Yall Have a Happy New Years

Elder Mattei with Aaron

The best present we could have received this Christmas was getting to speak with Greg for a while! He sounded great and seems to be doing so well! It was a bittersweet experience, but we're so glad he's happy and grateful for his service and example to his friends and family.






Things are going better with my companion though. He is just different. This week was pretty good though.
Elder Mattei had mentioned in a letter home as well as during our phone conversation that there were some issues with his latest companion. He's learning patience and endurance which is what his mission president counseled. We also counseled him to look for the positive in his companion. I marveled at the maturity and wisdom that Greg demonstrated during our conversation as he acknowledged the fact that all companions will present certain challenges and how he is learning to focus on the good. Hello! Where's my son, Gregory???? This surely wasn't him telling me to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative?!

I got the book you sent and I enjoyed reading it. Many thanks to those of you who contributed short notes of encouragement to Greg!!!


Those socks I mentioned are called wolverine socks. These were a gift from the mission president and his wife. They are apparently VERY warm which is a must for a missionary in Idaho these days! President and Sister Yardley also called him on his birthday and sang Happy Birthday to him. He thought that was so nice. The Garcias, a family that he and his companion are working with, also threw him a party, plus several missionaries called him and some sent him gifts. Plus he said he was Very Surprised by the birthday cake I sent. So despite the challenges with his comp, I hope it all made for a nice day.


It stinks that my memory card fell out. I had a lot of pictures on there, even some from my first transfer. Its aggrivating but its ok. Yes, the memory card that we've been waiting on for weeks now is gone. The envelope arrived with a huge tear. I was just sick about all those pictures lost forever. So I'm sending preaddressed, stamped, padded envelopes to him now so that we don't have a repeat of this misfortune.




Aaron came to church and he said he really liked it. He said he would like to be baptized but it will be sometime before he can be baptized. He is a pretty big guy and pretty ripped. So it's really exciting that will happen hopefully sometime soon. This is apparently a new investigator that they're teaching.


It's good to hear that Todd is doing good in hockey. He needs to try and do better in school though. On Christmas, Elder Mattei also told Todd to pull up his grades. Again who is this person? He cares about his little brother's grades. . . WHO KNEW?


Elder Mattei also mentioned that one of the missionaries in his zone is preparing to become a trainer. He's getting a greenie (new missionary) next week. He's so hopeful it's another young missionary from O'fallon, MO! We're keeping our fingers crossed! (One of our close friends' son, Elder Trevor Gonthier is at the MTC right now, and will be going to Idaho on Tuesday, next week. I told Trevor several times before he left to pass my hugs onto Greg ~ I have a feeling he'll be seeing him pretty soon, even if they don't end up in the same zone.)


We are trying to stay busy teaching and stuff. We get the day off on New Years which is nice. LSU plays on New Years. Hopefully they will win.


I don't have a whole lot to say since I talked to yall on Christmas. Not a whole lot has happened since then, Not a whole lot, except . . .


I can't believe the Saints lost. I hope that they start playing a lot better than what they have been recently. I don't know what's up with the Saints. I hope they start playing better soon. They have no excuse losing to Tampa Bay.


Next week I will hopefully have some more stuff to say. But it was nice talkin to yall on the phone. Yall have a Happy New Years!


LoveElder Mattei

Happy Birthday Greg!

Here is an email I received from a sweet sister in Nampa, ID who had offered to help in surprising Elder Mattei on his birthday. I met her through a Missionary Mom's email group.

Gracie,
My husband and I had a lot of fun taking the cake to your son !! I got their number from another Missionary. When I called it, your son answered. My goal of calling was to make sure they were going to be at their home. So I had planned what I was going to say and of course messed up my words once your son answered the phone (I panicked a little)...
I said I needed to bring someone or something over to your companion today.
And of course he sounded curious and confused because of my stumbling over my words..
I asked what their schedule was like, and he said they had some paperwork to fill out and would be gone for a while.
He also said they had a party at 5pm.
After a few more words, by now I had him really confused because he said "Let me give the phone to my companion, he may know what you are talking about.."
So his companion gets on with a strong accent, and my first thought was, 'oh crap, is he going to be able to understand me!!'
So I said something like, "Is Elder Mattei right near you because this is a surprise for him, I talked with his mom, I need to bring a surprise over to him because it it his birthday tomorrow; make sure when you talk he does not get what we are talking about so we can keep it a surprise; I want to bring it by while you are at your home; what is your scedule like"
(Keep in mind that this whole time I am talking slow and hoping he can understand me and repeating several times about Elder Mattei not finding out anything)
So I told his companion, we would be there at 4:30. He said that would be fine.
We went and got the cake (which looked great!)
We were running behind, so I called his comp and said we on our way and he said they would wait until we got there.
His comp answered the door beaming from ear to ear, by himself. He was very nice and he is from France.
He knew who we were, I asked where Elder Mattei was and he said "I told him to stay upstairs"
He saw we had a cake and called your son down.
We walked in and your son was confused, of course
I told him I had emailed you thru a Missionary Moms email group we are both a part of, and offered to help with a cake or something.
He acted shy and not quite sure what to do..
He said he was very surprised, and I told him that you had told me you had already sent him birthday things.
So he started to get a little red and said several times he was surprised and I told him that was the way it was suppose to be.
Your son is a very sweet young man!!
We took a few pictures of him as you can see.
He thanked us, we talked about different Elders we all knew.
Your son did say that he needs to send you his SD card.
I told him that would be an awesome gift for Christmas, especially since I am a RM's mom and I know what it was like. haha
I also said that I would be checking back with him in a couple of days to make sure he sends it to you!
It was so fun to do that! And yes, I did get your check, thanks!
If there is anything else you need, PLEASE do not hesitate to let us know!
We did tell them if they come our way to look us up and I spelled our last name and told them where we live.
His comp deserves some definite Kudos for helping !!

Only a Little Bit

The Garcia Family

Well, this week we got a short email that answered some of our questions. So here's what we've found out ... We were happy to hear that Elder Mattei had received his package that contained his birthday gift as well as 12 Christmas presents for the 12 Days of Christmas. However we don't know if he is opening each gift on a different day or if he opened them all up at once. We're hoping he chose to open them one at a time, so that he has something to open Christmas morning.

He indicated that he would soon be writing Thank you notes to those of you who have sent gifts the past few weeks. He also said that he would soon be mailing the memory card to us, so hopefully more pictures and maybe even a video will be up soon. I'm really looking forward to seeing pictures of him, not to mention we supposedly trade memory cards, so I've been waiting on a card for my camera for 3 weeks now. :)

He likes Caldwell. It appears that he is living with a rather young family: 3 children, kindergarten age and younger, two of them named Lily and Nathan. We figured that they were living in a separate part of the home, but he said no their room is right next to the kids'. We found that rather interesting and very different from what we're used to here in St. Louis.

