Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down...

CARLTON!!!

Hello!

This week was pretty dope!  We did a lot of service this week!  We were finally able to make it out to a place called Malvern this week!  It's in our area but our area is HUGE.  It's about 20 or so miles out so we can only get there like once a transfer.  Anyways, we hunted down some less actives with a member and saw some people that we needed to see.  One's name was Angel and she was PUMPED to see us!  She had met with missionaries in the 90s but they were transferred I guess cause all of a sudden no one came by anymore.  She was calling around and looking but couldn't find us and lo and behold we show up!  She's dedicated too!  She's going to start driving to hot springs to meet with us!  

Men? That's stretching it a bit...

We had the St. Patrick's day parade here!  I guess it's the worlds shortest...it's on a tiny road but managed to take an hour because of how much distance was between each float haha.  We found a couple people who used to be members and they were so nice to us!  Also get ready for this...we saw Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air so I guess you can say I'm too cool. 😎. And I also got a bead necklace from a Dallas cowboys cheerleader...giddey-up hoss.  We also had Zone Conference and they basically threw down on getting along with your companion and boy...I got chastised.  Haha.  We also saw these people waving around confederate flags and I got a picture of them.  They were smiling and waving back at us haha I was so happy.  

Two truths in this life - the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bacon.

Today we went hiking (hence why this is so late and cause my companion felt we should wait...yeah) and it was so fun!  Sadly, there are a few issues within the district that I need to address with everyone this week.  I'm gonna hold a mini intervention to clear things up cause I'm like Dr. Phil or some gangster like that.  It's gonna fun haha.  I'm even going to bring a clip board and fake glasses.  

We got a reactivation this week...well the spirit did, that is, cause we're basically little puppets.  But anyways we finally got him to church for the first time in some years and he said it was so amazing and that we will see him every week! Or until he's called back to the Middle East for his job. (Secret stuff we can't exactly 100% know about, isn't that sick?!). 

Welp, there is this...

We said goodbye to sister Hugentobler yesterday and that was the most depressing thing ever.  She used to work in the mission office and always is by the missionaries,  She's the biggest sweetheart! She lives in Moab and left today :(

That's really it for this week!  It's the last week of the transfer and I'm pumped to get out and kill it!  I've had to sleep in proselyting clothes this week for not following-up on some things haha.  Oh well!  I love y'all so much and I'm sorry if I can't reply cause again, not a lot of time today!  Tune in next week for more dope adventures of Elder Adair!  Tood-a-loo my loves! 

Kings Do King Things

Goin' Buck Wild

#trumptrain

Sometimes a boy has to rest comfortably.

The Plan!

It really is beautiful...almost looks like Flagstaff looking down from the observatory.

 

Be though healed, my child...and get out da funk while you're at it!

Not sure where he got this pic since this church is in Georgia!

Whus Güd my compadres?

My week was kinda normal.  I mean, I definitely did NOT kill Bambi (yes, we [his parents] hit a deer this past weekend), but I did find some pretty fun ways to find people!  I went on exchanges twice this week, with my Zone Leader Elder May and Elder Goaslind.  Elder May and I had a solid lesson with Dr. Carroll.  I found it interesting...like, he got really logical and kinda bashed it very logically and intellectually.  Elder May...was shaken...he was really freaking out afterward.  But something that was really funny was the fact Dr. Carroll gave me a blessing hahahaha.  He got up and said "I need to pray over you" and started to try to cure my twitching...he said "God line up his cells so that they may work and heal him NOW!" And guess what...it didn't work hahahaha.  Proves the power of the priesthood.  I admire his faith, but boy should he have read Matthew 7:22-23 :/ It was so funny.

Follow-up to last week,,,successful insertion!

I got SUPER trunky yesterday and I won't lie, we didn't do much.  I was disappointed with myself for letting it happen and Anderson was mad too.  It was a lot of lounging around and talking about home with the other elders.  It was bad and I got super chastised by the spirit for it.  We worked it out though and made a bunch of goals to simmer down.  Elder Anderson got a little goofy this morning and kept driving away as the other elders tried to get in.  "You have to stop with the small pranks," is what I was told by him yesterday (karma), so I told him that he was being childish and he just chuckled (again, if you pull pranks you better be ready to receive them Elder Adair).

Nothing you can do when your stuck in a couch.

I also had my first baptismal interview.  It was cool, different, but fun!  I passed her, but the spirit  chastised me again due to something she said, so I called one of the mission presidency and he came and talked to her and she was baptized!!  That was sweet!  The sisters have been teaching her for a while so that's awesome!

