"Let's look at the pros of this situation of me getting ran over by a car..." -Elder Anderson

Alright, I had a pretty eventful week. Ready for it? Leggo.

We had a pretty chill PDay. Shopping got done and then we emailed after that. With us being so far away from the other zone, we really don't get to go do activities so we end up hanging out at the house. We worked out and got ready for the week. I finished my last planner cover so that was fun. Our trip to the mall was good too, we got to walk around and get some things off of our minds. Dinner was good and then we went to Kaiser to visit some people in the hospital. We went to go see Mr. Swanson but while we were about to go into his room, a member up in Lake Arrowhead stopped us and was basically in tears to see us because her mother was not doing well in ICU. So we went and gave her a blessing and gave Sister J**** one as well. It's funny how the Lord works sometimes :). The right place at the right time. We went back to see Mr. Swanson and see how he is doing. We finished our OYMs and then went home.

Tuesday morning we went and saw Sister M**** and she was already making progress in the short time we have been seeing her. We ran off to DDM which went well. Sister Anderson, who was trained by Sister Gambling, is back in my district so it was good to see her again! Just like old times haha. I love doing comp intro's too because it's always funny to see what everyone else says about their companion. I trained over revelation, prayer, and fasting so hopefully they got something good out of it. That has been something I had been doing lately so I thought it would be good to go over. We had lunch and then did our studies for the day then headed out. Nothing really happened until that night because we went and saw Allison and Nick. It was a good time because those kids are crazy! Ryker and Brooklynn are super fun but nuts. We set something up to come by and see them on Saturday for lunch so that will be a good time.

Wednesday morning was spent at the hospital again seeing our people. There is a meditation room in the hospital that has a table where there are Bibles and Psalms on it. We leave a Book of Mormon on the table and every time we see that it's gone, thinking that some has been taking it, we replace it. We learned that the chaplain in the hospital takes it and hides it in the free magazine rack. Sister J**** saw him take it and so she is going to complain to the Kaiser. Oh well, we'll just keep putting them out there hoping that we can answer someone's answers to the soul with the Book of Mormon. We then went and saw Tom to see how his reading is going and he actually read and had questions. Next thing is to get him to come to church. Dinner with the D**** family is always fun. We ate wings from Wing Stop and it was super good. It is always fun going over there because Brother D**** is a riot. Our lesson with Cale fell through but we went and taught Jimmy instead. He is a good guy, just starting to come back to church so he is eager to learn and sit in on our lessons with Cale. He's a tow truck driver so he always has some good stories for us.

We weekly planned on Thursday but only got part of it done so we are gonna have to finish it on Friday. We rode up the hill to go see Jean but she wasn't there... So we rode back home to get ready to see John. We taught John again with Brother H*** and again, it went as well as it could go. He is reading like crazy but he is still not willing to accept baptism or coming to church. So we'll have to see what we are gonna do with him. Our dinner with the Ji****'s was super awesome. We are working with their friend, Rodney, and so we got some good insight on him. The dinner went a little longer than we wanted but we had a good lesson and good company. They cooked salmon and chicken, Hawaiian style. Super good! We then taught Cale and that went okay. We answered more of his questions and we are trying everything to get him to stop smoking but he still is so it feels like we aren't doing enough... Just gotta keep praying and fasting for him.

So y'all are probably been wondering about my subject topic for the email. Friday will explain why he said that because he really did get hit by a car on Friday on his bike. We finished weekly planning and planned on riding to go see the Bishop's family to talk to them about Melissa. We rode over the freeway overpass and we both were coming down the hill and crossed the light as I rode past the entrance for a gas station. The car saw me go past and waited for me but then didn't see Anderson coming up behind me. She pulled into the entrance and she nailed Anderson on his bike. He went flying, bike and all. I heard the impact and I bailed on the bike to go and make sure he was okay. He jumped right up and OYMed the girl that hit him. She hit him hard enough to leave a huge dent in her front bumper. We told her that he was okay and he even told her that "there is a reason why you hit me... check out this card when you calm down and get in touch with us." Goodness, I love that Elder! He is fine, just a little sore from the impact. Worst part is was that the Bishop's family wasn't even home! Bummer. We went and saw Tom again and had a good lesson with him. But oh no, we are not finished with the bikes. We were riding to dinner, which cancelled on us anyways, when I wasn't watching the road and I got into a fight with a pothole in the bike lane and lost BADLY. I ate it hard, got some blood going and ripped up a shirt. I was hurting pretty bad... It was more embarrassing more than anything. We did pick up a new investigator named Vincent so hopefully we'll get to see him this weekend. Our dinner fell through and so we decided to ding-dong ditch the D**** family because we were in their complex but they weren't home. We stopped by the Ji****s to borrow their phone and we ended up teaching Rodney! I love that kid so much, he's gonna be the coolest convert ever. We went to Taco Bell to eat then rode home. Quite an eventful day! It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt... Then it’s hilarious. NOT! Just another way the Adversary is trying to slow us down. Not gonna happen!

Elder Tonini and Elder Moss

We had a stake breakfast with the Stake President and that is always good to get to see everyone. The Assistants picked us up and had a good breakfast. We brought clothes to change into for service but that ended up falling through so we decided to have some recovery time for the day before so we slept for an hour so we can function for the rest of the day. Brother G**** came by and we talked about the ward and we set up a ride to go to that night's session of stake conference. After that, we went to the park with Allison and Nick with the kids for lunch and then had a lesson with them. Nick is a super good guy, we are wanting to help this family so much! I had fun riding a razor scooter with a pink helmet, jumping curbs and what not haha. We taught Cale before the session and invited him to come to the stake conference. Brother G**** took us to Costco to eat and then we went to the session. I had a lot on my mind when the session ended and I sat there in my thoughts when one of the Assistants pulled me aside and we talked. He told me something that I will never forget. He told that God loves me and that he loves me too, no matter what. That was answer to prayer because I have really been feeling alone... It was comforting to hear that from him. It was a simple thing but it meant a lot to me.

Sunday we had two sessions of conference and that was super nice. We had a broadcast from SLC so that was unusual but President Eyring spoke to us and it hit me hard. It was awesome. After lunch, we had a lesson with Rodney and we are gonna get him baptized in February! He is gonna read and pray and it is gonna be sick. I am so stoked. We then had dinner with the P**** family and we made our own pizzas. Yup, I love pizza. We then went to see a potential but they fell through but the highlight of the night was throwing the football with the kids in the street. I still got my arm! They would say it sounds like a missile falling from the sky haha. I miss those days playing in the street! It was a good night nonetheless and a good way to end the week.

