June 24, 2013

This past week was good. Kind of hard to meet with people but that's ok. We had an austausche (exchange) with the zone leaders. We had an awesome stretch of street. In 20 minutes we found 3 different people and set up 3 lessons with them. But that was in Stuttgart. So I didn't get to see them again. It was really awesome though. Talking with 3 different people and they all wanted to meet with us. And all in a row. No rejections between. That doesn't happen too often. It was awesome. Maybe it was the heat. It was 41 degrees celcius in Frankfurt. That's well over 100. And also it's humid. German weather is crazy. 

But also we met with R. last week. He is doing as awesome as ever. We talked about the temple. He thought it was way cool that it's the exact same as Jewish temples. (he has studied Jewish religion a ton) so he knew everything that went on in the temple already. It was just making connections in his head. We also met with The really old guy F.O. He said he is about 90% sure the Book of Mormon is true scripture. His big problem is that he can't come to church. He really can't. He is too old and fragile to make the journey. So we are going to have to see what we should do about that one. He wants a copy of the Doctrine and Covenants so we have one.  We’ll go give him next time we meet. But this week he said he doesn't have time. He has visitors and doctors and all sorts of stuff. We also met with Lena. She is really cool. Kind of shy, but she was warming up to us. We met in a park and some drunk guy came up to us and said there is no God. I can't see him it means he doesn't exist. And lena said it's like the wind. You can't see the wind but you can see the effects of it. Not to the drunk guy but to us afterwards. She said if she gets baptized it would be after she moved out from home. So in a couple years. But we think she could be baptized in the next couple months. When we talked with her dad a couple weeks ago he sounded like he didn't care about religion. It wasn't important to him. And wouldn't care what his daughter did with religion. So we'll see. 

Well I am sorry. I just found out it was Fathers Day last week today. In Germany it's in May so I was thinking when is it? Mothers Day is simple, for a month we get all sorts of calls saying get your Skype set up. So Happy belated Fathers Day. I'm just not in the loop.

That's pretty intense about the Ragnar. Ya you could be one of only a few people who have ever ran the whole race. I would say I'll volunteer for next year, but with absolutely no time to train that's not going to happen. I'll volunteer as a support. Bandage up all the wounded solders.

So for your mission prep class I would suggest getting the missionary prep manual. There are tons of great stuff in there to run a class. And also going through Preach My Gospel chapter 10. Those really are golden. I would send you some of my missionary stuff.... But I kind of enjoy having them. President Nally could hook you up. The MTC guide or the 12 week program would also be good.

Ya I heard about JJ He sent me an email for the first time in forever. Maybe ever...

Ya this mission is growing a ton. Right now we are getting about 30 missionaries every transfer and 6 go home. So it's growing quite a bit. Well I know what it's like hearing the in one hour you can find 5 names. We have heard tons of stuff for missionary work that just doesn't work in Germany. Like in one day you can find 30 potential investigators Every single day. The most I have ever heard of is 12 and that was all day finding. And only once. Looking for people in the past is the exact same thing.

Ok and something cool from what happened last week. I was reading in the Bible. When Joseph gets sold to Egypt. And after he reveals himself to his brothers that he is Joseph, the governor of Egypt. He said you didn't sell me into bondage. God sent me there so I could help our family survive this plague. So if we go through trials faithfully and try to do what's right god will bless us. There is always a happy ending. I know that.

I Love you and hope you all have a great week

Elder Devon Kinghorn

I Love you

Elder Devon Kinghorn

June 17, 2013

Dear Family

So this week was quite nice. Tuesday we went to Munich and heard Elder Nelson. That was so cool to hear. Actually we were late to the meeting. So what happened is German trains are awful. We were supposed to take a high speed train that left at 8:12. But it broke so it never came to Ulm. So with half of the zone in Ulm, and the other half on the broken train we decided to leave the other missionaries and took the slowest train. It left at 8:30 and took two hours instead of one. So we walked into the meeting 10 minutes late and the other missionaries were an hour and a half late. Ya bummer I know. So the first bit there were 3 elders from the Quorum of the Seventy. They all spoke to us. And I took tons of notes so they'll be there when we get home. And then Elder Nelson talked for the last hour. Well actually the last half hour he opened it up for questions. And I wish I would have thought of one earlier to ask. But some of the questions I learned a ton from. One of them blew all of our minds. When Jesus tells Peter, ‘Thou shalt deny me three times’ it wasn't a prophecy. It was a commandment. That's why Peter wept. I have heard so many other things about it. 

Well then Wednesday came around and we had nothing, so we just went by on tons of people. Then we met with the D. (no idea how it's spelled) and they were very impressed by us. She said how she doesn't like how the church works here and thought there were no more good missionaries. But with us she feels different. It was a very cool experience. But also very sad that she hasn't felt loved by the church since they moved here from Portugal. She also loves how mom can speak Portuguese and said it would be cool if she sent something to her. Maybe you could send your testimony in Portuguese or something. We also went by on L. She is the 16 year old who lived with a Mormon family in the states for a foreign exchange program. We are meeting with her on Wednesday. She is pretty shy, but we think she wants to join the church. She told us she really liked it but wanted to make sure it was true. 