I read a quote a few days ago and it said "come what may, and love it!" I loved it because it goes with my favorite hymn, I believe in Christ!  "I believe in Christ, so come what may" I love it because it shows me to just accept what happens to me because Christ made it so no matter what happens to me, I'll always have happiness and joy in the end!

I think he loves this book...I can't complain.

Hop, hop, don't stop...sexy bunny.

I love you guys!  I can't wait to talk to you guys!

Kings Do King Things
Goin' Buck Wild

Grand Macs, the KKK recruitment effort, and spreading love - not hate - in Sports Clips...

Yo,

Someone please explain this to me...why?

Howdy my dudes!  This week was pretty bad number wise, but it got better and my mind is pretty much at ease.  So it was walk week and for some reason, nobody was outside.  Maybe it was the fact we were under tornado watch all week and it was storming, but I guess people just don't desire Christ as much as they say :/.  But we talked to some pretty cool people and had a few really good lessons!

I went on exchanges with Elder Garn, my MTC companion, and we killed it!  I took it upon myself to finally grow a pair and talk to EVERYONE.  There was a guy in his garage and he was doing something so I told Elder Garn to give him a card.  He's a bit on the shy side so he declined the challenge.  So I wasn't going to pass by without talking to him.  I walked into this guys garage and tapped on his shoulder.  He was old and couldn't hear very well without hearing aids, but we explained who we were and talked to him about his church.  Surprisingly, I guess Methodists believe in "nothing."  Yup.  I asked what he believed in and he told me "oh nothing.  Jesus and God!" Haha gotta love the south!  He thanked us for what we do and we went on our way.  It was pretty funny.

Oh, hey, look a normal pic!

I stumped this guy in a bash.  I hate bashes, but holy crap was this funny.  He's a gator (investigator - they aren't actually teaching anyone from University of Florida - they are beyond saving) who thinks god is a spirit and Jesus and God are the same.  He's read D&C and the Pearl of Great Price and thinks they're inspired (he also believes he knows more about the church than most members...rolled my eyes very far back on that one) and so I asked if he believed it was scripture and he said it makes sense.  So I politely asked him to read D&C 130:22...read it, it's a good one.  He didn't know what to say and got mad when I told him to pray about it.  The member with us was freaking out and telling us how awesome it was.  We took him out to dinner afterwards cause he's kinda poor and he's alone most of the time.  He loved it.  Gary Faught.  I love him so much haha.

Yes, shame on y'all!

We also have this Super solid investigator names Mrs. Roach (heather but she prefers Mrs. Cause she's very into titles and respect).  Super awesome and wants to be baptized and so do her sons....but her husband is a...Lamanite...he told her she can't take Michael and Joseph to our meetings anymore and even stalked us as we were walking to her house...so it's a sketchy situation that we're trying to fix and avoid.

Elder Anderson are getting along great after we worked a few things out this week - I'm learning how to resolve conflicts. Haha.  Also, the WML is completely pissed at me haha.  I laugh because he's stepping out of line.  He wants us to fill out paper reports on members...how often they come out with us, feed us and give us rides and who they refer us to.  We felt uneasy about it because he's keeping tabs on things that are unnecessary and it's not even church standard.  So we talked over it as a district and didn't do it.  He wasn't happy.  Oh well...we even called one of the mission presidency, president Jones and he knows Devoux pretty well (30 years haha) and understand our situation.  He told us to not fill it out and that he will talk to Devoux haha.  Score 1 for the elders.  Sadly it's a competition.

Welp, it is Arkansas afterall...LOL

That's really it for the week!  It's been a lot better and the Zone Leaders are like my best friends.  The other elders also were able to break their 15 week streak of no one to church!  I'm so proud of them!  They worked so hard this week!  I love when my district kills it and gets better numbers than me for some reason.  Not as a competition, but to inspire them.  I'm doing district meeting tomorrow on Success.  So I'm pumped for that...of course I haven't prepared it yet but hey, have I ever been good at that?

I love y'all!  I hit my 7 month mark this week so that's insane!  The days are combining together and it's scary how fast it's going!  But I love every second of it!  Oh and sports clips may be expensive, but goodness...I think I saw my future wife there...totally worth it cause she cut my hair....I never realized how terrible I am at talking until she tried to converse with me...yeah missionary mode turned on quick.  Haha anyways.  Have a great week!

PS!!  I HAD A FREAKING GRAND MAC!!!!

Kings Do King Things
Goin' Buck Wild

Death...but a delicious death!

This must have been for his mother!

Insert your own caption here...

The hate is strong with this one...

No public email this week - just pictures

Is anyone surprised by his pics at this point?