I have learned this week how important prayer and scriptures are. Really, it is through Christ we can do anything! I love Him with all my heart and I know He is always here for me. And He is always here for all of us too. I love y'all and I am gonna make these last five weeks count. Have a good week and we will talk soon.

Elder Tonini

"Look at that plying flane!" - Elder Anderson

We had a pretty crazy week. Ready for it? Leggo!

Monday morning I got my haircut again from Sister S**** and we had a good talk. She has become one of my favorite people in this ward. We got that done and then went to email and shop. After that, we hung out at the house. I worked out and got to get some good studying in for my meeting the next day. We had dinner with Brother B**** and it was actually not bad. It was good company and we had a good chat. He would turn the NCAA National Championship game on occasionally during dinner to see what the score was. I didn't complain haha. He even check the weather in Minot for me because he likes to give me crap for going back to such a cold place. Oh well, I've been getting that for a while now. We had a quick lesson with him and then we went out to get our OYMs. It was a good Pday and we got some good work done.

Our Tuesday morning started out with me having another DLC meeting and then having a DDM. The best part was that I got to see Sister Pack after the meeting! She was on exchanges with someone in the zone and so I got to see her and catch up on things with her. I trained over the Good Samaritan and how it was Christ prophesying of Himself and the Atonement he would perform for us. I have learned really how the Atonement works these past few weeks. It hasn't been pretty but I have learned so much for everything. Anyways. Our dinner dropped off money so we went and got wings at Wingstop which was super good! We came back to have a comp study together and then headed out. I ended up contacting this young man on the street that allowed us to follow him back to his home to give him and his home a blessing. In the middle of it, his mom walks in and joins us. It was a pretty cool experience, the Spirit was super strong there. Isaac had questions over the Spirit World that we are going to teach him this week. I don't think the mom likes us too much so we are going to tread carefully. We tried back to see Ivan and set something up for the next day which we did so that was good to do. On the way back, Trevor was trying to open up a Hershey's kiss while riding his bike and he tanked it right in the middle of the road. He busted up his knee pretty nicely. I was trying hard to not give him a hard time but I couldn't help myself. While we were ridding to Cale's house to teach him, I was giving him a hard time while we were riding down Magnolia. After I said a few things, I turned back to keep riding and when I turned my head to see where he was, he blind-sided me on his bike and sent me flying into the curb, over the handlebars and into the grass. He, on the other hand, didn't end up so well.

We pulled him from the pavement and avoiding the traffic and we got him to the side of the road on the grass. He banged his knee up super bad, his ankle bad and he had road rash on his arms and a bit on his chin. A cop saw us on the street and he stopped to talk to us and give us some support. Trevor couldn't move and the cop was fixin' to call an ambulance. We told him no, we were gonna get him up and going. What we did was that we gave Trevor a blessing on Magnolia, in front of a cop. It was pretty crazy. We got him up and he held Elder Anderson's backpack as he pulled him to Cale's house which was right down the street. Trevor wanted to go to Urgent Care so we did. Cale and Kim dropped us off and we got Trevor looked at. There was a member from my ward in Moreno Valley that was there and they actually gave us a ride home when we finished at almost midnight. THEN there was a member in Riverside that was trying to get a hold of us, since we are phone-less at the moment, to set up to teach one of his co-workers. He drove up to Kaiser to see us. It was a riot with the three of us in the hospital because of the jokes and things we would tease each other. For instance, while Trevor was getting his vitals checked, he interrupted the nurse and said "Umm, excuse me, can I have a big band aid? My arm is sticking to the [wheel]chair". Elder Anderson and I about fell over laughing. We were so tired that we were losing our minds. Trevor's diagnoses is a bruised knee and a bruised ankle. He got crutches and a little shoe thingy for his ankle. Boy, was that an adventure or what?!? That's what happens when you are busting your butt to work as hard as you can with a pretty big chip on your shoulder like I do right now.

After our adventure, we taught Ivan that morning and we had a Come-to-Jesus meeting with him. We told him that if he doesn't come to church then we aren't going to meet with him anymore. Guess what? He didn't come so we are dropping him. He still wants to be friends and everything but we have to fulfill our purpose first. We made visits and went to the G****'s to hopefully teach Melissa but that fell through so we busted our butts to teach Cale. That went well and we are making progress with him. Hopefully he will get baptized this month!

We taught Melissa Thursday morning and that went well too! We have had good lessons with her and she understands well. We taught the second half of the Plan of Salvation and it answered some questions for her. We are pushing for her to get baptized this month so we are going to do all we can to help her make that commitment. We had our usual lesson with John with Brother Hill and that went okay, about as good as its gonna get. We taught the second half of the Plan again and tried to finish it but we had to go back to the G****'s to make Cale's cinnamon toothpicks to help him quit smoking. After that, we had dinner at the E**** and taught the kids a lesson too. They were super cool and Brother E**** has a SICK motorcycle! A black and red Yamaha R6. It is sick! We then got our OYMs and called it a night.

Friday was fun too! Our lesson with the referral fell through... So we did weekly planning and finished our scripture boxes. Mine is super cool! Anyways, we taught Trevor again and then weekly planned. We had tortas for dinner at the M****'s and that was super yummy and good company. We then went and saw Eddy and that was something else. As we crested his hill, we see his garage open and he come out wearing white bed sheets. We should have turned around but we didn't. As we talked to him, we felt like we shouldn't be there so we got out of there as soon as possible. But before we left, he gave Elder Anderson a huge hug and grabbed his butt and THEN gave him a "holy kiss" on the cheek. No bueno! We got out of there ASAP. We saw Tom and found out that he read and prayed! So we are gonna see him on Tuesday. Quite a way to end a night for sure.

We saw a lot of people on Saturday to get them to church and then had a good Sunday. Overall, it was a good week. We missed getting the Standard by TWO people at church! Dangit! Oh well, building for next week. I love y’all and I feel y’all’s prayers and fasting for me. I am learning important things right now and I hope and pray for y’all’s continuing support. I love y’all and I promise to finish out this next six weeks strong!

- Elder Tonini

email: August 12, 2013

Subject: Another week in paradise.

I am glad that yall like Mondays. Guess what? I do too haha. It's a good break from the day to day grind so it's good to have this breaks. Living out on Winchester, it makes planning even more important because if we don't plan accordingly, we blow through miles so we have to work with that. Yes, we have been dealing with wildfires but none of them have come into the Valley. We live right next to the Hemet-Ryan airport and so we have the Cal Fire planes buzz our house all the time. I love seeing those bird fly! It makes me want to become a pilot again. I've played with the idea of pursuing that dream but that decision can wait until I finish with the Lord's work. My headaches have been doing better! I identified that it is my allergies that trigger the headaches. I wear my contacts every day as well so that helps. Yes, I am learning to live within my means. It is hard sometimes but it is good practice for later in life. Alright, ready for my week? Here we go.

