Another week - July 15, 2013

Well I have had a great week!!! We had zone interviews and President is amazing! J passed his Baptismal interview and so we have a Baptism and Marriage on Saturday!! We are going to wear our suits to the wedding!! We have 3 FHE's planned with the ward and another interview!! This week is going to fly by so fast!! One thing I learned from the Bishop is that change starts in the little things like reading you scriptures! So anyone who is reading this please READ the scriptures daily!!! It will change your life! Even just for 10 or 15 min! Please, I promise you that if you will you will grow closer to God without a doubt!! You will receive that personal revelation that the Lord wants to give you!! I know because He has given it to me!! I can't wait for Saturday!! This week has been a great one, full of ups and downs but I have been patient and the Lord has blessed me!! 

Mahal Kita 

Elder Malaki na Mababa!! 

In the Middle of No Where - July 8, 2013

I am out in the middle of no where, It takes us 30 min to go into town on pdays in a different area, where the only store is. There are no restaurants in our area. Not even ones from houses. It's amazing at night to see all the stars. Man its so pretty when there aren't any clouds. 

So I will tell you about J. He is 20 years old and he has his baptismal interview on friday. His baptismal date is July 20th. His story is he got a girl pregnant. It happens alot. A saying here is "Baby first then Marriage."  So when the misisonaries got here they started teaching. He has just accepted everything we have taught him. Here Investigators have to come to church 4 weeks in a row to get baptized. He has come to church 6 weeks in a row. He is a stud!! He is having his wedding on the 20th as well. So we have a baptism and marrige coming up. Then W has a baptismal date on the 27th. Her husband is less active so we are getting them both to come to church. She has so many questions, she even researched tithing to ask us questions about it. She is so smart. I don't have any pictures yet, but I will send them when I take some. We have 9 IBD's (investigators with baptismal dates) in the next coming weeks, if they come to church.

I am ruined because you guys feed me vegatables every day. I am craving them every day. I cook alot which is something I really have  come to love is cooking. I am doing just fine. I havent lost any weight. Which is good. I miss steak and real hamburger.

I love you all!!! 

Until next week! 

Elder Bigelow!

Here is My Letter - July 1, 2013

I guess he was way busy during his P-day because this is what we got.  He wrote his mission president and simply copied and pasted into this email.  I guess that is a good thing.

President, 
This week has been one of learning and great joy for me. 
First of all, Satan has been really attacking me this week. Telling me that I do not have a testimony, my Tagalog is getting worse and that I am not a successful missionary. Well he almost got to me. But Heavenly Father has given me strength to overcome my adversity through prayer and through other missionaries and members. 
Second, I really did not want to move areas. I was just starting to get close to the members in Rosales and I loved it there. I have had a change of heart. What I have found here in Malimpec is something far greater!! Its where the Lord needs me to be. I am thankful for the Lord and his great knowledge. 
Third, I have found how the spirit works with me. It has made the biggest difference in everything. I had been looking past the mark for what I thought the spirit was. I now see the joy in serving. I now see that what I am doing is the most important thing I could be doing. I am soo much happier. President it has been a life changing week. 
I can say that Elder Bird and I have had lots of success. We have taught 28 lessons to over 40 of Heavenly Father's precious children. Some of them have not received the Gospel yet or have forgotten and/or lost their way. We had an excellent sacrament meeting with 8 investigators and 12 Less actives in attendance. It makes me so happy that I am able to see it this way now! Heavenly Father's love has changed me for the better. I have felt his love and I want to give it to all of his children. 
Fourth, the scripture you gave me when we had our first interview, Heleman 3:35, its coming true. I can see my faith growing everyday, so is my humility. I trust in him with all my heart. I am letting him change me to be, Heavenly Father's Best Elder Bigelow. 
I thank you for your Strength. I love you President.

This week like I said to my President, has been life changing. So many stories and so many experiences have changed the way I look at everything. I feel like I am on a cloud right now!! The spirit is so key for everything and anything!! 

I love the Savior and I know he loves you too!! He knows you and wants to give you his blessings, all you have to do is let him in.

I love all of you!!! 

Elder Bigelow 

Welcome to Malimpec AKA middle of nowhere - June 24, 2013

Kumsta Everyone,

Well this week has been a busy exciting week. First of all, it was tranfers and I had no idea of what was to come. I had no reason to even think I had a chance to get transferred. I am in my training and the work was going good in Rosales. But to my surprise, I got transferred and my companion didn't. So, I was hurrying from house to house getting pictures because I hadn't even started. I miss my old area. Well are your asking where are you now?!? A Baguio Missionary or Urdaneta, well I am and Urdaneta missionary now. I am in the Bayambang Zone and the closet town to where I am is Malasiqui. My area is called Malimpec, 30 minutes out of town. NO restaurants in town or stores. I am learning the Pangasinon language now instead of Illicano. It's hard learning 2 languages at once. I had a really, really cool experience my first night.  I met M and he just turned in his mission papers. When I saw him I thought I recognized him, but I hadn't ever been in this area. It was then, at that moment, that I realized that I knew him before this life and I saw myself as a spirit promising people that I would come find them. It was an amazing, amazing experience. I know that I met some of these members and investigators before. I knew them. 

