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.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
email: October 7, 2013
This is going to be a quick email because everyone is waiting for me to go play baseball at the field!
I will be honest and say that the week has been rough. We have no one in our teaching pool... We have one golden potential coming down the shoot and so hopefully that will be a plus. We got news on Tuesday that we are moving and so on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I spent all day moving. However, I have found my motivation for these last few months I have left. I did a lot of praying and I have found it. I am super excited and ready to tear it up. I was waiting for that answer and I got it and so I am ready to roll now. We taught a few lessons and so we are in the rebuilding stages for the area. But it is all good, I am going to make it happen. I love y'all and hope everything goes well! Love you :)
Elder Tonini
I will be honest and say that the week has been rough. We have no one in our teaching pool... We have one golden potential coming down the shoot and so hopefully that will be a plus. We got news on Tuesday that we are moving and so on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I spent all day moving. However, I have found my motivation for these last few months I have left. I did a lot of praying and I have found it. I am super excited and ready to tear it up. I was waiting for that answer and I got it and so I am ready to roll now. We taught a few lessons and so we are in the rebuilding stages for the area. But it is all good, I am going to make it happen. I love y'all and hope everything goes well! Love you :)
Elder Tonini
Monday, September 30, 2013
email: September 30, 2013
Subj: "The freaks come out at night..."
Ready for my week? Let's go.
We had our P-Day on Tuesday and that was kind of weird to have a P-Day on a day other than Monday but we still had a lot of fun. We played a volleyball game with the Sisters and I creamed Sister Gambling in the face by accident... Whoops. She got me back pretty good so it all worked out. Brother R*** took us out to go play golf at Echo Hills. I played very poorly but it was still awesome. I love that man so much. I fell asleep after we golfed and we were late to dinner... Good thing the S***** family were super cool about it. We then had no set appointments but we stopped by Jennifer's house to see her. We actually had a lesson with her and we told her that we were going to stop by every day to help her. There is huge promise there with her. But it slowly went down hill.... But I will explain that later.
I decided to hold a DDM on Wednesday and it went really well. I trained on the Creation and how we can relate it to planning. It was kind of another deep doctrine DDM but it went well. I am scared that when I do these trainings that people don't understand it... But I think they understood. We had to run to Target to help the Park Hill Elders get more bike stuff. After that, we made visits to get ready for Bishopric Action Night. I went out with President F**** and we rode in his new sports car. It was super sick! It was a Hyundai Genesis coupe. Super fast and a nice red. Meanwhile, Elder Child went and set a baptismal date for Jennifer. It was an awesome experience for him. She is SUPER crazy and I will explain later.
We did teach four lessons on Thursday and got a lot of work done so it was a good day. We also did service for the Hemet theater and that was super fun. We pulled up carpet and took stuff out of the walls.
Friday was spent down in Riverside in a district leader training meeting. I got to see all of my old missionaries that I have served around. It was good to see them all. I learned a lot about what I need to do to improve so it was good. We saw Jennifer that night with Brother L**** and we threw out all her cigarettes and booze down the drain too. She wasn't too happy... But it was a cool experience.
Saturday was crazy. We did service in the morning for the Hemet theater again and then did our studies to get ready for the lessons we had. Our main goal of Saturday was to get people to come to church. Our lesson with Jennifer fell through. It was crazy, she wrote on a paper towel telling us to leave. She's crazy... Denny came with us and it was crazy. We ended up talking to Denny for the rest of the night and getting to know him better. He's been through a lot. I love him though.
Sunday was good, our meetings went well and I had an interesting conversation with the ward council. I stood up and passed around the towel from Jennifer and told the ward council that we need more quality people to teach. Before we went in, someone got up in the morning ward and said, "If you don't do your missionary work, then you are not going to make it into the Celestial Kingdom." Holy heck! It was pretty sick. We had a baptism after church for the Zone Leaders and we had dinner right afterwards. I got sick after dinner and had to sleep it off so I could finish working. We finished up our night by going to another baptism that we had to participate in. It was a good week overall.
