Elder Zack Bigelow

Sigo

2011-08-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-01T13:22:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

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

divisiones siempre

2011-06-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-07T12:56:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-16T18:54:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-15T16:21:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!

2011-04-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-04-06T11:48:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

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.

nueva area

2011-03-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

well i made it back to the province of san juan ok... and now am back in the heat! but this time in the other stake and not working as a zone leader... it is awesome the energy that i have and the work we were able to do this week. we tore it up!!! we dominated this week and had alot of success. my companion is still new. but he speaks really well, just lacks confidence. he is from eagle idaho and is a stud. we are becoming good friends and having alot of fun. it is just us two that live in the apartment that overlooks a huge vineyard. we are out in the middle of no where here in chimbas. just fields of fruit and grapes all over the place. the people are really nice just like all san juaninos. they are relaxed and a fun people. the area is alot of fun and is gorgeous. it is huge but it is gorgeous.

this week we saw and had lots of miracles. we found alot of people and put lots of fechas. we were planning on having alot of people come to church. we had over 17 people committed to come and were excited to come. but then out of no where it rained on saturday. the once a year it rains in san juan was saturday night... and no one could make it to church. so we struck out... we didnt have any investigators show up it was not good.

the area is gorgeous. i am in the zone of chimbas and one of my zone leaders is elder roberts from alta. the plan is for him to be up one more. me to train next transfer then our last two be together and tare it up. so hopefully that will happen. but we will have a new president at that time. so i dunno for sure. but it is alot of fun to be int he same zone as him finally and we can talk more in person then calliong each other or seeing each other at zone leader consejo. but i am loving it hear.

i hope all is going well at home. sorry i dont have much timel toeday is a holiday here and everything is closing to go party. but i love you and miss yoiu!!! take care and have another fun birthday party.

con amor

elder bigelow

ps papi creo que mi castellano esta bien. he aprendido mucho en mi tiempo y puedo hablar bien. por lo menos creo yo jaja y los miembros dicen que tengo un accento español. entonces eso es bueno. tengo errores en mi castellano toda via pero entiendo todo y hablo lo que quiero. espero que tuyo esta bien y podemos hablar un poco en 6 meses jaja te amo...

baje...

2011-02-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

well i got a call from president lindahl last night and i am going to be dropping as a zone leader to go back up to san juan to help an elder that he wants to become a leader. i will be going to the other zone in san juan from where i was called chimbas. and i will be in an area called albardon. and my companions name is elder windget, he has six months on the mission and is from idaho. thats all i know about him for now. but president lindahl told me he has alot in store for me. but from hearing my wants and desires and his, this is what is going to happen for now and maybe next transfer something more will be coming my way. but for now i am very excited to drop and have a whole new energy about me and now i will have alot of fun!!! i am going to miss san luis and the members and people here ALOT but i now this is what i need to do right now. it will definitly be a very very difficult goodbye for me. my zone leader will be elder roberts from alta, my friend. so i am super excited about that and it will all just be really good.

this week was a really good week. we had a baptism on saturday and i did the baptizing and i also did the confirming on sunday. it was a really good baptism lots of members came and were all excited for it. great time!! on friday night we got permission to go with the priesthood of the ward out to a lake and have an asado with them and a spiritual thought and stuff. kinda like a fireside but with just the elders and high priests of the ward. it was alot of fun and we all go to know each other more and had a blast passing the time together and the spirit was very strong there. but even more special was right before we went to the church to meet up with everyone and get in the cars to go. we were walking and felt we needed to go to the complete other side of our area from where we were and as we were working around there we saw the bishops moms house. who is a very strong and active member in the church. we decided that we will pass by say hi and see how things are going for just a quick second. we got there and went in and she asked if we needed something or why we came by. we told her that we were not sure ourselves but we felt we needed to drop what we were doing and come... she started to cry and told us that the missionaries had not passed by her house for about 20 years just to visit and see her. she told us that she knows we are called of god and guided by his had. because she had been praying and needed help and asked for him to send it to her. she has been strong in the church for a long time. for many years and now feels very stressed and weighed down with things. her husband was excomunicated a little over a year ago and is now getting baptized again and just a lot of things that i will not go into details about. but she had been feeling weighed down and stressed and sick. and said that the reason that we came was to give her a blessing.... it was one of the most powerful blessings i have been apart of. i new that i was guided by the hand of the lord and doing his errand. my companion gave the blessing and every word that came out of his mouth was the exact word i was thinking of and had in my head. the hermana sobbed from this blessing. afterwards she told us about her conversion story and all the blessing it has brought to her family where there have been several missionaries and leaders in the church and everything. it was a very special moment for me and to be apart of.

also on sunday we were able to give silvio serantes the melikezidek priesthood. i was not able to baptize him but i got here right after his baptism and baptized his son and have been there for alot of the steps and he is doing great. what a special experience to see and be apart of to give someone that you have seen in the bad and the good and the great change in there life and in the life of there family from the gospel. and to give them this great power that god has priveledged man with here on the earth. it is so amazying and i had the tingles that whole time and tears were shed in that blessing. it was a very special experience for fowler and i to see and be apart of.

on another note i heard from one of my converts in godoy cruz in trapiche from last year. he to has the melkezidek priesthood and is preparing to go to the temple next month!! so that will be super cool i loved to hear that from him and that he is doing good. it is roberto, he has a crazy conversion story as well. it is amazing the change that has come in his life and the happiness he has found from coming closer to our savior and be guided by the holy ghost. so great!!!

other then that nothing to new or crazy going on. all is well. this week i will be leaving and going to chimbas in san juan. back to the blistering heat!!! where i think i will be finishing my mission out at. all is well, my health is great thanks for the thoughts and prayers. my toe is doing alot better and i am very happy. i hope all is going well for you, i miss and love you. have a great week.

con amor

tu mendocino

elder bigelow

semana con enfermedades

2011-02-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

well this week was a good week. it was a little tough cause eveyone in our pench came down with the cold, one at a time. and so that was tough to sleep and to work with along with my toe killing me all week. but some how we got through it and now all of us are healthier and happy and doing good. the really problem continued with the hermanas when last night a big fight broke out between all of them and and we got a call with one of them crying not being able to speak really and she speaks spanish so even harder to understand her. but we finally got out of her that one of the hermanas was in this arguement and fell against the wall with her eyes rolled back and slid to the floor... she had fainted. and would not wake up and was have a very hard time breathing and all of them were freaking out!! so we stopped the next taxi that passed by us and got in and went to there apartment to calm things down and give the hermana a blessing. we got there and the hermana had woken back up and was now in bed resting. so we went in and gave her a blessing and it was really spiritual and after we talked to the other hermanas as calm and nice as possible but still dropping cane on them for acting like such little girls and acting like there age. one of them is 32, another is 25 another is 24 and he one that fainted is 23. like please!!! and that was the last phone call crying we got for the week of like 10 others that we got during the week. and today it continued till just barely we had to go buy a bus ticket so that the one who fainted can go home tomorrow and end her mision a week earlier. and it is sad cause she is not and was not even the problem. she started the same time that i did. but it has to happen i guess... it sad but what can you do... the problem leaves next week. so that will be good. but it sounds like i will probably be dropping and going somewhere else.

aside from that, we had a great week. it is true that with sacrifice and prayer comes great rewards. even with being sick and a super painful toe and my comp being sick we went out and worked this week and had a great week. we found some really amazing people and continued working with some of the people that we had and continued to help them to progress. gustavo, our miracle continues to be great. he lives out side of our area but we are still teaching him casue the ward he would be going to the bishop does like having baptisms and is making members go inactive. but this week we talked about joseph smith and he told us he believes it ad knows it to be pure truth and that we have need for a prophet today and said he knows that he is a true prophet today thomas monson. and the bom is true also. it was amazing and he has not smoked, drake, or done cocaine all week. and feels alot better for it to. he could not come to church yesterday cause his family owns a big bread factory and he had to work... but he is still good and doing great.

then we found this 20 year old kid named nicolas. he is awesome!! he lives all the values of the church and looks and talks like he is a missionary or an r.m. he is way cool. and i gave him the book of mormon and was explaining it to him and how important it is to me and in my life and he was rubbing the cover and started to cry. and told us he never has felt this burning in his chest and his heart pounding like that and said he knew it was true. he said right before we knocked the door he was talking about the holy ghost and the role that is plays... how it works if it is the god of all truth... and testifies of the truth. and BAM we knocked the door. he said he wants to get baptized and stuff so we are working on all that right now with him. it was awesome!!!

we also found some other really great people that accepted to be baptized and elder fowler and i put the goal to baptize 10 people next transfer if we are together just in our area. it is amazing cause we have the people and we made plans to work even harder every day. to leave earlier and come home later. to take full advantage of our time and do everything possible to force god to bless us from our labors. it is going to be great... but the AP´s came to work with us this week. and we talked a little about our futures in the mission. and it is sounding like i will probably drop as a zone leader, then the following transfer go up as an assistant to help bring in the new president and help the mission continue on during that change. which would be alot of fun i think and a great experience for me!!! i am not how sure i want that or anything. i want to stay here with fowler. but i know some things need to happen and would be good. i dont know what will take place but we will see. and i will keep talking to them. really i dont care what i do. just want to work and do whatever to help. if that means to be an assistant so be it.... if it means to drop and help a troubled elder or tough area so be it.... or stay as a zone leader. whatever is what i have just started saying. i dont have anymore preference cause i know what i want i probably wont get. haha but working with the APs we had some good success and saw more miracles and had alot of fun together i was comps with one of them and the other i know very well. so it was all a great time.

well that is about it for this week. all is going great down here with me. i am learning alot and feel i am growing everyday. please let me know as soon as possible what you can about school and that stuff. we have an apartment found and all that good stuff going well. one elder was just told he may not be able to get into UVU so please let me know what is happening there so i can figure something out of what i can do. i got the card and bought a new camera thankyou!! yeah it would not work, so i had to go to the atm and in my checking account it said i only had 175 dollars. so i checked my savings and i think that was where all the money was so i had to take it out and pay with cash. bu it is a good camera, very similar to what i had before. thankyou for that. i still have alot of questions about school and all that stuff. it kinda worries me, i know i dont need to be worried. but it is something on my mind how i will do it all... but its ok, things will work out. if you could let me know what is happening that would be great.

i love you all so much!! your in my prayers daily. i hope things continue to go well for you all and that you are all happy and safe and healthy. any new news on the family like babies or names or anything like that is alway appreciated. love you have a good week!!!

con amor

elder bigelow

2011-02-14T20:18:00.001-08:00

this week was a pretty hectic week here in the province of san luis in the zone of san luis... we went to consejo and had a pretty good time. i found out i will be coming home august 24th. and i found out that i could become secretary to the president and an assistant if things work out and it is something that i want to do. i am not sure if i want to finish my mission in the offices is the only problem. and i am a little tired, after having now been a leader for a year in my mission. but i dunno we will see i will still be talking and expressing my ideas of what i want and how i want to end but we will see...

we also talked to president about the problems we have been having with the sisters in the zone not working, fighting, being sick, calling us for nothing, telling us we are wrong, crying and etc etc etc.... so we were going to do a change in the pensh and called and made it and two were happy and other two no and got way mad. and called president and he got mad and like things got all crazy. so now things are the same as before but president said they can do what they want. he does not care anymore and if they want to go home he will buy the next plane ticket out. one already is going home 4 months early... so i dunno it is way dumb but that caused alot of drama in the zone. i wanted to work with women... not little girls is the last thing i told them.

today i got my toe operated on. i talked to the doctor of the mission and stuff and she to the area doctor and this is what i needed to do. they took out my entire toe nail!! wow it was a doozy!!! i had shots given and stuff and didnt feel it much. but now it kills!! but hopefully the pain killers and prayers and blessings will calm the pain and i will be able to get back to working quick.

yesterday we had a huge miracle!!! you dont even know. i loved it and it was way special and crazy for a 20 year old person to take care of but me and my comp did it and will be having another baptism in two weeks.... so at church yesterday. after the sacrament was passed. a man walked in and said brother, i need to speak with someone... so we both got up went out in the hall and talked to this man. his name is gustavo. he said he needed to talk to someone before he committed a serious crime... he then told us alot of things that had happened in the last two weeks of his life... where he was in mar del plata in buenos aires sailing cocaine... he came back and got home sunday morning and at that time his mother ran at him with a knife to stab and kill him. he pushed her aside in self defense and she hit her head and was knocked out.. then his sister came and he hit her... in fear he got his moto and left to go kill himself for what he had done... so he went through an intersection on a red light to get hit by a truck and die. but the truck stopped and did not hit him miraciously... then some how he found himself infront of the chapel. and remembered that eight years ago he talked to a member and they said if you ever need help come to church and you will get it. and remembered a talk by gordan b. hinkley about the family and THE SACRED TRUTH... we talked and taught him and helped him and he told us that he wanted to be baptized.. wants to change his life and have a new start.. we talked alot about that... and he decided to do it and will do it all... we then talked about the book of mormon. and i have never seen anyone in my life react to it like he did. he is very studias about the bible and knows it very well. when we explained the b.o.m. he loved it and was so happy to hear about it. he knew it was true when he touched it and promised to read it and learn it and to charish it... so i gave him my engraven marked leather one.... cause that is all i take to church sundays. it was so amazing to see that and the change that came over him and the peace and relaxation he had... it was so amazing and such a testimony builder. we talked to him for two in a half hours during all the classes and things. and he left with a smile on his face and desire to change and his heart already had changed. was going to go home fix things and organize his life. he was going to kill himself before and decided he would go home and shoot himself since the truck did not hit him. it was very intense and yet so so so spiritual. it was amazing. i had been talking to fowler about miracles that have happened on the mission the day before. then i prayed to see miracles cause nothing had been going our way. and BAM that happens!!! it was so great i loved it.

well i hope all is going well for all of you and everyone is getting healthy and doing well. i love you and miss you.

i also hope stuff for school is going alright. that i am getting registered. i would like to take fun classes like bowling or something. and not kill myself. i hope austin and ben are working with dad on this. so please keep working on it. and let me know how it is.

con amor

elder bigelow

otra semana

2011-02-07T18:46:00.001-08:00

this week we had a really good week. we had three more baptisms on saturday. it was really good. i was asked by one of the boys if i would baptize him, he wants to be a missionary and you dont even know the HUGE smile that comes on his face whenever he sees us come walking down his dirt road to visit with him and his family! it is so special!! i love it. i dont know what it is but the little kids here seeing there smiles and hearing there laughs just make my day so much better and make me so much happier!! and the other two were really excited as well and overall it was a really good weekend to see all of that.

we then got some references from some members to go teach people around where they live. and we found a really interesting man that had alot of pride and told us that he was his own god and did not need anymore then that is his life. and was just really confused!! nice guy... just does not understand much on the basis of god and religion. hopefully someday. then we went to this other house and the guy and his family moved. but this lady that moved in with her family let us in and we taught her and she was really cool. understood the stuff pretty well. she does not understand scripture talk so we had to explain some things to her from 2 nefi 31. about the doctrine of christ and how it is baptism. but she picked it up and accepted to be baptized. but we need to help her to come to church. everyone here accepts fechas, but its whether or not they progress and come to church is if they will actually get baptized.

this week we are in mendoza. we have zone leader consejo. which means i can finally get my toe looked at by someone a little more professional then i am. it rains a TON in san luis, and the roads turn into rivers and my feet get soaked!! and i dont think that is helping it to much. but i am tryiing this thing that silvio and his family gave me which is what i was doing kinda. but it is to soak it in hot water with alchol. then dry it and but alchol directly on it to kill the infection. so i have been doing it a couple times a day. but it does not burn at all. so i dont know if i do have an infection. but yeah that is how my toe is.

