Me Dearest Mum,

Wow! You have had quite a week!

Ok, i'm gonna start off with the questions you sent. That way, we can keep this email somewhat structured. ;)

1. So did you get my package? Did ya like it? Thought it would make you smile. I need to know what you need though.

Yes I did! Thank you so much! I loved it. I have to confess, I broke the Toy Story yo-yo already... It wasn't working to well with me. HAHA! :) Thank you for all the candy, too! It was very good. :) I got really choked up when I saw the pictures and read your letters (which reminds me, I'm going to do my best sending you written letters. It happened more in the MTC because the time devoted to email was a joke.) To my surprise, I miss the dogs. Those little goobers make me laugh. I LOVE the family pictures. Love them! The moment I got them, I showed all of them to my companion. Eli smiled like normal in a few of them... haha! It really meant a lot to get those. Thank you! :)

2. Have you gotten a pillow yet?

I did get a pillow. When I realized how much of a hassle it would be to send one out here (which I don't expect you to do), I went to K-mart and picked one up. It's been treating me real good. :) I'm hoping, through saving my mission funds 'n' stuff, that I will upgrade to a memory foam pillow. :) We'll see.

3. What about the smoke smell? Elisha told me a great way to get rid of the smell. Pour a bowl of vinegar and it will absorb the smell. When the vinegar turns yellow, pour it out and refill the bowl. cool huh?

The smoke smell has really died down quite a bit. I don't know if I told you, but we bought 4 or 5 air fresheners and placed them all around the house. It has made the smell go away for the most part. It still lingers in some places, but I try not to be around those places anyway... That's a pretty cool trick, though. I'll see how it works in those parts of the house - that is, if I can find some vinegar. I hope I don't have to go buy some.

4. How's the teaching going?

Teaching is going great! As far as numbers go, not so much, but the few we are teaching is pretty solid. Tina's having a rollercoaster of emotions. The Lord really wants to see how much she really wants to be baptized. We just recieved word from President Christianson at Zone Conference on Friday that, because she is on parole, we can not baptise her unless given consent from the First Presidency. He won't send a letter of reccomendation until he sees for himself that this really means something to her. He will see this through her doing the following:

1 - She must actively attend church (Ideally, every week)
2 - She must report to us that she is studying her scripture daily
3 - She must report to us that she is praying daily
4 - She must be smoke-free (starting at 3 clean weeks with no relapses)

As you can see, this truly is a trial of her faith. When we first told her the news, she took it like a champ, saying, "The Lord wants to know how far I am willing to go." The next day, however, it hit her bad. At church, we discussed with her the feelings she had. She didn't want to go any further, she was depressed, and she was heart-broken because we even had a date set. Mom, it was spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting going through this. If it were just the strength and wisdom of Elder Bryson and I, we would not have succeeded in comforting her. Our whole faith was in the Lord.

One thing I have learned since I have been in the field is the lesson taught in D&C 11:21 - "Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word; yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men." With that in mind, preparing to tell her this news and helping her through this trial in her life, we turned her to the scriptures. We talked about the stories of Job (having lost almost everything in his life) and Abraham and Isaac (being commanded to sacrifice his son). Regardless of the hardship these prophets faced, they did as the Lord commanded and were blessed. We shared another story with her that really hit home - this is why I have grown the love the scriptures so much while I have been out here.

We turned to 1 Nephi 16. We read of the trial Nephi faced while hunting for food. His bow breaks, which accounts that it was "made of fine steel." All his brothers begin to murmur because, without a bow, they could not obtain food. Everyone in the family, including Lehi the prophet. Nephi realizes what he needs to do, makes a bow out of wood, arms himself with a sling and stones, and goes to his father, asking, "Whither shall I go to obtain food?" This story not only shows the importance of problem-solving, but teaches us about how to go about trials in our life. The wilderness that his family is going through can be a symbolic representation of life; the food is happiness, and the bow(s) are the ways to recieve that happiness. In life, aren't there times where our "bows" break? And when they do, are we going to murmur, sit and stew over how bad off we are, or will we find a solution, go and do what we know is right, asking our Father in Heaven, "Whither shall I go to obtain happiness?"