Well, that's all from me. Love y'all and talk to y'all later. Love you!
Elder Tonini
Ready for my week? Let's go.
We had our P-Day on Tuesday and that was kind of weird to have a P-Day on a day other than Monday but we still had a lot of fun. We played a volleyball game with the Sisters and I creamed Sister Gambling in the face by accident... Whoops. She got me back pretty good so it all worked out. Brother R*** took us out to go play golf at Echo Hills. I played very poorly but it was still awesome. I love that man so much. I fell asleep after we golfed and we were late to dinner... Good thing the S***** family were super cool about it. We then had no set appointments but we stopped by Jennifer's house to see her. We actually had a lesson with her and we told her that we were going to stop by every day to help her. There is huge promise there with her. But it slowly went down hill.... But I will explain that later.
I decided to hold a DDM on Wednesday and it went really well. I trained on the Creation and how we can relate it to planning. It was kind of another deep doctrine DDM but it went well. I am scared that when I do these trainings that people don't understand it... But I think they understood. We had to run to Target to help the Park Hill Elders get more bike stuff. After that, we made visits to get ready for Bishopric Action Night. I went out with President F**** and we rode in his new sports car. It was super sick! It was a Hyundai Genesis coupe. Super fast and a nice red. Meanwhile, Elder Child went and set a baptismal date for Jennifer. It was an awesome experience for him. She is SUPER crazy and I will explain later.
We did teach four lessons on Thursday and got a lot of work done so it was a good day. We also did service for the Hemet theater and that was super fun. We pulled up carpet and took stuff out of the walls.
Friday was spent down in Riverside in a district leader training meeting. I got to see all of my old missionaries that I have served around. It was good to see them all. I learned a lot about what I need to do to improve so it was good. We saw Jennifer that night with Brother L**** and we threw out all her cigarettes and booze down the drain too. She wasn't too happy... But it was a cool experience.
Saturday was crazy. We did service in the morning for the Hemet theater again and then did our studies to get ready for the lessons we had. Our main goal of Saturday was to get people to come to church. Our lesson with Jennifer fell through. It was crazy, she wrote on a paper towel telling us to leave. She's crazy... Denny came with us and it was crazy. We ended up talking to Denny for the rest of the night and getting to know him better. He's been through a lot. I love him though.
Sunday was good, our meetings went well and I had an interesting conversation with the ward council. I stood up and passed around the towel from Jennifer and told the ward council that we need more quality people to teach. Before we went in, someone got up in the morning ward and said, "If you don't do your missionary work, then you are not going to make it into the Celestial Kingdom." Holy heck! It was pretty sick. We had a baptism after church for the Zone Leaders and we had dinner right afterwards. I got sick after dinner and had to sleep it off so I could finish working. We finished up our night by going to another baptism that we had to participate in. It was a good week overall.
Well, that's all from me. Love y'all and talk to y'all later. Love you!
Elder Tonini
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
email: September 24, 2013
Subject: "When it comes to God everybody's got a version...
Some are wearing turbans others getting virgins with all of these options we know He's for certain. Cause ain't no other God like mine you gots to admit it ya I'm falling cause of sin and yet His grace is sufficient --One Sixteen, Trip Lee.
Hiya! I am super excited that I get to email y'all today. It has been a long week but everything worked out. Alright, ready for my week? Let's go!
Tuesday was a super good day because I did my Atonement training again to my district. It was super legit. It always goes well when I do it. It's a good training when I know that people are struggling with their testimony or reasons for being here on the mission. It was awesome. I then emailed because I didn't manage my time well on Monday... We then took the Park Hill Elders to Walmart because they popped a tire. Our lesson with the G****'s went well and we had an awesome time contacting people on the way home! It was super sweet.