the other day we also went out fishing!! we went with silvio and his boys. he had no idea what he was doing and his takle box was a totall joke. i had to rig everything up for them all and teach them how to cast and use the poles. which were made i believe like right after huck fin died... haha but it was alot of fun. i think we would have caught some fish if they would have had some patience and not reel in right after casting out. and the boys would quit playing in the water right by where we casted out and stuff haha. but i finally stole one of the poles and ran over to a little cove and casted out and like 7 min later i had one hooked. it was like a 15 inch fat carp they said. but it looked nothing like the carp i have seen. but we cut it open and used parts of it to fish with and caught a couple smaller ones and then we ate it and left. we were getting eaten alive by moskitos. it was horrible i swear i go bit over 1000 times. my body hurt in the shower from itching so much and slapping the moskitos to kill them off of me. it was alot of fun. if you were with someone who knew more of what they were doing and possibly a boat or conoe. wow i think you could just kill that lake. no one here has any of that stuff or has any idea really of what they are doing or how to do it. no joke one of the fishing poles was a bamboo stick with a string attached to the end. and they claimed fish have been caught on the thing. but i did not really believe it.

last night was one of the biggest rain storms i think i have been in yet in argentina. it poured all night!!! and just destroyed. and there was thunder and lighting. i swear two bolts of lighting hit our house. the whole house shook and lit up and it was super hard!!! it was unbelievable the amount of rain that fell. then we got up this morning got all of our stuff ready and got on the bus to take our 4 almost five hour bus ride to come here to mendoza. so now we are in mendoza to have consejo and to start off the new mission competition we have every year in march... with college basketball. we have march madness. it is way fun and if i stay in san luis i think we might be able to win it.

i agree with you dad. ether is a great book and you can learn so much. this current time of reading the BOM again. i really understood jacob. and there is SOOOO much to be learned in that book. and in ether as well and mosiah in king benjamins last talk. it is so amazing that book. it has changed my life so much in my time here on the mission. i admit i never took full advantage of it before the mission. but i wish i had. i did not take full advantage of alot of things. especially in my great family. i look back on things and mom dad everyone. i appologize for the dumb things i did and being such a pain at times. i really do realize it must have been tough with me at times and i am sorry. i love you all so much and you are all such a big blessing in my life. i am so happy we can all be together forever and god has given me such a loving family in this perfect gospel plan. have a good week. your in my prayers.

con amor

tu mendocino

elder bigelow

Zack's latest letter

2011-01-31T16:58:00.001-08:00

sounds like it was a good week. with some good excitement going on. i too had a really good week.with some good fun, and interesting things happened. but first off, to answer some questions quick. my toe is doing better. it does not hurt on that side of it anymore. but it rains alot here in san luis and floods the dirt roads and makes them rivers. and it is infected, but on the side i didnt cut. it is really strange, but it kills and i cant have it touch anything without it just killing in pain. but i will talk to the doctor next week when i go to mendoza again for zone leader consejo. everything is good there. i still have not go the debit card. but i did get some mail from the shurtz family and from grandma johnson and kevan and maralee. thanks. and i got beccys package i loved it all thankyou. i love the letters and hearing all about everyone and the support and stuff thanks.

well we had another great zone conference this week in mendoza and i loved it. it always is so good to hear from president and his wife and learn things all together. but its really weird now i am with my comp and elder harvey and elder ruiz the oldest zone leaders... and that was made known and me and my comp were used for alot of examples and had to teach alot of things. it was cool and interesting how much i have learned and know now on my mission. it really is so much and i know i can apply it in so many areas of my life for the rest of my life. then the hermana lindahl gave a talk to all of us and they always are great talks, this time though it was really weird cause it was a strange topic... she talked about marriage! wow that got me thinking alot more and got me even more scared! but then actually calmed me down by the end and made me feel really comfortable and understand it more and the need for it. but as you can imagine that got me a little unfocussed for a second there. but it was really good. (it will be interesting to see what happens after the mission... could happen fast or take a long time... but people here seem to always tell me i will be the first married... who know...) president talked about connecting with people by using inspired questions and real live experiences. he had me to the example and to my comp... me and him are best of friends and talk all day but at this time i had to relate to him spiritually and get him to commit to an appointment with me later... and president had me use the question if he has ever thought if there is life after this one... and hinted to me to use experiences and the one that he was thinking about. so i used my mom and before the misson stuff. it was really spiritual and we conected and there were tears and it was really good. president really knows how to get the spirit and how to use what he has. such a great man!! we then saw a movie on the baptisms we have had in the mission to get our 1000+ we had. that was great. it was probably one of the best most spiritual zone conferences i have been to in my mission i loved it.

then we had some great lessons this week. and on saturday we are going to have three baptisms in my area i am excited it will be really good and a fun baptism for us. so much has happened with these families i have seen alot of progress and sadness in there lives with all the happiness that has come with trying to come back to church and in helping them to get there children baptized. it has all been good for them and helped them to see the blessing that there are for them.

attached is my area. all of it is in my area and places that we work and today we went up to this waterfall for p day with the zone. it was fun and way hard not to jump in from up high right where the water was falling. i wont lie i was tempted to fall in on the climb up and down. i almost did. it is way tough. but it was alot of fun. everyone liked it.

also with the pictured is a couple journal pages in my journal. so if you could send those type to me that would be ideal. other things i need in my package would be...some stuff from utah for me to be able to give away to people to remember me and remember utah. some peanut butter mms, and that should be about it. i dont really have the need for anything right now. just whatever comes to your head i will be way happy. maybe some letters.... i would really like that.

well have a good one. i love you all i miss you and hope everything is going good. keep strong and stay happy!!

con amor

tu mendocino

elder bigelow

semana tranquila

2011-01-24T13:22:00.001-08:00

well this week was a good week all went really well. we had alot of success. the zone is really struggling. we have sisters in the zone that dont want to be here just to shop and sleep. and they say they always are sick. of four days in the transfer week they worked two hours.... it is tough but we have a great zone meeting planned out for the zone to get everyone back on track and working hard again and wanting to give there best.

we went to this place called poltrero. it is gorgeous its in the mountains and is in our area. just like a town surrounding a lake in the middle of the green mountains here in san luis. it was not a very success full 45 minute bus ride and like two hours of work but it was way cool. the street there is a formula 1 race track. and so when no races are taking place that is the main road in the town. it was alot of fun i liked it alot.

we have three baptisms planned for the 5th of feb. and all is good there. it is tough cause our investigators commit to coming to church but then dont show up and dont even have very good excuses for why they didnt go or anything. so it is tough but we are helping them to realize the importance and have some really good lesson plans to go teahc with this week to help them to realize the importance of the things.

as for school. i will be going to UVU yes and planning on living in provo. my companion his sister and stuff is looking at places to live and we are working that out. i will not be able register in august no. i will need to be registered and have my classes before i get home. and that will need to be getting done asap so that the classes dont get all filled up and stuff. i would really like to have austin, who went to school there to get the shedule and things taken care of for me, with the help of ben cause they know alot more about this kind of stuff and can be a HUGE help to me and getting me in the right places with the right hook ups and doing it all the right way. so work with and talk to them please. but it needs to get going and into the process asap.

but all is good. i am loving it here. this place is gorgeous and the people here never cease to amaze me and make me laugh. no real big news on any of our investigators because no one is really progressing. but all is going really well and i am having alot of fun. thanks for all your prayers and thoughts and support it is felt and needed. i love you and miss you.

con amor

elder bigelow

milagros....

2011-01-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

well this week was amazing!!! we had a great time in mendoza and amazing meetings with president and the assistants. again i was involved alot and asked alot about things and how i felt and what i would do. the assistants have alot of confidence in me and elder fowler and really want to know what we would do. now we both are some of the oldest zone leaders. almost everyone is new, and i would assume i will be dropping here in the next few months. but it is alot of fun. president lindahl gave a talk i will never forget in his closing remarks of the meeting and it was absolutly amazing. i was brought to tears and felt the spirit so strong!! he started off telling us all that we had to repent and ask god for forgiveness!!! he continued and explained that we have the power of god and have more power right now then what we ever will again in our lives! and told us stories about his mission when he felt so strong the priesthood power he knew if needed he could raise the dead. and some blessings he had given and the spiritual experiences he had. and i really related well, because i have had some of the most amazing moments in blessings of people here, that i know it was the power of god acting through me his servant. he continued and said we only can have that power through repentance, we need to be worthy for it. and told us how after the mission, life will get in the way and we will not have this same feeling of power. but that we need to, and by so doing is through repentance. that he gave his daughter a blessing when she was just a few months and said for her to be healed but it did not happen and he felt powerless he repented and did the blessing again and again nothing happened. three times repeating this process he finally was able to feel that power again and his daughter was healed and every word he said in the prayer 30 years ago has come to pass and she has not had those problems again like he promised. it was amazing. then he asked me to say the closing prayer. and it was very spiritual!! i trully felt the spirit and now that what he said is true, and that we have to power of god....

then in the week we worked and taught this lady and had a very spiritual lesson about how her daughter will be ok and made perfect at the resurrection. she has some mental problems and things and it was a great lesson. her son was investigating but wrongly accused of rape and sent to jail. in argentina it is you are guilty until proven innocent... so he went to jail and was expected to come back home in may or june around there. but on sunday we were in church and i had been praying for a miracle to happen for us cause we needed the help. and opening hymn, him and his whole family comes walking in with huge smiles on there faces and he started to cry. they sat down and he was so happy and felt so good. he cried and was so happy to be back. he was proven innocent saturday morning and released saturday night and the first thing he said was that the family was going to go to church. and they all came and stayed all three hours and he shared powerful testimony of prayer and scripture study he had in jail and cant wait to be baptized. that will be happening this month. he is awesome and dad you are right there still are more people for me to find and i know he is one of them and his family!

this weekend we also will be having 4 baptisms and we are very excited about that and the whole ward is happy and willing to help out. i am in such a great ward right now and everyone is doing such a great job in the missionary work it is awesome. i really do love it here in san luis. and am pretty sure next week at transfers i will stay here another and am hoping i will be here again with elder fowler. he is awesome and we are becoming best of friends.

along with the investigators we went to visit some of the recent converts and in actives to try to bring them back and help them. and i dunno what it was that day but everyone just decided to repent to us and confess to us about there sins in the law of chastity. it was wierd and rough to hear. but we were able to help alot of people and have some really spiritual lessons. it was tough to hear some of the problems that there were and just strengthened my testimony of the importance of church assistance and prayer. majority of the people fell for that reason they were not strong in those things. and now are cheating on spouses or with someone who has a family and stuff or have kids with multiple people and no one knows... it was crazy and i never will have any of that happen to me or in my family. i hope and pray atleast never to have that type of thing go on. it hurts just to see it and hear about it.

all in all it was a really good weekend and i was able to work with elder harvey and elder davis who were my mtc comps and are both ZL´s that was alot of fun. and it appears as though my whole group i came with will be going home early to get started on school. and i talked to president lindahl a little more and he really laid it on the line for me and explained things well for me and i am pretty sure i will be coming home a tad bit early now and get started on school at UVU and will be living in BYU housing with some guys from the mission. so unless anything changes in my prayers and such just plan on that and know that... i know you all support me in whatever and i am very grateful for that. i will need your help in this stuff to. it is still a ways off, but i will be starting to get things ready now.

i hope all is good i love you and miss you very much and hope you all have a great week. tell everyone hi for me. and dad si o si you need to get on sean about his homework. he cant just drop off like i did. keep on him and tell him that i am disappointed i expect more, and want more. haha have a good one. love you all

con amor
elder bigelow

my p day today, on top of the world

2011-01-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

thanks for everything. all is going well and it was a good time. we watched fireworks then came in and stayed up and talked like all night. it was alot of fun and greaat stories and laughs from everyone. then new years just played ball all day.

today we went to acancagua to celebrate 1000 baptisms. it was great. highest peak outside the himalayas. it was awesome

it was alot of fun and super cool areas to see and stuff. i loved it

the picture that ruiz and i got when we won the cup in san juan. in the month of november with our 27 baptisms. it was super sweet. something i will always remember. and was a part of the 1000 baptisms we had this year. i have had some killer months in my zones and lots of success. and today was a great reward for the work we put into it all.

feliz navidad y año nuevo

2011-01-02T17:49:00.001-08:00

it was good to talk to all of you also. always is wierd and stuff to talk to the family. but it was fun. sounds like sean has changed alot!!! haha but life is good. i look forward to talking to everyone on wednesday. 4 my time is great for me. i dont really have any questions. i want to hear questions and stuff. christams was great. i cooked all morning. and then at night as well. and today i cooked again all pday for the zone. i am dead!!! but it was good and has been fun. i look forward to hearing from everyone on wednesday.

con amor

elder bigelow

ps i forgot to tell you.... but my camera broke last tuesday. and i will be looking for a place to get it fixed if they can. but i need a new screen. it broke and is a spider web now. or you could send me a new one, or a little more money and i can buy a new one here. so i dunno just whatever you think. sorry, it was an accident. i got pushed and fell over a chair and had it in my pocket and it broke my fall kinda...

me encanta san luis

2010-12-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

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.

GANAMOS!!!! con un RECORD

2010-11-29T14:34:00.000-08:00

well we won the cup!!!! and we also broke the mission record with 27 baptisms this month. the record before was by two legends in the mission of 26. we had 7 baptisms fall on friday night and saturday. but it still worked out pretty well and we broke the record and today here in mendoza we came for consejo for zone leaders and we won it and president was super happy. we broke several records this month but this was the biggest one obviously. i dont think i have ever worked so hard and been so exhausted in my life. it was a tough month but as you can tell it paid off. and with more still to come for december.

well that is super cool about amy cate and her mission call. i have a friend in the houston texas spanish speaking mission. leaves in july or augost though. but she still might get to know him. elder steve richards is his name. i didnt even know she was thinking about serving. but that is super cool. she will love it and do very well.

i am super glad to hear about all the fun and good times you had on thanksgiving and this week. i ate brownies that i made with some doughnuts and juice on thursday night after a crazy day of work. so not quiet as good as yours but still it was good and i had a good time with it.

so on tuesday we went to bless the home of this man. and had to do it at 12 30 at night. and he has no light. so it was a little crazy just a candle lit in this small little apartment. and right before we got there i guess it was crazy he said. he told us that his bed was shaking and pictures came off the walls and stuff and the candle would not light... so that was sketchy. but we talked and then blessed the home and it was super spiritual, and you could just feel the presence of god in the home and that the bad feeling had left. he was super happy and grateful for it. and then the next day he got a job. and then friday night decided he cant be baptized anymore for his work.... it was super hard to accept and hear. it is just so funny how satan works, every single moment that us, the servants of god, leave a house satan enters to tempt them and pull them away with enticing worldly things. for this we need to baptize everyone as fast as we can so they can have the holy ghost and have that companionship of a god figure to help them with satan. and then the members can help with keeping them in church and strengthening there testimony. but our job is to baptize. the job of members and a little of us to a certain point is to retain. but i have learned that i was called to bring people to salvation and that is through baptism for the remission of sins and gift of the holy ghost. the biggest gift god can give us in this mortal existance. people cant recieve salvation if they dont get baptized. so for that i felt really sad for those that fell and did not get baptized, cause i feel i failed as a missionary. but i know its ok because someday it will work out. just hopefully sooner then later. cause the second coming is close.

but this week was a great week.and a great month. next week is transfers so we will see what happens there. and thanks for all you have done for me i love you and miss you. tell everyone hi. and amy cate congrats and about my friend there. take care and have a good week.

