Letter: March 9, 2012

I typically correspond with Elder Tonini via mailed letters so that he can read and respond to them at his convenience (they are able to use public computers to email home but only have about 30 minutes each week).  When we got home this weekend from Spring break activities, I had a letter waiting for me.  Included were a few pictures:

This is a picture of him with his companion, Elder Braithwaite.  In the lobby of the MTC is this large world map and by tradition, every missionary stands in front of it, pointing to their mission.  I am glad to see that they have kept up the tradition.



In the MTC, missionaries are assigned to a district (see yesterday's post).  In addition to a picture of his district, he also sent a picture of him with two other Elders in his district: 

Fortunately, it was easy to pick out which one was Elder Kaluhiokalani because by reading the back of the picture, Elder Tonini hasn't figured out the convention of listing people from left to right!

In his letter, he talks about continuing to focus on his teaching skills:

We don't teach specific lessons any more, it's about what the Spirit tells us to say.  It is a huge challenge sometimes to teach by the Spirit but at the same time, it is seriously amazing.  We got our first commitment to baptism today!  That was the most awesome feeling ever.  Even though it was a practice investigator, we listed to her and asked inspired questions to her in order to get her to open up.  It was an amazing experience.

He also told me a little bit more about Brother DuBois, the Dutchman he met at the Salt Lake Conference Center:

He taught me something that I will never forget.  He said that there are two things that are not in God's vocabulary: luck and coincidence.  He told me stories and experiences he has had.  It was a pretty cool experience and it wasn't by luck that we came to talk to him.

He concludes:

Well, I think I am coming down with something and I feel like crap.  I'm pretty miserable right now.  But I'm not complaining and keeping my head up.  Sure do love you and miss you.  Send my love to Mom.

He leaves for Riverside on Tuesday so please keep him in your prayers as he begins this next phase of his mission.

Mission Terms (Part I)

Whether serving a foreign or State-side mission, it is a cultural experience. With any new culture, comes a new language. Below are some terms you may find in this blog that we thought might be helpful.  Instead of being in alphabetical order, they are grouped by related terms.

Church Units

Branch - a very small congregation (between 30 - 100 people). The ecclesiastical leader is the branch president and his title is President (e.g. President Davis).

Ward - a typical congregation (usually less than 500 people). The ecclesiastical leader is the bishop.

Stake - a collection of seven - ten wards in the same geographical area (similar to a Catholic dioceses). The ecclesiastical leader is the stake president and his title is President (e.g. President Shumway).

Mission - overlays several stakes and is presided over by a mission president (see below).  A mission will typically have between 150 - 200 full time missionaries assigned to that area at any given time. 

Mission Organization

Companionship - two (sometimes three) missionaries assigned to labor in a specific area (usually corresponding to a branch or ward).  One missionary might be designated as the "trainer" for a recently arrived missionary.

District - consists of two or three companionships.  One of the companionships is designated as the "district leaders" and conducts a weekly "district meeting" where training and instruction is given.

Zone - consists of multiple districts and typically consists of all the missionaries serving in a single stake.  "Zone Leaders" get weekly reports from the district leaders and also conduct a regular "zone conference" where training and instruction is given.  The mission president and his "assistants" participate in zone conferences.  The Zone Leaders liaise the missionary efforts with the Stake President on a monthly basis.

Mission President - being a mission president is a three-year assignment.  In dedicating themselves to this call, many couples essentially put their old lives on hold, including their jobs and family.  (If they have dependent children, they will go with their parents).  A Mission President wears many hats; comforting homesick missionaries, providing encouragement and motivation, assigning missionaries to companionships, ensuring that proper doctrine is being taught, and is responsible for the logistics of the mission (housing, transportation, etc). A Mission President is always accompanied by his wife.

Assistant to the President (AP) - two missionaries who are spiritually grounded and have demonstrated leadership skills will serve as assistants to the mission president (usually towards the end of their mission).   They work with the Mission President and Zone Leaders to ensure that all is running smoothly in the mission. 

