The gospel is amazing!

Dear Family and Friends,
Another good week here in good ol' Rupert! Not a whole lot to report
on this week though. Sorry! One exciting thing that happened was that
we were able to set a baptismal date for Zach! August 15th! I will
miss it, but it will be an amazing day for him.

We had our 3 week training meeting this week. It is when all the new
missionaries and their trainers get together after 3 weeks in the
field and talk about how it is going. It was super fun! I remember
going to that meeting as a new missionary and being so overwhelmed and
everything was so different than I imagined it. But going in as a
trainer is so different. You forget how scary and new everything is,
so I just have to keep reminding myself to slow it down and make sure
that she is okay and is getting the hang of things. It is so funny
because our mindsets and perspectives are SO different. When you have
barely left home, you are still the same person trying to learn how to
apply all these things, but when you have been out 18 months, you have
learned so much and everything has changed for me. So it is fun to see
what I was like when I first came out and then now. I just hope that I
can impart some good wisdom on Sister Rhiner:)

This week I had kind of a cool spiritual experience. We have been
working with this less-active family, the Patterson's. I love them so
much and I have a great relationship with them. Brother Patterson was
talking about his conversion a few years ago, and how he read the
letters between Emma and Joseph Smith and how that softened his heart
so much toward the gospel. So we decided to watch "Joseph Smith:
Prophet of the Restoration" with them since it is on Netflix now. I
have seen the movie a few times, but for some reason this time it was
so much more powerful! I was in tears and the spirit was testifying so
strongly to me. It really stood out to me in the movie this time how
Joseph Smith recognized the Lord's hand in ALL things and he always
testified so boldly and simply of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And then
on Sunday, the high council spoke in both of our wards, and they all
spoke about the prophet Joseph! The spirit touched my heart so deeply
yet again! I am just so grateful for what he did to restore Christ's
church back on the Earth. I can't even imagine. The heartbreak of Emma
as she watched him leave for the last time, he had so much courage and
faith, and I want to be more like him! He sacrificed everything and I
am so thankful for that.

Brenden is still doing super good, and he has his baptismal interview
this week. So excited! This is what is is all about. We find a lot of
people to teach, but there are very few that are truly prepared and
ready for this beautiful message. They already set a date for their
temple sealing next August, and I told them I would be there! The
Gospel is amazing and I have never been so happy in my whole life. The
Gospel is true happiness. 2 more weeks to share the gospel full-time!
Gotta keep running! I love you all so much. Thank you for the love,
support, and prayers. Have a great week!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo Sister Bigelow

3 new investigators in one day

Dear Family and Friends,

Another great week here in Rupert! It cooled off a lot this week which
was nice. Lots of good things happening!

Our monthly focus for our mission is finding by the spirit. Sometimes
it can be easy to get discouraged because it seems like NOBODY wants
to listen to us. It is very far and few between that we find someone
that is truly prepared. Our meeting have been focused on finding, so
Sister Rhiner and I decided that we were going to increase our faith.
We fasted and prayed, and then went out and tried our hardest. And we
found 3 new investigators in 1 day!! That never ever happens! One of
them is a couple with a 1 year old, and the other a 16 year old boy,
and they are all super prepared! I know that the Lord is answering our
prayers and is aware of our needs. It was truly a miracle, and we are
super excited!

Our investigators are doing really well. I love having the experience
of teaching. It helps me strengthen my testimony and increase my
knowledge of the gospel. The investigators that we have ask a lot of
questions, and it is amazing because when I don't know the answer, the
spirit does and God is there to help us because he loves these people
we are teaching. I think that is the thing that I have learned the
most on my mission, is God's love for each of us individually. When we
have a testimony of that, no matter what happens in life, we can get
through it. The gospel is so amazing!

Unfortunately, we were meeting with a less-active this week, and the
cops showed up, searched her house, and then arrested her right in
front of us. I cried about it, and it really was making me upset and
distraught, so I have just been praying to have peace about it all.
She had been doing so good, and I have a really great relationship
with her, so it was hard for me. But Heavenly Father just spoke peace
to my mind and said that there are consequences for actions and that
she would be okay. Again, God answers prayers and he looks out for his
children!

