7/13/16

Elder Bigelow, Garrison and Ceballos

Elder Bigelow & Elder Cevallos

Zone Outing!! 7/4/16

Lunch!

October 2014 & July 2016!!

7/4/2016

Todavía no se siente real...

i feel like i had a good week.

Wednesday (my birthday) was probably the fastest day of my mission, we had interviews with the pres, and he didn't have much to say to me honestly, it was kind of funny. but i got my temple recommend renewed so that was good. but then the rest of the day we were teaching so much i had forgot it was my birthday until the night when our converts invited us to eat hamburgers with them.

Also this week, something cool, we have so much work and people to teach in the area that we got a call this week saying that they were gonna be splitting my area! so we have a new Elder here, Elder Cevallos from Ecuador. hes awesome. he reminds me of my trainer Elder Cordova. they actually knew each other back home. so that's funny. but anyways, now that we are 4 my official comp is elder Ku and elder Garrison is with elder Cevallos. but we do so many exchanges that it kinda feels like we are all each others comp. haha

we had a guy go to church yesterday who bore his testimony and invited the whole congregation to his baptism on the 23rd, also Miguel had to change his date and will be baptized on the 23rd as well.

its sad to think i wont be here for that.

Today was awesome! we went to Guatapé and climbed the Piedra del Peñon. it was cool to go back, i last went in Oct 2014 but it felt like no time at all had past when i went back.

its crazy how fast time goes.

theres not much to tell you about the rock, other than its big. but i got lotsa pics so ill try to send them ahorita.

Well, its weird to think that this is the last time ill be writing or talking to you guys until i actually see you next week.. 

i almost don't want it to be true. i am in love with my mission. i love what i do. and i will be forever grateful for having been given the opportunity to serve my Father. And even more grateful for all i have learned and been able to do. And for all the people I've met and taught and learned to love.

i know God lives. i know He loves us. and that He always will. we are not alone. we have Someone we can rely on for everything. i know that's true. and i trust Him.

DyC 64:33; Mosiah 23:21-22

"The Time Is Far Spent"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

Elder Wadley, Bigelow and Apaza

Elder Bigelow and convert Yiseth

Trio Selfie

A "creepy" looking old school

6/27/2016

Feliz cumpleaños a mi..

yup! imma be 20 this week. gross haha. there went my juventuuuud.

pero bueno, the week was good... not much to report. just super busy, lots of lessons. working hard with Miguel Angel hoping he can get baptized before i go home. did a good amount of contacting a found some awesome people who I'm praying will accept our invitations.

my convert Yiseth told me this week about when God answered her prayer and she knew the church was true. it was a cool experience, she also he her interview yesterday for her Patriarchal Blessing. AND Sebastian got the priesthood and was ordained a Teacher yesterday and he has been helping us in the lessons with Miguel Angel. i have such awesome converts :) I'm so happy for them.

but i don't wanna talk too much about them cause then ill just be sad.. haha

oh i have news! remember the giant rock we went to my first transfer? the one with the stairs in it? well we are going back next Monday!!! suupér excited but i don't know if I'm gonna be able to write.. there's a chance i will be able to next Tuesday but its not certain.... and then the Monday after that isn't my p day so i wont write either......... so there is a good chance that this could be my last letter home.....

haha i love you guys. don't miss me. i almost there.

the Church is true!

"Para Siempre Dios Esté Con Vos"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

Sebastian at his baptism

Sandra at her baptism

Convert from Aranjuez Camila Blandon

6/20/2016

noooo. me pongo a llorar..

guys i swear every week is better than the last and makes me wish i could stay here forever. i don't get why it has to get so good right as I'm finishing.

we had our 2 baptisms. my 3rd and 4th converts in this ward, and the baptismal service was something wonderful. i had never before been in such an organized and spiritual service my entire mission. and there were TONS of people that showed up. people from my first 2 areas here in Medellin were there. i was asked to sing and i sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again and about lost it. the members here love us and are suuuuuper happy and willing to help us more. there were some non members that came and we contacted them later. and one of them is a kid named Miguel and hes suuuuuuper excited about the church and everything and accepted a baptism invitation and will get baptized July 9th. so i still got one more!!!!! :)

I'm suuuuper excited to work with him and help him to get baptized.

my testimony and love for these people grow so much everyday.