So Thursday we planned forever doing paperwork, weekly planning all that jazz. And then we met with some 20 year olds. It was kind of a half Bible bash. half lesson. It wasn't contentious it was good nature. And the one from Florida has a lot of interest. I think he actually wants to find out what the Book of Mormon says. Then Friday was an exciting day. We chopped wood for hours but then Elder F. died afterwards. He gets this strange type of migraine where he goes half paralyzed and he got that Friday night. So he was out for the count. 

We had a lesson with a Chinese member named J.  The branch president went with me.  As we left Elder F. with A. (another member). And we were debating if we should sleep there or go back home. The zone leaders had no clue and the AP's said stay put till we say anything. And then finally at 9:40 we were able to talk to Sister Miles and she talked to President and we needed to go home. So we got driven home. Then Saturday we had two lessons. One with R. and one with a less active sister, K. And we had to change both of them to this coming week. That was super sad. But Elder F. doesn't even remember Saturday, but he is 100% now. No problems. Church was good, we had two eating appointments and calls from the zone leaders and all sorts of stuff.


Yup, Switzerland is expensive and money grows on trees there. But the missionary work in Switzerland is really going right now. The Swiss people are much more open to the gospel. That may sound weird because they are so rich. But I was talking to elder E. about it (the Swiss missionary) and he said people there are much more open to religion. And that's why there are so many more members in Switzerland. They also have the most baptisms of the mission. 

You could have seen missionaries coming here in the airport. They take the same flight as the missionaries going to Berlin. They had probably split paths just a few minutes before. 

Oh, I'm not one to get discouraged. Honestly it's not that bad here. I hear of all these missionaries who say it's rough and everything. The truth is get to work and who cares. Do your best and it will all be okay. I've never felt depressed because nothings happening. Oh. and this mission is the most coveted mission. More couple missionaries request to come to this mission than any other mission by quite a large margin.

Love

Elder Kinghorn

June 3, 2013

Dear Family,

Well first of all let me say it's been quite fun here in Ulm. We have been getting really wet recently. It has rained and rained and rained. And well rivers are flooding. Luckily people here have been planning for flooding since the beginning of time, so there isn't much damage. All I've seen is some destroyed parks. But the donau is super high right now. 

We have lots of good news. Today there is no rain. Well just a bit of sprinkling. Not little streams in the road like last week. And we found some really cool people. So Jason last week said he got into a discussion with some Jehovah's Witnesses. Well on Saturday, after a lesson with R, we were walking to our train and someone stopped us. He asked where we were from which church. So we said von der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage. And he said, “Oh well I'm a Jehovah’s Witness.”  He asks us a pretty typical question, “What is Gods name.” So we tell him the answer, “Elohim.” And he was expecting.. I don't know. So he was pretty shocked. So he said, “What?” So we told him again. Then he was super confused so we told him, “That's God’s name.” Then he asked, “Who is Jehovah?”  “That is Elohim's son. Jehovah created the world and makes it possible for us to be saved from our sins.” So by now he is really confused. And then by now this drunk Russian comes up to us swearing saying we are Jehovah’s Witnesses and how stupid we are for being one. Then the j dub left because he didn't like this drunk Russian. So we start talking to the russian and give him a Book of Mormon saying this is about God and how much he loves you and he found out we were from another church and was super happy with us. He told us about a ton of stuff he lived through in russia and that's why he gets drunk all the time. So we are going to try to help him out. With the gospel everything is possible. There isn't a scar that can't be healed. No trial too hard to overcome. We just need to get him to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. 

Also Frau W. is doing great. She is so funny. Last week we met with a member from China, H.   We talked about genealogy. She has a lot of interest for it. So not this week but next week she wants to come to the family history lab to do some to find out her family history. She knows her ancestors moved from Germany to Russia a hundred years ago. But before that she has no idea. 

And M. is a cool guy. We have been meeting twice a week. And he really loves to talk with us. He thought we were crazy for meeting with him on Friday because it was pouring. He said we should have stayed inside so we didn't get sick. It was a really cold day. He was wearing two sweaters and a beanie. Sadly he didn't come to church yesterday. We still don't know why. Hopefully he comes again next week. 

Then R. is going great. He is still having trouble giving up coffee. He said he will try to do just one every morning and no more during the day. If he can do that it will help him get completely rid of it. 

Well I love you

This work is true. We see miracles every single day

Love Elder Kinghorn

Dear Family,

Well first of all let me say it's been quite fun here in Ulm. We have been getting really wet recently. It has rained and rained and rained. And well rivers are flooding. Luckily people here have been planning for flooding since the beginning of time, so there isn't much damage. All I've seen is some destroyed parks. But the donau is super high right now. 

