I guess it has been just three weeks. Me and my trainer are getting so much better at teaching with each other and I feel we are using the spirit more as I learn more and can say more and more during lessons. It is so fun when I just kill a lesson. 

We have a lunch meeting with members everyday at 2 and that's when I really try to improve my Spanish. I just talk and talk and talk to the members even if I don't make sense. My trainer says I am a parrot lol. I copy a lot of his phrases and mannerisms when I talk and he thinks its hilarious when I say things like chale (which is like gosh or crap lol) or no manches (like I'm not kidding lol). It is fun to try and talk like a Mexican.

The Mariachi band was at a members birthday party that we stopped by for some free food. Suddenly, the most Mexican thing ever walks through the door and I freaking loved it lol. We couldn't stay long but I had a good time and free food is nice. But always have work to do so off we went. 

We had a zone activity today so we had to go to Tuxpan which is like a 2 hour drive and then a 3 hour activity and then a 2 hour drive back so I have had no time to do anything today lol. But it was fun and we played dodgeball and handball for a while. 

I am getting used to it here. The only thing is sometimes it feels like I have an eternity left and its kind of disheartening lol. But I am loving learning and talking with my companion about crazy doctrine and video games and everything else. Im getting more accustomed to the food and to the schedule. 

Elder Bigelow

June 22, 2015

This is a different letter. I (Mom) asked him questions and he answered them. Umm to answer your questions. Are you ok? Is there something that I should know about or are you just getting the exercise needed to lose weight?  Nah honestly just walking around and not snacking i am just shedding the weight lol. We pretty much just eat one big meal a day and like a bowl of cereal in the morning. But its crazy hot here and I sweat literally just sitting so I'm bound to just melt weight off. Since I started in the CCM (MTC), I think I've lost like 40 lbs?  How is the food? The food is good but a bit hot, and for some reason everyone gives us food. Even when I literally say no like over and over, they just make me eat lol. The life of a missionary is just eat even if you are not hungry at all. It's exactly what I expected though so its ok.  How about the washing? Do you have a machine or are you hand washing?  We wash at a members house and she has a machine so its pretty nice. My clothes are never really clean though lol they never get dry, come to think of it I haven't been dry since I got here lol.  Are you getting along with your companion?  Yeah he is pretty cool, we have a lot in common and we are super close in age. He is actually a month younger than me but has 10 months in the mish. He likes computers and actually worked in a computer shop before his mission so we talk about that and just joke around.  Is it just him and you in the apartment? Yeah its just us in a house thingy. I will take some pics if i remember. It gets a bit boring sometimes just me and him but there is only one more pair of elders in Cerro Azule and we see them every now and then. One is American and its so nice to talk in English every once in awhile lol.  But this week has been pretty good, a lot faster than last week and a bit easier. I still am tired but not as much. We are working hard and my trainer sure put me to work. I do like all the contacting and I teach a lot of the lessons even though I literally am just slaughtering the language.  I do ok with Spanish, I can understand most of what people are trying to tell me except when they are trying to talk directly to me then my brain just kinda dies lol. I miss my family and I love you so much! Elder Bigelow

June 15, 2015

Ummm my area is called Cerro Azule. I spelled it terribly wrong last time but its a small city in the very northern tip of my mission. Its a ton of walking....My body really was not ready for how much walking we actually had to do this week. My trainer planned two really hard days right off the bat to make me suffer a bit and learn what the field is like. It was pretty brutal and my emotions were everywhere from fine I'll just do the work and get it over with to questioning my decision to serve. I hopefully will get used to the physical side of the mission soon. 

Church was interesting because literally there were like 25 people there. Their is one priest and one deacon with no young women. The bishop could care less about helping us with the work and it is solely up to us to work with the members. There is no music at all and no one can sing. But the spirit was there and I was able to bear my testimony at the request of the ward mission leader in spanish and my trainer said I didn't sound like an idiot!

My language is crazy better though like idk but its just improving rapidly. I understand most of what people say unless its a direct question to me because then my mind freaks out and doesn't want to answer. I get lost and look dumb. But I talk a lot with everyone. I teach a lot of the lessons with my comp, and I do like all the contacting. My trainer says I'm improving ridiculously fast. Like he said my spanish wasn't terrible when I started but in 6 days my spanish and my teaching ability is about the same as a missionary that has 4 months in the field. He says that if I keep working as hard as I am that I could be a senior companion or a dl after like 12 weeks! I am blown away at how quick I am learning. 

Speaking of teaching we have a lot of investigators but not really close to baptism. People don't like going to church for some reason and we have to have 5 weeks of church before we can baptize. Several of our investigators can't even read. But we spent a lot of Friday contacting and knocking doors because my trainer said that I needed practice with my language and contacting skills so I talked to a ton of people. We met a bunch of people interested and actually got 6 new investigators on Friday and Saturday.

I will tell you about a couple of them. First there is Saul (yeah I know right). He teaches math at a university and is pretty smart. He has the potential to progress really rapidly and we taught him our first lesson which included an invitation to be baptized on the 19 of July. He accepted if he found out the Book of Mormon is true. I hope he reads and receives his answers because he would be a strong addition to our small ward. Also there was a newly wed family with a baby on the way that had such a love for each other and such a love for their future family that they just absorbed the gospel. They accepted to be baptized the 19th of July too. Hopefully, they will make it to church this Sunday. They are excited to read the Book of Mormon and find out if this is the true gospel. I am so full of hope for our investigators. 

That is what lets me get up in the morning.

Elder Bigelow

Dirty and Tired after working

My first area