con amor
elder bigelow

Mucho Trabajo

2010-11-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

November 22, 2010

thanks for the emails and the annocnments i am happy to hear everything that is going on!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! that was my first meal wiht a member last year was thanksgiving. i am not really looking forward to doing much. maybe making a bunch of desserts in the pensh with the other gringo i live with but we will see what we will really do.

so these past two weeks i dont think i have worked harder in my entire life!! the mission is going for a record of 1000 baptisms, and everyone is working super hard and all the zone leaders are competing hard hard hard to win the cup. and i have been doing all i can with the zone to bring the most posible success we can and teaching them alot of things and everything possilbe. the past two weeks i have woked in my own area for about 4 hours in totall and the whole other time was in other areas with my comp helping the elders out and preparing investigators for batism. and thus far it has worked alot. we talked alot about the price we are willing to pay for the lord. and i have been paying it trying to have success and break records here in the mission. leaving my area behind and barely eating if eating at all some days. and we are in the norhern province of our misson and everyday it is over 100 degrees. and we dont take breaks for anything. we are just going and going and going. but i have been sleeping like a baby every night just to wake up to leave earlier and work longer. and it has been working out. we had a record of investigators in church with a baptismal date, then the mission has seen for one week. so that was really good and we are expecting to have a huge last week of november to win the cup we hope. we have been in the lead the whole month and this last weekend we have alot of possibilities of people to get baptized and us to go up even more and to break some records so we will see what will haplpen i am excited and a little stressed but i am loving it. it is so much fun.

last week i went out to this little pueblo next to the mountains. it is all bolivians here to work in the vineyards and stuff. and they are super humble and amazing people. i dont think i have been in such a humble beautiful place before in my life. but we used bikes and went and rode everywhere to visit everyone we possibly could. we put 8 fechas and had one of the most amazing day i have had in my mission. we went up to the base of the mountains in the vineyards in the middle of no where to teach this lady and her husband. and has had a hard team because her dad died 13 years ago and was not sure what was with him and stuff. i started explaining the spirit world and that he is recieving the exact same lessons as she is and she started balling and said to stop that she never had heard anything like that before and felt such a burning in her chest that she did not know what to do. i explained how she will see him again and that they will both be happy for excepting the gospel of christ in there lives and live together forever. she balled and said she knew it was true. we then prayed on our knees on the dirt floor and when we were done it was a mud floor from all the tears that fell. she prayed and it was amazing. then and there asked to know if it was true and the church is true and if her dad is happy with her taking these lessons if he is to. and she balled and balled and we all felt the spirit so strong and knew the presence of god was in the room and and it was unbelievable. she is getting baptized and has never been happier. it was amazing!!!

we then went to this lady whose two sons recently got baptized and we taught her at her house. where there are like thirty bolivian houses all smashed in the space of where one house should be. she is so humble and poor no beds or chairs. just tarps on the floor with a blanket. she is 35 and had her first son at 14. we taught her sitting on the floor indian style. and the spirit was so strong as my companion and i testified of christ his resurrection and that we all can live with him again through baptism and a remission of our sins. and she was not sure of baptism before but after she could not wait another day, and got baptized the next day. and she weeped at her baptism and it was so special. such a special special night and experiences with her.

then this week i went to work with elder bills, my old zone leader, but now is in my zone and going home in december. he has this family who is ready for baptism but wouldnt get baptized or come to church for several weeks. so i went out to help him. we read doctrine and convenants 9 prayed alot and alot. and we recieved revelation to talk about the law of chastity. and so we went out and taught it and found out that, it was that for the problem. and the mom did not see it as a problem and thought god would forgive her. and before i knew it i was speaking and explaining an example to her, that i didnt even know where it was going, but she was blown back and said ok i understand. and she looked at us and smiled and decided to obey it and be baptized. then right then the phone rang and her mom found her a job. something she had been looking for for months and god blessed her with it right as she made the desicion to be baptized and obey this commandment. it was so amazing and her with her two kids are getting baptized on saturday.

then the priceless other experiences we had this week in interviews and helping the other misionaries has been some of the best experiences in my mission. and my area is not even seeing success. but i am more happy then ever because my zone is taring it up and everyone will look again and think twice of san juan and know we are serious and mean business and who ever wants to come here had better be ready to baptize!!

tomorrow i am going to a mans house named miguel that has evil spirits in his house. and has some really sketchy stuff that has been happening so we are going over to give the home a blessing and he asked especially for elder ruiz and i. so i hope and pray that all will go well. and i know i will be protected and all will go well. i have dealt with worse and experienced worse. but with the power and authority from god, nothing will stop us. even more special this man is preparing for his baptism saturday as well. we are going for a record breaking weekend and will finish off our secret plan we have been working with and finish off a record month if all goes well and we are hoping it does!!

i love this work and am having a blast with it. i love you all and miss you!!! have fun on thanksgiving. telll everyone hi, and to enjoy the great food!!! and to keep an eye out for cute girls for me hahaha i love you all and hope you have a grateFUL week!! and i hope i do to....

con amor

elder bigelow

ps i got letters from the teachers quorom and stuff thanks i will be replying soon. and packages, i will keep an eye out for i am good with things for now. maybe G´s i could use. and i want a REAL salt lake jersey, and maybe a new utah jazz shirt with the new symbol.... but if not all is good

viento zonda

2010-11-08T20:48:00.001-08:00

well this week went by super super fast!!! i could not believe it on saturday i thought it was wednesday. time has just been flying and we are doing so many great things that i cant even keep track of the time or the things we are doing. i swear there is never enough time to do it all.

i am suprised it was such a blow out with utah and tcu. but that is an interesting little game and things that happened. i hope tcu and boise state play in the national title game. i cant believe it about hamiliton. i am totally shocked and amazed. kinda sad to be honest also. i heard some things from some people. but never thought it would become like this. i guess the alta program will be going down the drain for a little bit then. which is really sad. but oh well things happen sometimes i guess. and to lisa that is fine if sean and lindsey are wearing my clothes and stuff. all they are doing is collecting dust and stuff in my room. just my important things i would prefer them not to wear but i dont think they even would anyways. but it is all good, im not using them and when i get home i will need new clothes anyways and i can wear seans to maybe.... i thought the iggs and eggs joke was funny. its true though, and super funny. sean will accept it someday haha

so this week, i think i worked with my comp in our area together for about 1 hour in the whole week. we had divisions and meeting in mendoza and had to help other areas and stuff. but it was still good. we had good success anyways in the area. and we went with a member, a return missionary who gave us a reference to some of her old neighbors and so we went with her to teach them. and after the opening prayer we asked if you knew you could live with your family forever and see them again after this life what would your reaction be.... and the head of the house broke into tears and said he would be happy and do anything cause his wife passed away six years ago and has felt so lonely, and needs god in his life to help and accompañar him in all the things he is doing and in his daily life. and wants to be with his wife and his kids again. way powerful lesson and started off great. this return missionary is amazing. she is the bomb helps us so much and just gives references like crazy and is totally involved in the work still. and she is not even in our barrio. so that is even more awesome with all that she is doing for us.

thanks a ton dad for the advice on the leadership and help i can give to the zone, i will use some of that stuff tonight in our zone meeting and in helping the district leaders in there district meetings tonight. i am super excited for the zone and the things we can do. we had some little problems with some elders but we fixed them and got things all going well and i think we will be on the same path now and headed for the same success that we want and konw we can have. president is very excited also and expect big things to be coming from us here.

yesterday we had a hard storm of viento zonda. which is wind that blows like 60mph and is SUPER hot!!!! it was like 42 degrees celcius and then with the wind it was like 50. i about died!!!! i have never been so hot in my life. it was so hot at night sleeping that my nose started to bleed and like wouldnt stop i swear. it has been super hot. it is like i am working in lake powell in the middle of july but it is not even the time for the hottest temperature here yet. but i am loving it!!! its fun and just such a good experience. the girls dont have like any clothes on here as it is and in this weather its less. everyone thinks we are crazy walking in ties and long pants and stuff it is great. but i am getting pretty tan i think and is doing good. but all is going well. thanks for all the prayers. that is crazy that i am the only missionary in the ward tell everyone hi and thanks for all they are doing it is appreciated, and i hope it continues. i am glad everyone knows me and stuff, easier to get started on dating after the mission haha i dont know anyone especially girls, they all are getting married!!! hahaha but seriously thanks for everything.

anyone in the temple you see that i know or knows me tell them hi. and find me new friends haha love you all and i hope you all are getting ready for the hollidays, they will be super fun and good!!! miss you and love you!!!

con amor

elder bigelow

Monso!!!

2010-11-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

November 1, 2010

well this week we had a pretty good week. we are doing something in the zone that we have not done before and it is to help every single area to find more investigators and to clean the ward registros and stuff. and we have jsut done it in two areas so far, but wow we had so much success and saw so many miracles and blessings from it, it was amazing and we are expecting to have big things happen here in november. the mission is going for a thousand baptisms for the year, and we are at 830 right now and so we are close and have alot of big plans for november and for the things that could happen!!! i am really excited and absolutely am in love with the work right now. i am so anxious to get out of the pensh and go work and to get things done and to get our investigators to progress and to help them to answer the questions and problems they have with things. it is so much fun now and always something different!!!

in the week we are teaching this girl named carina, she is 23 and has a 4 year old daughter and lives with some inactive recent converts. we are helping the family come back to church and carina to accept the gospel and come to church and be baptized on the twentieth of this month. she is really nice and good to teach. but she has about a 55 year old boyfriend that she just moved out from living with, and he has been coming over to see and talk to her and to eat and stuff. and he is a totall jerk and sad sad man. i have no idea how he got carina, she is pretty cute (and has all of her teeth), and this guy is UGLY!!! he has like black hands from smoking so much and woking on cars and pretty sure just not taking a shower in the last about five or six months. he has holes all in his pants, shoe lace for a belt and a shirt that has one button and has stains from everything on it, nasty greasy hair that is falling out and is almost balled and missing teeth. but the other day i had been praying alot for carina and what to study in the morning in my personal study and i first went to preach my gospel but didnt find much. her questions are about baptism and the rusurrection and spririt world stuff. and after not finding anything in pmg i went to the book of mormon and was flipping through the pages and stopped accidently on 2 nefi 9 and just started to read a little and the first three verses i read were i think 21-24. and just like talks about all of her questions and was amazing. really guided well. and i told my comp and we went straight there first thing in the morning so we could teach and hopefully not have the boyfriend show up. so we went and i shared it and shared my testimony and she then said, ¨so in order to enter the kingdom of god, i need to be baptized..., and i can follow the example of jesus and be resurrected?¨ YES YES YES we said so happy and we went into explain more about it and then HE walked in puffing his is cigarret and just acted like he owned the place and ruined the spirit and becasue of him sunday she could not come to church and was just satan in the form of a man i swear. he has the worst arguements ever and i have dropped so much cane of him in scripture and in testimony and still he is so dumb!!!

we have this other investigator family that we found, they are awesome!!! and there are about 20 of them that live in the same house well different houses all conected to the dad/grandpa. and all the nieces and nephews come running when we go over and they sit and listen and love us. we are really working on the grandpa he is the clave to everything. if we can get him to church and baptized then everyone will follow and they will all do the same. and we had a great lesson with him saturday night and he said he would get baptized if it is true and wants to come to church and get to know it. so we will see, i was super excited. but on sunday he never showed up and so that was a bummer but it was cause his daughter had a baby so he had to go and stuff. so it is understandable i guess. but he is a good guy we just need to find him more and help him a liffle more. and get him to church. but he is good and we are really trying to help him alot.

i loved your email though dad thanks alot for that. you always have good advice and know what to say. it was a great email and i am really excited for this patient of yours and the things that could come with her. wish i was there secretly to teach her and to help her out and stuff with you and lisa. i wish she was my investigator. she sounds like she is golden now and ready to really learn and stuff. i cant wait to hear what comes of it all and stuff. remember to be a better listener then talker that is the important part and to ask inspired questions... questions that come from the soul, that she will answer and teach herself. but i know you two will do great with it and i am really excited to hear all about it.

this month of october also we put the highest goal in consejo at the beginning of the month and we got our goal.we did not win the cup, but we broke the record of highest goal set and met in a consejo by a zone!!! so that is cool. it was 14, and we got it. but tomorrow we go to mendoza again to have consejo and we will put an even higher goal, and shock everyone. we are thinking between 18 and 24 is what we will put. and with our plans that we have, we think we will meet it and break it big time and break the record in the mission of most baptisms in a zone in a month. we are pushing to break 30 or 40 in november. it will be a month of monso milagros!!! i am super excited to see what happens. keep us in your prayers and pray for us to have more faith and the faith to have miracles in our companionship and in our zone.

dad i strongly appreciate your advice and your help on everything. i have learned to rely on the lord and his will more then i ever have in my life and i cant go away from that now. i dont even want to think about coming home. it scares me to death and gives me sick feelings. so for right now thanks for all of your help and advice but for now it is enough and all i need. i just want to be focussed on the work and not have coming home early or even the thought of coming home come in my mind. but i will have you know those trips sound super fun and i am super excited. the lake powell one if i come home the time i would be assigned would not be till about sept. 28 so i will miss out on the lake powell trip most likely on the new houseboat. but everything sounds great and i would love it all, sounds like a blast!!! and the ideas and help you have for school and stuff sound really good and would be greatly appreciated!!! i love you all so much and am so happy to have you in my life and all mean so much to me and all you do for me. the prayers are heard and felt. keep up the faith and good work.

con amor
elder bigelow
tu favorito argentino

feliz dia de la madre en argentina

2010-10-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

well yesterday was mothers day here in argentina. only country in the world that i am aware of that has mothers day in october. but whatever. so with that, our numbers in church were really low. not only in the zone but in the whole mission. but it was ok we still had a pretty good weekend in the zone with 10 baptisms and confirmations. it was tough cause i had to go to mendoza twice for the meetings with the 70, and i had to go work in other areas help out some elders. and go do interviews for baptisms. on friday we were out till about midnight trying to get this family all interviewed out in the middle of the campo. but we got it done and all went well. we are doing really well and having alot of fun.

the meeting with the 70 was awesome. he is in the first quroum of the 70 and i believe will be in the 12 here in a few years. he is awesome and had alot to say and help us with. i got to work with him and do practices with him and teach everyone with him a few times. and that was a very special experience. that is cool you got a pictured of me with him, what did the note say and what did you write him back dad... he talked alot about numbers and how we can make our mission better and how it starts with us the leaders to help all the other missionaries and alot of interesting ways to bring people back to church and to get people baptized. i am excited to use the things i learned and have alot of new plans and goals for my mission that i hope to see more success. he is from brazil and his accent in spanish kinda sounds like arnold swartchiznager is speaking in spanish. it was interesting but still a ton better then my accent and my ability to speak.

i learned that our mission every month is in the top 4 in our region in baptisms. and in argentina, generally 1, 2, or 3 since january. so that makes me feel good cause i know that i had a good part to do with some of that and stuff. so that is cool. and we are still on the uprise and i hope that by the end of my mission. mendoza will be back and be respected and be at the top of our region always.

i had a good week with all of that that happened. i also went on divisions in this area called zonda. i have worked there a couple times and know it well. but they needed special helpe and so i went out there to see what i could do and see what was happening. it was awesome. its an area surrounded by mountains up in the mountains. just a little valley with vineyards and stuff. it was cool. but alot of great experiences. we put fechas and found new people to teach an just tore it up. i loved it. some awesome experiences with alot of people. i loved it.

this week is a little wierd we will have transfers this week a week early cause president is going to cordaba to see the temple get dedicated and all the elders from peru have to go cause there visa is up. so we are ending a week early. and i have no idea what will happen. i hope i stay here for two more transfers, i love it so much and dont want to leave at all. but on wednesday we will find out and on friday we will do changes. so next monday i will let you know what happened and where i went. i also got a letter from the shurtz that was nice tell them thanks. do you still get together with them.... and i got other letters and i guess about 9 of my friends are married or engaged!!!! wow that was really wierd to hear that and think about that stuff. i still cant really comprehend it to much. but whatever. all is good. sorry it is so short i got to get things going and all the argentines have to call there moms and i need to get a zone meeting planned out. but i love you and hope all is well.

con amor

elder bigelow

Dear Bigelow Family,

I wanted to send this photo of your son today in zone conference with Elder Aidukaitis (First Quorum of Seventy). Elder Bigelow was participating in some practices that the missionaries were doing, and ended up sitting there for around 20 minutes. He and his companion are doing a wonderful job, and we appreciate their great leadership here in the mission. We just wanted you to see him in action, doing his best. You should be very proud of him. We see great growth in him every time we see him. We send our love, and hope all is well back home.

