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
Elder Andrew Tonini grew up in Houston, Texas and is currently serving a full-time, two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Riverside, California. He returned home on February 24, 2014.
Showing posts with label zone conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zone conference. Show all posts
Monday, December 23, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
email: July 15, 2013
Ready for the week? Here we go :)
Monday was super fun! After we emailed and did some running around Elder Everett, Franson, Wood and I went golfing at our favorite course. Everett has never golfed before and he did pretty well! I had a beautiful nine iron drive that landed seven feet from the pin. It felt so good to hit that thing and see where it landed! I shot pretty bad but I still had so much fun. We really have a good group of missionaries here in Hemet. After we golfed, we changed and ran off to dinner. We had dinner at the D****'s and it was fun to teach a FHE with them. Their dad was away on business so we grabbed Sam A**** to come with us. One of our members gave us a scripture bag with little objects in them that can represent any scripture story that has the item in it. We sat outside on the patio because the A/C went out in the house. It was a lot of fun to be with the kids and to teach them. I have gotten close with the oldest boy, Urry. He is my boy! He just turned 13 and I love him to pieces. He is a super sharp kid, along with all the other kids. The youngest, Obie, was super fun to mess with. They have an above ground pool that they play in and I took Obie and threatened to throw him in. I was just playing around but it was super fun. We got OYMs and dropped Sam off and then the Idyllwild Ward missionaries, Elders Everett and Franson, came over to our apartment and we stayed up wayyyyyy too long. We had zone conference the next day so it was interesting.
Oh my goodness was Tuesday super long. First off because I got zero sleep the night before and because we had to be up at the stake center by 7:30 in the morning. The best part was that I got to see Spencer again to catch up with him. But to top the scale, I got to see Victor! He came down from Beaumont to come to zone conference and to share his testimony with us. He stayed the whole time! It was a long six-hour conference. After that we left to go to Beaumont and to get ready for the temple! It was awesome that I got to be there every step of the way with him. it was weird going to the temple at night. I did get to see a whole bunch of people that I knew back in Oak Valley. I love the O'Harra family, they have been such a good family towards Victor. It was awesome to get to see in the temple. I gave him a big hug and told him I love him. That seriously was the best day of my mission. Plus, the missionaries in the ward got to come with him too so there were six missionaries that came to the temple with us. We then made a Denny's run that night to grab something to eat with the O'Harra's and the crew. Victor and I had a really good talk about what's been going on in my life. I tell that man everything and now I won't be able to call him up anymore when he is in Arizona. He is Utah now getting ready to enter into the MTC. I love that man so much! I got to see Anita on Wednesday and took us out to lunch. We went to Mimi's Cafe and then I gave her a blessing at the church. She was much appreciative towards me in giving her a blessing. She sure has grown attached to me but that is okay, she has been through a lot in her life so it is the least I can do. Our lesson with JayR went... Interesting. He had a pretty deep doctrinal question that we tried to answer. He wanted to understand why we believe we can become like God and why the New Jerusalem is going to be in Missouri so we addressed those issues and it ended up in getting into a deep doctrine discussion. But he said he is super close to getting baptized so we are in crunch time because they are leaving to Utah here pretty soon. We had a good rest of the day and got to visit some people.
Thursday was awesome because we did some weekly planning but then John wanted us to come over and have dinner with them! That worked out because our dinner had to cancel. We got to spend some time with the family and build some bonds with them. We have taught John once and now we need to get the whole family involved. He wanted us to come to his son's practice but it was just out of the zone so I decided that we couldn't go. Hawkins was for it but I wasn't going to break that rule. We didn't get to teach him because he left a lot quicker that we had planned on but we are planning on going over there later this week so it will be good.
Friday was exchanges with Park Hill Ward and it was super awesome. We had service with Valle Vista's former investigator out on his ranch. We were around horses and it was awesome. Ever since MoVal, I love being around those animals. There was a paint that you could tell that had been abused and it was super sad to see how it reacts now. It got pretty close to me and followed me around the pen the whole time. We were at the back corner of the pen, shoveling poop with the horse right next to us when a big semi-truck came down the road and scared the paint and she took off away from the fence. We all surrounded her because she walked in between us and we had to get out of the way pretty quick. But there was another horse, Lucky that was super nice. I hugged him and petted him and everything. I love being around those animals. After we finished with that, we ran home to shower and study for the day. We ended up studying a little too long because we got into a deep doctrine discussion again haha. Our dinner was crazy, he is Bolivian and he just loaded my plate up with food and I had to eat it. Oh my goodness it was gross but I did it! Our lesson that night was with a family and we are teaching one of the son's girlfriend's. It was a good lesson and a good way to end the night.
On Saturday we got a call from Ray D*** that he needed helped moving his family. We just baptized his daughter so we thought it would be good to help him move. It went really well, I wore a long sleeve shirt to try and sweat some fat outta myself haha. It was fun to go help his family out. His wife is expecting so it was the least we could do for them. We took studies after that and then went out to proselyte. Our dinner cancelled so the Cole's invited us over to have dinner. I love going over there to eat. Brother Cole always talks baseball with me and it is super fun to talk with him. Their grandson, Blake, has been talking to Corina so it is fun to give him a hard time. I love that family though and they have been a blessing to us here in the ward.
On Sunday, I felt prompted to fast for JayR again. Fasting always gives me the biggest headache so it pretty much killed me the entire day. Sunday's are always long because we have meetings from 8:30am until 3pm. Yay! But the fasting really paid off because we talked with Sara, JayR's wife, told us that we need to invite him on Tuesday. We are taking that comment to invite him to be baptized on Tuesday so we are super excited for that. I may fast again tomorrow too because this has been on my mind a lot lately and I really want this for that family. The biggest thing we are focusing on this week is him. After church, I had to come home and try to kick my headache. I did all that I could but it still wouldn't go away. I even showered for twenty minutes to try and get rid of it. It wouldn't leave so we went to dinner anyways. I got there and just crashed on the couch, my head hurt so bad. Sister V**** got me an ice pack and I crashed on their couch for almost an hour. I felt so much better when I woke up though, it was so nice. I talked with them until it was time to go home because I missed out on talking with them. The V**** family makes me laugh every time I see them. We came home and everyone came over for PDay eve. We played Risk and rubiks cubed it up! I love my mission so much :) it is awesome to be a part of this work.
Thank you for sending the few shirts, I need them badly. I have gotten pretty good at sowing my clothes up and fixing them! I want y'all to know that I love y'all so much and miss the family a lot. Time is flying and it is really starting to scare me.. I'll be home before I know it and that stinks! But I am not going to waste anymore time and work my hardest on the last stretch. Hope y'all have a wonderful week and know that I love you. Thank you for the prayers and the thoughts on behalf of the people we are working with. This transfer is almost over and it scares me to death! I am doing just fine with everything and I am doing the best I can. Love you and have a great week!