We have lots of good news. Today there is no rain. Well just a bit of sprinkling. Not little streams in the road like last week. And we found some really cool people. So Jason last week said he got into a discussion with some Jehovah's Witnesses. Well on Saturday, after a lesson with R, we were walking to our train and someone stopped us. He asked where we were from which church. So we said von der Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage. And he said, “Oh well I'm a Jehovah’s Witness.”  He asks us a pretty typical question, “What is Gods name.” So we tell him the answer, “Elohim.” And he was expecting.. I don't know. So he was pretty shocked. So he said, “What?” So we told him again. Then he was super confused so we told him, “That's God’s name.” Then he asked, “Who is Jehovah?”  “That is Elohim's son. Jehovah created the world and makes it possible for us to be saved from our sins.” So by now he is really confused. And then by now this drunk Russian comes up to us swearing saying we are Jehovah’s Witnesses and how stupid we are for being one. Then the j dub left because he didn't like this drunk Russian. So we start talking to the russian and give him a Book of Mormon saying this is about God and how much he loves you and he found out we were from another church and was super happy with us. He told us about a ton of stuff he lived through in russia and that's why he gets drunk all the time. So we are going to try to help him out. With the gospel everything is possible. There isn't a scar that can't be healed. No trial too hard to overcome. We just need to get him to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. 

Also Frau W. is doing great. She is so funny. Last week we met with a member from China, H.   We talked about genealogy. She has a lot of interest for it. So not this week but next week she wants to come to the family history lab to do some to find out her family history. She knows her ancestors moved from Germany to Russia a hundred years ago. But before that she has no idea. 

And M. is a cool guy. We have been meeting twice a week. And he really loves to talk with us. He thought we were crazy for meeting with him on Friday because it was pouring. He said we should have stayed inside so we didn't get sick. It was a really cold day. He was wearing two sweaters and a beanie. Sadly he didn't come to church yesterday. We still don't know why. Hopefully he comes again next week. 

Then R. is going great. He is still having trouble giving up coffee. He said he will try to do just one every morning and no more during the day. If he can do that it will help him get completely rid of it. 

Well I love you

This work is true. We see miracles every single day

Love Elder Kinghorn

May 27, 2013

Elder Devon Kinghorn

May 27, 2013

Dear Family

Well awesome news- C. from Wiener Neustadt just got baptized Saturday! Sadly I wasn't able to make it because we had too many people here we had to be with. We can't really afford leaving because of our ward’s relationship with us. We are really trying to strengthen it. In the past I don't think this ward has had the best relationships with missionaries. Definitely as friends, but not as missionaries. So we are really trying. 

Well this week has been nice. Despite the freezing weather. They don't expect warm weather for two more weeks. The work is going well here. Elder F. and I are doing really good work together.

Elder Nelson is coming and I get to actually see him talk, the first time on my mission. There is one advantage of living in Germany instead of Austria.

Yesterday we almost had 2 people at church. Only one came. but here is the story. So R. and M. both had promised that they would come to church. So we told R. tha we would meet him at his home train station at 8 in the morning. The last train that would get us there before 8 actually left Ulm at 6:05, so we had to wake up way early to get the train. Then we took it down to Ehingen and got there at 6:30 and it was freezing cold. Rain and freezing. Then at 7:40ish after sitting there for a while kind of miserable we decided to call him and he was sick. So we were quite... devastated and took a slightly earlier train back to Ulm at 7:45 after freezing for a while. So we got back to Ulm and we met M. on the way to church. He was way happy to come. He is such a cool guy from Nigeria. He has gone through so much in his life. I feel really bad for him. Then he ended up here in Ulm and he is way happy for that. He is praying to see if he should get baptized (hopefully) and I think he could be baptized by the end of the summer.

Hmm what happened so far. Um on Sunday morning there were so many drunk people in lederhosen because of the big champions league game. It was classic Germany. Drunk people in lederhosen. Way funny though. 

I love you 

Elder Kinghorn

May 20, 2013

Dear Family

Well this week started out on a blah, but ended up great. So Elder F. last Monday started feeling really, really sick after emails. Then we cancelled an appointment for that night. Then on Tuesday he was feeling super sick and almost died. So we stayed home the whole day. So. the first two days were gone. But then Elder F. started feeling better. And so we helped a family do some furniture rearranging (the Russian investigator Frau W.) And she was super funny. But then that ended when the day was almost over. So then I forgot what we did. Thursday we had a lesson with R. and he is doing great. He had to cancel on church again. It's really frustrating sometimes. But that's how it goes. So we cancelled his baptismal date. But hopefully we can set a new one sometime soon. 

But then Friday came around, and in the morning we had nothing set. So we went to a city about 20 minutes away by train. And we had lessons with 2 less actives. It was awesome. We just showed up and they were super excited. Then we found out that neither of them have had any home teachers or visiting teachers come to them in a long long time. And all of the other less actives had the same thing. So, that night was gemeinderat uhh ward council. So we asked for a home teaching and visiting teaching assignment list so we could get people to come with us for their home teaching. All of a sudden it made sense that 80% of the ward is less active. Wiener Neustadt was about 65% active, which is astonishing for Europe. But their home teaching was incredible. Every quarter they would adjust their plans to make it better. 

Then on Saturday we had a street display right in front of the Münster (the giant church) so the whole rule about don't proselyte in front of a church. Ya, oh well. We had to apply to get a spot and that is the spot that the city gave us. But we had 2 members there (an American and a Chinese guy. They are a cool couple), and also the missionaries; so Sisters S. and C. then Elders P and G.,  We had a good time, even though it was super hot.  We found a member who lives in Munich but had lost contact with the church when he moved here from Africa. He was excited to get another Book of Mormon and the missionary’s information. That was way cool. Then we also found a cool guy named M. He is from Nigeria. He actually met the missionaries in Switzerland about a year ago. and now we found him here in Ulm. Yesterday he came to church and we are meeting with him tomorrow. It's way nice because he just lives 5 minutes from the church using his bike. So it's awesome. And hopefully he has some friends. 

