BOM DIA!! :)

Well this week we moved houses!! which is a super good thing because our old house was not so nice, it was old and only had 1 bathroom which made it difficult for us to get ready in the morning and take showers at night! Imagine 4 girls trying to get ready with one bathroom and just 1 mirror. I have learned to get ready much faster as you and Dad used to make fun of me for how much time I spent in the mirror putting on makeup and doing my eyelashes lol. Just to let you know, my companion takes longer than I do haha :p

So now we live in a house that I think it one of the larger houses in our mission. Really, it is an apartment and it's not all that big but it feels big compared to our other tiny apartment. Our old house sometimes ran out of water so we didn't take showers and went to sleep dirty, so this will be a good change :) The members helped us move. I think there were about 10 of us all together but we moved everything rather quickly.

Updates on people:

Wellington has disappeared on Sundays and I think he needs a little more time to fulfill all of the commandments so we have just been taking it slow with him... giving him time to make changes and not rush him.

Francisco, he has been to church with us 3 times now and he has  a mild learning disability and a high functioning form of autism. We have to teach him a bit slower and help him understand a few things, but he loves to go to church, loves the members and wants to be baptized. He works and has lots of responsibilities in his household. He is super funny and has a super good memory when it comes to certain things. We are just going with the flow with him and when he wants to be baptized, he can choose  and we will mark a date and set everything up.

Also, we have lots of families we are teaching but the majority of them aren't married, so that has been the more difficult part. Mayrla and her son Juan went to church with us yesterday. Juan is super cute, he is 9 and supér smart. We taught him this week and every question he answered he got a chocolate. He was super happy and knew lots of the answers!

We are also teaching 2 young men, one is 12 and the other is 13 and they both have lots of potential and have family and friends that are members but are a little lazy and want to play video games and watch TV. They have  already been to church but need to go more to reach their goal of baptism.

Well I don't have much time because we have to go to the mission office in a bit which means we have to take a 1 to 2 hour bus ride. The transportation on buses here is super funny. Seriously each time we ride the bus we stand for about an hour or more straight and there are tons of people so you're just smooshed and can smell everyone's odor because everyone is just all up in your bubble haha. Sometimes people hold onto your shoulders so stay put while the driver is driving since there is no more room on the hand bars and poles haha. Seriously it is an adventure you don't want to experience but I will say it is pretty funny! I just laugh for an hour straight lol :) Well have an amazing week, I am always praying for you all!! :) Be safe and have fun in Branson! Miss y'all lots!! aww... y'all will go jet skiiing....?? I am just a bit jealous lol :p Boa semana!! :) Love you!!

Com muito amor,

Sister Mattei :)

Tudo otimo!! :) So I don't have a ton of time today to write since I was looking at all your photos you sent!! Everyone looks good! Your hair is long now!! :) Gostei!! So this week was good but not as good as I would have liked. I wish more people would have been at church yesterday and that Wellington would have been baptized but I am just happy we still had investigators at church with us! We are hoping Wellington will be baptized soon. He is a tough one. He says he knows everything we teach is true but is afraid he will have doubts after being baptized. So please pray for him. He already has received multiple answers but still wants something more to confirm his decision.

So we are teaching a man who is 35 and he is a little special. I am not sure what he has, I think maybe Tourette's and something mentally. He always wants to come to church with us and likes it a lot. He can read and speak fine and he understands. I have never baptized someone who is a little special but he is fully capable of being baptized and he wants to be so we will see how that goes. We are just taking it a little slower with him, but he is awesome and very funny and friendly!

Also, we brought a 50 year old man to church with us. We found him when he was drunk and he promised us he would be ready for church on Sunday and he was and he didn't drink more. He wants to change his life. He is an alcoholic and his family abandoned him a few years ago. It is super sad to see but we want to help him overcome his addiction. He liked church a lot. We will be visiting him this week, but with God anything is possible! He even got all dressed up for church :)

Wel no more time but I love and miss yall lots!! I hope you all have an amazing week and enjoy your summer break!! :) Go swimming, camping and take some adventures for me!! :) Keep sending pics I like seeing everyone :)

Muito amor,

Sister Mattei :) 

Boa tarde!! :) So as y'all all know Brazil lost this week... and they lost pretty badly! Everyone here is super sad, depressed and embarrassed about it but it's all good!! Now that the World Cup is over our missionary work will be going much smoother and better :) So it seems like things at home have their ups and downs!!! Just be patient and things will work out how they should! Just know you guys are awesome parents and you are doing your part!! Patience is truly a virtue!! :) You all are always in my prayers!! :)

So this week we are hoping Wellington will not be working so that he can be baptized either Saturday or Sunday. We will see what happens. He is awesome and very open! This transfer ended and my daughter and I are going into our 2nd transfer together as I finish training her! She is awesome. I enjoy working with her. I have learned so much from all of my companions! This week she was sick so work was a little slower than usual since we stayed in the house for 2 days. She was throwing up. I think it was something she ate. Oh hey guess what a miracle happened! I am learning to make Brazilian food!! :) Maybe if I remember how to make stuff when I get back I will make something for you guys!! Pastel is so good and fattening too haha! Maybe that is what got Sister Lara sick.

