Go Tell it on a Mountain

So many miracles have happened this week.

I had a feeling I was getting transferred. I felt like my time was up in Corona and that I did what I came to do....the Ga*** Family. I felt like it was my time to leave, but I was wishing I had more time to build the area some more. Our family we were working with had just fallen off date and they were pretty much paused. Our other investigators were not progressing.....I just felt like the transfer was ending on a low point. I prayed for the last two weeks of the transfer. I prayed that we would find SOMEBODY elect and prepared for Hna Sorensen to work with for the next transfer. I also had a goal to get somebody other than the Ga*** Family to church. I realized halfway through the transfer that we haven't been able to get anyone else to church.

First off, we had an incredible less-active lesson with a family I didn't even know existed until last Sunday when I saw them at church. Turns out a couple of months ago they moved over into our proselyting area.  We set up an apt with them and it was AWESOME! We taught about the Libro de Mormon and it turns out his wife doesn't even feel like she has a testimony of the LdM. The husband talked about how this new year they set a goal as a couple that they were going to start coming to church and that he was so excited when we reached out to them! I have never had a less-active respond like the way he did....a lot of the times they don't want to see us. He was ELATED that we were in his home and we told him that we are coming by every single week to help them get back in the Libro de Mormon and back to church. They were so down for it!!!

Second, we had one of those long miracles in the process when we found Alicia! Her two teenage daughters got baptized on their own, which is super cool....but now they are inactive. The mom is not a member and neither is the younger brother. Well, we tried stopping by her like FOREVER ago but the people there said she moved a year ago.....so we crossed her off of our list. Well, one day we were organizing our area book and I found a teaching record for her!!One of the Hermanas put her new address in there but didn't update it in the ward list. So it was a miracle! Until there were dogs everywhere and we couldn't get to her door.....so we called her and got an apt for this week. WOW. INCREDIBLE LESSON. Okay, the reason she was paused like a year ago was because she never went to church and wouldn't make the time for the missionaries. Well, the day after we called her last week, she got a call from work saying she would be working less but longer days so she could spend more time with her family. So she wouldn't be working Thursday-Sunday. She knew it was a sign from God that she need to make time to take the lessons again. Then, I asked her to read Mosiah 2:41 and her Book of Mormon feel open right exactly to the page and she FLIPPED. She was all, "How did I happen to open it to the right page? What does this mean?" We were all, "Uhhhhh..........???" But then, I decided to leave her with Alma 7 to read as an assignment.....her Book of Mormon opened right to it.....again. She really freaked. She even tried opening it for the first time to see if it would go to Alma 7 again but it wouldn't...She was all, "WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?? Me:"Pienso que Dios quiere que lo lea." [I think God wants you to read it.]

Then I said it again with even more boldness.

It was pretty cool, not going to lie. Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways....because that was a new one for me. She said she was going to read the chapter and come to church the following Sunday!!!!!

Then, Juan came to church on Sunday and we picked up a family on Saturday!!!! I finally felt at peace leaving Corona in HERMANA HARPER'S hands. Crazy that she is taking my spot!

My last lesson was super sad with the Ga*** crew. I cried a lot....he wrote a song for me and it broke me. It's really cool though because he said he is going to make that song a tradition and sing it to all of the missionaries that leave. It was also sad because that might have been my last Spanish lesson ever.....I testified at the end of that lesson with such emotion because I knew it may have been my last time. It breaks my heart to be leaving Spanish Land, but I know I am where the Lord needs me.

So yes, I am now in Anza/Idyllwild.....two branches up in the mountains in the Hemet Stake. I am with Sister Bryant which is super funny because I told her that one day we would serve together in Anza because that's the only time Spanish and English get to serve together. And look! One Elder remembered me saying that and he said he's convinced I am a prophet. I am excited for this new adventure and to follow in my trainer's footsteps. Plus Sister Bryant is already a good friend of mine so I am excited to work with her as well. The work is picking up here and the Spanish Elders found a family last week (because last transfer it wasn't zebra so they had to come up)....so I may get to teach them!!!! It is difficult because they either go here to the English branch and I translate for them or they drive 45 minutes to the Ramona Ward where I served in the beginning of my mission and those Elders get to teach them....so we will see! It will be what's best for the family for sure.

