Perros Celestiales

WOW WOW WOW, what a great week. 

On Tuesday we had such a great lesson with Samantha. It was our last lesson before her baptism interview so we just did a lot of reviewing and had her bear her testimony a lot.....we discovered that Samantha is even more perfect than we thought. Sister Boyd wanted to get her started on family history.....well she ALREADY HAS AN ACCOUNT and has already been doing family history? We also tried to give her a For Strength of Youth and she already has one?? We also found out that she watched the movie "The Restoration" on her own before she even met with Sister Ford and Sister Bryant??? Perfect. She told us sad news though...her dad changed his mind about signing her baptism white. He flipped a switch. We talked to her a lot about it and she said it doesn't change anything for her. That yeah, it is hard, but that it doesn't change her desire to be baptized. It was going to be okay because she turns 18 three days after her original baptism date and she said she would get baptized on Wednesday because she doesn't want to wait one more day. Whadda girl. It was neat to see her true conversion. 

However, Wednesday we received a text from her boyfriend Daniel saying we needed to cancel the interview because her dad grounded her for a week...it broke my heart...I think that is one thing that has killed me on the mission is watching people who want to be baptized SO BAD and can't...first the Ga*** parents and now Samantha. It truly is heartbreaking. 

So Thursday we fasted for Samantha and her dad....that his heart will be softened and that he will support her in getting baptized. Because we don't want contention in the home. Yeah, she is turning 18 and can get baptized without permission, but she is still living at home. It's tricky..BUT, we got a text from Daniel saying he heard from her and that she read 30 chapters in the Book of Mormon in ONE DAY since she's grounded and they had a week off of school. She's already in Ama 20! Well, probably even further since last we heard! Also that her dad was calming down a little bit!!! Man, I sure do love fasting. So the game plan is that we are going to shoot for a baptism the 11th of March, the last day of the transfer. We're praying for miracles. 

We went to the temple on Friday which was a good time as always. Crazy to think that the next time I will be doing an endowment session will be the week I leave to go home..

We spent our day in Idyllwild on Saturday and we were able to give out a couple of copies of the Book of Mormon, and one of them was to this guy named Greg. He told us that he read the Dead Sea Scrolls and in there he found Jesus's recipe for tortillas in there and that it makes "the best torts I've ever had." He made them on top of his roof while he was in the Tropics. We are really excited to go see him this week :') 

There wasn't a lot of success in finding new investigators this week but we were able to get in with a lot of less actives which is exciting! One of them told us that he feels so good after we come to visit him and I love that he is starting to not only recognize when he feels the Spirit and when he doesn't, but that he will start craving to have His constant companionship even more in his life! 

Okay, last thing for real...we made a new best friend while seeking in Anza and he walked with us for 30 minutes all the way until we made it back to the truck.....and then he jumped into the bed of the truck!!! We were really tempted to take him home with us but I GUESS we have have to be obedient...We just have to find people up here that are as enthusiastic to be around us like our little friend. 

Adventure Time

Shall we start with yesterday?

We woke up on a beautiful Sunday morning to find our truck has a flat tire. So we had to get up and get our truck to the little bitty car place here in Anza at 8:30 to get our tire patched up. But before we could do that, we accidentally locked ourselves out of our trailer. And the keys to the house also have the keys to the truck. And it was 34 degrees. Luckily, we went to the main office and the guy was there and was able to lend us the spare! What a guy. But we got to see snow and hail this morning, so that was fun!!! Who woulda thought you'd see that in SoCal?

We were able to find four new investigators this week which was a miracle!!! One of them is a part member family, and he speaks Spanish!! We left him and his less-active wife an invitation to read in the Book of Mormon together, so we are excited to see where things go!!!!

