Hey Familia,
Things are going well here. Yesterday we were supposed to have 2 baptisms but they fell through =(. Yesterday we had stake conference and it went well, the only problem we had is that there are so many members here that we ran out of chairs and space in the stake center! They are planning on making 3 stakes here in San Luis so it’s amazing to see how much the work is progressing here.
Also yesterday I found out that I am being moved to a new area. The new area I am going to is called Cardenas, it’s in the state of San Luis Potosi, but it is another two hours from where I am right now, its a tiny, tiny little town. They don’t even have a church building. We will all be meeting in a house, so it should be interesting. There is only about 35 active members. I will now be 5 hours away from Leon, in the farthest area in the mission. I’m super excited! I already know my new companion, he is a great kid named Elder Verdeja. He only has about 4 months in the mission but he is a very great elder.
Also, today I will be sending out a package. I included some gifts, pictures and letters to some of the family so I hope you enjoy. Before sending it I am going to try to burn a cd of all my pictures and send it to you. I hope sending it won’t be too expensive.
So as I was telling you about that dog last week, we have been visiting that family lately and that dog now follows us everywhere! He walks around with us all day, even when we are in appointments he waits for us outside. He usually starts to head home when he gets distracted and we lose him but its really funny, he’s a great dog!
That was really interesting to hear about supercross and especially the Mike Carona case. I started laughing when I read his quote about god. It truly is a miracle that he isn’t going to prison, he should believe in god. I cant believe grandpa will be released when I get home! I hope they wait for me, so he can release me!! I have to run, but expect some pictures of my new area next week, love ya!
Que se cuidan mucho!
El Elder Salazar
1. Do they play the piano or organ in sacrament and primary? (mom)
--------There are very few people here who know how to play the piano here,but in my ward we do have a member who can play. In primary they usually play a CD that has the music on it.
2. Was it weird to hear all your old primary and sacrament songs being sung in Spanish when you first got on your mission?
--------Actually it is! But now Im used to hearing them in spanish, =D.
3. Are the traffic laws enforced as much there as they are here? (mom)
--------Kind of, not really. There aren’t really any laws that are strictly enforced here, but of all the police work I do see going on here, usually it’s traffic enforcement.
4. What is the wierdest thing you have had to eat while in the mission? (Jacob Clark)
--------Tacos de Ojo! We all went out to eat some tacos one time and we all tried Tacos with cow eye. It’s a taco mixed with meat and cow eye, it wasn’t very tasteful. You can still see the pupil of the eye in some tacos.
5. What is the most beneficial thing you learned from Brother Lee's mission prep class? (Jacob Clark; giving a talk on benefits of missionary prep class)
--------Great question. The most useful thing I learned in Bro. Lee´s class is as he says "Find the quickest way to the grove". No matter what the situation, what time or where you are, you can always testify that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ, that he truly was chosen as a prophet in these last days. Sometimes people aren’t interested in the message, or they want to fight over doctrine but if you just testify to them about what happened in the grove they will feel the impact of your testimony, contention will leave and they will feel the spirit and recognize that you are a true representative of Jesus Christ.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Hey mother y padre =D,
My b-day went well, we actually didn't do anything special lol...but it was nice, I just ate myself some cake and put myself to work. It was nice. Last Wednesday I received about 5 cards, 1 from gramma y grampa Salazar, 2 from gramma y grampa Hicken, 1 from aunt Shelly and family and 1 card from the Olsen family in gg6th. I know I really need to get some cards out, but it is very hard here to send mail, the banks won’t mail them for us. I plan on sending a package(s) home next Monday, when I do I promise to write letters to all of the family. I was talking to President Cox on Wednesday and they don’t even write/mail home. The only time they write/mail home is when they send packages.
Everything here is going well. Right now in the mission we have been talking a lot, about sacrificing more, basically going the extra mile. This is the last week of our change. There is a good possibility that Elder Kay or myself will be changed but we won’t know till next Sunday. Yesterday (Sunday) we baptized two daughters of one of my converts, the baptism went really well. I had my first opportunity to confer the holy ghost =D, usually we let the bishop do it but he asked me to do it this time. Yesterday a member gave us a ride to church, we got in the car and started driving and as we were driving I realized a beagle was racing us outside the car! He followed us really far! It turns out the dog belongs to the car owner and whenever they leave home he follows them running, finally when he gets tired or distracted he just heads home. They said sometimes he doesn’t come home for 1-2 days but always comes home. I had fun talking to them about Skippy and sharing all the funny stories, but then I got super trunky thinking about Skip, lol. But things are going good here, I Just got over a really bad cough so things are even better.
