Elder Kinghorn with Pres. and Sister Miles

Elder Kinghorn with his trainer

They took the train home and had the opportunity to pass out cards and copies of the Book of Mormon. Coming from the train station to the mission office.

In transit to Germany

Devon was able to call home while at the airport as he left Salt Lake to fly to Germany.   It was great to hear from him.   After having to spend an additional 6 weeks at the MTC in Provo to rehab his knee, he is more than eager to get out of Provo and start working with the people in his mission.

Devon was very upbeat.    He still has a wear a small brace on his knee for a while longer, but he is cleared to be able to do the biking and walking that he'll be expected to do in the mission field.   It appeared that the biggest struggle was keeping the luggage under the airline weight limit - he was glad when one bag was 2 pounds over the person at the Delta checkin desk said it was fine.

We look forward to hearing from him next week to hear about his first area of service.

- Dwain Kinghorn

Elder Kinghorn leaves for Germany

Dear Family

Well the day has come. I'm traveling to Germany tomorrow. I'm so so excited. It's going to be great. I'm definitely prepared. Well, I’m also very inadequate. But that's OK. Ammon said that someplace. I think it's alma 26? Anyway I'm super excited to go. I have pass along cards for the flight over. and It's going to be a long commute, and then we arrive at 11 am on Wednesday and get to work street contacting in a language that we butcher. hahaha oh well. Give it a few months before people stop being annoyed by our terrible German. By then it will just be OK, which I can live with. Then, later I’ll sound like a real German. But that won't happen this week I'm pretty sure. If it did, that would be sweet though.

Um what happened this week. Niel L Anderson spoke. It was all about the prophet Thomas S Monson and it was amazing. My testimony really grew from it. Watch "On the Lords Errand" it's on the LDS website. It's his autobiography and it's super good. So yea that's my story. I am ready to get going. I'm just super excited. I'll be sure to tell you all about my adventures in Germany once I arrive. So readers look forward to that. The letters thus far must be pretty boring. But now they'll be fun to read from all of the crazy stories I'll share. Like my first thought as native germans speak to me.

August 22, 2012

Dear family, 

I forgot one request.  Can you go on Amazon and buy pens.  The brand is Sakura, Pigma Micron archival ink .20mm.  Send 3 reds and 3 yellows.  That way I can color code for Preach My Gospel.   Speaking of that, 10 minutes ago we got small versions.  It's the same, just shrunk.  It's $3 at the book store.  It will be so much nicer to carry around.  Too bad it's only in English now.  I'll get a small on in Germany later probably.  

I'm so excited to leave and preach the gospel.  Tell all of the young men that nothing is more exciting than this.  jason will love this.  It's so great!  I've never been this excited in my life.  I need to get going ASAP.  I'll send a package home with stuff I don't need.  So be waiting for that, and another letter.  I'll write it tonight and get this in the mail.  
    Love, Elder Devon Kinghorn

Haha  I missed the mail.  So I'll write it here and send it tomorrow.  Tonight at the devotional Niel L. Anderson spoke.  It was incredible.  he spoke on 10 things the prophet would want us to know.  On wwwLDS.org it has Thomas S. Monson's biography.  You should watch it.  He knows Christ lives.  No one can tell him otherwise.  I wish you could see it.  Christ lives.  He knows it, and I know it.

It's time to turn off the lights soon and I need to brush my teeth.  I love being a missionary and I haven't even hit the field.  I love you so much.  Thank you for all of the support, love, memories and lessons.  You helped shape me into who I am today.  All of you-Mom, Dad, Tanya, Jason & Kevin

Love, Elder Devon Kinghorn

August 21, 2012

Dear Everyone who reads this.

Well I leave next Tuesday. And I think I'm flying through Seattle to Amsterdam. Don't quote me on that (Mom put in the update here please) So it's a hop skip and a jump. I'm super excited. The MTC is lots of fun but I need to get out. And the food is blah here while Germany the food is amazing. And here everyone speaks Spanish and that's no fun. I'd rather speak German. Well I hope I can understand them. 

