Week Eight - He shook my hand!

To everyone,
 
This week has been awesome! We have started to see the benefits of
hard work! It is awesome. I love it out here!  This week we were in a
lesson with our investigator Dave. And he told us he wanted to be
baptized. It was awesome!  He told us that he just needed to receive
conformation and then he will be baptized. We will try to get him on
date this week and hopefully he will get baptized in two or three. He
is awesome. I love him. I feel like it's because of our work.  He has
been investigating for over a year. And now he is starting to pick up
speed and keep commitments! And we have found a couple more people to
teach. It's awesome. When I got here we didn't have any one. And now
we are teaching consistently two families, two single people and a
less active.  The work in Falls Church is picking up! We are teaching
a older lady named Sharon. She is super funny. She loves to feed us
ice cream bars. Let's just say that lessons with Sharon are the best.
We have to kinda take things slow with her. I don't know how much she
remembers between visits. But hey, she remembers the spirt we bring.
And she actually reads the scriptures!  I love it. And she always
wants us to come over. It is super awesome! We have a ton of lessons
this week. And it was awesome. We taught 3 different less actives and
I loved it. We also did a bunch of street contacting. I love street
contacting. It's so fun to learn about people. There are a bunch of
people out here who are struggling. You can see it in there eyes. When
you look in someone's eyes there is no hiding how they are doing. And
I know that the gospel will help them. There are a bunch people that
won't listen to us.  And they tell us we believe in a different Jesus.
But the ones that will, it's magical. We gave away three copies of the
Book of Mormon in less then an hour. It was pretty sweet. There are
always people out on the street. I hope we get an investigator or two
from them. That would be sweet.
 
This week I have learned that the Lord is mindful of our needs. And it
seems that we will be rejected and rejected and we are feeling kinda
down. But then the next person we talk to is humble enough to listen.
And it gives us the hope again and makes us able to keep moving on. It
gets hard out here. There are a bunch of people who don't like us. And
we have never talked to them. Just because we have a name tag they
don't like us. And it sucks to get yelled at or rejected pretty hard.
But hey there are still some people who are humble enough to listen.
And it makes it worth it.
 
I have been thinking about this. How can I be more humble as a
missionary? It is hard to think of how you can be more humble. But I
challenge you to try to be a little more humble this week. I know it
will make life so much better.
 
We talked to a guy named Paul who seemed pretty broken. He seemed down
in the dirt. You could just see it in his eyes. So we talked to him.
After talking for about a minute he started to open up. And so I
introduced myself and put my hand out to shake it. He had his
cigarette in his right hand. But he dropped it to shake my hand. It
felt like a sign that he was ready to change! As we kept talking he
really opened up to me.  He had gotten in the wrong group of friends.
He meet a girl and she kinda led him down a wrong path. He had gotten
into drugs and some other bad things. And he was having a rough go.
But he seemed interested. He wanted to be better. He said he was just
coming back from a addiction recovery thing. And he is ready to
change. He has been humbled and that's what makes someone able to
change. I told him that it is our job as missionaries to spread joy
and to try to help make others feel happy. He said that we did that
for him. I feel like that was one of the best missionary moments of
our week! I hope he accepts the gospel. It will help him turn his life
around. I know it. I connected with him. I feel like I have known him
for a while. He was a definite tender mercy in my day. I looked in his
eyes and felt the love that Jesus has for him. I felt that this is a
beloved son of our Lord. And he is the lost sheep right now. It feels
weird. Bud I hope I can help him come to the fold.
 
I love the work. There isn't any other place I would like to be. I am
grateful we are starting to see the fruit of our labor. I know that it
was definitely needed! I love it out here. The colors are changing  and
it is so beautiful.  The weather is flawless and I am loving it.
Until next week. Remember that there is someone up above watching you.
And he is mindful of all your needs:)
 
Love,
      Elder Bigelow
Elder Havens (in Black coat) and Elder Bigelow at a Ward Member's Halloween Party




