Testimony

Thats pretty cool that you got an ipad. I heard they are pretty neat. Apparently google is coming out with something similar to it. The only thing I don't like about Apple is you have to use their stuff for it. Like I heard the ipad doesn't have any usb ports or anything like that. Thats a neat gift to get though. I heard about the Saints win. That was a big win for them. They should have beaten them earlier in the season as well. 

Things are going  fine with my companion. He is a nice guy, he is just different. The teaching is going good. I think we have like 2 baptismal dates. On my mission I think I have most learned to be more positive and I've learned that people really can change. The best thing to see on a mission is the change the gospel brings in to their lives. I talked about this in my talk. I talked about certain circumstances that I have seen the Atonement change peoples lives. I gave two examples in my talk. One was Trina and the other one was the Garcia family. Anyways in the 1st ward my talk was 15 min long. In the 2nd ward it was 20 min long cause my companions was pretty short and I was the last speaker. I've gotten really good at free talking though. I barely wrote anything down on my notes. It was more of a outline and I only had like 5 things on there. The rest I just kinda filled in. I just went with the Spirit. It turned out pretty well though. I know that the Atonement can help us out during the hard times in our lives cause it has helped me out a lot on my mission. I know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel on the earth today and that Thomas S Monson is a prophet of God. The church is true and has been a great blessing in my life.

Anyways I enjoyed talking to yall on Christmas. I just realized that I won't hear Mark for another year lol. Thank you once again for all the gifts. I really like the cologne and the blue sweater yall got me. Anyways yall have a good week and a Happy New Year.

 

Love

Elder Mattei

So Do You Like Star Wars?

Well mom I wasn't able to view the video here cause for one I have no sound and 2 the library computers won't let me go to facebook or youtube links. (I had posted a video of Mark opening his mission call on Greg's blog, hoping that he would be able to view it.)   Apparently he is getting sent to New York Spanish speaking. I have no idea where Jackson is being sent to. I was told Sister Garcia brought me a cake. (The Garcias are a family Greg became close to in Caldwell;  I called her and asked her to make Greg a cake for his birthday.)  Im out late every night till about 9 or 9:30. I was happy they brought it and our room is a lot better than what it was. Its still kinda messy but most of that is my companion. Elder Jones enjoys Star Wars and Star Trek and just about any other sci fi thing that deals with aliens. He also enjoys drawing space ships and aliens and stuff. And no I am not kidding. I have trouble talking to him about anything else. So its pretty hard for me. He is also socially awkward. Thats about all I'm gonna say lol. We walk a lot and he has trouble keeping up. I look back and I'm like 20 yards ahead and I have to wait for him. The only way I can get him to keep up with me is if I talk about some kinda of sci fi stuff. I now know that I'm not gonna be negative as much anymore. He complains a lot that his feet hurt and stuff and that no one is home. I'm always like we will go contact another family and eventually we will find someone home. And guess what? We found some people home that we haven't been able to get a hold of. I don't mean to nag on him or anything but I just have no one to talk to or anything.

Thank yall for all the letters and stuff by the way. I enjoyed reading them. I'm sure I will also enjoy that birthday present yall got for me when I get home. (Saints playoff and Superbowl videos plus last season highlights - so he can catch up on everything he missed!)  I stay with the Dows. They are a really nice family and their son is on a mission in Guatamala. They gave me a card and 10 dollars for my birthday though.

So one of our investigators is in the army and has a baptismal date for January 15th. He is a pretty tight guy. He was like I'll take yall to my cabin and we will go snow mobiling and stuff and hunting. He wanted us to go do all this stuff. He apparently had a problem with God forgiving him for the things he has done in the past. Apparently he has shot and killed a lot of people while in the army. He also said he lost faith in God for a long time and is still trying to build it back up. He is awesome though. I held his Magnum. It was the kind Dirty Harry carries in the movie. You feel just like Dirty Harry holding that thing. Anyways he is really tight. There are some other families that are really cool there though.

P days here are really boring. Not much here to do. I spent this morning reading questions asked to Joseph Fielding Smith. A lot of it is pretty interesting. I also read a book about the Atonement each night before I go to bed. Its a really good book. It helps you understand the atonement a lot better through the eyes of another person. Its about a guy who is having relationship problems with his wife and how he comes to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Anyways we walk just about everywhere. (We later found out that he left his bike in his old area)  I've already lost some weight. Its good though cause I'll be thin for when I get home. I'm pretty talkative as a missionary. But it depends on the family too. I tend to run my mouth quite a bit though. I enjoy talking with other people. (We were telling him that some of our missionaries here at home are on the quiet side and wondered how he compared.)

Tell the Garcias thank you for sending me a cake though. They are such an awesome family and will be one I will visit after my mission. Anyways I hope yall enjoy your Christmas and have a good time. O yeah I forgot to tell yall that this family the Wilsons gave me their trenchcoat to have which is nice. Its a lot warmer than the other coats I have. I wear it quite a bit too. Tell Julian and them that I said hi. Anyways I don't have much else to say. I hope yall have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll call at around 3 o clock.