That was the exciting things from this past week. The work is really going well. We had 8 lessons last week. Much better than the 0 that were happening not too long ago when I first got here.

I Love you

Elder Kinghorn

May 13, 2013

Dear Family

First of all I am glad I was able to see all of you yesterday. It was great being able to call home. And it was much easier saying goodbye this time than Christmas. It makes me realize how much of a loving family at home I have. Lots of people don't have that. And I'm so glad that I have all of the support that I have out on a mission that you give me. I know that all of you love me and I love all of you just the same. 

And mom, Happy Mothers Day

When I get home I'll show you how to make farmer schnitzel. It tastes way good and you've never had anything like it before in your life. 

Well starting last week it was pretty good. We actually had 8 lessons in 7 days. That hasn't been done in Ulm in, well over a year. So we are trying our hardest. Ya, it's not Jason’s "we have lots of fallen out appointments but still 2 or 3 a day" but that's ok. Every mission is different. But the second highlight of last week (second to calling home) was mission tour. Elder Teixeira from the area presidency talked with us. We learned a lot and actually he gave different points to every part of the mission. Here it was a lot of getting referrals from investigators, so teaching their friends. It was actually really good and we plan on putting it into effect. The problem is we have only had one lesson since then and the time never felt right to bring it up. But the next lesson we feel will be much better for it. 

Ok so another really cool story. So last Wednesday we had a lesson with a guy named H. He was in our phone as a potential so we called him. Apparently missionaries found him about 4 years ago. But then we found out that he lived in America years ago and he had Mormon friends who gave him a Book of Mormon. So he showed it to us and the testimony that they left inside. Sadly, he didn't come to church but we are trying. Well then for the rest of the day we had planned to go around the area finding people (which is a 30 minute train ride). After hours we found absolutely nobody. We really felt like we had a good day plan and there was somebody else in the area. So when we finally got home that night we looked in our mail and we had 2 letters. One for a missionary who I replaced. And the second was from the mission office. We opened it excitedly and it was a referral. She lived just a few bus station stops farther than where we were contacting. So probably a 10 minute walk. It was great, so we called her up and she wanted a Book of Mormon. So we are bringing it by as soon as we can. 

The Lord really does work in amazing ways. We try all we can and then the Lord blesses us with more than we can imagine. The trick isn't to ask why don't miracles happen. It's instead why am I not seeing the miracles that go on every single day

I Love you

Elder Kinghorn

May 6, 2013

Dear Everybody

Well this week has been a good week. Well we had lots of stuff fall out again, but that's ok. That's life as a missionary. I didn't know it could happen so much, but oh well. We are trying. But a good thing is that R. is really progressing well. He loves meeting with us.  And whenever we make out another appointment he always says, “Ok Siebzehn uhr five on the clock Heiligen der Letzen Tage.” It's great. We have gone over all of the lessons with him and just have a few more commandments to go over. But he really likes them. Last week we were talking about personal revelation and he loved it. He thought it was amazing we could receive revelation. Then also we talked about him receiving the priesthood and how he would be a priest. And he said, “My dad always wanted me to be a priest but I didn't make it. I guess I would actually become one.” Then he'd ask us about the baptism with the Holy Ghost. He doesn't care so much for the baptism by immersion. Like ya, it's ok ,but the baptism with the Holy Ghost he is way excited for. And wants it as soon as he is ready for baptism. 

Sadly Frau W. wasn't able to meet with us on Friday. We went to her house and she left a note saying call this number so we did. She tried to talk to us but it sounded like a million kids were using her like monkey bars. So she was baby sitting. She really appreciates that we are trying to come. We called her today and she thought it was nice that we remembered her and that she would look at her planner and maybe tonight meet and if not than next week. She is a super nice lady. 

Oh also this week we have mission tour. So a general authority is going to come and speak to us. I forget his name. He is a seventy from Europe I think. But that's on Friday so every missionary in the german part of the mission is going to Munich. So it will be my third time there. In this mission we don't go to mission hq very often. 

But we do have some other really good news. So this week we are basically booked with time. Between members, investigators and less actives (with the hours of travel in between) our week is full, which isn't bad as a missionary. Ya, we aren't like stateside missionaries with a car who's travel time is 5 minutes. But we still have a lot going on. So, hopefully it doesn't all fall out again. But not much we can do about that. 

It's crazy to think my year mark is right around the corner. Missions go by so freaking fast. Then the second year goes by way faster than the first I've heard. That's crazy to think about.  It shows how much every day counts

Well to let you know I did get you something for christmas. Problem is it's still just sitting in my apartment. So don't feel too bad about it. But you can ship stuff to me I don't care. Just as long as it's not an enormous door that I have to ship home. If it's small enough that you'd be fine carrying it to the Williams than go ahead. And using the truck doesn't count as carrying it.

