Thursday, January 15, 2015

Showing off his Mexico shirt in support of his sister!!

Hunter's Loves :)

Fireworks?

on splits!!!

1/12/2015

sometimes its crazy to think. because i don't notice a difference anymore when i think in Spanish or English. its so weird that i am hearing foreign sounds and can make sense of them in my head, put them together in a different way and communicate. that's a weird way to explain it. but its so crazy to me. i remember in the beginning of my mission how much Spanish i could tell i was learning daily... as time goes by you kinda don't pay much attention to that. but thinking just 3 months ago when Cordova came to Altamira to be my companion, i have grown exceptionally. i don't wanna brag. but i have been so blessed to be able to communicate very rapidly. i am grateful for the gift of tongues. i know i have been blessed with it. and i am definitely going to take advantage of it :)


the work went good this week. i got to be in exchanges for a couple day with the zone leader doing a lot of contacting and giving blessings in the hospital. it was super cool :) and one day we were in a taxi and decided to contact the driver. we just started by introducing ourselves and told him we were missionaries of the church. and he said "su iglesia es la de Carlos Mormón cierto??? este hombre profeta de barcelona?? ustedes adoran el diablo! no. por favor. no me jotas! no puede a ser. porque este gringo habla español???" haha translation: "your guys church is the church of Carlos Mormon? the man prophet from Barcelona? you guys worship the devil. oh no. please. don't mess with me. this cant be! why is this gringo speaking Spanish?" hahahaha we died laughing and then explained to him the truth. but it was so dang funny, my comp said he has never heard anyone talk about a "carlos Mormon".



and this morning we got transfers! i am going to another zone here in the city of Medellin. super close to my area now. and my new comp is elder Ayovi (ah-joe-bi) from ecuador.


autumn! que tal la area? yo quiero ir a la freaking costa. espero que algun dia me vaya por allá. puedes ir a la playa mucho? o sola una ves hasta ahora? te quiero! y te extraño MUCHÍSIMO. tu ejemplo me ayuda mucho también. debemos ir a mexico. quiero conocerlo. y tus conversos. teno planes para hacerlo okay? jaja


weeeeel, love you guys! and i miss you all like crazy. I'm glad everythin's going alright back home. and kade, start picking up somethings in Spanish or another language so you can put it on your papers when you start filling them out in a year... BUT PRAY FIRST! haha


"Called To Serve" (strangely we don't sing that a lot here haha)
Elder Bigelow

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

12/29/2014
oops forgot to add this one :) it was super short!!

alright guys i have like 2 mins. I'm sorry its super late. we went to another area last night and got back late. i want everyone to know how much i love them tho. and yes my Christmas was awesome. awesome awesome awesome. haha (dad)


well all things start with being kind. so try that this week :)


sorry gotta go!!!


Elder Bigelow
SKYPING WITH HUNTER!!!

ELDER BIGELOW AND GUILLERMO!!!
HUNTER AND ANOTHER ELDER SANG FOR US!!!!

Baptism!!!
Elder Cordova, the Bishop, Guillermo, Hunter and the ZL



1/5/2015

GUUUYS!!! haha it happened. FAITH! haha such a happy week!!! Guillermo didn't end up getting baptized on the 28th because there was some things he needed to understand first. but he did get baptized on Saturday, the 3rd. i gotta be honest... i was pretty convinced i wasn't gonna see a baptism in my first area. but i came. haha just a week and a half before transfers. :) don't worry, i  got lottsa pics.


i really felt this week that if we were gonna have a baptism we should be completely prepared, but everything got SUPER crazy in new years. i don't know how to explain it guys. EVERYBODY was drunk. we even found some member doing some stuff they shouldn't have been. it was horrifying. the whole new years week here is one giant crazy party. and guillermo kept telling us everyday he couldn't visit cause he was busy. it had me super worried that he would start drinking again or something. but finally on Friday we were able to visit with him and he had his baptismal interview. he told us about his super strange desires to change and how he knows that this church is what he has needed. and that every time someone gave him a beer during the week, he gave it to his brother hahahaha. so now we got some work to do with his brother.


but Saturday was his baptism and hardly anybody showed up. but guillermo didn't even care. haha he tried going into the font before we even started because he was so excited. it really made me realize how much i had grown to love him. and all my investigators here. and how much i want them all to be baptized. and how much i love my Savior, and how he has given guillermo this chance to change. and has given us all a way to be better.


 learn to love and accept God and our Savior you guys. it is absolutely amazing what we have been given.


