Elliot's Home!

It's hard to believe that, after two seemingly very long years, Elliot has finally returned home! Here are a few of the first shots of him as he arrived at the airport to meet his parents, his sister Alyssa, and his grandparents Cliff and Darla Munson. His brother Keith, sister-in-law Kim and her family, and new niece Addie will arrive over the weekend. The Adair house will be a very full and happy place.

Elliot's August 13 email

Here's the latest - and FINAL! - email from Elliot. We'll see him this Thursday when he returns home from Oklahoma. Again, he and Carlton Reininger will speak this coming Sunday, August 19, at church in Newhall. Everyone is welcome and invited. Here are the details. And here's Elliot's final message home.

Wow, I can't believe that this really is the last week. I have loved my mission so much. I have learned so much and grown a lot, and I love the people here. I can't believe it's been a couple days longer than 2 years now that I entered the MTC. You never think at the beginning that it'll end. You get to the middle and you practically can't remember life outside of the mission, like that's what you've always done and that's what you'll always do. Then you get to the end and it doesn't feel real. In the moment it goes by so fast, but looking back I can see all of my areas, all of the people I've met and taught, all of my companions, all of the great times and all of the challenges. I have no idea how it all got crammed into two years. It was like a lifetime of experiences on fast forward. I'm so grateful for all of it. It's definitely changed who I am for the better and I hope that I've been able to help some of God's children along the way.

It's definitely true that I have mixed emotions and feelings at this point, but I feel at this point I've done what was my duty and now's the time to go back and apply everything I've learned out here to normal life. I can't say that I'm sad, but I for sure will miss this. Oklahoma will always have a part of me. But I'm super happy and excited that I'll get to see y'all! I'm excited for what's to come and hope to make the most out of whatever life puts in front of me.

See y'all soon!

Love,

Elder Elliot

Faye Hansen - Ms. Senior Oklahoma

Here's a great video and NewsOK story about Faye Hansen, the reigning Ms. Senior Oklahoma from Calumet, Oklahoma, about 45 minutes northwest of Oklahoma City. Ms. Hansen, some 80 years young, won the competition in July by impressing the judges with her ragtime piano skills. She will compete for the national title in October in Atlantic City. She keeps her musical skills fresh by playing every Sunday at the First Christian Church in Calumet, and also plays at nursing homes and the Clinton Veterans Center in Clinton, one of Elliot's first areas.

Stories like this about good people like Ms. Hansen remind me why I've always loved Oklahoma. I'm glad Elliot has had the great experience of spending the last two years there. He'll be home Thursday!

One last picture of Carlton Reininger

As I posted Elliot's email and pictures on the blog yesterday, I realized that those were likely the last images we'd see of him before we see him at the airport next Thursday, August 16. And then I got a picture of Carlton Reininger from Argentina, who will return just one day before Elliot, and realized that would be the last picture of Carlton as well. We've featured Carlton on the blog several times. He and Elliot received their calls on the same day and opened them together, were in the MTC at the same time, will return one day apart, and will speak at the same church meeting on August 19 (details here). So we certainly have a soft spot in our hearts for Carlton. Here's the last picture of Carlton from Argentina, and we look forward to seeing him in person very soon.

Elliot's (and Carlton Reininger's) homecoming address at church

For those not on Facebook, here are the details of Elliot's homecoming address. Carlton Reininger will speak at the same meeting. Everyone is invited to come hear them speak and share their experiences on their return from two-year missions to Oklahoma (Elliot) and Argentina (Carlton).

• Where: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 24915 Peachland Avenue, Newhall, California 91321 (map below)
• When: August 19, 2012, 1:00 p.m.
• Who: Everyone!

   
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Bible Video: "Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes"

 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:1-16

Elliot's August 6 email and pictures

Here's the latest email from Elliot, along with four new pictures, including two that show the temperature in Oklahoma City. 120 at 1:38 p.m.! And 109 at 8:44 p.m.! It's a little toasty there. And this may be the last real email we get from Elliot. Next Monday, he'll only have two full days left in Oklahoma, so we may get a brief message, or maybe none at all.