We hope this helps.  Part II of this series will define common mission slang terms.

email: March 14, 2012

We received another email from Drew today.  He is anxious to get to the field (he leaves next Tuesday) although he is has already had to say one goodbye:  our trio of Taiwan Elders left today to go to the Asian district to start learning Madrien. it was hard to say goodbye but thats where they need to be. 

Even with the short amount of time that he has spent in the MTC, his knowledge and understanding of the gospel has increased. As he put it:

Learning about the gospel has given me a whole knew outlook on the doctrine and how I should really apply it to my life. The gospel is true and the Spirit is amazing.

He is already getting thing ready for his departure, checking with the travel department to see how much cash he needs to have on hand (to pay for his luggage - you would think the Church could have negotiated the baggage fee for as many tickets that they buy!) and last minute purchases at the bookstore.  He purchased one packback (without a hydration system) and now he wants to buy another one?!?  That son of ours!

email: March 7, 2012

On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 2:18 PM, Andrew Tonini <andrew.tonini@myldsmail.net> wrote:

My dearest mother (and father),

Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts.
I was so blessed to be in an awesome district. We have so much fun and we are learning so much as well. We really do feel like a family. We have sister missionaries in our district too! they are awesome and help us Elders to stay on topic. I have a great companion, Elder Braithwaite. He reminds we a lot of Jacob. We butt heads but we are good friends. There are three of us going to Cali, one to Idaho, Sisters to St. George Visitors Center, and a trio going to Taiwan! We really get along really well and have tons of fun together. We have a huge Hawaiian elder that plays for BYU and another that is a wide receiver for Utah. I will send pictures home soon so you can see my new missionary family :)
I got called to be the zone leader of our zone! We were here five days and I got called to be the leader of our zone. It was quite humbling for me because I was NOT expecting that at all. I guess we were called to the leaders for a specific reason. On our first couple of hours, we had to deal with a missionary that was having conduct issues and then call the branch president. We got it taken care of but it was an awesome welcoming to the leadership.
I had seriously one of the most spiritual experiences of my life on Monday night. One of my missionaries fell and hit his head really hard on the hardwood playing basketball. He definitely had a concussion so I had to take him to the emergency room. We were there for less than ten minutes before someone asked us to give a blessing. Only did we know that our night was just about to start. We got called back into our "room" which was only a trauma bed with curtains to separate the beds. There was a woman next to us that had a super bad seizure that lasted almost five minutes. After the doctors got it to stop, I got this prompting that I needed to give her a blessing. Elder Bean (the elder who had the concussion) got the same impression as well so we acted on it and we gave her a blessing. She was so thankful that we were there for her. So we went and got Elder Bean's CT scan done and went back to the bed. The same woman had another seizure and I felt prompted to give her a blessing of comfort, so we did. However, she kept having them and having them. I started to pray, I prayed harder than I ever have before for a woman that I just barely met. I asked my Father in Heaven to stop the seizures and to help her not to be in pain anymore. Then the most amazing thing happen, her seizures started to get shorter and shorter. My prayers were actually working! I kept praying and praying for her and they kept getting shorter and shorter. After one of the later ones, she called out to us. She could barely call to us because she was in so much pain. We went to her bedside and with tears in her eyes, she asked for another blessing. I grabbed her by the hand and Elder Bean asked her to offer her a prayer. She did, expressing the faith and love she has for our Father in Heaven. After she finished, I looked her in the eyes and asked her "Do you have faith in your Lord and Savior?" She replied with tears in her eyes again that she did. I told her that if she has faith, these seizures with stop and that the pain will leave her body. We anointed and sealed the oil on her head for the second time. In that prayer, I said something that I never thought I had the power to say. I promised her that the seizures would stop. That they WOULD stop. I blessed her with healing and that she would not be in pain anymore. I could hear her just sob when I blessed her. When I finished the blessing, I told her that I believe that God will answer this blessing and that you will be okay. Soon after, the scan came back for Elder Bean. He was fine, just a mild concussion. She did have another seizure but they were getting shorter and shorter.
It is really hard to not tell that story and not cry. I cried like a baby last night in front of my branch president when I shared my testimony about the power of the priesthood. Even typing it up is bringing tears to my eyes. That was not just by luck that we went to the ER that night. We needed to be there for Barbara Jean Largent. She needed us to be there for her. How do I know this? A CT scan is only supposed to take 20 minutes to be read. We were there for an HOUR. The Lord works in mysterious ways and that was one of the ways. I was seriously humbled so much from that experience. Thank you Dad for teaching me to honor my priesthood and how to use it. I've only been here a week and I've given 5 blessings.
The new missionaries get here today so I'll be pretty busy getting them settled down. Sure do love y'all, so much. Send my love to the Branch and let them know that Seminole is being represented really well here in Utah and soon in California. I know I need to be here. This gospel is so simple and true. I love you all and miss you. Can't wait to hear from y'all next Wednesday.
Elder Tonini
P.S. A package of goodies wouldn't be too bad to get here ;)