I love y'all so much!

Hermana Tonini

P.S. I am taking Sis Ford's spot and she is the love of my life and I am super sad she goes home this week #rip

Stumbling Blocks and Stepping Stones

This week has been SO CRAZY! We taught the Law of Chastity to the Familia Ga*** - they are SO incredible, it's amazing. Our ward mission leader is already planning on submitting their names for a calling as soon as they are baptized! There is one issue that needs to be resolved before they can be baptized so I feel like there is just stumbling block after stumbling block for them, but I know that the Lord will provide a way.

We also showed them the Restoration video video this week and when we testified afterwards, there wasn't a single dry eye in the room. Even little Daniel felt the Spirit so strong it brought him to tears. Bishop told us this Sunday that he talked to Enrique and he had told him, "I want to join the Church because I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet." Obispo said it made him tear-up a little, and it had the same impact on me when he retold the story! He also said that Isabel, the wife, had also told him that she is not worried, because she knows that the Lord will provide a way to accomplish the things He has commanded them.....a principle she learned from the Book of Mormon! What an incredible family!!! I can't wait to see the miracles that will continue to happen with this family as they turn these stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

We also had an appointment with Javier, an investigator the Hermanas were teaching, and it was a very very very difficult lesson. He was just...very negative and angry about why God is the way He is. He had a lot of question/doubts but wouldn't give me the time to answer them because he would take a little piece of what I said and bring up ANOTHER question/doubt. Like, probably worst lesson of my whole mission. Pobrecita Hna Sorensen started crying in the lesson.....and not because she was feeling the Spirit. However bad the lesson was, he told us that he KNOWS his way of thinking is bad/wrong and wants to have a change of heart. Legit, this man made me think of those stiff-necked people in the Book of Mormon, however he DESIRES  a change. So we made a return appointment. We got in the car and Hna Sorensen turned to me and said in tears, "THAT WAS TERRIBLE. I CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE GOING BACK TO THAT HOUSE!"

Back we went. I was so nervous. I spent all of my personal study time on him and prayed so hard. What was really neat was that I was praying to finish my last personal study before heading out to his lesson and I asked, "what more do I need to know so I can help this man?" And Alma Chapter Five came IMMEDIATELY to my mind. I rushed through it really fast and found AWESOME scriptures about having a change of heart in there, which I shared with him and he loved it!! The lesson was way better, mainly because he actually let us teach and wasn't so grosero [rude]. I just couldn't stop talking, the Spirit just flowed through me and I was able to hit almost all of his concerns/questions that he had brought up last time. I love being able to receive revelation for my investigators. I am truly not alone in this work!!

Here is our Halloween picture....of us just being normal.






Love,
Hermana Tonini

Feliz Cumpleaños a Mi

SO, background story. We are working with this incredible family named the Familia Ga***. The Hermanas before us were working with them and they had a baptism date for the end of October....well that wasn't going to happen. So we sat down with them and invited them to choose a new baptism date in November and they chose the very last Sunday of the month. Jokingly, I suggested that they choose the 19th because that's the day after my birthday and they were all, "Yeah, we need more time than that."

Then we had our appointment with them this week. Well, we actually had two. The first one was with our ward mission leader and we finished up the Plan de Salvación and really hit eternal families....and they loved it. They are just sponges and love everything we teach them. Well, the next appointment we had this week was AMAZING. We sat down and after talking for a bit, the hermano got really quiet and became very serious. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "We want to get baptized. We want to be an eternal family. And we want to change our date to a week earlier....happy birthday."

I can't even express in words the amount of love I felt not only from them but also for them. I have never had so much love for my investigators before. It was such a tender moment and I definitely cried....it was just incredible to see the impact of an eternal perspective. They crave to be sealed in the temple for the eternities. 