Well I gotta run, but I love ya! No estoy tomando el agua entonces no te precoupes!!(Im not drinking the water so dont worry!) =D
PS: Big shoutout to Grammy and Grandpa Hicken, Grandma and Grandpa Salazar, Aunt Shelly and Uncle Leif and family, And the Olsen family from GG6th ward. Thank you for your love, support and money! LOL, but honestly thank you! Love elder Salazar
1. Will President Cox be your mission president the whole time you are on your mission?
--------Yep, I go home in March 2010 and he goes home in July.
2. Your hair looked pretty good in the Christmas tree pic, are you using gel in your hair? Is it hard to get gel in Mexico?
--------Thank you, yes I am. President made a rule that we have to part our hair, I actually don’t mind it. Myself and the zone leaders are always having competitions to see who can get the nicest part. Gel is easy to get here, I use a gel called Monkey Snot. It works really well.
3. Do your American companions like the food there?
--------Yeah, almost all of us do. We have a few things we don’t like but the majority we do like.
4. How do people drive in SLP compared to New York or TJ?
--------They drive ok here, Mexico puts speed bumps EVERYWHERE. So it’s hard to drive fast or crazy because you can wreck your car. New York is definitely crazier.
5. What do you like most about SLP?
--------Downtown is really beautiful, also that we live in a big valley, so the surroundings are beautiful.
My b-day went well, we actually didn't do anything special lol...but it was nice, I just ate myself some cake and put myself to work. It was nice. Last Wednesday I received about 5 cards, 1 from gramma y grampa Salazar, 2 from gramma y grampa Hicken, 1 from aunt Shelly and family and 1 card from the Olsen family in gg6th. I know I really need to get some cards out, but it is very hard here to send mail, the banks won’t mail them for us. I plan on sending a package(s) home next Monday, when I do I promise to write letters to all of the family. I was talking to President Cox on Wednesday and they don’t even write/mail home. The only time they write/mail home is when they send packages.
Everything here is going well. Right now in the mission we have been talking a lot, about sacrificing more, basically going the extra mile. This is the last week of our change. There is a good possibility that Elder Kay or myself will be changed but we won’t know till next Sunday. Yesterday (Sunday) we baptized two daughters of one of my converts, the baptism went really well. I had my first opportunity to confer the holy ghost =D, usually we let the bishop do it but he asked me to do it this time. Yesterday a member gave us a ride to church, we got in the car and started driving and as we were driving I realized a beagle was racing us outside the car! He followed us really far! It turns out the dog belongs to the car owner and whenever they leave home he follows them running, finally when he gets tired or distracted he just heads home. They said sometimes he doesn’t come home for 1-2 days but always comes home. I had fun talking to them about Skippy and sharing all the funny stories, but then I got super trunky thinking about Skip, lol. But things are going good here, I Just got over a really bad cough so things are even better.
Well I gotta run, but I love ya! No estoy tomando el agua entonces no te precoupes!!(Im not drinking the water so dont worry!) =D
PS: Big shoutout to Grammy and Grandpa Hicken, Grandma and Grandpa Salazar, Aunt Shelly and Uncle Leif and family, And the Olsen family from GG6th ward. Thank you for your love, support and money! LOL, but honestly thank you! Love elder Salazar
1. Will President Cox be your mission president the whole time you are on your mission?
--------Yep, I go home in March 2010 and he goes home in July.
2. Your hair looked pretty good in the Christmas tree pic, are you using gel in your hair? Is it hard to get gel in Mexico?
--------Thank you, yes I am. President made a rule that we have to part our hair, I actually don’t mind it. Myself and the zone leaders are always having competitions to see who can get the nicest part. Gel is easy to get here, I use a gel called Monkey Snot. It works really well.
3. Do your American companions like the food there?
--------Yeah, almost all of us do. We have a few things we don’t like but the majority we do like.
4. How do people drive in SLP compared to New York or TJ?
--------They drive ok here, Mexico puts speed bumps EVERYWHERE. So it’s hard to drive fast or crazy because you can wreck your car. New York is definitely crazier.