We had a good Pday on Monday. After we emailed and shopped, I went to the driving range to him some balls. It was super relaxing and much needed. I got some good sun on my arms so that is always a plus haha. Our dinner was awesome! It was with our new Elders Quorum president, President F****. He has such an awesome family. It is super fun that we get to eat with all four missionaries at dinner. President Smart isn't a big fan about that but until we can get a separate calendar then that's how it's gonna happen. Sister F**** was a star soccer player at her university so we got talking about college sports. I don't know what I want to do when I get home and that's a possibility that I've toyed with doing. We then taught the family the Restoration and I used my Rubik’s cube again to teach it with the kids. Our main idea of teaching was to ask President if he knew of any home teaching families we could go see. So we got some good names from him that we are going to go see. We got our OYMs and called it good for the night after that.

We had our usual DDM on Tuesday and it was weird to train again as a district leader. It's been almost a year since I've been one so it was good to train. This was a pretty powerful DDM and I want to share it with y’all. So I started the meeting with a testifying role play to help the missionaries focus on testifying when they teach. The companionships sat down together and they testified to one of their investigators that another missionary was role playing. I stood behind them and I would tap the missionary on the shoulder when they would cut their companion off and continue on testifying. It was a good role play to start of the meeting. What was really good was what I trained on. I trained on the true meaning of Charity and how we need to implement it. Something that I have learned here is what the true meaning of charity is. The true meaning of it is SACRIFICE. That's taking the primary answer of "the true love of Christ" to another level. I then had us read 3 Nephi 28, which reads:

1 And it came to pass when Jesus had said these words, he spake unto his disciples, one by one, saying unto them: What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?
2 And they all spake, save it were three, saying: We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom.
3 And he said unto them: Blessed are ye because ye desired this thing of me; therefore, after that ye are seventy and two years old ye shall come unto me in my kingdom; and with me ye shall find rest.

The key word there is MY KINGDOM. Now look at what he says to the three others.

6 And he said unto them: Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.
7 Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven.
8 And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father.

Christ makes it pretty clear that there are two different kingdoms. Now where are those two kingdoms? I don't know but it is pretty clear that we have to be willing to sacrifice even our exhalation to receive all that the Father has. Now that's deeper doctrine but that hit me hard and made me realize that I need to work as HARD as I can if I want to get what the Father has. I then closed with a poem that brought me to tears every time I read it. Overall, it was a good DDM and good things are going to happen when we put these things into practice in our missionary lives and in our personal lives. We then had the craziest dinner appointment. Our dinner was in Winchester with some members who live in a home with a ton of nonmembers living there. Towards the end of the dinner, the members of the home freak out and run outside and there was a big ruckus outside. All of a sudden, there was a HUGE man standing in the window and he stared right at me. The Spirit INSTANTLY left. It was terrifying. He didn't mess with us when we left but it was crazy. Our appointment that night was with Sam S***** to go over home teaching list. It was good, we got some names to go see so it was good. We went and saw a part-member family that night but we didn't see the non-member husband. I guess he got really offended by missionaries so we didn't get to see him. But it's okay, we had a good lesson with the wife. It was a fun way to end the night.

We got a call on Wednesday from our part-member family the night before and said that her husband wants to show off his food storage to us. So we went over there and started to build the relationship with him. Our lesson with the G**** family went well. We put the two kids on date for baptism! We testified and they agreed for the 25th. It was an awesome lesson. Our appointment fell through for the night and so we went out for priesthood action night with the EQ. Elder Child got his first run in with marijuana! It was hilarious! Those boys were rollin' up some big blunts and he had no idea what was going on. We then talked with a crazy less-active lady that told us she used to be a stripper and everything in between. It was a crazy night to say the least!

All Thursday morning, I had to deal with a situation with the Sister who are serving in the YSA ward. It was trying to get them to teach a YSA girl but the elders are teaching them when they shouldn't be. That took all morning and drained me emotionally and spiritually so working for the rest of the day was tiring but I made it. Our dinner was with my favorite family, the R****. I love them to death! Sister R**** calls herself my adopted momma haha. She even asked about the girl I left back home! It was a good dinner with them. We saw Holly T**** again and taught Bob. He is such a funny guy! He has no teeth and every time we say goodbye or see him, he gives us the biggest hugs. It was funny.

Friday was filled with finishing weekly planning due to not being able to when I had to deal with the Sisters situation. We did see the G**** family again and taught them. We read out of the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson, they expressed to us that the lesson was exactly what they needed. It is an awesome feeling when you listen to the Spirit and act on things like that. We then had a lesson with Sister P**** and that was fun to get to know her. She plays the ukulele like I do! I saw hers on the table and I asked to play it and she said of course. She even complemented me on my style too. Our lesson went well, it was good to get to know her.

We had our exchange with the Zone Leaders on Saturday so I did all that I could to stay as productive. Our lessons in the morning fell through but I did get to do a baptism interview with one of the Sister's investigators. She has had a very rough life and she knows that this baptism will do so much for her. It was cool to hear her testimony in that interview. The best part of the day was when I got to see Elder Spencer. He came up to Hemet to help one of the Sisters move with their truck and we were getting a new phone so I got to see him. I love that man, even though he is from Utah and loves the Yankees. I won't hold that against him haha. He goes home next month! That is crazy so I love getting to see him again. Our dinner with Sister M**** was good and our lesson with the G**** family was funny. One of the daughters is special needs and in the middle of the lesson, she lets a long fart go. It was pretty funny. It was a funny way to end the night.

Sunday was interesting for me. I got overwhelming feelings of worthlessness, not being good enough, you aren't working hard enough, and other things like that. That was a special sacrament meeting for me because I really went to the Lord to see where I am with Him. I am in a good place with Him, I felt that as answer, but there is always room for improvement. So this week is going to be an awesome week for us. We went to a family party for dinner and then had a lesson with Sister C****. We heard she has an unbaptized granddaughter but she doesn't live there with her so it was a bust. The funniest thing happened that night though. Child and I got on a debate about Inception that lasted about an hour. It was super funny and actually quite fun. It was a good way to end the night.

Other than that, things are going well with me. I still have my usual struggles but I work every day with them. Child is doing well. He cracks me up, the other day he asked if he could wear my other pair of Oakleys in the car. Of course, I let him and he's worn them every day since. Now he dresses like me on pday and even asked to wear one of my hats! He even took my Oaks and put them on the brim like I do. He's a good kid, he's like my little brother now that I get to teach and train. But other than that, I am doing fine. I am going to be a finisher, just like how Geoff preaches. Everyone reminds me how long I have left so I have to be a finisher. I love y’all and miss the family a ton. Have a good week and know that this work is REAL! Be a missionary this week and give out a Book of Mormon! Always be a member missionary!

