Sigo

well this week was a good week. we had our last zone conference of our mission! that was crazy and we had to give our going away testimony. i never thought it would come time for me to go home and to share my testimony at conference like that. but it happened. and it was good. it was also pres. avilas first conference and things were different then when president lindahl was here. the zone conference started at 9 in the morning and ended at 730 at night! with lindahl it never went that long. it always ended in the early afternoon after lunch. it was good just really long and no one was paying attention anymore and just wanted to go out and work and stuff. but it was good.

we had a good week with our investigators and people we are helping to come back to church. a few inactives came on sunday and even shared there testimony in sacrament meeting. so that was good and it was a good spirit felt there. we also finally got a bishop called in our ward and that was a good change and thing that has needed to be done for the past little bit. it was a really good sunday though. lots of poeple shared there testimonies and we were also able to get the elders quroum really excited to go out and do there visits! with the help of the stake president and us they are alot more animated and we have a better plan set forth to help some future leaders of the church that are currently inactive. so that was exciting. things are gong really well. i am having a blast!

just a little update i have thought about it and i know that the desire at home is for me to come home and eat at home. and i love the idea! and i was thinking if possible we could get together all as a family and friends if wanted and who ever really wants to come, that we could have a BIG bbq! a typical USA summer bbq, with hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, watermelon, cantalope, and some orange jello with the cream from lisa and maybe a red one also with berries in it. and a texas chocolate cake or rubarb pie or both for dessert.... if possible. that is what i would think would be good and would enjoy. just to have my two cents worth put in.

i am really happy to hear about work dad. roberts and i have been praying for you and the business that it will pick up and things will go better for you. i have felt good this week and hope that it keeps getting better! thanks for everything. i miss you all and love you all alot!

con amor
elder bigelow

familia

well this week was a good week. the mission is slowly starting to change and rules are being put in and new things are being enforced it is odd.... but things are good. we are still trucking along and having a great time! we had a pretty crazy guy come to church yesterday. someone we talked to in the street that week and he came. he is a mess! super depressed! but a good heart. has alot of problems with drugs and alcohol. but is looking for god in his life. he left alot happier then when he came and felt good he said so that is good. there is slow here in mendoza now. the mountains are completely white and it is super cold! but now to many times in my life can i say i saw and walked in slow in august... so that is crazy! just got to keep a positive attitude about everything! i really do love it here though! i called and asked for permission to go to san juan to give a special made missionary plaque that says ELDER MAXI MALLA on it, to give to maxis mom. but i did not get permission for that. and i asked to go to san luis to say by to my converts and the bishop there. but tampoco did i recieve permission. so it was a little hard for me to accept. but i understand the reasoning and will be happy with it. i will just miss these families so much leaving here. i did not think the last time i saw them would be the last of my time here as a missionary. but its ok.

thanks for all the info dad! i loved it and it was somethings i had on my mind. something else is i want to go down the stairs with my group of elders i am coming home with. so dont come to the gate, please.... also like you said dad i do need a job! especially to pay for all the things you are telling me i will need to pay for. which i love and am fine with. but any ideas for a job i could have asap upon arrival of getting home....? like start applications and stuff now and get it asap when i get home so i can start working and fill my time and make money to pay for my things. when we go to powell we probably wont take the houseboat out of the marina right... since no one will be on the lake that week and stuff.... since there is not really the need for it out. just to be on in and disfrutar it! haha

well i guess i better get back to working! but i miss you all and love you! nos vemos pronto estoy emocionado a verles! les amo

con amor
elder bigelow

son capos

well i am glad to hear that your sunday was such a great day for you! it was a pretty good day for me as well. i gave a talk in church again because it was mission sunday. but i am positive it was not as good as the lindahls talks and stuff. they are so amazing and such capos it is so great! i am so glad you finallly got to meet them and get to know them a little more and feel the powerful spirit that they carry with them in the words that they share. i cant wait to see them when i get home. and dont forget to stay in contact with them and have them come to the homecoming because bishop rasmussen is planning on it. he emailed me again. and it will be really good for all the young men in the ward i think to hear his words and stuff and get excited to serve a mission. that is really cool you talked to hopkins parents i am living with him after the mish and from moncurs parents he is great! i had a reallygood time with both of them and learned alot and saw some reallygood miracles with them both.and the hermana deem you saw, i started the mish with her so that is cool im sure several people there i would have known im sure that was alot of fun for everyone. the miracles thathappen on the mission are so incredible it is so great! and has helped me to realize the miracles that happended to me before the mission as well.

this week was good. it went by super fast! it was crazy! but the highlight of the week was for sure celebrating roberts birthday which was on friday. i made him breakfast in bed. we had a killer lunch with one of our investigators and met up with elder davis and his comp and had a dinner with some members and ate cake and celebrated there. it was really good. and interesting because the daughter of this family served a msh in LA, Cal. so she speaks perfect english and is going to provo on aug. 14 to study at byu and so we told her a little about utah and the byu scene and what there is to do. that was fun. it is crazy there are several people going to byu this next year from down here. haha and even more looking into trying to go asap. but that day was super fun. i got roberts a big book on mendoza he has been meaning to buy but we never have had time so i bought it for him one day when i was on divisions. i pulled a dad... when he had it in his hands about to open it, clearly being a book, i told him it was a basketball.... haha just like dad always does with gifts like that.

the rest of the week was pretty good. a little tough to handle because like all of our investigators fell. and ruth did not make it back from chile because the pass is filled with snow anbd the bus cant make it through. and just everything bad with our investigators that possibly could have happened, happened. so we have to go back and work hard this week and try to get them back on the right track this week. thats just what we do as missionaried and what we have to do in life. when the going gets tough, just got to get going! when we fall just get back up again and try harder the next time.

im glad that things are going well for everyone. things look to be getting way fun. little malachi looks like a champ with his blonde hair... but then again who is not a totall boss with blonde hair... haha im glad to hear everyone is getting pretty excited for me to be coming home. i am getting really excited as well. i cant wait to hear what the plans are that the family has and what is waiting for me. i am way scared but as i have learned on the mission, change always is good. if you take it with the right mind set. i would love to hear some of the plans and things that the family has and stuff. put my two cents worth in. even though i will be totally happy with whatever!! haha

but i got to go. i love you all and miss you all and am so thankful to have such a great and awesome family that is so supportive and understanding of the gospel and a help to me to grow and be a better person.

