Travel Itinerary For TONINI/ANDREW BARLOW - 25Feb

We received Elder Tonini's flight information tonight!  The Church must have a contract with Delta Airlines because this itinerary is crazy!  (They could have booked him on United flight that connected in Denver and be home by 1 pm!)

SERVICE               DATE  FROM           TO             DEPART  ARRIVE

_____________________ _____ ______________ ______________ _______ ______

DELTA AIR LINES       25FEB ONTARIO CA     SEATTLE WA     1045A   120P

 

DELTA AIR LINES       25FEB SEATTLE WA     MINNEAPOLIS MN 315P    826P  

DELTA AIR LINES       25FEB MINNEAPOLIS MN MINOT ND       950P    1131P

I guess this means he won't be getting released until Wednesday!

"If I stepped in a mud pie, how deep would my boot sink?"

It was kinda of bittersweet to get to talk to y’all this Christmas. I guess it hit me that this is my last time Skyping as a missionary and my last Christmas as a missionary so that was kinda surreal for me. Next Christmas, we will be talking to Jake on his mission! Missions are the best! I loved getting to see all the kids. Ready for my week? Let's go!

Our Pday was super weird due to Christmas. Since we were basically having another Pday on Tuesday with Christmas Eve, we were to have a half Pday on Monday. They even had us have district meeting that morning too. It didn’t even feel like it was a true Monday! I felt so bad emailing because I felt like I was breaking the rules haha. We got that done and some laundry done then it was off to start proselyting at 3:30. We had an early dinner with the C**** and the P**** families so that was super fun! They both are super awesome families. We then went and saw Cale to see how he was doing. It was a short lesson with him because they were still trying to get things ready for Christmas but we left him with a Restoration DVD and followed up on his smoking. He's still off of it! Hopefully we can keep him going. We got our OYMs and then we called it a night.

I was super stoked for the Christmas party because of us doing the Haka with all the Samoan's and Tongan's in the mission. Elders Ete and Kava did it and so they invited me to do it. It was super good to see everyone again! I will try and send the video so we will see what I can do. The party took all day and so we got back to the house around 3ish. It was super bittersweet because that was the last time I am going to see a lot of my mission friends on their missions. We came home and crashed because I had no energy left because I'm still fighting that stupid sinus infection.  We then went to the U*** family for dinner. They are a Mexican family and so we had tamales for dinner! It reminded me of being back in Texas :). Plus they had UFC on and so that made me kinda trunkee but it was good to get to spend time with them. Their son Gio is a super good kid! We talked a lot about missions and how much they help so hopefully we made an impact on him for the better :)

Our Christmas morning was awesome! We slept up until 8am then hung around the house until 10ish then we went to P***’s for breakfast. We played with the kids and had fun outside with them. We then ran to the C***'s to spend some time with them. We  ended up watching one of their sons play Battlefield 4 so it turned into a bust.  We were supposed to have a fun activity but it never happened. Then we ran home to change into a shirt and tie to Skype the family! After that, I got into an intense chess game with Cameron, their 8 year old. I won, but by the skin of my teeth! He put up a good fight for sure haha it was a good time. We then played another super fun board game! Dinner was good and then we ran straight off to play basketball with some Elders and Gio. It was so much fun! I am terrible at basketball but I was doin' work that night! I even dribbled through Gio's legs and laid it up haha. He didn't like that too much haha but it was a good time. Elder Ete and I were so funny, I love my Poly! It was a good Christmas for sure :)

Thursday was back to the usual and so we got our weekly planning somewhat done and then we went and taught John again. It actually went okay this time. We had to kinda yell at him but we made it work. We taught him through the pamphlet and we testified like CRAZY to him so that he could feel the Spirit. We challenged him to be baptized but he didn’t accept it just yet. We're gonna keep on trying with him. Then we went to Cale's and got some crushing news... He relapsed and smoked two packs in two days so we didn't have a baptism this weekend. It was crushing but it opened us up to his real concerns. He still has a lot of doctrinal questions that we are going to address so that was okay. It still was super crushing... But we got some work to do now with him so it'll all work out.