Elder Tonini

email: July 3, 2013

Mom and Dad,

Yes, I have a lot of explaining to do... Sorry it is Wednesday and I am just now emailing you for last week. We went fishing on Monday (more details to come) and then I was in the middle of emailing on Tuesday when I had to go run an errand for the Zone Leaders which took up some of my time while Elder Hawkins was in a meeting. After the meeting we went to lunch and came back to the family history center to find that the center was closed and I couldn't finish my email to y'all... I finished everyone else email but the main one to the family. That's my story and I am sticking to it, because it's true! :). I also saw the weather report of Minot and let me tell you, I am jealous of your 80 degree weather! It is over 100 everyday and it is not fun. It is my last summer here so I will suck it up. Ready for my week? It'll be a few extra days so here we go :)

Last Monday was a pretty laid back p-day. We did our usual thing at the stake center and then we played basketball. I just kicked it with a couple of Elders since I am not a big basketball player. After Christmas night, I am not a huge fan of missionary basketball so I tend to stay off the court. After that, we did a little bit of shopping and we ran home and relaxed there. When the other Elders got back, I stayed home with Feist and we worked out in the garage. We did chest and we killed it. I was sore for almost four days. Everyone else went out to go check some stores out and things like that. Our dinner was with the Hartvigson family and guess what we had? BRISKET! They just killed a cow and they have all this meet and so we got to eat the brisket part of the cow. I was super excited because I haven't had brisket in forever! We had a lesson with them and they showed us a video that the young men of the stake did for girls camp. It was pretty cute, it was all about modesty and being a righteous daughter of God. It was super cool. We then got our OYMs and called it good for the night. It was a pretty laid back P-day but it was still a good one.

Tuesday was a pretty full day planned but then Hawkins got sick... He came down with some sort of stomach virus thing that was cleaning his system out. It was bad, he wasn't feeling too good so I told him that we were going to stay in so that he can sleep and get better. We were able to go out that afternoon but he stayed in for the morning. I stayed up and read my scriptures for as long as I could before I went insane so I caught up on a letter until we went to dinner and out to work. We did though get a referral sent out for the missionaries in Perris, CA so we got a little bit done. I did though get set up for my training that I was going to do on Wednesday for all the districts in Hemet so that gave me some time to prepare for that.

We had to end studies early so we could go up to the stake center to get the chapel ready for my training on Wednesday. I can't remember if I mentioned this training before, it was one I did out in Moreno Valley while I was Zone Leader there. It is all about the Atonement; I first gave the Elders instructions and prepared them for what was about to happen. I told them that whatever they put into the training is what they are going to get out of it so that they were in the right frame of mind. I had them blindfold themselves and let Hawkins and I lead them into the dark chapel with light music playing. I sat them down and then put on the part Finding Faith in Christ where Christ preforms the Atonement for all of mankind. All they heard was the audio so they had to picture it in their mind and let their mind focus on what was happening. When that finished, I played DJ with the mic on the pulpit and put more music one while I read Bruce R. McConkie's talk titled "Purifying Powers of Gethsemane." That talk is so powerful! I then had all the Elders open their eyes and remove the blindfolds while I stood at the pulpit and talked more about how we need to apply the Atonement into our lives and also to why every missionary is here in Hemet. I hate that I get so emotional when I do these kind of things but it went well. I blame you two for making me so emotional! But it went really well, it felt like the message really impacted every Elder that was there. There was one thing that really irritated me was when the ZLs walk in LATE and then walk right up to the front of the chapel during the middle of the training. Those two missionaries are trying my patience... But they are my leaders and I sustain them so I have to be patient. After the training, I came down with a super bad migraine which knocked me out for the rest of the day. It was actually a really bad tension headache but that was what I labeled it at the time. I couldn't leave my room or do anything because the light and movement killed my head. But I had to suck it up and go teach J.R. and go to dinner with the Stevenson's. They are an awesome family; the daughter's non-member boyfriend was over and we watched some Mormon Messages with the family. It was a rough dinner and lesson but I sucked it up and dealt with it.

Thursday AND Friday was kind of in the same boat as Wednesday. I still had my really bad headache and I could not kick it. I tried everything: Excedrin, Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and even two Rock Star energy drinks and it still wouldn't leave. I was running out of ideas and I had so much medicine in me that I was having a hard time falling asleep to try and kick it. The only thing we did those two days was get our OYMs and go teach John P****. Remember John? The huge guy and his family that we tracted into the other week? We had a sit down lesson with him and taught him the Restoration. It was a good visit; it was just him and us. We learned a lot about him and his past in why he was never baptized even though his whole family was. He then showed us a video of him on YouTube doing a backyard brawl and knocking this other guy out. It was to show how rough of a past he had. He is open to hearing our message so maybe we will see some progress. He wants to take us fishing on Monday so we talked a lot about that. That was the only thing that we got done those two days due to my freakin' headache... But I got it checked so hopefully it will get better.

Saturday was my official sick day. I did not leave the apartment all day and it was miserable. I slept all day and didn't leave the house. Elder Spencer did come and see me though so that was nice. He had just been with Anita at lunch in Moreno Valley. Spencer is an Office Assistant so he travels the mission delivering things for other missionaries so he stopped in to have lunch with the MoVal ZLs and with Anita. The only bad thing was that the ZLs were on AP exchanges so Elder Drasbek was there. The reason why that was bad was because he said something to Spencer about being on Anita's iPhone setting up the scriptures for her. He flipped and called Spencer out on things and that set him off. Spencer called me and he said that Drasbek also said something about me talking with her too and that it was "not approved". That didn't set well with me either because I do not see any harm in talking with her but other people see that it is. But I'll make it work.

I was super excited to teach the youth on Sunday, even though I was still not feeling good at all. However, we had something cool happen before sacrament meeting. Ross S***** came up to us and said that he is going to get baptized next Saturday. That was a shocker to us because we weren't even expecting that from him. Best part is that he hasn't smoked since that Tuesday! It was super exciting to hear. We are going to have two baptisms next Saturday: Ashley D**** and Ross S****. It will be a busy Saturday for us but that is okay; that is what we live for as a missionary. Our lesson for the youth went really well. It was a lesson on the Atonement with an awesome object lesson. We had the young men's president do had to do 15 push-ups for every doughnut that the youth ate. Even if the youth declined it, he still did the 15 push-ups. He did almost 100 push-ups in less than 10 minutes. He was the man! We made the connection to how we shouldn't waste what our Savior did for us. I wasn't feeling good so I had zero tolerance for people talking and not paying attention so I would call kids out if they were messing around. I guess that is Dad's side in me ha. Other than that, it went super well. After church, we had our lesson with Ross and we brought Brother Cole with us and Brett his grandson. It went well, we finished up the commandments with Ross and we are preparing him for Saturday. After dinner, we took studies and called it a week. It was kind of a ineffective week but we made it the best we could.

