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| New Companion!!! |
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Monday, October 27, 2014
10/27/2014
MY PEOPLE!!!
Hello :) i miss you. hows the life? missing some things but loving this life.
so i got my new comp, Elder córdova. from Ecuador. he is really short.. he is a good hard worker. I'm happy about that. things are already going so much faster than my last transfer. remember how we had a couple baptismal dates but nothing ever happened.. that sucked... buuuuut, we have one of them back on date and things are going good with her. November 15!!!! mark it!!! haha so excited. its for real this time!!!
things are good in the area too. we found a new investigator yesterday. she just moved here to Medellin and was looking for a church to attend :) so that's pretty cool.
also! coolest news yet! elder Holland talked yesterday at stake conference! and herenan and lina went!!!! that was super cool and super powerful! hernan and lina are understanding a lot.. but hernan just doesn't want to be married.. i don't get why not.. they've been living together for 10 years and have a 7 year old girl.
i got the packages guys! thanks mom dad and kade and granny and whoever else tossed something in there :) that made me super happy. no letters came yet tho. but i am so happy that you guys got my letters from the ccm! haha that took so dang long!!
i love you guys! and i love to be a missionary. its a pretty cool way to live. i get to wake up, every morning, 6:30 am, and do some push ups, make some eggs and study for three hours, its the best. i get to sleep in a bed by myself for 2 whole years, its fantastic!! haha
guys, I'm not worried about a single one of you ad your faith. i know you and how strong you are. it gives me strength in my testimony. and then i getta share that with other... you guys are part of my mission!! ain't that cool? i think so.
keep being happy. keep writing me. keep sending pictures. keep reading your scriptures. always pray. always ask questions. and always seek more knowledge. never ever doubt. there's no reason too. its all true. it always will be. Gods gotta plan, so hold to the rod. we will all get there, i know it. i love you all so much. and miss ya like crazy.
Elder Bigelow
MY PEOPLE!!!
Hello :) i miss you. hows the life? missing some things but loving this life.
so i got my new comp, Elder córdova. from Ecuador. he is really short.. he is a good hard worker. I'm happy about that. things are already going so much faster than my last transfer. remember how we had a couple baptismal dates but nothing ever happened.. that sucked... buuuuut, we have one of them back on date and things are going good with her. November 15!!!! mark it!!! haha so excited. its for real this time!!!
things are good in the area too. we found a new investigator yesterday. she just moved here to Medellin and was looking for a church to attend :) so that's pretty cool.
also! coolest news yet! elder Holland talked yesterday at stake conference! and herenan and lina went!!!! that was super cool and super powerful! hernan and lina are understanding a lot.. but hernan just doesn't want to be married.. i don't get why not.. they've been living together for 10 years and have a 7 year old girl.
i got the packages guys! thanks mom dad and kade and granny and whoever else tossed something in there :) that made me super happy. no letters came yet tho. but i am so happy that you guys got my letters from the ccm! haha that took so dang long!!
i love you guys! and i love to be a missionary. its a pretty cool way to live. i get to wake up, every morning, 6:30 am, and do some push ups, make some eggs and study for three hours, its the best. i get to sleep in a bed by myself for 2 whole years, its fantastic!! haha
guys, I'm not worried about a single one of you ad your faith. i know you and how strong you are. it gives me strength in my testimony. and then i getta share that with other... you guys are part of my mission!! ain't that cool? i think so.
keep being happy. keep writing me. keep sending pictures. keep reading your scriptures. always pray. always ask questions. and always seek more knowledge. never ever doubt. there's no reason too. its all true. it always will be. Gods gotta plan, so hold to the rod. we will all get there, i know it. i love you all so much. and miss ya like crazy.
Elder Bigelow
10/20/1014
alright guys good news! this week was awesome!!! it was the final week for Elder sanchez and for whatever reason he wanted to spend most of it with me. we worked super hard but had so much dang fun doing it. we went to the futbol stadium last Monday and during this week gave out tons of books of Mormon, we threw a ward dance/going away party on Friday, taught some awesome lessons with Hernan and Lina. they started to have doubts, but i feel like now they are starting to get it. :) Saturday night we played futbol on the rooftops and could see the entire city. and then yesterday we got taken to subway and ice cream by a member in our ward who reminds me exactly of Heath Flake haha. and then we went to a family home evening and a couple girls that sanchez baptized were there and the spirit was super strong. sanchez is a great missionary and i am super happy i had the opportunity to know him these past 6 weeks. and it was good to get a little break from my comp :) my comps a good guy tho.. just lazy...