Elder Tonini
Monday was super fun! After we emailed and did some running around Elder Everett, Franson, Wood and I went golfing at our favorite course. Everett has never golfed before and he did pretty well! I had a beautiful nine iron drive that landed seven feet from the pin. It felt so good to hit that thing and see where it landed! I shot pretty bad but I still had so much fun. We really have a good group of missionaries here in Hemet. After we golfed, we changed and ran off to dinner. We had dinner at the D****'s and it was fun to teach a FHE with them. Their dad was away on business so we grabbed Sam A**** to come with us. One of our members gave us a scripture bag with little objects in them that can represent any scripture story that has the item in it. We sat outside on the patio because the A/C went out in the house. It was a lot of fun to be with the kids and to teach them. I have gotten close with the oldest boy, Urry. He is my boy! He just turned 13 and I love him to pieces. He is a super sharp kid, along with all the other kids. The youngest, Obie, was super fun to mess with. They have an above ground pool that they play in and I took Obie and threatened to throw him in. I was just playing around but it was super fun. We got OYMs and dropped Sam off and then the Idyllwild Ward missionaries, Elders Everett and Franson, came over to our apartment and we stayed up wayyyyyy too long. We had zone conference the next day so it was interesting.
Oh my goodness was Tuesday super long. First off because I got zero sleep the night before and because we had to be up at the stake center by 7:30 in the morning. The best part was that I got to see Spencer again to catch up with him. But to top the scale, I got to see Victor! He came down from Beaumont to come to zone conference and to share his testimony with us. He stayed the whole time! It was a long six-hour conference. After that we left to go to Beaumont and to get ready for the temple! It was awesome that I got to be there every step of the way with him. it was weird going to the temple at night. I did get to see a whole bunch of people that I knew back in Oak Valley. I love the O'Harra family, they have been such a good family towards Victor. It was awesome to get to see in the temple. I gave him a big hug and told him I love him. That seriously was the best day of my mission. Plus, the missionaries in the ward got to come with him too so there were six missionaries that came to the temple with us. We then made a Denny's run that night to grab something to eat with the O'Harra's and the crew. Victor and I had a really good talk about what's been going on in my life. I tell that man everything and now I won't be able to call him up anymore when he is in Arizona. He is Utah now getting ready to enter into the MTC. I love that man so much! I got to see Anita on Wednesday and took us out to lunch. We went to Mimi's Cafe and then I gave her a blessing at the church. She was much appreciative towards me in giving her a blessing. She sure has grown attached to me but that is okay, she has been through a lot in her life so it is the least I can do. Our lesson with JayR went... Interesting. He had a pretty deep doctrinal question that we tried to answer. He wanted to understand why we believe we can become like God and why the New Jerusalem is going to be in Missouri so we addressed those issues and it ended up in getting into a deep doctrine discussion. But he said he is super close to getting baptized so we are in crunch time because they are leaving to Utah here pretty soon. We had a good rest of the day and got to visit some people.
Thursday was awesome because we did some weekly planning but then John wanted us to come over and have dinner with them! That worked out because our dinner had to cancel. We got to spend some time with the family and build some bonds with them. We have taught John once and now we need to get the whole family involved. He wanted us to come to his son's practice but it was just out of the zone so I decided that we couldn't go. Hawkins was for it but I wasn't going to break that rule. We didn't get to teach him because he left a lot quicker that we had planned on but we are planning on going over there later this week so it will be good.
Friday was exchanges with Park Hill Ward and it was super awesome. We had service with Valle Vista's former investigator out on his ranch. We were around horses and it was awesome. Ever since MoVal, I love being around those animals. There was a paint that you could tell that had been abused and it was super sad to see how it reacts now. It got pretty close to me and followed me around the pen the whole time. We were at the back corner of the pen, shoveling poop with the horse right next to us when a big semi-truck came down the road and scared the paint and she took off away from the fence. We all surrounded her because she walked in between us and we had to get out of the way pretty quick. But there was another horse, Lucky that was super nice. I hugged him and petted him and everything. I love being around those animals. After we finished with that, we ran home to shower and study for the day. We ended up studying a little too long because we got into a deep doctrine discussion again haha. Our dinner was crazy, he is Bolivian and he just loaded my plate up with food and I had to eat it. Oh my goodness it was gross but I did it! Our lesson that night was with a family and we are teaching one of the son's girlfriend's. It was a good lesson and a good way to end the night.
On Saturday we got a call from Ray D*** that he needed helped moving his family. We just baptized his daughter so we thought it would be good to help him move. It went really well, I wore a long sleeve shirt to try and sweat some fat outta myself haha. It was fun to go help his family out. His wife is expecting so it was the least we could do for them. We took studies after that and then went out to proselyte. Our dinner cancelled so the Cole's invited us over to have dinner. I love going over there to eat. Brother Cole always talks baseball with me and it is super fun to talk with him. Their grandson, Blake, has been talking to Corina so it is fun to give him a hard time. I love that family though and they have been a blessing to us here in the ward.
On Sunday, I felt prompted to fast for JayR again. Fasting always gives me the biggest headache so it pretty much killed me the entire day. Sunday's are always long because we have meetings from 8:30am until 3pm. Yay! But the fasting really paid off because we talked with Sara, JayR's wife, told us that we need to invite him on Tuesday. We are taking that comment to invite him to be baptized on Tuesday so we are super excited for that. I may fast again tomorrow too because this has been on my mind a lot lately and I really want this for that family. The biggest thing we are focusing on this week is him. After church, I had to come home and try to kick my headache. I did all that I could but it still wouldn't go away. I even showered for twenty minutes to try and get rid of it. It wouldn't leave so we went to dinner anyways. I got there and just crashed on the couch, my head hurt so bad. Sister V**** got me an ice pack and I crashed on their couch for almost an hour. I felt so much better when I woke up though, it was so nice. I talked with them until it was time to go home because I missed out on talking with them. The V**** family makes me laugh every time I see them. We came home and everyone came over for PDay eve. We played Risk and rubiks cubed it up! I love my mission so much :) it is awesome to be a part of this work.
Thank you for sending the few shirts, I need them badly. I have gotten pretty good at sowing my clothes up and fixing them! I want y'all to know that I love y'all so much and miss the family a lot. Time is flying and it is really starting to scare me.. I'll be home before I know it and that stinks! But I am not going to waste anymore time and work my hardest on the last stretch. Hope y'all have a wonderful week and know that I love you. Thank you for the prayers and the thoughts on behalf of the people we are working with. This transfer is almost over and it scares me to death! I am doing just fine with everything and I am doing the best I can. Love you and have a great week!