So rewind to Monday and the reason why I missed emailing when I usually do! We got invited by John to go fishing up in Anza. We had saved our miles for the month so we had enough to drive up there and back to stay under! It was awesome but we went up there with his family to a private lake in a neighborhood that his buddy lives in. Since it is private, we didn't need a license :). We fished all day and I got super burnt... I will send pictures but don't laugh at how red I am! But it was a good afternoon, we got to know the family really well and spend time with them. John is an awesome guy, really a good father, husband and role model. There was a single mom that came with us with her two younger children that John and his family has taken watchful eyes over. The father of the family was caught molesting the four year old daughter and then giving his two older sons drugs and money for drugs. The father isn't in the picture anymore but the family is still feeling the effects of it so John invited them to come with us. That really impressed me and how John is with the boys. It was a good day overall and we even went to our Bishop's neighbor to offer to bless his home and family. That was just the icing on the cake.

So an update on my health: I went in to see urgent care and to get my headaches looked at. Come to find out, I was actually having really bad tension headaches and bad allergies that were causing the headaches. So I got a nasal spray and some pain medicine so when the headaches get bad I have something to combat it with. I made sure that the pain medicine were not narcotics so I am good in that regards. So I am going to get back on allergy medicine and see if that helps with anything. Oh and I am almost out of contacts... So I am not sure how we want to work that out. Other than that, I am doing well. I have had my ups and downs, physically and emotionally but I am staying focused on the task at hand. February is coming close... I can't afford to lose anymore time! I love y'all and miss the family dearly.  Again, sorry it took forever to email you back but I am doing okay, I promise! And also, Victor has a date for the temple! We are going July 9th; I am so excited to get to go with him. Going to the temple with him will be the highlight of my mission for sure. It will be hard having him leave to Arizona and losing daily contact with my best friend but it’s okay, that is where he needs to be! So that is the next thing coming up, besides the two baptisms on Saturday. Have a great week and talk to y'all soon.

Elder Tonini

email: May 6, 2013

Subject: Onward to Hemet!

As you have heard, I am going to Hemet to serve there for the next little while. Anita called me to tell me that she had talked to Mom and it just made me chuckle. Yes, she buys me all sorts of stuff and it drives me insane because I feel like I'll offend her if I say no. She replaced the old weight bench that I had with my weight set. I am not exactly sure how I will get that home but if we want a weight set at the house, I have one! Sounds like the move is coming up quickly! Can you make sure to take a lot of pictures and mail them to me so I can have them? One great thing is that I can think about home and not get trunkie. If y’all could do that, that would be wonderful! Ready for my week? Leggo :)

Monday we taught a less-active girl that we tracted into a while back. We are so close in getting her to come back to church. Plus, her dad's family aren’t members so that would be awesome to get them into church! They are Hispanic so the Spanish-speaking missionaries will take care of them but still, that would be ideal. We ate dinner with the H****'s and we sang happy birthday to Elder Coleman even though it wasn't his birthday. The kids think that anytime Mom makes a cake, it is someone's birthday so it turned out to be Coleman's birthday that night :). I got really close with their four-year-old son and I brought my Rubix's cube to show him. He carried that thing around all night and was really upset when his dad made him give it back to me. I had the thought to give it to him because it meant a lot more to him than me so I did. He gave me a big hug before I left. The cube is replaceable but that hug wasn't so it all paid off.

We taught LQ again on Tuesday and that lesson went well. We talked about baptism and what made the true form of baptism true. It really made me realize how grateful I am to be enlightened with the truth. She is having a hard time with some issues that we found out about later this week. I then had the craziest food experience. Have you ever heard of balut? It is a Pilipino dish that is basically a ten-day old fertilized duck egg. I ate it and boy was it gross! I got it on video so beware whenever that comes home! We stopped by Lisa and her family and had a quick lesson with them. We found out that their 19 year-old daughter is expecting her SECOND child now. Holy crap! She's not married either so that was kind of upsetting. Our lesson with a hopeful part-member family went well. They are a Samoan family that has been having some issues so we started teaching them in hopes to help them feel the Spirit again. It was a good way to end the night.

I went on exchanges with Elder Moss and we had a pretty good day. We had a lot of appointments fall through so we started to go through the unbaptized members list to try and find some part-member families. We gave a blessing to these four African-American young people in their garage and that went well. It is amazing how addictive gaming can be. Some of the kids were playing Minecraft and they told us that they could play it for four days straight. NOT COOL! Huge waste of time. We then stopped by to see Ken and have dinner with him. I love that man so much, it was super hard to say goodbye.

We had our last true ZLC on Thursday and it was always an interesting experience. I don't like the bureaucracy of the Church sometimes. The Church is true but the people aren't. We then had the most interesting lesson with LQ. We decided to teach her about repentance and that did NOT go down well. We found out her real concern: she hasn't forgiven the person that murdered her nephew over 10 years ago. She can't let go of it and she has a pure hatred for that person. So needless to say, the lesson didn't go as well as we would have hoped for but we aren't going to give up on her. The A**** family took us out to eat at Five Guys for the last time that night as well. I love that family dearly as well.

We had our usual meeting with Anita on Friday and she kept asking me if I was going or staying. I didn't have any gut feelings yet so i couldn't tell her yes or no. Our ZDM went super well, we did a really cool activity. We blindfolded the entire zone and led them into the chapel with the lights off and music playing. I then played DJ and played the clip from Finding Faith in Christ when Christ goes through the Atonement for us. I dubbed it back to some dramatic music and read from a talk about the Savior. We then had them take the blind folds off and we talked a little bit more about what the Savior did for us and how we can apply that into our missionary and personal lives. I thought it went super well. Of course, I got emotional but I have accepted the fact that I am that way. We saw Gracia again and had dinner with Anita as BJ's Brewhouse. It was super good, my last supper with sweet Anita.

Saturday was kind of a botched day with our appointments falling through again. We did though get to see another part-member family and teach them. They didn't come to church but we had a good lesson with them. Transfer calls came and I am leaving to go to Hemet in the Diamon Valley Ward. At first, I felt like I got demoted but then I slept on it and those feelings went away. It will be good for me to be a "regular" missionary. Plus it sounds like that area is dead so I will have my work cut out for me. I called Anita and she just cried and cried. I felt so bad for her... But I am needed in Hemet.