Not only that, but after all of this happened, I asked Hermano Ga*** who he would like to say the opening prayer and he asked his nine year old son Daniel to offer it. His prayer was so.....well...natural I guess? It was so cute, he talked about how grateful he was to have us in his home because of the alegria we bring. I was smiling during the whole prayer because it was just so good! Then, his dad said the word lagrimas (tears), and I thought he was joking around because he is ALWAYS joking around, but then he put his head in his hands and just started crying!!! We just sat there for the longest time until he stopped and put his head back up. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me that was the first time he had ever heard his son pray. Ever. The Spirit testified to me then and there that there truly are fruits to living the gospel. It was incredible to see how they were already seeing the fruits of living the gospel....seeing the changes in their home and in their family...even before baptism. Can you even imagine the incredible things that will happen with this family when they continue down the covenant pathway?

I love the Gospel. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love being a part of this work, and there's no place I'd rather be. There's more bad days than good days, and sometimes I feel like I just can't do it anymore. However, I see miracles like this and it reminds me why I am here. I know that I am here specifically for the Ga*** Family. I can't wait to see what miracles the next week holds! November is going to be great :)

Love,
Hermana Tonini

J-Shon 2.0

Investigator update:

With the Ni*** family we celebrated Angel's 10th birthday with them on Monday and had a lesson afterwards. We have taught them everything already, so we are just really focusing on the Book of Mormon and helping them gain a testimony. They were really good at reading the children's one for a really long time but every since that threeish-week break when the grandpa was in the hospital, they stopped. We had invited Karly to read the actual Book of Mormon because just reading the kid one wasn't really going to help her get a super strong testimony, but she hadn't read. So for the lesson we read 3 Nephi:11 with them and it was super powerful. Hopefully when we stop by this week they will have read some. They didn't come to church on Sunday which was strange because they have come nearly every Sunday since we have been teaching them... It's difficult because they want to wait until November to get baptized because they want the dad to take the charlas (discussions) and get baptized with them but it's nearly impossible to find him home and we have made little progress with him. I love this family so much and it's going to break my heart to leave them next week.... (95% positive I am getting kicked out of MoVal)

With Destiny, she was supposed to have her baptism interview yesterday after church, but they didn't go to church...? We don't know what happened....we have an FHE with them tonight because Liz wants to know how to do one. We had a cool experience with them last week! So we are teaching Liz separately from Destiny because Liz has been inactive for nearly all of her life so she wants to be taught h everything but not in the child/simple version we give her kids. So when it was just the three of us, she asked us a bunch of questions and somehow patriarchal blessings came up and she was very interested. We went by later that week and she was so happy when she told us she talked to Obispo and she is going to receive her blessing!1 When she told us I felt the Spirit so strong. It has been so rewarding to help reactivate her and help her daughter prepare for baptism. It's incredible the changes that are happening in her family right now..

Man, I love the work.

Then we had a lesson with Olga Me***, who is a recent convert of about 9 months. So when I first got here to MoVal, she was not coming to church. Her son Kai was baptized but never even got confirmed. So at the end of my first transfer we finally got them to church so Kai could be confirmed. He had gone about two months without getting confirmed. With Hna Moran, we have made sure we got her a ride so she and her son can go to church and they come almost every Sunday. Then, with our CR lesson this week, she has kind of just kind of spewed out everything that is going wrong in her life right now. It was super sad really. In the  middle of her talking, a question came to my mind: "Have you thought about going to the temple?" I pushed it aside because she was still telling her stories but the question came to mind again at the end of the lesson and so I asked her that exact question. I asked her if she had desires to prepare herself to go to the temple and  she said yes! And I was all, "Like, you want to meet with Obispo and do the interview this Sunday?" AND SHE SAID YES!!! I am so excited that Hermana Moran is going to be able to help her do family history work and plan the temple trip so she can go for the first time :) So many great things are happening here, and I know I am leaving everything in good hands. (she couldn't make it to church bc Kai has bronchitis but she will have her interview next week)