5. What do you like most about SLP?
--------Downtown is really beautiful, also that we live in a big valley, so the surroundings are beautiful.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Turning 20
Hey mom and dad,
Good to hear from ya. I enjoyed the email, sounds like things are going real well. Thats awesome everyone is doing well and the family is united. There are a TON of disfunctional families here, if they all could find just one hobby that could bring them all together things would be happier here. Thanks for the Supercross update!
Our week went well this week, we brought a family of 4 to church sunday and a girl, so we had 5 in total. If everything goes well this week we should baptize 4. Elder Kay and I have been doing really well, its weird having an american companion but its alot of fun because we both talk about the states. I have had a cough this past week which has made it hard for me to talk, Im losing my voice. Also yesterday morning I was taking a shower and elder hines lit a smoke bomb and threw it in the bathroom, it was funny but didnt really help my cough. Today we went to costco which is on the other side of SLP, but its fun. I love going to costco because they have alot of american food which is hard to find, like MICROWAVABLE CORNDOGS!! Also its fun because there are a TON of gringos(americans) shopping so I feel like im back at home.
Its hard to believe that tomorrow is my bday, its also elder hines´s bday this week, I believe the 10th, so next monday we are buying a piñata to break open. Also, the man we baptized last week bought me a bday cake! Ill put a picture in so you all can check it out.
Well I gotta run but I love you all very much, Im super blessed to be here in mexico, far from home, but have a loving family that supports.
Love ya! ADIOS!
1. Tell us about your new Companion? where does he come from, and what is he like?
--------His name is elder Kay, he is from Alpine Utah. He has 15 months in the mission and is a really good elder. His spanish is ok but he knows how to work really well, hes good with people. In high school he play basketball, polvaulted and ran track. Hes alot of fun.
2. Do you miss Elder Lopez, your last companion (does he have the same name as your companion in Irapauto?), and what area is he going to?
--------I do miss elder lopez but Im not sad because I know Ill see him again soon, we had alot of fun together. He was really really easy to live with. Elder Lopez went to Celaya as a Zone Leader. Celaya is about 55 minutes from Irapuato.
3. How many missionaries are in your new zone. How often (if ever) do you all get together for zone conference? Do some have to travel very far to meet?
--------I dont have a new zone, just a new comp. But in our zone we have about 18 missionaries. We see each other every monday because we have District meetings in the same building. There are Two zones in SLP,we see the other zone only when president comes for zone conferences.
4. Do your companions tease you because you speak with a mexican accent? Do any of the other missionaries speak like that?
--------haha, no they dont really make fun of me because elders who have a good accent usually can speak better. There are a few other american elders I know that have a very good mexican accent. My next goal is to grow a mexican mustache =D
5. How is the winter weather there like?
--------It has been hot and cold, it doesnt get very hot, but it has gotten very very cold. I saw the front of a newspaper about 3 weeks ago that said. "SLP ranks 3rd in coldest parts of mexico". So it has been quite cold. But with a good jacket and some gloves, it doesnt hurt the work.
Good to hear from ya. I enjoyed the email, sounds like things are going real well. Thats awesome everyone is doing well and the family is united. There are a TON of disfunctional families here, if they all could find just one hobby that could bring them all together things would be happier here. Thanks for the Supercross update!
Our week went well this week, we brought a family of 4 to church sunday and a girl, so we had 5 in total. If everything goes well this week we should baptize 4. Elder Kay and I have been doing really well, its weird having an american companion but its alot of fun because we both talk about the states. I have had a cough this past week which has made it hard for me to talk, Im losing my voice. Also yesterday morning I was taking a shower and elder hines lit a smoke bomb and threw it in the bathroom, it was funny but didnt really help my cough. Today we went to costco which is on the other side of SLP, but its fun. I love going to costco because they have alot of american food which is hard to find, like MICROWAVABLE CORNDOGS!! Also its fun because there are a TON of gringos(americans) shopping so I feel like im back at home.
Its hard to believe that tomorrow is my bday, its also elder hines´s bday this week, I believe the 10th, so next monday we are buying a piñata to break open. Also, the man we baptized last week bought me a bday cake! Ill put a picture in so you all can check it out.