It looks like he travels by car, mostly. He and his companion are primarily working with less actives. (Those are members of the Church who seldom attend Church services or meetings.) He specifically mentioned the Garcia family whom he really likes,but I am not sure if they're members or investigators. No baptisms are pending at this time. And lastly, their meal situation is greatly improved. He said he's getting a lot more meals in Caldwell! He promises to write much more next week. We just can't wait to talk to him Christmas Day!!!

In Caldwell Now

Well about the phone call, I can probably call from the Mission phone considering its sprint and it won't cost either of us money. I would prefer to call maybe around night time since mom may be working. Or maybe during the afternoon sometime. My companion will have to talk to his parents during the morning since his family is all in France. Things here have been going well just a bit stressful because my companion works really really hard and it gets to the point where it stresses me out because I need a break. I think he is a good guy and a great missionary but he works way too hard. It's kinda like he is a robot. All he wants to do is teach teach teach and it's hard for me to talk to him about anything that isn't related to church. I have to have a lot of patience because I have trouble understanding him sometimes. He is also the worst driver ever. Worse than Lindsay lol. A timely comment: Within 30 minutes of Greg sending this email, Lindsay and Mark were in a car accident. Thankfully neither of them was hurt, but Greg's old Camry was totaled. OOPS! He wouldn't pass a drivers test I don't think. He has an international license but I let him drive because I want him to learn. He has trouble doing just basic parking and he ran a red light way too late. I have been driving lately because of all the snow and ice because he can't drive in that and I have driven in it before. But like I said he is really nice and is a hard worker. I'm glad he is a hard worker but in some ways I think he overdoes it because sometimes it makes me miserable because he sucks the fun out of everything. Like I just need a break sometimes because my medicine makes me tired and it just stresses me out. Other than that I have no problem with him. Most people think he kinda needs to chill out sometimes too and just learn to have fun and be more social. Last night we had a bon fire at the zone leaders house. Our Zone is awesome. We had like our whole zone there and we stayed up till 3 am. We had a bunch of boy scouts that couldn't start a fire so we had to use lighter fluid lol. It took like 30 min and it was probably about 6 degrees last night and below zero with wind chill. It was a lot of fun. I got to know people a lot more and I had a lot of fun. I took some pictures so I will be sending my memory card home soon. I had to sleep on the floor and get up at 7 am. But I really enjoyed it and it's like a once in awhile thing we do like maybe once a transfer. We call them P-day eves. But anyways I need to go. Take care. Please send my GPS soon because I really need it because my companion doesn't know the area the best and we keep having to turn around and stuff because he doesn't know the area and its wasting miles so I really need a GPS. Okay we got the HINT!

Love

Elder Mattei

- Are you staying with a family? yes, Bro. and sis. Perkins

- If so what are their names and do they have children, etc? they have 3 children and one on the way. I don't know all their names yet

- Do you have your own room, etc.? Yeah, its a pretty nice house

- How long has your companion been out? I think 10 months

- You said he is from France, what part? Southern part of France

- Do you both get along? Yeah we both get along well.

- What Wards are you serving in? Caldwell 9th, 15th and 5th ward

- How many missionaries are in your area? Maybe 10?

- Anyone you know or have worked with? Elder Nelson and thats it

- Are you currently teaching anyone? Yes a ton of people

- How are you doing on money and such? Money is decent but I don't have a whole lot cause of groceries and such

Stressed Out and Wiped Out

Greg is being transferred to Caldwell, ID tomorrow. I think he was ready for a change. It's only about 30 minutes west of where he is now ~ So on the other side of Boise.


I spent last night with Russ and said goodbye to him and I also got a chance to watch the Saints game and they killed the Patriots. I have been stressed lately with packing stuff and making sure I have everything. I have to sleep on the floor tonight at another Elder's house. I'm gonna head to my area tomorrow at some point. President talked to me today and told me he is sending me to that area because he knows I'll work hard. I'm really tired right now because I have not slept well the past 2 nights because I have been busy packing and stuff. Today I went and played racket ball at a members house. It was a lot of fun. They have their own built in racket ball court and their house was worth at least a million dollars. We have another baptismal date set but I probably won't be there for it. Her name is Andrea and she is twenty years old. She is really nice and we taught her the first two lessons before I left. Yes I know Elder Nelson. He is cool and get along with him pretty well. I'm extremly tired right now so I'm sorry if this message is short. I have been busy all day and yesterday so I'm about wiped out.

Love
Elder Mattei

The Jud's One Pound Challenge Winner

Sounds like yall will be having a fun Thanksgiving. All the missionaries around here are supposed to be fed by these people at the institute building. Yes President Yardley is as cool as everyone says he is. He is pretty relaxed and just an all around nice guy. I don't know one missionary who doesn't like President Yardley.

Scott is being baptized this weekend. It was so exciting to see him and his wife and kids at church. I was suprised to see them all there since they were separated. It goes to show you that the gospel blesses families. That is the 2nd principle we teach in the first lesson. You can tell it has made a big difference in his life. We found another person that we got as a referral that wants to be baptized, so we went over to her house and taught her this week. It's amazing how much we have been blessed and how many miracles I have seen while being out here.

I'm sure the family home evening video will remind me of home. I don't think we ever had a family home evening that went exactly as planned. Things are going better with my companion. I just think it takes time to get used to their personalities and stuff. I will probably be transferred soon. I still have not gotten your letter. It takes forever to get mail. I will be finding out when I will be transferred maybe tonight or tomorrow night. It will be interesting to see where I go.

I'm in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. I just like reading about all the wars and stuff. I have found myself enjoying the scriptures a lot more than what I did.

I hope yall have a good Thanksgiving. We will be having a Turkey bowl. It should be really good. Elder Keogan left today and he called me last night and said, "I have less hours than you do months on your mission" lol. He was a really funny guy and a good zone leader. My favorite family would probably have to be the Hansens or the Coles or maybe the Glovers. The Hansens are really cool and make good food and their dad is making me this awesome looking pen.

O yeah I forgot to tell you I did the big Jud's one pound challenge. I don't ever recommend doing it. I ate a one pound hamburger. The meat is actually a pound and the bun and all the other stuff is just extra. Then you have to eat a pound of fries or tots. I can say that I did it but I also felt horrible after shoving 2 pounds of food down my throat. And you also had to drink a big drink. So I felt really sick afterwards and wanted to vomit while laying in bed at night. One of the worst feelings I have felt on my mission. But I got my picture on the wall and I can now at least say that I did it. My companion couldn't finish it. He said he felt sick when he looked up at me while he was eating and said he couldn't do it. I just looked so sick and I had like ten tator tots left and I had to like force them down. I finished all that in about 50 min and I haven't had a hamburger since then lol. Anyways I have to go. Yall have a Happy Thanksgiving!

