My goal for this last week is "leave it all on the court." I want to
work as hard as I can until the moment I leave. I will still say
goodbyes, but that won't be the focus. My focus is and will be the
work, and I want to be remembered by how I worked rather than
something else.

Some great news for this week is that the ENTIRE R family
finally has a date for baptism. Their goal is the 24th of May. I am so
happy that they are really figuring it out. There are still going to
be a couple more bumps in the road but all will come along if they
exercise their faith. Even though I won't be here for the preparations
right up to their baptisms, I will hopefully be able to come back and
see their smiling faces when they break out of the water. That will be
cool.

Thinking about the ways one can gain a testimony of things; this
watching of the fruits grow in others has strengthened me greatly. I
see people become their true selves all the time when they more fully
embrace the gospel. I see it in myself when I apply and live gospel
principles. I have been guided to do what is right, work righteously,
walk humbly and judge correctly. For these examples I believe in this
church and in this gospel, and my knowledge comes slowly. As I
specifically ponder study and pray, my knowledge comes slowly, but
surely.

Recently I have been feeling a welling up of focus and desire within
me to truly be an excellent missionary in every way. A drive for
excellence is something that I sometimes waver in. It is also
something, that when I have it I never want to lose. I am so grateful
for the things that are going on right now that are helping me become
great. I never want to be JUST good; I want to be great, truly
tremendous. I want to be like that in everything I do, not just as a
missionary, though right now that is surely the most important. I am
still trying to figure that out though...I'm a work in progress I'll
let you know when I'm done!

Mother's Day. I love you a lot! I have planned ahead and everything
and am hoping things come together so I can finally send you something
on time for once. If I don't though, please don't hold it against me.
The whole skyping thing has not been mentioned yet by anyone so I
don't know what the game plan is for that. As soon as I know I will
let you know. It should be similar to Christmas, but this time I will
have my own skype account. So most things for that are still TBD.

Cool things
.i am getting noticeably better at basketball. AKA the shoes worked!!
.i can really actually speak Spanish now. Grandma really has to talk
to me hard core.
.i have 68 cents in my mission bank account
.i have absolutely no clue where I am going to go in my next transfer
nor who will be my companion.
.often times Hispanics try and fool you with hot dogs as real meat
.i love my Jesus calendar that I got for Christmas, I also use the
ironman spatula bout every morning
.i am STOKED to get a gym at the next apartment I go to. Not having
one has been rough

Alright, I am sorry I am a bad emailer and you all are so good. I love
you lots! Send me a couple questions next time and I will answer them.

Last last thing I promise. do you have kneeling regular family prayer?
Being who I am now and as I look back I wish I would have had that
opportunity and habit. The extra meaning kneeling prayer has taken on
for me has impacted me a lot, especially with those I deeply care
about. I like it especially when you pass the prayer from one to
another if you are doing it in a group. If you are not, will you start
now before Julia gets too old to start the habit? In Oli's words
💗💗COMMIT TO DO IT AND DO IT 💗💗 a common problem I have seen is
finding a time to do it. The best solution I have seen is choosing a
time, say 8:30 PM, where most people should always be home and then
make sure everyone always tries to be home at that time. If not
everyone is there, those at home can do it. Overachievers can
conference call in. That is cool

For real though-- LOVE YOU

Elder Jonny Bigelow🐔🐰🐔🐰🐔🐻

Easter

Well it sounds like much is going on, like a lot. I guess that is often how
it is. People end their hibernation stage and begin to to do stuff again.
This week has been a week of changes for me as well. Among a number of
things one of my companions left to go fill a spot of an elder who was sent
to the hospital for heart problem and will be released this week and going
home. As with everything, that has a lot of ups and downs. We miss him, but
it is easier to function as only two. The crazy thing is I leave this area
in a week and a half to begin a new adventure in a new area. I am kind of
winding down here in Bella Vista. It is not that I am working any less hard
or that I don't love it, but it feels like it is time for some new blood in
the area. Also, as always I am feeling like some change. It seems I get more and
more anxious for that to happen

Recently I have really put a lot of time into building my knowledge of the
doctrine and of scriptures related to those basic beliefs I want to root
myself in. I really want to just have a strong foundation of testimony for
my life. The more teaching situations I am in and the more people I see who
have fallen away, the more I want to have a strong foundation of the gospel
to rely on throughout my life.

We have recently been teaching the R. family about the importance of
marriage connected with the law of chastity. They have everything else in
line to be baptized on the 24th of May, they just have to get married! We
will work with them to achieve that and then baptism will be next in line.