con amor
elder bigelow

New President

i got online on manday and saw that no one had wrote me so i did my own thing and no one wrote elder roberts either so today we are on to write the families we have back at home. happy fourth of july to everyone. it is a little late now i know. but im sure everyone had a pretty good one. here it was cold and no one celebrated except for us gringos who went out to a cafe and got a cup of hot chocolate some empanadas and watched to uruguay vs. peru game with some of the elders from peru in the zone. so it was good all and all.

well we have our new president know. it is president and hermana avila.... they are from buenos aires and are about 15 years younger then the lindahls and are here with there kids. two girls and a boy. and another daughter who is married and another son who is on the mission in washington state. president avila was formerly a 70 and now is our president. his older brother was the mission president before president lindahl got here. i have had the chance to meet and talk to him and his family. and they all are really great!! he is an amazing man as well! really energetic and excited abuot he work. and his wife is really funny and always making jokes. elder roberts and i both dropped and came to the area of mendoza centro. it is one of the biggest chapels in the mission. and the area is in the heart of mendoza capital. it is a big area. but really cool. i like it alot. everyone is really rich so it makes it a challenge for us to teach people. but we have some really promising leads right now and are preparing two people we found on our first two days of working here for baptism on the 23rd.

all the members are really excited to have us here. we are trying to get everyone excited and do some reactivating that president lindahl asked us to do. everyone wants us to come over and visit them and eat with them. and they all have friends and families they know that they want us to go out and visit. so we are really excited for what is to come.

last week we went through the area book looking for people to go by and teach that elders taught before and we found this lady ruth. that is friends of a member. so we went to talk to the member about her and he told us she is in chile now but wants to be baptized. the roads are closed from chile to argentina due to snow. but will be coming back soon. right then his computer made sounds and it was her on skype!!! in chile!!! so we taught her over skype and she is one of the people that has a fecha for the 23rd. she will be back like on the 15th we hope. so that was one of the coolest lessons i have had on my mission is over skype to someone in chile!! haha

the area is really great though i am really excited to be here these next some odd weeks finding and helping people. i have alot of energy and excitement for the things we are going to do this transfer and i know we will baptizel. and it is known to be one of the toughest areas in the whole mission and is really rare to get a baptism. but WE ARE GOING TO BAPTIZE!

but i hope all is going well. i will keep sean in my prayers! i hope he does ok and is stayng strong. the temple will be missed by you guys. but you still will be able to visit and thngs im sure. its one thing i miss the most is gong to the temple. two years without is tough. but thanks for everything. have a great week i love you all and miss you.

con amor

elder bigelow

chau lindahls

June 27, 2011

well it is the last week of the lindahls! but it will be good to get a new president and his family that is coming with him. it will be a new fun experience i think. i am now starting my last transfer and i think once we get the new president in the offices we will be dropping and going on a special assignment to try and reactivate some fallen bishops in the mendoza stake and get them back because they are stake president material. president lindahl feels that way and so do we. so it looks like we will be going to the ward in mendoza centro. where the president of the mission always lives and be in that ward to help him. but out of the offices and in the field more so we can help these men in this stake come back and be the leaders that we know they are.
this week was really good. sounds like it was maybe not quiet as good as a dramatic fun first lake powell trip bu still alot of fun. really cold but we are doign our best to stay warm! we went to san juan and worked with fowler a little bit and got a couple more people baptized for him. it was good. i visited the malla family. they are doing good. i found out that maxi was burried in the shirt and tie that i gave him.... that was cool to hear. they are doing great! really recoving and understanding the whole thing.

roberts did beat me a little i guess in wrestling he usually does but his was cheap he had me in the bathroom and not much space and i tripped... haha but get in and talk with his family go out to eat. they say you are all going out next week. put in a good word haha they have a cute daughter i hung out with before the mish hahaha

i will try and get all the info i can from the lindahls and let you know about it.
have a great week thanks for everything! i love you and miss you!

con amor
elder bigelow

puntos en mi rodilla

June 20, 2011

thanks for the letter dad! it was exactly what i needed to hear and what i needed to kinda help me through with the passing of maxi. i talked to his family a couple times on the phone and they were just a wreck and couldnt even talk it was even hard for me to talk when they would all start to break down in there tears. i will for sure get in the information of him to go to the temple and do his work for them when i get home. this week was pretty crazy! it started with me getting stitches in my knee from falling while wrestling with elder roberts before going to bed on tuesday night and i fell into the bath tub in the pench and hit my knee on the tile soap holder in it and it exploded. in all the laughter of what happened and trying to figure out how to fix the soap holder i pulled up my pants to see my knee and say it was split wide open! haha so we went to the emergency room and i got stitches. dont worry the mission has a deal with the hospital where i went and it was free. little sketchy but free. and it is healing really nicely. almost all the way sealed up now. we gave capacitations all week and talked for about 4 hours straight everyday except saturday. it was exhausting! but really fun, i got to see lots of missionaries as they were getting ready to have there interview. i will have mine this week and i am looking forward to it very much! my very last with president lindahl cause he goes home the first of july! he told me he would be honored to give his testimony at my homecoming on the 28th of aug. he just needs the time... because bishop rasmussen emailed me and asked if he would. so i asked and he said he would be honored to but needs the time so please let me know asap!

well in the week of interviews we drove up to san juan in the mission car to do the interviews and stuff. it is wierd to be in a car again and driving and things. but it is fun. i dont drive much typically someone else drives. but still it is wierd. we went up with the lindahls and that was such a great experience!! i loved it. i learned so much about being a good business man and missionary and alot about there lives and things. it was alot of fun. elder roberts and i shared our whole story with themn and they loved it. and we made some plans with them to someday after go out on our boats and go skiing and boating. and lots of other plans for the future. it was alot of fun. they always make me ffeel so loved and noticed in all that i do and just make me feel like a million dollars. it is so great.

