Hey Mom, and Dad,

It’s really good to hear from ya this week.That’s too bad about Elder Wirthlin, an elder called us the other day and told us he had heard Elder Wirthlin died but I didn’t know for sure till I had read your email,

Things are going well here, we baptized two people last week and the baptisms went really well. Sunday was the last day of our transfer and President wants Elder Lopez and I to stay another change here, so that means another 6 weeks here, which includes Christmas and my b-day. But I’m happy, i’m enjoying SLP and Elder Lopez, we get along great, and we are working hard and we are teaching lots of people right now. Elder Ditto is heading to Leon tomorrow, so he is very excited.

In the mission we didn’t do anything special for Thanksgiving but in our ward we have a return missionary who served in Illinois and speaks english really well. She experience thanksgiving for the first time and loved it, so for Thanksgiving she invited us to her house to celebrate it. She didn’t make turkey but she had really nice chicken. She made mashed potatoes (which I haven’t had since the MTC), gravy, corn, green beans. It was really special for me at least because I saw the hard work she had put into it, to make it feel American and I really thanked her. Her mom ate with us and was telling me how boring American food is because there is nothing spicey, I thought she was pretty funny.

I don’t think I told you but the last week of November our rent contract ended and the owners don’t want to renew the contract with us, so we had to find a new house. We found another house a little bit bigger which is nice and today we moved everything into it, so today is a little bit hectic, but things are going well here. The people are getting more and more Catholic as Christmas gets closer. The 12th is day of the virgin and people here go really crazy. Well I gotta run because we gotta get back to the house and get ready, but I love and miss you guys like crazy. I got the other little package you guys sent. I laughed at Nathans picture, the elders say it looks like me, lol.

Love ya!

1. Are there any Americans in your ward/area?

------- No, I havent spoken with any americans(other than my companions) since I left irapuato.

2. Do many Mexicans speak English where you are now?

-------- There is one I know of, she is really nice her name is Katherina, she served a mission in Illinois and returned about 6 months ago, she speaks very well.

3. What kind of industry or work is there in your area?

-------- In my area there is a big building called "El Rastro". Its where they kill cows and pigs all day, everyday. Im not sure how they kill them, but it smells really really bad and sometimes we hear the pigs`final cry just before they die. There is a huge meat market in our area so I would say that is the big industry here. Everytime my comp and I walk by I tell him "Elder lets ask for a tour! I wanna see!" we see hundreds of cows and pigs heading in by the truckload and we know they arent coming out alive.

4. How may wards are in the stake you are in? What is the stake called?

--------In my stake there are 8 wards, and our stake is called Benito Juarez Stake. We cover one half of San Luis Potosi, there is another stake in the other half but Im not sure how many wards are there.

5. Are people there decorating for Christmas? (moms question)

--------YES, everyone has trees and lights, since they obviously dont celebrate Thanksgiving here people go from halloween straight to christmas, from what I have seen, Mexicans loooove Christmas.