The One where I go to a Wedding, the Airport, and DHS in one week!

Hey everyone!

This was a pretty jam packed week! We had a lot of fun adventures and we were able to teach a lot! It was great!

Monday was the normal P-day stuff. We went shopping and played some volleyball before P-Day was up. We had dinner up at the pear farm with the Neil***'s. Cameron was up there as well and at one point he ended up sword fighting the Neil***'s daughter with a butter knife in-between his toes! We did a Family Home Evening with the McHat***'s to end the night. It was a ton of fun and we played Monopoly Empire for the activity!

Tuesday was pretty interesting. We were asked by Wade and Pearl to be character witnesses for something to do with their child. We went to the Department of Human Services (DHS) office and sat there while they talked to Wade about his life and the plan for his baby son. We didn't say anything but I think we played a role in how the conversation went! After lunch we went and got some snacks for the movie night we were putting on and then we picked up Brother Roberts for our lesson with Sister Mos***. Unforuntely, she doesn't get off work until 3 and we had our lesson scheduled at 2! We went and met a Samoan lady named Olepa! She is super nice and we were able to teach about the Book of Mormon and what it could mean for her. It went really well! Afterwards, Brother Roberts asked if we could spare some time and go to the airport with him to give a lady there, who was handing out Bibles, a Book of Mormon. Well, we arrive at the airport and it turns out to be a Jehovah's Witness booth! We ended up talking with a lady who was operating the booth and a random guy from New Orleans who walked off the plane and asked us a couple of questions. We were there for so long we almost missed dinner! We visited with the Coom***'s before watching the Testaments at the church with a couple of investigators, members, and less actives.

Wednesday morning we went to a potential investigator named Allison's house and cleaned out a shed that she was giving to her part-member neighbors. We got cleaned up and went to the church to contact some people. We were able to teach Eric and Tracy about the Restoration before going to lunch with Cameron! We were able to talk to him about missions and it was really beneficial for him. He has been struggling with people assuming he is going on a mission and people assuming he isn't going on a mission. We were able to share some of our experiences and thoughts with him. It was a fun time to be with him. We had a lesson with him at the Brum***'s afterwards and he drew out the Plan of Salvation for us and basically taught us! One of the easiest lessons ever haha! We contacted people before dinner and a lesson with Chris. We talked about being equally yoked with the Savior and through the conversations that we had, we were able to figure out what he is struggling with and we now have a game plan for him. It pays off to listen! We had a lesson with Wade and Pearl afterwards and we taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a really good lesson and it is amazing to see their progress. They told us that everything that we have been teaching has made sense and that this is what they want to do!

Thursday morning we were picking pears from 11 till 2. I was on the side with very little shade and in turn I got roasted! We took lunch before heading back over to Allison's to move some heavy stuff for her yard sale. 

We got cleaned up and went to dinner before going to the church for Wade and Pearl's wedding! There were a couple of people there and Bishop was able to perform the ceremony. It was awesome to see them get married and hopefully one day they will be sealed in the temple for all eternity!

Friday morning we had new missionary training and district meeting. Halfway through new missionary training, the APs walked in and stayed for the rest of new missionary training and district meeting. We went finding in the 1st Ward area before going to lunch with the AP's. We went back to the Stake center and I did a a baptismal interview for a man that is getting baptized in the 8th Ward. I love doing the baptismal interviews. It is so cool to see these people who haven't had the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives strive to make these covenants! We had a lesson at 4 with Michelle but she accidentally locked herself out of her car so we rescheduled our lesson for the later part of our night. We visited with the McHat***'s and had dinner with them before teaching Michelle the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We were able to recommit her to be baptized on October 17th! It was a Spirit-filled lesson that is for sure!

Saturday we got our AC fixed before going to our morning appointments. The filter had gotten clogged up and in turn our unit kinda froze over! We were enduring 85 degree temperatures at night but it is now back to 70 degrees! We gave a lady a blessing in the hospital in the early afternoon. She isn't a member of the church but she was asking for blessings from EVERY religion. She has a brain tumor the size of a tennis ball so her friend (who hangs out at Brother Roberts house a lot) brought us to her. This same friend ended up giving me and Elder Taito a blessing.... it was super weird. He kept saying he had more authority than us because he was older so that was fun to deal with haha! We visited with Brother Griffe*** and had dinner with the Brumb*** before our lesson with Wade and Pearl. We taught them about the Word of Wisdom and we committed them to live it. When we said that, they said that they have been thinking about doing it for a while now so we are going to help them overcome that!

Sunday was pretty good! We had church in the morning and only two of our investigators came so that was a bummer. We grabbed a quick lunch afterwards before heading over to the Johns***'s for a lesson with Allison. We went over the Restoration and it was awesome to see the Spirit work through us to teach her. We were able to help her see the need for modern day prophets and we cleared up some concerns she had about the Book of Mormon. Although she wouldn't commit to a date, she said she would be baptized if she came to know it was true! We had dinner with a sweet couple and we were there FOREVER! It was really good though! I learned a lot from them and found out about a sweet diet they are going to be doing. Too bad it is freaking expensive to do on a missionary budget! We were going to go visit some people but we ended up talking with a kid named Mark M, who is a less-active member's son. He was locked out of his house so we talked a lot about his life and video games. Because of it, he really opened up to us and we were able to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. He doesn't have much of a religious background but the things we said hit home for him. It was super cool!

Well that was my week! I know that the Book of Mormon is true! I love this Gospel!

Remember, there is NO doubt!

Love y'all!

Elder Tonini