That's funny about prom. JJ is quite the character. He makes me laugh every time I see him. I wonder where he will go on his mission. I bet he had fun at prom. That's weird to think about. I remember when Michael was going to prom. Well Jason and Michael. I was just about to ship out. That's crazy. When JJ leavs I'll be just about to get home from my mission. I won't see that kid for quite a long time. 

That's really cool about the dogs and cancer. Why don't they just use dogs to diagnose everyone? I know it would take a lot of time and money. But hey, it would work. 

And it's cool how the Lord really has us go to each calling for a reason. He knew you knew how to work with the youth so he sent you there to make a bridge between the residents and the youth. That's just how it goes.

That's a great quote about the spiritual gifts. I think I'll use that in district meeting tomorrow. They are every Tuesday and cost 50 euro from travel. It shows how important a lot of the meetings are. Mission tour is going to cost thousands of euro. It shows the importance of us gathering together to learn the word of God. Lots of people don't realize just how important it is for us to gather together. Learning from each other is one of the most important things we can do. That includes home teaching and every other teaching opportunity we are given.

And spotify I remember that from BYU. I used it all the time. Way better than pandora. I stopped using I tunes from my computer. 

c’ya sunday.

I Love you

Elder Kinghorn

P.S. 15:30 here I'll be calling

April 29, 2013

Dear Family

Well transfer calls were last week. And Elder F. and I are staying together for one more here in Ulm. And hopefully that should mean summer is here. We had a couple of really really warm days this past week. Elder K. and I were on an austausche last week. (he is the one from Ireland and he's going to Austria next transfer) And it was really warm-sweating. And sadly President Miles said we couldn't roll up our sleeves. So that is kind of a bummer when It's super hot. I could wear short sleeves, but here in Germany people look at you like you're crazy for wearing a short sleeve shirt with a tie. But that's life. Anyways on this exchange we spent like 6 hours contacting in this little village called Buch, which means book. That was interesting for a name. But we found quite a few people. By that we found 4 maybe's. But oh well. We tried our best. Then the family we had an appointment with, they were shocked that we found so many. 

So we have some sad news. So O, the guy who has read tons of the Book of Mormon. Well he was too sick all last week to meet with us. So we haven't met with him yet. I wish we could, but eh that's life. 

Ok so our new ward mission leader. His name is K. He is German, but not really German. He is like, “Hey what's up” and a huge hug. He’s lways joking and way funny. Then he has this Phillipino wife. She is way funny too. She talks to us in an English German mix. It's quite entertaining. Who knows Cody could end up coming home with a girl like that. Well hopefully not come home but go back and then come back with her. That would be way funny. Cody-super white boy with a Phillipino wife. It would just work perfect. 

Anyways but Frau W. (the russian) we are going to meet with her this Friday and then she said she'd come to church this next Sunday. She really wants to know more about the church. She already cleared up the trinity. She said that confused her. Now it's no problem. Then R. is going well. We are meeting with him tomorrow and he is also loving the Book of Mormon. Well the Pearl of Great Price. He really likes the Joseph smith history. And he is coming to church this week. He is also starting to live the Word of Wisdom. Last week he made the commitment to give up caffeinated coffee. Then after that we'll do black tea. And then he doesn't drink or smoke which makes it easy. 

Well madrid lost bad. 4 1. Like it's going to be Dortmund vs. Bayern. Spain just isn't going to cut it. Ok maybe. But Bayern will win. Jason will just have to lose. People here take football seriously (soccer). It's definitely not a small thing. 

Well I've got to go.

I Love you

Elder Kinghorn

Goppingen District- Kelly, Kinghorn, Fletcher, Stewart, Clark

April 22, 2013

Dear Family

Well this week was great. We worked really hard. And things did not go according to our plans, but oh well. So we had 5 lessons this week, with 6 or 7 that fell out( one was just come by and we can talk but he didn't want to when we got there, that's the 7th). But we did do a lot of contacting. And luckily our super contacting days were super nice weather. God didn't want us to be miserable in the rain. Thankfully. I don't even know how many doors and people on the street we talked to. But oh well we tried our best. And that's what matters. 

Also on Tuesday we had interviews with President. Our apartment was running low on Book of Mormons, so we ordered a lot in assorted languages-2 boxes of German, 1 box of English, then who knows what else. It was more than what the Visitors Centers have on display to show off how cool they are. This would be impossible to carry by hand, so we brought my suitcase to fill it full. One of the wheels already kind of died, so I was like oh whatever, kind of expecting it to die. So, we fill it full of books (literally full) and start taking it from Stuttgart back to Ulm. By the time we get to the apartment the wheels are ground down to the point where it's pretty much just dragging. From now on in my mission I'll just drag one of the suitcases every transfer. But on the bright side that's less weight when It gets weighed on the airplane in one year. 

The guy who called last week, O., he has been reading the Book of Mormon and now he has read 200 pages of it. That's quite a bit. We are setting up an appointment today because he gets his schedule Sunday nights. Yup and then R. is doing great. His baptismal date was pushed back till the 25th of May. (also the same as someone in Wiener Neustadt that I worked a lot with C. It's May instead of August) but he came to church on Sunday and loved it. After church he said, "Mein Nachbar wurde sagen das war der Hammer!" (My neighbor would say that's the hammer meaning super-cool.) And we are meeting tomorrow and hopefully another day this week. And the other self referral from last week fell out. We are trying to meet with her but it isn't working out so well for us. Hopefully it works.