Love,
Hermana Lindahl

This Week

2010-10-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

well we had our interviews with president last monday after i got done emailing you. and WOW!!!! it was amazing!!! the spirit was so strong and the things that he said to me were and are so special to me. it was one of the most memorable and nicest things i have had in a long time.

we had a really good week this week. we had a baptism on saturday and it went really well. it was of this 16 year old kid and he is a totall capo!! he also recieved the aaronic priesthood yesterday and will be blessing the sacrament next week and has a strong desire to serve a mission. he is a real stud and am way happy for his desicion. his name is lucas. and we found him last transfer. we were walking in the streets and found his mom and stopped her after crossing back and forth on the street two or three times to stop her and talk to her. so we finally did and we started just teaching her then we got him involved and now he is baptized and we are having a harder time with the mom becasue the goes to church that is right infront of her house. she claims to have prayed and read the book of mormon and not felt anything and it is to far for her to walk to church it is just to easy for her to go infront of the house. it is a little tough. but we are still working with her and the plan is to have lucas baptize his mom here in the next couple of weeks. so we will see what we can do.

we are still working with a couple in active families and the other day we were on divisions and i was working in my own area and i found a inactive family with a ton of kids and stuff that are not baptized. but the dad wont let them get baptized. we had a super spiritual lesson with them and put a fecha to get baptized with one of the daughters that is really smart and has her head on straight. she is very intelligent and understood everything very well. but the dad said no to her coming to church and to be baptized. she is 14 so she has to have his permission. i just wanted to cry when i heard theat the next day when we went by to visit. i was so excited, then so sad. it was hard but we are going to give up. we just need to find the dad and get him to have confidence in us and realize the importance of this and for her and the family. he is not a member, nor has any interest in religion. he thinks it is all politics and we are just out campaigning for the mormon church.... really hard in the head but we will keep up the faith and see what we can do.
so on saturday at the baptism, the girlfriend of lucas came and she cried at the service then came to church and cried during the testimonies that were givin (which were way good) and now wants us to teach her to and help her. so we are really excited for that to see what we can do there and if we can help her to have this same happiness.

this week, tomorrow i go to mendoza again for a meeting with all the leaders in the mision with elder adukitis from the 70. he is one of our area authorities and is here in the mision and wants to have a meeting with all the leaders in the mision. so that will be good. kinda scared though cause i here he drops some serious cane!!! he is from brazil and he gave one of the prayers in conference so that is cool. and elder anderson from the 12 will be here soon to dedicate the ground in cordaba for the temple and might come visit our mission but we dont know for sure. so lots of excitement going around the mission right now. especially cause we are going for record breaking numbers this year. trying to baptize 1000 by the new year. and we are doing pretty well and on track. so we will see.

but all is good i miss you all and am very excited for all that is happening there with you. when do you have to plan the weeks for the house boat cause i want to go sometime when i get home... but we will talk more about that later. miss you love you take care

con amor
elder bigelow

Que supresa

2010-10-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

wow i was not ready or expecting to hear that news!!!! so the bigelow family now has a houseboat! alright that is awesome!!! i am way excited right now. to bad i wont get to use it for a couple more years. but it is alright. i am just way excited for it now. sounds like a really fun weekend alot like mine was. with conference and the amazing spirit and testimony building experiences that there were to hear the words of a prophet of god and his apostles here on the earth today and the personal revelation we were able to recieve and answers to our prayers. it was so amazing!!!

alright so you want to know about my pension, my comp, and my investigators... well i will do my best to describe them all and give you all the information i can think of about them. i have kinda lacked on that stuff i guess and i cant really think of what to say anymore. so it is good that you have questions and thoughts of things you want to hear about and stuff so i know where to go with what i am saying now. but i did also recieve four packages. two from mom and dad, one from beccy, and one from grandma johnson. so thankyou all very much i loved it and was way excited and everyone in my pension was very jealous that i have people who love me so much. i just told them that they are now realizing how important and vital to the function of the family i was and is bribery for me.... haha but seriously thanks it meant alot!!

alright so for my pension. it is actually really nice. i like it alot. it is pretty big as well. there are four of us living in it and it is in a three story apartment building and we are on the third floor. we have hot water and a small shower that we need to squigy the floor everytime after showering but it is fine cause it is a pretty good shower. and we have a bidÃ© in our batheroom still like all batherooms here. but i have come up with a few invention ideas for it that i may use after the mission to make my millions... and we have two bedrooms where we sleep a small bancony in my room where we can hang clothes to dry and put my comps smelly shoes out there so that the whole room does not stink up and we can smell the air fresheners i have got from beck. thanks it is coming in great use these last couple transfers with my last two comps smelly feet and shoes. and we have a way small kitchen that two at a time cant even fit in it, but we are all big guys to so that might be a problem, but it is small. and we have our study area and i have a sweet view of my area out the window right infront of my window, helps me to remember to study for my investigators and people i will see in the day. and the apartment building is orange. and that is about all i can think of for right now. but it is really nice, i would live in it outside of the mission also.

my companion, his name is elder hopkin. he is from boston. he is way cool guy. football, basketball, etc player from his school and background. he is the youngest in his family and has 14 nieces and nephews. and his family all is members and strong in the church. he went to byu before the mission for a year. is way smart and wants to be an accountant. he is a big guy also. a little bigger then me, and eats alot. he has one transfer more then i do in the mission. so six weeks more is all and is a capo. works hard and speaks very very well. most people think he is argentine or some latin descent. so that is cool. we get along great and are working well together. we could not believe president put us together becasue it was with his zone and him that i was competing with in augost to win the cup and then we got put together. our zones baptized the most in the mission last transfer we had 23 and his had 22 so we are expecting big things to happen and president is also he is expecting us to make the zone explode and this pilot program we are starting and testing out here to explode and take off from us. so we will see. really good elder and good friend for me.

in my area and the people i am teaching. we are always looking for people to teach and new experiences to have. but we have one maybe two baptisms on saturday. and teaching some really cool people. one of our investigators names is fabrisio, he is 20 years old and wants to change his life so he can get work and have a better life. he is adicted to marijuana. and we are working with him to stop that. at night he goes out and fights in the streets to get money so we are woking with him to stop that and to have a better life. he loves talking to us and is a really good guy. this kid who is 16 is getting baptized on saturday, and maybe his mom but she has some doubts about the need to be baptized again in a different church. but we are woking with them and they are really cool. we talked to them in the street last transfer and went by there house and taught them. it was funny we wanted to talk to the mom, maria is her name, but she closed the street when she saw us. so we crossed to, the she crossed back so we did also so then she stopped and said well they must have something important so say. haha it was funnyÂ so we will see if we can get her this week to or no. and now we are also teaching this kid ivan, he is from salta, and we got the reference from the salta mission it was weird but really cool to go and see what was up with him and what we could do. so we did and he is cool, a little need of confidence in the things and just really busy cause he is 20 and in school and working and doing alot all the time but wants to know more about the church so called his mormon friend in salta and told her to call us and send us. so we went, and we will see what happens there. and also we are teaching this family where the parents are members but have not been to church for 13 years and they have 10 kids and only two are baptized, so we are working to reactivate and baptize them. four came to conference over the weekend so we will see i think we will for sure get a couple atleast to come back and be baptized and stay. the dad is really pridefull and stuborn. he has a big problem with that we need to take the sacrament every week. he says it only slhould be once a month. but we will see what we can do with him. then there is our golden investigator that we have. her name is yesica. she is 19 and has a strong strong strong testimony of the church understands everything. comes every week to church reads the book of mormon and does it all just has a problem with her friends making fun of her if she is mormon and her dad wont except and will be mad if she gets baptized. so it is tough but we are woking hard with her and doing what we can.Â we have others, but they are not really progressing right now so we will see what we can do and we hope to find more this week and do more with them and help them to come closer to their savior.

this week was a special week. to be able to hear conference and feel of the spirit that was there. i really loved it and they talked alot about the prophet and we need to follow him and his teachings and our pride and choices we make. i loved those talks from priesthood. by monson and uchtdorf. they were ones to rembeber forever!!! my testimony was strengthened this weekend. and i want you all to know that i know that we have a living prophet here on the earth today, just think about that... what a blessing to have a mouthpiece from god to speak to us. i know that thomas s monson is a true living prophet of got and that he was called of god. i know joseph smith restored the gospel in its fullness through the gift and power of god and that through him the authority of god is on the earth again today and if excercised with faith and correctly we can work miracles. i know all this through the book of mormon i know it is the word of god and like joseph smith said through it we can become closer to god and that it is the most true book on the earth today. through this book we can know everything, if the church is true, if we have the authority, if a prophet lives today. all through reading and praying over this book. i know it is true!

i love you all and miss you. take care and your in my thoughts and prayers!!!

con amor
elder bigelow

nothin much

2010-10-04T14:08:00.001-07:00

September 28,2010

well last week was a fun and interesting week. we did service a couple of times and that was alot of fun and i really enjoyed it. then we woked a little bit and found some cool people. but it was very limited work becasue my companion was sick all week. and we could not leave the pensh. so that was pretty tough for me to be confined inside and not be able to leave or do anything it was horrible. first time in a long long time that i have had to be inside for 24 hours and it was not just one day but it was multiple days in the week but it was alright i got some things done and i had some good talks with my comp and we got to know each other alot better and that was really good and fun exchanging stories.

i am in mendoza today for the next three days again for a zone leader counsel so i will be able to pick up my mail and things and i know that i have at least a couple packages waiting for me in the offices so i will be picking those up on wednesday i am excited about htat.

so on saturday we had to dig a foundation for a house and that was a service we did it took the whole morning and it was super hot outside. alot of hard work with shovels and picks but it was actually alot of fun!!! and on wednesday we moved a flower pot thing that was huge and that was the service that we did then and then the rest of the week pretty much we were confined to the pensh. but we like i said made the most of it.

but all and all it was an interesting week. i dont have anything else to really say sorry, just nothing happened cause we had no chances to go out and work. but conference is this weekend and i am WAY excited!! it will be alot of fun and SOOO good to hear the prophet and his apostles speak and for the members and investigators to hear as well. this is the best and strongest ward and stake i have been in in my mission. so it will be extra enlightening. i hope all is good i love and miss you take care.

con amor
elder bigelow

ps... i didnt really get robbed. it was a tree branch that hit me. haha

milagros...buenos y malos

2010-10-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

September 20,2010

this week was a really good week. here we in a new transfer and i am still zone leader and have a new companion and he is from boston. really cool guy and we have about the same time. he has a little more then i do. but it is fun and we have a totally new zone and it is young and we are excited with the potential that we have to go and win the cup this transfer and have a really successful fun transfer together.

wednesday this week is the 22 my birthday. i will be working so dont think i will be out partying. no big deal. but just thought i would remind all of you that has wedding aniversaries and all that stuff surrounding my birthday. so that you can remember and not forget again........hahahha just joking but it will be good i have service to do and some really good appointments already planned. no one in my area knows. we are just not telling anyone.

but on tuesday last week it was morera— last day here in san juan after 9 months in the province. so it was pretty sad for him and we went and visited some of his converts. and one family, the ruiz family. they are super poor and live in this back alley way with a side path that breaks off and goes a ways back and with other houses then you get to theres in the back corner. its a little sketchy but they are awesome. we talked and visited and one of them had a headache and so they did this thing called a cucurucho... or in english it translates to cone.... i had always heard of it and stuff but never actually seen it and wanted to see it really bad. its a medical treatment that they do here.... haha they get a news paper and roll it into a cone shape and put the point generally on the head or the ear (but later found out anywhere that you have pain) and the light the big end on fire and hold it there. and when smoke starts to come out of the flame, that means that the bad air or pain is leaving your head or that part of the body. and that is the medical treatment. it is hillarious, but it is the culture. i love it. i got to see it in person and the described it to me and i got a couple pictures. there also is another one with a had a cup of water and an egg they do i am waiting to see. haha i love it its the best.

but we had an amazing week elder hopkin and i. we went by this lady that was a member reference, and when we got there we talked to her and told her that we needed to talk to her and bring more peace and joy into her life. and she started crying and told us that her son died two months ago in a moto accident. and so we got in and taught her a little bit and bore lots of strong testimony and shared tears together. and afterwards she felt alot better and had a smile on her face and told us that it was the first time in two months she had been able to have a smile on her face. it was a way good lesson and super spiritual for all of us i loved it. we didnt have a lesson planned, and we did not follow a single lesson outline, we just followed the promptings of the spirit and he guided us the way that we needed to go. super good way to start off the week.

then the other day after we had lunch and bought some stuff for the zone and to help us to verify a little better we were on our walk back to the pensh and i dunno why but i took us on a different path back one i never had taken before just to see the way it was and how it is. so we went that way and at this time there never is anyone on the streets they all are taking a nap and sfuff. but we were approached by a woman as we were passing and she stopped us and asked if we were sent by god... i thought she was drunk or something. but we told her yes and she broke down to tears and then told us that her mother had died two days ago and she had been praying to have someone from god come to help her to deal with this thing that had happened in her life. i was so shocked!!! she then asked us to pray for her and to help her and ask god to bring peace in her life and to help her to understand. so we bore testimony again and with no one at all in the street. we knelt and prayed with her and it was very special moment for all of us.... something i dont think i will forget.

so here in san juan the people are very visionary and dreamers. they have dreams of god and jesus and things all the time and it is very interesting to hear and talk about with them and this last week we heard alot of that type of things. but one that was very interesting is that this lady had a dream about 7 glowing trees that god showed her and that is was important to her. and then he showed her 7 angels that he said were his chosen. then she saw happiness and sadness in her own life. and it was interesting but my comp and i kinda explained about the seven dispensations of time and how that works and that she would be happy with the gospel or could be sad without out. not and interprtation but just trying to help how ever we could. and it was a good lesson.

and the other day the assistants came back up here and the mision is going to start a pilot program here to work and get help from the members casue we are doing so well and it is the top zone in the mission so we are going to be starting that. it was really cool. then that same night we had stake priesthood meeting and it was awesome the stake president had me come up and explain how we beat the goal we set last year to get 148 baptisms in the stake and today we have 152 that we beat it last month and are still growing on it. and so i explained that and bore my testimony and it was a really good meeting i loved it, super spiritual and reallly focussed on the youth and how they need to serve misions and go out on splits with us. which we do with some of them and it is really good lots of success and fun time for all of us.

all and all this week was a really good week and i loved it. the spirit was with us guiding us and helping us in all that we did. i need it more though and more of its help. we are trying to get inactive families reactivated and we need them to feel the spirit and more then anything our investigators and the zone to have the spirit stronger impressed on their hearts and minds. i love you all and miss you very much. have a party for me on wednesday, eat cake and celebrate cause we all know the 22 of september is the best and the favorite child was born that day... haha

con amor
elder bigelow

Translados

2010-09-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

August 13, 2010

Well this week is transfer week and I am still zone leader here in san Juan, but my comp is leaving and I am getting a new companion, he has one transfer more then me and is a gringo, I am really excited we will have a lot of fun together and have tons of success. All is going well though. I was really happy to hear from all of you today and hear that all of you are doing so well. Sounds like everyone is having fun in all sorts of different ways. Austin has inspired me to want to do a triathlon after the mission. I have it written down as one of my goals and aspirations. And Ben gave me some really good laughs with that video. And everything was good to hear especially that Alta won, and that byu has a sweet schedule and will be really fun to watch.