Elder Tonini
Monday, April 29, 2013
email: April 29, 2013
Subj: Transfer Week
I know I say this every week I email home but my goodness, do I have wonderful siblings. I love getting their emails and updates on their lives. I cannot believe Jake dropped a HUGE two run home run in his last game! He could go play somewhere and be super talented. Jake has seriously become my best friend. I regret not growing that relationship with him before I left... But that only means that our relationship is only going to be awesome. I want our relationship to be like Dad and Geoff's relationship when we have families of our own. By the look of things, it looks like they will be :). That sister of mine is such a sweetheart! She is the only girl in my life now :) and I love it! She is so beautiful. I'm going to have to beat those boys off of her with a stick! I'll have to get my rascal beater! Carson is getting his tonsils out this week? Oh man... Hopefully he'll be good to talk on Mother's Day! Ready for my week? Leggo :)
We had a catch-up PDay last Monday and it was much needed. We got a lot of cleaning done and some relaxing in. Part of that was going up to Ken's house to relax there. I love that man so much! He just lets us in and we can relax there. We played pool and slept on his couch. It was much needed. After Ken's house, we ended our PDay early and went to our Elders Quorum President's horse ranch to help his wife with some much needed chores. Every time I go over there, I am reminded of what kind of woman I want to marry. President's wife is amazing; the Lord blessed him with her. They are such a great team and love each other dearly. It keeps me motivated to keep working hard and the Lord will bless me :). Our dinner with the Rodriguez family went well too. We taught about the 10 commandments and shared mission stories. I amaze myself with the stories that I have now.
Our Tuesday started off by seeing some referrals that we had received the past week. We weren't able to contact all of them but we did get in to see a former referral so it went pretty well. Our lesson with LQ is always interesting ha-ha I love her to death. We answered her question and concerns about the life after death, It was cool to see her accept our message and to come to a better understanding. She is progressing nicely. We then had dinner with the M*****'s and that is always a delight. Brother M****** reminds me so much of Dad so I love being around him. Ken brought up an interesting gospel question with how Michael is Adam, I knew how to explain it but I had no scripture background for it so needless to say that I studied that the following morning.
Our Wednesday was DEFINITELY an Abinadi day... We had backup after backup after backup fall through... We did everything we could to see our people and to be effective. But sometimes, people excise their agency and it really upsets me sometimes. Reminds of Elder Holland's talk with how God has been dealing with imperfect people for eternity. So it really tested my patience that day. However, we did get in to see a recent convert of mine so it wasn't a total failure. The highlight of the day was that Victor called me and told me that his mission papers are in! He will get them in about two weeks! I am super excited about where he is going to go. He has made my mission a success even if I don't baptize anyone for the next year.
We had multi-zone conference on Thursday and that was very uplifting. They taught about planning and keep our eye single to the glory of God. After our lunch, we stand and sing the Army of Helaman to the sisters that made us lunch and that always gets me teared up because I imagine Mom standing there serving the missionaries in our stake. Long meetings always kill me because I am so used to being out working that I got a massive headache. I almost threw up because of it. I had to go and get a Rockstar for me to kick the headache, I needed the caffeine. We had a bomb lesson with LQ again and still talked about the spirit world with her and answered more questions. We ALMOST got her to pray out loud with us! We were so close. The difference with that lesson was that we bore testimony after testimony to her and she was actually listening. It is amazing what a testimony can do. We answered Ken's question and helped him to understand more.
Our lesson with Anita went well and she took us out to eat afterwards to Mimi's Cafe. It was pretty good, good French good. I still think American's eat better ha-ha. We weekly planned then went out to teach. Everything fell through again but we did get in to see our next door neighbors and teach with Cashman. I love that kid! We ended up spending the rest of the night with Cashman and we took him out to eat with us. Members gave us money :).
Saturday was Mormon Helping Hands and that was a great project. We helped a disabled veteran with his yard. I am so thankful that Dad taught me how to work hard. There was an RM there that did NOTHING but stand there and talk on his phone. It really got to me and it reminded me of how I DON'T want to be like. We then gave a blessing to one of Elder Coleman's former investigators to help her quit smoking and then stopped by everyone to get them to come to church. It was a long day but we still got our work done that we needed to.
Sunday is always a refreshing day and I love going to church. I have the best ward! Cashman came out with us again and we saw a lot of people. I also failed to mention that Victor's sister was found dead this week at a homeless shelter... That really got to me and I am so thankful for the Plan of Salvation and the comfort that it brings. I am thankful for this gospel and Christ in my life. I know that this is Christ's Church and that He loves and knows me personally. I am so thankful to be here serving my brothers and sisters. Transfer calls are this week so I will let y'all know if I go or not. I really want to stay but that is the Lord's decision. Have a wonderful week and know that I love y’all so much!
Elder Tonini
I know I say this every week I email home but my goodness, do I have wonderful siblings. I love getting their emails and updates on their lives. I cannot believe Jake dropped a HUGE two run home run in his last game! He could go play somewhere and be super talented. Jake has seriously become my best friend. I regret not growing that relationship with him before I left... But that only means that our relationship is only going to be awesome. I want our relationship to be like Dad and Geoff's relationship when we have families of our own. By the look of things, it looks like they will be :). That sister of mine is such a sweetheart! She is the only girl in my life now :) and I love it! She is so beautiful. I'm going to have to beat those boys off of her with a stick! I'll have to get my rascal beater! Carson is getting his tonsils out this week? Oh man... Hopefully he'll be good to talk on Mother's Day! Ready for my week? Leggo :)
We had a catch-up PDay last Monday and it was much needed. We got a lot of cleaning done and some relaxing in. Part of that was going up to Ken's house to relax there. I love that man so much! He just lets us in and we can relax there. We played pool and slept on his couch. It was much needed. After Ken's house, we ended our PDay early and went to our Elders Quorum President's horse ranch to help his wife with some much needed chores. Every time I go over there, I am reminded of what kind of woman I want to marry. President's wife is amazing; the Lord blessed him with her. They are such a great team and love each other dearly. It keeps me motivated to keep working hard and the Lord will bless me :). Our dinner with the Rodriguez family went well too. We taught about the 10 commandments and shared mission stories. I amaze myself with the stories that I have now.
Our Tuesday started off by seeing some referrals that we had received the past week. We weren't able to contact all of them but we did get in to see a former referral so it went pretty well. Our lesson with LQ is always interesting ha-ha I love her to death. We answered her question and concerns about the life after death, It was cool to see her accept our message and to come to a better understanding. She is progressing nicely. We then had dinner with the M*****'s and that is always a delight. Brother M****** reminds me so much of Dad so I love being around him. Ken brought up an interesting gospel question with how Michael is Adam, I knew how to explain it but I had no scripture background for it so needless to say that I studied that the following morning.