Well I gotta run but I love you all very much, Im super blessed to be here in mexico, far from home, but have a loving family that supports.
Love ya! ADIOS!
1. Tell us about your new Companion? where does he come from, and what is he like?
--------His name is elder Kay, he is from Alpine Utah. He has 15 months in the mission and is a really good elder. His spanish is ok but he knows how to work really well, hes good with people. In high school he play basketball, polvaulted and ran track. Hes alot of fun.
2. Do you miss Elder Lopez, your last companion (does he have the same name as your companion in Irapauto?), and what area is he going to?
--------I do miss elder lopez but Im not sad because I know Ill see him again soon, we had alot of fun together. He was really really easy to live with. Elder Lopez went to Celaya as a Zone Leader. Celaya is about 55 minutes from Irapuato.
3. How many missionaries are in your new zone. How often (if ever) do you all get together for zone conference? Do some have to travel very far to meet?
--------I dont have a new zone, just a new comp. But in our zone we have about 18 missionaries. We see each other every monday because we have District meetings in the same building. There are Two zones in SLP,we see the other zone only when president comes for zone conferences.
4. Do your companions tease you because you speak with a mexican accent? Do any of the other missionaries speak like that?
--------haha, no they dont really make fun of me because elders who have a good accent usually can speak better. There are a few other american elders I know that have a very good mexican accent. My next goal is to grow a mexican mustache =D
5. How is the winter weather there like?
--------It has been hot and cold, it doesnt get very hot, but it has gotten very very cold. I saw the front of a newspaper about 3 weeks ago that said. "SLP ranks 3rd in coldest parts of mexico". So it has been quite cold. But with a good jacket and some gloves, it doesnt hurt the work.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Hey dad,
Loved talkin to you guys xmas! I was a little bummed that the phones were kinda crummy the 24th but the 25th made up for it. Im glad everyone enjoyed their xmas, I enjoyed mine alot it was really relaxing, which is actually kind of surprising when you're a 40 hour car ride (or hundreds of miles) from your house on xmas. I'm glad you guys didnt burn the tamales! Our new years went well last night, we spent it on the roof watching all the fireworks go off, as most probably know, mexican fireworks are ALOT more exciting than american =D! A tree down our street actually caught on fire which was very cool, but was quickly put out. To end the week in a very good way, we had a baptism on Friday of a man named Ulisses, everything went really well.
I actually have some surprising news, I have a new companion his name is Elder Kay, hes a really good guy, he has about 15 months in the mission and is from Alpine Utah. Him and Elder Lopez traded areas in the mission, I have no idea why pres changed them. Well I have to run, but I love all of you, and I thank you all for the nice words you all wrote me. Im low on time today so I dont have any pics, but Im going to burn a CD of all my pictures and send it to you with my package that way if I dont send pics you can put some on the blog.
I will now answer your questions.
1. What's the local hangout for kids? (Clint Hicken)
--------A. The street! Also, internet cafe´s. But really, all the kids play in the street.
2. Any PlayStation's or x box? (Clint Hicken)
--------A.Yeah, they also have here Playstation/Xbox Cafes, so the kids go alot there. Heres a funny story...Elder Lopez and I were knocking doors one day and a little kid answered one of the doors I knocked, I asked him If his mom or dad was home He answered: no, they are gone to work. I told the kid "Thats too bad we are giving out free Xboxs!...But we need your mom or dad to sign for it." He then shouted for his mom, thats when Elder Lopez and I kinda ran off, we had a good laugh. The little booger was lying!
3. Have you done practical jokes on your companions? (Ricky Salazar)
--------A.Great question ricardo, we do. One of the most common practical jokes we have been doing lately is spray pepper spray in the bathroom when someone is showering or using the bathroom. I dont know how many people reading this have been pepper-sprayed but I can testify that it is terrible!! You cant see and you cant stop coughing for a good 15 minutes, but it sure is funny.
4. Did the ward or stake have a Christmas program?
--------A. We did, the stake choir came 2 weeks ago and sang christmas carols, they did a really really good job.
5. What did you do for Christmas eve, and Christmas day?
--------A. Xmas eve we actually worked till 8pm, but this day alot of people invited us to eat, so we ate alot of food and played alot of UNO. Xmas day,I talked to my family, and just relaxed. Elder Lopez, Elder Dalton, Elder Hines and I all went to the local mall and walked around. To top it off we ate burger king, went home and played more uno!