BUT THAT'S OKAY! because! we got the call last night. i am staying here in Altamira, but my comp is going to the coast and will be comps with elder smith. i get a new comp! WHOO his names Elder Cordova and he is from Chili. hes been in the mission the same amount of time as alvarado, so that means i might kill him! sweet... that could go bad tho if he gets trunkie.. but ill pray for him :)
also, got a quick cool story, me and sanchez went to a members house who makes shoes cause sanchez anted some new ones for when he gets home, and i turned out that this member had just gotten back from fishing in the amazon so he gave us a PIRANHA!! haha i cooked it this morning for breakfast! ill send the pictures.
guys, remember in all that you do that EVERYONE has to have the opportunity to hear the gospel. DO NOT HAVE FEAR. remember that charity casteth out ALL fear, and if you truly love your neighbors, sharing the gospel will be easy and natural. it just makes sense. its Gods work, and His plan to. JUST OPEN YOUR MOUTH. there is ABSOLUTELY no reason not to. don't have fear guys. just love. i know you can do it.
Hermana Bigelow, tu tienes que mostrar me tus fotos de la costa!! jaja yo quiero ver les. como está tu compañera? y la comida in la costa? es extraño? aquí la comida es muy rico y me gustan mucho. OH! tambien, esta miercoles es HUMPDAY!! jajaja.... gracias por tu ejemplo Autumn. yo ore por mi compañero y todos bien ahora :) te quiero!
chao familia! i love you guys more than anything. always know that i am so happy to be here. don't worry about me too much! i pray for each one of you every day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK MAKENLI!! i miss you like crazy. keep being a good girl. cant wait to see you in 20 1/2 months or so :)
your missionary who lives far away speaking a language you cant understand,
Elder Bigelow
alright guys good news! this week was awesome!!! it was the final week for Elder sanchez and for whatever reason he wanted to spend most of it with me. we worked super hard but had so much dang fun doing it. we went to the futbol stadium last Monday and during this week gave out tons of books of Mormon, we threw a ward dance/going away party on Friday, taught some awesome lessons with Hernan and Lina. they started to have doubts, but i feel like now they are starting to get it. :) Saturday night we played futbol on the rooftops and could see the entire city. and then yesterday we got taken to subway and ice cream by a member in our ward who reminds me exactly of Heath Flake haha. and then we went to a family home evening and a couple girls that sanchez baptized were there and the spirit was super strong. sanchez is a great missionary and i am super happy i had the opportunity to know him these past 6 weeks. and it was good to get a little break from my comp :) my comps a good guy tho.. just lazy...
BUT THAT'S OKAY! because! we got the call last night. i am staying here in Altamira, but my comp is going to the coast and will be comps with elder smith. i get a new comp! WHOO his names Elder Cordova and he is from Chili. hes been in the mission the same amount of time as alvarado, so that means i might kill him! sweet... that could go bad tho if he gets trunkie.. but ill pray for him :)
also, got a quick cool story, me and sanchez went to a members house who makes shoes cause sanchez anted some new ones for when he gets home, and i turned out that this member had just gotten back from fishing in the amazon so he gave us a PIRANHA!! haha i cooked it this morning for breakfast! ill send the pictures.
guys, remember in all that you do that EVERYONE has to have the opportunity to hear the gospel. DO NOT HAVE FEAR. remember that charity casteth out ALL fear, and if you truly love your neighbors, sharing the gospel will be easy and natural. it just makes sense. its Gods work, and His plan to. JUST OPEN YOUR MOUTH. there is ABSOLUTELY no reason not to. don't have fear guys. just love. i know you can do it.
Hermana Bigelow, tu tienes que mostrar me tus fotos de la costa!! jaja yo quiero ver les. como está tu compañera? y la comida in la costa? es extraño? aquí la comida es muy rico y me gustan mucho. OH! tambien, esta miercoles es HUMPDAY!! jajaja.... gracias por tu ejemplo Autumn. yo ore por mi compañero y todos bien ahora :) te quiero!
chao familia! i love you guys more than anything. always know that i am so happy to be here. don't worry about me too much! i pray for each one of you every day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK MAKENLI!! i miss you like crazy. keep being a good girl. cant wait to see you in 20 1/2 months or so :)
your missionary who lives far away speaking a language you cant understand,
Elder Bigelow
10/13/2014
I'm guessing its too early for y'all back home cause no of ya wanna talk to me!!! haha just kidding!!
this week went by so dang fast that i don't even really remember what happened... we taught some good lessons though.. and at one point we hiked up the mountain to find the statue of Jesus... it was pretty cool because it was all foggy and rainy but i still don't think it was near as cool as the one our church has in temple square.