It's soooo cool being on a mission. 

Oh, my companion is Elder Bird from Utah. He is awesome! I look forward to working with him. Well I send my love to everyone who reads this. I will write more next week!! 

I love all of you!! 

Mahal ko Kayo!!!

Elder Bigelow!!!!

My new companion

Week 5 in the Pines :) - June 17, 2013

This week was a good, but long week. We taught a 16 year old girl named ML.  She has read all the way to Alma 32 in a week. We went there on Tuesday and she said she had a testimony and committed to baptism. On Thursday, we got a text from her saying that she didn't want to get baptized anymore. It made us sad, but we went to her to try and find out what happened. Turns out she had not asked if it was true or not. She said she would so I am excited to see what her experience will be.  So that is something that me and my companion are really going back and focusing on. Making sure they have a testimony of the Restoration because if they have that then that will build their faith and lead them to act upon it. We have been teaching an eternal investigator, M, she is 20 but she is not married and has a kid. She comes to church every week for the past 7 months. She just can't make up her mind if she should marry her boyfriend or not because she thinks he has been cheating on her. But they are starting to get along again and I know she is going to make a choice very soon!!! I have gotten lost a couple times in the middle of fields and in the jungle. We jumped off a 15 foot wall using bamboo shoots to catch our fall to find an referral and we got lost in the jungle and couldn't get back over the wall. It took us like 2 hours to find our way back. I wish I could send videos. Our area is cool because its big and it has the city and jungle!! It's sooo awesome. Finding the rich is hard because none of them want to talk to anybody. So we get people who open the door and close it, or just hide from us. However, they don't do a good job because we can see them. Sometimes we call them out on it. It's pretty funny. I haven't taken too many pictures of investigators though. :( I am going to start now. 

It's really hard, to love the people and see them as Jesus does. I always catch myself when I am not. But it's a lifestyle to have true Charity and I am taking it step by step towards it. I know I am becoming like my Heavenly Father!! It's hard when people slam doors but we just happily go on to the next one !! :) Oh, I love this work and I love seeing people change!! We might not have any baptisms yet but we are still being successful because we are helping them change!! I love it! A mission is just fun!! It is hard but its sooooo worth it because you can really see Heavenly Father's hand and how much he truly guides and how everything happens for a reason! :) 

I am where I need to be and the language is coming along just fine, even though at times it seems like it is not!! You can get really down on yourself on a mission but I know that Heavenly Father will pick me up wherever and whenever I fall!! I just have to have hope :) 

I love you all.

Elder Malaki na Mababa.

This was taken when he got lost in the jungle.  

Braden was correct to worry about him getting lost in the Philippines :)

Better Week than Last Week - June 9, 2013

Well I have to say that this week has been great!! I am not letting Satan get to me!! All because of what my district leader said: 

I am going to be Heavenly Father's Best Elder Bigelow. Not mine because I can only be so great but If I become Heavenly Father's Best Elder Bigelow, I will become a great Elder!! It's letting go of my will completely and letting him shape me. I have been keeping myself from gaining blessings because I have kept even a little part of my will from changing. 

Also, I have been complaining about how the members never come with us or the ward doesn't care about the missionaries. But I realized that back home the US there has been 180 years to get it right. Here in the Philippines they have had only 30. But it would be sad if 30 areas close in our mission because the wards are becoming missionary dependent. Which mean teaching all the classes, and some even passing the sacrament when there are priesthood holders in the congregation. So we have been trying to help our ward become self dependent. I am thankful that I even have a ward to work in too. So I have had a lot of things humble me this week. I love it. 

We had a lot of investigators come to church and lots of Less Actives which is a huge deal because they fall away so fast its sad to see. So we do a lot of rescue and retention. I love it. 

I love the Lord and I love the work!!! I am going to let him shape me however he wants!! 

 A mission is the best!!! 

Mahal Kital. 

Love Elder Bigelow!!!!

By a river/jungle in his area.

Wow, how time flies by!!! - June 2, 2013

Well, this week has been great!! It feels like yesterday that I had my last PDAY. I am sad because our investigator with a baptismal date told us she didn't want to anymore. We have to push back the baptism of our investigator, Sister A, because she hasn't been coming to church. Which is a big thing here. NONE of our investigators are coming to church so we are going to try something different. It's so hard because in the Philippines you have to walk everywhere. So, we can't go pick up all our investigators and members don't want to because its too far. Those with cars are willing but none are in our area. I don't know if I have said this but the 2 wards here have 4 elders each. So its hard to get members to our area. 

Finding the rich has been unsuccessful. They never want to hear our message. But I have hope that someday they will!!! Me and my companion started planning a missionary fireside in July. So hopefully the whole ward will get involved. It's kind of been a hard week.

I look forward in hope though. I love the lord and his work. I am trying to bend to his will and not mine and that is hard. 

It's times like these that your testimony is strengthened though. So I will just keep pressing forward!!! 

Mahal ko Kayo!!! 

The sign that I am making means guapo which means I am saying I am cute ;)

So, this is my first time trying Tanga ng Baboy (or ear of a pig)....It was just fat.

These are all the neighborhood kids that are always calling me and my companion by our first names because they found us on Facebook, but they are all really cool!!!