Love you all, thanks for everything!
Loved talkin to you guys xmas! I was a little bummed that the phones were kinda crummy the 24th but the 25th made up for it. Im glad everyone enjoyed their xmas, I enjoyed mine alot it was really relaxing, which is actually kind of surprising when you're a 40 hour car ride (or hundreds of miles) from your house on xmas. I'm glad you guys didnt burn the tamales! Our new years went well last night, we spent it on the roof watching all the fireworks go off, as most probably know, mexican fireworks are ALOT more exciting than american =D! A tree down our street actually caught on fire which was very cool, but was quickly put out. To end the week in a very good way, we had a baptism on Friday of a man named Ulisses, everything went really well.
I actually have some surprising news, I have a new companion his name is Elder Kay, hes a really good guy, he has about 15 months in the mission and is from Alpine Utah. Him and Elder Lopez traded areas in the mission, I have no idea why pres changed them. Well I have to run, but I love all of you, and I thank you all for the nice words you all wrote me. Im low on time today so I dont have any pics, but Im going to burn a CD of all my pictures and send it to you with my package that way if I dont send pics you can put some on the blog.
I will now answer your questions.
1. What's the local hangout for kids? (Clint Hicken)
--------A. The street! Also, internet cafe´s. But really, all the kids play in the street.
2. Any PlayStation's or x box? (Clint Hicken)
--------A.Yeah, they also have here Playstation/Xbox Cafes, so the kids go alot there. Heres a funny story...Elder Lopez and I were knocking doors one day and a little kid answered one of the doors I knocked, I asked him If his mom or dad was home He answered: no, they are gone to work. I told the kid "Thats too bad we are giving out free Xboxs!...But we need your mom or dad to sign for it." He then shouted for his mom, thats when Elder Lopez and I kinda ran off, we had a good laugh. The little booger was lying!
3. Have you done practical jokes on your companions? (Ricky Salazar)
--------A.Great question ricardo, we do. One of the most common practical jokes we have been doing lately is spray pepper spray in the bathroom when someone is showering or using the bathroom. I dont know how many people reading this have been pepper-sprayed but I can testify that it is terrible!! You cant see and you cant stop coughing for a good 15 minutes, but it sure is funny.
4. Did the ward or stake have a Christmas program?
--------A. We did, the stake choir came 2 weeks ago and sang christmas carols, they did a really really good job.
5. What did you do for Christmas eve, and Christmas day?
--------A. Xmas eve we actually worked till 8pm, but this day alot of people invited us to eat, so we ate alot of food and played alot of UNO. Xmas day,I talked to my family, and just relaxed. Elder Lopez, Elder Dalton, Elder Hines and I all went to the local mall and walked around. To top it off we ate burger king, went home and played more uno!
Love you all, thanks for everything!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Hey dad,
I gotta keep this one short and sweet because president only wants us to be on the internet 10 minutes today, but I got your email. I'm going to see if I can talk to the family (you all) christmas eve but its hard here because mexican people celebrate christmas on christmas eve, a lot of the members aren't going to be home or they will be busy so its hard for me to find a tranquilo place with a telephone, if I do find aything out I will call you with a calling card. Here's the information for Xmas day...Like I told mom Mexico has a national calling code, Im almost positive its 020 (actually 52) but if you could please find out that would be great... here's the info 020-(444)-167-1683. 020-(444)-167-1683 I'll be expecting your call at 12pm here in SLP time which should be 10am your time(OC), if You guys dont call me by 12:30 I will call moms cell phone or yours at 12:35 to see what's going on. I cant wait to talk to you guys! I have so much to tell you, a lot of details, and like I said, if I find a way to call the house xmas eve between 7 and 8 I will do it, but If I dont call, just call me xmas day.
I love and miss you guys, right now its hard for me to type because SLP is cold and I can't feel my fingers! I love and miss you, I hope to talk to you all soon.
Love benj!