Love

Elder Mattei

Mark's Mission Call

Meridian, Idaho

I'm serving in Meridian right now. My companion is Elder Jones. This is his 2nd transfer. He is from Branson Missouri. He is a pretty nice guy but we have nothing in common. He likes Star Wars and Star Trek and stuff. Our area I guess is doing pretty well though. I don't know how much I like it here though. There is really nothing to do. Anyways apparently this area has some baptisms lined up. I also am on a bike which stinks but o well. I don't have too much to say though considering I've been here like a day. I'm glad that you got that job dad. That will at least keep it to where yall have a steady income. Im not gonna lie I'm not to crazy about this area. I came in the house and the room was just trashed. It looked like a frat house. I was like God what have you done to me? It was horrible. We'll see how things turn out. We have pretty much nothing here to do on Pday. We have to bum rides everywhere. It just really isn't that much fun. Like I said my companion is a lot different than me. Anyways yall have a good week and hopefully I do to. Saints smashed the RAms this week too lol. Anyways love yall.

Love

Elder Mattei

More Snow in Idaho

Well we are supposed to get more snow tonight and tomorrow and it seems
like the next couple of days.My Thanksgiving was good. We played
football which was a lot of fun and I did get to watch the Saints
game. It was a pretty entertaining game to watch. After the game we
went and ate with the Kupers which was nice. Callie came and played
football with us as well. It was a lot of fun. I was bummed that LSU
lost. But at least BSU lost. Im tired of hearing how good they are. I'm
glad to hear Thomas is doing well in school. I will find something good
to get Todd. We got a big list of families to start teaching so that
is good. We also have some referrals we are going to go contact. So
things may be looking up which is a good thing.


I miss family and doing what I want most. (I had asked what he misses the most or what reminds him of home.) The holidays are kinda hard for me. I
just miss doing stuff I used to do and everything. Last year my
birthday stunk because of my companion. I hope I can have a good
Birthday this year. I just hate the winter time in general.
Its miserable to have to go out in and you don't look forward to going
out in it.


I think I'll be home in about 7 months because I am thinking that I'm going to come
home in July. I will talk to President Cannon about it at interviews
and he will probably approve it. (College starts the same week Greg is due to come home).    I like the snow here. It's pretty to
look at but it causes a lot of problems. The City of Jerome
is terrible at plowing too. All the roads are practically ice. I
don't know what pic u r talking about on my blog. You will have to
send it to me. Hopefully u will get that job dad. It would be pretty
good to have especially around Christmas time. Those boots I bought
are more of a work boot. My feet keep
getting wet from the snow so I bought them. I didn't buy them on
grandmas gift card cause I haven't gotten one yet. I bought it on the
Amex card. Im glad Lindsay finally wrote Elder Ware back. I think he
has forgotten about it lol. I do still need to write Mark back.
 Anyways it
sounds like yall had a good thanksgiving. I don't really have much
else to say. Hopefully I have more next week. Yall have a good week
and take care

Love
Elder Mattei

Thanksgiving Week

So this last week or so has been pretty slow with Thanksgiving coming up and the really bad weather. I kinda told u about sliding into the ditch. Our tires were bald and I put the car in low gear and all of a sudden it starts sliding to the right into a ditch. We were under a blizzard warning and you have to watch out for snow drifts as well. I walked in some snow yesterday and it was up to my knees in some places. Basically yesterday we sat inside all day long and it was pretty boring. So it's been really cold here. 

This week we will be eating dinner with the Kupers and lunch with the Gonzales. Brother Gonzales is less active and not in our area but he and his wife are the ones that own Pure Energy (the gymnastics place where Greg jumps on the trampolines).  I made a bet with him that if the Saints win he has to go to church for 3 weeks and if the Saints lose I have to leave him alone about it for 3 weeks. We will likely both watch the game and have a good time. 

For Christmas don't get me anything I have to really lug around. I think gift cards will be ok. Don't get me a lot tho cause today I'm gonna go and buy some boots to wear for snow and stuff. They cost about 60 dollars.

I heard about the pat down thing. I don't really see the big deal in it as long as you are having someone of the same sex searching you. I guess maybe it's a little extreme. But the scanners I don't have a problem with. The pat downs might be kinda weird tho. No we didn't find out much more about the drugs that went missing. I think they trust us though that we didn't do anything. I think I will be staying and training but then again who knows. Does Mark talk to Melissa much about religion? To be honest she gets most of her information off of anti websites and I don't think will look at it with an open mind. 

How are granny and pop pop doing and grandma and grandpa and Aunt Cindy and them? Are yall gonna go down to New Orleans again for new years or anything?  It's cool that Tre  came by to come see yall. I find it interesting that Lindsay is really set on going on a mission. I didn't think that would ever happen lol. Most girls get married before they go on one. She will have to wait until she is 21 to go. So she still has quite awhile. So what all have yall been up to? I'm tryin to think of stuff I did this week but really we didn't do a whole lot. Anyways sorry this is short but I don't have much to say. Anyways yall have a happy Thanksgiving and take care.