Then I had ANOTHER COOL EXPERIENCE WOOOOOOW. So, we went to go seeking Friday morning but the place we chose ended up being a neighborhood we sought like a week ago. So I grabbed the gps to find another neighborhood nearby, but we had hit this section of our area pretty hard this transfer. I finally found an area that had streets I didn't recognize, so I was all, "Let's go seek there!" Well I found out why once we got there, I had chosen a neighborhood just outside of our area. I was getting a little frustrated because we had wasted so much time so I handed the gps over to Hna Moran and she picked ANOTHER neighborhood for us to go seeking in. However, there was no parking because there were street signs everywhere saying "No Parking Fridays from 7am-2pm for street sweepers" So then we drove over to a gated complex kind of nearby where one of our members lives and parked there. By this time we had wasted like half of our allotted buscando con fe time and I was feeling VERY frustrated. Not to mention, after walking for 30 minutes we hadn't talked to anyone. There was nobody outside. So, I did what I always do when we go seeking and there's no one outside. I prayed. I said a fervent pray in my heart that we would find at least ONE potential or referral so there would be a reason why we had to go through everything that morning. Why we ended up in this neighborhood at this time. Not even five minutes later we turned the corner and found a man in his garage who we almost didn't even see. After I contacted him and asked him if we could share a message of Jesus Christ he said, "Yeah, come on in, y'all want some water?" It was just so easy. He accepted us in with such love. Jonathon was SO nice and has such a strong faith. He ate up everything we taught him and he accepted a baptism date for October 22nd! He truly was a miracle and an answer to a prayer.

The reason for my subject title is because our Zone Leaders here also taught a Jonathon, a 9 year old boy, and in district meeting they would always call him j-shon....? Never figured out why, but now we have another j-shon in the zone and we are pretty excited about it.

Oh, yesterday I hit my 8 month mark and we also went to a reception of someone in the ward because the mom and signed up for our dinner that day, so we snagged some tacos and made a new friend named Nancy who LOVES missionaries and wanted to take lots of pictures with us :)

Love y'all! Big changes are coming next transfer...I feel it.

Hermana Tonini

P.S. So since my comp is an STL she has to give a training in Multi-Zones. Since there wasn't another STL in the other two zones, guess who had to train with her? Me.  It was terrifying. We worked really hard on it though, and I think it went pretty well!

And We're Filling the Font

YES! WE HAVE A BAPTISM THIS SATURDAY! Our investigator, a 9 year old from a part member family, was found worthy this week! So I get to come back to Hemet for her baptism!

Yes...come back because I am leaving Hemet! I am headed to Moreno Valley!! My new comp will be Hna Hernandez Sanchez! Hna Chandler used to be comps with her, and from what I have heard about her, I already love her! We also joked around about how it would be just my luck to serve my first area in Hemet with my brother's in-laws and then MoVal where my brother's famous convert lives, and guess what? It happened! Ken's ward is in the same building as ours even! I love being able to find bits and pieces of my brother here! Also so excited to go to MoVal because the work is popping over there! And I will be coming back nearly every weekend for all of our baptisms happening here. June is going to be CRAZY for me. Excited and scared to death of this new change.

So when I was Buscando con Fe the other day with Sis DiPietro, we walked pass guys working on a roof and didn't talk to them because it might put them in danger, like if we scared them. But once we passed the house, I had a strong impression to turn around, and one of the guys ended up being interested! He lives in another town, but what a miracle that the missionaries over there can teach him!

So we did a church tour with Nap because he still hasn't been to church and it was INCREDIBLE. When we walked into the chapel the Spirit was crazy strong!! And guess what, HE CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY! He talked with his family and told them that he is going to wait to go to Anaheim on the weekends until AFTER he goes to church with us. He even stayed for all three hours! His baptism date is on the 11th, and I just can't wait. He loves the gospel so much and is so willingly to live it.

So by Saturday we only picked up one new investigator because of how insane our week has been (Hermana Chandler was on exchanges and had to take a sister to the hospital so no work got done in our area for a whole day). So I prayed SO HARD that we could find investigators and that night we picked up three, and they lived next door to each other. So we legit had a Restoration and then walked next door and had another one.