i came back and had to pick up a new misionary on friday that came late from guatamala because of visa problems. so that was fun and we also went out and worked in the area we technically have for us on saturday. elder harvey and i did, because leal and roberts stayed in san juan to get somemore people in the water in san juan. but harvey and i found some miracle pople and found this great family of 7 that all accepted to be baptized and honestly were the family of gold that we have been looking for in our own area and been working with in all the other aeras of the mission. so that was way cool. really fun experience to know that now it really is your own investigator family. i also found out where the ditoto family is the family of gold i found last year in alvear and how they are doing. they are good. still going to church and doing well. they are sick but doing really well. i wrote them a letter and will be trying to go out and visit them this weekend if i can find the time to do it and to get out of the office and out of areas that are struggling a little bit. im sure i will be able to find the time so i am excited to see them and how they are.

happy fathers day dad. i hope you enjoyed that letter. it sounds like you did and i really meant all that i put in it. i would really love to get a tag if at all possible! it is all my dreams had been about the past like months then i got the news i did not draw and they ended and it killed me! so that would be great if we could get that hook up! also i forgot to let you know that YES I AM IN for the texas game!!! please! i cant believe you even asked haha and hopefully the tcu game which i hear will be in dallas cowboy stadium..... also keep in contact with the roberts family. you need to continue talking and becoming friends! haha

thanks again for all you do! i hope trek went well for sean. and i hope powell goes well for all of you this weekend! you will be in my thoughts and i will be wishing i was there. but loving it that i am here! good luck with the house boat! thanks for everything again! i love you all and miss you all!

con amor

elder bigelow

Maxi

June 13, 2011

well this week was good. we wetn to san luis and i got to see my converts and work with them. it was great! i loved it! such a good time and they all are doing so well. i was so happy almost emotional about some of the things they are doing and how strong they are now. we had dinner with thme and i believe silvio tried to get you on face book or something dad to talk i guess. but it was great.

so you remember maxi from a couple of weeks ago in albardon that i baptized.... just an amazing 21 year old kid that i became the best of friends with and grew to love so much! such a special kid and i know in several occasions teaching him the veil was taken away and i could remember him and how i needed to teach him. whether it were in dreams or in our actual teachings that we had with him. i felt it was so vital for us to be with him at all times and helping him and getting him to baptism. i felt such strong impressions of it. and we did after hard work and lots of praying and fasting and many things. he recieved the priesthood last week and this week was going to be getting a calling in the ward. but last night i got a little disturbing phone call that told me that he passed away...... he was coming home on his motorcycle and was in a accident and was killed..... it was really tough for me to take this morning calling his family and talking to them to help them and to calm them down. he was so great!!!! we had so many goals and plans for him to serve a mision and go to the temple in a year and i told him i would try my best to make it here to go with him and would help with whatever he needed for the mission. i loved this kid so much! he was my best friend... my brother.... it was hard for me to take in. but i know where he is! and i know why i felt what i did to get him baptized. it was his time. and i know he is taking what he was taught to teach there in the spirit world. he is with my mom. he is with others and helping them. i feel sad but comforted and satisfied knowing i was able to take part in that saving ordinance. keep the malla family in your prayers.... (pronounced maya)

other notes. one of my converts from godoy cruz from the begining of my mission i got to see yesterday and help to give him the melikezidek priesthood. he was also a miracle! he is doing great. roberto is his name. that was a really special time of my mision.and i got to see my first ever convert who is still active and has gone to the temple and is doing great! and so many other converts and members. because we had an area conference yesterday. it was good. i think a temple might be coming to mendoza in the near future. we are one of the only missions in our whole area. uraguay paraguay and argentina that is still improving month by month and year by year and one of the highest! we are doing way good and the area presidency loves it. and they talked about it on saturday night in a leadership meeting with bishops and stake presidents.

life is good. i am loving it. woking harda nd going through the trials that come our way bu doing really well. i am glad you got in contact with the roberts family. me and him have become best friends and i know there family lives a little of a rock star life. we got to hang out with them. i am sure they will be good with hanging out the friday we get back and go boating. talk to them and stay in contact! it will be super sweet!

i hope all is going well.i miss you and love you! i appreciate you all so much and all you do! keep up the good work!

con amor

elder bigelow

Pictures

photos at the dinner we had. ENJOY. us in the mission car driving and the dinner with the lindahls

divisiones siempre

another week of alot of work and crazy traveling and planning and helping with all the missionaries int he mission. we went all over the place. but it was really cool i went down to alvear. where i was last winter and i saw alot of my converts and leaders of the branch down there.and it still was as cold as i remember. but one of my converts is planning on going to the temple in augost and wants me to go with him still and we are trying to work that out. so he can get endowed and go on his mission here in a couple months. it is way cool. i will never forget finding him and helping him. his family still is not receptive to the gospel and does not want to hear much of anything that we have to share with them. but he is still strong and doing well. i gave him some more shirts and ties to use for church and the mission when he goes. it was alot of fun. and a family we found and got baptized the week after i left is WAY strong and doing really well we had lunch with them and that was great. they have still remembered me as the first ever to come in there house. that was alot of fun. lots of good memories from good old southern mendoza in alvear.

in all of our capacitaciones the elders have been good and receptive to what we have to say and all are willing to prepare for the new president to come in. so that is really good. i hope that they take in the council we have for them. it really is for there benefit and will help them to have alot more success. we saw a good difference in the zones that we went to visit this week and they are working weell and starting to apply what we taught. tomorrow we have zone leader consejo and that will be interesting the first one i will be leading and in charge of. always i am just sitting as the zone leader and listening to what the AP's have to say. but now i am preparing it and staying up late to get things all ready. last night we did not get back to the apartment till almost three. verifying and getting all the things ready we could. and we still have alot of things to do tonight and tomorrow before we start. but it will be fun. we have some really good things planned and the leaders are excitecd and ready to learn.

