email: January 15, 2013

Subject: Talofa!

It is good to hear that things are going well there in Texas. I am sure going to miss my Texas... But this move is going to be a wonderful one and going to do so much for the family. It will be good to see how much Dad will grow in his profession and continue in being the man that he is. I want so much to be like him. I strive every day to become the man that my Father in Heaven wants me to be as well as what my own father wants me to be. I do worry about you Mom and how you will do with Dad being gone all week. It really has been on my mind on how you will do but as Ether tells us, by the grace of God our weak things will become strong unto us. Everything will work out!

I have the best siblings in the world, I love reading about their week. Jacob sounds like he is doing well. When will he hear back from BYU? I am hoping he gets in that school. It will do wonders for him. And I love reading Corina's letters every week. I feel like I am part of her life still. She is so beautiful! I have the prettiest sister in the world! Carson cracks me up with his letters but it means so much to me to get to hear from him during the week. He is going to be 13 here in a couple of days! Everyone is growing up so fast... I can only imagine how y'all feel as parents seeing their kids grow up. Look at me, I still can't believe that I am on my mission! Kinda crazy how fast time flies.

So my week has been a down week. I got sick two weeks ago and this last week really hit me hard. I was miserable for a couple of days. I tried to work through it but it got to the point where I was doing more damage to myself that good. I am starting to feel better, I called the mission doctor and he called in a prescription for me. My zone got hit with sickness pretty badly. The flu is hitting this area very hard and a lot of people are getting sick. Plus it has been SUPER cold, like in the high 30's so that hasn't helped. I am going to freeze in North Dakota... Good thing I will get back kinda towards the tail end of winter!

I don't remember if I told y'all but I now cover the Samoan ward along with my original ward. I LOVE the Samoan culture! Sacrament meeting was a lot of fun. They even speak and sing in Samoan. I feel like a dear in the headlights because I understand nothing of what they say. With Spanish, I can understand a little but with Samoan I can't understand a thing! But the members there are amazing. I am not sure how we are going to do two wards on Sunday with them being so close together but we will figure it out.

Blake will be getting baptized on Wednesday for the Mutual activity for the Valley View youth. Jeffery will be the young man that will baptize him. That is going to be so cool to see! That reminds me so much of when I baptized Brendan. I was such an emotional mess when I baptized him so I can defiantly relate to how those two will feel. They will be connected for the rest of their lives. We also have another baptism in the Samoan ward on that Saturday as well. The two people we are teaching in the Samoan ward will be baptized here very soon. Esther, one of the people we are teaching for the Samoan ward, will be baptized on February 9th. Happy early birthday to me :).

Something kind of cool that has been happening is that we have been getting a lot of media referrals from the MTC. We have gotten three in less that a week and that is crazy to me! I think that it is because we are getting our 20 people contacted every day and the Lord is bound when we do what He says. That was a promise to us as missionaries that if we contact 10 people per day per person then we will see double convert baptisms. That promise is defiantly real! Also, my door approach is becoming a lot more bold with people. I am done with people not even giving us the time of day to offer to bless their home and family. So I will get bold with them and help them see that we believe in Christ and in divine authority. Nothing has yet to happen but I feel like I am starting to be the catalyst for those people.

Well, I love y'all and miss y'all tons. Keep up the faith and always remember that your missionary son loves you :).

Elder Tonini