email: It's 84 Degrees in Sunny SoCal!

Oh yuck, hearing about the snow just makes me cold! I am just praying that it won't be that cold in February but I know that's gonna be a losing battle... Ready for my week? Leggo!

Last Pday was super good. We had a really good relaxed day and we got a lot of stuff done. I love getting to work out on PDays because I can go longer than an hour! We ran at our apartment gym so that was super nice. Our dinner was good, the B**' are a good family. We shared a message with them, got our OYMs and then went home for the night. A slow but most needed PDay.

Tuesday morning was all about applying to school. I got permission to get on with Elder Anderson right next to me so I got a lot of stuff done. Basically, I need to pay for everything and get my interview and then I can start sending stuff in. Hopefully we can talk about how to pay for applications when we talk. We went and had a lesson with Richard with his mother there so that was good and we had a good lesson with them. Our dinner was super fun, the A**** are a sweet family. Our lesson with Kale though went awesome! We taught the second half of the Plan and it went well. We gotta get him off smoking so that was our goal for this next lesson with him.

We had DDM on Wednesday and the Assistants showed up for it so that was good. I trained over becoming bold and to testify often so hopefully that will help the sisters. We had lunch at Alberto's again and it was superrrrr good. Our day was then consisted of seeing Eddy and Tom and then going to go see the D*** for dinner and that is always a fun time with them. Our appointment rescheduled for the night and so we had to figure something out to stay busy and so we did :). We went to our spot and it was way nice that night for some reason. It had been a long time coming to go there so it was good.

Ivan cancelled on us Thursday so we went and got our OYMs and took care of that in the morning. We weekly planned until it was time to go see John, Brother H***’s neighbor so that is always fun with him. I don't know if we are going to keep teaching him because we aren't getting anywhere with him. He did read a TON of the Book of Mormon though so that was a surprise. We then saw Kale again and committed him to stop smoking! Our deal is that if he doesn't keep his end of the deal, then Elder Anderson and I have to drink a cigarette cocktail (a crushed up cigarette in water). Yuck! But if it keeps him motivated to stop, then it is all worth it. We then saw Allison H***'s family and gave them all blessings, I love that family so much! We are hoping to get the dad baptized and help to get the family back on track. The five-year old and the two-year old are so much fun! It was a good way to end the night :).

Ivan was open Friday morning and so we went and saw him. We made a plan for him to be baptized so hopefully he will make that happen in January. After that, we ran off to go help Kale's mother-in-law with some service and she thanked us so much for what we are doing with Kale. She made us some screamin' good sandwiches too! We made more visits in afternoon and then ran off to dinner with the M*** family. It was good to get to eat with them again! We have great families in this ward that I am starting to find out. We then finished up the last bit of weekly planning to get ready for next week.

One set of sisters called me and asked for a blessing on Saturday so I ask Ron J**** to drive us and he did. Ron is the man! I love his family so much. The blessings went well. With one of the sisters, I told her what her purpose in her mission is in her blessing. It surprised me when that came out of my mouth. My blessing does say that I am a spiritual healer but that took me by surprise. We then went to In-N-Out for lunch and had lunch with Ron's family and Rodney. It was a good morning! We then gave a blessing and taught this Jamaican lady we picked up that day too so that was sweet. On the way home, we stopped by a family in the ward and got to know them. The K**** are super awesome! They are working on coming back to church so we're gonna help them do that. We then helped with serving the other ward's dinner at their Christmas party and that was interesting too. But it all worked out in the end. We had dinner with Kale's family and then taught him another lesson. He is asking some good questions so it has been fun teaching him. He is still on track for the 28th to be baptized so I am hoping and praying for him! He also got us a Christmas present! New Kershaw knifes! They are SUPER legit! He is such a good husband and father too and he is only 21! Pretty crazy.

Sunday morning was filled with making visits and trying to get people to come to church. We had Kale come to church so that was good! He actually stayed for all three hours and was attentive too. After church, I got to visit with Anita and give her blessing because she was super sick the past three days. I talked with her and it was really good to have a heart-to-heart with her. She has such a wonderful heart, I love her to pieces. We are going to the mall today; it'll be good to spend some time with her. We then got our OYMs and rode to Bishop's house to have dinner and a lesson. They are a fun family; one of the daughters has a three-year old and he is a goofball! He would chase Elder Anderson's laser pointer like a cat and would enjoy every minute of it. Dinner was good and the company was even better. It was a good way to end the week for us.

I love this time of year because of the reason for the season. I have a firm and strong belief in my Savior and I love Him for all that He has done for me. My challenge to y’all is to keep Him the reason behind Christmas and always remember Him. I know He lives and runs this Church and this work. Without Him, I would have no reason to be here. I can’t wait to get to talk to y’all on Christmas! It will be bitter sweet because that means I am coming home soon. It's crazy how fast my mission is going. I love every minute of it though! Love y’all and talk to y’all soon :)

Elder Tonini