Sunday was super hard for me because I had to get up and say goodbye. That was so hard to get up and bear my testimony. I was a blubbering mess... But I got through it. I waited until the end so Jeffrey and Blake could hear it. I had so many people come up to me with tears in their eyes and give me a huge hug. This ward really felt like home. We then made visits all day and also got to see Weylen (a super famous horse trainer) start the process of breaking a Mustang. There was a film crew filming it and it will be on the air sometime later this year. They are following a couple horse trainers across the country and I got to see firsthand how it works. It was super awesome! Dinner with the R*****'s was super fun, we watched their little girl slide down the stairs in a cardboard box into her mattress. Super hilarious! I said goodbye to Ken, the Baugh's and a few other families. Brother Baugh gave me a "father's" blessing before I left so that was much needed. It was so hard to leave... I loved the people I served with and they will always have a piece of my heart.

Well, that was my week and my last chapter in Moreno Valley. I loved serving here and I am truly going to miss it. I love you y’all so much and miss the kids a ton. Love y’all and can't wait to talk to you on Mother's Day!

Elder Tonini

email: February 4, 2013

From the emails that I got from the kids, sounds like things are going well. I have the best family in the world. Grandpa Baugh (that's what I call him, he reminds me so much of Grandpa Tonini that it is crazy) mentioned that he sent Dad and Grandma Tonini an email. He and Sister Baugh are so good to me. Their youngest granddaughter is stuck to my hip every time that she sees me ha-ha. Kind of reminds me of home. Family in Virginia sent me a bunch of pictures of the family with a little note on it. It was so exciting to see the Tull-Youngberg kids and the Bales. It made my night when I got to see them.

This was a crazy week for me. We had all sorts of meetings and lessons that we went to. I had a very unique experience as well on Tuesday. My Elders Quorum president's wife is a horse trainer. In their backyard, they have over five horses on a three-acre piece of land. They had just picked up a wild Mustang that the wife was going to tame and train. However, this horse was CRAZY and they had to build a brand new stable for Black Ice (that's the horse) because she kept jumping out of the other ones that they had. So they called us to come over and lend a hand so that the stable would be built faster. Boy did I feel at home on a ranch with my boots and Wranglers on. We got it put up and we got to see the wife work with the horse. This horse was CRAZY! And the wife is a tiny woman so it was kind of nerve racking for me to watch her get thrown around like she did. However, she finally got the horse to calm down and she started to work with her. It was amazing to see how big of a transformation that Black Ice went through. I noticed a correlation when it came to the gospel. We are all this crazy, wild spirit that needs some guidance and discipline. Just like how Sister Rogers was able to tame the horse down, that's what the gospel can do for us. Instead of Sister Rogers at the reign, it is Christ who calms us down and brings us back to where we need to be. It was quite a unique experience to be a part of.

Wednesday, we had a random lady call us asking if we could help her out. We had no idea who she was but we went over anyways. Her name was Karina, a single mom with four kids living with her sister and parents. They needed some financial help so they had the impression to call us. So we went over to assess the situation and ended up teaching them the Restoration. Karina was very interested in what we had to say. We set up a time to come back and see them so we were able to pick up three new people to teach! It is crazy how the Lord will lead the people to us that are in need of help and the gospel.

We had our Zone Leader Council on Thursday and talked with all the zone leaders about stuff going on in the mission. Even though that takes up most of the day, I do enjoy being a part of those councils. Now, something crazy happened that night. We had our lesson with Ken and that went very well. He is reading the Doctrine and Covenants every day and is praying. We answered questions and talked more about church with him. As we were about to leave, he seriously blew my mind. He told me that he has a "date". I was confused for a moment but then explained that he has a date in mind for his baptism. He said he prayed about it and he feels like April 6th of this year is the day. Something crazy about that date that he picked: that is Christ's real birthday and the Church was re-organized in 1830 on that date. It blew my mind that he picked a date then when my ward mission leader brought that to my attention, it blew my mind even more.

Our usual zone meeting went well too. Elder Ete did most of the talking so it was nice to see him take the lead on the meeting. We all went to Alberto's afterwards and got carne asada fries.

Oh boy, they were so good! I seriously have the best zone. We are so close that we could seriously be one big family. And I guess that's how it’s supposed to be. I love that feeling. Saturday was filled with supporting the ward in some of their functions and going out to eat with a RM from our ward to Five Guys. It was good to hear his advice and the time I got to talk with him. His mom even bought us FIVE boxes of Girl Scout cookies! Super good.

Sunday was a very satisfying day because I got to see Blake bless the sacrament for the second time, having him bear his testimony with me, and then to have him be extended a calling as a ward missionary! That was super exciting to see. I love seeing how far he has come. Best part is, his dad is starting to be more accepting to his decision to be baptized. We also had a baptism in the Samoan ward on Sunday. Samoans sure do know how to throw a baptism! There is always food. Y'all should ask Troy Ita if he has any family up here. Overall, it was a good week. Kind of a crazy one but things definitely went well.

I will be looking forward to the packages. I can't believe that I turn 20 in less than a week. Best part is that the youth are doing a special sacrament program that I get to be a part of with. I have grown very close to the young men in my ward. I also hit my year mark in a few weeks. Boy has time flown.

Thank you for your support and love. I love and miss y'all dearly. Have a wonderful week and always remember that I love you.

Elder Tonini

email: January 2, 2013

So the library was closed until today so I couldn't have emailed y'all until today so here we go!

It was so good to talk to everyone on Christmas. The Lucas' were there watching the first part of the card thing that y'all did to break the news about the move. Brother Lucas thought that was very clever and that was the first thing that he asked when he saw me afterwards. I have a love-hate relationship with the calls home because I miss my family so much and I love talking to y'all but it does make me a little trunkie afterwards. However, I got over that fast because we had a lot of things to do!

Not much has changed since we last talked. Blake is doing well, still progressing and still having the desire to get baptized. His family wasn't a big fan for it... Blake had a falling out with his dad and now they aren't on speaking terms. Their only concern was that they couldn't go into the temple to see Blake get married. We actually talked to his mother on the phone to try and resolve her concern. We explained it the best we could but still she wouldn't let him get baptized when he said he would. However, Jeff (his close friend) will get to baptize him later this month so it will all work out. Both of those young men are fantastic.

That is really the only big thing that has happened in the regards to missionary work. Our goal this month is to translate our progressing investigators into baptisms so we will see how that will go. I do get to go back to Beaumont (hopefully) to see Jacob get baptized on Saturday! It will be good to see everyone and to see Jacob take this new step in his life.