This week nothin to big happened. We have this lady Maria and her son Lucas that we are teaching and they are great. I am loving it with them and they are progressing well and we expect them to be baptized here in the next couple weeks. I sent home a dvd with an elder that finished his mission today and he will be mailing it to you so expect it here in the next week or so. And all is going well. I got bit in the back of the leg the other day by a big dog, it was right below the butt and it was really weird it ripped my pants but not the garments.... and it got my leg... but I dunno I had the mesh ones on so it probably just went through one of the little holes is all. But it hurt really bad and the day before my comp got bit in the hand by a boxer dog. So we had a good week with the dogs it appears.

We went up to zonda yesterday for church in this tiny branch from our ward. And it is in a house there and we go every week. But yesterday about thirty people came and I was sitting in the dirt it was a lot of fun and very interesting I loved it. The church is growing and doing so well here I love it and love to see all the success that is taking place and am very proud to be apart of it all. Such a special experience to see it and be with it.

I dont have much time I need to go and do meetings with the zone and get the elders ready for their transfers and tell everyone who is going and who is staying. But I love you and miss you tons. Take care and let me know asap when you get that dvd and letters.

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

Su Favorito Misionero

2010-09-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

September 6, 2010

Well this week was a good week we found a family of 10 that are inactive and only 3 are baptized. So we will be starting to work with them a lot and see what we can do to reactivate them and hopefully baptize there 7 other kids in the family. They are super nice and accepting of us when we come over and it has been good. The dad, wow...... he is the biggest man I have ever seen. He weighs a good about 400 pounds I kid you not!!!! And last night he got out of bed and walked to the kitchen 3 feet away and broke into a sweat... and the best part is he was shirtless. It was pretty funny. I could not look at him with out laughing a little bit and feeling just so absolutely scared for his health. But we will see what we can do to help and keep them happy.

So last week at consejo it went really well it was a good time. And president had all three zones that were battling all month of august to come up and to get a picture with the trophy. It was good. I felt good cause I knew we had the most baptisms in the mission so I felt a sense of acknowledgment that I won the cup. But it should be on the mission blog if you want to look it up and there always are lots of pictures and updates about the mission on it. So if you don’t look at it you should look sometime.

Pretty crazy that on Wednesday the last of my close friends leave on the mission and go to the mtc. Seth Beccerra goes to the mtc on Wednesday so I wont see him for three years. Wow that will be crazy and some big changes in our lives. I just barely got his letter so I wont be able to write him back only to the mtc I can. haha

This last week we also had a cool lunch. The daughter is now living in Utah in Orem but moving to St. George to get married in two weeks to a RM haha that served here. But like 3 or 4 years ago. But still a little sketchy. But she took down the address and the phone number of the house to call or visit or something if she wants to tell you all about San Juan and things like that. She was really nice. So don’t be totally shocked if an argentine girl calls the house or something sometime. I don’t know if she ever really will. But just for in case now you know.

That is too bad to hear about Alta. it is all because they don’t have the defensive coaches there anymore. They went to cottonwood to coach there last spring. So it was no suprise to me that they lost to Cottonwood or Bingham or Timpview. They are not that good this year and we all knew it would be this way especially if the defensive coaches all left. They were the lifeblood of the team success. But byu I am glad to hear is doing good and at least won their first game. And that Utah won that is good. What did byu decide to go independent or are they in a conference...

Thanks for the packages I will be looking forward to them and be excited to get them. It does not feel like it is my birthday and I doubt it ever will on the mission. But I am excited and I will become an old man... haha

So what is the news on Jason Bilanzich.... has he got a call or left or anything yet....

All is going well I miss you and love you and are always in my prayers. Tell the ward and everyone I say hi. Thanks for everything I really do appreciate it and feel it each day. Stay strong and do all you can.... I love the story at the beginning of the book of Mormon with Nephi and Lehi and the family when Nephi and his brothers go to Jerusalem again to get the plates and Sariah complains. But then testifies when the sons return and never ever again complains. What an example. Really good story, and strong testimony in the prophet and in God. Something good to have and think of now that conference is coming up. Love you take care

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

(We all won the mission cup, but we had the most baptisms. 2nd to last on right is my comp)

Viento Zonda

2010-09-13T18:40:00.001-07:00

August 30, 2010

Well this week was a fun interesting week, And hard and stressful all at the same time. But I had a good time and some good things happened and some bad things happened as well. But all and all it was a pretty good week.

This being the end of august we had 23 baptisms in our zone for the month. And that was and is the most in all the other zones in the mission. But we lost the presidents cup, that zone leaders win every week. We lost because we averaged 2.3 baptisms per companionship. And the zone that won has six companionships and won with 18 total baptisms. On Saturday we were expecting to win we did lots of interviews and worked really hard and did all our part. But Saturday we got phone calls and 7 baptisms we had planned fell through. If the didn’t fall through we would have broke another record and won everything si o si. So that was really heart breaking for us. But its ok cause 8 still got baptized on Saturday and we ended the month really well. The mission broke the record for most baptisms in one month for the Mendoza mission. We had 125 in total so that was really good and we all are happy for that and should be a really good consejo that we have these next couple days for the zone leaders of the mission with president and the assistants.

But this week it was tough working. It was 40 degrees and we had viento zonda. Which is really strong wind that comes through and it is nothing good. It is a wind that is really hot. So it was above 40 degrees and just ruined us. Gave us headaches and drained all of our energy. It was tough to work. And they say that that was just mild. It was nothing compared to what it will be here in a couple weeks to a month. So I will have that to look forward to.

On Thursday, president came up to san Juan for a little meeting with us and the district leaders so it was a really small group one on one almost. but he told me before how proud of me he is and that I am growing every week. And to keep it up and learn all I can that I could be at the top working with him soon if I keep it up.... wow that made me feel so good and such a complement to me from someone like him that I look up to so much. I am so excited for these next couple days that I have here in Mendoza with him in a consejo and I can learn even more from him. And in a practice he used me as an example and something we talked about in my very first interview ever with him. But still to this day remembers the details of it and said that it touched him and that is why he remembers. It was so nice and just made me feel so incredibly good to know that he listens and knows who I am. It was awesome.

I remembered that I also need some short sleeve white shirts if you could send me a few. Not buttoned collar, and a little more fitting not so like aired out and huge around the stomach and stuff. And if possible, some more diarrhea medicine. But other than that all is pretty well with me I said that I wanted.

How does Sean like Alta? Has he found anyone I know? I have a letter written for him I need to send I just need to get the time to send it off. And get it in the mail.

I hope all is going good for all of you I miss you very much and keep you in my thoughts and prayers always. Keep the scripture study up and go to the temple I miss it so much. And drink a dew and dr pepper for me, on me.... haha

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

Mucho Trabajo

2010-09-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

August 23, 2010

Well this last week was good. It was a little interesting. Lots of things happened and we had to do a ton of things. The traveling assistants came to our zone to work with us and to help out the zone. And to learn and see what we are doing to have the things that are happening happen. So the entire week I was on divisions with one of the assistants and my comp with the other and we worked in our area a little bit and went on divisions in other areas and worked there as well. Some really good experiences and fun times. We had to do about 20 baptismal interviews though, so we were all over the place doing that as well.

On Thursday night I got a phone call from one of my district leaders and he sounded scared to death and said that I had to come over!! And he just said elder bigelow I swear I didn’t do anything I did nothing I promise.... it was just one of our investigators and I did nothing I promise. So as you could I imagine I was so scared and nervous so I went over there with one of the assistants right then. It was only about 9:30, but we went over really nervous and not sure what to expect. We had so many thoughts running through our heads. But we finally got there and everything seemed to be fine as we went to knock the door. And then we got in and they seemed alright. And then he showed us a letter that one of his investigators wrote to him. Again expecting the worse I started to read it. And it was from a 26 year old girl that he is teaching and she wrote him a HARD core love letter!!!! Not nearly as bad as I was expecting. but it was still pretty bad and really funny cause he was freaking out. She told him how she loves him and wants to have children with him and is starting to save up money so she can move to the states and live with him and start a family together. That he is the man of her dreams and that she has been searching for her whole life. And on and on...for a fool page front and back, and the paper was very big, not normal size. So we told him to pray and take it easy and stuff and tomorrow he can talk to president at zone conference. (Cause we had conference the next day). So we left his pensh and called president told him what had happened and he said he would talk to him. And as we were expecting there was a special transfer. He still stayed in our zone. But moved really far away from his last area which is what is best.

We then had zone conference on Friday and that went really well I had to direct the entire conference and take care of a lot of things that was a interesting experience but it went really well I loved it and learned a lot. Now next week we will see how things went this month and we have a consejo in Mendoza with all the zone leaders with president to talk a little more and learn what we can do to better ourselves and our zones. That will be fun I am looking forward to that. And this Saturday we should have a baptism here in our area. That will be really good. it is crazy in this area there are like 600 members but only about 100 to 120 go. Which is really good. It is the best assisted ward I have had in my mission it kinda reminds me of home cause everyone has a calling and there are more then 20 members that go. But it still is not home. I still love it though. This last week was a really hot week and I got a little sunburned again. It is really starting to heat up. in the summer time here it get to be 120 about every single day. We still got a ways till the summer time but it is already starting to heat up a lot.

but things I would want/need......

needs....

toothbrush head

new card for my camera, mine is broken that is why i have not been sending

home pics

socks

couple new mesh garments

air bourne medicine

sun screen (just a bottle or two) of 30

wants....

charleston chews

tootsi rolls

tootsi pops

laffy taffy

hot tamales

peanut butter mm´s

recess things

peanut butter(creamy)

cereal

box´s of cake mix (but just sent the bag with instructions written on it)

mix for frosting and texas chocolate cake...

frosting

and whatever else.... just the usual

Did you get or have you ever got a letter from my mission president or phone calls or anything like that from him? How is the ward doing? Anymore baptisms in it? Tell everyone I say hi.

Well I am not sure what else I want to say. But I love you and miss you all. Things here are great, keep us in your prayers and we will keep receiving blessing. Thanks for everything.

con amor

Elder Bigelow

Tell sean to find, Mrs. Lantis, and Coach Berry. My two favorite teachers. And that I say hi.

Nueva Record

2010-08-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

August 16, 2010

Well this week was a really good week it went by fast and with bumps here and there but it was good. This coming week we have zone conference. That will be fun and I will be directing it all and taking care of things for it. We also have a baptism on this coming Saturday. His name is Alberto, he is a cool guy. Really is nice and respectful and a relaxing guy.

So big news, we broke a record in the mission the zone did. We had 48 investigators in church yesterday in total. And 20 will be baptized on Saturday. That is a ton a ton a ton of people!!! It was awesome. It was fun to hear that all from the district leaders when we were verifying with them. And the assistants were shocked and couldn’t believe it when we verified with them and told them of all of it. There is a competition every month in all the zones in the mission to see who has the highest pro-medio baptisms. And the winner gets their name engraved on a huge trophy president has and picture holding it up. And San Juan has not one in a while cause they had 9 companionships now they have 10 so it is harder cause some zones have 5 companionships and can win with 10 baptisms and we could baptize 19 and still lose. But we might win this transfer.... maybe... I don’t want to jinx us. But we could do it. And break more records and accomplish much more goals. It will be interesting.

So I am in the biggest zone in the mission. There is 10 companionships. So 20 elders, and we have to do divisions with the elders, have to call them at night and verify with them for there day and there numbers that they have. Then we have to have meetings with the zone every week. Plan pdays. Work in our own area. Talk to the assistants all the time, president and his wife. And we also have to have meetings with the bishop and stake president and ward mission leader. And we still have to work in our area, help our members, and get perfect numbers to be the example of the zone. And we put more pressure on ourselves cause we started a competition with the zone, with lessons and things its complicated to explain, but we have to verify more for that and add up all the points, find a winner and get them a prize every week. It’s a lot and is stressful at times. Some days I swear the phone never ever stops ringing. But I am getting the hang of it. It is good.

My companion has a year in a half in the mission and is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a really cool kid. But is just like all the people from Buenos Aires. He is really, really prideful and cocky. But its ok, that is just their culture. It is really funny at times and gets old at others but I don’t mind. I am used to it and have gained a lot of patience. But he is really a good guy. Comes from a pretty wealthy family as well and is pretty well off. But all that is very typical of people from the capital of Argentina.

Well that is way weird that Sean is going into high school. Make sure that he is in seminary and graduates. That was one of my regrets I now have is how big of a slacker I was at times. I feel like I am so much farther behind some missionaries’ just cause of seminary. But I am doing my best and that is all I can do. But make sure he goes and does it all. It is really important. Tell him to that I want him to go and say hi to some teachers for me and that he needs to get into their classes. Well time is wearing down as a zone leader I have no time to do anything anymore, not even email the family. The phone is ringing and the assistants are in town and want to go buy food for the week so they can live here and see what we are doing and help the other zones in the mission to have this success as well. But I love you and miss you all very much. I hope you are doing well and I am excited to hear that prayers are being answered and blessings received. I really do love hearing it. Take care and nos vemos.

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

Carta inspirada

2010-08-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks dad. That was the letter and email that I needed. It was a little tough week for me. Lots of changes. Really, really, tough goodbyes and everything. But now I feel a sense of happiness and relaxation. Thanks dad.

Well this week I said bye to the families in Alvear. That was tough and with tears. But it was good and with lots of surprises. One family, the Ditoto family, that we taught and baptized the kids and the dad and mom were tough and a interesting experience told me that they are going to be getting married and baptized and they want me to go with them in a year from now when I am ending my mission through the temple so that they can be sealed as a family for time and eternity. It was probably the most special spiritual experience I have had in my mission. It was so overwhelming it brought tears to my eyes and I felt such a sense of gratitude that I had done the Lords work and that he is happy with me. It is so special cause I knocked this door and found this family and did all I could and more for them. Now we have a goal to be able to go through the temple together next September. How amazing and special... I truly loved it and I hope with all my heart that everything works out and I can have that opportunity to go with them.

I came to San Juan on Wednesday and it is up north and a lot hotter area. But I got here and it was a blizzard. Then today I got sunburned playing soccer. It is crazy weather. But gorgeous. There are mountains all around us and it is just so great. The people are super nice and have a totally different accent. All the R´s have the SH... sound too. Instead of terrible its teshible. haha it is so interesting. and the wards are huge. We had over 80 people in church yesterday. It is so nice. And the members are really cool. One family we have lunch with every Sunday is the best and we have an asado at there house every week. Which is bomb!!! I am really loving it here. It is a little hard I am in charge of the biggest zone in the whole mission and have a lot expected of me and it’s kinda stressful and I have been stressing out a little bit this week and my patience has been tested a lot. So if you could pray for me in that aspect and I know I will be strengthened and helped. I am really feeling tired everyday while working and my nerves get tested a little bit. So, for my patience and my happiness, so that I can have the spirit more, and be more of a help, and learn more, would really help me.

We are having a lot of success and hope to continue to have it. Our zone is awesome. And we have great potential. I am really excited to see what comes and how things will go. I miss you all a lot and love you so much. Sorry this is so short. We had a lot of things to do and did not have much time to email. But I love you and miss you and am so thankful for all you do and the love you have. Hope all is well and talk next week.