Ward Halloween Party

Week Seven - Alma 37:41

Hey everyone,
        This week has been pretty good. This area is really slow. But
we are working our best to find people.  It is hard to find people.
There is a lot of getting turned away. And a lot of people that don't
want to listen. But when we meet those people who do want to listen,
that's what it's about. That is what makes it worth it. That happened
last night. I stopped a man who was walking by and just started to
talk to him. It was cold outside and he had all the reason to keep
walking. But he listened. And he seems genuinely interested. We got
his number and I hope something comes of it. But I saw the sparkle in
his eyes. I knew his heart was being softened and that he had been
prepared. It made my week worth it. Just that short encounter.
Something like that happens every day. Tender mercies that make the
mission worth it. Every week is long. So ever day something good
happens to keep us willing to work. This week I was on exchanges and I
meet a lady in the park. And we basically taught her the whole first
two lessons and a bunch of other points of the gospel. We talked for
like and hour and a half. And she just wanted to learn. I hope she
calls us. But this work is awesome. The spirit is real.  Jesus loves
all of us. I don't have a ton of time this week. But I love it out
here.
         A quick spiritual thought that has been impressed in my mind. Alma
37:41 "Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means
it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot
to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works
ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;" In our lives we
see miracles when we work hard. Things just come together. But we
can't get used to that. We need to always work hard or else they will
cease. That's how I feel right now. We have seen miracles. So now we
need to keep putting in our effort so they don't stop. I know that
miracles happen and I love them. I love you all. Until next week!
Love Elder Bigelow

Elder Richards and Elder Bigelow at the White House

Tag Picture... Mom has been begging for one!

Still week six...some notes from Elder Bigelow's different emails to Mom, Dad and his siblings

Hey family,
     Thanks for the package. I love packages. I love those chocolate
mint things, they are super yummy. And I love all the letters. And fun
things. They always make my day when I get a package! This week has
been great. We have been working hard. We found 3 new investigators
this week, which was awesome. We have only had one since I got here.
So we did really well in that aspect. We worked our tails off  this
week. And it was awesome. I feel like a success right now. It was
awesome.

I gave a talk in church yesterday. It was weird not having my family
there. And they don't give you a ton of time to prepare. They called
me Friday afternoon and were like, "Elder Bigelow you coming to
church on Sunday?" I told them, "no I actually wasn't." But then I told
them I would be there and they were like would you be willing to speak
to us.  So I did. It was pretty good. It is sweet to give talks as
missionaries because you can basically say. "We need your help as
members".  But it was good. I was so grateful you sent out your talk.
It helped. I used part of it in my talk. It was good. I will email you a
copy of my talk. So if you ever need to give a talk on the restoration
of the gospel. There is a good paragraph about it.

There is a family in my ward. They are probably about
the same age as grandma and grandpa Ellis. They are funny. Every
Tuesday we go over to their house for dinner. All four Falls Church
elders go over there. And we have chick-fil-a. It is funny. Anyways
she was giving a talk yesterday too and she was giving me a little pep
talk on the stage. It was funny. She reminds me of grandma Donna. She
was from Kentucky and is a convert. She was talking about how
different the gospel has made her and it was cool.

This week has been great. We had a awesome lesson. We had a good comp
Inventory and we are both on the same page a little more which is
good. I am starting to know my way around the area and that is nice.
On Tuesday we went on exchange and Elder Richards left. So I had to
lead out the area for 24 hours and I feel like I did alright. So that
was good. I am pretty proud of that. I am doing great out here though.

I only have a few pictures this week. But we are going to DC today and
we are going to the national geo museum today. So I will get some
pictures from that.

I love you and can't wait to see you at Christmas.
Love, Elder Bigelow

Elder Leishman and Elder Bigelow teaching some lessons to Pope Francis

This last pictures was us as we got lost and accidentally left Virginia and proceed to get lost in Washington, D. C. It was funny. But we still made it back in time for service.  (Mom note - I guess he has more Bigelow in him then we thought.  His Grandma Jill and Aunt Angie spent 3 hours driving around the belt loop not knowing they were going in circles...)

Mom.
 
Hey if you could sent me my balance that would be awesome. We are
headed to D.C. today and I want to see what I have. I will pick up a
couple things and send them home if that is cool. I know it is Alex's
birthday coming up so I will get something for her.
 
Also I will get a sweater. My comp says they usually have them at Old 

Navy for 5 dollars so I will get one of those. It gets pretty chilly
here at night. So it will be good so I don't freeze while riding my
bike.
 
Other then that I am doing great out here. I feel like I am growing up
more and more every day. And as long as I am willing to get out and
work the Lord will bless my efforts.
 
Oh hey, something funny for you today. I meet Mr. Haymond's brother
yesterday. He is in my area. So you can tell him. I thought it was
cool.
 