We went on exchanges on Friday and I went with Elder Johansen! I love that Elder so much! I really loved this exchange. We talked to a member about his Jeep, had Little Caesar’s pizza and gave a freaking awesome blessing on a family and then taught the mother! We went to visit a former member and we ended up talking to her neighbor. Her name is Tammy and she runs a traveling petting zoo so we got to see all the animals! It was awesome haha. We left a blessing on the kids and her and it was crazy spiritual! She then dismissed the kids and she talked to us about doctrinal things. She agreed to have us come back so that was good! Dinner ran long then we went to get fries in honor of a missionary we are both close to :). Then we were gonna head home but another Elder needed a blessing so we went to give it and I gave the blessing. It was super profound because I said some things that only God would tell me to say. I guess I'm just fulfilling what my patriarchal blessing says about me being a spiritual healer. We exchanged back and got ready for Saturday :)

We had apartment checks that morning then went out to see our people. Our noon appointment had three cops in the front yard when we rolled up so that appointment, needless to say, fell through and then our next one wasn't there so we just rode around and explored while we talked to people. We had our bash appointment that afternoon, which really didn't happen but we did get to talk to him and set something up. Hopefully we can make headway with him. We then finished weekly planning and went to the P****’s for dinner. We had a correlation meeting and then went to the hospital to make some visits. We ended up meeting some sweet old ladies in the hospital and gave them blessings as well. It was a tender moment for both Elder Anderson and me. It’s amazing how much love you can have for random people you meet and come into their lives. I love it! We then rode home, knowing we did something great that night.

Sunday was a good day. It was a good sacrament meeting and then we got to teach Melissa and put her on date for baptism! Yeah buddy! We then rode home and Elder Anderson tanked it HARD in his suit. Poor guy! We then had lunch and studied then went out to make visits and OYMs. Dinner was okay, but the highlight was going back to the hospital. The man in the ICU is getting better and one of our sweet old ladies went home! The other one was waiting for us and she is getting better :). It was awesome! I loved it so much. The Lord really does know what He is doing :).

I love y’all and hope everything is going well! I will send pictures next week, I promise! Keep working hard and open y’all’s mouths this week! Be the full-time missionaries and share the gospel :). I love y’all and pray that I don’t get too trunkee!

- Elder Tonini

email: Well, things can't get worse than this week...

I GET TO TALK TO THE FAMILY IN TWO DAYS! I cannot wait to see everyone and see how things are going! This is my last Christmas in the mission field! It is kinda crazy to think about that right now. I saw the trunky count down timer you have on my blog. Good one! That is super clever haha. Alright, ready for my interesting week? Let’s go!

Monday was an okay Pday. I got my haircut and then took a nap before we went and emailed at the library in the early afternoon. We then shopped and worked out then met Anita at the mall to get some stuff for the Elders. I love being able to spend time with her. She got Elder Anderson a Nike jacket that he seriously wears all day every day. It made his Christmas and I am so thankful for Anita for being generous and doing that for him. We then went to dinner and came home after we got OYMs because Anderson got some news from his family that really got him upset. When we came home that night, we didn't take the bikes up, we just left them at the bottom of our stairs at our apartment and locked them up there. It was a rough night and I was helping him through it all and so we both weren't in the right state of mind that night. And it sure as heck paid off...

We woke up Tuesday morning and we walked out to go get on the bikes to ride when we looked below the stairs and the bikes were gone... FETCH! So we got on our Shanks' ponies and took off to go see Ivan. We had to walk all say because we had no way to get around. Needless to say, I was super tired and my feet were on fire. Good times. We walked to go see Tom again and see how he is doing. He isn't progressing just yet but we are going to keep on him to try and get that going. We had dinner with the H*** family which was nice and then we went to go see Cale. He is progressing really nicely and he is making huge changes. We got him on track to stop smoking so hopefully that will happen later that week (which it did!). Funny story during that lesson. I went to commit Cale to live the Word of Wisdom that we were teaching and I said the Law of Chasity instead... Dangit! That's what happens when you're super doped up on cold meds haha. We then had another situation go down with my companion that night... He got some news from his recent convert in Hemet about his blood brother and how things are not going well for him. To make a long story short, we ended up yelling at each other and trying to make peace. We eventually did and things are good. I've come to realize that I am the kind of man to not take recognition for the things I do. Elder Anderson told me that he prayed for me specifically to be comps and that he looks up to me and wants to be just like me. That floored me because I didn't realize how much of an impact I was making on him. The Lord knows what He is doing for sure!