A Growing Testimony and A Shrinking Waistline

So much of what Greg writes is in response to questions from Mike and me. Therefore, it sometimes makes it hard to understand what he's talking about if the questions aren't included to provide context. So here's the latest exchange between us and him...

I was kind of torn watching the Colts vs. Patriots game the other day. In a way, because Peyton played so poorly and I wanted the Saints to be the only undefeated team, I was kind of hoping the Colts might lose, but in the end, the fact that I cannot stand the Patriots won out and I was pulling for the Colts and Peyton. I will again be torn if/when they face one another. In the end, I will have to pull for the Saints. Darryl was funny. I saw him at church and he asked if they had Dairy Queens in Boise. He said he thinks he will finally have to pay on your yearly wager, by sending you a gift card. LOL

They have Dairy Queens here lol. FYI: Darryl is Greg's best friend's (Julian's) dad. They have had an ongoing bet for I think the last 4 years as to whether or not the Saints will get to the playoffs. The loser buys the winner a Blizzard from DQ.

Mom and I are looking forward to talking to you in a couple of weeks. It will be nice to get to talk to you right around your birthday. I will get you a GPS, but what are you going to use it for? Do you want one that goes in a car or a handheld one?

I would like a Garmin GPS that can go in a car. They come in handy when you don't know where people live and when you are covering a huge area. I saw some nice ones at Costco but I would like just a Garmin GPS because I think those are the best
ones. It's like the one you have.

So tell us how things have been going. Maybe try and tell us a little about the people you are visiting, teaching, meeting, etc. Tell us if you have learned anything new since being on your mission. Perhaps letting us know what you think has changed the most since you started serving (i.e. your testimony, your courage, closeness to the spirit, gained weight, lost weight, etc.) My area is kind of the same. We are teaching basically the same people. It would be nice to get some referrals or something because it would give us more to do. Russ has been the best person for finding us people to teach. We have a baptism coming up in 2 weeks. His name is Scott. He is probably a little bit younger than y'all and is a chemical engineer. He is a really nice and humble guy. You can always feel the spirit when you go in to his house. My testimony has grown a lot since being on my mission. It's really hard to believe that a lot of RM's go less active when they get back home. I really enjoy being able to share spirtual thoughts with people cause it always invites the spirit and it helps me know the scriptures a lot
more. I'm reading the BOM a lot more. I also bought a Glenn Beck book
called "Arguing with Idiots". I really enjoy the book but I get myself to
read the BOM a lot more by saying I have to read the BOM for like an hour
or so before I can read the Glenn Beck book. That book cites all the
sources in it so I have a feeling it will be really good for future
papers I will write in college.

If you can, why don't you make a recording of yourself on the camera before sending the memory card back. I am sure Mom and I would enjoy seeing you and listening to your voice. Perhaps we can do the same in the card we send you.

I will try and make a recording on my camera and take more pictures. I am down to 165 lbs by the way. I'm a lot thinner than what I used to be at home lol. How much does Mark weigh because I would like to be around that weight. Anyways I'm gonna go and
I'll TTYL. Y'all stay safe.


Ok well I wrote a letter to Granny last week on Tuesday I think and sent it so she should have gotten it. Transfers I think are on December 2nd. If you want to send anything I would like money for me to buy a nice electric razor and a Garmin GPS system lol. That can basically be my Christmas and birthday gift. We have 7 missionaries in our district counting me and my companion. There are a lot of missionaries in our zone. Too many to keep track. Yes I have zone leaders and district leaders. Our zone leaders are also our district leaders though. We actually have really cool zone leaders and they're not like really strict uptight missionaries. Our zone leaders are Elder Bell and Elder Keogan. They're both hilarious especially Elder Keogan. I do know some of those people. (I sent him a list of missionaries' names I got from the missionary moms group I belong to, so that I could find out if he knew any of them.) I know Elder Heffler and Elder Nelson. Both of them are really cool and I got along with them. I like Elder Heffler a lot. I just got back from Costco with him. But he is really cool and it's fun talking to him. He is from the same area as my companion but they didn't really know each other before hand. No I haven't really encouraged member referrals. I guess I should but our ward mission leader is supposed to do that. Russ is really good with referrals though lol. This week we actually have dinners so we eat at members' homes about every night if we have dinners. I really like what Julian sent me. I need to find his email address. I wish I had it with me now because I would like to write him. I bought this really cool Coke can radio today. It looks sweet. I found it at a pawn shop. It's sad to hear that Spencer died. It took me awhile to realize who you were talking about.

That's cool that Julian has my intials on his helmet (to quote an email I forwarded to Greg from his BF,Julian ~ I'm wearing your initials on my helmet til you get back. It's been my good luck charm; it helps me play better and keeps me focused.) and I thought the Saints thing was pretty funny. I was laughing. (Again, Julian said ~ Me and Scott are always making the joke saying the only reason the Saints are this good is because you're on your mission and you're blessing the Saints by doing this. I watch them every game they play for you. The funny thing is every time it seems like they are going to lose I always start saying "they can't lose! this is why my best friend is on a mission!" and some how Drew drives them down to put them on top.) I'm hoping he is going to church and doing ok. Tell the Barnes I say hi and that Mr. Darryl is going to have to owe me a Blizzard this year lol. How is everyone in the ward doing? Anyways I'm gonna go. I need to write dad probably so I'll ttyl.

Love
Elder Mattei

A "Blessing" Experience

It's great to see the Saints doing well. Mckenna's baptism was on Saturday and it turned out very well. We also had an investigator show up at church a couple of weeks ago that I could really connect with because the guy really loved football. We are going to try and set something up with him this week so we can teach him. We are also now teaching Russ's wife and stepdaughter. They really seem to be interested in the gospel and Russ is really good at finding people for us to be able to teach. My pday today has been pretty boring. We haven't really done anything fun. I'm kinda ready for transfers to happen.

For Christmas I would like a Garmin GPS. That's all I really would like. I really like the clothes Granny gave me and Grandma and Grandpa sent me gift cards that I appreciate as well. Yes I would like my Sunglasses. They would be nice to have sometimes. I'm probably going to write Courtney and Granny this week. I'm going to really try and write them today though. I have been emailing Alonna and she writes me back but I don't think she is going to write me back anymore because she doesn't really have a computer anymore so, oh well. Maybe she will write me back once in a while. It kinda stinks but it's not a big deal.