We did have a great time in dc this past week but unfortunately all the
cherry blossoms were dead and gone. We did see a couple cool things and had
a good walk around the mall.

I am loving my mission still and very excited to see what can happen on the
downhill run.


Love you all lots,

EJAB

Going to DC for the cherry blossoms

This week we are actually going to D.C. Finally. It is a lot harder to get things down quickly when you wave three people trying to make decisions together. But, we are on our way right now. We stopped at Mickey dee's to access the wi-fi.

This week has been a week of clarity for me. There have been many missionary life ups and downs: we had a tremendous week as a district inviting to baptism boldly and helping investigators receive baptismal dates, but somehow we did an absolutely miserable job in working with members. Go figure.

My clarity has come from the vision I have for the next year of my mission. I know who I want to be and why I want to be that way. I have many visions, goals and plans in the works to accomplish those things and I am excited to accomplish them. I know much better now how to analyze and help my district and my companions and we are already seeing great results. It is super duper official now. I definitely have less than a year left to work out here on my mission. That in part I think is where my clarity comes from. It isn't quite "last minute panic" like you mentioned in a quote that motivates creativity or something like that. I do, however, really comprehend now how fast it goes. I have been working hard for all of my mission, but if can work harder. Meaning, I have always worked, and been busy, but I can do harder things more of the time. That is what really stimulates my growth spiritually and mentally. I am excited to conquer many difficult things, and learn from those. I am excited to continue that when I get home.

My maxim this week is a spin of a quote my mission president shared with me: I will conquer myself, the mountain will come.

My goal: have 2 complete(mom, dad, children) families at church among others

I don't have oodles of time today because of this whole D.C. Business but I love you all, lots. Enjoy your spring! I will send some d.c. Pictures next week. They should be good.

Love/

//EJB

Semana 51 . . . I think

So I am pretty sure next week I will have been a missionary for a
years time, or the week after that. That in itself is kind of crazy.

Other crazy thing, conference was dope. It is amazing how the more I
learn the more interesting, exciting and enlightening conference and
other opportunities like that become. I guess really it is that way
with anything. If you go into something that you have studied up on,
and already broadened your horizons, you can even further be taught
and expanded. That all goes hand in hand with something elder
Nelson said. That, "truth is inseparable." I love that. I love knowing
that everything I do and learn and love that is good is of God. It
makes me so much more excited to live my live, one that is
intertwined. Another one of my favorite talks was that of D. Todd
Cristofferson. Him talking about Christ and his resurrection was so
impressive and important to me. One of the best things was the
absolute feeling of calm and peace in the chapel where we were
watching. I came away from that being refreshed, and knowing, that
Christ is my savior, that he lives and through him I can figure stuff
out. I loved his powerful words and testimony. Another GREAT thing
about conference was that the Rocabado family (investigators) watched
both Sunday sessions and LOVED them. They got sick randomly on Sunday
morning and said they couldn't come so we were bummed about that but
then they asked, hey, didn't you say we could watch it online? I said
yes! Here is the URL... And then we hoped and prayed. We went back and
double checked with them after texting a little throughout the day.
Aleda said her favorite was Uchtdorf about gratitude and Jesus loved
Monsons about love and charity.  THEY WATCHED IT. We have been
working really hard with them to try and help them find a date to get
baptized. They just have a few obstacles left, but they are slowly but
surely coming along.

Today it is raining. We did not go to D.C. We are going next week, the
14th. Will that still be good? We tried to switch our p day but we
have too much going on, so we are going next Monday.

I will send home some cherry blossoms.

I am eating some red pepper habeñero salsa on blue corn chips right
now with some pomegranate açai naked juice. It is a good combo.

My maxim this week: show charity to all
A goal: find at least the 1 person God has prepared for me today, everyday

Hey, do you guys study preach my gospel as a family? You should if you
don't. We are doing that right now with a lot of families in our ward
on a commission from Bishop Magleby AND it works wonders. Last night
we "practice studied" with a family (all children under ten) the
apostasy and next week they are going to teach us the next principle
in the restoration lesson section. As the little boy Elvis says, "how
Joseph smith saved the day." Another great FHE idea. Maybe you could
trade of teaching principles with a tight family...like...the..
Jackson's! Or Davis's. Some thing like that. Do it!!

I love you lots and lots!

Ps did you get the package I sent? I got yours, it was amazing! Thank
you so much. I hope you liked the present mom, I am sorry it was so
late

Love/

//EJB