Hey dad,

This week went well, although to start off, we had kind of another scary experience, I don’t like to tell you these kind of stories but I figure you would rather know than not know… On Tuesday we were checking a referral a member had given us the Sunday before. Elder Verdeja and I knocked the door and a lady came out to the street to talk to us. As we were talking to the lady, a man inside the house shouted something. We couldn’t see him nor did we understand what he said. The man then walked outside the house and to the backyard. We were still talking to the lady when the man returned only this time he came back holding a machete. He advanced towards us telling us it was time for us to leave. Elder Verdeja and I immediately started walking away, only I didn’t turn my back to him I just started walking away backwards because I wanted to keep him in full sight. Elder Verdeja and I then went to a members house to rest and talk. We don’t know why, or understand the reason for the aggressiveness of this guy. We posed no threat to him, nor did we say anything to offend him or his wife. It makes me very angry that people like him exist, also that his neighbors were outside, and instead of helping us, they now make fun of us, especially the little kids. They think it’s funny that we got ran out with a machete. So this week I have been trying to control a lot of anger.

3 of our 5 programmed baptisms fell through but we still baptized 2 people this week. A very nice lady and her grandson, the baptism went well. Baptisms here are a TON of work.

This is the last week of the change, so next Monday I will probably know who my new companion is and where Elder Verdeja will be going. It’s very probable that Elder Verdeja is going to the offices to work as a secretary. Anyways, I am excited because I absolutely love Cardenas; it is my favorite area thus far in the mission. Everything is good here, we are good in health and spirits. We are just trying to baptize like crazy.

Gotta go! Love y’all!

Elder SalazarghhhhH!!!


1. What sort of hand crafted items do people make in Cardenas?
------ I actually haven’t seen too many hand made things but I am always on the lookout, a lot of people make their own brooms here, eh...not too interesting. Lol.

2. How many active members are there in your branch? Are there many families in your branch?
------ We have about 4 really active families here, which is nice. As for active members we usually have between 30 and 60 in the church on Sundays, yesterday we had 35 people in church but two Sundays ago we had 57. The stake president just called and told us that if we can maintain a 60 person assistance for 3 months, he will petition the church headquarters for a chapel here, so everyone is very excited.

3. Tell us about the people you have met in Cardenas.
------ We meet a lot of people here in Cardenas. A lot of people are born and raised here in Cardenas and many are from other little towns close to here. They are good people, a lot different from people in downtown SLP or Irapuato. The people here are a lot more relaxed and open to talk about religion, even if the person is not from the same religion as them. The people here are from every type of religion you can think of, we meet people who are just normal Christians, Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and Jehovah Witnesses. It makes it interesting.

4. What do you do on p-day in Cardenas, since there are no other Elders close to you?
------ Basically nothing because there is nothing to do here, we usually wake up, study scriptures, eat something, write emails, then we take a walk through the market and go home. Not very much to do here, especially because we aren’t in downtown SLP with the rest of the zone we don’t attend district meetings so we have even more time here. I like it because our P-days here are really, really laid back, where as in other areas we are literally running to get everything done we need to get done.

5. Cousin Leah wants to know how your soccer skills are? She's on the Rancho Varsity soccer team, and ready to take you on when you get back!!
------ I’m on the Cardenas LDS Missionary team!! We are ready when you're ready. My soccer skills are greatly improved!! It’s impossible to live in Mexico and not be good at soccer =D!