I did hear about that guy who shot up Fort Hood. I was eating at Mcdonalds and they had CNN on and I was like when did this happen? I have no clue what's going on in the world anymore lol. Not a whole lot has been going on. Last week though I gave a blessing to a man in the intensive care unit. I wasn't expecting to give a blessing to him but this lady just grabbed me and the other missionaries to give him a blessing. The other missionaries turn to me and go do you want to do it since you haven't given a whole lot of blessings and I was like sure I guess. I remember being really nervous and scared. The guy I gave a blessing to had surgery on his heart and had a stroke so he was unconscious. I could see where they cut him open and stitched him up and he looked like he had been bleeding a lot from his neck cause he had gauze there. When I gave him the blessing I don't remember all of what I said except something about him recovering and being able to be there for his wife. I was shaking the whole time I gave the blessing and when I left the room I just stopped shaking. But I won't forget the look I saw on his wife's face. She was crying and shook my hand and it was kind of hard for me cause I felt really bad for her and what she was going through. I will probably never know whether or not this man woke up or if he died or what happened to him. I just felt like crying after I had left the ICU. We had originally gone to the hospital to give a blessing to this 13 year old girl that was in the hospital and our zone leaders did that blessing but I ended up giving a blessing to that man as well. I hope everything goes well for that family. That was probably one of the most spirtitual experiences I have had on my mission though.


Share this email though with dad and stuff because I won't have time to email him. I hope everything is going ok down there. I will try and write Mark and all of them. How are Jackson and Bryan and Tre and Mark Lemen and all of them doing? I'm going to go though.

Love Elder Mattei

More Q & A

Questions from Dad. . .

1. Do you and your companion share a bedroom? yes

2. Do you get to use the kitchen? yes

3. Where is your new companion from? Orange County California

4.

5. Did you get your medicine? yes

6. Is there anything you need us to send you? Not that I can think of right now

7. Describe your typical day in Boise. We wake up and have studies in the morning and then go and visit potential investigators and investigators. Then we will have lunch or something like that and then visit Bryan and Russ and some other people. We basically just go around and look for people to teach. We will probably have to go tracting soon because we are running out of people to teach.

8. Did you get the audio cassette Mom sent you? yes I did. I need to listen to it

9. Are you going to send an audio cassette back? If so when? I haven't recorded anything on it yet.

10. How is the weather there? It has been raining here for most of
October. It has snowed some and rained some and been sunny. So the weather is really random. Its also getting pretty cold.

11. Did you get more meals this week than you have been getting
previously? yes but I don't think we have any this week. It just kind of depends on the ward mission leader and stuff. It really doesn't bother me

12. Any new investigators you are working with? If so tell us about
them. Not really yet. We have some potential investigators that we're going to try and meet up with. One of them we met at church because a friend brought him and I talked about football with him and asked if we could stop by and he said sure.

13. Have you been able to go to the temple since being in Boise? Yes it's a very pretty temple.

14. Have you gotten a chance to look at your blog? Mom added a smilebox slideshow to it. It really looks good. I think your Mom would appreciate
your feedback if you have been able to see it. I have seen my blog and it looks really nice. Thanks for doing that for me.

15. So what do you do for fun? When you get home? On your P days?
Well today we went through a corn maze and chucked corn at each other which was pretty fun. On P day we usually play sports and all that. When I get home I usually take a shower or something and study the scriptures. And we plan out the next day first thing when we get home. I actually got to watch the Saints game while I was at Russ's house. It was a good game. I also answered some questions that he had as well and shared with him a lot of scriptural thoughts. I kinda taught and watched the game at the same time I guess. We had a good conversation though. We asked him if we would be able to teach some of his family and he said we might be able to so that will be cool if we are able to teach them. We might not be able to though because they're in a rehab center for alcohol, both his wife and his step daughter.

16. Any problems washing clothes, getting suit cleaned, etc? No

And Mom . . .

I guess I really just want to know how you're doing. You definitely seem to be enjoying yourself based on your video and letters. You really haven't been negative at all, which is great! So does it get hard sometimes and you just put a positive spin on it, or is it really all good? I know it has to have its challenges. I'm just so proud of you and happy that you're doing so well.


You should try and space your questions out like dad did. But my mission is going well but I do kinda put a positive spin on it sometimes. There are those days where you don't feel like doing anything because it's cold or rainy and you're tired. I could improve on a lot of things. I have trouble getting up in the morning at 6:30 because my last companion slept in and so does this one so I kinda do the same. I also have a lot of trouble sleeping at night and I'll lay in bed from like 9pm-1am before I can fall asleep. I went and bought some nyquil which seemed to help but I don't want to have to keep buying drugs to help me get to sleep.

So any new investigators? How are you doing with keeping the new converts excited about the Gospel?


There are no new investigators, just potential investigators. So hopefully that turns out well. We are supposed to have a baptism this week so that's good. We keep our new converts excited about the gospel by seeing them regularly and sharing with them a message. We mostly see Russ and Bryan and then probably Herman the most out of anyone.


We really enjoyed watching the Saints play last night. I was wondering if you got to watch any of it at all. The commentators were talking "Superbowl" possibilities which was so exciting to hear. I don't know if Saints and Superbowl have ever been mentioned in the same sentence really till now. I'm just sorry you're not able to enjoy the play by play moments, but I really do kind of think your service is helping somehow. LOL

I wrote in dad's letter that I got to see a lot of the Saints game.




So how do you feel you've grown in the last few weeks???


I feel I have grown because I'm a lot more compassionate and not as negative as what I used to be.

Granny wanted to send you a box of brownie mix, but we just didn't know how much use of the kitchen you have. She also wanted to know what fast food places are there in Boise? I think she might try to get you some gift cards.


There are a lot of the same fast food places here that are back home. I ate at this place called five guys that was pretty good. But some basic gift cards to mcdonalds or subway would be fine.


One more thing, ever heard of the card game BANG? Mark has been going on splits with Elder Bladen a lot as has most of the priests quorum and anyway they play this card game when they go back to the apartment. Mark says it's a lot of fun.

I have never heard of a card game called bang.

Did you ever write Courtney? Do you ever hear from anybody else besides her? How about your friend in Oregon?

Yeah I have written my friend from Oregon on my email. So you can give Courtney and my friends my email account if you would like.(already have, are you guys writing???) I will be sure to write Granny and Courtney this week. I always forget my address book to write them so it would be easier if they emailed me first.

Anyways I have to go. I have a good scripture to read that would be good for Mark, Trevor and Jackson. Go to the last Chapter in John. Its when Jesus visits Simon Peter while he is fishing. It's a good scripture for a missionary.

So did you ever mention to President Yardley that you knew Trevor and would like to serve with him some time?

And I told president Yardley about Trevor and saw his picture on the thing he sent in.

Love
Elder Mattei

More Answers to Questions

I think I'm going to get a gmail account because my lds mail is really bad and I can't click on links and the questions you ask me when I reply are not in colors, so it's hard to find all of the questions.

So what have you been doing on your days off?
So on my days off I usually play football or some other kind of sport. I played basketball today.