I'm extremely excited to see you guys in 3 weeks, but its gonna be the hardest thing ever having to leave. i have learned that true joy in the gospel is not felt by those who receive it, but by those who give it.  

you guys are absolutely amazing. thanks for being supportive. i love you all

"Because I Have Been Given Much"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

6/13/2016

un mes.. hoy, en un mes..

well the trunquera is setting in. but its sooo sad cause we are doing sooo good!

so my 2 converts here in the ward are progressing well. really well. I'm suuuper happy for them. i wish i had more time here to continue watching them grow.

i cant believe the blessing we are seeing. Yiseth wants to go on a mission and has decided to start preparing.

and Teolinda was interviewed yesterday to receive a calling.

and the best news! Sandra and Sebastian got their baptism interviews done last week and will be baptized this Saturday!! 2 more! I'm sooooo excited for them. Sebas also wants to be a missionary, but hes only 15 so hes got a few years to go. I'm so happy guys. i cant even explain it.

today we are gonna have a zone party cause me and Elder Garrison both turn 20 this month. should be fun. this week we are basically gonna be planning out the baptisms and getting ready.

and the other good new is that my itinerary finally came... ill forward it :)

i love all you guys, and i don't write much cause well that's the most important stuff.

kade! practice spanish. and practice loving everyone. no matter who the are.

remember to see people not as who they are now but as the person that we all have the potential to become.

you're all amazing

"Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

Selfie!

Trio

Yiseth!!

Selfie!

Yiseth's Baptism!

12 People were baptized in Hunter's Zone!!

6/6/2016

tantas buenas noticias...

MIRACLES!!

so first, i love my companions. GREAT guys. and hard workers. elder garrison is actually from Lehi Utah, not AZ like i had previously thunk. hes hilarious and a big nerd for Starwars and Lord of the Rings and stuff.. so we get along great. and Elder Ku is super humble and a good hard worker.

second, the ward here is nice and they are all happy for me to be finishing haha

the house here is big and it feels bigger now that there are only 3 of us, but we got a cockroach problem... its horrible.

and the miracle of this week, WE BAPTIZED YISETH!!! i realized that i haven't ever told you guys about her yet haha. shes awesome though and was super excited for her baptism. 12 people in the zone got baptized that night and the mission pres showed up!

also another investigator came to the baptism and afterward walked right up to the mission pres and told him that during the service she got a feeling that she should be baptized too! so we have ANOTHER baptism on the 18th!!! 

I've learned lately the truth of exact obedience. it really does bring miracles

i love this work. i cant believe its ending. but just for me. because it will continue when I'm gone :)

Kade, im so proud of you and soooooooo excited that in 4 months you'll be down here in south America too teaching the people of Ecuador. they need you. and you need them. do EVERYTHING you can to prepare. learn to love, and you will not fear.

you're amazing Kade, and such an example for me. I'm sooo happy for you :)

i love you all and hope you have a good week!

"Where Can I Turn For Peace"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

TEOLINDA SE BAUTIZÒ :D

5/30/2016

TEOLINDA SE BAUTIZÒ :D

so that's good news.

well we had a good week... went by so fast though that i don't really know what to write.

transfers came and my comp is leaving the area. and i am getting 2 new comps.

Elder Ku from Peru (he looks chinese though) and Elder Garrison from AZ. Ku has like 15 months and Garrison finishes a transfer after me. I'm pretty excited, although it`ll be weird to have 2 comps... but its only 6 weeks so it should be fine.

i feel like i have grown and learned so much this last transfer. I'm super happy to have met and helped these people here and excited to keep going til it all ends.

i love you guys, I'm glad all is going well back home.

remember that all we gotta do is ask and we will receive.

have a good week!

"A Green Hill Far Away"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

5/23/2016

se nos va Mayo...

another EXCELLENT week.

Teolinda is FOR SURE getting baptized this Saturday!

she gave the closing prayer in principles class yesterday and it was soo special. she was crying.. i almost did. but i maned it out. hahaha i am just so happy for her though! she picked me to baptize her :)

we also started working with her son. his names Andres. hes in a wheelchair. and he is SUPER prepared too! we have met with him basically everyday this week! and he also wants to get baptized. and he already has a strong testimony of the priesthood.

the other day he was sick and asked us to pray for him. we taught him about priesthood blessings and read him the story of when Alma heals Zeezrom. then asked if he had sufficient enough faith to be healed. he said yes. so i blessed him.

then we had a lesson and afterwords he said "i felt so calm when you guys blessed me. and now i don't feel sick at all" then we all started crying. bahahah true story.