Ok, so there are some Germans who live in the same building as us but they are going to Greece. So I said something to one of them super early in the morning and he replied and I didn't understand a single word of what he said. I was like 'oh my goodness this is not good'. Then I found out he was speaking Greek to me so I felt better. I'm ok with not being able to understand Greek. It's just german I'm worried about at the moment, and being able to teach a lesson without confusing people to death. Haha well confusion isn't the worst. If they feel the spirit that's more important. Then all they need to do is read the Book of Mormon and gain a witness that it's true, and follow the commandments. So being a good teacher helps a ton. But they need to put in work also by reading the Book of Mormon, praying, and keeping the commandments. I'm just here to invite and help. They need to do the work by coming unto Christ. The best missionaries in the world Ammon, Alma, Amulek, Nephi, and Samuel the Lamanite all were persecuted by people. Even Christ himself didn't force people to follow him in his life. It's up to peoples agency. Which is why following is so important because it shows God our love and devotion to him. And, as we follow the commandments we become more like Christ. Commandments aren't restrictions, they're instructions on how to become more Christlike so when we return to God we have shown our progression thus far in this life and how we are capable to eternally progress until we become the same as God and Christ. When we are baptized we tell Christ, "we are now your child and we want to become like you". Mosiah 5. Commandments aren't so bad now are they?

Um so what's something that's happened that's exciting. I don't know. I need more stories. I'll tell you how scary it is talking to people in a language I can't understand in two weeks. Won't that be a fun experience.

Love Elder Kinghorn

August 14, 2011

Dear Family,

Before my letter, my NewFamilySearch doesn't work.

So I made a cool connection with the help of Bednar's talk.  Charity is turning out.  Never think "I went through....so I deserve...." Instead think "I went through....so how can I can help....".  This is applicable to all parts of our lives.  If everyone thought like this our world would be as close to perfect as possible before the Millennium.  It would make a perfect family a perfect marriage.

It's kind of odd not having our family dinner conversations.  I don't think any family talks about as odd of stuff as we do.  We really do cover it all.  I want to share a story now, but I don't have any.

Um, my teacher, Brother Luna is a goof and really funny, but also knows everything about the Gospel, second only to the prophet.  Okay, not that well, but you understand.

Love, Elder Devon Kinghorn

August 14, 2012

Hello family and whoever else reads this letter.

So the MTC has been fun, but after 13 weeks I'm ready to go. In 2 weeks I'll be on my way to Germany.... finally. I'm definitely ready to go and better prepared than most missionaries. That's what happens when you've been in the MTC for over 1/4 of a year. You learn quite a bit in that time. So, I'm a professional of the MTC. Two weeks longer than Asian languages. They are here for 11 weeks. Schedule says 12, but weeks start on Monday so the first and last week are really half weeks. So technically I'm on week 14 of the MTC on my schedule. Oh well, that's life. 

About the German Radio, they just asked for our names then interviewed two elders from my district for half an hour. That was all.

But I do feel like the food is going to kill me. I constantly have this nasty feeling in my gut. Missionaries who have been here for 7 or 8 weeks start to get it too. It's just not that healthy; deep fried everything and the vegetables, I think, have lost all of their nutritional value. So I eat a lot of salad. I've lost all of the 10 lbs I gained at BYU haha. And I'm building muscle from physical therapy. But I lost 8 of the 10 lbs the week after surgery, but that was expected. Some elders here gain 30 lbs. It's nuts. Oh, so today we ate breakfast at the temple. it was so good. I loved it. It seemed like the best food I've ever eaten, even though it's nothing special at all. So when I eat german food it will taste so good. I'll be like “YES REAL FOOD!!!!” No more hamburger helper!!!  Well, actually I wish this was as good and as healthy as hamburger helper. Luckily Grandma sent that loaf of bread last week. It was amazing. It was the best sourdough bread I have ever eaten in my life! I'm not joking at all. It really was that good. Costco is the best. 

