me encanta san luis

san luis, ampya

that is where i am now!!! and it is awesome!!! i love it. i dont think i have such a good and fun first week in an area in todo my mission. i love it here. it is pretty flat but i have a pretty big green mountanin range in my area. my area is huge. i can take a bus for like three hours and still be in it. but we work only in areas of success and where we are doing good. but there are active members in the far away parts. it is super super green and we really windy. my area is like at the base of the mountains and is all like up hill. gives me a sweet burn in my legs but it is all the more meaningful to get in a house to rest them up a bit.

the zone is alot smaller then my last. 6 companionships and two distrisct leaders. so it is alot faster to verify. the district leaders are good. one of them is his first transfer as a DL and only his fourth in the mission and is a gringo so we got to help him a bit, but he is a stud and works really well and knows how to do things, and his comp is an ex assistant. then the other this is his second transfer as a DL and has 18 months in the mission so knows things but still needs help understanding some things. and is a latin, so a little better. but we have hermana missionaries in the zone and that makes things alot tougher. cause if they are not happy no one is. and they are tough to make happy at times and even tougher to motivate to get good numbers and to do everything. but they are doing good as of right now. my comp is elder fowler. he is a totall stud and i love him. he is from denver colorado. has one transfer more then me and is going to go to BYU after the mission. and is one of those other elders that played football before the mission and is begging me to try out and walk on somewhere or to send out my films again. haha so we will see about that. but we play catch at night at times, he has a nice ball. he played QB in high school, and swam on the swim team. very cool elder and will be a really good friend of mine forever.

so this week i got here and we went to work. it was alot of fun and visited some people we are trying to help to get baptized. and they are really good. families incomplete, one family the rofin´s they have 4 kids that need to be baptized and the dad. then another lady her husband used to beat her but now he is cool and has a big desire to be in the church. and we put a fecha with him for christmas, and we will see how that all goes down. we have lunch everyday!!!! a change, so i am really excited for that. and even better somedays we have two lunches in one day. the members love the elders. before it was the sisters, but changed like 5 months ago for elders and they love it and the members already love me, i have cracked a few jokes and played soccer with them and stuff and they love us.

we got a reference on wednesday and went to find it on thursday and a convert of elder fowlers, from last transfer, silvio is his name (whole family got baptized 2 weeks ago) totall stud and amazing family. he saw us and offered to give us a ride to the house so we went looking for it and could not find it. then we couldnt find it but we kept going and we finally found the block of where this ref. lives. and we were on the wrong side of it and the tire blew out. so we got out and worked on it and fixed it all and it was in the ciesta, when everyone sleeps but we were working anyways. and after an hour of working on it and fixing it. we kept going and got to the house and the kid answered and got his dad and we were let in. and silvio came in with us!!! and shared testimony and taught amazingly!! then we found out the guy is a baker and wakes up at 4 in the morning and sleeps the afternoon till about 6 then gets up to sell some more and stuff. and that is when we got there. if we got there an hour earlier he would have been sleeping still. but the tire blew out... and this family, WOW!!!!!! they are amazing!!! and the dad wants his whole family to hear it and follow it and stuff. and we taught and just was amazing then they invited us over for breakfast the next day with them. so we went and then they invited us over for lunch an asado after church on sunday, and they would drive us. and so we went and they are absolutely amazing. the family naveda is there name!!! and they are great. on wednesday we have dinner with them. it is the dad, eran, mom alejandra, daughter florencia, son nauhel, and other son that is leo. all but leo can be baptized and we are thinking of doing it on christmas for them. it will be awesome!!!! it is another family i know i was supposed to find. i feel so loved and stuff by them. i really feel like i am at home they are amazing!!! they are my family here.cant wait for more to come..

silvio and his family have invited us over for christmas and stuff to celebrate with them so we will be party hoping but i think that might be where i will be to have you all call me. for right now probably just on the cell phone we have is where you will be calling me and the number is....

265 283 5240

and i will send the other email for the area code and stuff but i think you all know by now. but if anything changes i will let you know. silvio wants us to talk on skype at his house... so i dunno if it will happen or not. but this is the number for now.

tilisarao 1043

barrio policial nuevo

san luis...

that is our address papi if you want to try and find where we live on google earth like you said you did. it is a way cool pensh. it is a house!!! with AC!!! hahah i love it its the best!!!

well i got to go i love you and miss you take care and have a good week. tell everyone hi.

con amor

elder bigelow

ps. dad it was super cool. a kid in my last area i forgot to tell you sent in his mission papers the week before i got there and got his call 3 weeks before i left so he waited 4 months and i got to be good friends with him and he will serve in venezuela. in the barcelona mision. right where you served i assume, in the northern of venezuela and has part of the island of trinadad and tabago. i have pictures and his email. he wants to email me. small world though huh!!!