We were still on our Shanks' ponies on Wednesday so we walked to our potential blessing to find that it fell through... But we did get to meet these super nice JDub (Jehovah’s Witness) ladies out tracting too! We shared scripture and we talked about our missions and our beliefs. They even offered to drive us home because they asked about our bike situation and they felt sorry for what happened haha. We didn't get in though so we walked home. We then did a service project for the community and all the local kids. A non-profit organization is going to give a thousand kids a present so they can have a Christmas. The missionaries help every year and today we helped sort presents and get things ready for Saturday. However, after the project, I got super sick with what I think was a super bad sinus infection so that knocked me out for the rest of the night... We had Bakers dropped off to us and so we had dinner but it was a rough night for me. We did however, get a bike for Elder Anderson so we are back on the bikes again!

Thursday was another rough day too because I was feeling terrible... I slept almost all morning and then when we were about to go out to go make some visits... It starts to rain! Just my luck... Riding in the rain and feeling miserable is not fun. It was some sure big wife points though! We got our OYMs and then had dinner with the C**** that night. They are an awesome family; this was the first time we got to eat with them. Brother C**** has an interesting family... Come to find out, all of them are in the medicinal marijuana business. Whoops! After dinner, we had our lesson with Cale and we taught about the Law of Chasity and tithing. He is on track to still hopefully get baptized this weekend! Keep him in your prayers that we can make that happen for him family! On Friday morning, we drove to Corona to have multi-zone conference with President Smart and the AP's. It was super good but super long. Towards the end, I was trying real hard to stay focused but then my meds ran out and I tanked... I felt terrible towards the end of the meeting and I couldn't do anything about it. I had to give my outgoing testimony too and that was bittersweet. It’s crazy to think I only have a few months left... It went way too fast. However, it was good to see old mission buddies there and catch up with them. Anita stopped by the apartment to drop off a pie and I looked like death... I slept through dinner and then went off to a lesson with Allison and her family. Allison got all made up for us and I think that is interesting... Oh well haha. Their kids are super fun and I love going over there to see them.

Saturday was the big day! We got to help with the toy drive and giving out the toys to the kids. I started by helping ushering kids into the door to going in front of the kids teaching them the wave and singing songs with them. It was super fun! No one was stepping up to get things organized so I did it myself. I guess that's something Dad taught me to do. I could hear him say "quit standing there with your teeth in your mouth and go get it done!" We taught the kids "popcorn popping on the Christmas tree" and "once there was a snowman"! It was super fun. By the end of it the second group, I had no voice. The poor Sisters I was working with didn't have a loud voice like I do so I kinda took over the show... Whoops! Good thing they know the words because I had forgotten them all! After the project, I came home to sleep some more because I was still feeling terrible and then we went out to make visits. I had the worst experience with Eddy on Saturday night. When we saw him, we could tell there was something wrong with him. He was super high and I think on meth. We kept hugging us and he ended up kissing me on the cheek which I about decked him when he did that. There was the most evil feeling at his home and I hated it. I just wanted to run. There was a man sitting in his garage with the door half open so I couldn't see his face but I could see him turned at me with his hand together in his lap staring at me through the garage door. There was a meth pipe in the garage and Eddy was tweaking super bad. It was the worst feeling ever... We then went to Tom's again and invited him to church and to read then off to Cale's. Cale is done smoking! He's done it and it’s super awesome. We invited him to church so hopefully he'll come.