The purpose of me telling you this is not to aggrandize myself, because this insight came to me from the Spirit through my study. I love the scriptures because it helps me understand how to liken situations like that to my life. I love the idea of taking any situation I have in life to the Lord in prayer and, literally and metaphorically, finding my answer in the scriptures. It was no grand manifestation to me by way of angels or other divine revelation - but it was grand because of what I learned for myself. And what more over-joyed me was that Tina understood. She is doing the best she can to live her life in the positive things. My pride is in the Lord.

5. Still get along with your companion?

Everything is going great. Earlier this week, things got a little rocky, but that is what Companionship Inventory is for (discussing our strengths, weaknesses, and how we can improve ourselves and each other - it always begins with a prayer.)

6. Have the leaves started turning yet? I want pictures when they do.

They haven't quite started turning yet, but they are starting to fall. Everyone is saying it is going to be an early Fall. Beats me, but when it starts happening, I will send pictures.

7. Do you want me to send you another SD card so that when you send me yours, you will still have another one?

Another card would be great, actually! I don't need another 16GB card; just a 4GB MAX. That will make things a little smoother. Also! Tell me if you take all the pictures off so I know to take off all the old pictures. Thanks!

8. Do you need me to send you a raincoat or do you want to get one there? Let me know so I can do whatever I need to on this end.

I can get one out here. Whenever I ask you for anything, it won't be something that big. However, a portable CD player would be nice. President Christianson is all for music and has put a detailed list together as to what is appropriate and what isn't. I have become quite fond of the Prince of Egypt soundtrack. :)


Woof. How's that?

Yikes! That's a lot of money... :S... Of course, Taylor's car acts up once she goes to school. Why am I not surprised? I'm sorry about having to go through all that. That's poopy. :( Sorry for the rough night afterwards. I am glad to hear you're staying busy, though! :) and Taylor has LDS roommates! Hooray! I am so glad to hear that! Tell her to start sending me emails. :)

That's a whole lot of progress on the apartment as well! I knew all the BYU kids would help out with that stuff. That's so awesome! Glad to hear that Dad is so motivated. We all know how he gets, however, when he starts getting spend-happy... haha! JK he knows exactly what he's doing. Tell him to send me emails!!!!! Thanks!

It's going to be so weird coming back to see Emily in college and Eli halfway through high school. I doubt Taylor will change much. Do me a favor and stress with them how important it is to make themselves known for who they really are? Eli especially - Emily knows what she's doing at this point. I would hate to have Eli get caught up in the garbage he will find at school. I love him to much. Tell him I said that. Now, Emily and the boyfriend thing. I agree with you. I think it is a wonderful thing that she knows how beautiful she really is. I would caution her, however, of the mind of a teenage boy. Ultimately, regarding relationships, their mind is dictated by how she, as a woman, conducts herself. Regardless of how good of a guy he is, the adversary has his own ways of getting in to the best of us and creating such a construde view about a person. I look back and see how that applied with Sydney and I. The way she conducted herself put thoughts into my head that were less than appropriate, which is where it al started. I know you and Dad have probably told her this countless times, but I second the notion that she needs to be EXTREMELY careful with what she allows in her life, particularly about this boy. I don't mean to get all hard or beligerant - I just love them so much, and being out here in the field has made my love for them grow so much. Tell them to send me emails!

Alright, I will stop. There's your novel for the week. I love you all so much and miss you! Read your scriptures intensly and consistently. I have a challenge for each member of the family. I have set a goal for myself to finish the Book of Mormon by September 13. That is 10 Chapters A DAY. My challenge is not that intense for you. However, I would like for you to strive to read the Book of Mormon by Christmas Day. It is only going to happen if you read consistently every morning for an hour, and you will enjoy it if you pray beforehand for understanding the stories, knowing that they are for your benefit. Ask yourself, "Why did the Lord want this put into the Book of Mormon." If you finish it before Christmas, great! When I call on Christmas, I will be following up because I love ya!

Your son,
Elder Sean Ryan Adair