So do you get to see any of the people who you were in the MTC with?
I have seen a couple of people that I was in the MTC with. I talked to one today actually.


Sorry to hear that you aren't getting many dinner appointments from members.
I think we have the whole dinner thing figured out. So that is good.


Are you going to PEC meetings with the Bishoprics?
We haven't been going to PEC meetings because we go to different wards but we did have a meeting with the ward mission leader and ward missionaries.


Did you ever get the package from Grandma?
I never received a package from grandma so I don't know when I'm supposed to get it.


So how is your bike holding up? From the pictures you sent it looks like a really nice bike. Although I thought it was supposed to have mud guards over the tires. Did you take them off as I didn't see them?
My bike is holding up well and I took the things off of it because they kept falling off and it was getting annoying. This week I have been riding through a lot of rain and wind which kinda sucked. It snowed some today. You can see snow on the mountains so thats nice.


Where did Elder Maples go?
Elder Maples went to Twin Falls .
We keep having to push off Jackie's baptism because she hasn't been to church at all lately because of work. I have to go. The other Elders are looking to leave right now so I will try to email later or write a letter home. Things this week have been going pretty good though. We found another potential investigator so hopefully that turns out well.

Love
Elder Mattei

Slide Show

Make a Smilebox slideshow

First Baptism

Dear Family,

I will not be able to answer your questions that you asked in that email because I lost the email I printed out, lol. Sorry it took so long for me to write and for the very short email. But I have no ipod and right now I'm broke. Most of my money went towards buying medicines for colds and stuff like that with the mission money. I also haven't really been fed dinners much either. I don't really mind too much since I'm trying to lose weight. I just eat a big lunch to make up for it. I ate at this really good Brazilian restaurant last week. The meats and steaks were so good! They walk around and just cut meat off for you to eat. It's like $20 per plate but you get as much meat as you want. I also tried chicken heart just to say I have tried it. It was chewy and tasted pretty gross. The people we were with were laughing at how I looked when I ate it. The lady also put a video on her blog of me imitating Bill Clinton. I gave her your email Mom so yall could see it. I just found out the Saints killed the Giants. The Giants were undefeated and supposedly the best NFL team. I'm glad to see that the Saints decided to do well for once when I'm on my mission. Hopefully I will get to see a game.

Russ's baptism was yesterday. It was really good and we had a better turn out than expected. I confirmed him this morning. I was nervous but it turned out well. Elder Bingham gave me some crap last Saturday about Florida beating LSU. He was cool about it though. He is a big Gator's fan. Back to Russ though. He has really different Native American beliefs and (believes in)government conspiracies. I like to think of him as Fox Mulder, but stranger.

By the way my coat fits fine. Jackie's baptism was delayed. Another guy we met wants to be baptized. So things are going well. I'm getting a new companion on Wednesday. His name is Elder Garlock. Hopefully I like him. Just so yall know I meet a lot of strange and messed up people. I have a much better attitude towards people who drink and do drugs now. I feel more sorry for them and want to help them. I used to pretty much think they deserved what they got. So my mission has changed me some. Tell Granny, Pop Pop and Stephanie hi for me. Show them my letters. Thank you Thomas for the letter you sent me a long time ago. I enjoyed reading it. Yall need to send me a copy of my Patriarchal blessing and some MoTab.

Take care,

Love Elder Mattei

Pics from Boise and Provo

Answers to Questions, Finally

Hi Greg,

Here's a thought: Copy and paste this into your new email and just answer the questions briefly. I even left spaces for you to write the answers.

How's it going? So, did your baptisms happen this past weekend? That's neat that you got to confirm someone. You said you were nervous about that. But I'm sure you did fine as you were led by the promptings of the Spirit. Any other people you're teaching?

I'm doing good and only Russ's baptism happened this week. We are teaching pretty much the same people. I wrote a lot about some of the people in the letter I sent home. You will find Russ to have strange beliefs lol.




Are you guys getting meals pretty regularly? How have you been feeling? This is supposed to be a bad cold/flu season. Todd has been diagosed with H1N1 (swine flu). He is doing better now but he had fever of almost 104 this weekend. Thomas had a mild fever yesterday, not sure if it's just a cold or the flu, though. So far everyone else is fine.

We are getting meals this week but we haven't the past couple of weeks so I'm pretty much poor. I'm feeling pretty good. I'm sorry to hear Todd got the swine flu. That really sucks.




How is the weather there? It was pretty cold here last week staying in the 40s and low 50s last week, but this week is supposed to be warmer. So did you ever get your coat? Does it fit Okay?

The weather this week has been pretty nice. Its been in the 60's and it seems to be sunny during the day and it rains at night. I got my coat and it fits fine and its warm.




So, we've been waiting on the letters you've promised. And the pics. Did you get the memory card I sent? I also sent a package that you should get some time this week. Mark and Lindz have sent letters as well.

I sent the letter on Monday with my memory card in it. I held off on sending it cause I was gonna get a picture from the baptism. I have not gotten a package but I will check at the mission office tomorrow morning when i get my new companion. I got Mark and Lindsay's letters and I enjoyed reading them. To make it clear I don't have a ipod. OOPs! Lindsay told him I was worried he had an iPod.




Sorry about the misunderstanding regarding your purchases. Mark did buy something off Itunes for a project at school. I actually wondered if maybe you had bought some sunglasses as I never found yours at home. So what kind of thing did you get for your bike? I didn't quite understand what it was from you description.

Its like basically a treadmill for my bike. Like I screw my bike into it and its hard to explain but think of it like a treadmill. (stationary bike stand)



And we finally found out the street where he lives!

Short and Sweet

Mom I bought a pair of sunglasses that I got a discount on and they are really nice and I bought a thing for my bike that cost 100 and they are normally 200 but it allows me to work out on my bike in the morning. (answers to questions regarding large sums of money disappearing from his bank account)

Mom I don't have an ipod. Someone at the house is buying things on Itunes because I don't have access to that kinda stuff. Mark or someone is buying it on my laptop. (another response to yet another email that questioned a purchase at a pawn shop and a charge for an iTunes purchase. Yes, I'll admit it, I thought he had bought an iPod. Important lesson learned on jumping to erroneous conclusions~of course I should have trusted that he wouldn't be breaking rules! And that's why I'm posting it here. It was a great lesson in humility.)

I'm gonna write you and mom a letter this week. Sorry I have been so
lazy about writing letters home. We have another baptismal date set on
halloween. There will be 2 baptisms this week: Russ and Jackie. I will
be giving Russ the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday. I'm kinda nervous
but that is the important stuff that has been going on this week.

So I'm guessing my questions aggravated him enough for him to keep his letter this week a bit brief. LOL However I received the following note from a sister in Idaho who belongs to a missionary mom's internet group that I also belong to. I'm including it here as I thought it was kind of neat and makes up for the short message in a way . . .