we were on divisions the other day also and we saw a ton of people standing outside and tons of smoke going up in the air (which is common, argentina burns all there garbage everywhere) and as we got closer a fire truck came flying around the corner and we saw that it was suprisingly enough a house that was burning down. and everyone was watching it. not doing anything... haha they never see that here since all the houses are made of cement or adobe. but this one went up and was burning good. it was crazy! then we had lunch with a huge bolivian family and in the smallest most humble of houses. but they are such nice people and so willing to give. you just should have seen us in that house. we barely fit all four of us missionaries. but somehow we did it and had an awesome lunch with them that was good and fun.

last night was really cool. we got invited over to president lindahls house to eat dinner with him and hermana lindahl. and it was the best meal i have had in argentina. we had roast beef, mashed potatos and gravy!!!!! ahhhhh!!! man it was so good. a real sunday dinner, i have missed for such a long time. then we had the most amazing carrot cake i have ever tasted in my life! we had some really good discussions about life and the mission work and dating and marriage. lots of stuff i had burning on my mind. and president is such an inspired man. gave me so many answers i was looking for and really helped me to feel a little more at ease on alot of things. i am so grateful to have such a great man as my president and the opportunity i have to work so closely with him and hear and have his council is just great! he says he will come to my homecoming if i am in contact with him and if i let him know and if you let him know also when he gets home by email or by calling him. you really need to meet him! he is great! he will continue to help me after the mission i know it. has helped me to put good goals and meaningful goals.

i was a little jealous about the rubarb pie. i was talking about it last night at presidents house telling them how good it is. so i am a little jealous. but at the same time not to much since i know i cant have any here. if i were home and could not eat any i would be even more jealous. but since i wont have the chance for any for awhile, its not a big bother to me. i hope you have got in contact with the roberts family. we want to go up to deer creek that friday we get back with both our boats and have a good old time up there then go to his house that his family owns in midway for lunch or dinner or something and we could cook some good argentine asado for everyone! it would be alot of fun. so think about it and let me know what yall think.

lots of things have changed on the mission. things back home. and big changes in myself.i still obviously am alot of the same. but inside i have changed alot and have alot of different thoughts and goals and desires in life. i see things in alot bigger perspective now and understand the real importance of the gospel in my life! i am really sorry for kent and marci, tht must be tough. they will be in my prayers. everything will work out i hope!

well i hope that everyone has a good week and is diong well i miss you all and think of you often. stories are constantly shared about you all with my comp and people i show pictures to. they think you all look beautiful and love the pictures just to let you know.

con amor

elder bigelow

ps elder roberts says whats good? and hi to don,... haha and if he can be roberts dentist

milagros

well this week was a really crazy week. working towards getting this record for the month of may. we started off really bad and was looking to be a record low. but we brain stormed and prayed and started working a little bit with a plan two weeks ago to try and recover. then last week it was all or nothing. and we really saw some big miracles! it was amazing! i had some of the most spiritual experiences i have had in my mission and in my life. i trully know that angles were with us and helping us through our faith and the prayers that took place.

we worked alot in mendoza capital with the zones here and helping them to get people in the water and saw some great miracles take place there. but the really miracle took place as we prayed to know where we should go for the weekend to help. and had a few places picked out and thursday morning it was so clear that we had to go to san juan and work there again. we called the zone leader to tell hima nd he said it would be a waist of time that the people were not going to get baptized. but we went anyway and didnt really care what he said we felt we needed to go. we got there and went a worked for an hour in the mornign and got one person that was not gong to get baptzed committed to being baptized on sunday and they were way happy. then in the afternoon it came and was great!

we felt we needed to go to an area and work with two elders and help them who had two people that were there but did not have the desire to be baptized. and in another area taht roberts went to that also had a couple people to be baptized. i went to one that seemed a little less likely but i felt reallyl good about it and i knew taht miracles were going go come for us and that these people would be baptized.

first we went to theis lady name lidia... she prayed and knew that the book of mormon is true and been to church a couple of times but did not want to get baptized and said no to the elders a number of times and felt no need for it. so we went there and we talked and i told her how i felt we needed to come and talk to her and i told her about the temple prayers an the mission prayers and she called me a liar to my face and said i was jsut trying to obligate her to be baptized. i explained that was not the case and that she could know for her self and stuff. and she knew that god would answer her prayer but not tell her to be baptized this weekend. i testified and it was more powerful then any other tesitmony i feel i have given. i told her and promised her taht god would answer her prayer and tell her to be baptized. that if she had faith it would happen right then and there!!! i promised her as a servant of god that he is ready and listening because i trully felt that way!! we invited her to pray right then and there and she would get her answer if she was to be baptized on sunday. so we knelt down and she prayed and told god she had the desire to be baptized if it was his desire of her. and asked father, do i need to be baptized on sunday........ and she was silent for a few minutes..... and BAM the spriit hit so hard and we all started to cry and she thanked god for the answer and said she would go and be baptized on sunday knowing that was the desire of him. i trully felt the presence of the spirit or angels that were with us in that moment for her to get the answer and to soften her heart to hear and feel it. and she did get baptized yesterday.

after we went to visit another girl of three years investigating. she could not recieve permission from her dad. and the elders never had met the dad. and right as we got infront of the house the dad pulled up in his car to pick her up from the mothers house. and we talked to him and he was against it still. but we some how got him to give permission, and to change days of the week to visit his daughter from saturday and sunday. to monday and tuesday which worked better for the mom anyways. it was way special and lots of tears int hat familiy as well. it was really special. and we saw many more things taht were just amazying this weekend. this week we have lots of meetings to help the missionaries prepare for the new president and it is going to be crazy but i am really excited. we dont get much sleep. last night we were up till 2 30 verifying. but it is a blast and the spirit with president lindahl is amazing!!! i learn so much in our meetings we have with him.

i better get going. but thanks for everything. GOD DOES WORK MIRACLES i have seen so many and felt the spirit so strong in my time here on the mission i cant neglect my testimony that i have recieved. i know he lives and this is HIS work!! have a good week. i love you all. thanks again.

con amor
elder bigelow

ps get in contact with the roberts taht will be great.... and any word on the deer tags....