Love you to the moon and back. And I love the book you sent!
Love Elder Bigelow

Dear Dad, 

I know. Only three more priesthood sessions till I am back. It will be
nuts! Life out here is busy. But I love the city I am in. It is kinda
small but still city life. It is pretty cool! I think you would like it.

If you come out here to pick me up I will take you around here.

You better take a bunch of pictures of the hunt. I will miss it so
much. I might get a little home sick because I will miss it. But you
better make sure that Mark gets one! That's sweet the black jeep will
be back on the road. That will be nice! I miss you. And can't wait
till Christmas either.
Love you lots.
Love Elder Bigelow 

Week Six - Working our tails off!

To everyone.

This week has been great. We have worked our tails off. The work out
here is slow. Really slow. We have had one investigator since I have
been here. And we have only had two lessons with him. But this week we
found three new investigators! So I am super excited about that. I
have been doing my best to talk with everyone I come in contact with.
Everyone here has a story. We contacted a older lady and talked would
here. She was a Jew in Italy. And talked to us about some of the
persecution during WWI. She talked about how the Catholics were nice
to her. It was cool. She know God. She has been through a lot!
Everyone out here has been through a lot.

I love this work. I know Heavenly Father is watching out for me. Cool
story to finish. Yesterday, we were going through our area book and we
got a list of people to call and we were going to check up on them. So
I called the lady that has had some of the lessons. But she just barley
moved out of state this summer. She didn't want to meet with the
missionaries there. So I was going to give her a call and see how she
was doing. So I dial the phone, it rings a couple times then she picks
up. This is how our conversation went.

"Hello this is the missionaries is this...."-me
"Yes it is"-her
"How are you doing?" -me
"I have one question. How did you know I was thinking about calling you"-her
"You were thinking about us" -me
"Yes for the past four days I have been thinking about how I could
pick up the phone and call you" -her
"That's so weird"-me
"No it's not weird. Heavenly Father put the thought in your head that
you needed to call me. And I am glad you did" -her

She went on to say she wasn't quite ready to talk to us yet. But she
was going to give us a call in a couple of days. She said I promise
you with all my heart that I will call you back. And I believe it.

There are miracles in our path every day. It is incredible. This is
not the first time that I feel like the way has been prepared in front
of me. I thought that the spirit guiding me would be like an arrow in
the sky or something. That would direct me to the people I needed to
talk to. But it's not. It's just an idea in my head that could be
easily passed over. It is like I see an older lady bringing in the
trash can and I go talk to her and the path has been paved. She isn't
ready to hear the gospel yet. But she is ready to use our service. It
is so awesome. I love it out here. It has been a great week.
Love you all.
Love, Elder Bigelow

Sometimes we just need to hang out on Random Road...

I am getting really good at selfies.  Yes, my mom is ALWAYS asking for more pictures!

Elder Richards

My advice for those of you struggling... make the choice to be happy!

Week Five - Hurricane Avoided!!

Hey everyone,
        This has been a good week. Conference was amazing. And we
avoided the hurricane. I was kinda excited about the hurricane. We got a
text part way through the week saying that we need to go to the store and
get the things needed to survive without power and water. So we went
and got a bunch of bottled water and candles and some food. And then
now it's Monday. The hurricane is supposed to be here. But it's not
even raining. But it has been raining for like the last week straight.
And we have a bunch of candles. So that's kind of a bummer. But hey.
It's nice it has finally stopped raining.
     Conference was awesome. I hope you all had the opportunity to
listen in. I loved listening to the talks and the spirit about how I
can better serve the people out here and how I can be a better
missionary. I received answers to both. It was really cool. Those men
are truly inspired by God.
     My companion Elder Richards is pretty cool. We have a lot of fun
together. It is cool how in the gospel two people with completely
different personalities can get along and actually be friends. We work
together and have the same goal. And together we are unstoppable.
     Something cool I learned about in scripture study this week. When
you want to talk to an old fried or acquaintance what do you do? When
you want to learn something what do you do? When you need help with
someone what do you do? You open your mouth and ask them or talk to
them. You put the effort in first. This is kinda like prayer. You go
before the Lord and ask him. Whenever you need help or want to learn
or anything. If you go before the Lord and ask He will come through
for us.
      Prayer is a big part of missionary work. And I know it is
important in life too. Don't be afraid to pray. Heavenly Father is
there and ready to listen and help. I hope everyone has had a great
week.
Love, Elder Bigelow

I got my new bike pedals... my bike now looks like it belongs to Ronald MacDonald!