Hi Gracie,

My son, Derick, met your son when Elder Mattei and his companion came to talk in his seminary class yesterday. Derick is a big Florida Gators fan so they chatted a bit about the Florida-LSU game. Nothing exciting to report, just that your son is alive and well! ...and perhaps a bit damp today, it has been raining.Hope you are having a great week!

Kristi, Boise, ID

It's Getting Colder

There are way too many questions to answer so I'll just answer them in a letter home. It has been cold this week and we taught Russ and Jackie 3 Lessons. General Conference was really good. Elder Holland gave the best talk during the 2nd session on Sunday. It was really good.

Yesterday I got to watch MNF (Monday Night Football) with a guy who is less active and going to jail today for drinking and driving. His mom wanted us to come over and just kind of hang out with him and help him out. Today we are going to go play frisbee golf with him so it should be fun.

I probably need a shorter coat for when I'm riding my bike because a trench coat wouldn't work so well while riding a bike. I also bought ear muffs and gloves for the cold weather. I have been having trouble sleeping at night. I go to bed on time but I wake up in the middle of the night and it takes me forever to fall back asleep. This morning I woke up at 4am and couldnt fall back asleep till about 5 am. I'm gonna try writing letters to yall and granny and grandma and stuff this week.

My companion is from Nashville. I will answer your question about my address in a letter home. You asked way too many questions for me to address. I do email 2 a day so I don't know if yall can respond to this one in time. I usually get on here again around 4 or 5 in your time zone. We just got a referral about an hour ago to go visit someone that wants to be taught lessons. So hopefully that will go well. All the peoples baptisms are set for October 17. Mkenna and her family had swine flu or some kind of flu so we couldn't go over there this week.

I like the blog you set up for me. It looks nice. Thank you for doing that. You will notice in the pictures I have on my camera that I have lost weight. I weigh about 169 right now. I also have my head shaved lol. I don't really like my haircut but o well. Its growing out so it's starting to look a lot better.

The Saints and LSU are doing awesome. I saw some of the Saints highlights last night. Their defense is doing so much better than they were last year. The Saints defense probably hurts dad's fantasy football team because Drew Brees doesn't get the chance to throw the ball as much as he used to lol. This is the best start they have had ever though. I really wish I could watch the Florida and LSU game this week. Its going to be a really good game. Well I'm gonna go but I will try and write some more later today when I get back on.

Love Elder Mattei

Caves and Goat Heads

Ok so today on my P-day we went to a cave. It was awesome. I'm covered in dirt right now and it was so much fun. I'm scraped up but it was worth it. I also went to the temple today which was really pretty. In the cave they had this part called the birth canal because it was like a baby going through well, you know. You really had to squeeze through and go in head first. I accidently kicked a sister missionary in the face when I slipped and I felt bad. I barely hit her though. We also went to another cave where you had to climb down a rope and keep your feet on the wall to get down. It was fun but only 4 or 5 of us did it. You would go down one rope and then make your way through the cave for a little bit and then you had to climb this rope that went straight up. I took some pictures. It took a lot of upper body strength and it was pretty scary knowing that if I fell I could possibly die or break a lot of bones. I made it out fine though and I'm really tired. It was a lot of fun. There were some tight spots in those caves though.

So the native American guy committed to being baptized. But he knows stuff that is deep doctrine that some Native Americans believe. Like he thinks we can become like Christ and help build things after we die. I meet a lot of interesting people. I had some lady talking about seeing ghosts and stuff and she approached us. I looked at her like she was nuts. I helped this week for a womens decatholon . This last week has been nothing but service. A typical day for me is getting up at 6:30, sometimes I sleep in which isn't good but our room is so cold that I can't get out of bed. We eat breakfast and then do personal and companion study for 2 hours. Then we go out and visit people. I have only been tracting once. And that was unsuccessful. The best results come from members giving us names and stuff. Mkenna's baptism didn't happen this week because her grandparents weren't able to make it. But we have 2 more people that want to be baptized. We have them planned to be baptized on the 17 of October. One of them is the Native American guy and the other is this girl named Jackie. Mkenna I think will be baptized next week but I'm not so sure. O yeah 2 weeks ago I forgot to tell you that the first door I tracted the guy told me to get lost. This week has been a pretty good week though.

I'm really tired right now from the cave and stuff and I'm sure I stink too. I'm glad to hear that the Saints are doing well. I'm sure your fantasy football team is doing good. They play the Jets this week so that will be a pretty good game. LSU seems to be barely getting by in their games. But Josh said they're trying not to reveal their whole playbook for the Florida game that is coming up on the 10th. How are things going at home? I heard about the bird. My companion and I don't know the address for the house. I wish they would send mail out faster cause it does take forever for it to be sent out. My bike is riding well. I got a goat head stuck in the tire though. Goat heads are these native thorns to Idaho and they give a lot of bikers trouble. I put slime in my tires though. I recommend getting that for Todd's bike or something. You like put this slime in it and when it gets a hole poked in it it fills the hole with slime and solidfies. Well I have to go. I hope I answered most of your questions. I will try to send a letter home maybe this week. I'm just tired all the time when I get home lol.

Love
Elder Mattei

The Street Where I Live ???

Tell the Missionaries I said hi. I was suprised to get an email from Josh. He sent me a ton of articles on LSU and the Saints so that was nice of him. I printed them out and read them. I will try to send more mail home. I wrote one to Grandma and them last night. I have not gotten my coat yet. To answer dad's question on the mail he sent me,I don't watch football games a whole lot and I didn't watch but like 5 min of Sean Hannity. Some missionaries are actually going to the BSU game this week. They're so lucky. I wish I got the chance to go to one. President Yardley is pretty tight. That is so awesome that Trevor is coming to Boise. He will like it here. I will ask President Yardley if maybe he could put me and him in the same district. It would be cool to be his trainer but I doubt I will be since I'm so new.