 

Love

Elder Mattei

Elder Mattei on his birthday last year - sent from Sis Garcia

Another Baptism

Callies baptism went really well. I was excited to see him get baptized. The Assistants came to our baptism because Elder Nelson had helped teach him and he told me he didn't ever think Callie would get baptized. We will meet with Mark sometime later this week. I think he will be baptized at some point eventually. We started teaching this family the Bodenhoffers. She is a recent convert and wants her kids to be baptized. 

This week I didn't get to do much work in my areas because I was stuck in leadership meetings. Apparently President Cannon thought I should go even though I'm not training or a district or zone leader. Which that probably means I'm gonna end up training. Basically these meetings lasted for about 8 hours for 3 days. We would role play and learn how to teach better. It was pretty helpful but it was really long. Then I rode up to my area with President and Sister Cannon because I had no ride back there so they gave me one. It was pretty cool to be able to talk to them and get to know them a little bit more. 

We also had something bad happen at our house. The people we live with called us upstairs and asked us about why they were missing a ton of pills out of their medicine cabinet. They were missing Hydrocodone and a ton of anxiety pills and stuff. Me and my companion had no idea how they went missing. I don't blame them for being suspicious cause we are the only ones there. I know my companion didn't take them. So the next day I went and talked to President Cannon about it and told him I thought another missionary could have taken them. Cause when I left for these meetings my companion went with 2 other missionaries and they stayed at our house for a little while on Wednsday. I suspected one of the missionaries of taking them because I know he had a really bad drug addiction before his mission and his real mission is supposed to be in New York but he is in Idaho because he has to finish his probation. I honestly think he took them cause there is no other way they would go missing. President Cannon interviewed him after I told him about it and apparently the missionary passed the interview. I still am suspicious about him taking them though.

Last night we went to contact these people Bob and Sue, and I asked her where Bob was. She was like he cheated on me and I threw him out. I was pretty shocked. Both of them are less active. Actually Bob is excommunicated. They were both living together and I guess Bob was cheating on her with 6 other girls. Its just shocking how far people can fall cause Bob used to go to the temple like once a week and stuff. I felt really bad for her though. We were there for 2 hours and she was steaming almost the whole time. We ended up staying till 10 at night. I shared a message about the atonement of Jesus Christ and she started crying and we gave her a blessing of comfort. I think this could actually get her activie. But she has had a hard life and was asking us why her life is so hard and told us some things about what happened to her in her life. I'll probably cook her some gumbo and bring it to her. She is from Arkansas so she likes it. 

Thanksgiving I think I'm gonna go to the Gonzalez. They are the family that owns the Pure Energy place. Then I think we will spend time with the Kupers as well. We teach the Kupers. They are a very nice family and I enjoy going over there. I enjoyed Scott's message. I miss all of them as well. It won't be too long till I can hang out with them. I'm glad to hear that Mark and them enjoyed the LSU game. LSU offense sucks though. I got Mark's letter this week. I will write him back when I can. I wasn't able to last week cause of all those meetings and stuff.

But anyways no I don't wear my glasses. I probably should. To answer your question I have no idea how much snow they get here. Last winter was a mild winter but I think Missouri probably gets more snow than here or about the same. By the way I enjoyed that email from Brother Russo. Tell him his Rams need to learn how to win on the road lol. Im gonna go play some football but I'll write more when I get back. Im back from football and extremly tired. I had the most amazing interception. I like stretched my right hand as far up in the air as I could and caught the ball with one hand and I had like 4 tds. But then again Im also playin people im more athletic than, but it was fun. Anyways yall have a good day and I hope yall have a good week.

 

Love

Elder Mattei

More from Greg

But anyways this week has been good and Callie's baptism should be on schedule. We are hoping things with Mark Thompson will get better. I actually enjoy visiting with him. I asked him last night how his BOM reading and stuff was going and how his praying was going. His hang up is he just isn't ready to committ fully. He pretty much said he would be baptized it's just he isn't ready to committ. And I was like that's fine cause we want you to do it for the right reasons and to do it when you are ready. I want him to commit to doing things before he gets baptized and that's the way it should be. I'm not here to force people into getting baptized. Anyways I talked some football with him as well about BSU and LSU and stuff like that. We also helped him lay down some stone the other day. 

We also got a new investigator but he moved so we need to give the referral to some other missionaries. We also had another investigator move. But it's all good. We are gonna have to look for some ways to find more people to teach. So I was excited to hear LSU won. Yes I did give Elder Ware crap about it. (Elder Ware was in the MTC with Greg, attended Alabama and was apparently on the football team.) How are Grandma and Grandpa doing and Granny and Pop Pop? Hopefully Todd will stay out of trouble. (Todd's challenged with when to talk and when not to.) 

So we have been walking alot cause of miles and stuff. I'm thinkin about buying a new suit with Grandma's gift card at the DI and probably some Wrangler boots. A typical day for me is getting up and showering and stuff like that and eventually we go out and contact people or go through set appointments. They made a new ward this past week. They took some people from third ward so the Bishop in that ward has no EQ President or young womens or primary. Basically he doesn't have a whole lot. 5th ward has like no work going on. We are gonna go on splits with them tonight though. Those new Doctrine and Covenants DVDS are pretty good. I would like to get them. The best thing on there is Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration. It's a really good movie. I would go get it but there is no distribution center here. I'll probably just go buy it today. It will be good to go and buy.