So we haven't really been to any museums. But the BMW is in Munich, so too far away. And pictures, well I've taken some. But not a ton. Sorry. I'll do better with it. And the giant church is helpful when we get lost. We just look and see where it is then we aren't lost anymore haha.

It is true how much God works with people. As missionaries we don't do much. God does 100% of the work. Ok, not 100 but 99.9999999% and we just do a little bit in God’s name. That's something I've really learned is that god really looks out for us, his children. 

I Love you.
Elder Kinghorn

April 15, 2013

Dear Everyone.

So this week has been really cool. First of all, R’s  we pushed his baptismal date back a month. He just needs more time to get ready. He is really progressing and will get there, just needs time. We are meeting with him again on Thursday. (German culture meeting twice a week is a ton.) So he called the church and wanted us to come by. Which never happens. Like it happens to missionaries once on their mission. Most of the time never.

But last week someone else called the church. She is from Russia or Ukraine(her accent) and we are going by on Wednesday for a lesson with her and her daughter. They saw the website and wanted to hear more from us. So that's two times in a transfer. It gets crazier. 

So earlier today as we were buying groceries, a member called us and someone had called the church again to meet with us. So of course we were thinking, “Holy cow this is nuts” He said come by Monday or Friday, so we went thinking we didn't have much planned for Pday. So we went and met with him not too long ago. He is like 80 and has tons of religious stuff and music stuff. To get his phone number I called him and smoke on the water started playing. It was way funny. He also had an apocolipta album. I didn't see the others. But still it was great. He had a Book of Mormon about 40 years ago but moved and lost it in moving along with a lot of other books. So he wanted to get the best books back and wanted a Book of Mormon. It was so exciting to hear that. So we are going back next week. He said for us to call next week because he doesn't know his plan yet. 

Oh and on Saturday we had a finding day with Göpingen and Ellwangen. So we were in Göpingen's area and they asked who wants to go here. So I said sure, and we went there. We had for about 3 hours of finding planned. In the first hour we found 3 people who had interest to hear more. And then we doored this one house. And this guy comes to the door on his phone, probably 25 years old. So I'm thinking “oh dang”. Oh well. So I tell him our message is about families and how we can live forever. He said, “Oh I do too, you're Mormons right?” We say ya and he lets us in. It was so cool. He is from the apostolic (I can't remember the name in english) something church. His wife was there. So we talked for a while and they gave us lunch. They were so nice. It was so great. So they gave us their card and want us (the sisters) to come back or call or whatever. Then we met up with the other missionaries and told them what happened.  They were excited for us. Then we went to the center of the city for an hour and a half to try to find more people. And I think every person there had no time to talk to us. Or at least that's what they said.

When you said If I had done some sight seeing I thought no. Then I realized ya, I have. It's way cool here. We take trains through really cool places all the time. We are just immune to it. Like Stuttgart train station, you'd be saying how cool it is. And for us it's just another place. Really the sights are cool but the people are way cooler. That's something that nobody realizes before they go on a mission. How little it matters where you go for how great your mission is. Its really all about the people. Ya, I guess having a giant church is cool, but it's not as cool as just talking with people. 

The work here is really starting to accelerate. This week we have I don't even know how many lessons planned. We already had one today and we have one more tonight. So our Pday was cut short by about 3 hours. Oh well. That's the least of our worries isn't it? Then we have stuff every day just packed. It's exciting. Saturday we have 3 less active lessons. So this will be great. 

And I now that it's warm there are really two things I miss. Golf and wakeboarding. It was so cold here recently. And now it's finally summer. There are no clouds and it's just sunny and warm. Great day to wakeboard or golf. 

Love Elder D. Kinghorn

April 8, 2013

Dear Family,

This week has been awesome. Last Thursday and Friday there was a conference meeting thing in München. I saw Elder Hyatt there, and all of my last companions except for Elder B. he is home now. But was such a great time. We learned so much on how to be better missionaries and how to help the other missionaries that we work with. 

General conference was amazing. Sadly we have as of now only watched 3 sessions. The other two we missed because of, well, the weird times. So we have to watch them sometime later. We learned so much, but the best part was we had someone named Frau M. (no idea how to spell her name) She is a referral from someone. Well almost. She hasn't met with us yet. I don't think she quite understands that's what we do as missionaries. But we were in Ellwangen for conference and she sat next to me. I could totally feel that she was loving it. Then afterwards we showed her the baptismal font and she was like, whoa this is cool. And do you baptize adult? But then she said, “Oh I've already been baptized when I was a baby”.... So we have to work on that. But I can totally see her getting baptized one day. She loves the church and wants to come every Sunday to church. Oh and on the way back from Ellwangen we had a long drive. But before our drive our tire was flat-with no spare....... So that took quite a while to fix and get back in order. 

Last week I was on an austausch (split) with Elder P (the one Elder Hyatt trained) and we found 5 potentials in one day I think. So that's just awesome. One of them we had the feeling would get baptized. So on Saturday we took the really long tram to go see him and he said basically no. So that was a heart breaker. But I think he'll get baptized one day with his whole family.