I got to go on my last exchange ever this week! And I got to be with
Sister Pohahau! It was the best! I went to Burley, and we just worked
hard and laughed and reminisced on old times. I love her so much, and
she continues to be a good example to me. So grateful for the
wonderful companions that I have had. Still loving life and enjoying
my mission so much. Gotta finish strong! I love you all. Thank you so
much for all your love and support. Have a wonderful week!
Love, Sister Bigelow xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Steak on a stick

Dear Family and Friends,
Happy late 4th of July! Hope everyone had a good holiday! Rupert's 4th
of July celebration is CRAZY! Who knew such a small town could throw
such a good party! Haha. It lasts the entire week before the 4th.
There is this historic place in Rupert called "the square." It is
literally a square with a park in the middle and businesses
surrounding it. It is really cute! So the whole week of the 4th,
restaurants and churches set up food booths all around the square,
almost like a fair or something. They have music, and bounce houses,
and all sorts of cool stuff. We spent a lot of the week there trying
to talk to new people and stuffing our faces. Steak on a stick was the
bomb. Haha.

On the 4th, we just spent the day with members. It is just so
unproductive to try and teach people cause everyone is celebrating and
with their families. We got fed all 3 meals that day! #foodbaby. We
were able to go watch the parade with some members and it was fun.
Just BBQs and stuff all day. For the first time, the spirit really
witnessed to me of the gratitude I should have for this free country.
Even though there are a lot of bad things happening right now, I am so
grateful especially for the freedom of religion that we have. I
wouldn't be a missionary here if it wasn't a free country! So many men
and women have given their lives for us, and God has definitely
blessed us to be able to live here. It was a really humbling
experience!

Best part of the week....we set a baptismal date with Brenden!
Whooo!!!! It is awesome because in Sister Rhiner's training we have
been focusing a lot on the baptismal invitation and have been
practicing it a lot together. And then we got the opportunity to
extend one and it was so powerful because we were both prepared and
bold with it. He is getting baptized on August 1st and we are so
excited! It will be my last weekend as a missionary, so I get to go
out with a bang!  He has been getting a lot of backlash from his
family who used to be members. But he said, "I just told them that I
have faith and I know it is true no matter what anyone else says." I
can't even imagine how hard that would be. But he is truly on of God's
elect and he has been so prepared for this. His wife is so cute (she
is already a member) and is already planning the meal for after the
baptism haha. It is an occasion to be celebrated! They came to church
and are loving learning more about the gospel. I love being a
missionary!

The rest of the week was spent doing lots of service! Rupert is having
record breaking heat right now, so it has been fun doing yard-work!
Haha. The amazing thing is, normally I would probably complain and not
want to do it, but I just love serving these people no matter how
sweaty I am! It is so worth it. My patriarchal blessing reminds me
that I need to give of all my talents, time, and ENERGY to building up
the Lord's kingdom and serving those around me. That has never been
more true, and I am grateful for that opportunity.



Sister Rhiner is amazing and I am so lucky to be her companion. She
just hungers for knowledge and has a desire to learn it all and be the
best missionary she can be. And we have a blast together. One night
this week, we couldn't even pray because we were just on the floor
laughing for like 15 minutes haha. Sometimes it is hard to go to bed
because it feels like a sleepover with my best friend! It is the best
when you have a companion that loves the work and loves to have fun.
Life is just good.

We are still working on finding some people to teach! We have been
focusing a lot on our members and committing them to be missionaries.
We have made copies of our name-tags(without our names on them), and
have been giving them to everyone to write their names on as a
reminder that we are all called to help the Lord in this work. And we
have started to see more excitement! Things are wonderful and I am
loving every minute and everyday, no matter what trials come our way.
There is a song that we have been listening too, and it has helped me
a ton! It goes,
"In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things. He knows how to
change the weakness in me. So I will let his love, lift me up. He
believes I can do hard things, if I will trust him, and walk forward
in the strength of the Lord."

I pray that we can all remember these simple truths throughout our
daily lives and hardships we face. He is always there for us. The
Atonement is real and it can truly strengthen us and help us be
better. Thank you for all your love and support! Y'all are the best.
Have a wonderful week. Love you!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox Sister Bigelow