we´ve been working really hard with a couple in our area named Hernan and Lina... they aren't married but they are getting so close! they've gone to church every week since we started teaching them, including conference. i cant wait to challenge them for baptism! my comp says he is certain he will be transferred so he doesn't need to work so hard with them... its kinda sad that he is loosing steam.. but i seriously wanna go all Elder Calhoun up in here and hand out 68 book of Mormons in a week and challenge everybody for baptism. seriously, "I'm read ta go!" haha
i really hope my next comp just wants to kill it too! that would be super exciting! Spanish just gets easier every day too! admittedly i don't understand every word that the people are saying yet.. but i can figure it out from what i do know. also, yesterday i gave a talk in sacrament about the mission of the members in the church. it was basically about helping the missionaries and also giving service to not only investigators, but fellow members as well. perfecting the saints. everybody afterwards told me how surprised they were by my Spanish and that they understood every word!
¡tenàs! that made me happy!
also the bishop of this ward is so awesome. he reminds me a lot of bishop player. I'm happy to have him as my first bishop in the field.
1st Corinthians 12:12-13. The Lord has need of every member in his church. so find what is your part. AND DO IT!
i love all of you guys! and i am so excited that the house is finished! it looks so awesome. cant wait to see it in person!
Elder Bigelow!
I'm guessing its too early for y'all back home cause no of ya wanna talk to me!!! haha just kidding!!
this week went by so dang fast that i don't even really remember what happened... we taught some good lessons though.. and at one point we hiked up the mountain to find the statue of Jesus... it was pretty cool because it was all foggy and rainy but i still don't think it was near as cool as the one our church has in temple square.
we´ve been working really hard with a couple in our area named Hernan and Lina... they aren't married but they are getting so close! they've gone to church every week since we started teaching them, including conference. i cant wait to challenge them for baptism! my comp says he is certain he will be transferred so he doesn't need to work so hard with them... its kinda sad that he is loosing steam.. but i seriously wanna go all Elder Calhoun up in here and hand out 68 book of Mormons in a week and challenge everybody for baptism. seriously, "I'm read ta go!" haha
i really hope my next comp just wants to kill it too! that would be super exciting! Spanish just gets easier every day too! admittedly i don't understand every word that the people are saying yet.. but i can figure it out from what i do know. also, yesterday i gave a talk in sacrament about the mission of the members in the church. it was basically about helping the missionaries and also giving service to not only investigators, but fellow members as well. perfecting the saints. everybody afterwards told me how surprised they were by my Spanish and that they understood every word!
¡tenàs! that made me happy!
also the bishop of this ward is so awesome. he reminds me a lot of bishop player. I'm happy to have him as my first bishop in the field.
1st Corinthians 12:12-13. The Lord has need of every member in his church. so find what is your part. AND DO IT!
i love all of you guys! and i am so excited that the house is finished! it looks so awesome. cant wait to see it in person!
Elder Bigelow!
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
10/6/2014
HELLO MY WONDERFUL PEOPLE :)
man i miss you! but i am loving this place more and more :)
this week was pretty tough for me on a couple occasions, but it was also one of the best!!! i got to go on exchanges twice! once in my area with elder sanchez from el salvador and once with elder kristensen in his area again! it was awesome! most of the time during those days we just went to investigators and inactives houses and gave out invites for conference. but when i was with elder kristensen he also taught me a lot as we went, he has 22 months in the mission so he goes home this December, but he is super smart and I'm glad he shared his methods with me.
and the conference!!! holy goodness that was wonderful!! i was able to watch in English, but i chose to watch the native Spanish speakers in Spanish and that was awesome!!!!! i LOVED how they spoke in different languages in conf. that was sweet!!!! but did you all here what pres packer said???? i don't have my notes, but basically he said, "our church is growing and will continue to grow, but it don't matter how big we are, or how many members we have or how many languages we speak, all is measure by spiritual strength." that was sooo cool to me!!! cause honestly, will it matter to have baptized 3000 people if none of them really understand or feel that its true? NO. as members and missionaries, we have the sacred responsibility of not only sharing what we know, but demonstrating what we know. that is the best way to teach. we HAVE to become like Jesus Christ. its a commandment. and most people say, "oh yeah its a commandment, but no one can really do it, basically it means try your best" you know what i would have to say about that? id say "excuse me but only Joseph smith translates scriptures, and it actually means what it says" GUYS! God has given us the capability to become EXACTLY as our brother Jesus. its called agency and the atonement. God does not give commandments to the children of men save he shall prepare a way. ITS TRUE. we can become perfect even as he is. you just gotta pray for strength and pray to obtain all the attributes of Christ. God and the Christ are one, God is in His Son. and i know that His Son can be within us, and we can share His love, with ALL the world. its a wonderful responsibility.