We made our church visits Sunday morning and we got Cale to come to church! We ended up having Cale, Melissa and Jean Johnson come to church. That's the most investigators at church this ward has had in a long time! Cale went home after sacrament but Jean stayed for the second hour and Melissa stayed all three. It was a good Christmas program and there was some good talent there. I taught the youth Sunday school and that was a ton of fun. Melissa, the bishop's daughter's friend that is investigating, was answering more questions than the young men! Those boys... But I guess there was some drama win the investigator class with a member so that was interesting. We then came home and slept some more because we're trying to get feeling better and then we went off to the S**** family for dinner. I love that family so much! I sat with JuJu, the 5 year old, and had dinner with him. We taught the Restoration with the rubix cube and then got our OYMs and called it a night. It was a good way to end a crummy week! Gotta make the best of any situation and just smile back :).

I love y’all and can't wait to see y’all in a few days! Tomorrow is the Christmas party and I get to see everyone one last time before I leave! Plus I am performing at the talent show at the party so that'll be good! Love all of y’all and we will talk soon!

Elder Tonini

Info Request to Parents

19 December 2013    

Dear Brother & Sister Tonini,

Your son, Andrew Barlow Tonini, will be released on 25 February 2014 from his labors in the California Riverside Mission. You may find it difficult to believe that his released date is nearly here; yet I am sure you look forward to his return home.

Travel arrangements must be made well in advance. In order to ensure that we have complete and accurate information for his return, please return the following information via e-mail or mail to Riverside California Mission 5900 Grand Ave. Riverside, CA 92504. 

1.) Your residence address-including city, state and zip code (as of your missionaries release date)

2.) Nearest airport

3.) Your phone number(s)

4.) E-mail address you would like flight information sent to

Thank you for your kind assistance.

Sincerely,
 

Sister Pierce
Mission Secretary 
California Riverside Mission

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

email: Another Week Down!

When Mom told me what temperature was in ND I about threw up. -33?! I am going to die! Thank you for the package, it has been a ton of fun opening a gift every day. It meant a lot to Elder Anderson too. It was nice to see his face light up to know that my family cares about him. I love corresponding with the kids; I know I say that every week but I love it. I cannot wait to talk with them on Christmas! Did you like that picture of me in the Jeep Trevor posted on FaceBook? Ready for my week? Leggo!

Monday was transfer PDay and so it was pretty laid back. Elder Ete is coming back into Juruapa so I get to see him all the time! We said goodbye to everyone and then we kicked it at the house. I got my haircut again and then worked out for the rest of the time until it was time to go to dinner. We ate with the P**** family and they made Thanksgiving dinner again! It was super good. They actually got us a Christmas tree! So we put our little white tree up in our room and decorated it and everything :). I love their kids so much! I feel so at home at their house.

Tuesday morning we had a District Leaders Council with the new District Leaders and the new Zone Leaders (ZL). Actually, one of my close mission buddies is my ZL now! We have a pretty legit zone, I love it so much. There are only three sets of Elders and all of them are in leadership. The rest are sisters. Oh boy! After our meeting, we went had lunch with the C**** family. On the way over there, I broke two spokes on my bike... Wonderful! I told the member about it and he made a fat joke about me through it. Ha, GOOD ONE! I didn’t let it bother me though so it’s okay. We did get to know a recent convert in the ward and taught him too so that was fun. We then went and saw Eddy and that was…interesting. He told us about this experience that he had with his friend and how he greeted him with a "holy kiss" like Paul says to do in the New Testament but then he said that he "accidentally" stuck his tongue in his mouth. GROSS! I looked at Elder Anderson and was trying to keep my composure when he told us that. It was messed up! We then saw Tom down the street and had a lesson with him. Elder Anderson and I found a white rabbit that we chased around his house for almost half an hour. We looked ridiculous but it was so much fun! He told us that he wasn't too interested anymore but I told him that he can’t rule that out until he honestly reads the Book of Mormon and gives it a shot.

Wednesday was good because Sam came and visited me! I hadn't seen him since he left and came back from Portugal. He had to end his mission early because of medical reasons. After we had lunch with him, we went out and made some visits before dinner came and then he picked us up to drop the bikes off for us at a members house that works on bikes. We had dinner and then we went to see Eddy and that lesson was sketchy. I did not feel the Spirit in his home and it was so sad to see his wife in so much hurt. Eddy has an addiction problem and it is destroying his family. It crushes Elder Anderson and me to see that happen to him. We are gonna do everything we can to help him!