Hola!

No I can't believe it's August mom! Isn't that wild? These weeks are starting to feel like days. This past week was very literally a blur to me. But very hot. I think God's turning up the refiner's fire for me here at the end of my mission haha.

Oklahoma's good! I hadn't heard anything about fires here [we posted about them on the blog, here and here], but I did definitely smell smoke outside when we played tennis this morning for our work out. But I'm fine. We really had a good and eventful week. Probably the highlight of all of it was when the Hermanas [sister missionaries] had a baptism on Saturday. His name's Santiago and I'll be sure to attach a picture. He actually asked me to confirm him which was a way cool experience. Sometime's its intense to see how much opposition is thrown at people right before they get baptized. He definitely saw a lot of it these past few weeks but he stayed strong and he was so happy. It was great.

Sounds good about the homecoming talk. It's true that I've had to wing quite a few talks and lessons over these past two years, but I'm definitely going to make sure I'm ready for this one. And I saw that you asked about my favorite hymn - I like Come, Follow Me [link to music player app].

Well have a great week! The first picture is Santiago with the district. The next picture is of me and my district after my last district meeting, mourning my passing from the mission life to the next life. Classic. Then we got a few examples of how incredibly hot it was this past week.

I love y'all!

Elder Elliot

Mormon Messages: "The Value of a Full-time Mission"

Elliot has just ten days until he returns from his two-year mission to Oklahoma. We have seen him change and grow over the past two years, as the experiences he has had as a full-time missionary have helped to shape him into the man he is today.

Serving a mission is unquestionably a life-changing experience, as the young European men and women featured in this video will soon learn. They share their thoughts as they prepare for their own missions, and express the same excitement, nervousness and anxiety that all aspiring missionaries must feel. Enjoy the video.

Updates on Oklahoma wildfires

Updating yesterday's story on the blog, here are additional news reports from Sunday morning about the Oklahoma wildfires. Certain of the fires are not too far from Oklahoma City, but they are not near Elliot's area and there has been no word from the mission office.






NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

Wildfires raging in Oklahoma

Wildfires that began Thursday and Friday continue to rage across central and western Oklahoma, as temperatures have exceeded 100 degrees for 19 consecutive days. It reminds me of my experience in the late 1990s as I attempted to drive to Oklahoma City from Ponca City in northern Oklahoma. I had to detour nearly to Tulsa to avoid a wall of flame that stretched for many miles across the central part of the state. High temperatures and drought conditions have created ideal conditions for these fires.

Several pictures, news stories and videos are posted below. We've heard nothing from Elliot's mission office but will post again if we do. Based on the news reports we have seen, the area where Elliot is currently assigned does not appear to have been affected.

Dozens of homes destroyed in Oklahoma wildfires

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Fires destroy houses across the state Friday



Oklahoma wildfires: Homes burned, residents evacuate as more than a dozen fires burn in Oklahoma

Elliot's July 30 email and pictures

Here's the latest email from Elliot, along with several new pictures.

Bueno!

Glad to know everything's going well back at home. That's exciting that Addie is going to be blessed in the same Sacrament meeting that Carlton and I are speaking. And we're singing haha. That is going to be a packed meeting but that's awesome. I'm excited.

Things are good here on this end! We had a really fun week. The Branch asked us to teach Kimberly, an 8 year old daughter of recent converts here, the lessons before she got baptized. Her baptism was this past Saturday and it was a really cool experience. Definitely a very sweet Spirit. We also have had some very good lessons. 2 of our investigators tried to come to church yesterday but ended up by accident in the church across the street. Whoops! We saw them last night and they're really excited about everything we've taught them. So I'm happy and doing well.