Wednesday was a good day for us. We got on the bikes and rode this week! We ride in the morning so we can save miles. We did some work out in Homeland area and saw some people. We are getting close on miles so we have to start riding again. I love it though, I feel like a real missionary again. We had lunch and then drove into Hemet with the bikes. The Park Hill Elders came out with us to visit some potential investigators we picked up for them while we were visiting the G**** family that lives in their area and so we contacted some people on the way home. It was a good time with Elder Tafoya. He's struggling with his desire to work here in his area and so I pushed him a little bit. Our dinner went well and then we had an awesome lesson with Janice, the one that came to church last Sunday. We took Denny with us and he connected really well with her. She broke down to us and we testified that Christ can make her clean. It was a super spiritual lesson with her! It was a good way to end our night :).
Thursday we did some service with the Park Hill Elders that turned into a bust. We didn't need four missionaries there. We thought it was going to be a bigger than it really was. We got cleaned up and weekly planned for the morning. After that, we rode up to the De Anza building for the Sisters interview for their baptism this weekend. It was fun to get to know them. We had dinner with the Park Hill Elders and then our appointments fell through... So we did an obedience ride and finished up our OYMs. Elder Tafoya is really good at reading people and so after we came in for the night, he read Elder Child. It was insane what he got out of him. It helped me because now I can read Child like a book! It was crazy. We got home pretty late though so Friday was not a good day... Plus the Sisters are having some issues and so I've had to deal with that. Other than that, it was a good day.
We had a crazy bike ride on Friday! We rode down Highway 74 and it was super scary. Riding next to big semi's is crazy! We did save eight miles though so that was good. Sister C**** was super nice, she's a nice old lady haha. Her husband didn't want to see us so we just taught her. Our lesson with Stevie went well and then we had dinner with Anita. I love that woman, she makes me laugh. We had a good dinner and she took us to Walmart to pick up the stuff. I was super tired and cranky so it wasn't good.
The M**** family needed some help around the house on Saturday and so we helped them with some yard ward. It was super nice to put the boots and wranglers on to go work outside. It was fun, I loved it. We had our church visits go down on Saturday to get ready for Sunday. We did stop by and see John on Saturday night. I really, really want that family. He was on my mind as we went home that night and during planning, Elder Child REALLY got me upset to the point I had to walk out of the house and cool off. But we made things up so it's all good now. We've had a lot of those lately. I think it's because he's still really young but it's okay, I'm learning patience.
We had our usual Sunday meetings and everything. We had lunch and then made our visits. We fasted for the sister missionary that's been having issues and so I slept for our lunch hour. It was nice haha. Our dinner was with the V**** family and then we went over to see the N**** family because it was Brother N****'s birthday. We found out that JayR and Sarah are gonna be having a baby! I was super excited! She's due in April, which means I can go see them! I was stoked. But yeah, it was a good Sunday overall.
Monday was filled with meetings. Elder Kent R. Richards of the Seventy came and spoke to us. I had a leadership meeting at 0745 and then the meeting started at 0830 all the way until 1300. (Haha telling in military time makes me think of Grandma Tonini because that's how she tells time.) Anyways, the training was good. President Smart was super sick, it was hard to see him like that. Elder Richards talked with us for over four hours straight but it was way good. I learned a lot but what really got me was that I have to re-learn how I am going to teach. I can't use worldly analogies so I have to go in and redo all my teaching. Oh well, it'll be good for me. I got to see my old zone! Moreno Valley came to Hemet for the conference. Afterwards, we had lunch and talked deep doctrine. Ah yeah! Afterwards we came home, detoxed for thirty minutes and then did studies. Child and I had another breakdown. He started to make plans behind my back and THEN texted the sisters and THEN deleted the messages so I couldn't see it. So we had to have a comp inventory but now we're good. We went out and got our OYMs and then picked up a new investigator! Jennifer was the one that got 5150ed but now she wants to get baptized! It's super awesome. It was a miracle. So now we're gonna start working with her to get her ready.
Well, it was a good week. I worked out this morning and we're now leaving to go golf with Brother R**** in his Raptor! Super dope. Alright, love y'all and hope everything is going well. Love y'all and miss y'all tons. Talk to you soon!