We had multi-zone conference on Thursday and that was very uplifting. They taught about planning and keep our eye single to the glory of God. After our lunch, we stand and sing the Army of Helaman to the sisters that made us lunch and that always gets me teared up because I imagine Mom standing there serving the missionaries in our stake. Long meetings always kill me because I am so used to being out working that I got a massive headache. I almost threw up because of it. I had to go and get a Rockstar for me to kick the headache, I needed the caffeine. We had a bomb lesson with LQ again and still talked about the spirit world with her and answered more questions. We ALMOST got her to pray out loud with us! We were so close. The difference with that lesson was that we bore testimony after testimony to her and she was actually listening. It is amazing what a testimony can do. We answered Ken's question and helped him to understand more.
Our lesson with Anita went well and she took us out to eat afterwards to Mimi's Cafe. It was pretty good, good French good. I still think American's eat better ha-ha. We weekly planned then went out to teach. Everything fell through again but we did get in to see our next door neighbors and teach with Cashman. I love that kid! We ended up spending the rest of the night with Cashman and we took him out to eat with us. Members gave us money :).
Saturday was Mormon Helping Hands and that was a great project. We helped a disabled veteran with his yard. I am so thankful that Dad taught me how to work hard. There was an RM there that did NOTHING but stand there and talk on his phone. It really got to me and it reminded me of how I DON'T want to be like. We then gave a blessing to one of Elder Coleman's former investigators to help her quit smoking and then stopped by everyone to get them to come to church. It was a long day but we still got our work done that we needed to.
Sunday is always a refreshing day and I love going to church. I have the best ward! Cashman came out with us again and we saw a lot of people. I also failed to mention that Victor's sister was found dead this week at a homeless shelter... That really got to me and I am so thankful for the Plan of Salvation and the comfort that it brings. I am thankful for this gospel and Christ in my life. I know that this is Christ's Church and that He loves and knows me personally. I am so thankful to be here serving my brothers and sisters. Transfer calls are this week so I will let y'all know if I go or not. I really want to stay but that is the Lord's decision. Have a wonderful week and know that I love y’all so much!
Elder Tonini
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
email: March 11, 2013
Subj: "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain"
It was another crazy week, filled with emotions so here we go.
There was a woman that died in our ward this past month that they had the funeral for on Tuesday. She was only twenty-two and she was beautiful. She was an EMT and a student. I didn't even know her and yet I was still a blubbering mess. The bishop asked our zone to help with set up and take down and we did it with a smile. We took an hour out of Preparation Day to come and set up. After the funeral was over, we were the last ones to leave to make sure that the building was clean and chairs were put up. It was the least we could to for the family and the ward. There was over 600 people at the funeral. It was insane. It went very well; it brought back memories of Grandpa's funeral. The talks were really good too; very much centered on the Plan of Salvation. There were a lot of non members there so it was good that they had a missionary mindset. There was a quote that really touched me. A Bishop that knew the woman that past said this" "We are immortal beings in a mortal state". There is a lot of truth behind that. I am so thankful for that plan and the happiness that it brings to people.
We had our lesson with Ken that night as well, finalizing the last of his baptism program. He wants me to get in the water with him so that will be a great experience for the both of us.
Zone Leader Conference was filled with surprises on Thursday. As y'all probably have heard, they are opening up 58 new missions around the world with three new ones here in SoCal. On Thursday, we got the new boundaries. The San Bernadino Mission is now going to be called the Redlands Mission and they are taking Redlands, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley, and Palm Desert into their mission. We are also losing Murrieta to the Calsbad Mission. We are going from 12 zones to seven zones. It will be interesting to see what happens, logistically wise, and what happens to those missionaries in those respective zones. I could be in another mission when I finish next year. Those changes won't take place until July however.
Remember that guy that I gave the blessing to and released him from this life? Well, he is still in the hospital; he didn't die... When I first saw the referral, I didn't believe it. I started to doubt my Priesthood and the blessings that I give to people... But I talked with Elder Craig and he helped me through that. Maybe he needs to see his family one more time before he goes; he is still in bad shape. He did though refer us to his friend in Hemet so maybe that was the reason why he needed to stay around a little bit longer.
We also had interviews on Thursday as well. I love getting the chance to sit down with President Smart and talk with him about how I am doing and how the zone is doing. He is such a wonderful man, someone that I look up to. I had my interview in his office, a place I haven't been in since I first got to California! it was kinda surreal to be there with him again. He then came to Moreno Valley to interview everyone.
We had another lesson with Ken that night as well. His home teacher came with us so that was good for the both of them. Ken has told us that he wants to be active in the Church and to be involved. That was music to my ears! He will be interviewed for the Priesthood right after his baptism on Tuesday.
Friday was a crazy day as well. We taught Anita again - we are running out of things to teach her, she just needs to get baptized already! Haha but the lesson went well with her. I seriously have the best zone, we are all super good friends. We all went out to eat at Alberto's and I got a thing of carne asada fries. Oh boy were they good! It rained all day so that was a bummer. We taught Michael again and we are planning on handing him off to the Sisters. Hopefully he will be okay with them teaching him. It will be hard to give him up but that ward needs a baptism.
Our dinner on Friday cancelled so we went to the Samoan ward party for our dinner. Holy crap, it was so much fun! I seriously miss that ward; the Church is way more true in Samoa. There is a blind brother in the Samoan ward that shocked all of us. Y'all know the Gangham Style song, right? Well, he came out and started dancing to it! He was going crazy! It was so much fun to watch. There was also a Hakka done too by some of the young men. That was super legit too. We stood in the back to watch and we get to see everyone in front of us and we saw the weirdest thing ever. There was a gay couple that came and they were all over each other! It was super weird to watch... But it's okay, God loves them too. But still, it was so much fun! I got to see everyone from the Samoan ward too!
Overall, this week was a good one. We worked hard and we even got the Standard of Excellence this week! First time on my mission! I love being here and seeing my testimony grow everyday. I love the missionaries I am serving with and serve. By the way, Elder Craig and I are preforming a musical number for Ken's baptism on Tuesday. I am playing the piano and he will sing. Before the baptism, I'll get a video of us performing and send it to y'all. I love and miss y'all so much. Stay true to the faith and remember that our Savior loves each and every one of us!
Elder Tonini
It was another crazy week, filled with emotions so here we go.