I'm so happy guys.

I'm seriously in the prime of my mission. and its going so fast... sadly.

but i love what i have been able to do and i cant wait to find out what else the Lord wants me to do with the 50 days i have left.

transfers are this Sunday! i really hope my comp stays!!

i love you guys. i know God lives.

have an awesome week!

"Jesus Lover Of My Soul"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

ELDER H. BIGELOW

and a guy from Villa hermosa that wanted to be in the foto

5/16/2016

me vuelvo loco al pensar...

2  months! what?!

haha okay enough of that.

so this week..

oh man.

our best investigators words "I would have to die to not get baptized on the 28th"  :D

I'm so happy for her. she walked all the way to the stake center yesterday (its far from her house) and got there early for stake conference.

we have another investigator that's doing really well and is on date for baptism.

she is also doing well, she just has a hard time understanding the book of mormon

we also had a few less actives come.

we are seeing miracles in our area.

i feel so blessed.

pues, I'm not sure what else to say... i got to see people i knew from Altamira and Aranjuez yesterday in the conference.. that was cool.

i love you guys! the church is true! 

"Be Still, My Soul"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

Loki. the dog that follows us everywhere haha

dawson, me, wadley, and fajardo (mis hijos)

5/10/2016

Casi..

Writing late this week cause of the multizone conf we had yesterday. it was super cool and awesome to be able to catch up with some old comps. i saw Wadley, Fajardo, Larroza, and Dawson.. and some other missionaries that have been in my zones before. also they opened up a krispy kreme here so we ate a bunch of donuts.. which made it way better. haha

the week was great. but i pretty much told you everything on Sunday. one thing i forgot to include is that we had a lesson with one of our investigators who is on date for baptism. and at the end of the lesson she gave the prayer and asked God specifically if she should get baptized on the 28th of May.. and the next day her neighbor (whos a member) told us that Teo (the investigator) invited her to her baptism. and on Sunday i swear Teo was the first one there. i think she got their before the bishop and just waited for someone to come with the keys.

There are people prepared for the Gospel. angels are preparing them. and the members of the church can be included in that. always be ready and willing to share your testimony. it could be useful to someone else.

remember that God loves us and is always there to help us and pick us up when we fall

i love all of you! and cant wait to see you again!!

"I Am A Child Of God"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

5/2/2016

Falta poco. falta poco..

we had a pretty miraculas week.. ignore my horrific spelling/english

the relief society pres in our ward gave us about 20 references and we have been finding tons of new people. we found this guy named Carlos whos suuuper cool and sooo ready for the gospel he accepts everything we teach, he went to church and wants to go on a mission a year after he gets baptized.... but after church yesterday we got some sad news... he is most likely moving to the coast tomorrow :( so he will get taught there... which is good. but i wish he would stay here.

we found another lady who is also super prepared. she loves the book of mormon and reads it a lot. and is set for baptism on the 28th. im super excited for her and cant wait to find more people.

we also have a couple less actives who are progressing a lot. one used to be primary president like 5 years ago and left the church when they released her.. she came for the first time since then yesterday and bawled during all the testimonys... i think we got her hooked :)

im super excited to be finishing the mission pero at the same time im a little upset because i feel like im finally really getting it. i dont struggle whatsoever with spanish or the lessons and i am enjoying working more than i ever have.

but i really do have tons of time to do what i love before i finish. so im grateful for that.

well guys i love you tons. remember the church is true and God loves us.