Elder Edwards is from Georgia and is a single child of a single parent. He is a really nice guy and I enjoy being able to serve with him. I could probably serve another transfer with him. So anyways Callies baptism should be good and I'm lookin forward to it. He has an interview tomorrow. Anyways yall take care and have a good week.

Other things he mentioned:

• the weather's getting cold
• he thinks he'll get a job when he gets home, complete at least another semester at the community college and get Kinect for the Xbox 360.
• he lives with the Gavers, a couple in their 50s
• the other missionaries enjoy viewing Lindsay's senior pictures, in fact one has written her.  LOL

at the gymnasium practicing his flips, praying he doesn't break something!

Like the shirt!

with Elder Huett

With Elder Gonthier

With "Flat Thomas"

With Elder Gonthier @ Trina's baptism

Trampoline Fun!

October in Idaho

Sounds like things in Jerome picked up a little bit in October.  He was able to set up more teaching appointments  and Callie Mac, the investigator that he and Elder Edwards have been teaching for quite a while, has committed to baptism.  His baptism is scheduled for November 13.  Elder Mattei had interviews with President Cannon a couple of weeks ago, and he was actually happy to find out that he would be in Jerome for yet another transfer.


" I found out I'm staying in Jerome which is good. I like staying in an area a long time because I get to know people more and get to develop a good trust with members. Callie is still committed to being baptized. He talked to me the other day and told me he was glad I was staying cause he said that I was the missionary that really convinced him to set a date and be baptized. That was pretty neat to hear."




So looks like he will be in Jerome until at least the middle of December.  In other news, he was able to hear a General Authority speak- Elder Johnson from one of the quorums of the Seventy.  He said that he enjoyed being able to listen to his comments.   He also was able to go to the temple with Amy and Chris Garcia, the couple that he fellowshipped last fall in an effort to get their family back to church ~ " I came into the Celestial room and I saw her crying and so happy. I went in there and talked to Chris and Amy and she introduced me to her family. I sat down and talked to Chris and I looked at him and I was like so how is your scripture reading going. He told me they do it every night now as a family. It was so neat to see how much they had changed. I could barely get him to read when I was teaching them. He had just  begun reading when I started to teach him. It was just really neat and they were excited."




The weather has been much colder and rainy at times.  He's been on foot a lot lately, trying to save miles on their vehicle;  he continues to play racquetball and jump on trampolines at the gym.  One of the members from our ward went to Twin Falls to visit family and met up with Greg and his companion, delivering a package for us and getting the memory card with a few new pictures of Elder Mattei.  He writes that he misses his friends, specifically - Julian, Courtney, Scott and Damon.   He's looking forward to hanging out when he gets home, but really feels that he will return to Idaho at some point.   He misses the ward back home and says none of the wards in Idaho really measure up, especially the ones in his current area.  Greg also wrote of his regard for Bishop Tuttle as well as Bishop Remund.    Sportswise,  he's pleased that the Saints are picking up a little lately (big win over the Steelers this weekend) and frustrated with BCS college football stuff.  




His former companion, Elder Gonthier, aka Trevor, was transferred to LeGrange, Oregon.  Elder Mattei will miss getting to see him every Pday.  He thought it was rather funny that his Ward Mission leader's wife actually used to babysit the Gonthier kids when they were small.  


"There's a funny story I have about us trying to get a cow back in to its pin. So we saw a cow got out and it took us nearly 45 min to get it back in. We chased it around and finally we almost got him back in but instead of going in he ran up this huge mound of Cattle corn. So Elder Edwards went the other way and I cornered it to where it would go in its pin."  


"So an average day for me is usually going contacting people and stuff. We have been walking around a lot cause we are trying to save miles. They won't give us any more even though we live like 5 miles outside of town. We cook ourselves sometimes. Sister Gaver pretty much buys us food and stuff which is nice. She went and bought all the ingredients the other day for me to make gumbo. They're an awesome family though."


It appears that he's eating well and will likely continue to do so.  One of the members that used to take them out and treat them to dinner frequently in Twin Falls has moved to Jerome.  Greg said that they helped him move and was glad to see another familiar face.   Looks like Jerome's not all that bad . . . and then he'll move on.  

Random Thoughts from Elder Mattei

 I'm combining the last couple of emails from Elder Mattei into this one blog post. I'll just kind of summarize his comments, as his emails were rather random.  First of all it seems that the mission work is progressing really slowly in Jerome.  He sounds kind of discouraged and seems to be looking for things to motivate him at this point.  Apparently the members there aren't as supportive of the missionaries as he would like or as supportive as he's grown accustomed to.  He hasn't mentioned Callie Mac, the man they had been teaching.  It sounds like most of his work in Jerome has been focused on reactivating those members who are less active.  One bit of news, he was upbeat about was the fact that the Garcia family, whom he helped get back to Church, will be going to the temple soon, and Greg will get to accompany them.  I chatted with Sister Garcia once on facebook and she told me how fond her family was of Elder Mattei.