There was a woman that died in our ward this past month that they had the funeral for on Tuesday. She was only twenty-two and she was beautiful. She was an EMT and a student. I didn't even know her and yet I was still a blubbering mess. The bishop asked our zone to help with set up and take down and we did it with a smile. We took an hour out of Preparation Day to come and set up. After the funeral was over, we were the last ones to leave to make sure that the building was clean and chairs were put up. It was the least we could to for the family and the ward. There was over 600 people at the funeral. It was insane. It went very well; it brought back memories of Grandpa's funeral. The talks were really good too; very much centered on the Plan of Salvation. There were a lot of non members there so it was good that they had a missionary mindset. There was a quote that really touched me. A Bishop that knew the woman that past said this" "We are immortal beings in a mortal state". There is a lot of truth behind that. I am so thankful for that plan and the happiness that it brings to people.
We had our lesson with Ken that night as well, finalizing the last of his baptism program. He wants me to get in the water with him so that will be a great experience for the both of us.
Zone Leader Conference was filled with surprises on Thursday. As y'all probably have heard, they are opening up 58 new missions around the world with three new ones here in SoCal. On Thursday, we got the new boundaries. The San Bernadino Mission is now going to be called the Redlands Mission and they are taking Redlands, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley, and Palm Desert into their mission. We are also losing Murrieta to the Calsbad Mission. We are going from 12 zones to seven zones. It will be interesting to see what happens, logistically wise, and what happens to those missionaries in those respective zones. I could be in another mission when I finish next year. Those changes won't take place until July however.
Remember that guy that I gave the blessing to and released him from this life? Well, he is still in the hospital; he didn't die... When I first saw the referral, I didn't believe it. I started to doubt my Priesthood and the blessings that I give to people... But I talked with Elder Craig and he helped me through that. Maybe he needs to see his family one more time before he goes; he is still in bad shape. He did though refer us to his friend in Hemet so maybe that was the reason why he needed to stay around a little bit longer.
We also had interviews on Thursday as well. I love getting the chance to sit down with President Smart and talk with him about how I am doing and how the zone is doing. He is such a wonderful man, someone that I look up to. I had my interview in his office, a place I haven't been in since I first got to California! it was kinda surreal to be there with him again. He then came to Moreno Valley to interview everyone.
We had another lesson with Ken that night as well. His home teacher came with us so that was good for the both of them. Ken has told us that he wants to be active in the Church and to be involved. That was music to my ears! He will be interviewed for the Priesthood right after his baptism on Tuesday.
Friday was a crazy day as well. We taught Anita again - we are running out of things to teach her, she just needs to get baptized already! Haha but the lesson went well with her. I seriously have the best zone, we are all super good friends. We all went out to eat at Alberto's and I got a thing of carne asada fries. Oh boy were they good! It rained all day so that was a bummer. We taught Michael again and we are planning on handing him off to the Sisters. Hopefully he will be okay with them teaching him. It will be hard to give him up but that ward needs a baptism.
Our dinner on Friday cancelled so we went to the Samoan ward party for our dinner. Holy crap, it was so much fun! I seriously miss that ward; the Church is way more true in Samoa. There is a blind brother in the Samoan ward that shocked all of us. Y'all know the Gangham Style song, right? Well, he came out and started dancing to it! He was going crazy! It was so much fun to watch. There was also a Hakka done too by some of the young men. That was super legit too. We stood in the back to watch and we get to see everyone in front of us and we saw the weirdest thing ever. There was a gay couple that came and they were all over each other! It was super weird to watch... But it's okay, God loves them too. But still, it was so much fun! I got to see everyone from the Samoan ward too!
Overall, this week was a good one. We worked hard and we even got the Standard of Excellence this week! First time on my mission! I love being here and seeing my testimony grow everyday. I love the missionaries I am serving with and serve. By the way, Elder Craig and I are preforming a musical number for Ken's baptism on Tuesday. I am playing the piano and he will sing. Before the baptism, I'll get a video of us performing and send it to y'all. I love and miss y'all so much. Stay true to the faith and remember that our Savior loves each and every one of us!
Elder Tonini
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
email: January 28, 2013
It was good to hear from y'all and how things are going. Sounds like everyone survived with Dad being gone. I wish I could be there and support everyone while Dad is gone. Even though I am going to FREEZE in Minot, I am looking forward to being there with the family. I turn twenty next month; time is surely ticking by for me. I kinda don't want to leave SoCal because I love the weather here but Minot is where home is now. I was super excited to hear that Corina made the softball team! I know she was stressing out over that so it is good to hear that she did make it and that she actually did well at her tryout. Maya has also been on my mind with everything that has been going on with her. That is exciting that he gets to come home tomorrow! I also got an email from Grandma Romney as well. I love hearing from the family and how things are going.
This week was a crazy one for me. We did exchanges Tuesday and Wednesday, had multi-zones on Thursday, it rained Friday and Saturday and I was about dead on Sunday doing double church. It was also filled with crazy highs and crazy lows too so that all added to the... funness of the week. Our exchanges went well on Tuesday, Elder Ete went into Spanish land with Elder Craig. We taught Ken again that night and had an interesting lesson with him. He came to Blake's baptism and he had many questions about it. He was comparing our service to how "traditional" Christian churches do their baptisms. Kind of a shocking thing is that he is really toying with the idea of getting baptized. The only thing that is stopping him is that he wants to know EVERYTHING about the Church. I read him Doctrine and Covenants 20:37 and told him that he doesn't need to know everything. I felt like he really took that to heart and is really starting to feel the magnitude of what this baptism could do for him. We also committed him to come take a church tour with us in the Redlands building and he accepted. It has been fun teaching him and seeing his progress.
Wednesday, Elder Randall and I had a very spiritual and crazy experience. We went and taught a lesson and only took half of our lunch so we were planning on going back home to eat and then go to our next appointment. Well, we got a referral from the Secretary of the mission for a man in the hospital that was in need of a blessing. My thought process was that we would go home, eat, then head over there after our scheduled appointment. Well, that changed after the Secretary actually called us and told us that we need to go there ASAP. So we ditched lunch (shocking, I missed a meal!) and went to the hospital. It took us a while to get into the ICU but we finally did and we got rushed to Lucio's bedside. When I saw what condition he was in, it broke my heart. He was hooked up to all sort of machines, IV's, and the whole nine yards. The family wanted us to give him a blessing so we proceeded to do so. When I went to seal the anointing, I had something happen to me that I had never felt before. I went to bless Lucio that he would get through this and fight through but when that thought came to mind, the Spirit fought me on it. I physically could not say that to him. The Spirit then directed me to release him from this life, that he would see his family one more time before he passed, and that he would be in peace when he saw his Heavenly Father. It was such a humbling and emotional experience for me. Afterwards we left the hospital, we went to the church building to use the restroom and I needed to collect my thoughts before I could return to work. I sat in the chapel, thinking about what happened and I was overcome with emotion. I felt so much love for that man, someone that I had never met before, and yet I felt true love for him. I sat there and cried... I couldn't help it, the Spirit was so strong. I went on the piano, played for a little bit which helped me to feel better, and then we went on our way. It was such a crazy experience that I will never forget.