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

Me Voy (I'm leaving)

2010-08-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

August 2, 2010

Well this week was really good. We had two more baptisms on Saturday and they were super good and I confirmed them a member of the church and gave them the Holy Ghost. It was really cool and a special experience. We had four others in church and all is going really well. I will miss this area a lot, but am really excited to be going.

I am going to San Juan. It is a different province then Mendoza, in the north. I am way excited. I will be the new zone leader there and it historically has been one of the most successful areas in the mission so I am really looking forward to that and bringing that back to the glory. I am really excited and can’t wait. It will be a good learning experience for me and totally different accent in the Spanish. It is 7 and a half hours from where I am to get there, and I believe a time change so that will be fun and another really, really early trip!! haha but I cant wait and I know the lord has something in store for me and will bless me with his ways.

If you could I would really like to hear and have the conversion story of our family. When and where and how it all started? Please ahah

But this week was awesome. I loved it and we had some really good success

I will miss it a lot and be leaving some baptisms behind for another Missionary but I will be going to help others and it will be a new and amazing experience. I can’t wait. I miss you all and love you very much. Thank you for all you do and all you help me with.

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

Mejor a peor muy rapido

2010-07-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

July 26, 2010

Well this week was a really rollercoaster for me. Monday was awesome, had an amazing district meeting and really got to the elders in my district and got them motivated a little bit. They are great just really mono toned and mono actioned. So I got them pumped little then got up really early to go to Mendoza and I slept for like 20 minutes on the ride but it was alright cause the meetings were AMAZING!!!!! And I got to work in my old area, in Trapiche where I really stamped my name there hard!!! I visited my converts and some of the members and it was a blast I am glad to say that most all of them are doing great still and a couple have the priesthood and my first baptism is preparing to go to the temple next January. She is saving money to go and is really excited. I loved it and about broke to tears with so much joy of seeing the fruits of my labors in that area. And we continued to have great meetings in Mendoza with president and the assistants. And had success in Trapiche, I started teaching this girl who I gave her daughter a blessing then I left from the area I think I told you about. But she is really interested in the church and we put a fecha with her to be baptized so it was really cool to go back and continue to have success in the area.

While I was there, my comp in the mtc Elder Harvey was made to be zone leader. So that was really cool to see him and be with him for three days in the meetings. Then president and the assistants talked to me and I know for sure I am going to be leaving Alvear next week and I will become a zone leader. I am really excited and it will be a great experience to continue to work. But they are really happy with the success we are having and the way things have changed in my district. I will either be going to San Juan which a complete other province in our mission, or to san martin which is in Mendoza capital pretty much. I hope I go to San Juan it is in the north and is blistering hot in the summer, gets up to 45 degrees or more in the day. And it has TONS of success. So I am really hoping I will go there. But if I go to san martin it will be ok, I will just be working really hard and will be a little stressful cause it is one of the lowest success rate zones in the mission. But I will go wherever. And I will be happy and excited to work and change things and put my mark on another area. I am really loving it. And again anything could change. Nothing is ever final till it is totally final. If you can understand that. But pretty much what we talked about in the consejo was teaching more with the spirit, the scriptures, and asking more inspired questions digamos. And bearing stronger testimony more often. It was amazing. Honestly it has changed my mission, just with the short time I have I know this will help a ton and we will grow so much and have a lot more success. I saw it when practicing in Trapiche, and while working here in my area. We had six in church yesterday and have four with baptismal fechas. I wont get to see all of them cause I will be leaving but at least two I hope I will see. Just so amazing I am loving it.

Then we came back from the consejo and I didn’t sleep on that either and we did not get back to our pension till 2 in the morning and then had to get up at 6. It was hard, but good, I was so excited and ready to go you don’t even know!!! I was right out of bed and doing work outs gettin all ready to go. And we had a really good day and it was awesome. Then at night president called and talked to our zone leaders and they were talking about going back to Mendoza the next morning. And I was way confused so I went in the room of one of them to talk to him cause me and him have grown super close and become the best of friends these last two transfers. And asked what was happening, and when they would come back. And he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said Bills will be coming back but he wont. That he was going home. He is a convert and no one else in his family is a member and had a really hard growing up in gangs and things and baptized and his life totally changed and then served the mission. But some things are happening at home that he said he needed to go home and fix. I was crying with him and could not believe it. He really is one of the best elders in the mission. It is honestly the first time I have felt so alone and home sick and not sure of what I was doing on Saturday morning when I got up and said bye to him and went out to work. I was so upset and struggling big time. But thanks to prayers, the scriptures and my journal. I was able to re focus and grow a little more and be happier and forget about what happened and go on. It will be a minimum of six months before he comes back if he does, I don’t think he will. He had 13 months in the mission this coming week and I just don’t think he will be back. President said he is getting an honorable release and stuff. But he is 23 years old and has a girlfriend and probably will get married. But who knows. It was cause of her he served. She is a member and his whole help and support system. But we will see I guess. It was just hard for me for a day. But I am back on track so no se recupe. All is well and I am still pumped as ever and will be working hard and am really excited.

So we won the competition and this week the zone leaders will be starting a little documentary of the day in the life of Elder Bigelow and Elder Moncur. It will be good I am excited and will have a little fun with it. I am really glad you are keeping yourselves really busy and going out boating a TON!!!! Sean sounds like he does not have a moment to spare which is good. Powell will be a lot of fun I bet and I am excited to hear that I will have another cousin in the force with me. I got everyone’s packages and thank you very much it was everything that I needed. Ben, Jenny and Noah, love you that was and is such an amazing package!!! Mom and dad I needed those thermals thanks, it will be funny if I go to San Juan where its cold now but not to bad nothing like here. And Beccy, something melted or exploded in yours but it smelt really, really good and I still to this moment don’t know what it was cause everything was intact and fine. Thanks a ton I loved it. And still am enjoying it everyday. I also got my letter from grandma Bonnie. Tell her thanks and I love them each month, really fun to read and learn. And all the pictures were really good to thank you.

I love you all and miss you very much, but I know that this is where I am to be right now in my life and that this is what I need to be doing. I have learned and grown so much in this short little time that I have on the mission but it has changed my life and how I look at people and life’s challenges. I love you and miss you!!! Take care and go to the temple often and tell everyone, hola from Argentina!!!!

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

ps I think the curse of thinning hair or residing hair lines in the mission are true.... my widow peaks have grown I think..... hahha

Happy 24th of July!

2010-07-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

July 19, 2010

Well this week I have gotten all of your emails and thank you. It is really good to hear from you and I had a huge smile on my face during all of them some great stuff happened this week for the most part it sounds like. I had a pretty good week as well I took in everything that my president said and I used it and studied it and put it to work and had a really good week and had some really good numbers. And we have a baptism on Saturday, and we are really lookin forward to that. Things have been going good and will continue to go good with how we are working I am really looking forward to that. And tomorrow at 2 in the morning, some of you there might not even be asleep yet, but I have to get on a bus to go to Mendoza for a meeting of leaders to learn a bunch of new stuff from the first presidency that they want us to do. And will be there for three days then come back. So I am excited to go there and be apart of all this new learning and experiences we will have.

So I am going to answer some questions, mainly dad’s cause he is the only one who really asked. But I think everyone will learn a little bit and help them to understand things a little more here.... I generally have lunch everyday. But sometimes the members are busy or something and cant. Like this week we had it twice and the week before twice and all for times was polenta.... which I am not a fan of at all. It is just like play dough. But its food so I eat it. And I cook a lot actually I have become a pretty good cook I would say. Every morning and most nights if I am not to beat I will cook something to eat. And then for lunch. And if one of our investigators is dong good or one of our members really helped us out I will make some thing for them. Usually beef or some sort or chicken and I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, French fries or mashed potatoes on occasion. But I need gravy or somethin. And lots of brownies, cookies, rice pudding, and yeah. its kinda funny how I have picked it up and stuff.

As for the bikes. Yeah we walk about two and a half hours there to a house and then tow in a half back. But it’s alright. And we don’t have bikes because they get stolen and ruined or something. So they don’t have them anymore. But we might be able to borrow some for when we go out there. We have hitch hiked a couple times and jogged a lot of the distance a few times. So we are making it fun anyways. But that’s pretty much why we don’t and now as of like two weeks ago there is not a single area in the mission that has bikes anymore. So we walk a lot!!!! Ha-ha its about 20km to the house that is the farthest out that we go to. a little more then that i think but some where close. Its always enjoyable and we backpack water to them to sometimes cause they don’t have any running water to use. But this last week there evangelical minister dude that gave them the house for free out there and was totally tine with us going to the house and visiting is now having freak outs if we go and if members go out with food to give and help them. He says that all mormons are gangsters in less harsh terms and all sorts of bad things. So the family was hurt by that, but they love us and the dad broke down to tears with us the other night, and they say we are always invited and can stay as long as we want. Just not even to worry about this loco. That was really cool and special experience for me.

We also get laundry done every week by a member and that is very good and has been very nice to have. I do wash things in a bucket on occasion, but its not to often. And our pension is really nice it’s a brand new apartment. But it is just all cement and we can’t have our heaters on all night or all day so when we are in it at night or in the morning it is just like being in an ice box. Its cold we can see our breath sometimes. But it makes it fun. The other day the pipes froze so we could not shower till like 4 in the afternoon. And now we leave just a drop of water falling at night in one of the sinks. But it is a really nice pensh just really cold. But it’s the life. Its just like a two year camping trip I think. I love it. Helps me to see the blessings that I have and the ones I had in the states even more.

Well nothin else really happened this week. But me and Moncur are doing this street domination thing where we knock every door on every street in our area and as we were going there to a street we were close to finishing on morning this week we started talking to this guy who was walking to his house and he rejected us hard and we smiled and kept going. Then we got to our last door and looked over and saw the man, stumble and fall straight backwards as he was going up a little ramp to enter his house. He didn’t bend his knees or anything and just cracked his head on the cement HARD!!! We went running over to him and he was knocked out cold. And his wife came running out and started to slap him and was screaming trying to wake him up. But then all my lifeguard training came back to me and I knew exactly what to do. I got her to calm down and stop hitting and trying to get him to get up. And I dunno how but I checked his neck and stuff then saw blood and his head was split so I got a towel from the lady and put it under his head, then the ambulance came and stuff and took him to the hospital. But I think I was more certified then the ones working with the ambulance, it was bad watching them almost drop him cause the are old weak guys. And then not do the bed thing right and nothing. Argentina’s health care is a joke. But it was so weird to me how that all happened and I remembered. Then a couple days later we went by his house. (hoping for a King Lamoni experience) we got let in and he had no clue who we were and did not remember anything. But him and his family were very grateful and listened a little. And had questions for us and gave us herbal tea so it was nice. But we did not get the King Lamoni experience we were hoping for. But still really good and a seed was planted I think.

I hope all is going well I miss you and love you very much. And dad you should have gave that girl my name!!! haha she is my age. haha and sounds like you all had a lot of fun in your trips and adventures this week. Keep having fun. And be safe. Go to the temple when you can. Pray together as a family often and keep strong and together. I love you and miss you

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

Feliz cumpleano hermanito

2010-07-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

July 12, 2010

Well this week was a really good week. I went out and did divisions in my district to do a baptismal interview for the other elders and try to motivate them to work harder and to be happy. But they are both old in the mission and just tired and having a hard time and have been together for three transfers. But they did get a baptism on Saturday so that was really good. And wow how special it was for me to do the interview with their investigator, who is 17 and has lived a really rough sketchy life. But has changed through the gospel message and love of the lord in his life. He used to do drugs and rob and all sorts of things. But he told me that the first Sunday he went to church he just felt something so different in his heart and just had no more of a desire or craving to do any of those things again. it was way cool to talk to him and hear his story and the change in his life and its the part that when your teaching the person you don’t always get to hear or see, but i had the special opportunity to be able to. he someday will be a great missionary and do many great things.

Also this week on Sean’s birthday i was also celebrating big time here!! It was the independence day of Argentina on the 9 of July. So we all got together in the branch and we ate locro..., which is like a bean, sausage, meat, and corn stew thing. Its really good. The members were harassing me a bit cause I brought the wrong kind of plate I guess but it worked the exact same way, and it was the only ones we had. And they said that I couldn’t eat, so I proved them all wrong!!!!! I about died from it, but it was a matter of pride and more respect from the members haha..... I ate 8 huge plates of the stuff. I literally felt like I was going to explode, and I could feel it in my throat my stomach was so full of the food. I could barely move, but I went to the bathroom when no one was looking so they would not really know that I was not doing fine like I told them I was... It was either coming out one of two ends but it was coming out. I just could not hold it in, but I was in there for about 45 minutes, and then laid on the grass outside while everyone played and it all settled down and I felt a lot better, but it was awesome. Quite an experience!!! Oh and I way 92 kilograms now. I think that is a little over 200 hahahhah. It is funny but I think everything is just sticking to me cause I don’t sweat except in the morning durning excercises. But its cool. I am enjoying it.

Today we had interviews here in San Rafael, my first area. So we had to take a two hour bus to get here. And I just came up last night and spent the night with Elder Roberts that went to Alta with me. And we just like talked and hung out. We are becoming best friends, it’s the best. I love it, having someone to talk to and relate to share stories and talk about people that are keeping in touch with us. It is a lot of fun. He is insane, was on nitro circus and started that whole thing up with them and has traveled the world with his family and mtv. But still his favorite place to vacation and to go is Lake Powell. He loves it, and misses it. Its so funny sharing stories of Powell and stuff together. We already got a trip all planned out for when we get back and stuff. It will be good. But in my interview it was probably the most amazing interview I have had. Talking to him just made me so happy and he took a lot of time to teach me and help me. He answered all of my questions without me even saying a word. He taught me so many things that will help me in the mission but more importantly he taught me things that will help me for the rest of my life. In my work, family, and school. Everything.... it was amazing. And he told me again that he sees me as a great leader in the mission and to be expecting more to be coming my way soon, we just got to see how things come out these last few weeks of the transfer and if I do what he is looking for me to do. But I am SOOOO excited I cant even express how it went or say, I just don’t know it was way spiritual and enlightening. He really is called of God and called to be here to help me and all of us missionaries. Keep me in your prayers for the motivation and to not let him down or myself down. I have a lot of goals and things in the mission and I hope to accomplish them. And I know I can with the Lords help.

On Saturday morning we went out to do service and help an investigator family add on to their house with a fence. But when we got there, we walked down the street to an empty lot with bricks and cement. And we actually just started on building a house for this guys mom.... wow it was crazy. Quite an experience. the houses here are horrible and really sketchy. The tools they use are from like medieval times I swear. Strings with balls on them for leveling and clear houses for other leveling things, and bricks with cement, and if the brick does not fit, you hit it with a hammer and break it and put it in and fill the rest with cement. It is a little sketchy. But it’s the way they do things here I guess. It actually was a lot of fun. I dunno what it is but now when I do service and stuff I just have a total blast and before the mish it like killed a little part of me inside to have to get up and go do service. I was just so prideful and lazy I guess. But the mission has changed me so much just in this short time that I have here.

We also had one in church and we have one with a fecha for baptism right now for the 24th and will be putting another one this week also for the 24^th of July so hopefully we have at least two more in this transfer. And put into practice some stuff that pres told me and have lots more investigators and keep the work going. it is but it is kinda stalling and we are having a hard time finding people and getting into houses. I dunno what is happening but no one is letting us in. so we will try and see what we can do and see what happens with me. Maybe move up again...