He and his companion, Elder Edwards have moved into a new house.  He didn't mention if the zone leaders moved with them as well.  The couple he was living with recently left to serve a senior mission.  He said his new place is more in the country, with a more comfortable bed, and an in ground pool which he of course lamented that he wouldn't be enjoying.  He has taken up racquetball on his P-days and loves it.  Apparently some local members have a court in their home.  Pretty neat!  Sounds like his ankle is healing up some,  He's been riding his bike more often to save on miles in their car.  But he admits that he isn't working out as much as he had been and has been, in his words, lazy lately.  Again this sounds like he's having a tough time staying motivated right now.  Michael writes to him every week about how his faith in the Lord has been strengthened this past year and how he has learned to trust in Him in all things.  Greg acknowledged that sometimes he struggles with putting trust in the Lord. But it sounds like he's trying.

I had the chance to "chat" with him online for a short while, as we exchanged questions and answers through email this past week.  He talked a bit about his future, as he's realizing these next ten months will likely pass quickly.  President Cannon has apparently already approved some missionaries returning home a few weeks early because of school.  So Elder Mattei is considering asking for approval to come home a couple of weeks early because most colleges will have already started or be starting the week that he is set to be released.  He obviously loves Idaho and the people there as he is thinking of applying to BYU-Idaho or Boise State.  Hopefully he'll return to the community college here in Missouri for a semester while he plans for his future.  I warned him that some of his friends here would not appreciate him coming home only to leave a couple of weeks later to return to Idaho!  Courtney, in particular; and me!  He thought that was rather funny and agreed that she would be MAD.

A member of our ward is actually traveling to Twin Falls next week, so we're excited to get to send some small things to him and of course are looking forward to a memory card coming back to us.  So hopefully we'll have more pictures to share soon.  A funny story he shared (at least I thought it was amusing) ~  Apparently the seam ripped in one of his suit pants. Well he didn't know it had ripped. He was sitting in Sacrament meeting a couple of Sundays ago and had his head in his hands, looking down ~ lo and behold there was his underwear peeking through the seam, apparently from the back all the way to the front.  His response was, "What the heck?  Elder Edwards, we have to leave."  Thankfully he had his suit jacket with him, as it hid most of the show.   And of course, it wouldn't be an email from Greg if the Saints and LSU were not mentioned.  Just so you know,  he's pleased with the Saints, but says they're not looking as good as last year.  And no LSU did NOT deserve to win against Tennessee.  He actually was somewhere that he got to see the end of that game and his comment was that he'd never seen anything like it.   I'm still maintaining that Greg is a good luck charm for his favorite teams.  Otherwise I don't know how they pull it off sometimes.

Lastly, I asked him if he had any advice for Mark as he is preparing to serve a mission in the near future. (Likely early Spring, but maybe sooner)  His advice was to study the scriptures, read through the Preach My Gospel manual and become more responsible with finances.  He wishes he had been better at all three before he left.

And thanks Gonthiers, for another picture to add of Elder Mattei and Elder Gonthier.

Rollercoaster Road???

So this week I got a new companion, Elder Edwards. He is pretty nice and I knew him pretty well from Caldwell. I will miss Elder Huett though. He was a fun and good companion. He is a little strange but its all good. To be honest I really don't like Jerome that much. Its ok but the wards and stuff aren't that great at helping out as much. I also got yelled at by a Bishop this week. It was over a dinner. I called him and left a message asking if 5 would be ok and told him to call us back and he never did so we just assumed we didn't have a dinner. He calls at 5:30 asking where we are at and starts yelling and stuff and I'm like Im sorry sir but no one called back and I just assumed we didn't have dinner. 

So right now I probaby can't play sports for awhile cause my ankle is still hurting and I have it in a brace. Tell Mark I said Happy Bday. I did remember his bday I just didn't get him a card. There's not really much food I want. The best thing would probably be just like a wal mart gift card or an american express gift card or something. I have no idea what I'd want for Christmas. Probably just a gift card or something and maybe some other things. 

I got Grannies letter. I enjoyed reading it. Tell them Thank you for me. I will try my best to write them back again. I have thought about becoming a teacher. I think it would be kinda fun to do. So nothing new has happened in my area. I guess if you were to pray for anyone I would pray that Callie Mack gets baptized. Im really hoping he will get baptized. We haven't figured out why he doesn't want to be baptized. He says he is ready and everything so I can't figure out why. He just wants it to be the right time. 

So how has everything been going at home? It's good to hear that your job is picking up dad. Hopefully things will continue to do well. So I have a girl in my old area writing me. She is actually the girl I baptized.  She is pretty nice and stuff. I was excited to see that the Saints won. Its good to hear that they're 2-0. I think they play Atlanta this week. That should b a pretty good game. It will be a tough game for sure. LSU has quite a test this week against West Virginia as well.