As happens from time-to-time, our missionary just needed some parental advice on some situations he is currently dealing with in the field.  Due to the nature of these concerns and the what they involve we felt it was prudent to refrain from sharing the email.  Needless to say, Elder Adair, is growing and maturing before our eyes and we are so very proud of him!  This email proved to me he is fully engaged and bought into his mission and he expects all around him to feel and act the same way.  We are all given challenges to help us grow.

I am posting this poem that he referenced a couple emails back because it truly applies now more than ever before:

Good Timber

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

- Douglas Malloch

Elder Adair is experiencing this first hand, and he will grow stronger because of this.  Heavenly Father prepares us for many things in this life and he gives us tests and challenges to see how we can handle them.  I am going to have to say that Elder Adair is passing them with flying colors.

Kings Do King Things

District's true colors?

Or is serious the way to go?

Hot Springs, Arkansas - a land of beauty!

Arkansas, Kai has arrived...I mean Elder Adair.

Hey guys!

This week was definitely new.  Hot Springs is gorgeous!  I love driving around and walking around cause it reminds me so much of Flagstaff!  Minus the mountains...they're just hills haha.  Nothing too big.  But since I got called to be a district leader, I'm now a leader of 5 other missionaries.

Just like Flagstaff...uh, Kai, you feelin' okay???

Contemplation...

Our car(s) broke down this week so that was fun.  We had one car that kept bugging o so we had to drive it to Little Rock (an hour away) and get a new car from the mission while that one is in the shop.  The new car given to us was worse.  It wouldn't shift gears and it kept turning off and over heating, so we drove it back the next day and got our old car back.  Needless to say I'm tired of cars haha.  But I love my district!

Elder Garn is in my district and so is Elder Goaslind!  They're sooo cool!  Sister Hyer and her greenie are in here too, but they're in the Glen Wood Branch.  Sister Hyer was Sister Fisher's companion when I got here.  She's so cool and her greenie is from Tonga!  Sister Feinga!

Done contemplating, now leave me alone!

It's a contemplative kind of vibe I'm picking up here.

The weather here is pretty good!  It started cool and then it rained and now it's warmer and humidity is starting to pick up.  Ugh.  The members are super cool!  They're so nice and came up and talked to me!  Brother Jordan is what we call a "black woman trapped in a white mans body" haha.  Brother Devoux is our ward mission leader and he's something else.


I love y'all and can't wait to hear back!!

Kings Do King Things
Goin' Buck Wild

Brother Jordan.

All good things must come to an end...only for others to begin!

6 months down and still...well, Kai.

Howdy!

Well first off to start, as y'all already know I'm being transferred!  I'm going to Hot Springs, Arkansas!  Elder Hoyle served there and so did Elder York.  They said it was awesome and that I'll love it!  So I'm pretty pumped!  So in other news, with all that being said, I fell into a situation that I don't want to be in lol.  I'm a District Leader now!  I'm not gonna lie, I'm really sketched out about it.  I just feel like it's a lot to take in right now.  But hey, God said so, so "I will go and do, for I know the lord giveth no [calling] unto the [missionaries], save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them!"

Burn baby, burn...

This week was good!  We found a lot of good people!  I'm sad that I am leaving because we found a couple investigators who are super cool!  One named Geraldine Green and one we met yesterday actually while saying goodbyes!  Geraldine was upset I was leaving and I had only really talked to her twice haha.  The other was Amonda Washington.  He stopped us asking "Is that the Jonas Brothers?!" And we proceeded to talk haha.  He's a super good artist!  He compares to dads drawing!  Like there amazing!  And guess what?  He likes to draw skulls too!  Haha.

Wish he had given me names.

We also started attending the English class the Spanish elders do for the Spanish members and investigators.  There's These 2 guys who come and want to learn Spanish so we do Spanish class so I started learning Spanish lol.  We had a lesson with Chikeda and she started crying when I told her I was being transferred.  She gave me a huge hug and told me to stay in contact.  Sharon and Dennis started crying as well!  I got pictures with them and a few members!

Mesa friends - Elder Janes and Sister Guthrie

I hit my 6 month mark on Friday!  I burned my tie with Elder Ogaard and Elder Hoyle burned his 1 year mark shirt (funny thing, he's been out 14 or so months and just burned it haha).  All of the Spanish elders are my homies so we were all bummed when we found out we're being split up!  It hasn't really hit me yet that I'm not gonna see the Taylors anymore, but hey, all good this gotta come to an end.

Again...sorry ladies, I have no names!