We had our usual lesson with Ivan on Thursday only to walk all the way to his house to have him tell us that he can’t meet today because he has a major stomach ache. We taught him a short lesson and then walked home. After some weekly planning, Brother H*** picked us up to have a lesson with him and his neighbor at his house. That lesson went on for almost three hours! It was insane and we barely made any progress. We didn’t have a dinner appointment so we ate at home then we walked over to see Kale and his family. We had a good discussion about the spirit world and everything like that. He has some different views but hopefully I can help him understand the right way of thinking through the Bible. It was a good lesson though for sure! We got a ride home so we didn’t have to walk in the cold :).

Friday was Zone District Meeting and it was actually a good one. It is hard having sisters in the zone because they are a lot harder to work with than Elders. It seems like everyone is leaning on me for my experience and leadership to help us to baptize. I guess that comes from my experience and time in the field. But it was good none the less and then Elder Anderson and I ate some carne asada fries for lunch! Yumm. We then went and saw Paul and I got to learn how to reload ammo! It was super awesome. I reloaded a 357 magnum round and then I shoot a crossbow with a scope. Super fun! We then saw Ivan and had such a heart breaking lesson. We had him pray and ask right then and there if baptism was the way and if the Book of Mormon was true. He said the prayer and then we sat in silence for about five minutes. He then looked up to me and said that he didn’t feel anything and that it made him sad. That crushed us because the Spirit was so strong there! We think he denied the answer he got so we're gonna talk with him about that. We aren't losing hope!

Saturday morning it POURED rain. I got a loaner bike so we went out to make visits and to pick up Elder Anderson's recent convert from the bus stop. I was cold and soaked. I eventually got warm and then we went out with Trevor to have lessons. We taught Eddy while he was laying on the floor, we taught Karmen again about church and Tom about coming to church and reading. The rain held off for the rest of the day and then we went to the Christmas party for the ward. It was really good! I got to play Santa's helper and to get the kids to sing Jingle bells for Santa to come in. It was a ton of fun!

Sunday was good and we picked up two new people! Good things are happening here in La Sierra :). I love y’all and hope things are going well! I can’t wait to see y’all on Christmas! Have a good one and stay warm!

Elder Tonini

email: I'm The New Relief Society President!

I am super stoked that Jake is going to get his mission application in soon. Is he going to put his availability date after I get home? My release date is February 24th, by the way. I lost a week so that's when I'll be home. Ready for me week? Leggo!

Monday was a usual PDay. We played some sports and then I went home and worked out. I have grown to love working out. It relieves a TON of stress that I've been feeling lately with personal things. We went to dinner and then we were supposed to go to the hospital in our area to give someone a blessing but the room and floor number that was given to us didn't exist and so we finished up our OYMs and then called it a night. Pretty relaxed PDay – we got a lot of stuff done and was able to relax for a bit.

On Tuesday, we had our usual DDM and it went okay. We had to be there early for District Leaders’ Council so I got to chat with Elders Anderson and Passmore during that time so that was fun. We had a good meeting and then came home for lunch. We had our companionship study to get ready for the day with our lessons and then we headed out. Ivan was our first lesson and we had a good one with him. He is starting to soften his heart so that is a plus big time. We made a bunch of stops that afternoon before we got picked up to go out to eat at Olive garden with the J*** family. While we were eating, President Smart called us to talk. I thought he was going to come by and see us again but it was for a referral at the hospital. Remember that appointment we had on Monday night? Yeah, we got the right room number that time haha. At the hospital, we gave a blessing and taught a lesson so that was good. We then ran off to teach Kale and that went well too. We did put him on date for baptism on the 21st so we are gonna keep working with him to make that happen. Slowly but surely, good things are happening here!