Another thing, so President stressed the importance of walking around for five minutes when a potential or referral who you try isn't home. So we have been trying to do that more. EVERY SINGLE TIME we have done it the past week or two we have found referrals for the missionaries in that area. Just with that extra five minutes we were able to find so many people for missionaries to teach. Like last night we went off four or five referrals because the four or five potentials we tried all weren't home. Missionary work truly is a team effort and it's such a blessing to help out between the Spanish and English missionaries.

So, gave a talk yesterday and didn't totally bomb it? Gabriel D*** (my best friend because he plays little league baseball) ran up and gave me a hug and then ran off saying he was going to riot and talk to the Bishop so I don't have to leave. Leaving is hard, I love these members so much.

Here's to my new adventure.

Love,

Hermana Tonini

"Should I Stay or Should I Go"

So, it was a long and crazy week. Where to begin?

Well, we have a crazy elect and prepared investigator who is perfect in every way and loves the gospel but HASN'T COME TO CHURCH. He goes out of town every Sunday. So that is super hard, but we brought a team up with us to one of our citas [appointments] and afterwards he said he could picture him as a temple worker. That's how cool he is. Love that guy, we just need to get him to church.

So then on Wednesday we had a cool experience. We were walking around this neighborhood and then realized that it was actually a 55+ neighborhood (there's a lot of those down here in sunny southern Cali). So I prayed and prayed that we would find at least one person. Just one. And guess what? We ran into three old Hispanics!!! One of them gave us his number and said to come visit his wife because she wants to be Mormon? And the other two let us into their home to teach them! They didn't want a return appointment but at least we had the opportunity to teach and testify! They also didn't let us leave until we drank TWO full glasses of orange juice. Cutie old people.

Also found out that day that our investigator who is getting baptized this upcoming Sunday doesn't have a testimony of Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. Yeah. So...we will see if we have our baptism on the 21st or not. I hope so because I love her with all of my heart and if she didn't get baptized it might just break me.

Then we had another cita with Nap on Thursday and we taught him the Word of Wisdom....while he was wearing a whiskey and cigars shirt. In the lesson, his answers were super long and elaborated but while we were talking about the cita afterwards, we realized that every time he answered, he would bring it back to Christ somehow. Isn't that beautiful? He can see how Jesus Christ truly is at the core of everything we share, teach, and are trying to become.

Sooooo, with our investigator from Cuba, I may or may not have given a smack down mini course on why we need to be reading the Book of Mormon after she said she hadn't really been reading....two lessons in a row. So then we decided to read where she left off, assuming she hadn't read, would have been in the beginning of 1 Nephi. Uh, no. More like JACOB. My jaw dropped. Me: "Dijo que no ha tenido la oportunidad de leer en su libro de mormon!!!!" Then she said she didn't read as much as she should have with the time she had that week. Holy moly. Jacob chapter one....can you believe that?

Multi Zones killlllllled this week. We were at the church from 6:30 to 4:30. In one of the trainings, they quoted Johnny Lingo which was golden.

So we are teaching this huge family and each time we have gone over, there has been someone new. So when a new family member was there I was all: Uh, do I teach the Restoration for the third time with this family orrrr...?? So, I just decided to start with the Book of Mormon because they hadn't read it last week. And it was a super good lesson!!! However, that poor guy hadn't even had the Restoration yet. What was I supposed to do? We had no time...and then he asked right at the end, "How come there are so many churches?" Boom. I was then able to teach the Restoration in five minutes for him. It truly was a tender mercy. (for training, since it is the last two weeks I have to be "senior comp" and lead all of the discussions. So that's why I was stressing out).

Yesterday I got to call home which was so nice! And if y'all know me well enough, then you also know that I cried my eyeballs out. Calling home is so hard but so good. Yesterday was also weird. Found out one of our investigators may or may not be a drug dealer, another investigator is actually a former of not too long ago, that the lady who wants to become Mormon is actually already taking lessons from the ENGLISH Elders, AND I invited someone who was already baptized to be baptized. (We accidentally ran into less actives that we didn't know were less actives and didn't mention they were members so I did what we always do and invite on the first lesson. AWK.)