Elder Tonini
Some are wearing turbans others getting virgins with all of these options we know He's for certain. Cause ain't no other God like mine you gots to admit it ya I'm falling cause of sin and yet His grace is sufficient --One Sixteen, Trip Lee.
Hiya! I am super excited that I get to email y'all today. It has been a long week but everything worked out. Alright, ready for my week? Let's go!
Tuesday was a super good day because I did my Atonement training again to my district. It was super legit. It always goes well when I do it. It's a good training when I know that people are struggling with their testimony or reasons for being here on the mission. It was awesome. I then emailed because I didn't manage my time well on Monday... We then took the Park Hill Elders to Walmart because they popped a tire. Our lesson with the G****'s went well and we had an awesome time contacting people on the way home! It was super sweet.
Wednesday was a good day for us. We got on the bikes and rode this week! We ride in the morning so we can save miles. We did some work out in Homeland area and saw some people. We are getting close on miles so we have to start riding again. I love it though, I feel like a real missionary again. We had lunch and then drove into Hemet with the bikes. The Park Hill Elders came out with us to visit some potential investigators we picked up for them while we were visiting the G**** family that lives in their area and so we contacted some people on the way home. It was a good time with Elder Tafoya. He's struggling with his desire to work here in his area and so I pushed him a little bit. Our dinner went well and then we had an awesome lesson with Janice, the one that came to church last Sunday. We took Denny with us and he connected really well with her. She broke down to us and we testified that Christ can make her clean. It was a super spiritual lesson with her! It was a good way to end our night :).
Thursday we did some service with the Park Hill Elders that turned into a bust. We didn't need four missionaries there. We thought it was going to be a bigger than it really was. We got cleaned up and weekly planned for the morning. After that, we rode up to the De Anza building for the Sisters interview for their baptism this weekend. It was fun to get to know them. We had dinner with the Park Hill Elders and then our appointments fell through... So we did an obedience ride and finished up our OYMs. Elder Tafoya is really good at reading people and so after we came in for the night, he read Elder Child. It was insane what he got out of him. It helped me because now I can read Child like a book! It was crazy. We got home pretty late though so Friday was not a good day... Plus the Sisters are having some issues and so I've had to deal with that. Other than that, it was a good day.
We had a crazy bike ride on Friday! We rode down Highway 74 and it was super scary. Riding next to big semi's is crazy! We did save eight miles though so that was good. Sister C**** was super nice, she's a nice old lady haha. Her husband didn't want to see us so we just taught her. Our lesson with Stevie went well and then we had dinner with Anita. I love that woman, she makes me laugh. We had a good dinner and she took us to Walmart to pick up the stuff. I was super tired and cranky so it wasn't good.
The M**** family needed some help around the house on Saturday and so we helped them with some yard ward. It was super nice to put the boots and wranglers on to go work outside. It was fun, I loved it. We had our church visits go down on Saturday to get ready for Sunday. We did stop by and see John on Saturday night. I really, really want that family. He was on my mind as we went home that night and during planning, Elder Child REALLY got me upset to the point I had to walk out of the house and cool off. But we made things up so it's all good now. We've had a lot of those lately. I think it's because he's still really young but it's okay, I'm learning patience.
We had our usual Sunday meetings and everything. We had lunch and then made our visits. We fasted for the sister missionary that's been having issues and so I slept for our lunch hour. It was nice haha. Our dinner was with the V**** family and then we went over to see the N**** family because it was Brother N****'s birthday. We found out that JayR and Sarah are gonna be having a baby! I was super excited! She's due in April, which means I can go see them! I was stoked. But yeah, it was a good Sunday overall.