AND YESTERDAY!!! holy cow!!! sooo cool!!! guess what hno arroz!!! WE WENT TO GUATAPE! soooooooo sweeet! for those of you who don't know, remember that picture of the huge rock with the stairs in it that i posted on my facebook a few months back? THAT'S WHERE WE WENT!!! ill send the pictures.. but that place was AMAZING!
AUTUMN! te amo! yo oro cada dia, y yo se que es importante a incluir nuestro padre celestial en cada momento durante la dia. tengo mucho animo para tu y tu compañero porque sus area esta en la costa! quierro ir a la costa aqui en colombia! le extraño muchisimo! pero yo se estamos haciendo la obra de Dios, y esta maravillosa :)
I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS!!! remember kade (and everyone) to read in pme the chapter about the attributes of Christ. right now I'm working on knowledge and faith. read 1 nephi 11:17. and remember that a desire to have knowledge is wonderful, but it isn't necessary in order to have faith and trust in God.
Elder Bigelow
ps 1Nephi 11:8...... HOW IN THE WORLD DID NEPHI KNOW WHAT SNOW WAS?!?!?!
HELLO MY WONDERFUL PEOPLE :)
man i miss you! but i am loving this place more and more :)
this week was pretty tough for me on a couple occasions, but it was also one of the best!!! i got to go on exchanges twice! once in my area with elder sanchez from el salvador and once with elder kristensen in his area again! it was awesome! most of the time during those days we just went to investigators and inactives houses and gave out invites for conference. but when i was with elder kristensen he also taught me a lot as we went, he has 22 months in the mission so he goes home this December, but he is super smart and I'm glad he shared his methods with me.
and the conference!!! holy goodness that was wonderful!! i was able to watch in English, but i chose to watch the native Spanish speakers in Spanish and that was awesome!!!!! i LOVED how they spoke in different languages in conf. that was sweet!!!! but did you all here what pres packer said???? i don't have my notes, but basically he said, "our church is growing and will continue to grow, but it don't matter how big we are, or how many members we have or how many languages we speak, all is measure by spiritual strength." that was sooo cool to me!!! cause honestly, will it matter to have baptized 3000 people if none of them really understand or feel that its true? NO. as members and missionaries, we have the sacred responsibility of not only sharing what we know, but demonstrating what we know. that is the best way to teach. we HAVE to become like Jesus Christ. its a commandment. and most people say, "oh yeah its a commandment, but no one can really do it, basically it means try your best" you know what i would have to say about that? id say "excuse me but only Joseph smith translates scriptures, and it actually means what it says" GUYS! God has given us the capability to become EXACTLY as our brother Jesus. its called agency and the atonement. God does not give commandments to the children of men save he shall prepare a way. ITS TRUE. we can become perfect even as he is. you just gotta pray for strength and pray to obtain all the attributes of Christ. God and the Christ are one, God is in His Son. and i know that His Son can be within us, and we can share His love, with ALL the world. its a wonderful responsibility.
AND YESTERDAY!!! holy cow!!! sooo cool!!! guess what hno arroz!!! WE WENT TO GUATAPE! soooooooo sweeet! for those of you who don't know, remember that picture of the huge rock with the stairs in it that i posted on my facebook a few months back? THAT'S WHERE WE WENT!!! ill send the pictures.. but that place was AMAZING!
AUTUMN! te amo! yo oro cada dia, y yo se que es importante a incluir nuestro padre celestial en cada momento durante la dia. tengo mucho animo para tu y tu compañero porque sus area esta en la costa! quierro ir a la costa aqui en colombia! le extraño muchisimo! pero yo se estamos haciendo la obra de Dios, y esta maravillosa :)
I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS!!! remember kade (and everyone) to read in pme the chapter about the attributes of Christ. right now I'm working on knowledge and faith. read 1 nephi 11:17. and remember that a desire to have knowledge is wonderful, but it isn't necessary in order to have faith and trust in God.
Elder Bigelow
ps 1Nephi 11:8...... HOW IN THE WORLD DID NEPHI KNOW WHAT SNOW WAS?!?!?!