I do have some bad new though... I think I have banned myself from playing basketball. On Christmas night, I got elbowed in the eye and it swelled up shut. I seriously thought that the Elder had cracked my orbital, it hurt that bad. I was enraged when he did that because he intentionally tried to go through me. Was the elbow intentional? I don't know nor will he say but none the less, he hit me hard. So I have banned myself from playing basketball because I upset people when I play hard in the paint. I got some good pictures, don't let mom see! We played volleyball for our New Years Eve activity and that was a good break from basketball.

Other than that, things are going well. I am feeling a little under the weather but none the less, I am doing fine. I have my hard days but I get through them and go work harder when I feel depressed about things. The Church is true, that is what matters! And that my Savior loves me with all His heart and He knows what I am going through. Love you all and can't wait to talk to you again on Skype!

Elder Tonini

email: December 17, 2012

I am glad that you are enjoying your new job! You seem to have adjusted very well to it. I love that you love giving back to the community. All Christ did was serve, that is a wonderful way to feel how the Savior felt! And thank you for the Texas blanket! I love it, it is my new favorite! We gave everyone Power Ranger names in the zone and I got the name Texas Ranger. It sure fits, huh? :)

Thank you for not forgetting about me and putting up my stocking! I do feel like I am forgotten sometimes... I do feel a little homesick during the holidays but I have been in fantastic wards that help me feel at home. We ate at the B***'s last night and I felt like I was at home with Grandma and Grandpa Tonini. Sister B**** reminds me SO MUCH of Grandma! She spilled something and said "by golly" and I about lost it laughing! It reminded me so much of Grandma. I loved being at their house. They both gave me big hugs when I left and they even call me part of the family. They both talked so much about Grandpa and Grandma. It made me miss Grandpa a lot... But I know partially why I came to Valley View ward: it was to see the B**** family. There is such a special spirit there and it honestly feels like I have grandparents again that I can turn to.

My week has been a busy one. We played basketball on Monday with the zone and that was good times. I am not much of a basketball player but I did make some good shots so that was promising. We are playing basketball against another zone today so I am REALLY looking forward to that. It has actually rained quite a bit here in MoVal! When it rains, it floods because California is ridiculous and not know how to drain their streets. So we had fun driving through the puddles in the truck :).

We taught quite a few lesson this week and have seen some awesome progress! Our big lesson on Tuesday was Ken and he is a Wicken. Elder Chambers actually taught him when he was here in the ward! He stopped investigating but one day called us up and wanted us to come back and teach him. We have answered all of his questions and has actually said that our beliefs line up very closely to what he believes. We don't know if he went to church or not but hopefully we can put him on date for later this month or early next month.

The craziest lesson we had was when we went back to this return appointment that we got while Harvesting. It was actually a girl that Chambers had taught a year ago. She lives with her sister and we came back to visit her and got into a HUGE discussion of very weird things. The worst part was... they were both attractive. Oh boy... However, it turned out very interesting. Their beliefs were off the wall! They believe in Christianity/Hinduism/Buddhism/Scientology but they attend a Christian church. We were there for over an hour, answering quite personal questions and STUPID "what-if" questions. The Spirit was NOT there and it was very noticeable that it wasn't. Needless to say, we got out of there as fast as we could but we did NOT feel good there. So we will see what will happen with them.

We got a new investigator on Friday from a member in our ward. He is a chiropractor and one of his clients has been investigating the church but has had some real issues with her ward where she lives in Orange County. So she wants to take the lessons here with Doc and with us. She is a fantastic woman, looking for the truth. Her real only issue is that she is VERY sensitive so we have to tread carefully not to offend her. Otherwise, we will lose her trust in us. But she has awesome fellowship with Doctor C***** and us. We taught her about the true meaning of the Atonement and Christ's sacrifice for us. The true meaning of Charity is sacrifice and that was what we taught her and help her apply to her life. On top of having a good lesson, Doc gave me an adjustment and I have been feeling better! I get a free adjustment every time I go over there :) and it is fantastic! I left feeling spiritually uplifted and physically uplifted!

Our baptism that we were going to have got pushed back to Saturday. We are actually having TWO baptisms on Saturday! That will be a first for me on my mission, baptizing two individual people on the same day. Our investigators are progressing well and it is exciting to see them go through that process. Nelly, one of our eternal investigators, said last night that she is going to give us a final decision if she is going to be baptized. She has been reading and praying, seeing the good change that is happening to her. She had something happen to her on Saturday that was a huge wake up call to her so hopefully that was the change for her. We don't know what exactly happened but it was big enough to knock her on her knees and want to change. So there will be some fasting this week for her so she will get her answer!

Other than that, things are going well. I still struggle with a few things but I am learning how to cope with it and to not let it affect me. The holidays will be hard for me but don't worry, I will focus on other things rather that those issues. I have a new found love for Christmas because the true reason has so much for meaning to me. I love this time of year because Christ the reason for the season! I love y'all and miss everyone dearly. Have a wonderful Christmas and send all of our family my love!

Elder Andrew B. Tonini

email: Dec 11, 2012

Subject: It is beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

Mom and Dad,

Sorry that I am emailing on Tuesday instead of yesterday. The computers were down so we couldn't email yesterday... I heard from the kids that Grandma Hartfield passed away. I am glad that she liked reading my letters and see how I was doing. She was basically my grandmother away from my real ones. But you are right, she is now with her eternal companion again and she will be doing the same work that I am doing here on the Earth. The Plan of Salvation is such a wonderful thing! I love it with all my heart. That is one of my favorite lessons to teach because it answers so many questions that people have.

I am glad that Mom is enjoying her new job. Serving people is the best thing to do! I did a lot of service for people in Beaumont but now I get to serve other missionaries as well that I have stewardship over! I have come to realize WHY I want a family of my own so badly. I like the responsibility of being entrusted of the Lord to take care of people. I have always wanted a family but I could never pinpoint WHY exactly I wanted one. This calling as Zone Leader has now opened my eyes to how special it is to have the responsibility.

This week has a good one. We have taught a lot of people and have given a lot of blessings. I love giving service to other missionaries. We have Sisters in our zone and last week they got a flat tire at 9 pm one night. They called us and we came and changed the tire for them. Even though that is a small act, it makes me feel good knowing that I could do something for someone else. The true meaning of charity is sacrifice. Sacrificing your pleasures to serve someone is exactly what the Savior did. It is an honor to be His missionaries.

We had our Christmas party this weekend and that was a good time with the ward. We had smoked tri-tip and chicken! Super good. Also, one of our investigators/ part member family told us that he wants to be baptized. SO we are going to have a baptism this weekend! Plus we have found more people and have taught a lot more too. The field is white, already to harvest and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with all his might shall NOT perish but bring salvation unto his soul! That is exactly what we are doing, working in the field for the Lord!

