Hey ma!
Good to hear from you. Things here have been well. We are having lots of success so the mission is really good right now. Sounds like Mormal (Mormon Formal) went well. I bet everyone looked great, that was a really fun experience I was glad I was able to go.
I really enjoyed what you said about primary, I too will not forget that experience, or this experience I am having, being in such a small branch.
I too am starting to get a little worried about the economy, Elder Krebs tells me that it’s pretty bad, he just came from the US a week ago so I have been asking him a ton of questions.
Anyways, sorry I have to keep this short but I love and miss you. I really enjoyed the experience to baptize in a river. All is well, All is well!
Con amor, Elder Salazar
Hey pop,
This week has gone well. We have traveled a ton this past week. About 10 hours in total. My new companion is named Elder Krebs; he is from West Jordan, Utah. fresh and green from the MTC.
He’s a really good guy with a desire to learn.
It was pretty funny when I first met him I didn’t speak a single word of English to him and I told him that I was Mexican. I held out from speaking English the entire 3 hour bus ride from SLP to Cardenas and he didn’t understand a single word I spoke to him. Finally when we got home to Cardenas I admitted that I wasn’t Mexican, he made a really funny face when I spoke English and was pretty surprised, although he tells me that "he already knew".
This week went well; we had 1 baptism of a 10 year old kid named Elio, that went ok. I'll explain... as some of you know we don’t have a church building here. We meet on the 3rd floor of a Pharmacy. Also, we don’t have a real baptism font, we have a big portable structure with a tarp that we use as a font. Lately we have been using Zip-ties to hold the tarp to the structure. In the last baptism we encountered a problem. Just as Elio was about to get into the baptism font, the zip-ties started breaking 1 by 1 due to the weight of the water, so we had to hurry! As Elio got in he started to get scared of the water, so he got baptized really fast. As he went down into the water, his foot came up out of the water thus making the baptism invalid. He would have to go down again. Also, as he came up, water had gotten in his nose and it wasn’t a very enjoyable experience. Elio was convinced that he would not go under water a 2nd time. So we immediately started negotiating with Elio, telling him this time it would be better etc etc. We FINALLY convinced him to do it a 2nd time, only this time he sat him self down I held his hands, and we basically had to shove him under the water. I must admit that this was one of the craziest baptisms I have seen/experienced in my entire mission.
This week should go a little better, if all goes well we should baptize 4 this weekend, we might have the opportunity to do it in a river again.
Its fun being a trainer and a little stressful, I have to do EVERYTHING because my companion doesn’t speak a single word of Spanish. I teach ALL the lessons, make ALL the contacts and do everything. Yet it's fun helping him out, seeing him suffer from the hot food and the language(just a little bit) =D and seeing him progress, everyday he picks up a little here and a little there.
Yesterday we received a really awesome announcement in church. One of the members of the SLP High Council came and visited the branch, he first started by thanking all of the elders who have been here in Cardenas for the work they’ve done and then announced that the Stake of SLP had submitted a petition for a church building here in Cardenas and they had received a reply from Salt Lake. He then announced that Salt Lake had replied in the positive and said that in 2010 the church will begin construction of a church building here in Cardenas!! Everyone here is surprised and really, really excited/happy. So we have reached our goal, to have a church building here! Now we have to maintain all of our progress so the members will get their building here. It feels good, I feel like a part of the history of the church here in Cardenas.
Anyways, gotta run, But I’m lovin and missin you all. Whoo hooo, 1 year mark!!!
Love, elder Salazar
Shout outs to Grammy and Grandpa Hicken, and Grandma and Grandpa Salazar for their Letters!!
1. Elder Ben, at one 1 yr in my mission it was a ritual to burn a white shirt. At 2 years you burn your suit. What did you do for your 1 yr anniversary? - Clint
------Nice! That’s actually a pretty popular tradition here in the Mexico Leon mission. A lot of elder’s burn shirts or ties. As for me, I need my shirts and ties. But I’m going to ask one of the families here If they will help me bake a confetti cake(like back home!) or some brownies, that’s what I did with my trainer in the mission when he reached the 1 year mark, it was a lot of fun so I think I will do the same.
2. What are some of your favorite sights or places to visit in the areas you have served?
------I really enjoy going downtown, or here in Cardenas I like going up in the hills to see the pueblo. It’s really beautiful.
3. Is there law enforcement or medical help in Cardenas?
------ Yeah, the Red Cross is here in Cardenas and they run all the medical stuff here. As for law enforcement, they do have law enforcement here, but really they don’t enforce anything.
4. Is there more than one school in Cardenas?
------ There are a few elementarys, Jr.Highs, 1 high school, and 1 junior college (but very very small).
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3 comments:
Ben, I'm so glad to hear that they will be constructing a building in your area. Carollyn came home from Primary and told me all about you having church above a store (I'm sure it was your mom who told them about it). She was really taken back that there was no building there. We talked about how you were helping to grow the church in that area and that someday there should be a church building there. She will be so pleased to here that it is coming soon. Looks as if things are going good there...congrats on the 1 year mark.
Love,
Sister Nickell
WOW, one year, congradulations. How exciting for you that you have been instrumental in getting a church built there. It reminided me of a TV show where at the end you hear a little kid's voice saying "I made that". You will definitely have to return when the church is built and see it. It sounds like your faith is stronger then ever, good for you. I can't wait to hear about your adventures. Take care of yourself. Love, Titi.
Hola Benjamon,
I cant believe a year has gone by already. You are right, time is passing quickly.As usual, I see you are still doing well there. Judging by your story of passing yourself off as a native only reenforces what I think. You could probally convince the locals your a local. Well we are getting ready to go to a stake conference on Sunday to hear Lori give he testomony. She is pretty nervous about it. There was an artical in the newspaper about the conference with a pic of your grandparnts, It told of a nationally known speaker of the LDS who will also speak. So, she is eve more nervous. I am sure she will do fine. I pray for you, please be carefull. Before you know it we will be having these conversations face to face. Love you, Tony C
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