Thursday we had multi-zones, that we were responsible for hosting. The conference went well but it was super long. I was already exhausted from the day before so it was a challenge to stay focused but I made it. After we got that all cleaned up, we went and had our church tour with Ken. That man has had a rough life... He wants children so bad but his ex-wife didn't think the same. She even practiced her own form of birth control when she found out she was pregnant and didn't even tell him. He would have four kids if it wasn't for her... I couldn't imagine what he has gone through. He likes the church and we tried to get him to come but he didn't attend on Sunday. We aren't giving up on him!
Friday was a crazy up and down day. Something happened to the truck that I had to take care of and that I stressed over for days. I got it taken care of but it was super stressful. Our lesson with Anita went well. Her whole situation is getting crazy, both mission presidents are now getting involved so we will see what happens. Plus it rained all day so that wasn't much fun to work in. Saturday was busy making visits and working all day. We taught Esther and that went well. She actually wants to move the baptism up so we will be having a baptism next Sunday! Her brother-in-law is actually going to do the baptism. It is going to be a huge Samoan party afterwards too for the baptism. And I will be spending my birthday with the family so that will be fun as well!
Sunday went well, crazy with doing splits to cover both wards but we made it happen. We had two missionary talks: one outgoing and one homecoming. They were both really good. The homecoming talk really hit home to me with what he said. I can't wait to get to know Kyle and learn from his mission experience. Our dinner was fun also, we got to share a huge family dinner with the family. Overall, it was a crazy but good week.
I love y'all and miss y'all tons. I will be watching for the package this week. Hope to hear from you soon.
Elder Tonini
This week was a crazy one for me. We did exchanges Tuesday and Wednesday, had multi-zones on Thursday, it rained Friday and Saturday and I was about dead on Sunday doing double church. It was also filled with crazy highs and crazy lows too so that all added to the... funness of the week. Our exchanges went well on Tuesday, Elder Ete went into Spanish land with Elder Craig. We taught Ken again that night and had an interesting lesson with him. He came to Blake's baptism and he had many questions about it. He was comparing our service to how "traditional" Christian churches do their baptisms. Kind of a shocking thing is that he is really toying with the idea of getting baptized. The only thing that is stopping him is that he wants to know EVERYTHING about the Church. I read him Doctrine and Covenants 20:37 and told him that he doesn't need to know everything. I felt like he really took that to heart and is really starting to feel the magnitude of what this baptism could do for him. We also committed him to come take a church tour with us in the Redlands building and he accepted. It has been fun teaching him and seeing his progress.
Wednesday, Elder Randall and I had a very spiritual and crazy experience. We went and taught a lesson and only took half of our lunch so we were planning on going back home to eat and then go to our next appointment. Well, we got a referral from the Secretary of the mission for a man in the hospital that was in need of a blessing. My thought process was that we would go home, eat, then head over there after our scheduled appointment. Well, that changed after the Secretary actually called us and told us that we need to go there ASAP. So we ditched lunch (shocking, I missed a meal!) and went to the hospital. It took us a while to get into the ICU but we finally did and we got rushed to Lucio's bedside. When I saw what condition he was in, it broke my heart. He was hooked up to all sort of machines, IV's, and the whole nine yards. The family wanted us to give him a blessing so we proceeded to do so. When I went to seal the anointing, I had something happen to me that I had never felt before. I went to bless Lucio that he would get through this and fight through but when that thought came to mind, the Spirit fought me on it. I physically could not say that to him. The Spirit then directed me to release him from this life, that he would see his family one more time before he passed, and that he would be in peace when he saw his Heavenly Father. It was such a humbling and emotional experience for me. Afterwards we left the hospital, we went to the church building to use the restroom and I needed to collect my thoughts before I could return to work. I sat in the chapel, thinking about what happened and I was overcome with emotion. I felt so much love for that man, someone that I had never met before, and yet I felt true love for him. I sat there and cried... I couldn't help it, the Spirit was so strong. I went on the piano, played for a little bit which helped me to feel better, and then we went on our way. It was such a crazy experience that I will never forget.
Thursday we had multi-zones, that we were responsible for hosting. The conference went well but it was super long. I was already exhausted from the day before so it was a challenge to stay focused but I made it. After we got that all cleaned up, we went and had our church tour with Ken. That man has had a rough life... He wants children so bad but his ex-wife didn't think the same. She even practiced her own form of birth control when she found out she was pregnant and didn't even tell him. He would have four kids if it wasn't for her... I couldn't imagine what he has gone through. He likes the church and we tried to get him to come but he didn't attend on Sunday. We aren't giving up on him!
Friday was a crazy up and down day. Something happened to the truck that I had to take care of and that I stressed over for days. I got it taken care of but it was super stressful. Our lesson with Anita went well. Her whole situation is getting crazy, both mission presidents are now getting involved so we will see what happens. Plus it rained all day so that wasn't much fun to work in. Saturday was busy making visits and working all day. We taught Esther and that went well. She actually wants to move the baptism up so we will be having a baptism next Sunday! Her brother-in-law is actually going to do the baptism. It is going to be a huge Samoan party afterwards too for the baptism. And I will be spending my birthday with the family so that will be fun as well!
Sunday went well, crazy with doing splits to cover both wards but we made it happen. We had two missionary talks: one outgoing and one homecoming. They were both really good. The homecoming talk really hit home to me with what he said. I can't wait to get to know Kyle and learn from his mission experience. Our dinner was fun also, we got to share a huge family dinner with the family. Overall, it was a crazy but good week.
I love y'all and miss y'all tons. I will be watching for the package this week. Hope to hear from you soon.
Elder Tonini
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Moreno Valley Zone Conference - Jan 24, 2013
Another zone conference, another Elder Tonini sighting!
There are more pictures of the zone conference on the mission blog.
Monday, August 13, 2012
email: August 13, 2012
This was was the most productive week of my mission. We got 21 lessons and 160 OYMs! We smashed our old record. It took soooo much work though... This is the most tired I have been on my whole mission so far. I am excited for a pretty relaxed P-Day. I even think I might get a good workout in this afternoon after we shop.
Besides teaching a lot, we have seen a lot of success. We had our multi-zone conference this week that got me really pumped to keep working hard. We have two people we are getting ready for baptism, Ben and Antoinette. Ben is an older guy, probably in his 40's, that we found tracting. We think he is a little mentally slow so that might be an issue... We are going to have to get the Bishop's view on it and see what he thinks. Antoinette is a 17 year old girl that I have been working with since I got to Beaumont. We finally got her a goal for baptism so we are going to do everything we can to make that goal. We need to approach her dad about being baptized because that was what stopped her last time. There will be a lot of praying and fasting for her.