One thing that I am so grateful for in going to California is the scriptural knowledge that I have gotten while studying the scriptures. There is a family that we gave a blessing to and invited to baptism that we went back to see. We talked with the husband for almost an hour on his porch, answering questions about our doctrine. A year ago, I couldn't answer those questions but now I can. The gospel HAS been restored to its fullest! We are still going to go back and teach his family so hopefully good things will come of it. Have you wondered why it is so important that Christ was baptized in the river Jordan? Yes, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness but there is a deeper meaning to it. Christ walked 60 miles to get to John the Baptist. SIXTY MILES! he could have gone to Jerusalem or Jericho where there were priest there that could have baptized Him but no, He went to John because he had the AUTHORITY. The physical location in where He was baptized was significant as well. The river Jordan empties into the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on Earth at -1,302ft below sea level. Christ was baptized in the river Jordan, near the mouth of the Dead Sea. Nephi teaches us that Christ will descend below all things (1 Nephi 11:26-27). He LITERALLY did that. He went below the lowest place on earth and ROSE above it! The gospel is SO deep that is can keep scholars learning for ages but it is as simple for a primary child to understand. I LOVE IT!

Anyways, things are going well here in Valley View. I have talked to Brother Baugh and he is going to get in touch with Dad hopefully soon. I am going to get Grandma Tonini's address to him; he was asking for it. Our zone is doing well, things are starting to look up again. Elder Spencer and I are working as hard as we can. We actually got to go to the temple on Friday. I love the temple, especially when I am struggling with things. That is a place where I can turn everything over to the Lord and He can be my strength. I love this time of year and the spirit that it brings. Christmas is a wonderful time of year. Let's make this Christmas a wonderful one and remember the true meaning of it! I love you all and cannot wait to see you on Christmas! Love you all and talk to y'all soon!

Elder Tonini

email: October 1, 2012

Carol's baptism didn't happen on Saturday. She didn't feel ready so we pushed it back two weeks to October 13th. This is a pretty solid date, we are going to make sure that she is ready! Sounds like things are staying busy there in Seminole. Even though I wasn't there for long, I sure do miss it! Send my regard to everyone back home. I am so excited to hear about the Lira's going to the temple! We are going on Friday so they will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Ready for my week? Here we go:

Monday we had a lesson with Carol with the Pratt's and Chelsa. It was a really uplifting lesson, however we did learn that she wasn't ready for baptism this week... She still needs a testimony of the Restoration. I thought I had taught her that but I guess not... I took it hard knowing that she didn't know that because I felt like it reflected on the type of missionary I am. I really did feel like a failure of a missionary. However, there is always room for improvement and that is why repentance is there so I learned from it and moved on. I won't make that mistake twice!

On Tuesday, we went back to visit a potential that Elder Johnson had found while we went tracting. We showed up to his house and talked to him on his doorstep for two hours! He really didn't see the same way we do and his heart was pretty hard so I noticed right away that he wasn't the elect that we were looking for. However, it was good for Elder Johnson because he taught a lot and learned from the lesson. After that, we went and saw the Mathie's and I got to see my boys. Christopher is doing better, getting better every day. We taught them a lesson about Abinadi and how we can learn from that. We then went and taught Victor about eternal marriage. That was a good lesson, the Spirit was strong there. I love Vic so much, he seriously has become a brother to me. We always have a good discussion when we go over there.

On Wednesday, we went on exchanges with the Spanams. I got to drive a car all day! However, I think being on bike is better. You talk to WAY more people that you do in the car. My comp for the day, Elder Richins, is a greenie as well and doesn't know much Spanish yet so we visited all the families that could speak English. That poor Elder got SOOO stressed out when things started to fall through. I taught him that you have to roll with the punches and do all that you can do to stay busy and be productive. Even if it means walking in the dark and talking to people before a lesson (yes, we had to do that!). Elder Johnson learned a lot as well as we ran the area by himself without me there to give input. Overall, it was a productive day in both areas.

Thursday was our usual weekly planning. After that, we went and visited a less active lady who is 91 years old! She reminds me a lot of Great Grandma Marie Tonini. She is still full of energy at her old age. Our intention of going over there was to help her hang some pictures she wanted to hang up. After that, we taught her about prophets and about how General Conference is coming up. She then came out and gave us some of her husband's old ties and a cuff link set. He passed away about three years ago so she gave some of his old stuff to us. While I was there, I saw this ad for a french cuff dress shirt for $20! I am going to order one this week :) I am super stoked about it! I even get it custom embroidered. That night, we taught Victor again. He always wants to learn more so we go over and teach him whatever he wants to learn.

Friday we helped a sister in our ward move her mother-in-law. They weren't members so it was a great missionary opportunity to give back to the community. We made a good impact on that family and really brought the Spirit into their lives for a short period. We then went over the Carol's to see them and check up on them. Rob worked all week so it was nice to see him.

We taught Tina (Victor's sister) on Saturday. She had just gotten home from the hospital so it was good to see her back home. She is so solid, it is amazing! She is already in the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. We had to push her baptism date back because of her health. Other than that, she is ready.

Sunday we had fast and testimony meeting which was really good! Both Elder Johnson and I got up and bore our testimony. I feel like Oak Valley has become my home ward because of the amount of time I have been here! After church, we went and visited the Mathie's again and taught them about prophets and General Conference. We had dinner with our new Relief Society president, Sister Murphy. Her husband is the head woman's basketball coach at the University of Redlands so he is going to get us some swag (athletic gear)! They are such a wonderful family. I honestly feel like the members trust us and love us being there. We then taught Tina again and talked about the baptismal convents. The work is progressing!

I learned a very important lesson this week. I learned how to apply the Atonement personally to me. Before, I have really taken advantage of it... I never really had to go through anything that has seriously knocked me to my knees EVERY SINGLE DAY, pleading for comfort and strength. Well, I had to hit rock bottom this week in order to apply the Atonement to my life. I was constantly praying, seeking guidance in knowing what to do and pleading for healing. I even fasted for my situation and what was going on in my heart and mind. I have never really felt the healing power of the Atonement until now. My Savior was there to pick me up when no one else was there. He gave me healing and comfort. And come to find out, I fixed the situation and everything is better now. That would not have happened if I didn't use the Atonement. I testify that my Redeemer lives! He is there for us when we need Him the most. I love Him with all my heart and I know that I am a choice Son of my Heavenly Father. When I leave things to Him, He takes care of me. Lean on Him for strength, use His grace that He gave to us. When you hit rock bottom, call out to Him "Lord save me". He will be there, I promise you that and I know that from every fiber of my being. He is there for us through anything! This truly is His work and I am so blessed to be a part of it. I know that my Redeemer lives!

I love all of y'all and miss y'all dearly. Keep working hard and always remember: Your Savior loves you!

Elder Tonini