So on Sunday this Native American guy came to church and he came just because we had the word Jesus Christ in our title and he was looking for help because he is living out of a RV right now and looking for a job. Members fellowshipped him and he stayed for all 3 hours of church. He also said when the bishop talked to him he could really feel the spirit. He said a lot of what our church teaches his heritage believed in. I have a good feeling he will be baptized. We are supposed to visit him tomorrow. We need to follow up on Herman. And to answer Dad's question I serve in 3 wards:Liberty, Parkcenter, and Broadway ward. I go to church 6 hours a day. O yeah speaking of baptisms, I have one coming up on Saturday. Her name is Mkenna Himburger. She is nine years old and wasn't baptized when she was 8. I also gave her dad a blessing because he has been stressed with a lot of things. He said it was exactly what he needed and was glad that I had offered it to him. He gave me a hug afterwards. Also you will not see Scott at Wal Mart because he quit and is going to Rankin. I'm going to try and mail Scott and Julian and email them sometime. I had Zone Conference yesterday. That took a long time. It was really good though. I also saw some of my roommates from the MTC. It was great being able to talk to them again. Anyways I have to go now. I had something else to say but I can't remember. I'm gonna try and send a letter home this week. And I got dad's mail yesterday only because I was at the Mission Office. It takes them like 3 days to mail a letter out. And I don't know the address to where I live. It's hard to spell the street name. I got to drive the car some this week as well. Tell Granny and them I said hi. O yeah and to wish Mark a Happy Late BDay. I meant to send him a letter on his birthday but I was wiped out at the end of the night.
Love
Elder Mattei

Hi Again

My companion's name is Elder Maples. He is from Tennessee. He has taught me a lot. I get along with him well. I live with a guy named Brother Sommers. He is really nice but mostly keeps to himself. He is very conservative. I have read his Rush Limbaugh letters that he gets in the mail once in awhile. I'm enjoying my mission. I ride my bike a lot and I go to a lot of less active members houses and help them out. One lady came and got us when she saw us by her house because she wanted to know where she could go to church. She was less active and had just recently been fired from her job. She is really nice and has two kids and is struggling to pay the bills.

Yes, the track star is a recent convert. He was baptized a month ago. We go and see him about four times a week because he kind of needs friends and he has a terrible memory. The car accident kind of gave him the same kind of injury that the girl in 50 First Dates had. He has to have signs and stuff around his house to remind him of all the things to do. He has been the only one that has fed us anything for dinner. So I'm thankful for that because he lives on social security and doesn't have a whole lot of money.

I still haven't tried on the sweaters either. I'm sure they will fit fine though. I need yall to send me a copy of my patriarchal blessing. I left that at the MTC. We play football every Saturday and it is a lot of fun. I bruised my ribs from playing it but they're almost all healed up now. On Saturday we also went to this thing called the green jello festival. It was a stake activity and it was a lot of fun. There was lots of jello and BBQ to eat.I also played sand volleyball for most of the time. I have met a couple of members at their houses but don't remember a whole lot of their names. The only one I remember is Brother Aston. I went over to his house and met him and talked to him. We watched Sean Hannity over there lol. I also saw the first half and some of the 2nd half of the Patriots and Bills game last night while I was at Bryan's house. Speaking of football dad's fantasy football team must have done amazing with Drew Brees throwing 6 tds. Tell him he might want to get a back up for Pierre Thomas because he was hurt on Sunday. Randy Moss was also a really good pick for WR.

I have a interesting story to tell. We were leaving a investigator's house and these people yell out ~ you mormons go smoke weed~ and I go~ what a bunch of losers ~to my companion and this guy heard me and calls us over and he starts to talk about how he felt bad for us that people slam doors in our faces and stuff. He became a potential new investigator for us. His name is Mika and we talked on his porch for like a hour. He was drunk when he talked to us and he seemed really depressed. He talked about how he was an alcoholic and needed to go to some AA meetings. We invited him to church the next day but he didn't show. We talked to him about how God loves him and everyone of us because he was having trouble realizing why God would let people suffer and let his own son suffer on the cross. He actually ended up crying and stuff. I felt really bad for the guy. On a good note though Herman actually showed up to church. He brough his daughter along. We are still trying to get him to read the Book of Mormon but he at least came to church. My companion said he hasn't been to church at all since he has been here. Another investigator we have is Tasha. She went to church the week before I came here. She seems to be accepting what we say to her.

We had a mini miracle happen the other day. We went and taught this family from Africa and only the girl spoke English. We needed someone to speak French so we could teach her parents. So we called around other missionaries and wards to see if anyone spoke French and we could find no one. Well we were riding home around 9 pm that night and this guy yells out his car I need to talk to you guys. He said that he knew of this family he had taught before and that they also had needed someone that spoke French to translate. So he gave us the names of some people he knew that were in his ward that he had discovered spoke French and to give them a call. It was really cool cause we couldn't find anyone that spoke French and this guy we didn't know gave it to us. Anyways I have to go now. This letter is pretty long lol. Tell everyone we said hi. How are they all doing? I just found out that Patrick Swayze died. That's sad. I thought he was a good person and good actor.

Love,

Elder Mattei

Elder Mattei with President and Sister Yardley

Some Really Nice Guys

Well, Greg arrived in Idaho Tuesday morning. He called us from the airport in Salt Lake and talked for about 40 minutes. We recorded his conversation so all the family would be able to hear. He sounded good, although he had a cold and sounded congested. He appears to be doing well, although I of course have tons of questions like "What is your companion's name???" for starters! Only 10% of the mission is on bikes, and he is apparently included in that 10% for now. From this short email it appears that he is living in a member home. Again this begs the question~ "What is the member's name???" All he says is that they're "really nice guys"! LOL I am sure he was just excited to be out on his own, teaching the Gospel, meeting new people, etc and left out a few details. At this point I am just glad he is safe and happy! gracie

Hey family and friends. So I'm serving in the Boise East mission. I'm kinda by Boise State. I have been riding my bike quite a bit. I tighten the bolts and stuff everyday. I really like my bike. So the first day I had lunch at the Yardleys. (mission president) I also went with my companion and visited with some people that were investigators. The sister missionaries took half of our area and most of the investigators so we lost all of our dinner appointments for the week. We visited with a guy named Herman who used to be a professional boxer and he was legit. I looked at the posters and newspaper clippings on his wall. He had to give boxing up because he got in a car accident and now has some form of brain damage and kinda has trouble communicating. We talked with him in his garage where he was working out. He is a really nice guy. He even showed us some boxing moves and stuff. I told my companion that we should really try and get him to church and we are going to try and teach him the Plan of Salvation today. We also met a recent convert of the church that was a huge track star in college but he also got in a car wreck and can't control his motor functions so well and he also has trouble communicating. He is also a really nice guy. I live with another member who is divorced and he is a really nice guy. Today I woke up and read my scriptures and then we went to the church and planned our week out. My companion is pretty cool. I like him. We get along well and he also has ADD bad like me. We both take the same kind of medicine and we do just fine. Today we went to Costco and bought some things. We went with some other missionaries and one of them was a Costco member. So you can send me a Costco member card if you would like. I also would like to have my sunglasses mailed to me. You should have sent me my under armour hoodie instead of that gray one cause the gray one doesn't fit me all too well. It gets cold in the morning but pretty hot during the day. I'm enjoying it so far. Hopefully we can get some of those investigators to convert. How is everything going over there? Anyways I have to go. I hope all of yall are doing ok.