We did get a less active family back to church this week! Desiree called us, in tears, last Monday and needed us to come over. There were things going on in her home that she could not handle. We went over every night this week to help her through everything. She ended up coming back to church on Sunday and she had such a good time. We will continue to work with her to help her back to full activity.
Elder Larson and I had a really cool experience on Sunday. We spent some time with Tammy and Marry (they came up from Lake Elsinore to visit) and taught our 20th lesson of the week. After that, we went around talking to people to try and find new people to teach. After we finished talking to this lady, this group of people flagged us down and invited us to their party. They were having an after-church party. The church they meet in was next door and I asked to go in and see it. This church was built in the 1800's when Beaumont was a horse town. We actually got to see the 120 year-old-plus bell that still rings and to go out on the roof and see the architecture of the building. It was sooo cool! I will have to print pictures out and send them home. After that, we came and played games with the congregation that was at the party. We played different games and spent almost the whole evening there. I played this one game where we had a contest to see who could hold the most marshmallows in their mouth and say "chubby bunny!". It was sooo funny. I got it on my camera and it was so funny. Next week, I will send it to y'all. After that, we shared Issiah 1:18 with them and taught about repentance. They loved it! The whole time I talked, I saw heads nodding in agreement and even some amens to what I was saying! It was so much fun. It was a great way to end my week.
I love and miss y'all so much! I turn six months this month, a lap finished! I cannot believe that time is flying by this fast. Keep me in your prayers and the people that we are teaching. I love you all and hope to hear from y'all soon!
Elder Tonini
Besides teaching a lot, we have seen a lot of success. We had our multi-zone conference this week that got me really pumped to keep working hard. We have two people we are getting ready for baptism, Ben and Antoinette. Ben is an older guy, probably in his 40's, that we found tracting. We think he is a little mentally slow so that might be an issue... We are going to have to get the Bishop's view on it and see what he thinks. Antoinette is a 17 year old girl that I have been working with since I got to Beaumont. We finally got her a goal for baptism so we are going to do everything we can to make that goal. We need to approach her dad about being baptized because that was what stopped her last time. There will be a lot of praying and fasting for her.
We did get a less active family back to church this week! Desiree called us, in tears, last Monday and needed us to come over. There were things going on in her home that she could not handle. We went over every night this week to help her through everything. She ended up coming back to church on Sunday and she had such a good time. We will continue to work with her to help her back to full activity.
Elder Larson and I had a really cool experience on Sunday. We spent some time with Tammy and Marry (they came up from Lake Elsinore to visit) and taught our 20th lesson of the week. After that, we went around talking to people to try and find new people to teach. After we finished talking to this lady, this group of people flagged us down and invited us to their party. They were having an after-church party. The church they meet in was next door and I asked to go in and see it. This church was built in the 1800's when Beaumont was a horse town. We actually got to see the 120 year-old-plus bell that still rings and to go out on the roof and see the architecture of the building. It was sooo cool! I will have to print pictures out and send them home. After that, we came and played games with the congregation that was at the party. We played different games and spent almost the whole evening there. I played this one game where we had a contest to see who could hold the most marshmallows in their mouth and say "chubby bunny!". It was sooo funny. I got it on my camera and it was so funny. Next week, I will send it to y'all. After that, we shared Issiah 1:18 with them and taught about repentance. They loved it! The whole time I talked, I saw heads nodding in agreement and even some amens to what I was saying! It was so much fun. It was a great way to end my week.
I love and miss y'all so much! I turn six months this month, a lap finished! I cannot believe that time is flying by this fast. Keep me in your prayers and the people that we are teaching. I love you all and hope to hear from y'all soon!
Elder Tonini
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
email: August 7, 2012
Sorry this is coming in so late... Monday's are getting
super crazy for us and our emailing has taken its toll... I haven't forgotten
about y'all! Did y'all get the package I sent home? Also, pass the ties around
to the young men in our branch. Those are for everyone and I want those boys to
know that I am thinking about them! I saw the pictures from Corina of the MS 150 and it seriously almost
brought me to tears! We have the best family ever. How is Dad doing after the ride? Has he recovered yet?
We actually taught a lot this week and hit our quota for OYM's (open your mouth, contacting). We are struggling though to find good, solid investigators to get into the waters of baptism... However, we are not giving up. We taught one lesson on Monday with Victor. He has a buddy that is interested in the Church and wants to learn more. But he isn't looking for a change or wants to convert so we are kind of at a stand still with him. We did though answer a bunch of anti questions that he had. We cleared them up and showed him that we really aren't as crazy or bad as people on the Internet make us look like.
We taught Robert's family on Tuesday which went really well. Robert, Carol (his wife), and his daughter Lauren sat in on the lesson and we had a really good discussion with them. Robert's grandson is the cutest thing ever! They call me Uncle Nini :). When I come home off my mission, he will be able to walk and to talk! It will be super cool to see. We tried to get through the Restoration lesson with them but we kept getting side tracked with other kind of topic related discussion.
Wednesday we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. I got to ride in a truck all day! It was such a good break from the norm but I felt SUPER fat all day because I wasn't out and about riding everywhere. We taught this really cool family inYucaipa and had a
really cool experience there. This is a family that the Zone Leaders have been
teaching and working really hard with them. I didn't know them so I didn't
exactly know what to say to help them to feel the Spirit testify of truth.
However, I felt the Spirit flow in me and I started talking and really felt
like I helped to contribute to the lesson. I know it was the Spirit because I
cannot remember most of the things I said to the family. Elder Larson (my comp)
and Elder Larsen taught three lessons that day AND got 41 OYM's! Overall, it
was a really super day and we did a lot of work in our respective areas. The
Larson's even taught a potential that might hopefully turn into an
investigator.
Thursday was another 3 lesson day. In the morning, we weekly planned for the week. We didn't have very much to plan for but we made plans to help us further the work in our area. After lunch, we rode up to Cherry Valley which is ALL uphill. I am proud to say that it is getting easier to make that ride when before I could barely make it! We were going to our original appointment when I had a prompting to stop and visit a potential that the Spanish Elders found for us. We were having trouble get in contact with him so we decided to stop there since we were in the area already. He is an older man from Nigeria and he was originally open to the Church but then he became a Jehovah's Witness... We did though answer his questions and clear some things up for him. After that, we went and saw our investigator Ben, who we found tracting. We taught him a lesson and invited him to be baptized. He accepted and we are going to get him ready for that. The only problem is that we thing he is mentally slow... So we aren't quite sure how that is going to work. After that lesson, we went to Victor's house for a lesson. He is SUCH a stud, I love him to death. He has become my best friend here in Beaumont
On Friday, we had Zone meeting which took up most of the morning and part of the afternoon. We went out and tracted for a bit then we went and taught Victor again because everything fell through... Saturday was a day of service. All we did in the morning was help this lady with her yard. It was over run with weeds and I had a super bad allergy attack from it. After we gave service, we met up with a guy from the Beaumont Ward for lunch and he answered our doctrinal questions that we had. This man is so full of gospel knowledge that it is ridiculous. We then went and taught the M**** family again. They are such a fun family as well. All of my converts are doing do well in the gospel, I love it!
