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
30 September 2009
23 September 2009
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
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
16 September 2009
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
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
11 September 2009
09 September 2009
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
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
01 September 2009
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
Love,
Elder Mattei
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