Monday was filled with meetings. Elder Kent R. Richards of the Seventy came and spoke to us. I had a leadership meeting at 0745 and then the meeting started at 0830 all the way until 1300. (Haha telling in military time makes me think of Grandma Tonini because that's how she tells time.) Anyways, the training was good. President Smart was super sick, it was hard to see him like that. Elder Richards talked with us for over four hours straight but it was way good. I learned a lot but what really got me was that I have to re-learn how I am going to teach. I can't use worldly analogies so I have to go in and redo all my teaching. Oh well, it'll be good for me. I got to see my old zone! Moreno Valley came to Hemet for the conference. Afterwards, we had lunch and talked deep doctrine. Ah yeah! Afterwards we came home, detoxed for thirty minutes and then did studies. Child and I had another breakdown. He started to make plans behind my back and THEN texted the sisters and THEN deleted the messages so I couldn't see it. So we had to have a comp inventory but now we're good. We went out and got our OYMs and then picked up a new investigator! Jennifer was the one that got 5150ed but now she wants to get baptized! It's super awesome. It was a miracle. So now we're gonna start working with her to get her ready.
Well, it was a good week. I worked out this morning and we're now leaving to go golf with Brother R**** in his Raptor! Super dope. Alright, love y'all and hope everything is going well. Love y'all and miss y'all tons. Talk to you soon!
Elder Tonini
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Pictures Courtesy of Anita
Just in case you were worries that missionary work was all work, there is some play too!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
email: September 17, 2013
Subj: "And it was down with the old man, up with the new...”
Raised to walk in the way of light and truth. I didn't see no angels, just a few saints on the shore.
But I felt like a new born baby, cradled up in the arms of the Lord
- Baptism by Kenny Chesney.
Mom and Dad,
How are things going in the great white north? The Northrup's always let me know the weather report is in North Dakota haha. Sounds like things are going well there back home. It’s been over 100 degrees here so it's been fun. I am socking up all the Vitamin D I can get haha. Ready for my week? Let’s go.
Monday was fun, we got a lot done with it being transfers. It was sad to see Elder Smith leave... He had become my best friend here in the mission. I love that man. I tried to move in with the Park Hill Ward missionaries into their double-wide trailer but that idea got shot down because they are going to split that ward soon so we couldn't move in there with them... It was a bummer because that would've really helped with the miles but it was all good. Our night was pretty good. We gave a blessing and a lesson to a family that we found on the street and when we were walking back we talked to this lady who came running up to us and asked "Are you guys Mormons? We need God in our life". So we got her address and we were gonna go by the next day. Our dinner was with the D**** family and the funniest thing happened. Elder Knudsen whispered "awkward" to one of the kids when I wrote the wrong thing on the jenga block and the mom thought it was super funny. Don't completely understand why but she did. Our lesson with the S****'s went well, we met their cousin (or something around that line) and he wants to meet with us again on Monday.
Okay so I have some explaining to do of why I missed finishing emailing on Monday. Unfortunately this email won't be a novel like the other emails have because we have things to get done today. The reason why I didn't finishing emailing was because Brother B**** came up from Beaumont to come see me and take me out to lunch but most importantly to talk doctrine with me. I have had a lot of questions about certain topics and he wouldn't explain it to me over the phone and so he drove up on Monday because he was off. I really, really want to talk about what I learned but this wouldn't be the appropriate time or place to do so. I will say this though that the gospel is so, so, so deep and I love it so much. I have learned so much out here and I cannot wait to learn more about it and bring it back home with me and teach about it. I have to learn that I love to teach people and that I have a talent for it. There are so many questions that I have about the gospel that haven't been answered yet and my mission is going to lead me in continual learning. Okay, I'll get off my rant about my studies and how my mind gets blown on a daily basis haha. I'll do a brief fly by of my week to show y'all what I've done.