All is well I love hearing from you and knowing all is going well. Keep me informed and I look forward to hear more shortly. I have not got the packages yet by the way I dunno what the deal is. But next week I go to Mendoza for a special leadership meeting so we will see then. I love you and miss you thanks for everything, all the prayers everything. Keep it up and love you tons

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

Hola Familia

2010-07-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

June 28, 2010

Well I am glad to hear that you had a good time in Powell and at the reunion. I knew you would and I know it probably was not quiet as fun as it could have been.... if I was there. But now things here are going good. I have my new companion, Elder Moncur. He is from Bountiful, So it is cool to have another gringo companion and to be able to talk in English every now and again and just kinda be more on the same page. We are doing well and have been teaching a lot. We are hoping to have 5 to 8 baptisms this transfer and 2 more from the other elders in my district. So I hope that it all works out. But some of our investigators have been kinda weird. Like yesterday, one kid he is 15. We taught him on Saturday evening then in the night we called him and asked if he wanted us to come get him for church, and so we walked an hour out there to get him and he was sitting by the fire dressed, but would not look at us and told us that he is not coming to church. ahh.....my heart broke!! And I had so many emotions. He told us he wants to serve a mission and be baptized in the church and be like us, but I think his smoker of a dad is tearing him down, and talking bad about us when we are not there, cause we had 4 of there kids all ready for baptism and progressing and doing good. Then the parents got baptized in the evangelical church and now we can only get two of the kids to come to church with us. It is so frustrating and hard. I dunno what to do. But this week we are going to teach and baptize the little brother and sister and hopefully the other two come around more. Its cool the little brother is 11 and he reminds me kinda of Sean when we was younger. Looks kinda like him, and just kinda reminds me of him. Really cool kid I love him.

We were knocking doors the other day and it was so funny this guy just had a total freak out at us. He pulled up in his car and got out cause it was his house so we went to greet him and he just slapped our hands down and walked by so we talked to his wife. Well Elder Moncur did.... I followed the man and tried to talk to him. I said ¨hermano, una pregunta.¨ and he turned and yelled at me and said he was not my brother. So I said ¨bueno, igual, señor una pregunta. por que tiene miedo con nosotros y no quierre hablar con nosotros y tan anojado a siervos de Dios?¨ and he told me it was because we are anti Christ and murders and the scum of the earth that we are going to burn in hell. Then I tried to point out that our plaque says Jesus Christ but he would not listen and yelled and said ¨toma te la¨ which here is VERY VERY VERY strong to bug off. Very rude man, so we left and he yelled to burn in the land down under and yeah. Then he drove by in his car and yelled some more at us. It was hilarious!!! And the next day, the very first person we talked to was another guy just like him, with his children, in front of them. It is funny how little people know and how insecure they are with things. We got in a house the other day of this Catholic guy and he said he never has heard our message before but heard we pray to a John Smith or some thing and thought it was really interesting so he had to try it out and see why we think and do that. So we taught and explained lots to him. And he was very amazed and impressed. He learned a lot and has a lot more respect for us and wants us to come back and continue to teach him. So, funny and interesting some things here.

But not all went that way, negative this week. We did really well and had some awesome lessons so don’t think that I just realized a lot of things and how little some people know and insecure they are. We tried to talk to a Catholic priest just to see if we could take a tour of his church and learn of the Catholic Church nothing of the preaching ways, but he said no and was really rude to us. I just don’t get it sometimes.

Then we taught this kid who is WAY into drugs and robbing people. He is 19 and we were just using ourselves as an example with him on how miserable he is and happy we are and how he is throwing his life away. We dropped a little cane but he needed it. And then his brother who is 20 told us he hates Americans and we got into to a little discussion about that and came to the conclusion that all the drugs and crap has just fried his brain and he knows nothing. But we have been talking to a lot of the teenagers lately and they just throw their lives away. It is so sad to see it and how miserable they are. They are happy and having a good time for a few hours then days after they are feeling the consequence. Its really sad and just makes me so grateful to have been born under the covenant and to have had the gospel in my life all through out it and to have family and parents who exercise that faith and priesthood. I used to think that it was kinda restrictive but I knew that it was good for me. Just wish I could have been converted or something at an older age, after experiencing things. But now more then ever I am so happy that it was not that way for me. That I was able to always have it with me. I love the gospel and I love the way that it has sculpted me into who I am to be able to be here on my mission in this point in my life. Such a blessing!

I love you all and miss you very much. I hope all is going well for you and that your happy.

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

ps. dad, how is my money doing in that stock thing? My car sold yet? And get

Dane to hook me up with a sweet money hook up like that after the mission, please. haha

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-27T23:11:00.001-07:00

June 25, 2010

Well happy fathers day yesterday. Hope all is going well in Powell. All is well here. My prayers were answered this week and the parents of this family are not even married. We found out, so they cant get baptized till they are married. So we put a fecha with the kids and they will be getting baptized on the 10th four of them. And we have a couple more baptisms in July that we are preparing for and it will be good I am looking forward to it.

This week was good. Wednesday is transfers and I am getting a gringo companion that has one less transfer then I do. He is from Utah I am pretty sure and his name is elder Moncur. I am excited it will be awesome and he is coming into an explosion of good things going for us here.

Hope you all are doing good I love you all and miss you. Take care and thanks for everything. Your prayers are felt and answered.

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

2010-06-27T23:07:00.001-07:00

June 14, 2010

Hey family!!!

Well this week was a really good week and it went by really fast. Next week is transfers and I can’t believe it has already gotten here. This transfer just blew by. But this week we had some good success. We got 5 of the 6 from the familia Ditoto, to come to church. And next week we will get all of them to come. I think they really liked it. But keep them in your prayers and they will have a spiritual experience to bring the whole family together and all want to be baptized together. The dad needs to stop smoking to. And spends 20 pesos a day on cigarettes and the family barely has bread to eat or the week, and he is doing this. But he just has no desire to stop right now. Its kinda sad. So this week we taught them and it went amazing.

I made brownies and cookies three times this week for investigators. I am becoming quite the cook. I have not told you but I am cooking so much and doing well at it. I love it and everyone here is loving it. But I remembered from a question Lisa asked about food I eat and things. So I remembered, so I will tell you all about that in just a second. But yeah so we taught and did really well and put a couple of fechas for baptism for next week and in July. So we will see how that goes but the family we really are looking at is this one huge family and trying to work with them. Its either us or the evangelical church they tell us. So we are trying to get them to pray and to have spiritual experience to feel and learn that these things are true and the dad to want to change to better his life and the life of his family. They have 2 more kids under 8 and one that is just one year old and they can barely afford bread cause he has such a bad addiction. And he does not want to change right now but maybe this week he will feel more of a desire to change. He smoked a pack and a half right in front of us the other day. But he is so awesome I love the guy I just want him to feel the spirit and the rest of the family to recognize the spirit and realize the blessings that will come in there lives from this amazing, perfect gospel plan that god has created for us. I had a really amazing experience with them.

I said before to you all, that I know that this is one of the reasons I am on this mission is to find and teach this family. I know it is. And I know they are just one of the people I promised. And the first time I entered the house I recognized all of them and knew there faces it was really such a crazy feeling and very spiritual for me to have. But this last week when we were teaching them I had another really spiritual experience. I usually do most the talking in the houses, my comp is pretty quiet most the time. And at the end of our lesson, I bore testimony to them, and promised blessings and did not even feel like I was the one working my mouth. I said things I never even studied or even know what they mean. And still to this moment cannot remember what I said. And afterward Elder Leal told me that, that was the most perfect well accented speaking I have yet spoke and so spiritual, and that I said words he had no idea I knew and did everything correct. And he can’t even remember what I said. It was absolutely amazing and a true testament to me of the power of God and the gift of tongues. It really does exist and I know it does. In all my other speaking I have a ways of going till I am perfect but I am doing really well and communicate and understand just about everything and it is just like dad said last June that I would be in this position speaking another language and understanding. It is so amazing. But keep praying I will improve and the blessings will continue to come in.

So the world cup started. And we got permission to watch Argentina play. One, cause EVERYTHING was closed and no one was in the street. Every single person young and old was watching the game. Argentina won and it was a good game. And the US tied with England. Wow I miss sports. I was so entranced by the tv watching. It was so good for me. I really loved it and the people here are crazy for it. All stores closed and school gets cancelled for the games or the TV is on in the classes to watch the game. And everyone walks around with their flags or jerseys, faces painted, cars decked out, everything. Its really cool to see.

The food......well we have lunch everyday. And I have had noodles with tomato sauce or rice with tomato sauce everyday except twice in 5 weeks here. That is usually what we get in every area for lunch is noodles with tomato sauce and a piece of chicken or beef. It really gets old but its good. They cook it in water and oil or just oil. So it is really fatty. And at night in the pensh, if I have any energy from the day I will have a bowl of cereal, drink yogurt, eggs, beef strips, or left overs from something. But I usually don’t have much energy for anything except a drink and my bed. But I am healthy and doing well, exercising good and feeling good. My face is really clearing up to. So it is all going well I believe.

Well I hope you have fun in Powell and all goes well for ya. I am sitting right next to Ethan Roberts the kid from Alta I came with and all we have talked about today is lake Powell and Havasupai in Arizona. He is such I stud I love the kid. So we are jealous and hope you have a fun time. Tell everyone at the reunion I say hello and hope all is going well. Thanks for everything. And the prayers are felt. I love you all and miss you. Keep doin well.

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

Catching up with Letters from Zack

2010-06-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

July 7, 2010

Family

Well that is really sad to hear about Donna and Lois and them now being separated. But it will only be for a short time and the second coming and Resurrection is right around the corner as well so no need to be down or sad. Sounds like it was a really eventful week and that you had some good things happen. That sounds awesome to have the Shurtz and Kunz family for a dinner once a month that would be a way good idea I think. I love those families and they are pretty much my second and third family. They have done a lot for me and I am so very thankful for them and all that they did and continue to do for me.

Well this week was really cool. We got to go on a bus on Thursday morning at 3 to go to Mendoza for a zone conference with elder Zivic, from the seventy. He gave a really good talk about faith and obedience. It was really good and I got to see and talk to Elder Harvey my comp in the mtc and Elder Roberts that is my age from Alta. it was really good to be with those guys all day and be hanging out and catching up. Then we came back and got home really late and went to bed then the next day I did divisions as a district leader for the first time. And I went with a brand spankin new elder and we worked in my area. It was really good and that was the start of the giving me one of the best weeks I have had yet in the mission.

I have been praying to find and teach more people and stuff cause when I got here this area was just dead. But slowly and slowly it has been getting better and better. and after we taught this one kid for the first time we were in the middle of no where and walking back to the city and decided to start knocking doors on this street i have never been on before. And typical we were getting rejected like mad and sfuff cause there is an evangelical church on the corner of the street and everyone is of that church cause it is closest to them. But then, the last house of course we knock it, and no one answers. And as we were leaving we heard a little baby laugh. So we turned and looked back and around the corner of this house tucked in the back was another tiny little door with a light on. So we went and knocked it and Elder Hancock in his broken Spanish told the lady we were missionaries from Christ and we are here to share a message. And she let us in and we taught this family of 5 that was there and 4 were 8 and older. And the dad and oldest brother were not home yet. But they were very interested and it was amazing. Every single one of their faces I recognized and had seen before. And I taught and spoke better then I have thus far in my mission. And then we invited them to church and on Sunday all the kids came except the oldest brother and they loved it and are really excited one of them already told us he wants to get baptized. So that was really cool and special for me.

We had 5 in church on Sunday 4 from this family but only 3 counted cause the other is less then 8. And we taught the rest of the family and it all went really well and I am so excited. We were expecting to have 10 or 11 in church but only 5 made it. But still I had the most amazing experiences and week. My testimony really grew and was strengthened from this and shows me even more the special power of prayer and of fasting. I love it. I love this work and am so grateful to be here and be apart of this. The feeling and name I get to represent every day is so special and unforgettable. I love you all and hope all is going well. I miss you and have you in my prayers keep this family and all of our investigators in you prayers.

Con Amor

Elder Bigelow

ps. did dad or Ben or Austin ever train? I might be next transfer. And what leadership was Ben and Austin in. dad was DL but any more?

pss can I buy a couple things? p day shoes mine are wrecked, and a blender maybe?

buena semana

2010-06-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

May 31,2010

Hola hola hola

Well this week was a good week. It started off a bit difficult but we were working hard and by the end of the week it really exploded for us and we were teaching a lot more. And it was really cool and a lot of fun. It is really interesting at times walking in the middle of the campo with no one around us and stuff at times. And this coming week we have zone conference and one of the area authorities is coming down. A 70, Elder Zivic is his name. So the whole mission is like on over load stress from the leaders and stuff to like impress him or something. So its kinda funny how that has been going this week. But it will be cool. We have to wake up at 3 on Thursday to go to Mendoza to get there on time and everything so that will be good. And this last Thursday we had to leave at 5 to go to San Rafeal to go to have interviews with president. Lots of waking up early and taking long bus rides.

This week a couple funny experiences. We were walking in the campo, Elder Leal and I and we were just talking about whatever stuff we wanted, and he goes over and sees this huge like 12 foot tree branch on the side of the road and picked it up and started swinging it around and stuff saying it was his ´flame sword´ haha it was hilarious, he had it with him about a mile and a half of walking or more. And he was telling me about swords and things while I was talking about letters that I got cause I had just got letters from the Shurtz and a couple friends and the young women in the ward. And we would trade off talking and asking questions. And he would tell me about swords and dragons and stuff, and I would tell him about girls I liked, my friends, and how like all the girls I liked before the mission don’t write me at all anymore and how like we all knew it would happen. All of my friends and I talked about it and me telling the girls I knew they wouldn’t write and now I am like a prophet, cause they don’t. Haha and then he would tell me about classes he took for this stuff and like show me moves and things in the streets it so funny the difference in conversation but somehow relate it all back.

Then the other night we were walking and just had the light of the stars and the moon and it was pitch black and freezing and a pack of like 10 dogs came at as! They were trying to bite us and things but they are so cowardly, once you bend over to pick up a rock and they turn and run away or kick at them and they run off. So nothing bad happened. But it was funny just randomly in the middle of nowhere ten dogs just went off on us.

We found an amazing investigator this week. He was listening to the missionaries like a year ago and stuff just never came to church cause he has work, but now he is planning on coming. He has read the Book of Mormon twice cover to cover and knows its true he feels so good when he reads it and understands everything so well and has prayed and knows its true. We just have to figure out a way to get him to come to church so he can be baptized, but it was so random and lucky we found him. We just talked to him in the street and said to come over and we did and we had an awesome lesson. And it was a testimony to me that with hard work and doing our part the Lord always does his. The same thing happened in Trapiche as you know, but I am starting to see the blessings a little bit from the work we are doing here. It’s hard but fun at the same time. Very Catholic and atheist but things are starting to go our way and I am excited to see what happens.

We started our Book of Mormon challenge yesterday in church, and this little 9 year old girl named Yasmin, comes every Sunday with her grandma but her mom is anti Mormon and wont let her get baptized. But on Sunday she came to me and asked if she could have a book to give to her mom to read and learn. It was so cute and cool for me. This girl is so amazing and smart I want to baptize her but her mom is so against it. It is tough. Then in that same day another little boy a convert of the last elders took three from us and said he was going to hand them out on his walk home that is an hour and a half walk cause he wants to be a missionary someday. So freaking cool, these kids are stronger and better then I was like 5 years ago or less. Haha, really is so special seeing it.

This all reminds me of a few weeks ago a blessing I gave to a new little baby that was sick. Really a cool experience I never told you about cause I forgot. But her name was Milagros.... haha which means miracles. And it truly was a miracle. I found out later she was born from a smoker mom and born early and got sick from the cold but now is totally fine. And better, one it is the coolest name and I think I want to name my daughter that. And two my first blessing I had actually given and it was in Trapiche. But it was really special for me. No like amazing spirit or experience, I have others of those but I just heard more about it the other day and made me really happy to know and I loved the name in the first place but now even more.