Even though this week was slow with the games and her being sick we had some really good lessons and marked some dates for baptisms! :) We have a couple we are teaching and they are awesome! They have a daughter who is 7 years old and they are just the cutest family ever. The only problem is they are not married but they want to be so we are hoping we can get them married and then baptized before the end of this transfer.Of course I would like to be here for their baptism but if they are baptized, they are baptized so I will be happy either way! Speaking of that, do you remember Atilene who had a baptism date when I was in Paracuru but her mom got sick so she stayed with her in the hospital in another city for a super long time.... well  she finally returned to Paracuru 2 weeks ago and her Mom is doing better and she was baptized this week! :) Sister Danielle told me and I was super happy! :)

Well I don't have a ton of time today but I love and miss you all lots!! Have an amazing week! Y'all should go get massages to relieve some of your stress! you deserve it!! :) Well take care and just stay positive and do as Dori says and just keep swimming!! :)

Muito amor,

Sister Mattei :) 

BOM DIA!! :) So I hope all goes well with Mom at the doctors today!! I will say a prayer :) This week was super good!! we had lessons and made contacts with people this week who actually seem interested!! :) Usually when we knock doors we don't have a ton of success with people who will have a desire to learn more but this week went super well. We had 4 investigators at church with us and we are hoping this next week we will have more! :) It all depends if Brazil is in the Finals because if they are no one will be at church on Sunday including the members... haha we will see what happens! It will be us and the Bishop lol!

So this week we made a goal to talk with everyone and try to see everyone with potential. So we were walking home one night and a drunk man was telling us to come here and talk with him, so we did and we told him we would pass by another day, we were walking on the same street 2 days after and I was like we need to talk with that one drunk guy again and my companion just looked at me and smiled and was like alright let's go there. So he was home but he was a bit drunk and smoking cigarettes. We gave him the Word of Wisdom pamphlet and told him he shouldn't drink or smoke and then I asked if I could break his cigarettes and he let me :) We are going to return this week, we told him he can't be drinking because if he is we probably can't teach him. He agreed and then introduced us to his neighbor Francisco who is golden. He is already planning on going to church with us and he wants his mom to come too. So the lesson I learned from this is that we should talk with everyone no matter what the circumstance may be because in the end we will be blessed. Now we have 3 new investigators :)

As for baptisms. We are planning the baptism of Wellington, Erick's friend for July 20th. At the start he had lots of questions and doubts but he is progressing a lot! He is 25 years old. Oh and other new information is that our new President arrived. His name is President Bonini. It was sad to say bye to President and Sister Souza but our new President and his wife are super sweet! It doesn't look like rules will be changing and I am not sure we will be able to watch Disney movies on P day anymore. He was a firefighter and in the military so he is pretty strict. They are from Sao Paulo. So after my mission I will be making lots of fun plans and adventures to do :) Well no time but love y'all lots!! Have a great week!!

Sister Mattei :)

BOM DIA!!! :) So how are yall?? Seems everyone is keeping busy as usual and enjoying summer time!! :) Oh how I miss summer time!! It is hot here all the time haha but I can't do summer activities so it's not the same... but the work is super good :) Oh and I loved Greg and Nicole's photos!! They turned out really well! :) I will keep everyone in my prayers! Tell everyone I love and miss them!

So this week....

On Monday Brazil played and they won and then on Saturday they played again and won.... It was a super close game with Chile... we stayed in the house and just heard everyone screaming and booing haha but when Brazil won in the end we heard lots of shouting and cheering so I looked out our window to see what was going on and 2 men took off their pants and ran in the road in their undies hahaha!! I won't lie it was pretty funny! If Brazil wins the World Cup I fear everyone will run around naked in the streets haha!

Oh also... this week we contacted a couple in the street and I think they were probably the rudest people I have talked to here in Brazil... We approached and said Hello, Good Night :) What is your name? The man said... Why should I tell you my name... what do you want? I won't tell you my name. Then we told them we were missionaries and he went on saying how he was strong and practicing in his religion and that he didn't want to hear our message but was talking very rudely... then we tried giving him a pamphlet and he was like No I don't want this I won't read it, I don't want to read this.... Usually people here will at least accept a pamphlet and be nice about it but not this guy haha...