Tuesday was interesting because the Sister missionaries took our car to go down to Riverside to pick up their new companion. They are now in a trio and on bike so they needed our car. So for a day, I felt like a normal missionary! I loved it. Only problem was that I forgot my helmet in Winchester and there wasn't a spare one lying around the Park Hill Elders’ apartment so I rode without a lid on. Yes, I can already see Dad cringing. Elder Child had a bad tube and so we called the R****'s to help us out and take us to Walmart. We got to ride in the Raptor with him. SO SICK! We went to In-and-Out for lunch and then to Walmart. The original reason why we went over there was to help him take the bed cover off the truck because Sister R**** was getting a quad. Now mind you, this couple is retired and just recently got married in January. Oh goodness I love them! Brother R**** also bought Elder Child a camelback which was a huge blessing to him. I also found long boards at Walmart that I rode around. So much fun! Anyways, after that we went by and saw that potential that we found on Monday only to find out that she got 5150ed [involuntary psychiatric hold] that night and wasn't home. However, we got to talk to the husband and set something up to come by and see him. Our dinner was with the N*****'s which is always fun and then we had a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader. Now mind you, he cancelled an appointment of ours that night so we could come to the meeting. I wasn't too happy about that but I sucked it up and made the meeting the best I could. The Sister missionaries brought back the car and they put a 100 miles on it! We are gonna be biking a lot for the rest of the month...
We had DDM on Wednesday because the Sisters weren't there and so I had to train on Wednesday. I had no idea what I was going to train on but that morning, I had some revelation given to me. Now I usually don't train on deeper doctrine subjects but I chose to. I trained on how the priesthood really works and how we need to use the authority given to us in our setting apart as missionaries. Everyone's faces was priceless when I blew their mind. It was super fun but they did learn a lot. I loved it. We then had a brief lesson with a referral that we got from Brian B**** and then went and saw Janice and invited her to church. Our appointment that night was with Brother L**** and he took us out to go home teaching with him and to see his people. He is super missionary minded and it is awesome.
We had our usual Bob D**** meeting on Thursday that we have at the beginning of every transfer and it was interesting. Brother F**** came and spoke and he was crazy! It was super good. Everything else fell through though for the day so that was sub-optimal... But what really irritated me was when our ward mission leader changed our appointment and then taught our appointment. I walked in to the house where our appointment was and they were there sitting and teaching. I asked what was going on and they said they were teaching and we didn't need to come see that family anymore. That he rescheduled the appointment on Tuesday for him and not for us. I walked out of the house and didn't talk to anymore. I was really irritated. Not a good way to finish a night. We had weekly planning on Friday and then went to lunch at DQ when I spilled Coke all over my pants... DANGIT! I went home and changed and then we went and taught Stevie with Denny H***. We taught about prophets and that went well. Before that lesson though we talked with Larry, the guy who's wife got 5150ed. We taught him and left a blessing. It was super cool!
I had exchanges with Elder Knudsen on Saturday and it was super fun, I loved it. We got a lot done, including dedicating the Sisters home and making church visits. We taught a girl named Nareida that is one date for baptism for the 29th. But she didn't even know who we were! So we'll need to reevaluate that. Dinner was with the N**** again and then gave a blessing to a sister in the ward that is really ill. Sister W**** is an interesting lady and I almost fell asleep during the lesson... But it was a good day with Knudsen.
Sunday we had a miracle happen. Janice came to church! It was awesome. We also taught the S**** and were working with them to get them to the temple. I an interview with a lady that is very sensitive. She had a million scrunchies and she lied to me in the interview... So she has to be interviewed by President. We didn't have a dinner so we called the R**** to have dinner and it was super fun. I love them to pieces. But that was our week!
Sorry again about the late email... It was a good week nonetheless. Love y'all and talk to y'all next week!
Elder Tonini
Raised to walk in the way of light and truth. I didn't see no angels, just a few saints on the shore.
But I felt like a new born baby, cradled up in the arms of the Lord
- Baptism by Kenny Chesney.
Mom and Dad,
How are things going in the great white north? The Northrup's always let me know the weather report is in North Dakota haha. Sounds like things are going well there back home. It’s been over 100 degrees here so it's been fun. I am socking up all the Vitamin D I can get haha. Ready for my week? Let’s go.