And I got some pictures today to send! The first is lil' busta, my rubber duckie that's been my flying companion on my bike for about the last year. The next is me. Then we got Hno. Mauro and his daughter, Kimberly, at her baptism. And last is me and Grimaldo. He helps us out all the time. He's great and I like his glasses.

Love ya!

Elder Elliot

Bible Videos: "Jesus Heals a Woman of Faith"

 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

Mark 5:25-34

2012 Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival in Guthrie

This October some great bluegrass pickers will gather in Guthrie for the 16th Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival. Headlining the festival will be Vince Gill, who performed in the inaugural event in 1997 and again in 2002. A host of other great acts will perform, including:

• Beppe Gambetta (Italy)
• Kruger Brothers (Switzerland)
• Byron Berline Band
• Hunt Family Bluegrass
• Cowboy Jim Garling

And many more. If you happen to be in Oklahoma October 4-6, this is a can't-miss-it event. For ticket information, click here.

For some fun background information about the festival and its founder Byron Berline, check out this NewsOK report. It tells the story of Mr. Berline's efforts to track down a young tenor by the name of Vince Gill, randomly dialing all the "Gill" listings in the phone book until he finally found Vince's dad. That began a long personal and professional relationship that continues today. In the picture above, Vince is seen accepting an award on being inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, presented to him by his friend and fellow Hall of Fame Member, Mr. Berline. Enjoy the story, as well as this news video about the festival, featuring Mr. Berline. And don't stop scrolling down, where you find video performances by Vince Gill, Hunt Family Bluegrass, and Beppe Gambetta.

Justin Peacock returns home!

Justin Peacock is one of Elliot's friends from Valencia. Justin and Elliot were briefly in the Missionary Training Center together way back in August 2010, just before Justin left for his mission to Mexico. We posted a great picture of the two of them here on the blog. And we've been keeping track of Justin via his own blog.

Justin returned from his mission last week and spoke today in church. As you can see from this picture with his parents, it looks like everyone is happy to have him home! (Only 18 more days until we'll be posting a similar picture of Elliot's homecoming!)

Elliot's July 23 email

Here's the latest email from Elliot. 24 days to go!

Hola!

Okay, I'm going to get at your questions first while I'm thinking about them:

[The family stuff has been redacted.]

I can't really think of a whole lot else I'm going to have to do when I get back. Have you set up an appointment with the President Carlson for the Thursday I get back? The only other thing that's coming to mind is that I'm seriously gonna need some In-N-Out as soon as I get in haha. Like probably before I even get back to the house. No joke.

Things are still awesome here in OK City. Still working hard, we found 10 new investigators this week and set a couple of baptismal dates. It was really a fun week, despite the heat. My companions are super rad and I'm loving it. I also got my flight plans this week. It's crazy to think how little time I have left, so I usually just don't think about it. I feel I've got only a few weeks left to show my love and appreciation towards God full time, so I'm just making the most out of it. I love these people out here and I'm just trying to do what I can to help as many of them out the best I know how.

But I'm doing great! I'm glad to hear everyone's doing good.

Love,

Elder Elliot

"So you still think God is a merciful God?!"

Forgive me from straying from the usual topics of Elliot's missionary blog. In addition to posting Elliot's weekly emails home, I usually focus on stories about Oklahoma, missions and missionaries, temples and other church topics, and occasionally other tangentially-related topics. I strive to stay away from controversy, politics, and tragedy. But it's hard to ignore the recent horror that happened in Aurora, Colorado. I don't suppose there's any way to make sense of such unimaginable events, and I won't pretend to do so here on the blog. I will, however, share the thoughts of a survivor of that night, a Christian woman who attended the movie with her husband and children. On returning home from that night, she sat down to document her thoughts, focusing on the question, "So you still think God is a merciful God?!" A portion of her answer:

“So, you still believe in a merciful God?” Some of the comments online are genuinely inquisitive, others are contemptuous in nature. Regardless of the motive behind the question, I will respond the same way. 

Yes. 

Yes, I do indeed. 