una nueva llamamiento

well this week was a crazy week! but alot of fun anyways! i got sick, we had our baptism, and i got a phone call from president lindahl....

first i got sick and thought i was going to die! but thankfully i was able to get it all out of my system. it sucks we are so far away from everything that it is kinda hard to do what is needed so i just talked to the doctor and got things figured out over the phone. i was throwing up alot. i ate something way bad!... but i am all better now. it was just funny dad said i hope your health is good. and just last week i got sick. but i am better and dont have to worry about anything.

i did not know if i was going to make it for the baptism and i was the one who he wanted to baptize him. but i was feeling alot better friday for it and i was able to do it. it was a really rewarding experience! he is 21 and has had to give up alot. but has never been happier he told me. and when he came out of the water he started crying and gave me a huge hug and thanked me about a million times. and his family and everyone there was all teared up as well. it was really special for me and for all of us. and when we were in the bathroom changing he asked me how i felt when i got baptized and i told him and he said he felt the same. and that he feels like he is on the top of the world and can do anything. and has never felt so much happiness and joy. it was so special for me. for one of my last days here in albardon.

president also called me, and told me he knew i would do whatever he asked of me. and i told him i would that he can always rely on me. and he was happy to here that. and said that i need to pack my bags and come down to mendoza to help him to end his mission and be his assistant and to prepare to bring in the new mission president and help him to run the mission.... haha and i will be with my old enemy new best friend elder roberts from alta! i am so happy and it will be a great experiende! but it is short and that is all for this week.

thanks for everything. i love you and miss you! have a great week.

con amor
elder bigelow

la ley

this week we had a good week. we worked good. and president called us to talk to us. and it sounds like elder williams will be going home even earlier then the rest of us. at the beginning of august. so you all can go to his homecoming. he lives close! so that would be cool and he wants you all to go really bad. but i will let you know more about taht when it gets closer. and it sounds like i will be leaving the area and going back to be a zone leader. and help to enforce alot of new rules that the area presidency has put in. and to probably finish my mission as a zone leader president told me. but as we know anything can happen.

this week we had to go and to teach maxi. we have had a hunch he has a problem with the law of chastity with his girlfriend. so we went to talk to him and told him about and was shocked. and so we put a cita with him for another day to explain it more throughly and with more time. so we did and had a great lesson with him. it was a little bit of a cane drop for him. but it was really good and he still came to church and on frieday will be baptized! we are way excited! and he is doing really well and excited also. he will be a great member and really strong! i can see him serving a misison here next year. and being the future bishop of albardon! he is a huge stud and doing all the right things right now in his life and is finding alot of happiness that he has been looking for. its was special the family of his always texts him and reminds him not to smoke or do anything bad and to remember his baptism he has. its way special for me to see everyone doing this for him and the excitement that everyone has. i have grown really close to him and we really connect well and am way excited for him. another super cool baptism!

we also are teaching several other people and they are doing well just not progressing how we can see them. they wont come to church cause it is cold and it is a long travel. so that is difficult. but i know some good things are coming for the area and that we have some good investigators if they will only come to church. we have reactivated this one family that was baptized two years ago and they are really cool. the girls go to seminary every morning at 6. and the mom now has a calling to be a sunday school teacher. so that is cool and to see them doing well and coming back to church and how happier they are. i had to give another talk yesterday in church. my third one in this area. its so wierd, people get scared and dont come when they get assigned talks. and we get asked to do them for 10 to 20 minutes. so i have learned that really well how to give a talk and to teach off the fly here on the misison from all my areas and alot from here in albardon.

i am really appreciative of the prayers and thoughts that are givin by the ward and the families. it means alot to me. i have had some problems with food or something not sitting well or something i really should NOT have eaten. but i eat it anyways and i know that the prayers of blessing me with health and strength are felt cause randomly the bad stomache pain will go away and i will be feeling alot better. and i know it is from the love and the power of prayer from everyone back home. so thanks and i greatly appreciate it and hope for it to continue till the end of my mission. and i know blake ziser will feel it as well and love it! he has alot ot look forward to. argentina is a great place and the buenos aires misions always do well. the mendoza mission has managed to top most all other missions in argentina the past two years! so its not the best misison in the world like mendoza but it is close... haha but who is to brag.....

life is good. i am loving it! and having a ton of fun everyday! let blake know i say congrats and that it is the best time he will have in his life. i didnt believe it before.... but i am a strong believer of it now! it trully is the BEST two years! i love you all and miss you! take care.

con amor
elder bigelow

feliz dia de la madre

ell that was really good to talk to all of you yesterday! i had some good laughs and it sounds like everyone is doing great! like i said it still has not hit me that this was the last phone call home. and im sure it wont ever it wont hit me that i am even going home till i am in the plane probably. its just wierd how i have adapted to life here and i feel it is home and that i am never leaving and i dont ever need to leave... but im sure it is that way with most missionaries i dunno for sure though. i hope it is not out of the ordainary. life is good. today will be pretty short since i talked to you all yesterday.

but just so you know we had one of our investigators come to church yesterday. his name is maxi, he is 21 and just a way cool kid! not a typical argentine kid, has his head on pretty straight for the most part. smokes a little, and has a girlfriend. but we are helping him and he is going to get baptized the 21 of this month. and i know he will be a great leader in the church and a great missionary! im way excited for him. i did divisions last week with elder roberts in my area. and we had some really good heart to heart talks and have become the best of friends! and we taught maxi. and that night we put the fecha down and committed him to baptism and i took his cigarrets from him. and i will have another convert that had to quit smoking. most of them have had to quit smoking in my time on the mish. but we did a fast for him and gave him a blessing that he will be able to quit and he has not touched one since! and is happy and excited and says he has not had any desire for them! im way excited for him and know it will be great and he will become great in the church!

well it was great to talk to all of you yesterday! i miss and love you all! have a great week! happy mothers day to everyone i couldnt say it to!