Monday was fun, we got a lot done with it being transfers. It was sad to see Elder Smith leave... He had become my best friend here in the mission. I love that man. I tried to move in with the Park Hill Ward missionaries into their double-wide trailer but that idea got shot down because they are going to split that ward soon so we couldn't move in there with them... It was a bummer because that would've really helped with the miles but it was all good. Our night was pretty good. We gave a blessing and a lesson to a family that we found on the street and when we were walking back we talked to this lady who came running up to us and asked "Are you guys Mormons? We need God in our life". So we got her address and we were gonna go by the next day. Our dinner was with the D**** family and the funniest thing happened. Elder Knudsen whispered "awkward" to one of the kids when I wrote the wrong thing on the jenga block and the mom thought it was super funny. Don't completely understand why but she did. Our lesson with the S****'s went well, we met their cousin (or something around that line) and he wants to meet with us again on Monday.
Okay so I have some explaining to do of why I missed finishing emailing on Monday. Unfortunately this email won't be a novel like the other emails have because we have things to get done today. The reason why I didn't finishing emailing was because Brother B**** came up from Beaumont to come see me and take me out to lunch but most importantly to talk doctrine with me. I have had a lot of questions about certain topics and he wouldn't explain it to me over the phone and so he drove up on Monday because he was off. I really, really want to talk about what I learned but this wouldn't be the appropriate time or place to do so. I will say this though that the gospel is so, so, so deep and I love it so much. I have learned so much out here and I cannot wait to learn more about it and bring it back home with me and teach about it. I have to learn that I love to teach people and that I have a talent for it. There are so many questions that I have about the gospel that haven't been answered yet and my mission is going to lead me in continual learning. Okay, I'll get off my rant about my studies and how my mind gets blown on a daily basis haha. I'll do a brief fly by of my week to show y'all what I've done.
Tuesday was interesting because the Sister missionaries took our car to go down to Riverside to pick up their new companion. They are now in a trio and on bike so they needed our car. So for a day, I felt like a normal missionary! I loved it. Only problem was that I forgot my helmet in Winchester and there wasn't a spare one lying around the Park Hill Elders’ apartment so I rode without a lid on. Yes, I can already see Dad cringing. Elder Child had a bad tube and so we called the R****'s to help us out and take us to Walmart. We got to ride in the Raptor with him. SO SICK! We went to In-and-Out for lunch and then to Walmart. The original reason why we went over there was to help him take the bed cover off the truck because Sister R**** was getting a quad. Now mind you, this couple is retired and just recently got married in January. Oh goodness I love them! Brother R**** also bought Elder Child a camelback which was a huge blessing to him. I also found long boards at Walmart that I rode around. So much fun! Anyways, after that we went by and saw that potential that we found on Monday only to find out that she got 5150ed [involuntary psychiatric hold] that night and wasn't home. However, we got to talk to the husband and set something up to come by and see him. Our dinner was with the N*****'s which is always fun and then we had a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader. Now mind you, he cancelled an appointment of ours that night so we could come to the meeting. I wasn't too happy about that but I sucked it up and made the meeting the best I could. The Sister missionaries brought back the car and they put a 100 miles on it! We are gonna be biking a lot for the rest of the month...
We had DDM on Wednesday because the Sisters weren't there and so I had to train on Wednesday. I had no idea what I was going to train on but that morning, I had some revelation given to me. Now I usually don't train on deeper doctrine subjects but I chose to. I trained on how the priesthood really works and how we need to use the authority given to us in our setting apart as missionaries. Everyone's faces was priceless when I blew their mind. It was super fun but they did learn a lot. I loved it. We then had a brief lesson with a referral that we got from Brian B**** and then went and saw Janice and invited her to church. Our appointment that night was with Brother L**** and he took us out to go home teaching with him and to see his people. He is super missionary minded and it is awesome.
We had our usual Bob D**** meeting on Thursday that we have at the beginning of every transfer and it was interesting. Brother F**** came and spoke and he was crazy! It was super good. Everything else fell through though for the day so that was sub-optimal... But what really irritated me was when our ward mission leader changed our appointment and then taught our appointment. I walked in to the house where our appointment was and they were there sitting and teaching. I asked what was going on and they said they were teaching and we didn't need to come see that family anymore. That he rescheduled the appointment on Tuesday for him and not for us. I walked out of the house and didn't talk to anymore. I was really irritated. Not a good way to finish a night. We had weekly planning on Friday and then went to lunch at DQ when I spilled Coke all over my pants... DANGIT! I went home and changed and then we went and taught Stevie with Denny H***. We taught about prophets and that went well. Before that lesson though we talked with Larry, the guy who's wife got 5150ed. We taught him and left a blessing. It was super cool!
