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

estudios

well that will be really exciting for jenny and the whole family to have another adition. i have been telling everyone here and they all are excited as well. everyone loves seeing the family picture and thinks everyone looks great in it. and all the other pictures i have of the family and things in my photo album. im sure i will get the address and stuff for my mission president and things for when he goes home so that you all can go to his homecoming and come in contact with him. he is such an amazing man, i think he will be a seventy for sure and possibly a twelve! he is that good. but i will come up with the information when it comes time and is getting closer. he goes home the first part of july.

my companion and i are doing great. we talk about high school and stuff alot and the people that we both knew back in the day. we have alot of fun and makes things a litlle better since we live alone out in the middle of no where, that we can talk openly to each other and stuff. he struggles a little bit and gets a little un focussed. but we are working on it and things are improving greatly. he is getting better and feeling better about the misison and just everything in general. we work well and are seeing miracles and success come for us. that is the great thing about it all.

so dad asked me a little about my studies and the things i have read and learned, since i dont say much about any of that. sorry i have not mentioned it to much, i didnt know that everyone was wondering about that. but i have read the book of mormon through cover to cover a few times and am currently in the process of doing it again. currently i am in mosiah. amazing book in the book of mormon with king benjamin and all that he said and did for the people is a great story that i love learning about. and then again probably one of my most favorite stories in the whole book of mormon especially now in this time of my life on the mission. is alma the younger, and his story with the sons of mosiah. how terrible they were. to the point that they were destroying the church and calling it false. even saying that his father alma, the prophet... is a false prophet and is not called of god. that is just huge to me that he said and did that... it must of hurt alma so much hearing and seeing that from his own son... but he kept praying and fasting for him that he might change and be better. but in his pride it would not happen, till an angel of god had to strike him down and teach him a lesson while he was dumb. i wish i could do that with some people here on the mission to help them to see the importance of the things i am saying and not just say... soy catolico, pastolico, romano... i hear that probably 100 times a day. and they wont listen from there pride. obviously i have helped and taught several people that have said that. but it is from the pride of there fathers that they are this way. and the tradition continues to where in the street a 5 year old boy will yell...long live the virgen mary...from the tradition of his fathers... everyone of us needs to come to our own conclusion and deciding factor of whether or not the church is true. GOD IS ONE SOLO. he is not the creator of so much confusion!!! if there is ONE GOD why are there so many churches....... the confusion and PRIDE of man. god is not a god of confusion. he is the same TODAY, TOMORROW, AND FOREVER. if he called prophets in old times to help his people be guided out of confusion, it is obvious he will call prophets today to help us and guide us out of confusion. just like alma did for his son in the last part of mosiah going into alma.

that is a little bit of what my studies have been lately is in mosiah and more update alma the younger this last week. i have read other books we have in the mission. but i did not come with anything more then my scriptures and the day of defense book from austin. i never bought any before i left. but i find some laying around her and there in pench´s and i will start to read them. i have read our heritage great book. articles of faith. and almost all of jesus the christ twice. i have learned alot!! but i learn the most in zone conferences and personal study from the scriptures. i love reading the triple. i learn so much from doctrina y convenios. there is so much revelation to be learned and understood from it. i love it.

this week i was able to go out and do some divisions with the zone leaders and i got to work with elder roberts. the other alta boy. the one that i did not get along with to well in high school. but now we are best friends. i love the kid. he is great! we had alot of fun and alot of success. we are working towards trying to become companions and stuff. and hope to have it that way our last two transfers of our mission together.

during the week, we talked to alot of crazy people and had some really interesting experiences knocking doors. and some great laughs from it. i swear sometimes people just do not think of what they say or even do sometimes here. well in the entire world i guess. but i think it happens more often here then anywhere else. but we worked with our investigators and had some good experiences with them. we are working with this kid named maxi. today is his 21 birthday. and the majority of his family is members of the church but he is not. even though he looks like he could be a RM he is not a member. nor comes to church. but we gave him a book of mormon a couple weeks ago and on sunday he came to church. perfect sunday to come to, because i had to give a talk on the blessings of the word of wisdom. and he smokes a little. so that was good. he loved it and will continue progressing i feel. keep him in your prayers. also we have a man named pedro, that was living with a woman and could not come to church cause she did not want or anything. but she just left him for another man... blessing in disguise. and now he cam and loved it alot and wants to be baptized and we plan on baptizing him and maybe maxi in between sessions of conference. so keep that in your prayers that a miracle can be worked and we can get it done. i am really excited and happy with what is going on in our area. i love it. and i love it even more that we have men to teach. future priesthood holders to help this ward out that is all women!! haha

but thanks dad for doing my school stuff. that was a great help to me. and thanks for all you all do for me. i am so lucky to have such a great family!! i hope all goes well with jenny and the new baby. it will be in my prayers. let me know what my new nephews name is. have a great week.!! love you all

con amor

elder bigelow

translados especiales

well this week. elder winget and i were doing great and taring it up yet again and having a great week. then on thursday night we got back from a long day and a meetng with the bishop and we got to out pench. and we got a phone call. wingent answered and it was president lindahl. we both were shocked as you can imagine, not sure why he would be calling us. and then he asked to get put on speaker phone to be able to talk to the both of us... and told us that i had done my job and got my comp preped and know how to be a leader and was sending him to be a leader. and me he was going to send me a troubled elder who has had some problems and is depressed and wants to go home. and that i need to change his mission around and help him out. so friday morning we got up and left at six to get a bus ticket to mendoza and switch comps. and then came back. and i came back with elder williams from my mtc group and that went to alta but graduated the year before me. he is great. just strugglin a little bit right now. so that was wierd and tough. but it means alot to me that president has so much confidence in me!! he also told me to get ready. i only have a few more weeks here in san juan then i will be going to the offices most likely to help president end his mission right and strong and lead the mission as an assistant.... haha WOW big news... but nothing is for sure. so we will see what happens there.

this week we did have success though and got to have 4 in church and had really good numbers. it is good. we are taring it up and having alot of fun doing it. the fruits of our labors should be showing here sometime soon so that will be good. but all is well and i am doing great. now in a zone with all three alta boys and trying to become comps with the other one. and today in another great interview with president lindahl. myu second to last one in his mission. we had a great chat and i can tell has a great load of car for me and the family and is for sure called of god to be my leader. i love him so much and has helped me in so many of my problems and raised me to become a better persom then i am and givin me alot of confidence. in september we will have a mision reunion at his ranch and that will be great. have you ben or austin ever had one... i cant wait personally.

well i better go. i love you all and miss you very much!!! take care and good luck jenny

con amor

elder bigelow

ps when does school start... roberts told me it starts the 24th... and how is that coming along

pps i got your package dad and lisa. thanks. much needed. and about the car thing... just give sean mine if it is still around... i want a new one!! haha or a different one atleast.