I also get to live with my former companion Ichirante-Remoune. I think things will be ok even though I didn't get along with him last time. Im not serving with him this time so I think things will turn out ok. Im hoping we can have some baptisms this transfer. It would be good to have some. Trevor is still in Twin Falls. This will be the 3rd missionary to stay in that area for 6 months. Tell Garrett I said hi and I hope he feels better. Hopefully he is enjoying Kindergarten. How are u liking Kindergarten Garrett? I hit my 13 month mark this week. I guess I dont have too much left. How is Mark doing in college? It must be hard for him to leave Melissa.  Mom how do I do a absentee ballot? Its hard to believe that Halloween is coming up soon. Last Halloween I was in Boise for it. It will fall on a Sunday this year. So how are Ashley Russo and RJ doing? Its good that you and Mr. Randy have become better friends. His Rams aren't looking so hot this year lol. Today we got a flat tire and had to take the car into the shop. I think I popped it screwing around in the car in mud and stuff lol. We also ramped the car off these huge hills the other day on this road called rollercoaster road. It was so much fun. We did it in the zone leaders car on the way to a baptismal interview lol. Anyways I g2g. Yall have a good week and take care

Thankfully not a Broken Leg

 I have no idea if I'm training next transfer. I don't really want any leadership in my Mission. I'm content with being just a regular missionary. So I saw the 4th quarter of the Saints game. They looked pretty good. Their field goal kicker though didn't look too great. So this week I was lucky I didn't break my leg. I did a back flip on someone's trampoline and I flipped too late and landed wrong and I heard a loud CRACK noise. I was like oh no I broke my leg. But I was able to walk off and I was like I probably didn't break it cause it didn't hurt as much as I thought. I happened to have 2 massage therapists there and she is like your metatarsals are not right. Apparently my tendon slid up further than what it should be and she told me to lay down and she tugged on my led and popped it back into the right area. It honestly didnt really hurt. But now I'm walkin with a limp. I still wanna do backflips though cause they are a lot of fun. This past week has been slow cause of Labor day. There was like nobody home. We are still trying to get Calley to move towards baptism. Apparently he has been doing this for the past year or so. I don/t know why its taking him so long. Not too much new is going on in the area. Hopefully things will start to pick up and everything. How is the family doing? I hope all is going well with yall. I will do my best to write Mark back. Im probably gonna send a bunch of junk home soon. Can you start sending me stats from the Saints and LSU games? I'm gonna probably send those Saints newspapers home. I would like to frame them when I get back so if yall could keep them in good condition that would be good. I'll probably send some other stuff home like some clothes. So how are Granny and them doing? Its sad that the Cardinals probably won't go to the playoffs. I just hope they resign Albert Pujols. They would be stupid not to. I'm trying to think of anything new we did this week. I get transfer calls sometime this week so I will find out if I will  be leaving or staying. How are things going with your new job Dad? Has work picked up more? Tell Garrett thank you for the note.


Love Elder Mattei

Definitely "Greggish" ~ Missionary Work mingled with thoughts of Football, Girls and Video Games

This week has been good. Calley is progressing by going to church but we are trying to figure out what his hold up is with baptism. We had a zone conference like 2 weeks ago but we have them every other transfer now so it will be awhile when we have zone conference again. My zone is extremly small. It is the size of my district which is about 8 people.

O yeah I know who John Bytheway is because I have a ton of his talks. They're pretty good talks, I just hate how he tells jokes about his last name and stuff. It gets kinda old after awhile. It stinks to hear that Lindsay's friend won't be baptized. She can be baptized when she is 18 though. For people like that I would say they need to look into it themselves and not be asking a 3rd source about what Mormons believe. That would be like me going to a Chevy dealership and asking about a Ford Mustang. Of course they're gonna say negative things about the Mustang. Thats kind of how I look at it. Lindsay has a close friend who has shown a serious interest in our church.  Unfortunately her parents have been persuaded by anti-Mormon literature and some anti-Mormon contacts. 

Tell the Russos I said hi and tell Mr. Darryl he still owes me a Blizzard lol. Apparently the BSU and VT game was a good one. I saw like the first quarter and then had to go. Yesterday wasn't a day off although it felt kind of like one. We hauled wood and stuff for most of the day and then burned it in a huge fire. I also learned how to do a backflip on Friday. It's a really cool less active family who own this gymnastics gym. She would spot me and stuff until I got the hang out if myself. I think I will eventually learn how to do a back flip off the wall. It was pretty fun to learn how to do though. I'm hoping the Saints will win this Monday (Thursday). It should be a pretty good game. I heard LSU should have lost. I kinda hope Les Miles gets fired cause LSU hasn't been living up to its potential. 

Time on my mission seems to be going by pretty fast and things seem to be doing well. I feel like more needs to be done with our area. Things just seem to be slow and hard to get going in the wards. We are teaching a lot of lessons but I don't feel they are really that productive. I'm still also trying to learn where everything is and such and remember peoples names. I got to go to Twin this weekend for a baptism of a boy I started teaching. Their name is the Cernicks and I got a hold of that family finally before I left Twin Falls. We went to the baptism and saw some families that I know there and then we went to a after party thing. I found out that the girl I baptized thinks I'm cute lol. She's not to bad lookin lol. I think she is pretty cute. She is the one that I baptized before I left and she has a little boy. 

You need to limit Todd to computer use and stuff btw. Apparently he is like always on Call of Duty. People who added me on there always say that. And tell him to change my name back to LSUTigers08. Apparently he changed it and now people on my mission can't add me anymore and I don't want one of his gay names when I get back home. 