Love
Elder Mattei

Mormon Frisbee

Ok so I don't have much time to write. I addressed a lot of things in my letters home. But I leave on tuesday and I think my flight is at 8am on tuesday morning. I will call yall then. Its hard to address everything in such little time. I kind of wrote to one of my friends and that is why my time is at 12 min right now. So I'm kinda starting to not get along with my companion the best. We are ok but we argue sometimes especially politically since he is a moderate. I'm kind of the funny guy in the group. I told you in the letter home that Elder Scott talked to us and gave us a blessing that we would be safe. It was really cool to have. I like my teachers a lot. I have been taking pictures for me to send home as well. Hope all of you are doing ok. I' m hoping Granny will be able to feel better soon. I can't wait to get to Boise and be able to be out on my own. My friend Elder Ware from Alabama is also a huge Alabama fan so we like to argue about who is better between them and LSU lol. We also agree politically and both love to talk politics. I also focus on the gospel a lot so don't worry lol. I went to the temple this morning and I went last week as well. I also forgot to tell yall I went to a temple dedication that they had at the gym here so I got to hear President Monson talk. I enjoy my roommates. We all have a lot of fun and we play frisbee with a Dips lid in our room lol. Only Mormon missionaries would figure out how to use a ice cream lid as a frisbee. The guy who also bothered me singing is actually not bothering me anymore and I like him. His name is Elder Goldthorp. He is very knowledgable in the gospel and he is like the go to guy for like anything you have a question on or need to know where somethin is at. I had teaching appointments where I taught pretend investigaters and they watch you on a camera in a room. Me and my companion did well with the help of the Holy Ghost of course. We were asked things about the trinity and stuff that wasn't even in our lesson plan so it was hard but we both were able to find scriptures to help us. Teaching is actually a lot harder than what I thought. There is a lot to it. I forgot to tell yall I saw Shae here. He left though. Anyways teaching is kind of challenging but we are getting better at it. I hope I can get a lot better and grow as I teach more and more. I need to go because I am about to run out of time. I'm glad Todd liked ISS lol. The good thing is that you could get work done in it. Tell Todd Good luck with hockey for me. Tell everyone I said Hi. I miss all of you. I really wish I could watch some cardinals games with them being so good right now. I predict it will be them and the Yankees in the World Series this year.

Love,

Elder Mattei

Vollleyball, Basketball and Soccer

Dear Family,

I have been having not so bad a time. I can't find the other Elder Mattei. I only saw him my first day. I get up at 6 am to shower. I try to go to bed at 10:30. I like my teachers a lot. They're really good at teaching. My roommates are getting a little out of hand. They don't study a whole lot anymore and I try to keep them on task. I was like that my first couple of days, but I have gotten better at studying. My companion,though has been a lot better than my other two roommates and some of the other people in my district. They're good people, but they are just slacking off. I forgot to tell you that I went to a temple dedication they had in the gym on Sunday. I eat around 7, 11:30 and 4:30. The food here really upsets my stomach. The best part of the day to me is gym. I play volleyball, basketball and soccer a lot. How are things at home? I feel tired a lot here. Let me know how things are.

Love,

Elder Mattei

Elder Scott

Dear Family,

Last night I heard Richard G. Scott talk. It was so awesome to hear a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles! He talked on listening to the Holy Ghost. He took his glasses off and told us he was going to talk to us about something he doesn't normally talk about.

Elder Scott recounted a story that occurred while driving on a road that had steep drops on both sides and no shoulder. He was driving with an elderly stake president and switched drivers so that Elder Scott could get some sleep. The stake president apparently fell asleep behind the wheel, when suddenly the car swerved and came to a stop. The stake president then replied that he had not applied the brakes. Thus the Holy Ghost can work in many miraculous ways!

Elder Scott also gave a blessing to all of us that we would return home safely as long as we kept the commandments. I will include in this letter, notes that I took while I heard him speak. If you have time, type them out and send them to me and keep the notes I sent you because I don't want to lose them. His testimony was great because he said, "I know Jesus Christ." The way he sounded when he said that was touching because he sounded like he actually had met Christ. I believe he has. I need to go try and study some.

Love,

Elder Mattei

Almost a Week Later

Dear Family and friends

I don't have much time to respond to these emails so I'm just going to use dad's email for now. Things have been great. I sent a letter home the first night and I'm sure yall got that. When yall dropped me off I went and got shots and I met my new roommates. Elder Shueler is my companion and he is a pretty cool guy. I have actually discussed politics with him lol and we kinda differ cause he is more moderate. My other two roommates are Elder Wright and Elder Crook. I can write more about them in a letter home. The spirit is really strong here and my faith in Jesus Christ has really grown. I wake up at six every morning and it's not too hard for me to do actually. I have classes that are really good but can get kind of boring. I get frustrated sometimes because I am so busy with planning lessons and practicing teaching. We have taught 3 or 4 first lessons so far and we have done pretty well. We all have trouble sleeping at night and keep our neighbors up lol. They had to knock on our door to tell us to quiet down. It is hard gettting used to the whole getting organized thing. I'm actually not homesick as much as I thought I would be. I think I was ready to move out of the house. It is hard getting used to not having some things like music. Please update me on how the Saints and Cardinals are doing right now and maybe some of Drew Brees stats. I went to the temple this morning and that was a great experience. The inside isn't much better looking than the outside of this temple. It seemed really plain. I miss all of yall and let everyone know I said hi. The MTC really isn't as bad as what I thought it would be. It can be really hard at times but overall its a good experience. I can't wait to get out of here though and be out on my own. I did meet the other person with the last name Mattei. He is from New York and I don't remember where he is serving. All of my roommates are going to Boise. I get along with most of them fine. One of the Canadian guys that is in my district gets really annoying with his Opera singing. I think he purposely tries to show it off cause he does it all the time and talks about singing lessons. Other than that everyone is fine for the most part. I'm trying to work on not being negative. I tend to be negative at some points and I have trouble staying focused during study time sometimes. My medicine has been working pretty well. I need to go now. I will either write a letter home or wait till next week to write.

Love
Elder Mattei

First Letter from the MTC

Dear Family,

My first day at the MTC was pretty good. My new companion is pretty cool and nice. His name is Elder Shueler. I also room with two other elders whose names are Elder Wright and Elder Crooks. The first half of the day went by fast. I left y'all and got my name tag and then waited in line and I eventually met the other Elder Mattei. The food here is amazing. I had really good pizza and sandwiches. We sat through orientation which was boring. We then met our branch.

How is the family doing? How is school going for everyone? I need to go to bed now. I will write on my P-day.


A note from Gracie:

This is a note which Greg (Elder Mattei) wrote his first night in the MTC. Upon arriving on Wednesday, as he got out of the car, he was asked what his first name was, as there was another Elder Mattei. We thought that was pretty neat as it's not a common name. So Mike asked Greg to find out about the other Elder Mattei.

Farewell, Gregory