Also, we were seeking with faith in Idyllwild when we contacted this lady who was getting firewood from off her porch. We talked for a little bit, asked if we could share a message with her and she kindly declined. Well, my companion asked if we could at least leave her something she could read and she said yes! So she said she would meet us out on her front door. Well, when we got there, I opened the Book of Mormon - I already had in my hands Moroni 10 - and was giving a little introduction and about to start reading the verses when she stopped me by asking, "Do y'all want to come inside? If you're going to read, come on inside because it's cold out there." We were then able to teach her the Restoration! We went from a "No thanks" to giving her the opportunity to know the restored gospel....all because of the Book of Mormon! This is why we are asked to utilize it in EVERY teaching opportunity, because there is power in the Book of Mormon!

I love the Book of Mormon with all of my heart. It is not only the key to the conversion of those I teach but to mine as well. I knew the Book of Mormon was true before I came out here, but I didn't gain a love for it until I became a missionary. I love the Lord and I love this work.

Hermana Tonini

P.S. Our sweet Gypsie Peterson is heading out to Washington for her mission this week! Also, where the heck is the time going?

Frazils, Bears, and Searching for Jesus

This week was such a blur...

Sunday was awesome in our little Idyllwild branch! Here are some snippets:

"You don't find time....because you'll never find it. You MAKE time to search the scriptures."

"You can't control what thoughts come into your head but you can control how long they stay there."

"You ARE your brother's keep and it is your obligation to strengthen them." (during lesson on Cain and Abel)

WE HAD THREE SPANISH LESSONS!!!! So we have two spanish families in our Anza branch and we got to do home visits with them and it was SO refreshing. We also picked up a Spanish investigator!!!!! Maria is the sister of one of the members we did the home visits with. We had tried by Maria like a week ago after Sister Ruggles, who served here, referred her to us. No luck. We went by again, and guess who just so happened to be there? Her sister Olga. So our first lesson with her was a member present, which is the best. Plus, we are finally going to be able to teach that family over in Idyllwild this week!!! We stopped by her on Sunday and JUST SO HAPPENED to get there right as she was coming home. Her son is having surgery today so she will be home all week and said she would love for us to come! She has already read the witnesses in the Book of Mormon and I invited her to read the first chapter of Nephi before we come! spanish is truly popping up here....Spanish branch here we come!!!!

Samantha is still perfect and George is off the radar because one of his family members passed away....so keep him in your prayers please!

The rest of the transfer is going to fly by even faster than it already has....temple trip, Samantha's baptism, two missionary farewells, Half-Mission activity, Multi-Zones, interviews, two exchanges, Sister Bryant's birthday......when are we even going to find time to teach?

Thank heavens for grace.

I love y'all so much!

Hermana Tonini

Long seeking days calls for Frazils. Always. 

I was going to explain the rest of my title but it just wasn't working....sorry for the cliffhanger.

4:1

So yes, the ratio of dogs to humans that we see in Anza is 4:1! But I love it! I am truly learning how to appreciate when there is someone outside of their house and how to boldly catch their attention from across their large yard. We do a ton of walking....and we have a goal to walk ALL of Anza. Even if it is half a mile between two houses. We want to find those lost sheep and give them the opportunity to know the gospel. 

We are working with two incredible people. Samantha is perfect in every way and is already in Jacob. Her understanding of the Book of Mormon is fantastic...and I can see she is truly developing a love for it! We just have a few more lessons and then making sure everything is golden for her baptism on March 4! We are also working with George who has such a desire to change! When we met with him, he had stopped drinking for four days!!! It was really neat, because a week before I came out here, I decided to start the addiction recovery program because we were working with a guy In Corona who was a big smoker. I wanted to be able to know how hard it is to stop a bad habit so I would have more patience, love, and advice for him. Well, I lasted about a week until it was transfer Saturday and we went and got ice cream....but I learned an important lesson: yes, I relapsed but that doesn't mean I can't do it. It just means I need to go a little bit longer and try a little harder next time. So it was really neat to share that experience with George! Sis Bryant is doing it with me and we made a pact with George that we are going to overcome our addictions together and keep each other accountable. 

Also, Idyllwild is beautiful with huge pine cones. 

 

Love y'all!!! 

Hermana Tonini