Then today! We had crossfit in Menifee which means I got to see HERMANA HARPER THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. And I actually did ALL of crossfit which was mega super hard to do. So here is a gross sweaty pic of us after crossfit. Please enjoy. Also met Elder  Goodrich who is from Jamestown, ND today! How cool is that? #represent. Transfer calls are this Saturday! We tried making transfer predictions but it is honestly so up in the air!! So, standby, and until next week! Love y'all!!

Love,

Hermana Tonini

And the Day Marks Three Months

Sorry, this has to be a short one, I have 0 time.

So last Pday we went to check out a potential, which wasn't even a guy who spoke Spanish. HOWEVER. He wanted to hear a message of Christ and at the end he said his mom died in January and that he sat down with her Bible to look through it for pictures or notes and as soon as he opened it we knocked on his door!!!! We had to send him off to English land though, but it was still way cool!

Also, we had a way successful week! We picked up five new investigators!!! We had so many miracles it's crazy!

So I had a really bad night this week and I prayed that night to feel the peace that we can feel from our Savior. We have been teaching about the Prince of Peace the last two weeks, and I thought to myself, maybe I should practice what I preach. So, I went to the Prince of Peace to calm my troubled soul. The next morning in my studies I decided to study John 14, and the first verse reads "Let not your heart be troubled." First verse. I felt peace like I had never felt before in my life. He truly is the Prince of Peace, we just need to seek Him.

Also, got bashed with a Spanish woman for TWENTY MINUTES! I tried to leave like five times. Like shook her hand three times and everything and she would not let me leave. Patience and love truly are key in a 20-minute bash. The one time I wasn't with Hermana Chandler, and had a temp English comp. Rough.

Also, guess who is designated driver this week? YOU GUESSED IT. Which is weird because Hermana said that usually they only do that if I am going to be staying next transfer. But she just got called to be the STL for the area. So now it is like 50/50 on who is staying here in Hemet next transfer.

On Sunday we had SIX AT CHURCH!!!!! What was hard was trying to get our youth investigator to feel welcomed. The youth were not even trying to talk to her. SO FRUSTRATING. Hindsight is definately 20/20 because I am sure I was the same way.

Also had a crazy strong garage lesson while seeking with faith and the man starting crying while I taught him God is our loving Heavenly Father.

Also here is a pic of Sister Blanchard and I, she left back home and is already at BYUI. Crazy, huh?



Sister Tonini
California Riverside Mission

Week Four - Get Me Out of Here

SO, hello first of all! Today is our first real/full pday and I couldn't be happier. I'm getting a little antsy just because I'm going a little insane here at the CCM. I love my district with my whole heart but I'm getting a little tired of the classes. It's all good, I only have less than two weeks left here, isn't that just crazy?

My comp and I decided this week that we are going to finish the Book of Mormon by March 17th, two months since we left home. I picked up where I left off in 2nd Nephi before I came out and I'm almost done with Mosiah! All I want to do is just sit and read my scriptures, and I've NEVER had that desire before! I've learned and felt so much this time compared to the one time ever I read it for Personal Progress. I feel like when you read to feast it makes a huge difference than reading it to check off the box. You know? Also I love the book of Mosiah. So much. Also in one of our Book of Mormon classes this week we read a FANTASTIC chapter, so if you're looking for a good read check out Alma 38.

Also last Thursday while we were playing volleyball, which we do every day during gym time, Hermana Harper and I went for the ball at the same time. My comp spanked it and can you guess where it went? Right in my face. I went blind in my right eye for a quick second because that's how hard it hit me. We all got a good laugh out of it though, especially Elder Hagemeyer. It brought him to his knees he laughed so hard. Let's just say it's always a good time when we play volleyball.