I gotta keep this one short and sweet because president only wants us to be on the internet 10 minutes today, but I got your email. I'm going to see if I can talk to the family (you all) christmas eve but its hard here because mexican people celebrate christmas on christmas eve, a lot of the members aren't going to be home or they will be busy so its hard for me to find a tranquilo place with a telephone, if I do find aything out I will call you with a calling card. Here's the information for Xmas day...Like I told mom Mexico has a national calling code, Im almost positive its 020 (actually 52) but if you could please find out that would be great... here's the info 020-(444)-167-1683. 020-(444)-167-1683 I'll be expecting your call at 12pm here in SLP time which should be 10am your time(OC), if You guys dont call me by 12:30 I will call moms cell phone or yours at 12:35 to see what's going on. I cant wait to talk to you guys! I have so much to tell you, a lot of details, and like I said, if I find a way to call the house xmas eve between 7 and 8 I will do it, but If I dont call, just call me xmas day.
I love and miss you guys, right now its hard for me to type because SLP is cold and I can't feel my fingers! I love and miss you, I hope to talk to you all soon.
Love benj!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Hey Mom and Dad,The weather here has been nice and sunny! Friday was day of the virgin (Día de La Virgen de Guadalupe) here and the whole city was one huge party, everyone was drinking and praying to the Virgin Mary, so it made Friday a little difficult for us to work but it was quite an experience. Things are going well here in the mission, I’m enjoying the experiences and time seems to be flying by, I’ll be talking to you guys really soon by telephone, I still don’t know the details on how or were but I’m sure they will tell us.
I saw the pics dad sent me and the video, from the pictures and the video it looks like the party was HUGE! It looks like it was really fun though. I’m super excited for Nate and Jen. It looks like Nathans party went really, really well. That’s awesome that Jen said yes. I watched the video and everything, Jen looks like she was in total shock! I was thinking of Nathan Friday night, I told my companion that Nate was going to propose and he asked me "to Erica?" I thought that was pretty funny.
Today for our p-day we are heading out to buy a xmas tree for the house, they are super cheap about 200 pesos(20$) so we are all putting in 50 pesos. We had our zone conference with president, his ward back home sent us (missionaries) a bunch of donated ties, so president gave us a little booklet with pictures of every missionary in the mission and a tie, it was pretty nice. We all ate pizza in the conference.
Its funny you mention the holidays, reality hasn’t even hit me yet that I have been away from home 9 months and I won’t be home for Christmas, Lol. As for the Christmas call, I will definitely have more info about where and when next week so you will be informed. Well, I gotta run, we are heading out to buy our xmas tree! whooooo!!!!
Love benj
I have to run but I will now answer your questions...
1. Benj, Do you miss riding your dirt bike? Brrrp BBrrp (Chris Holmes)
--------Great question Chris, I do!! I sometimes find my self walking faster than my companion and cutting in front of him while making the sound Brrppp!! and he just laughs.
2. What do you miss most about being away from home, besides Sasha? (Clint Hicken)
--------Besides Sasha, I would say a Washer and a Dryer. I was explaining to my companion that a Clothes dryer is a miracle. You put your clothes in wet and wrinkled and they come out dry, wrinkless and they smell great. Washing and drying clothes here has been a real headace here, we have to do almost all our cleaning by hand. There are some places here where you can pay to have them wash and dry your clothes but it’s real expensive and of course we cant take our garments there.
3. Are there any tourist attractions in your new city? What kind of amusement and entertainment is there? (Ricky Salazar)
--------I still don’t know too much about downtown SLP, but I know they have a live Theatre where they act out Mexican history. There is a casino here, and some museums. SLP is actually really big, it’s comparable to Leon in size. Today we are heading downtown so I will try to snap some photos and find out what’s cool down here.
4. What's your favorite authentic Mexican dish/food so far? (Ricky Salazar)
--------My favorite thing to eat here I would say would be the good ol` carnitas tacos. I also really like some of the fish they make here, called Mojarra and they fry it but its different from what I remember in CA. Also they have a style of Quesadillas here called "Gringas" it is a quesadilla but with fruits, chillis and meat inside, they are really, really good.
5. Do your American companions and President Cox speak the language well?
--------As for American comps, some do and some don’t. I would say there are more Americans that speak bad Spanish than good. As for Pres. he speaks really well, he served his mission in Peru and he really has the language down. I have also heard the area 70`s speak Spanish (both of them are American) and they sound like they have been speaking Spanish their whole lives, they speak really well.
Thanks for the questions!
Editors Note: Please take the time to wish Benjamin a Merry Christmas on the comments page.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
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.
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.
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