I Love you family

Elder Devon Kinghorn

Easter- April 1, 2013

Dear Family

So our investigators are making slow progress. R. we had another lesson with him. (He cancelled the first one last week so we only had one). We watched the restoration film with him and he really enjoyed it. Also we found this awesome Romanian lady. She speaks really good english and german so the language isn't a problem. She is really nice.

So this past week was Easter. In Germany that means no school for two weeks.  Easter is quite good here.  The B. Family had us over yesterday. We had this awesome fondue. Instead of cheese or oil we used chicken broth, well similar to it. So it tastes really good with strips of chicken or shrimp or mushrooms. You should try it out soon. (Cheese fondue is just unbeatable though.)  I learned how to make it, so it will be great. They are way cool with 4 kids. One of which is a super happy 8 month old baby. He just smiles and laughs all day without having a desire to crawl. So we had fondue together then a few rounds of Uno (I've played a lot of Uno on my mission), then a spiritual thought about the resurrection, then we were on our way. Oh ya, and today is also a holiday. Every single store is closed. Literally every store. Even the Turkish imbiss (snack) stands are closed. 

We went running this morning. (The first time in quite a while for me. Two transfers ago with Elder W we ran to the church, played ping pong then ran home). We ran to the munster (giant church), around it and back and there was absolutely nobody. We passed 3 people and we were in the busiest part of town. 

Ok so this past week has been freezing cold in Ulm. Like really, really cold! And everyone is expecting warm weather. So everyone has been getting sick. Our branch president got sick. Half of the ward is sick. And everyone who said they'd come to church is sick at the moment. It was really sad. Literally everyone was sick. And Friday morning I felt pretty bad, but we had an appointment at 5. So we decided to take half of the day off to rest so I'd get better. But at 2 pm C. called us and told us she was sick so we couldn't come. So everyone was sick. I got it from the zone leader on an austausch (exchange) and then Saturday Elder F. (his companion) got really bad and almost died (not really). but thought we were talking about stuff when we really weren't. So we stayed in Saturday too. It was really boring. I almost died. And during the day everyone cancelled to come to church. Bummer, and on Easter Sunday too! 

Elder F. and I are getting along great. Maybe a bit too well. So we'll have to work to make sure we don't get distracted. 

So in Sigmaringen lives A. He was baptized 2 years ago. We do service with him. And it's a sweet city. You'd enjoy it. Actually I've just walked through it but it has a cool castle in the middle. We visit a special needs kid named E. and he is awesome. One on one is cooler than a dance I think. So we are his friend and he loves missionaries. His mom lives too far away to be able to visit him that often. 

I love you

Elder Kinghorn

March 25, 2013

Dear Family

Well this last week a lot of cool things have happened. Last Monday we got a call from someone who had received a Book of Mormon 20 years ago in Switzerland. He has read from it in the past and now he wants to meet with us. So we committed him to baptism and he agreed on the 28th of April to get baptized. Miracles are happening here in Germany. This mission is such a great mission. So Jason, just remember miracles happen, and try to make them happen. 

I'm not so sure if I shared the story about the chocolate last week so I'll do that now.  So two weeks ago we had a lesson with Herr P. (the 80 year old man who ran 40k on Thursday for fun) and he always gives us a snack to eat. So this time he had a plate with some chocolates on it.  Elder B. and I reach to grab one and Elder B. pops one in his mouth and I was about to when Elder B. motions not to eat it. I was super confused. Then I remembered a funny story a senior missionary told me about her giving the missionaries alcoholic chocolate when she was investigating the church. But I knew that Herr P. hates alcohol so I asked him what was inside. He said nougat (hazelnut) so I was like ok and bite half of it. Then before I know it there is this stinging taste on my tongue and I'm sitting there not knowing what to do with my mouth- half open, half way between spitting it out and looking professional (which isn't working at all),  So I decide the only thing to do is swallow it. It was awful. Then Herr P. felt terrible because he knew we aren't supposed to drink alcohol. We looked at the package and it said Kirsch wasser. Which is some type of liquor. It tastes terrible. 

That's funny about the film (a film was made with all of the kids from his brothers graduating class that are serving missions). Some other school already did that. 

And don't worry about Jason being gone. It goes by pretty fast. Sadly, I'm almost half way done. Mothers day will be my half year mark. That's also pretty nice that Jason can be able to call home on Mothers Day. 

Salzburg was well idk, we got some food met some other missionaries then went on our way. It doesn't seem super special to me. I’ve been living here for 8 months now. But a really cool city you should look up is Sigmaringen. A member lives there and we go down every couple of weeks. Cool things that we see or do on our mission always involve people. When I go home my favorite memories that I have will be from the people. There is no substitution to the people. That's just how it is. People here are awesome!

So now Elder B. is no longer a missionary. He served an honorable 2 years and is now doing something in England. I now have Elder F. as a companion. He is from Utah and has been on a mission 3 months less than me. So for the first time my companion is younger than me. That's a first. He is way excited to be here. He was in Linz, Austria before here. So we both love Austria. We enjoy it together. We have some awesome goals. We believe we can get 3 baptisms in the next 2 transfers. (I think I'll be here for 2 more transfers but we'll see what really happens) It is a difficult goal, but I'm sure it's possible. There are so many people here who are prepared to receive the gospel of Jesus christ and we just have find them.

