Hello :) BOM DIA!! :)

So I don't know if I read slow or what but I always end up having to write fast... Time passes way too fast on Pday... hahaha today we will go to O Centro... they have like everything there! Lots of good stuff to buy to take home with me :) That is the advantage of living in the city... there is a lot of cheap stuff :) So I will try to give you an update on everything! 

So Patricia, the girl who was supposed to be baptized but then disappeared, so it turns out that she is alive and okay (more or less) |She is living in another neighborhood that is out of our area and the elders found her and said she is living in a small house with some guy. They said the situation was super strange and that the guy wouldn't talk with them and that it looks like he is controlling her life... she told them that he won't allow her to be baptized... I don't really know it is all super weird but I was just super happy to hear that she is alive, I hope it remains that way and that soon she can leave if that is her will. Her brothers didn't look for her or anything, the members were more worried than her own family and the cops here don't investigate things like they do there. 

Other news:

So we are teaching a man Daniel who is awesome and he is super receptive and had looked into the church before we ever arrived at his house. We are hoping he gets an answer soon and will be baptized. We have 7 or 8 people planning to go to General Conference with us this next weekend :) I am super excited! Seriously General Conference is like Christmas for missionaries! :) I have really learned the importance of conference here on my mission. Before, I paid half the attention that I do here on the mission and I get so much more out of it now :) I am excited for our investigators to hear the prophet and apostles talk. Conference makes miracles happen! 

The lady that has 30 cats is planning on coming to conference also. She is so sweet and every time we are at her house I just think of Grandma. We have been finding a lot of cool people these last few weeks I just hope they will get an answer, go to church, be baptized and be strong, faithful members of the church. In this area we have found amazing people but getting them to go to church has been the hard part. People are super busy with work and trips that it makes it hard for them to find time to visit the church but I have faith that it will all work out and that this week the 7 people to  be confirmed will really go. Please pray for them :) 

Oh so I never told you guys but me and another Sister teach English every week for an hour and a half in the church. It has been a great opportunity to meet new people and help other get to know the church. It has been good too because I was starting to speak English super weird and I need the practice. The first few days should be pretty funny. Oh so funny story last week at church me and my companion got in the elevator to go to sacrament meeting( yeah we are lazy and didn't want to take the stairs haha and the church is huge) So the elevator stopped and the doors opened and it was just a wall haha. My companion started freaking out and I just started laughing and tried calming her down. We were stuck for a good 10 to 15 minutes and walked in late to sacrament meeting and everyone stared at us lol... We had to explain later on we were stuck in the elevator. At one point all the lights in the elevator went off and we were just left in the pitch black, it was pretty creepy. Oh and we got lost walking to lunch the other day because my companion didn't remember where the member lived and she felt super bad and was almost crying cuz we were walking until almost 2 o'clock looking for her house and then I just was like don't worry about it and I just started laughing super hard in the middle of the road cuz things like this just seem to happen a lot on the mission. I was like we will just go home to eat and we will explain what happened later on, plus the other 2 sisters were there and ate with that family. We had asked so many people how to get there and no one knew and were sun burned from walking so long and so we just decided to make a funny experience out of it. I have just learned to laugh in all the bad situations haha. 

Well I don't have a ton of time left so I will start wrapping up. I am loving my mission, every part of it, even the super hard parts because it has made out for a lot of learning experiences :) I have learned how to take on responsibility even when you don't want it haha. I have enjoyed being a Sister Leader Trainer because I have met some amazing sisters and have had the opportunity to learn from them. It is funny sometimes when you don't want something, the Lord has others plans and gives a challenge. Now looking back I can see all I have learned and how much I have grown. It is crazy how fast time passes. Soon you will receive my flight information. That is so weird to think about. Well love you lots!! :) Have an amazing week! :)

Sister Mattei :) 

Boa tarde!! :) Today I am on a little later because we treated our hair and got a hair cut. A member here is a hair stylist. She cut a lot more than what I wanted... I was panicking in my mind when I saw how much she cut especially since I asked for just a trim but I like it. It will just take some time to get used to. I am happy you got my card finally :) The pictures I sent you can probably tell that my hair was super long... well not anymore haha but I had lots of dead ends and my hair was damaged from all the sun we get. I will have to send a picture soon, I think I look older. So I will give you a quick update since I don't have a ton of time. This week was a little stressful and worrisome.

So... first off the baptism that was planned for yesterday didn't work out :/.... the baptism isn't the problem... I had mentioned her last week and the week before... She is a young girl and she is awesome but not to freak you all out or anything but we think she was kidnapped.... as missionaries we can't be involved but the members are doing an investigation since she doesn't have parents and her brothers just don't care.... it is super sad. The neighbors and us are more worried than her own family. It has been 6 days since she returned... she left to meet a guy from the internet... :/ Please say prayers for her. Well I don't want to talk much about the subject because it is sad and just a mess. We are just trying to keep focused and work hard and keep a good attitude :) 

Oh so something funny... yesterday a bird entered our house through the window and he pooped on everything... my suitcase, the floor, the walls and the windows haha.... everyone was screaming and I was running around the room with grocery bags on my hands trying to catch it lol. Finally we caught the bird and then threw it out the window lol. It was super funny... just imagine 4 girls screaming trying to catch a bird... It seems I always have to have an animal in the houses I live in haha. 

Oh and also I watched Frozen last P day.... Finally :) It was super cute :) I will have to watch it again after the mission. We all were like aww.... I won't lie I felt like a normal person watching a Disney movie haha. 