hola familia mia

well sounds like it was a crazy and fun week with lots of happiness and sadness all in the same time for everyone. sorry to hear about the losses, but thats what is so great about the plan of salvation that we have. it is straight from god and is perfect, we are here to have these trials and to learn and progress from them so that someday we can make it back to the presence of our heavenly father. and some of us are ready a little earlier then others... but we all will make it back someday.

this week was a good week a little crazy at some points but still really good. last night as i was varifying with the zone for all of there numbers and things, i talked to the assistants and found out that i am getting transferred. so on wednesday i will be in a new area with a new companion. i have mixed emotions about leaving my area and my zone. i am super happy cause now i might get fed a few times a week. but sad because i wont be able to pass the holidays with the members i have grown close with. i am going to the third other province (or state) that our mission covers. and it is called san luis. i will still be a zone leader and i will be with an awesome comp that i lived with before for about a week in alvear, elder fowler who has one transfer more then me. he is from colorado. he is a stud i am super excited to be with him and i am going to a zone on the up rise and has alot of potential so we might but i fully expect to win the cup again while i am there. so as for christmas and calling home. i dont know exactly where i will be calling from or what the number will be. but i will send you the email that justo we got today from the mission explaining some of the things. but when i get to my new area and know what we will be doing i will let you know. it will be alot of fun. on wednesday i have to go and travel again, and it will be another long bus ride. this time six hours. but in a direction i have never gone or even passed by going before so that will be cool.

so this passed week nothing to big happened. it was a pretty slow and boring week. up til the weekend. because on friday we had interviews with president lindahl. which as we know always can be something exciting for me. but nothing really big happened. he told me i might be leaving the zone and we talked about the future and stuff after the mish a little bit then it was over. nothin to special. but then after, the stake president was there he is a stud i love him and his family!!! asked if us and president could come with him to a meeting he had with a big group of government leaders, doctors, lawyers, and leaders of churches here in san juan. president had to return to san juan and could not make it, but sent us in his place to represent the church and the mission. told us he had the confidence in us that we would do what he would. so we went on friday night. and WOW!!!! it was big, with alot of very well off and high up people. but we talked got to know each other and showed we are normal people not scary or bad in anyway. they had alot of respect towards us and alot of respect for all you the family we have for raising us and helping us to be such good people, as they said. they were very impressed. it was alot of fun. a couple women from iran were there in a religion called bajai... i guess its like judism but not quiet, and its all immagrants from iran. she wants us to come over and talk to her and get to know her family. really though she wants us to date her daughters and marry them.... haha she was all over it and wants us to marry them way bad!!! haha or atleast have a child with them she says... hahah super funny lady and very wealthy and some odd ideas but is a good person. overall all the people had respect for us and our age and the things we are doing and were very happy for the help we give to members of there faiths. it was alot of fun and special experience for us to have.

then on saturday, elder bills (who goes home you need to go to his homecoming) had a baptism and we had to run clothes to him but the investigator never showed up it was funny. but after we took soap to our ward mission leader so our clothes could get washed. and on the way back we saw some crazy things.... we saw these kids dealing drogas and just super drugged up and not know anything that was happening super sad but as we continued two kids were in this little alley way inbetween two houses and were taking hits of cocaine. and around the corner a big gang fight broke out!!! it was the most extreme crazy like 15 minutues of walking i think i have had in my mission. so much of satans work going on right before my eyes. i couldnt believe it and felt super sad for the people.

then on sunday a special experience. a lady in the ward that has been super sick and like dieing of cancer for the past few months. my first week here we went to her house to give a blessing of salud. as she was getting ready to go to mendoza for treatments. the doctor told her it was bad and was going to die within a month or two. to enjoy her time and get ready to go... the time passed and nothing happened till this past weekend she went back to mendoza and had more exams and they could not find any trace of the cancer. it was so awesome to hear that and to see the joy she and her family had to have that and there testimony of the faith in jesus christ his atonement and the priesthood power.

i know that jesus lives. without a doubt in my heart i know that he lives and ministers today in his church on the earth. i know that faith is action. that without action faith is nothing. i know that the priesthood or athority from god has been restored and any worthy boy or man can recieve it and have the power of god in there hands. i know its true and i cannot deny it. i love you all and miss you and will keep you informed for the phone call. i hope to talk to everyone i can... take care

con amor

elder bigelow

ps elder kevan bills address... (great mission friend and big BYU football player)

474w. 4630n.

provo, ut. 84604

RKB@aol.com phone number....1(720)971-7876

i believe his homecoming is in a couple weeks goes home tomorrow. he will email me i believe so i will try to give more info.