No time, but everything is going super well! we have baptisms planned for the end of this tranfer and for the next!! Erick one of the Recent Converts is bringing us lots of people to teach! He is awesome! Oh and we went to church in a broken car this week haha it was quite the adventure!! Well love yall lots!!! :)

Sister Mattei :)

HELLO!! :) Good morning!! :) So I am glad to hear yall are doing pretty well! I can't believe Mark wrecked my car... oh my luck hahaha.... I guess I deserve it after I crashed Greg's...I hope I make enough money when I return to buy a car lol! Why was he driving my car? and not his?? Well anyway... things here are good!! At times a little crazy when Brazil is playing... but we stay in the house those days since everyone starts drinking and partying... if Brazil loses... everyone will drink and if they win they'll drink as well haha so its just better to avoid the crazies in the road lol! The rest of the week is pretty chill and we still have lessons, usually its the men who are watching the games so they usually don't let us teach lol but we are grateful for the women haha :)

Yesterday, 3 of our investigators were at church. We are trying to get 2 couples married here soon but first they have to divorce from another spouse so it's quite the process and then a 14 year old teen boy, Bauron went to church with us and liked it a lot. We had a training with our ward missionaries this week who are all teens or in their young 20s. After our training they started helping us a lot more! We had activities for them and us 4 Sisters in Conjunto Ceara did a skit that was pretty entertaining and funny! At church yesterday they all interacted more with our investigators and taught lessons with us. Jefferson, a 16 year old teen here,walked with our investigator to church and invited him to mutual and helped a lot! I am super impressed with the youth here! The majority of them are converts and are the only member in their family and they walk to church every Sunday alone and are super strong in the church. I look up to them a lot. They will be great missionaries one day! :) Yesterday, one of the young men opened his mission call in sacrament meeting in front of everyone (it is normal here and super sweet) I won't lie it was super cute, he was so choked up and crying, he could barely read... he was loosening his tie and collar just to take a breath.. he is a member of only 2 years... but it was a super spiritual moment and I am super excited for him! :) Missions are great!! They aren't easy but they're way worth it!! :)

So a little more about my companion! :) She is super sweet and we have a lot of fun together!! Since the World Cup is going on we get denied and rejected more than usual so we tend to get a good laugh during the day from the comments people make... One man was screaming at us from the window and was like y'all already passed my house... leave, leave, leave... I am watching the game haha! Then he slammed the window shut... it was quite the expereince!! We usually just laugh it off and continue on with a smile for the next door we will knock! She is almost 22. She teaches and speaks well already so I am learning from her :) Training is good, I feel much more prepared to train a new missionary this time around than the last. Last time the language was still super hard and I was a new missionary myself so didn't know what was going on.

This week for service we washed Irma Edna's dogs. She has 9 but we only washed 2. It was pretty fun! :) Irma Edna is awesome... I seriously love her!! She is a less active but is in the process of returning and has been to church much more frequently! Her son Erick was baptized about 6 months ago!! Their family is one of my favorite families I have met here in Brazil! :) I will be sending pics in a letter soon! :) Did you ever get my Mothers Day Card?? I hope so! I sent one for you, Granny and Grandma! :) Well I have like no time left but love yall lots!!! 6 months will pass super fast! Have a wonderful week! Yall are amazing!! Thanks for everything!! :)

Com muito amor,

Sister Mattei :) 

Thanks for the package I loved the photos and food and post its and all!! The pics were funny and brought back good memories! Thanks Mom love you! :) I made pancakes :)

Hello!!! :) So good news was that Brazil won on Tuesday! :) We stayed in the house since we couldn't watch the game but we knew the score because when the other team scored everyone was screaming BOO in the streets and then when they scored it was lots of cheering and screaming.... and lots of fireworks! Brazilians are super united when it come to soccer! They all join together to watch the big game and EVERYONE is in green and yellow with Brazilian flags on their cars. Everything here is decorated! I want to take pics but its dangerous to pull out your camera here in the roads... and they don't have disposable cameras :( Yall should try to send 2 in a small package if you think it would arrive in time cuz I want more pics of the outdoors and the roads and all but at the same time I don't want to be robbed and lose all my photos. Tomorrow is the big game since it will be held here in Fortaleza and Brazil is playing! Have yall been watching the games?? It will be pretty sweet if Brazil is in the finals... we will probably get locked in the house for like a week straight haha!

So the World Cup is fun! Yall see the pic Amanda put on FB in front of the flag? I'll try to buy souvenirs for everyone while I am here! :) and so about the missionary work... surprisingly it has been pretty good even with the World Cup going on! We have lost time to work because of the games and the strikes that are going on here but we are still having success with teaching lessons. In my area we are still looking for people with real interest. We had 3 people at church yesterday but they all have marriage problems and need to separate from their ex to marry with their spouse they have now and it's quite the process and a bit of a fun mess... They will be baptized... We are just not sure when. I hope while I am still here in my area but the more important part is that they are baptized :) 

Yesterday we taught a woman who would like to go to church with us but because of medical advice she has to stay in her house for about another month because she has cancer and is doing lots of treatments. We are continuing to visit her and hope soon she will be able to make it to church. She is a very sweet, humble lady! A very happy person for the circumstances that she has. I truly love the people here and I love meeting new people every week! :) I have made many friendships in the year I have been here and am excited to one day return and see them all again!! I'll have to work lots to pay for the trip but it will be worth it! :) Well I have no time left but I love and miss yall lots!! Yall are always in my prayers! I wish yall a wonderful week!! Take care and always smile!!! :) 

Com muito amor,

Sister Mattei :)