U need to start getting more sleep mom. It won't be good if you call in sick too many days. Dad, its good to hear that your back is feeling better. I did use up all of that Visa card. I figured I had enough for Sushi but I didn't. It was all you can eat sushi. I only get shellfish cause its cooked. I have tried real sushi such as raw fish and I didn't care for it too much cause I don't like the texture of it in my mouth. O yeah I wrote Granny and them a letter finally. I will send it out tomorrow so they should get it by the weekend hopefully. 

A lot of people this week haven't been home and have been hard to get a hold of cause no one was home for the last week of summer. Man what Tyler is going through is crazy. I don't think I could ever do that. I have a lot of respect for him. That's impressive that he is able to go through all that.Tyler is a friend who is serving a mission in Mexico.  I think Greg is quite humbled by some of the  primitive conditions and such that Tyler describes in his emails.  So how is Julian and the Barnes family doing? Anything new in the ward? How long has Bishop Tuttle been a Bishop? I doubt he will be my bishop when I get back. It seems like he has been doing it for about 5 or 6 years.  ;)    Anyways I need to get going. We are gonna probaly go play racketball or something. Yall take car and have a good week.

 

Love

Elder Mattei

  Greg with President and Sister Cannon

Welcome September!

Things have been going pretty well. We are still teaching pretty much the same people. We need to find new people to teach because none of them are really progressing. Although the other night we found out why this one lady wasn't going to church. I guess missionaries in the past didn't ever find out why but it was cool to be able to discern and ask the right questions. 

Yeah we get meals pretty regularly and my bike is still at the Hills but I'm gonna have it brought to me on Saturday I think. The Saints played Drew Brees former team and I heard that they won and played pretty well. I have no idea if I'll be training soon or not. I still do talk to Trevor and see him just about every P-day. Hopefully he is liking his new companion. I don't have really any new crazy stories. Just going to that house in general is crazy. Same old story of people using her for money to buy cigarettes and stuff.  The weather here has been pretty cool lately. Its been really cool at night, dropping into the 40's. I've heard about that Glenn Beck rally and I heard about Al Sharpton getting mad cause he thinks he is ruining Martin Luther Kings I have a dream speech. I think that its cool that Albert Pujols and Tony Larussa went. 

Trevor's comp right now is Elder Doan. Thanks for the Gordon B Hinkley quotes. I enjoyed reading them. Dad, Its good to hear that you found a new client for your business. I will send Granny and them a letter. I keep forgetting to do so and I'll make it a priority to do. I'll see about if I can call or not when Mark opens his call. I had asked Greg if he thought he might be able to call home when Mark opens his mission call.  He hasn't even submitted the paperwork yet, but he's thinking October sometime.   President Cannon is pretty strict so I don't know if he would let me or not. So we could have a possible baptism coming up soon. His name is Calley Mac. I think I already told yall about him. No one else looks really that promising. But I could be wrong. I still don't know everyone. I wish I was in my old area where I knew everyone in the area and it made things so much easier. Hopefully we can get the focus families going and get some referrals from members. A lot of our appointments keep cancelling too. There is another family the Bodenhoffers where the kids could get baptized but when they have an appointment no one is ever home. She is active in church I believe but she has a lot of health problems. She is like 25 years old and had cancer. But I think the cancer helped her join the church but did the opposite to her husband who served a mission. The husband is very inactive now. I've never even seen him there. I will send pics when I get some more of them. Wait till after a baptism or something. What all classes is Mark taking at SCC? Is he in any of Mark Lemens classes? Anyways yall take care and have a good week.

 

Love

Elder Mattei

A Hard Area for Mission Work

That's pretty cool that Lindsay got a car. So are you going to have to stop your company completely if things don't turn out right or are you going to just have a side job? Y'all were lucky to go on a float trip. That would be a lot of fun to go and do. I can't believe they started school already. Here they start school after labor day now and end a week early because of budget cuts.


 In Jerome we are teaching a guy named Calley Mac, Mark Thompson, and a couple of less active families. There are more but I struggle with names. So where is Mark Lemen (one of Mark's close friends) going to college at? How has he been doing? Yall should get him to have the missionaries teach him. My companion has opened up which is good and he is a nice kid. He is from San Diego, California. This area is gonna be hard because  none of the wards really do focus families or any of that stuff. The people in that town are a little weird, at least some of them. One of our WML (ward mission leaders) is like semi active cause of his job. Hopefully he will be able to work with us more so we'll see.


So we had another messed up incident at Bonnies house. I met her daughter. She refused to take care of her kid, when Bonnie asked her to change his diaper she replied " Why do I have to take care of him." It made me pretty mad and that house is just messed up. Apparently the dad tried to sell the child at some point. Its just a really bad situation and the only reason they have kids is for welfare. I'm pretty sure she does drugs too while she is pregnant. Its really sad and I found a rolled up joint the other day when I was there.


I left my bike in my last area and will probably get it back sometime soon. I will call Brother Hill to see if he can bring it to me. I did clean it once in awhile in my last area but didn't take it out so much. I still haven't written in my journal. I never feel like I have much time to cause I'm tired when I get home. I've been getting up early to work out and sometimes I workout at night if I can't do it in the morning.