con amor
elder bigelow

feliz dia del trabajador

well thats cool you went to saint george... i am currently in saint john... haha sounds like it was a fun trip and i hope that sean got his work done and was also able to learn a few things and changed a little aobut his form of thinking and doing things for the better. i know lisa is hookin him up with friends to have and hang out with. and hopefully she will do the same for me for girls to date and things haha

well this week went great! we had a pretty good week. we went to mendoza for zone conference my last one with president and hermana lindahl. that was kinda wierd. but it went really well and i learned a few things and had a pretty good talk with pres. lindahl. and he says he would really like to come to my homecoming and stuff that it would be a special priveledge for him and stuff. so that made me feel really good and happy. i also told him that you would like to go to his homecoming and to meet him and stuff. so he said he will give me the information before he goes home and i will pass it along to you all. and then you can go and hear him speak and meet him and talk to him. i am pretty sure it will be in provo.

also this week we did divisions and it went well. we had some reallyl special experiences and i was able to have some fun outside of my area and just really work with all my energy and not have to worry about my companion so much and all that. so it was a really big relief for me and alot of fun! we taught some really good lessons and the spirit was really strong and we also were able to give some really powerful blessings that gave me alot of ganas to keep going and to just keep working. even though it was super super cold and the wind was blowing and i didnt bring a jacket or anything i just had my sweater vest. but it was alot of fun and really rewarding.

one of our investigators(alba) told me the other day that she needed to talk to me but away from her kids and stuff. the kids all are members and she has been an investigator for three years but cant be baptized cause she lives with a guy and is not married. and cant get married till he gets a divorce from his previous wife. which he does not want to do... it is a really complicated situation. so she tells me this and i stepped outside to talk for a second with her and she told me that one of the kids living at the house she cant take anymore.... but does not know what to do cause it is not her kid it is the kid of the guy she lives with and neither him nor his wife want him around. and alba is the only other option but she cant take care of him cause she has no money for that. and he is a terrrible influence on her kids! it really made me think back to when i was home and the things taht were happening then with chris and how his desicions are not the best or for the best influence on anyone.... and the other problem was that her boyfriend figure that lives there. will not allow her to go to church anymore or listen to us anymore. but the thing is he is never around always working or buying drugs and women and bad things. he is a terrible person to her, with the way he treats her. so we left after she told me that and i told my comp and we studied and prayed about it. and went back the next day and we had some cool personal revelation! i shared about the way i have been raised and the problems that have occured in the house with my siblings and what has happened with them and even though it was hard what had to be done was they had to be kicked out. if they did not want to work, study, or obey the rules of the roof.... and so they left. and with her boyfriend, if he does not want her to be happy and do the right things he cant be the right guy. we shared about nefi when he cut off labans head and how it was better one man die then the curruption of a whole nation! better that two men leave the house then the curruption and fall of a whole family! was how we applied it. and my companion and i both decided what we want in our families and how we need to be with rules and things.

i grew up thinking all the time that i hated the rules that i had and i would never put them with my kids or if i would even have rules for them in general. but i know now it was for my better and that i will have those rules and maybe even more strict of ones so that my kids dont screw up as bad as i did in the same ways i did or anything like that. so that they will be happier and better off. i thought back to rebellious times when i wanted to leave and go live with my mom and i fought with lisa and dad. and i feel really bad for that sfuff. i was in a home where the spirit dwelled and that helped me to grow into a good person. jsut like in church, the more obedient we are the happier we live and the easier things are... the more obedient i was at home the happier i was and more fun i had. thankyou so much for all you did for me and helped me. sorry i was a pain at times but i regret it now and really see the happiness i had and how easy things really were for me. especially when i was obedient.

yesterday was the day of the worker and is the only day all year where there is no bus´s at all! so we had basically no one in church. but one of our investigators maxi... he came and that was a way good suprise he came in the cold on his moto. the testimonies that were shared were super powerful and he loved them and felt the spirit of them. it strengthened him he said and was really happy he came. but super hard day to work cause there was no busses to take us where we needed to go cause our area is huge! but it was alright. i cooked a roast yesterday also. i have made a few throughout my mission. i am prettly well known for cooking in my penches. so i cooked one for my comp and some brownies. he loved it and it was one of my best. i switched things up a bit from what i usually do. but it worked out for the better. we got to talkin and is it true that missionaries get money to help with there schooling at there homecoming.... cause if so, that would help me out a ton and would really need the help! but i dunno if that is true or not and really happens....

well i dunno if you are planning on calling me or not for mothers day next week.... but if you are. i will be in the chapel with my comp and you can call me at 730 in the evening argentina time. i dunno what that is there but you can figure it out... and call me at 0054 264 491 2568......

that is the number for argentina, then san juan, then for albardon.... so call be about 730 in the evening time on the argentina time. if you are planning on calling. if you dont call, that is fine. i will just email you and monday and see what happened or what we can do.

well i hope you all have a great week. and taht all is going well for you! thanks for everything, keep us in your prayers. they are felt and needed always. love you all and we will be talkin

con amor

elder bigelow

feliz pascua

well easter was good. got an excuse from an investigator that her tooth hurt so she could not come to church and when i told her taht my dad is a dentist and i know how to check teeth and asked to look at it and see how it was she told me the pain went away and there was nothing to be seen in her mouth anymore! so that was a little funny, never heard taht excuse in my time here in the mission but just about all others yes. so there is a first time for everything i guess.

but this week we had a good week. nothing to special happened. just the same old work work work schedule! but we tore it up still. just a little hard cause the catholic church makes it a whole week holiday that no one works or goes to school or the buses dont run as much. so it was a little tough but it was really good. i still had fun. and we found some pretty cool people see what we can do with them. one lady is a missionary for the catholic church but disagrees witha ll its teachings so we will see what will come with her. and that is about it.

dont send like any more packages by the way the argentina government is in a fight with the postal service and they say any packages in the mail they are going to open and take out any food or new clothes that are in it. that started a couple weeks ago. just to let you konw... but letters and things are still fine. so if you send a package be safe about it.