"A Child`s Prayer" (again)

ps.. see you guys sunday morning!! :)

ELDER H. BIGELOW

Looking over Medellin!!

with Carlos :)

4/25/2016

Volvì.

its so awesome to be back in Medellin. i do miss Manizales a ton. but i reall am loving it here.

my comp is so awesome. he has changed a lot since last year when i lived with him for 4 months. he is probly one of the most loving missionaries i have met. we will probly only be together for 1 transfer because we both finish the mission in july and its not likely the we are both eachothers last compaion. if they do that then they will have to put 2 new missionaries in the area... but we`ll see.

its so awesome here. a little hot. but we have tons of people to work with. good people. we have found so many people who are ready for the gospel. Gods hand is in all the work we do. i know it. i really wish i could go into more detail but we dont really have a lot of time to write any more.. i will explain when i call in 2 weeks!

i love all of you and really hope you are doing good and staying strong and loving one another. i miss you all

"I Need Thee Every Hour"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

4/18/2016

not much to say... the less active we have been working with all transfer came to church again and is now rescued! i'm so happy for her. got a fair amount of work done.. it was pretty hot for a few days this week but got cold again Saturday and Sunday. 

got to go on exchanges with my Zone Leader Elder Crandall who has been with me since i started the mission. hes a cool guy. we played a lot of guitar. he finishes his mission in 6 weeks!! cant believe it.

well, sad news.. i'm not gonna be in my favorite place anymore.. got switched to Medellin again. so i'll be going back there tomorrow. to my 7th area. and my 13th companion will be Elder Alberto from perú. remember him? the one who lived my me and Wadley a year ago. hes an interesting guy. he just turned 28 this week. oldest missionary in the mission.. and he only has 2 transfers left too!

well, like i said not much.. ill let you guys know next week how the new area is.. and hopefully there will be more fotos.

"Love Is Spoken Here"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

4/11/2016

Listo. had a pretty good week.

we had an AWESOME lesson with a less active we have been teaching. it was cool because we hadn't planned to visit her that day.. but it started raining hard as we passed by her house so we asked if we could wait out the rain with her.. and we just started talking and then teaching. we talked about lots of stuff. by the end of it she was bawling and it was hard not to get teary. she told us she really needed to hear a couple of the things we talked about and that she wasn't gonna miss another Sunday. and she came yesterday and was sooo happy. we went back to her house in the afternoon and she seemed so changed and happy. i love the gospel. i love what it can do for us if we really live it.

other than that it was a pretty slow week. we gotta find some new people this upcoming week cause the people we have aren't really progressing. its hard to get people to come to church here... but we are still working on it. and working really hard.

i'm left with so little time here i feel like i might not get done everything i need to. its weird, i thought getting close to the end was supposed to make you trunky haha. not that i don't think about home.. but i still have a strong desire to work. i love what i do.

i miss you guys. i really home all is going well back home and you guys are all good.

remember we have someone we can trust in for anything.

love you guys!!

"Abide With Me"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

Manizales!

 

Conference Sunday!

Cathedral Tour!!

4/4/16

A much better week even though we could only work Tuesday to Friday. conference was amazing though.. well what we could watch of it. Saturday during the day we weren't allowed out of the house because there was a drug lord killed Friday night and a bunch of violent riots apparently broke out.. they say it was really bad in the coast... but yeah, that's Colombia.

but like i said what we saw of conf was super good. lots of inspirational and question answering talks. a few less active people came. there's a lot of reactivation work that needs one here. most of the week we were contacting a list of people from the branch directory that the branch pres doesn't know. we were able to find some cool people. some investigators too.

i had an English class on Friday, and it went pretty good. not too many people showed up though. hopefully this week is better.

i hope we could all learn from conference the things that were especially meant for us. i received some answers to post mission life questions i had. i kn ow the talks are inspired and that those men are called of God. i believe that. 

God is real and He loves us. 

my letters not too long.. but i got a good amount of pictures. you're welcome haha

i love you guys!

"Be Thou Humble"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

3/28/2016

we had a super slow week. most of the people here went on vacation or decided to lock themselves up for Semana Santa so we got to hang out with some members and less actives. we did however have a couple good lessons yesterday. a man named Julian that we found last week confessed some things to us and told us he really wants to change. he said he had heard that in our church we are able to literally receive the Holy Go}host and he really wants that.

really spiritual lesson.

other than that tho not much happened.

i went on exchanges with my DL elder Guerber. hes from Mesa. really cool guy. he is from Wadleys group.

still loving manizales. getting really rainy here.

suuuuuper excited for General Conf this weekend. my last one in the mission!

remember to watch Conf with a prayer in your heart! it should be a personal thing. we can ALL receive personal revelation.

i love you guys!! the church is true

"Follow The Prophet"

ELDER H. BIGELOW

Internet Selfie because his camera broke!!

Selfie with Elder Barrios

"Ma" and her daughter!

Pizza night!

Downtown Manizales!!