I just looked at my other email account and Trina (the young woman he just baptized in Twin Falls) sent me a pretty good message on facebook. I got to read it without getting on facebook but it was really nice. It was something I wasn't expecting at all. I'm glad I helped make a difference in her life though and her son's life.


So anyways I'm hoping by the time I get home I'll be pretty muscular. I'm really going to work hard at doing this P90X workout so I can look good when I get home. Our address is 923 4th Ave East. You will have to look up the zip code and all that. Anyways I g2g. Yall have a good week and take care.




Love,
Elder Mattei

Happy Hump Day

I'm staying at a members house but I will be leaving there in a month or so because they are going on a senior mission. I live somewhere on 4th ave east. I cover a ghetto and a couple of nice homes. Its mostly out in the country. The people there are also crazy. This one lady's house I swear is posessed or something. You get this really bad feeling in her house and she thinks the devil lives in her house. The people in the house do drugs and her sons and stuff come and steal her pain killers. I feel bad for her. The other day we were over there and her husband came up and smoked some weed while we were over there. Her husband is also on oxygen while he is doing this so its a great way to blow himself and others up.

My companion is pretty nice but he is quiet and doesn't talk a whole lot. He has opened up a little bit though. My zone isn't as fun as what it used to be which stinks but oh well. I don't really know who all we are teaching cause I don't really know peoples' names yet. It's mostly Less active people though. There;s also this guy;s house we drive by that is insane. He is totally anti american and has all these weird signs in his yard and stuff.

This week has been better though than last week. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude towards liking the place. Tell Mark thank you for the letter. I'll have to write him back sometime. Those pics of Lindsay with Ozzie Smith and all them are pretty cool. Its pretty neat that she got to meet him. Anyways I have a feeling these next 5 weeks are gonna be pretty long. Things just seem like they are  gonna be hard because I have nothing in common with anyone I live with and I can only come to Twin with the Zone Leaders because we dont have miles to drive here and we have to leave and go where they pretty much want to go. I'll just try and keep a positive attitude about it and hopefully everything will be fine.

Sounds like Lindsay will be getting a pretty nice car. I wanna get a Jeep Wrangler when I get home. That would be fun to drive. Sis Garcia is awesome. I like her a lot. Im so happy to hear they will be going to the temple soon. Yeah they were kinda less active. Her husband Chris is the one getting the transplant. I got to chat with her while I was maintaining Greg's facebook page.  It was neat talking to someone who knows him as a missionary.  

Tell Julian and them thank you for the comments on facebook. O yeah btw I couldn't see that picture of Garrett. To answer dad's question I will probaby be able to go to Twin Falls for the baptisms. My shoes are fine and they are comfy. I got the Visa Card from Grandma. Tell her thank you very much. I will probably write a thank you letter to them. I'm good on temple garments and stuff. It stinks to hear that the brakes went out again. How many miles does that suburban even have on it? That's a long time since you haven't been to the temple. I go now at least once a week. Well anyways Im gonna prolly have to get going. I'll talk to yall later

Love

Elder Mattei

Hump Day

The Camel is the Symbol of the Seasoned Missionary

 As you come to the one-year mark of your mission, I am sending you a camel
 to remind you how far you have come, and where you are going.  There are
 many similar characteristics of a great missionary and a camel.

 The first is the "hump"
 Yes, you have crossed the mark and now are over the hump of the first year.
 But remember, the hump of a camel is used to store food for the long
 journey.  Camels can go far for long periods of time without food, but a
 wise missionary will store the knowledge he has gained and put it to
 greater use the second half of his mission.

 Another important characteristic is what the camel does to be prepared to
 carry his load for his Master.  A camel sometimes protests his heavy load,
 but he drops to his knees for his Master and once started, he patiently
 carries his load.
 As a missionary, sometimes the load seems heavy and difficult to carry.
 But when you drop to your knees and succumb to the Master's will, he will
 carefully lead you and you can bear the load patiently, and do your Father
 in Heaven's work as he would have you do.  This is why the camel's knees
 are heavily padded, as a missionary, your knees are calloused from many
hours of kneeling in prayer.

 The camel has high set eyes, which enable him to see long distances.
 A missionary has his eyes set on higher things, he follows the Spirit that
 enables him to see the Children of God, those who are seeking answers, and
 he teaches them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 The camel has broad, two-toed feet, which keep it from sinking in the
 desert sand.
 A missionary has a broad knowledge and a firm testimony of the Gospel.
 This enables him to teach with boldness and stand steadfast and immoveable.
 The people you teach do not yet have the blessings of such a sure-foot,
but as you teach with love and the Spirit, you will help them gain their
own testimony, that will help them walk on firmer ground, the path that
will lead them back to their Father in Heaven.

 So you see, a Missionary has a lot in common with a camel.
 Put this camel where you can see it often.
 Dedicate yourself to do as the camel does. (no spitting)
 Serve your Master well and patiently over the long journey.
 You have come a long way, there is still much ground to cover.
 Continue to move forward, serving with love, until your mission is
complete and your Father in Heaven will say, "Well done, thou good and
faithful servant."