Monday, October 6, 2014
9/29/2014
Alright guys, here it is. sit down. and before i begin just keep in mind that i am alright, and safe. i was advised by a couple missionaries not to share this with you until i return home in 21ish months. but there's no point. don't let it worry you too much. it is now part of my testimony. so smile Mom :)
about 4 hours after i emailed you last Tuesday i was with Elder Condori and my comp was with elder sanchez. we all had a district meeting at a chapel that is about 30 mins away which is super expensive in a taxi. so me and condori decided to walk down to the _Metro instead (the metro is kind of like a subway). well, we were making our way down to the main road between all the buildings and houses. and as we turned out of an ally into another these three girls ran out of a door screaming. and there was shouting from a man inside and a shot was fired out the door. i heard it go past me. my heart was in my stomach and my thoughts were everywhere. the ladies started screaming at US. "run. run. mormons, return to you house. go"..... my legs went completely numb but i could tell i was running. i never saw his face, but as we ran back up the narrow ally 10 more shots were fired. and not a single one hit us.
i have a testimony of Gods hand in my life. i know that only through divine intervention were we not hit once. i know God has a plan for me on this earth way beyond my mission here in Colombia. i am so grateful for the opportunity i have to be here. and to study an to grow and to seek out the gifts of the spirit.
one hing i discovered this week is that Charity, the pure love of Christ, is a gift from God. and just like all other gifts of the spirit cannot be obtained without earnestly praying for it. so do it. god wants us to feel this never ending love, and then share it with others. it is amazing to think that through my obedience, i can be guided by the spirit to find the people god has prepared for ME to teach and bring them to Him. i can be their link to the savior who can bring them their salvation. this work is beautiful.
well, we committed 2 of our investigators to be baptized on the 18th of October :) Maribel and Angela. and the coolest part is, they are girls that WE found since i have been here. i have been able to see the spirit work in them so quickly in the last 3 weeks. i am so happy.
the members here are wonderful and LOVE to help me with my spanish. its funny when they try to speak english. they all have the weirdest accent when they do it. but their accent when they speak spanish is WONDERFUL. it seriously is like they are singing. i wanna sound just like them. im lovin the Paisa People :)
well, today we got a lotta cleaning done and after we email we are gonna go ride bikes down the mountain!!! woooo! :)
i love you all, stay close to you savior. and study about and pray for those gifts he can give you. and LOVE everybody. theres no reason not to. somos hijos de dios, por tanto, somos hermanos :)
JOHN 15:13
I love you all. sooo much.
Elder Bigelow
Alright guys, here it is. sit down. and before i begin just keep in mind that i am alright, and safe. i was advised by a couple missionaries not to share this with you until i return home in 21ish months. but there's no point. don't let it worry you too much. it is now part of my testimony. so smile Mom :)
about 4 hours after i emailed you last Tuesday i was with Elder Condori and my comp was with elder sanchez. we all had a district meeting at a chapel that is about 30 mins away which is super expensive in a taxi. so me and condori decided to walk down to the _Metro instead (the metro is kind of like a subway). well, we were making our way down to the main road between all the buildings and houses. and as we turned out of an ally into another these three girls ran out of a door screaming. and there was shouting from a man inside and a shot was fired out the door. i heard it go past me. my heart was in my stomach and my thoughts were everywhere. the ladies started screaming at US. "run. run. mormons, return to you house. go"..... my legs went completely numb but i could tell i was running. i never saw his face, but as we ran back up the narrow ally 10 more shots were fired. and not a single one hit us.
i have a testimony of Gods hand in my life. i know that only through divine intervention were we not hit once. i know God has a plan for me on this earth way beyond my mission here in Colombia. i am so grateful for the opportunity i have to be here. and to study an to grow and to seek out the gifts of the spirit.
one hing i discovered this week is that Charity, the pure love of Christ, is a gift from God. and just like all other gifts of the spirit cannot be obtained without earnestly praying for it. so do it. god wants us to feel this never ending love, and then share it with others. it is amazing to think that through my obedience, i can be guided by the spirit to find the people god has prepared for ME to teach and bring them to Him. i can be their link to the savior who can bring them their salvation. this work is beautiful.
well, we committed 2 of our investigators to be baptized on the 18th of October :) Maribel and Angela. and the coolest part is, they are girls that WE found since i have been here. i have been able to see the spirit work in them so quickly in the last 3 weeks. i am so happy.
the members here are wonderful and LOVE to help me with my spanish. its funny when they try to speak english. they all have the weirdest accent when they do it. but their accent when they speak spanish is WONDERFUL. it seriously is like they are singing. i wanna sound just like them. im lovin the Paisa People :)
well, today we got a lotta cleaning done and after we email we are gonna go ride bikes down the mountain!!! woooo! :)
i love you all, stay close to you savior. and study about and pray for those gifts he can give you. and LOVE everybody. theres no reason not to. somos hijos de dios, por tanto, somos hermanos :)
JOHN 15:13
I love you all. sooo much.
Elder Bigelow
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