So my teachers here at the MTC are great. They seem to know everything. I guess that's what you get when you serve for two years, your gospel knowledge really does explode. Two hours of study every day compared to 10 minutes a day. It's like a boost of 25 years, but you also have a lot more insight as a missionary just from being set apart. It's really great. It's sad to think that I'm already 1/8 of the way done with my mission. I haven't even left the MTC yet. I'll really have to kick it up when I get to Germany. No time to waste. It goes so freaking fast. 

What else is there to talk about. My days seem to be the same every day. It's all one big blur. I wake up, study, breakfast, study, lunch, study, dinner, study, bed. Well, in the day we also have GYM and teach our teachers as investigators. That's really cool to do. Right now we teach Marcus and Michael. Marcus is really a girl named Marca, but brother Luna is a boy, so he turned his investigator Marca into a boy named Marcus. She was an immigrant from Romania and talks in this high voice and will do everything we ask. Michael is someone in his 20's and talks about a million miles an hour. He got really excited when he found out I hurt my knee playing soccer. He loves soccer and could talk about it forever. 

And, um, that's about it. I don't really have adventures here in the MTC. Oh, the AC barely works in our classroom building, so it's super, super hot in there. Short sleeve shirts are definitely a must have. Ummm yea what else is there to talk about. Two weeks left of MTC.  I like it here, but Germany will be so much better. Deutschland here I come.

Elder Devon Kinghorn

Elder Kinghorn and his district.  

The general and his wife are on the right. 

Elder Kinghorn is on the second row.

August 7, 2012

Dear Family

So right now this girl who's going to China is talking to someone. She is saying she is an MTC pro because she's been here for 7 or 8 weeks and how she knows everything about the MTC. Little does she know I've been here since before she was born. Ok not quite that long. just a few more weeks and I'll be in Germany. 

So, the General Chaplin was the guy who gave the Forum at BYU we found out. It was so cool. Gordon B Hinckley's son, Elder Hinckley, was supposed to come but he didn't. Anyways President Brown (MTC president) asked me how I got my call. So I told the story, but then the Generals wife asked me how I knew it was the right place for me. So I bore testimony that the prophet received revelation where I should go and how the Holy Ghost has born whitness to me that this is the will of God. The spirit was so strong during that. I felt on top of the world. So that was my first real Missionary experience with a non-member. 

Oh, and tomorrow we are meeting with Germany's national radio, Deutschland Funk (germany radio). They are interviewing my district again. Haha two visits from non-members in two weeks. Anyways what we say has the potential to be heard by tens of millions of people.  About 9 out of 10 times the media is very positive to missionaries. So, hopefully this will be heard by some people who need to hear the gospel and bring them closer to Christ. I have the opportunity to really help people. I'm so excited. I want a good question. not easy and not super negative. Sometimes they'll ask super hard questions about polygamy or blacks and the priesthood. So hopefully that won't happen. And if it does there is someone from church headquarters coming who works on the Church PR who can take the super hard questions. That way we don't screw up. A few months ago some Japanese reporters talked to some missionaries and one said "yes, I'll vote for Romney. I'll vote for anyone that's Mormon". What a stupid answer. You should vote for who you want based on policy not on personal religious views. That could have stopped some people from joining the church. In the Book of Mormon, the government is run by Chief Judges not the prophet. If the people didn't want a leader who was in the church they didn't need one. It's the same way today.  Oh well either way I'm excited to be a part of this interview. Maybe that's why I stayed behind. To help people by answering them through the radio. It's been my district twice, none of the others in the zone.

Oh I should probably end with a salutation.

Salutations my family

I love you

Elder Devon Kinghorn of Highland Utah