On Wednesday, we gave some service with Elders Thurman and Passmore in their ward. It was a good time; I enjoy getting my hands dirty and making an impact on someone. We then cleaned up and went to go see Eddy. On my goodness, it was the craziest lesson ever. First he tells us that he has just taken six narcos (super strong narcotic pain meds) that morning and that he wanted us to burn frankincense with him. We stayed but then he asked us if we wanted to break bread with him. We at first said no but then he got super disappointed so we said why not. Bad idea... Hahah we broke Hawaiian King rolls and he drank wine while we drank cranberry juice. He said the prayer and everything and we had the "sacrament" with him. Super blasphemous but super funny! Whoops. We had a lesson with Tom and he is hopefully going to go somewhere soon in his progression. It was pie night in the stake so we went to that and got to eat pie with my best friend Janea G****! It was a fun way to end the night :). Elders Thurman and Passmore came over and we hung out because it was basically another PDay eve! We played soda pong and almost saw Passmore throw it all up. Good times! It was a ton of fun with them.

Turkey day was on Thursday! Best part about Thanksgiving is football. Our

ward challenged another ward to play and we beat them in style. But oh man, did it get heated and physical. I made a really nice diving catch, SportsCenter worthy, and broke up some passes. I got some pretty cool pictures I'll have to send home, it was a ton of fun. After that, we came home to sleep and then went to Bishop's house to eat. It was okay, nothing too exciting happened. We did have some screaming good pie though from Claim Jumper! The Elders came and picked us up and we headed back to our apartment to play some more pong! Elders Kava and Ete drove up so it was fun to get to see them again. Thanksgiving was a good break and nice to spend it with the other Elders in the mission field :).

Friday was supposed to be exchanges but that was kind of pointless because it was weekly planning... That was kind of a bust so Elder Passmore and I planned and then taught a few lessons. The guy we went to see that night had the craziest story. He is a veteran and he told me the most awesome but humbling story I have ever heard. He has two tattoos on his forearms; an angel on his right arm and an angel of the devil on his left. The symbolism behind what that means is crazy. His right hand is to shake people's hand in a friendly way but he is a left-handed shooter, the bad side of what he does. It gave me chills. Vince is a cool guy, I wish he was my investigator! We then exchanged back and as always, we always have an adventure :).

Saturday was transfer Saturday! It is always bitter sweet to hear what happens. We finished up some weekly planning and then went out to make our church visits. I got SUPER sick overnight and I had to power through it to make the day work. I doped up on cold medicine and powered through it. We pulled a prank on Elder Passmore that we all got called into leadership and we were leaving him there all by himself. He believed us for such a long time, it was great. We didn't have a dinner so we went to In and Out for the last supper together as the four amigos. Our zone leaders came over because Elder Coleman left his scriptures at our place and we found out that Coleman is the new Assistant. Good for him! I did have to have a talk with the other zone leader because I heard he was saying stuff bad about me behind my bad so I had to let him know NICELY that he can't be doing that. It'll save him grief down the road later. We found out that Elder Thurman is going to Elsinore to be a district leader there. We got transfers and I am staying! However, we got moved into the Jurupa zone and I am the new district leader over ALL SISTERS. Joy! Hence the reason I am Relief Society President is because I have all Sisters. But I am excited to work with the new zone leaders and district leader so I am pretty excited about it. I wasn't expecting to be district leader again but I guess I still have a job to get done.

Sunday stunk because I still left like garbage. We went to church but no one showed... We came home and I crashed for four hours to try and get feeling better. I started to before we left for dinner but it got worse as the night went on. I had to keep doped up on cold medicine to keep me going. I guess that's life. We had dinner with the Johnson family and we got our OYMs and called it a night. Overall, it was a fun week for sure. A lot of ups and downs but it was good. Oh! I did wreck again this week and it was a bad one. I can’t remember what day it was but Elder Anderson ran my head over when I ate it right in front of him. Good thing I had a helmet! Hahaha always an adventure with us.

I am excited to get to talk to y’all very soon for Christmas! I can’t wait to talk to the family. I have some news that I want to tell y’all in person so get ready for it :). I love y’all so much. I love my Savior and all that He does for me. I am so grateful for repentance and that I have that chance to be made clean again. I love this work and I am going to get my greenie fire back for these last two transfers! Stay warm up in the great white north and we will talk soon :). I love y’all!

Elder Tonini