Also I've really been praying to have more patience and charity. Charity has been easier to work on because I just do little acts of service whenever I can. But patience? Patience is on the inside and I've ALWAYS struggled with patience. Everyone in my life probably knows it too. And if you pray to develop a Christlike attribute, Heavenly Father blesses you with opportunities to grow. Which means I've had a lot of times this week that have tested my patience. A lot. I think the key point is to RECOGNIZE that they are opportunities to grow. I still have a lot to work on because I wasn't very patient in those times, BUT I'm getting better at recognizing when the Lord blesses me with opportunities to grow.

(I told my comp about this and she thinks everyone is going to think ALL of my patience trying came from her. So I am here to say they weren't ALL from her)

On Sunday, in one of our devotionals, my comp and I were asked to say the prayers. When Presidente Lyons announced it, he said "Elder Tonini will be saying the opening prayer" MY FACE GOT SO RED!! And he said Elder Harper too!! It was funny for the two of us because like two hours earlier we were talking about how sometime we are more of Elders than our Elders in our district sometimes. Mainly because we both grew up with three brothers. I firmly believe God has a sense of humor.

So since it's our fifth week that means we start a new segment called "Congrats you get to pretend to be an investigator now" on top of all of the other teaching we do. So pretty much you create a profile based on someone you know (so I'm using Camie's story of course) and then two missionaries from your district teach you. We only did the first rotation this week, which was teaching Elder Snowden with Hermana Braybrooke. We only have ten minutes for this lesson. And obviously since it was the first one, we had to get to know him. However, we wanted to leave him at the end with at message of Christ and how we are here to bring people to Him. I testified of my Savior while showing my favorite picture of the Savior and I just felt the Spirit so much. And the love I have for Him. And of His love and understanding. I just felt all of it at once and I cried. Of course. Classic Hermana Tonini. Everyone was so confused when my whole district saw I was crying bc it was only a ten minute basic lesson. But, I testified of Christ you know?

We had a crazy good lesson with Anastacia this week! She's been taking lessons for six years? (Our teacher isn't very good at background) so we told her that since she definitely knows all the doctrine, we are just going to focus on how each part of the gospel impacts her personally. That's so key when teaching is application. Otherwise, your words mean nothing. Also beforehand I prayed that I would be the Holy Ghost's tool instead of the other way around. And it helped to teach with the Spirit. It was just a great lesson, and it's all because the Spirit was there.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day how crazy?? My first holiday out in the field! Hermana Tueller wrote the three of us cards and left them on our desks in the morning. It totally made my day bc it reminded me of how Mom would always get us a little something for the holiday even though she loathes it. It was just a little touch of home, and it was perfect.

Last thing, our devotionals last night was broadcasted from the Provo MTC. AND GUESS WHO I SAW TWICE?? ELDER MCKAY MOULTON MY BEST FRIEND! I started crying bc it was such a gift from God I felt. Like I got to see him blown up on the screen watching him take notes and preparing to serve out in the field. I just love all the Elders, because that means they are all worthy Priesthood holders. My comp and I are like best friends with Elder Mikos and McCormick because Elders are just so much fun and have such strong testimonies! I'm just so grateful for their worthiness to be out here.

Also for pday today we didn`t want to go to lunch bc that meant having to get back in a dress. So we ate queso and chips for lunch (that Hermana Harper got from her mom) and we warmed the queso on the iron. Brilliant huh? Our bff Elders taught us that little trick.

And then I decided I wanted to learn how to do a handstand, which as you can see, I accomplished.


















Also since I barely have any pics this week, here`s another one from the temple that I love.

Love y'all with all my heart,
Hermana Tonini

God Truly Answers Prayers

My testimony of personal revelation has grown this week. Here´s what I wrote in my journal on the 27th:

So, we have our new investigators tomorrow, and we had to prepare. Hermana Pavon wanted us to find a BOM verse for it, so I prayed to know where to begin my search and to find materials to help Lucia, who's mad at God for her miscarriages. I went to the Index...Bible Dictionary...nothing. Then I thought of General Conference. Never before had I used General Conference to find a scripture. It was everything I needed and more. God Shall Wipe Away All Tears was WRITTEN for Lucia. It truly was revelation. It´s crazy how normal and accessible revelation is. I always just imagined like prophets...you know? We all have access to personal revelation and it´s so wonderful.
You know what? I´m just going to write all of my spiritual experiences directly from my journal so I don't waste time.