Sunday was so awesome. Victor blessed the Sacrament for the first time and we got to do it with him! That was the coolest thing ever to see him bless and then get up to bear his testimony about his conversion story. After that, we went and had dinner with a family that invited a bunch of non-member friends over for a board game night. We talked to them and had a good time. Elder Larson actually sat through a camp chair! The bottom broke out from underneath him and he fell pretty hard. It was super funny!
That was my week last week. I turn 6 months this month! Can you believe it?! It has been too fast already... Dad, I think I have hit a 1,000 miles on the saddle already. That is so many miles! Tell the kids that I love them and miss them dearly. Hope y'all have a wonderful week! I love you mom, so much. Have a good one!
Elder Tonini
We actually taught a lot this week and hit our quota for OYM's (open your mouth, contacting). We are struggling though to find good, solid investigators to get into the waters of baptism... However, we are not giving up. We taught one lesson on Monday with Victor. He has a buddy that is interested in the Church and wants to learn more. But he isn't looking for a change or wants to convert so we are kind of at a stand still with him. We did though answer a bunch of anti questions that he had. We cleared them up and showed him that we really aren't as crazy or bad as people on the Internet make us look like.
We taught Robert's family on Tuesday which went really well. Robert, Carol (his wife), and his daughter Lauren sat in on the lesson and we had a really good discussion with them. Robert's grandson is the cutest thing ever! They call me Uncle Nini :). When I come home off my mission, he will be able to walk and to talk! It will be super cool to see. We tried to get through the Restoration lesson with them but we kept getting side tracked with other kind of topic related discussion.
Wednesday we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. I got to ride in a truck all day! It was such a good break from the norm but I felt SUPER fat all day because I wasn't out and about riding everywhere. We taught this really cool family in
Thursday was another 3 lesson day. In the morning, we weekly planned for the week. We didn't have very much to plan for but we made plans to help us further the work in our area. After lunch, we rode up to Cherry Valley which is ALL uphill. I am proud to say that it is getting easier to make that ride when before I could barely make it! We were going to our original appointment when I had a prompting to stop and visit a potential that the Spanish Elders found for us. We were having trouble get in contact with him so we decided to stop there since we were in the area already. He is an older man from Nigeria and he was originally open to the Church but then he became a Jehovah's Witness... We did though answer his questions and clear some things up for him. After that, we went and saw our investigator Ben, who we found tracting. We taught him a lesson and invited him to be baptized. He accepted and we are going to get him ready for that. The only problem is that we thing he is mentally slow... So we aren't quite sure how that is going to work. After that lesson, we went to Victor's house for a lesson. He is SUCH a stud, I love him to death. He has become my best friend here in Beaumont
On Friday, we had Zone meeting which took up most of the morning and part of the afternoon. We went out and tracted for a bit then we went and taught Victor again because everything fell through... Saturday was a day of service. All we did in the morning was help this lady with her yard. It was over run with weeds and I had a super bad allergy attack from it. After we gave service, we met up with a guy from the Beaumont Ward for lunch and he answered our doctrinal questions that we had. This man is so full of gospel knowledge that it is ridiculous. We then went and taught the M**** family again. They are such a fun family as well. All of my converts are doing do well in the gospel, I love it!
Sunday was so awesome. Victor blessed the Sacrament for the first time and we got to do it with him! That was the coolest thing ever to see him bless and then get up to bear his testimony about his conversion story. After that, we went and had dinner with a family that invited a bunch of non-member friends over for a board game night. We talked to them and had a good time. Elder Larson actually sat through a camp chair! The bottom broke out from underneath him and he fell pretty hard. It was super funny!
That was my week last week. I turn 6 months this month! Can you believe it?! It has been too fast already... Dad, I think I have hit a 1,000 miles on the saddle already. That is so many miles! Tell the kids that I love them and miss them dearly. Hope y'all have a wonderful week! I love you mom, so much. Have a good one!
Elder Tonini
Monday, June 4, 2012
email: June 4, 2012
This week has been really good actually! I got my bike
fixed and it is working better than ever. I am still not feeling the best but I
am making it through. I am not dying yet so I don't think I will need to go to
the doctors. If I don't start feeling better, I will call the mission nurse and
see what she says. I love hearing
from the kids about the week and all the stuff that is going on. Stay busy and you
won't think about me too much.
I seriously love being a missionary. This week, I really
felt the love for the people I am serving and the people that are progressing
in the Gospel. Jessica and Demetrius are doing well. It will be cool to see how when they follow the commandments, it will only
strengthen their marriage and their love for one another. We meet this guy by
where we live that we have given a lot of service to. He is getting married at
his home and asks us all the time to come help. His name is Crazy Ray because,
well, he is crazy! He even invited us to his wedding on the 22nd so that will
be interesting.
We taught Sonia and Elias again. They barbecued for us and
cook some AWESOME steaks for us! We then had another bomb lesson
with them. They are making so much progress! They ask so many questions which
is super good. Their two daughters leave for Mexico this week so we will only be
teaching Sonia and Elias. Oh, we are teaching Mary again! Her daughter just got
baptized in Marietta
and she has been such a good influence on her mom. Mary is supposed to be
baptized on Saturday so hopefully we can get her ready for it! We have a
baptism on Saturday and on Sunday! We are so excited for it. We had five investigators at Church on Sunday. I taught the Gospel Principles class and has
a really Spirit-felt lesson. I have seriously felt the Spirit so much this
week. Everything is starting to fall into place. I seriously feel like a
missionary now and not some fresh greenie.
There was something very cool that happened this week. We
had our zone meeting on Friday and I was chosen to recite Joseph Smith's Standard of Truth. I stood in front of about 20 missionaries and recited it to
them. I told them that I loved the Standard of Truth because it reminds me of
what being a missionary really means. Whenever I said it, I said it with such
great power and feeling that there was a change in the room whenever I said it.
I seriously felt the Spirit hit me like a train on my chest.
Good things are happening here in Beaumont . It will be weird to see Chambers
leave but it will be up to me to keep the work going. I love y'all so much.
Elder Tonini
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Zone Interviews - April 10, 2012
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