Absolutely, positively, unequivocally.

She later adds:

Though we don’t have all the answers, we do indeed listen to the cry of our hearts: When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? Psalm 56:3-4 [King James version]

God is always good. 

Man is not. 

Don’t get the two confused. 

We will continue to praise and worship our mighty God, anticipating that He will bring beauty from ashes, as only He can do.

The full blog post is available here.

CNN: Salt Lake Mormon Temple One of Eight “Religious Wonders” in U.S.

CNN recently featured the Salt Lake Temple in a story, "8 religious wonders to see in the U.S." Describing the temple and its construction, the story explains.

Only temple recommended Mormons may step foot inside the structure, which is used for special instruction and ordinances, such as celestial marriages. But the view from outside the temple is inspirational enough.

The Neo-Gothic building, which was dedicated in 1893, took 40 years to construct. Except for some of its hardware and glass, the temple was built completely of native materials. With five floors, six spires -- the tallest standing at 210 feet -- and a granite facade, the structure is definitely imposing.

Here are a couple of videos of the Salt Lake Temple. The first is a series of exterior shots set to music, and the second is a video of a scaled model of the temple showing the interior.





The other seven religious wonders in the CNN story are:

• Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois
• Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California
• Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan
• Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, Florida
• Temple Emanu-El in New York City
• Palace of Gold in Moundsville, West Virginia
• St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City

Elliot's July 16 email and pictures

Here's the latest news from Elliot in Oklahoma City. And for anyone who's curious, we are now at 30 days until he returns home!

Well, I had a good week! We had some cool finding experiences again and had some really good lessons with a couple of our investigators. This weekend I went to Ft. Sill with the Assistants Elder Phillips (my MTC comp) and Elder Cook. It was a lot of fun. We had some extra time on Saturday night when we drove down to Lawton so we went to Mount Scott and read scriptures. It was really nice to have some meditation time to contemplate everything I've learned out here and how it'll apply to my everyday life. I love it. And I got some pictures. At Ft. Sill I got to teach a soldier all of the commandments. It was a really cool experience. He was so willing and ready to receive the gospel and is looking forward to being baptized in a few weeks.

I'm doing well.  I hope you guys are having a great week!

Love,

Elder Elliot

Elliot's July 9 email and pictures

Here's the latest email from Elliot, with a couple of new pictures.

Hi!

Things are going well here in OKC. My new companions are Elder Christian Anderson from Danville, CA and Elder Matt Fales from Cody, Wyoming. They're both awesome missionaries and I'm super excited to be serving with them. I think this will be an awesome transfer. We're still in the same area- OKC 4th Central, and its going well. We've had a couple of our investigators go out of town this past week but we have a lot of people we're trying to teach and follow up with.

This past Wednesday was transfers and it was wild. Elder Grover and Elder Kimber (both former companions) went home and so did a handful of other missionaries I've served around. Its crazy how fast it goes, and that's why I'm so glad to be serving with Elder Fales and Elder Anderson who are both young missionaries. Not that I would have become unmotivated to work hard for my last 6 weeks if I wasn't with them, but their energy and enthusiasm are contagious. I just love this work. Every single day I get to see the Lord's hand producing miracles, and it brings so much happiness that I think is comparable to only very few experiences in life. So why slow down? I'm just living the dream.

I also got a couple pictures from transfers-the first is my 4 hijos (trainees) in the mission and me (left to right-Elder Anderson, Elder Jacobson, me, Elder Nield, and Elder Orellana), and the second is me with the hermanas in my district from last transfer (Hermana Garcia, me, Hermana Goodfellow, and Hermana Turner).

I'm glad to hear things are going well and that you're able to go meet Addie mom! That's exciting! I hope y'all have a great week!

Love you!

Elder Elliot

Bible Videos: "The Calling of the Original Twelve Apostles"

 1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus, and Lebbæus, whose surname was Thaddæus;
 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Matthew 10:1-4