things are great. just a little tough with a super trunky companion. but i am fighting through it i think i will be away from him soon and be able to have the comp i want and area i want hopefully. but we are doing well. i am really loving it here and am realizing how big of changes have come into my life from my time serving the lord. it is so special to me and will always be something of so much importance of what i have done here and the people i have met. and the work continues and is still going forward. thanks for all your thoughts and your prayers and help with school or work or whatever it is greatly appreciated. i love you all and miss you. im sorry to hear about donna but she is in a better place and is happy there. take care and have a good week

con amor

elder bigelow

Aconcagua de vuelta

well sorry i did not write yesterday. but president lindahl has been promising my companion for awhile about the possibility of going to aconcagua and seeing it since he never has. and he called last week and told us that we can go and to be in mendoza on sunday night and to go on monday for pday. so we did it and it was a very long trip. we had to do it the tourist way and so it was a lot longer trip. but we had a totall blast and loved it. suprisngly enough it was not as cold as what it was when i went in january with all the zone leaders in the mision. but it was alot warmer. we got some good pictures and were the only people on the trail all day. till we came back and got to the tourist building. but we were with this guy from germany that is traveling the world. he is 26 and speaks no spanish. but speaks english perfectly. so that was cool we were around him and saw him several times through out the whole day. it was alot of fun. and we did not get home till like 12 last night and so there was no time to do any email. that is why we are doing it today.

but last week we had a great week. we worked and went to the vargas family and taught them a couple of times. the ones that lost two children. and they are doing good. they are super excited for baptism. but it will be delayed from the original date of the 30th of this month till whenever we can. cause we found out that they need to get married first. so we might baptize the kids first then the parents, or wait for the whole family. we are still in that deciding process right now. but it will be 7 baptisms from this family. keep them in your thoughts and prayers.... but we had some really good lessons with them and they were really excited to come to church on sunday and we were too... and sunday came and we waited and waited and no one showed up... so i called alberto the dad and asked what was up and he said he could not come because his tooth hurt.... WOW first time i have heard that excuse in my mission. and his wife couldnt cause her blood pressure was low.... she could feel it... little frustrating how this culture is sometimes with all the excuses and things they give. but i talked alberto into coming and he showed up for the sacrament. he really enjoyed it and the councilor in the bishop brik talked to him after and he loved that. and really enjoyed church now we need to get the whole family to come and to try and commit them to baptism and to marriage. that will be tough but i know that we can do it with the help of the lord. nothing is impossible with him. so we are in that right now helping them and trying to get them to be happy and excited and have the desires to get married and baptized. so please keep them in your thoughts and your prayers.

we also had maxi this week. he is doing good. he is a little upset because his dad left his mom this week. he tends to do this from time to time. he earns alot of money but never gives any to the family either and so they are dirt poor. and he does some really really bad things with that money that he keeps and doesnt give to his family. so we taught maxi about the commandments and the family. and how he cant be like his dad when he has his family. first off he needs to marry the girl before having kids and he needs to be in the church to strengthen the family and keep them united. he liked that. he is a really great kid. 21 years old, and he is smart. just needs to do the right things.... he is kinda struggling ahora. but we need to get him to church and to get baptized. he knows it is true. just doesnt come to church and literally thinks that it is impossible to quit smoking... he only smokes 1 to 5 a day. and can stop easy. but his mentality makes him think that he cant. so we are there with him trying to help and get him to realize the things he knows and needs to do and to actually do them!

the mission is reading the book of mormon again as a mission thing the celebrate the translation of it by joseph smith. and we are going to read it in 66 days. now we are on day like 5 i think. but i am ahead of the game and learning a ton. it is great. it really is true that you learn something new everytime you read the book and i am learning something new everytime i open it up! i love it and am gaining a stronger testimony of it.

im glad to hear that conference went well and that you enjoyed it. this week is ward conference here in arbardon. so that will be good. what time does our ward start now... i imagine there is alot of new people i dont know. but tell everyone i say hi. and everyone i know that i say hi. especially tell Jd Barnes and his family hi. i looked back on my letters from them the other day and it really made me feel good and get myself going again. so tell them thanks again for the letters they wrote. i hope everyone has a great week. i miss you and your in my thoughts and prayers often! love you all

con amor

elder bigelow

GANAMOS!!!!!

well i have not told you all about the competition that the mission has been in all transfer cause i did not want to jynx us. but with march madness in NCAA basketball. we in our mission do our own every year called locuro de marzo! and it is a huge competition. winner gets a t shirt and a dinner with president lindahl at his house. and our zone has torn it up all month and all transfer! and this last week was the championship round between us and a zone in mendoza. but we worked our butts off the whole zone and dominated and we found out that this morning we won by two points!!!!!! 357 points to chimbas and the zone villa de uco had 355. it was defintitly a locuro! but we won! and tomorrow we will be traveling down to mendoza to have lunch and to celebrate with president the whole zone together. just goes to show you when you put the alta boys together, we win championships! just like the old days!!! all three alta boys were in the same zone together and we just dominated and motivated the zone ultimatly to the victory of march madness! so byu did not win the BIG DANCE.... but CHIMBAS did win all of cuyo in argentina. it was way legit! i really felt like i was involved in a championship series like football or somethin. it was great.

in other notes. we had four people come to church on sunday it was really cool and a family of three suprised us and came then another girl showed up that we have been working with for a while. miracles trully were happening in albardon this last week! i loved it. not only that but i worked with a kid that just got baptized three weeks ago and i worked with him just him and i and it was great! we had some really great experiences and found a family that in the past four months two kids have passed away. a four year son drowned and then a month later there 18 year old daughter died one night just did not wake up the next day and the family still has not gotten a reason for why or what happened. it was really sad. and we found a man who used to be a profesional soccer player. so that was cool to.

but the high light of the week outside of finding out that we won was for sure going to the hospital on thursday! we went there with young men getting ready to serve a mission and looking for desires to do so. and we went to share a message with the patients and to sing hymns to them. and the spirit was so unbelievably strong! it is amazing how the hymns of the church do that. and the youth yesterday in church bore there testimonies and were in tears from the things and feelings that they experienced. we gave blessings. gave comfort and saw alot of smiles that people have not shown in a long time! i really loved it! one of the most special days i have had in my mission thus far in the time that i have! something i will never forget and always remember and enjoy!