I need a new pedal, I guess I was working too hard!!!

Mom and Dad Paydays - General Conference Emails from Elder Bigelow

We love General Conference around our house.  No, we aren't perfect at watching it, and often there are more than a few of us napping.  Perhaps we might even be driving home from a soccer game listening to it, but we try our hardest to listen to the words of our Prophets.  This weekend was a great weekend where everything just fell into place.  We were all watching conference when both Rob and I got different emails from Elder Bigelow!  I contemplated sharing them as they are pretty personal, but I want him to have a record when he gets home of all his mission, so here it goes...

Dear Mom,
Hey I don't know if you are watching conference right now. But Elder
Holland had a great talk. If you didn't watch it. Read it tonight! And
I just wanted to say that I love you so much and am grateful for all
you have done for me. You have been there when I needed it most. You
have done more for me then I could repay. I know I wouldn't have made it out
here without you. You have prepared me for this in ways that I didn't
think would help me. You have taught me how to work hard, how to
respect others, how to have fun but also keep the spirit, how to bring
the spirit into a conversation, how to share personal experiences in a
way that the spirit can testify of the truth of which you share. You
have taught me love the Lord and to pray with my heart. I realize you
are probably crying by now. But it's ok. I am too. This talk has hit
me harder than any I have heard yet. It has opened my eyes to just a
fraction of what you have done for me. And I just thought I could take
a minute and say thank you. I love you and wish I could give you a hug
right now. I really miss your hugs. Next time you are having a rough
time feeling like you may have failed as a mother or that you are lost
and don't know what to do. Realize you have already done so much for
me and the rest of your kids. The ones you gave birth to and and the
ones who just came into our house and try to be part of our family.  I
second the concluding words of Elder Holland (I didn't get them down
while he said them. But I second the motion)
I love you mom, all the way to the moon and back
Love, Elder Bigelow

Hey Dad,
There was a story about fathers in general conference. I just
wanted to take a sec and say thanks for all you have done. I know you
have had a rough go and you have struggled. But you have also shown me
more then you know. You have taught me patience. And that has already
helped me so much out here. I didn't think the patience was such a big
deal. But it is. It has blessed me. You have also showed me the
importance of working hard. There are not many people who work as hard
as you. You have taught me how to work hard too.  There are a lot of
lazy missionaries out here. And it drives me crazy. But it's because of
how they were raised. They don't know how to get up early and start
working. They don't know how to drop everything and serve someone in
need. They don't know how sometimes you might need to stay up late.
Sacrifice some sleep to get the job done.  I am so grateful for this.
It is helping me every day.
You have also taught me how to feel the spirit. I loved having you as
my priest advisor. You have lived a life where you have come to the
truth on your own. You know what it is like not to have the spirit in
your life and now you strive to follow it. When you began to testify
in lessons about when you felt the spirit again everyone could feel it
and they know that you love the gospel so much and you would give
everything for it. I know how much you love the Lord and your family.
I hope I can be as good of a father as you are. Next time you feel
like you might be failing as a parent realize that you have taught me
so much and helped me so much to be a better person. I couldn't have
made it out here with out. I love you dad.
Love, Elder Bigelow

Wow... I know both Rob and I feel like we lucked out with our children.  They are raising us!!!  Elder Hales had one of my favorite quotes of conference.  "I didn't raise my children on money, I raised them on FAITH."

 So grateful as the days goes by and we miss our "little" boy for mom and day paydays like this!!!

Hurricane Joaquin - Part One

Hey we are getting a ton of water here from the hurricane. And we are
at the store now picking up some extra food and water. Don't worry
about us. We will be fine. The Lord is watching out for us. Love you
tons!

Just thought I'd let you know we are ok

Love, Elder Bigelow

The above is NOT a comforting email when you realize you didn't even know there was a hurricane.  Then, as a mom you breathe, you google, and you remember that Elder Bigelow is right.  The Lord is watching out for your little boy. 

What my "googling" learned... right now...

"The powerful tropical system became a major hurricane overnight. On Thursday afternoon, it intensified to a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. And it was still holding strong a few hours later.

The good news: If current projections hold, Joaquin won't be another Sandy.

The not-so-good news: Hurricane projections are notoriously unpredictable. And regardless of whether Joaquin makes landfall, it probably will cause plenty of rain and more flooding along an already soaked East Coast."

Please keep Elder Bigelow and all those on the East Coast in your prayers.  We will keep you updated!