Hey Cort!  I'm proud of you bud!  Sorry no personal email today!  I'm shipping off and won't have a lot of time!  But I'm proud of your 400!!  I hated that run!  Lol it was AIDS to me!  But keep killing it!!  Oh and when you kissed your date, did y'alls braces get stuck?? [Editor's Note: There was NO kissing!]  Please tell me yes because it will make me so happy.

I emailed Elder Brinkerhoff today!  Sorry it was late, I forgot last week.  Better late than never!  I just told him how great a mission is and how it takes time to get better.

His family away from home - the Taylors!

It just seems surreal to me that I'm leaving!  I've been here for 6 months and starting to have some success and I'm gone.  I just hope I can carry my same enthusiasm to my new area.  I don't know why I'm called to lead, I don't think I am qualified, and I'm just nervous.  But I thought the same thing about training.  Hopefully I did a good enough job with Elder Sammons!

Brother Millar (the excommunicated member we have been teaching) texted me last night asking if I can come back and baptize him.  I took it pretty hard.  I just hope somehow it can happen.  He needs it and he wants it so bad.  I hope to see him at the temple.  I'm going to ask president if something can be done but I'm not sure if anything can be done.  It just tore me apart.

Uh...what is this Elder??? You better be poor!

Well guys, I guess I'm a razorbacks fan now lol.  Keep fighting that good fight guys!  This is a glorious world we live in.  THE GOSPEL HAS BEEN RESTORED!  I know that.  For myself, I know that.  I know that because I read the Book of Mormon.  I studied for myself rather than for other people.  And because I know the Book of Mormon is true, that's just evidence in itself that Joseph was truly a prophet of God.  How could he not be?  If he brought forth the Book of Mormon, and if the Book of Mormon is true, which it is, then he MUST be the prophet of the restoration!  It just makes sense!  And because I know Joseph smith was a prophet, THEN GOSH DANG IT THIS IS CHRISTS CHURCH ON THE EARTH AGAIN!!  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only church that it makes sense to be a part of!  And how do I know this...because I feasted upon the holy scriptures and asked god, the eternal father, if it was true.

Childhood friend, Elder Janes!

Now with this knowledge I only have but 1 obligation.  To share it!  Why wouldn't I want to??  I have something Gods children need.  I have their ETERNAL SALVATION!  So again I ask, why wouldn't I share this with everyone I come into contact with?  It just makes sense...I'm proud to Rep Christ's name on my heart every day and to give hope to these, my brothers and sisters, my Fathers Children.  Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us.

So like I said, fight that good fight and Go Buck Wild!  I love y'all!  Thanks for all your support and love.  It's been a rough little season, but I'm getting back on he horse!  When I fall, it just gives me another reason to get back up!  A poem I read this week during my studies has really helped me through my adversities (which are not few).  It's from President Thomas S. Monson's General Conference talk from October of 2013, entitles "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (quote from one of my favorite scriptures Joshua 1:5-6, 9) and it's entitled "Good Timbers"

Love this text, it speaks volumes.

Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
The further sky, the greater the length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

I love this because even though tough times will come our way, they're only for our benefit.
I hope something in this email made you smile!  That's all I want for now on is to make someone smile everyday, everyday, everyday!

Love Y'all to death!  Now tell me something good!

Kings Do King Things
Goin' Buck Wild

Classic Kai video.

Better late than never...maybe? Kind of an off week for Elder Adair.

Hey guys!  My week was pretty sound.  Like, actually quiet again.  We had a really really cool chapel tour with Ann and She loved it and said she wants to come back!  Sadly, she didn't come to church...but we did have The Harris Family come to Book of Mormon class!  That was cool because they got to meet brother Taylor and Triena (a recent Convert).  We're seeing them tonight.  Also remember Tonya?  The lady who said she wanted to "hook me"?  Well we sent the sisters over to teach her and she's all of a sudden not interested anymore...hmm I'm not sure if she was hearing us talk or watching us talk...

That's really all that happened this week...we had interviews with President Wakolo and they went really good!  It's been a tough week but it'll get better!

As for the Super Bowl, I was rooting for the Fellow Bird Gang, but sadly they couldn't clench it...Brother Helmer was sneaky and had the game on during dinner hahaha.  I got to see some but not a lot of the game.  I miss the yelling and fighting and accusing that we had going on for Super Bowls.  It just felt like a normal Sunday to me.

Utahrn in Memphis

Sorry this letter is so short, not much else really happened.

Not too many pictures either but we saw a truck with an interesting license plate that made elder Hoyle and I freak out.

Kings Do King Things

Elder Knievel showing off his mad skills, until he falls off doing the most basic maneuver - stopping.