I had exchanges with Elder Knudsen on Saturday and it was super fun, I loved it. We got a lot done, including dedicating the Sisters home and making church visits. We taught a girl named Nareida that is one date for baptism for the 29th. But she didn't even know who we were! So we'll need to reevaluate that. Dinner was with the N**** again and then gave a blessing to a sister in the ward that is really ill. Sister W**** is an interesting lady and I almost fell asleep during the lesson... But it was a good day with Knudsen.
Sunday we had a miracle happen. Janice came to church! It was awesome. We also taught the S**** and were working with them to get them to the temple. I an interview with a lady that is very sensitive. She had a million scrunchies and she lied to me in the interview... So she has to be interviewed by President. We didn't have a dinner so we called the R**** to have dinner and it was super fun. I love them to pieces. But that was our week!
Sorry again about the late email... It was a good week nonetheless. Love y'all and talk to y'all next week!
Elder Tonini
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Letter from Bishop of Valley View Ward
May 5, 2013
Dear Brother and Sister Tonini,
I am the Bishop of the Valley View Ward in the Moreno Valley, California Stake. The city of Moreno Valley is located to the east of and shares a common border with the City of Riverside, California. Moreno Valley was the 15th fastest growing city in the nation in 2007, and now has a population exceeding 190,000. Moreno Valley enjoys an extremely diverse demographic, with the majority demographic being Hispanic, followed by Caucasian, African American, Asian, and Pacific Islander. Needless to say, it is a dynamic city of diverse cultures. In addition to five family wards, the Moreno Valley Stake also has a Spanish Ward and Samoan Ward. It is a challenging area in which to serve.
On behalf of your Brothers and Sisters in the Valley View Ward, I want to express to you our gratitude for the faithful service of your son, Elder Tonini, while assigned here in Moreno Valley. As Bishop, I had the unique opportunity to work closely with Elder Tonini as he labored diligently in this part of the Lord's vineyard. His tireless and selfless service was an inspiration and motivation for the members of this Ward. He was instrumental in touching many lives with his unwavering testimony of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As the parent of two returned missionaries, I know that expressions of gratitude from recipients of our sons' missionary service are infrequent. I just want to let you know that Elder Tonini's service was appreciated. Thank you for sharing him with us.
Your Brother,
/s/ Bishop Hansen
Dear Brother and Sister Tonini,
I am the Bishop of the Valley View Ward in the Moreno Valley, California Stake. The city of Moreno Valley is located to the east of and shares a common border with the City of Riverside, California. Moreno Valley was the 15th fastest growing city in the nation in 2007, and now has a population exceeding 190,000. Moreno Valley enjoys an extremely diverse demographic, with the majority demographic being Hispanic, followed by Caucasian, African American, Asian, and Pacific Islander. Needless to say, it is a dynamic city of diverse cultures. In addition to five family wards, the Moreno Valley Stake also has a Spanish Ward and Samoan Ward. It is a challenging area in which to serve.
On behalf of your Brothers and Sisters in the Valley View Ward, I want to express to you our gratitude for the faithful service of your son, Elder Tonini, while assigned here in Moreno Valley. As Bishop, I had the unique opportunity to work closely with Elder Tonini as he labored diligently in this part of the Lord's vineyard. His tireless and selfless service was an inspiration and motivation for the members of this Ward. He was instrumental in touching many lives with his unwavering testimony of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As the parent of two returned missionaries, I know that expressions of gratitude from recipients of our sons' missionary service are infrequent. I just want to let you know that Elder Tonini's service was appreciated. Thank you for sharing him with us.
Your Brother,
/s/ Bishop Hansen
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