28th:
We taught Lucia today and it did NOT go as planned. The only thing we used from our prep was the story of Paul and the thorn. What was super cool was that when Hermana Monroy was talking, all I could think about was how perfect she could relate. Then, once she finished, Hermana Harper was all: Hay un apóstol se llama...uh...Pedro. Me: Pablo? Her: OH, Pablo.      But like I knew in that moment that she received the same revelation as me at the same time. Like, I was already opening to my bookmark and I took over from there. Super neat.

29th:
We watched the Restoration today, and by the end almost 90% of the Hermanas in the CCM were in tears. Including me of course. It strengthens my testimony of Joseph Smith every time I watch it.
Kind of a cool moment: last night while Hermana Dayes was braiding my hair, we were talking about deep doctrine. We talked about how there are a ton of planets, yet there´s only one Christ and he came to ours. He came here to repent for every world´s sins. Because our world has the most wickedness, but there´s opposition in all things. And today in Devo they talked about it!!!! The speaker even added on how that´s why we had Michael, Gabriel, Peter/James/John, and Joseph Smith PLUS Christ to balance the wickedness. Plus, a neat scripture: D&C 135:3. It was just crazy how an obscure topic was built upon for us in less than 24 hours. Plus, it just added even more "mad respect for Joseph Smith" (as Hermana Harper put it)

31st:
Today was a perfect day. Last night I decided to pray with a question. I always pray for help, but never with questions. Except for when I prayed to know if the BOM was true, but that's really it. I had read yesterday, ´´Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.´´ I knew I was going to the temple on Pday so I prayed that when I went, I would know if I was good enough. I was feeling so inadequate. And I know those feelings come from Satan, but I was just looking at all of the Hermanas and seeing their strengths. How was I supposed to be good enough to preach about a perfect gospel and a perfect love?

My answer came faster than I thought. It came today. We prepared to teach the Restoration and we started by asking Lucia if she had prayed to see if our lesson about how God loves her is true. She said no. From that point, our whole lesson plan was out the window. We talked about prayer the entire lesson. It was incredible. We listened, we answered her questions, Hermana found a scripture, everything. Afterwards, Hermana Monroy asked us how we though it went and she asked to see our lesson plan because we didn´t read ANYTHING off paper. We had never done that before. We told her how we listened, followed the spirit, and taught people not lessons. She didn't need the Restoration, she needed prayer. She even told us that our lesson will inspire Lucia to pray and "su lección fue perfecto." Perfect. I was a part of teaching a lesson that portrayed the perfect concept of prayer. We moved tables and sat in awe of the power of the Holy Ghost. We felt so much gratitude that we prayed. I started to cry because then, ten minutes after our lesson, the Spirit put into my remembrance my prayer and my question from last night. I'm not inadequate. I can do this. With the Spirit, I can do my best to preach about His perfect love.

(Side note, I know that if we work hard and prepare, that the Lord will make up the rest when we attempt and fail to completely capture His perfect love. I just didn't have a testimony of it. My comp is so good at teaching and testifying, and I felt like I wasn't as good as her. I couldn’t testify with the strength she has. That's why I prayed with my questions of inadequacy.)

This week has been super spiritual, if you can´t tell. And we get to go to the Mexico City temple today!!!!! That´s why I am emailing so early - we are leaving at 12 and not getting back until 6. I will have pictures of the temple next week!

So here in the CCM, I've goofed up a lot. There's always one thing a day. I don´t have time to share all of them, so I will leave you with just one:

"We taught Anastacia today and I messed up. We were talking about prayer so I asked if I could share a scripture in the BOM. I then went on with my whole intro of the BOM and then it was time to read the verse. And that's when I realized the verse I wanted to read was in the Bible. Me: ´"Uh....um....los siento. Actualmente está en la Biblía, PERO leemos en los dos, la Biblía y en el Libro de Mormón."

Classic Hermana Tonini. Love and miss you all.

Hermana Tonini