Letter: March 3, 2012

How are things in thriving Seminole? I made it here okay. The MTC is good, I like being here, but I really want to get to the mission field. My companion is Elder Braithwaite (his personality reminds me of Jacob). My roommates are Elder Weight and Elder Stimely.

Teaching is going okay, I'm learning a lot from the Spirit. I have to completely relearn how to teach. We've been super busy so sorry its taken me forever to write. I love you and miss you all.

Elder Tonini

(Excerpts from letter to my parents as edited by my dad)

Still No News - But New Pictures!

Doesn't he look excited?!?

We still haven't heard anything from Drew yet, but we did get some pictures from his Aunt Rochelle that proves that he was at least dropped off at the MTC.


So what is he doing in the MTC?  Here is an article from the Church's youth magazine, The New Era, that gives an idea of what that first day at the MTC may have been like:

You arrive at the missionary training center in missionary attire, perhaps accompanied by your family if they want to be there and can make the trip with you. You check in and receive a name badge with your new title: “Elder” or “Sister.” Sounds good, doesn’t it?

You are then led to another area of the MTC. At the first stop, you receive your information packet. In it you find a card with your mailing address, your companion’s name, your residence hall and district assignment, and your branch president’s information. You also receive your schedule, which tells you when and where to be for your entire stay in the MTC. A volunteer explains all the information in the packet and answers any questions you have.

Next, you check some forms with your personal information and report any special dietary or medical needs. Then a volunteer goes over your immunization record with you. Depending on where you’re going, you might receive some additional shots at this point.

You then head to the MTC bookstore. You’ve taken a peek at your schedule and realize that a lot of your day will be spent in class. That means you’ll need textbooks—just like in school. You’re given a copy of Preach My Gospel - everything you do in class and during personal study will be connected to this book. 

After you pick up your luggage, you find your room. There you meet your companion and other members of your district. Depending on your mission language, your district has between 8 and 12 missionaries, who could all be going to the same mission or several different missions.

In the afternoon, the MTC presidency hosts an orientation meeting for new missionaries. Here you get additional information on the organization of the MTC and the resources available to you.

After dinner in the cafeteria, you meet your branch presidency. While in the MTC, your branch president will conduct Sunday meetings, hold personal interviews, and be available to answer questions and help you solve problems. There are 56 branches at the MTC, divided into two districts with district presidencies (the equivalent of stake presidencies). The districts are presided over by the MTC presidency. After you meet your branch president, it’s lights out at 10:30 p.m.  

What is the MTC?

Elder Tonini will spend the first three weeks in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah.  Technically part of the Brigham Young University campus, the purpose of the MTC is "to provide an atmosphere of peace, love, trust, confidence, and respect in which missionaries can prepare for missionary service."  The Provo MTC is one of seventeen that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day operates throughout the world.  Here are some websites to learn more:

Official MTC website
A three-part article from the Deseret News:
     Inside the Missionary Training Center 
     Arrival at Missionary Training Center 
     Running a Missionary Training Center