So the people we are teaching are all awesome... I feel we are meeting a lot of people with true potential... There is a woman that reminds me a lot of Grandma, she is so sweet and loves to tell us stories... I could just listen for hours if we had time. We are hoping to have 6 or 7 people at church with us on Sunday. These people are amazing but they just gotta get to church :) I love them!! I miss the people from Conjunto Ceara a lot but I feel I am here to meet the people that we have been meeting... they are an incredible people!! 

Well no time but have an amazing week!! :) I love yall lots! My date changed and President is sending us all home December 15th! 3 months.... que loco!! Love ya!!! :)

Muito amor,

Sister Mattei :) 

Famila Mattei :)

Wow!! Sounds like lots of wedding plans and decorations and fun stuff are happening at home!!I am a little sad I am missing all the wedding excitement but at the same time I am super happy I will be there for the wedding! :) Oh so my official date is December 22nd. They still haven't bought the plane tickets but they will be in the next few weeks. It is weird talking about my homecoming date... we were talking with the secretary this week and another Sister and I were like I can't believe our time is already almost up and we are already talking about flight plans. I shouldn't say it is almost up because I still have a good 3 and a half more months to work, work, work!! 

I have been enjoying my time here with Sister Souberon and the new ward. It has been a lot different in some aspects... I miss the members from my other area a lot but the work here has been super good! Patricia will be baptized on Sunday :) She is so sweet! She is 15 and she has been through a lot and doesn't have a solid family structure and home life but is amazing!! She has been willing to give up a lot to go to church and to keep the commandments. I know it is not easy but she is super humble, she learns and then she does! :)  She likes to visit people with us and she still isn't a member, so I can't imagine the help she will be after her baptism. 

We are also teaching a single mom who is incredible. She wants to do what is right but is having a bit of difficulty giving up worldly things. She is Catholic and says she doesn't want to leave her church because she has been there for so long and likes her church but she started to cry and told us that she feels she needs to give up her religion to follow something better. You could just see in her eyes she was torn apart because she knows that the things we taught are true and will help her and her son to have a better life but is scared to give up her past life. When she was crying I asked her if she had said a prayer to know if the things  that were taught were true and she said no because I am scared of what the answer might be... I already feel like this and I still haven't prayed so I can't imagine how I will feel when I do pray and ask God. It is super sad because she is scared to have a confirmation because she knows she should follow it. I am certain that it won't be easy for her to give up some things like alcohol, worldly parties, bad influences, some friends, sex.... but I know she will be able to if she will just rely on the Lord and confide in him! She deserves a better life but first she needs to be determined and she has to make the decision to use her agency with wisdom. I have so much faith in her. She is one of those people who I really feel I have already met and who I am here in this area to help. It might take a bit of time but I am determined to help her get on the right path and change her life and see the blessings of the gospel. She has so much waiting for her she just has to decide now and not procrastinate her repentance day. 

Well there is that. There are amazing people who are waiting to hear about the gospel. We just have to open our mouths and follow the spirit. Never be afraid to talk with people about the church or what we belive, some people will deny it but you will find people who will accept  it as well, people who are waiting for YOU to open your mouth. Well I don't have much time but I love and miss yall lots! Have  a wonderful week! :) Smile and count your blessings :)

Sister Mattei :) 

Happy Labor Day!! :) I hope you all can relax a little bit and do something fun! I have so many memories of riding the Jet Ski or going camping Labor Day weekend!We gotta go camping again when I get back. I never understood why our family stopped going camping. I love the outdoors! :) It is nuts everyone is in school again, time is passing by super fast. I will get home and then it will be wedding after wedding.... lots of dancing for me :) 

So an update on everything...

My companion is Sister Souberon. She is from Argentina and she has 3 months in the field. She is super sweet! :) I am in the city of Fortaleza so there are lots of tall buildings and the majority of the people here live in big apartment buildings. Our church building here has 5 levels. It is huge, I have never seen a church like this one... it almost looks like a temple it is so big. It has less than a year so is super new and pretty. This area is a lot different than my other areas since it is where the wealthier people live. I thought it would be super hard here to meet new people and to enter houses but we have found a lot of awesome people in just this week alone. We talk with everyone on the streets and there are modest houses occasionly that we knock on their doors. 

This week was awesome because we found an awesome family. My companion and I felt at the same time that we needed to talk with a family we saw on the other side of the street so we walked over and talked with them a little, taught a lesson and invited them to church. They went to church with us yesterday and then a family in the ward invited them to eat lunch at their house. I love the members here, really I love the members in all my areas. I miss Conjunto Ceara but there are awesome people here too. Put simply I will be happy wherever I am :) This just shows how important it is to follow the spirit! It was an awesome experience. They are a family of 4. Also Patricia went to church with us. She is 15 and she has a baptismal date for Setember 14th. She already wants to visit investigators with us :) She loves church and told us she gets super excited when Sunday arrives! :) 

Oh so something super weird that happened this week.... this was my welcoming to my new area! My first day here we were walking and out of nowhere, on a normal street with people walking around in mid day, a man had pulled his pants down to do what I still have no idea but he had nothing on.... we saw everything! seriously it was horrible.... I was like did that just really happen?? we were disgusted.... Oh people here.... sometimes you wonder.... but you just gotta love them!! Oh and next week I will tell you more about Franciso. He is a recent convert/ less active. He is awesome but has drinking problçems. Sweetest man, but lacks confidence in himself it's super sad. 

Well no more time but love and miss yall lots!!! Time is passing by super fast! I think I will be here until the end of my mission! Craziness! Have an amazing week!

Com amor,

Sister Mattei :)