thanks for everything that you do. i love you all and miss you. i got a package from ben and jenny thankyou so much i loved the pictures and things. thanks to everyone. take care and have a good week.

con amor y cariño

elder bigelow

thanks

well this week was a good week. we worked hard and got some of our investigators to come to church and see conference this last weekend. that was great right!!! wow what an amazing general conference. every session built off of the last and when i couldnt believe it could get any better it DID it got even better then the last one!!! i especially loved the priesthood session. me and my comp were up super late just talking about it, blown away from monsons talk he gave. it scared me a little because it was a subject i had been thinking about a little bit and had some conversations with my companions and president lindahl. i actually had prayed for a little council in general conference on that same subject. and to my amazement, there was three talks on the exact same thing through out all of the sessions. monsons in priesthood very powerful and also scotts in the sunday sessions were very powerful to me.

it was a great conference to have as my last in the mission field. i have never felt so strong the spirit as what i have in general conference time on the mission. before i fell asleep always a couple of times during the sessions and never had seen all five start to finish and listened to every talk. but on the mission i have charished this great blessing to hear the voice of a living prophet and his apostles. i get excited and energized to hear each talk and dont have any sueño at all during any of the sessions. everyone did a great job. we got a bus in our area rented to bring the members and investigators to the stake to hear and see conference. that was a fun little trip. we had five people in totall come. we were planning and hoping on having 11 or more. but saturday and sunday we left early in the morning to get taxis and go find our investigators. but no one was found or the common argentine excuse was used to not be able to come. so that was tough. but we did have some success and that was the most important thing.

we are teaching this kid named maxi. he is 21 years old and he is a totall stud. i think i have told you a little about him. one of the only clean looking kids his age here and respectful as well. we have been teaching him for a few weeks and have had a few good lessons with him. i remember the first good one we had. no one was home just him and us and we were able to talk and express our feelings and really invite the spirit to help us in the teaching process. and we taught and he prayed on our knees afterwards with us and he asked to know the truth of the church and of what we are teaching him. and he stopped and said thanks and ended the prayer. and had tears in his eyes and said he felt good. we were so excited!!! but the best was yet to come. later that night after we left, he went out to the back of his house and prayed in the middle of the bushes and grass in the middle of no where (where his house is) and knelt to offer a prayer like joseph smith did.... he told me that and told me that he felt something so strong in his chest he never felt before, and that he felt so happy and peaceful. it was indescribable as he told us....it was so cool to see and hear that!!! i loved it!!! he told us that he knew that the church is true and is working on his desires to be baptized, cause he is not sure yet. but we are helping him and i know he will be baptized here soon and he will be a missionary and a great leader in the church. it is way cool and super special. one of the best investigators i have had in understanding and recieving a answer to his prayers.

i have a feeling that this is my last week in my area. and then i will be leaving to mendoza again. but i dont know for sure but that is the feeling that i get. so i wont be able to see some of the baptisms of investigators i have helped and been with here. but it is ok as long as they do get baptized and maybe if i am traveling for president i will be able to come back and see them. but we will see. i also got a letter from silvio serantes from san luis. he is a great guy. i guess the family is doing great. i called fowler the other week telling him about a dream i had about the serantes family and it scared me. dealing with there prayers. so fowler told them and strangley enough the dream was partly true and they really were having a bit of a hard time with there prayers and things. so they wrote me thanking me and explaining things to me. amazing family!!! i miss them, but always will remember the experiences i had.

but dad thanks for your email and explaining things to me a little bit and a little of the plans that you have for me and what is to come with school and all those things. it does ease my mind a little bit. but as you can imagine i do still have some worries and nerves about things. i will be looking for a job. but i will need to find one that pays well and flexible hours for me. but i know i should be working and i plan on doing so. but thanks.... and i will be making a schedule to eat at peoples houses and yours in draper often. so everyone just plan on it.

i hope everyone is doing good and the week goes well for everyone! i miss you and love you. take care

con amor

elder bigelow

sobrino parker...

well i did not get any pictures or things of my new sobrino. but i am sure he is very cute and doing great. i am glad to hear that all went alright and that both parker and jenny are doing well. i told everyone about it here. and they all thought it was way cool and were all really happy. and say hi to the new baby and to the family.

i did not give away my scriptures for the record.... i dunno where that came up. but maybe from like last transfer when i gave them to a man who came to church and stuff. that we taught and helped. i got them back from him after he read and stuff. and i exchanged it for one that i bought for him. so dont worry i stil have all my memories for it. but i read my english ones alot more then my spanish ones anyways.... but i will still keep them dont worry.

well work is going good. this week we worked alot with youth that are getting ready to serve missions and we broke a mission record of most lessons with a member present in a week. we broke that record in one day!!!! it was so cool.but i was totally wiped out after. i went to bed at like 945. but we dominated this last week. we did really well and saw alot of really great things and some sweet miracles. doors just seemed to open right up for us and we could teach people. the people always leave there doors open here anyways. and we just always walk into the houses directly if the door is opened and we had alot of lessons and just a ton of fun with this kids that are getting readdy to go out and serve themselves.

i have also been talking to elder roberts a bit. and his family has a trip to powell planned in august and in september. and they have a houseboat in waweep. and we were thinking that it would be sweet if we got both houseboats together somehow and both our families together and had a trip down there!!! it would be way cool. he is a pro wake boarder and moto cross rider. he is really good and way cool. and his family is great also. i dunno what you think about that or if we could do it. but it would be sweet and we really want to do it. when are the trips to powell planned for....

thanks dad for getting the registration thing taken care of. i think that you can go online and look at the classes that uvu has to offer and we can start talking about it now. so that we can get it all done and taken care of quickly when they allow registration. i actually know that you can look at what classes they have to offer. the other elders have been looking a little and there parents have been asking them about it a little. so maybe take a look and let me know what you are thinking and stuff and we can start talking about it a little more. are there tracks in provo now??

well that is about all for now. thanks for everything. i hope all is going well. and that you feel better dad and that your back and hips continue to get better. maybe you wont be able to beat me in basketball after all, even with my two years away from the game.... haha love you all and miss you. take care

con amor

elder bigelow