also yesterday was awesome. after church guillermo took us to the hospital to visit his sick mother of 84 years. i gotta be honest, i didn't like being there. hospitals give me sad memories. especially after seeing guillermos mother. she has a lung problem and is breathing through tubes. and her smile brought me to tears when she saw her son. he explained to her that he had been baptized. and now has the holy ghost. he then explained that we were going to bless her. and he told her it would make her better. you guys, guillermo had never seen a blessing for the sick. it was touched on briefly that day during priesthood meeting and he asked if we could give one to his mom. this mans faith amazes me. we gave her the blessing and talked to her about the church she wants to go. and guillermo has now made it his goal to get her there and baptize her himself. its amazing how the faith of others increases ours.


autumn, espero que tu hayas tenido una experiencia como asi. mi fe crecio mucho de èso. soy muy feliz aqui en mi misiòn y tengo animo para saber donde El Señor me necesita en el proximo cambio. te amo. gracias por tu ejemplo. por favor seas feliz tambien. :)


y tambien yo quiero que ustedes sepan que yo he sentido y sè que èsa es la iglesia verdadera. sè que solo la tenemos porque estaba restaurado por medio del profeta josè smith. yo sè que èl vio nuestro padre y su hijo jesucristo y que a traves del poder de dios èl traducio el libro de mormon. sè que ya tenemos la plentitud del evangelio de jesucristo. y ahora es el tiempo para compartirlo.



God is real. and He loves us. Love Him. And serve Him.


"I Know That My Redeemer Lives"
Elder Bigelow
Christmas Eve!!

Egg Nog... homemade!!

Guatupe

LOVE HIM!!!!

Banana Tree

12/22/2014
FELIZ NAVIDAD!

HOLA!! hows it all going?? i hope every single one of you knows how much i miss you :)


This week was super fast and awesome as well. it started off with a wonderful first lesson with an older man named Guillermo. we taught him the Restoration and then watched the Restoration video right next to the baptismal font in the chapel with a painting of Christ's baptism on the wall, and we committed him to be baptized. now, this is the 10th or so date that i have set on my mission without any baptisms, but i feel really good about this one. he will be baptized this Sunday before church. i am super excited!


this week we also got put into a trio, so i now have 2 comps. elder Bishop and elder Cordova. its a lot of fun to be in a trio, but its also a little different, and somewhat difficult. but its only for 3 more weeks


also, this Saturday night something cool sad comforting and spiritual happened. we went to our ward mission leaders house to have dinner with him, his mom and his inactive brother. and while sister mosquera was making the food she got a phone call that only lasted about half a minute. and when she came out of the kitchen a few minutes later with the food, she dropped it all on the table and started screaming and crying "mi hermano major! mi hermano major!"... the phone call was from her sister saying that their older brother had passed away. its been almost a year since i have witnessed of felt that kind of pain. as you fall in love with people, you really begin to feel for them, especially in times like these. well, when we got her calmed down we offered to give her a blessing and she accepted and sat down immediately. her son andres offered one of the MOST beautiful blessings i have ever heard. he spoke of the truth of families, and the Restoration that makes it possible to be with them after they have passed away. he talked about the work that would be done for him here in the temple all a lot of other things. we all felt the comfort being given to his mom. and i felt the love of God that he has for her and all of us. my testimony of eternal families was strengthened. and i felt the presence of those closest to me who have also passed on.


I'm so grateful for the priesthood, and the Restoration of the only true gospel and power of Jesus Christ that is now here on the earth once more. i know the church is true. i know Gods plan is perfect. and i know that he leads and guides us today. i love every single one of you and i hope you all have the best Christmas and take advantage of this perfect opportunity to share the gospel and share the gift.


"Families Can Be Together Forever"
Elder Bigelow
Painting!!!

Elder Clause!!

He's from the North Pole... it had to be him!!

12/15/2014

i don't got a whole lot of time today, but man this week flew by!!!! this was the FASTEST week of my mission. and i don't even know why. the work wit the less actives is going great. and we actually have found a couple new investigators so that's awesome. we also did a lot of service! we took a few hours out of a couple days this week to help a family paint their house. and yesterday we went back out to guatape to go Christmas caroling with the elders that live there and EVERYONE voted me to be Santa Clause because i live in the "north pole"... I DIED!!!!! haha it was so hot in that fat suit!!!!! haha and i kept getting bugged by random girls and children in the streets for pictures... that was awkward.... hugs seem super awkward when you haven't had one in almost 5 months... but i just put a thumb up and smiled at the cameras... haha my zone leader told me he was gonna send all the photos to the pres haha ;) well guys, its so awesome to be a missionary, especially now at Christmas time. its so amazing to share the gift and give a little more meaning to peoples Christmas. i miss you guys like crazy!!! and i love all of you! i will be skyping Christmas eves due to the 1000 activities that they have planned for Christmas. cant wait til then!!!


"Silent Night" (you cant not feel the spirit when you hear it)
Elder Bigelow