Things are good. My shoes are getting worn from walking so much and kicking rocks all day, but they should last, and I still have my other pair I have worn very little thus far in my mission.

I love you all and I miss you. I hope all is well and keep being so awesome

con amor y bueno besito
Elder Bigelow

Bueno besito

2010-05-25T00:02:00.000-07:00

Well this week was an interesting week. We knocked a lot of doors looking for more and new people to teach, cause the people that the elder before me was teaching were crazy and like apostasy. So I had to drop them real quick with Elder Leal. Everyone in this area is way catholic!!! And it’s really hard to talk to them. It is so annoying at times listening to the excuses that they have for us. And all the words we say go in one ear and out the other. It’s so dumb at times. And they try to tell me something about our religion and it is wrong and they tell me something about their religion and that is even more wrong. Just sad that I know more about their religion then they do about it. They don’t teach anything in the schools here about the history of the Catholic Church or anything. Just your dad’s dad’s dad’s dad was catholic so you are too!!! Then whatever apostasy thing the priest says in church they think is right. ahh!!!! They are crazy. But its ok we are doing alright.

Working with some members and getting some good stuff done. We are trying to work with these two kids who are of age to go on a mission but are kinda inactive so we are really working with them and president Lindahl received revelation about one of them in specific and so we are really working with him trying to get his confidence up and get him to do splits with us or something and have a good time with him and show him how fun the mission is and the blessing that comes from it. So we will see how that goes.

The baptism that we were going to have on Saturday fell through. She didn’t come so me and another elder in my district made the 45 minute walk from The chapel to her house and to get her and bring her and when we got there she just invited us in and talked for a second and said she was sick...but that’s the typical argentine. She did not want to leave the house cause it was cold. She claimed that her blood pressure had fallen...how do you even tell that or feel that????? Then we explained it was Satan working on her telling her these things and to say them. Then she got all offensive and said we didn’t kiss her the other day when we visited and told her that we can’t and that was wrong of us. And we didn’t call her the night before to say hi. And we came to her house at 8 one night and interrupted her getting ready for bed. And said all this stuff trying to blame it on us. haha so crazy. So I dunno, it was weird and then she didn’t come to church yesterday cause she was offended. just all sorts of weird stuff. And that’s not even half of some of the people here.

I went to do a baptismal interview for the other elders the other day and the lady was outside and just looked way scared when we got there and said she can’t be baptized and then said she was ready and do the interview right there. Then just said amen and walked inside the house.... it was crazy. Needless to say she did not get baptized.

Yesterday at church we had two return missionaries come to the branch. They served here 14 years ago and are back visiting. They were way cool. And in Priesthood, one brother talked about home teaching and some guys got way offended and it turned into a huge argument. Cause no one here does home teaching they just leave it to us missionaries to do it they think. But us and the other RM´S fixed it and calmed everyone down a bit. Wow it was crazy. This whole area is just crazy but fun.

So Lindsey moved out to Louisiana. Wow that is crazy!!! Well that was way random. But cool that will be fun. Letters I do love getting them. I especially love them from my friends. Just not many of them write anymore cause they are on missions and when they do write I then write all of you and send them with that letter cause it is way cheaper for me that way. But email from all you is fine and the occasional letter. Its not a big deal that is fine. As for the thermals, just whatever you want to send me I am good with garments for now maybe by Christmas or something would be good to send more. But I dunno. I just want something to keep me warm walking out here. It’s cold. haha well I miss you and I hope all is going well. Pray for this area and that we will find a family or two to teach and to baptize. It’s really dead and the past elders did some really dumb stuff. It’s like re-starting it. That’s all I need and the language. I hope everything is still going good for all of you and know that your always in my thoughts and prayers.

Con Amor
Elder Bigelow

ps anything about mike gagon? Do any of my friends still get this forwarded to them or is it just family now?

Zacks new area

2010-05-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

May 18, 2010

Family and friends

Well I am in my new area and it is really cool. Its in the middle of nowhere far south in the mission. The city really is like in the middle of like a desert in the middle of nowhere and is tiny and really old. But it’s really cool. My area is HUGE we walk for hours to get to a house. And it contains the edge of the city and beyond.... tons of campo. Walk on dirt roads for miles without seeing a person or a house. But we did really well this week for only teaching and being in the area for 4 days. We had the best numbers in the zone, and the district is tearing it up. We have a really nice chapel. It actually has benches to sit on!! And it is not a ward it’s a branch, but there are like 90 active members in it. For a while it had the most active members in the mission, but a few months ago it got out beat. And here it is freezing cold!!! I wear thermals, sweater, coat, gloves, it all and I still get cold cause it’s a humid cold and wind blowing is cold and goes straight through us. So maybe if you could, send those thermals and hand warmers for me. It’s really pretty though, lots of vineyards and green. But it’s dying cause of the cold.

My comp is Elder Leal. He is from Chile. In the northern part. He is cool. Really into comics and Nintendo but that’s fine he is a good kid. He just hit 9 months and I will hit 8 next week so we are close to the same in the mish. He understands everything in English but refuses to speak it, which is fine. I talk to him in Spanish anyway. He makes figures out of clay and they are way good!!! Like he made Moroni, and Nephi, and venom from Spiderman. Its cool, and yeah I like it. Not so much alike as me and Giminez but still I love him and love workin with him.

In my pensh I live with the zone leaders to. One of them is going to play linebacker at BYU and is HUGE!!! His brother played this season there and is my age. Craig Bills is his name. He won Mr. football my senior year and his senior year to. But he is such a nice guy and has BYU in his family 2 of his older brothers played there and now he will be too after the mission. He went to Timpview High School so we talk football a lot and he wants me to play again but I dunno... he is making me work out with him and run with him. Wow I am so out of shape. I can walk for miles and not feel anything, but running sprints.... wow it hurts. Super cool and nice elder though. And said he will hook me up with tickets to the BYU Texas game. So yeah.

The other elder is a convert and ex gang member. He is awesome!!! Had dread locks and just looked scary before the mission. And has some of the most crazy stories ever. And just really made me open my eyes and know that anyone truly can change, if they have the desire. And he is way good at basketball. He is planning on walking on to BYU after the mission and playing there. He is from Puerto Rico, but more so from Ohio. He is awesome!!! Such a strong testimony.

This week was a good week had a few really cool experiences. On my first day we went to get lunch it was a hour walk there then an hour walk back and I prayed in the house for the member and after she started crying and asked how I knew she was sick and needed help from god to feel better. And wow it was a special experience. And another lady her daughter passed away and I was able to talk to her about the plan of salvation. It was really good experience for me and we will see how things go with her.

Next week we are doing an activity in the ward to see who can pass out the most Books of Mormon. The missionaries or the members.... and who ever wins, the loser buys an asado for the winner. So it will be good and the members are way excited and I am really excited too cause we will hopefully be getting a ton of references for us to work with. The members want us to make them into a ward so we told them they need to help us find people to teach and to baptize. I am so excited for this area and for all the things that we will be able to do. It will be really good and lots of fun. Cold... but fun.

Well I love you and miss you all hope it is going well and you are keeping up with everything.

Con Amor
Elder Bigelow

ps next package if you are sending one... hot chocolate, hand warmers, maple syrup(or extract), chocolate chips, brown sugar, candy bars, and poptarts..

pps what was the Book of Mormon challenge again that you have? Three times in how long with what colors and stuff?

Zack is getting Transferred

2010-05-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

May 10, 2010

Hey fam.

It was great to talk to you and everything yesterday. Everyone sounds great. And I got transferred. I am going to Avear. It's about two hours farther south then San Rafeal (my first area). And there is only one area farther south then it and it is one hour more. So wednesday I have a five hour bus ride to get there. Oh and I am now district leader. Love and miss you!!

Con Amor
Elder Bigelow

feliz dia de el trabajador

2010-05-01T09:09:00.001-07:00

April 26, 2010

Family and friends

Well this week was really good and continued to get better everyday I think. Some days are hard and every single thing seems to fall through but the good outweighs the bad. We are still working with fanny and she is stopping smoking and has not smoked at all this week and is really excited about being baptized and is something special cause again this baptism will bring the family together more. She has not spoke to her daughter who is a member for 12 years but now they do and she wants to give a talk at the baptism so that will be really good. She is a way cool lady and is totally into everything. Reads a ton and loves it all, loves to learn new things.

This week I got letters from you all and it was really good to hear from you, especially cause it was the first time I have got a letter in about a month and a half. So this was such an energy booster and I loved it. Thank you so much for it. Very much so needed. I liked hearing about what everyone was up to and was a good family night activity I’m glad you are doing it more often now. Does the whole family do it and come over for it... cause that would be awesome and so much fun to do.

What real note from this week is one of the families we usually have lunch with every Sunday (one of the most awesome families you will meet) the mom passed away on Saturday and she was 46 years old. She had some sort of a disease for the past 27 years where she could die at any moment, but she trucked along and never let it get her down. She helps all the new gringo when they get here and stuff with there paper work so I got to know her quick and then I was in her ward. so it was cool. She has every elder from the beginning of time I swear that has been in this ward write in her journal and this week was my week to write in it cause I will probably be getting transferred and my Spanish I can write and feel alright comfortable with it and stuff. But she passed away Saturday evening. and has a 16 year old daughter who had a young women’s thing that night but her mom could not go cause she was in the hospital but wrote a letter to her daughter for her and her dad to read at the activity. And when it was over and they went back to the hospital she had passed away. It was really hard yesterday. It was missionary Sunday in the ward so I had to give another talk and they announced it to all those who didn’t know and it was a really depressing Sunday and was kinda hard for me to give my talk cause this family helped me so much and was so good to me. It was really sad for me... and brought back lots of memories from when I was thirteen. But its ok, I know things better now and have a stronger testimony. The funeral was yesterday as well cause they need to bury the body within 24 hours cause they don’t embalm them here.... so really fast before things got bad. it was really cool the dad and daughter in the last song it was families can be together forever and they stared each other right in the face the whole time and sang to each other with a huge smile on there faces. really cool to see that and was a really spiritual funeral service really well done. It was something that I won’t forget and really showed me the true love that I have gained for this people in the short time I have been here.

I am so grateful for you all and the letters and support. The best family ever. I miss you all and love you. I am excited to talk to ya soon. Tell everyone I say hi and tell Mike to write me or email me, so I can keep in contact with him along with Brad and Kyle, If you can. And I have not seen the president’s daughter or got the package yet. But the chances are I will get the package and never even see her. But I look forward to it and thank you so much for all you do.

Con Amor
Elder Bigelow

ps. Saturday is the day of the worker. What a joke.... haha no one here works. The hours are like 10 to 1 then 5 to 7. Or usually just one of the two. haha so Saturday may 1st happy day of the worker.

pps so Lindsey is moving now for 5 yrs or what. I didn’t really get that.

Latest letter and some pictures from last week

2010-04-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

Well nothin to new or special from this week. We worked hard and had some good success. We put a baptismal fecha with this lady named Fanny. She is a writer and has three books published so that is kinda cool. All they are is poetry nothin like huge, but it’s still pretty cool. And we taught the plan of salvation to her yesterday and she was really moved by our testimonies about baptism and the change that comes into peoples lives through the Holy Ghost. It was awesome. The problem is she smokes, so I have yet another person I have to get to stop smoking again. But I know it is possible, and I have a testimony of huge heavy duty smokers stop smoking. And she has the desire to stop and said she will and this week we will be putting our plan with her to get her to stop. So it will be good and I am excited. In my area things are going really good and we are working really well together. Elder Gimenez is awesome I have really become great friends with him and this transfer is flying by. And I don’t think we will be together next transfer cause I have been in Trapiche for 4 and a half months. But its really good and I am loving it so much. It is always just a blast to be out and with him working.

So this week we had zone conference. It was really good but it didn’t even seem like it was conference. But it was really spiritual and the mission is changing things up a little bit with the way we count our numbers and stuff, but it was really good. I again learned more from President Lindhall. He is such an awesome man and I know he truly does receive revelation for us in this mission. He shared a lot of stories from his mission, and things from his experiences and how we can apply it to us. It was good. Then the next day we had our interviews with him and he called me into his office and I saw I had things written below my picture on the paper that he had in front of him. That made me a little nervous. Then he sat down and started into a little small talk, and then said that in front of him he had notes from the zone leaders, my district leader, and companion about me. He asked me if I had any idea if I knew what they might say and I had no idea. The day before at conference he said elders had been lying to him about things and he knew the whole time, so that made me even more nervous cause I really had no idea. So I said I had no idea, and that honestly I have been trying my hardest and doing the best I can but if it says something differently then I will change, cause my leaders have the outside view and will know better. And he said let me read them. And he went down the list of compliments of being a hard worker and obedient and they all said I was ready for the next level and things on that line.
It made me feel so much better I was really nervous for a second, but afterwards I felt good and President told me that its all true facts about me and that I am ready for the next level. And he said I will maybe get moved cause I have been here forever but I will go up and he asked if I knew how to use the district leader verifying papers and said if I have questions about them to ask him or other elders in my pensh. So I will definitely go up to senor comp solo not shared, or district leader.... and he said that if I stay he wants me to train.... wow!! I am still new and he wants me to train, he asked my zone leaders if I was ready for that, and they said for sure he is. So that is a possibility. Also next transfer if I don’t train next, I will be one or both of the others and then the transfer after that I will be training. I am really excited things keep getting better and funner and it looks like it will continue to get that way in my future transfers. He said before a year I will be in lots of leadership positions. Its really cool how much confidence he has in me. I just hope that I keep improving on things and I don’t level out. But that all was really good and a confidence booster.

Also its kinda funny Spanish is starting to feel more like a second language to me rather then a foreign language. But some days I don’t know what happens, but I can’t understand a thing! Then other days I understand every word. But that really makes me feel good about things some days and other days I get A little frustrated and don’t know what the deal is. But it is really funny the things I have learned in just my short time on the mission. I was looking back and reading in my journal and I have learned a lot and already changed a lot. The impact of others on your life and the changes in others lives that impact yours and change yours is crazy and you don’t even realize it til after the fact.

So its about registration time around there for school. Is Sean going to be a HAWK or a BEAT DIGGER? Where is he registering and what are his plans and stuff? So now Lindsey is moving for sure? That’s hard.... but maybe Dane could hook me up with a sweet job making bank after the mission...? But thats forever away. But lately I have been thinkin a little about my future and schooling and stuff and I am not to sure what I want to do or am capable of doing since I limited myself a little from my slight lack of success in school before. I’m not trunky or unfocussed just thinking. I have lots of time I know, but just somethin I am thinkin about. Is Chris living back at home then? Everyone is doing well in schooling and work and stuff I am assuming and hoping?

Some things to possibly include in the package if ya could.... insoles for my shoes...(the ones here suck and rip after like two days with them) possibly gel insoles... a couple pair of socks for p day....postcard sized pictures of temples to give to investigators.....things from utah about utah to give to people in my areas.... copies of my hunting pictures....4x6 pictures of the family together, and possibly the same from the weddings of Austin, Ben and Lindsey to show to investigators who don’t want to get married and or have a problem with the law of chastity.... I really think this stuff would be good and help.

Thank you for everything I love you and miss you but I know there is no better place for me to be then here in Mendoza helping my brothers and sisters. Keep us in your prayers and help me with the spirit and the language.

Con Amor
Elder Bigelow

ps
Dad, please do help Jason with this stuff. You are doing such an awesome
Thing. I am so happy and proud of him and this decision he is making to
Serve a mission. I was thinking about him the other day and what he was doing
With his life and now I know. And I am so happy and was really excited to hear that stuff. Keep me updated on it and tell him I say hi and am proud of him.

These are pictures of his last transfer

COMO ESTAN