Love Elder Kinghorn

There and back again, A missionary tale by Elder Kinghorn or Baptism and Wedding in Wiener Neustadt)

Dear Family (and Rachel because this is now legal),

This last weekend I spent a ton of time on trains. We started our journey at 9:25 am on Friday. We pulled into Wiener Neustadt at 8:00 pm. We did have a 2 hour layover in Salzburg, which was cool. We had lunch with some missionaries and then got back on our way, but we were kind of lost. Our phone didn't work in Austria. So, we had no keys and no phone at night in Austria. So of course we walked over to the P's to see if we could use their phone. S. was so excited to see us. Well me (Elder Kinghorn had been there for 5 months). J was gone picking people up from the airport. 

Then we got a hold of Elder W. and Elder S. It was great to see them. We met them at bahnhof a quarter to nine. Then we walked home. We had some dinner (ice cream) and then went to bed.... but fell asleep a bit later. 

Saturday morning rolled around and we walked over to where the wedding would be. We opened the door and I saw lots of people speaking Spanish. I saw J and just gave him a huge hug. It was so great to be able to see him again. He had missed me I could tell. Then I saw S and P. Of course giving them hugs too. Then G was there and he was so excited for this day. It was awesome. Then The P kids saw me and Michele (the 1.5 year old) just ran to me and hugged my legs. Then the wedding was about to start so we watched it. It was German with Spanish translations. After the wedding I felt really bad not giving A. (the bride) a hug. So I did. ( I don't hug everyone, A. was actually the first girl but it was needed to be shared.) 

Then we went to the church for a lunch type thing -whatever it's called. We had pizza. and it was great to be able to see everyone again. Ok most of the ward wasn't there because it was ward temple week. But the T’s were there and E. and B, who I wanted to see again. E. just received her endowment last week. She was so excited for the temple. And B. was quite sad that I wasn't able to stay longer. And the T’s are the T’s, and everyone loves them. 

Then we did the baptism pictures and I felt like I was one of the missionaries that really helped G come closer to baptism. Then the baptism started and it was Spanish with German translations. Then G and J went into the water and G. was baptized. It was such an amazing experience. The spirit was so strong. I loved it. But sadly we had to leave like right then. Our train was leaving in 20 minutes. If we missed the 4:30 train we wouldn't be able to get home that day. So we were driven to bahnhof and started our long journey home arriving at 1 am. 

Church was quite different. It was Elder B’s last sunday as a missionary. The ward sang ‘God Be With You Till We Meet Again’. It was quite sad. His farewell as a missionary. He is a good missionary and will do a lot of good when he gets home.

That's crazy that you have two sons out on missions now. This is where God wants us to be. Mom, I know you're going to go into mild depression for the next few weeks. But it's not bad- you get to talk to us in just a few weeks. On Mothers Day. And look in the scriptures. When the sons of Mosiah return and see each other, look at how happy they were. Missions are amazing places to be. In 2 years when you see Jason again you will have the same joy that the sons of Mosiah had. Ya, Jason is your little goofball of a son. But he is destined to be an amazing missionary helping innumerable amounts of people. Jason might get homesick but I'll send him a package soon with something random in it. What do you think I should put in it? I can be your package boy for Jason.

Oh, I've played that game before (the name game).  Except it was in German. It would be a good language study game. I learned a ton of really random words. Like there is a word for the cross country skiing tracks. You know, the two grooves in the snow. But I forgot what it was.

I Love you
Elder Devon Kinghorn

March 11, 2013

Dear Family,

Last week we had zone conference. It was really great. We learned quite a bit of how to work with members better. Also last week 4 of our appointments fell out. So that was pretty rough. But oh well. On Saturday we had a cleaning day. The whole mission was supposed to spend the whole day cleaning. But we had a ward activity in the morning, which was soccer. So we went and played soccer. I'm quite bad at it. Well, really bad compared to everyone else here. That was different. 

Last week I had an exchange with Elder R. He is the one from the MTC. We went to Ellwangen and found some really cool people. One of them lives in Passau so we were able to give his information to the office as a referral. He had quite a bit of potential I think. 

This week is going to be awesome. Friday we are taking a train to Wiener Neustadt to go see G's baptism and wedding. It will be so cool. And also it will be a ton of trains. To come back to Ulm, Saturday at 4:30 we have a train going to Wien. Then we get to Ulm at 1:00 am.  It will be quite a long day of trains. But I'm used to that now. 

Language update- I am pretty good at talking about whatever in German. I have learned the most of my German talking with people. I can understand everything and it's not just church German. So it's coming along great. Have fun being empty-nesters. It is a great party. Oh. and I know about the English-German relationship (question about the show Top Gear) . My companion is very English. And loves Top Gear. It's just fun and games to them, but they all make the jokes anyways

I Love you

Elder Devon Kinghorn

March 4, 2013

Ulm Minster

Dear Everyone,

So yes, I know The District quite well. I have seen them many times and Jason will watch them a ton in the MTC, it's every day. In the first 3 months you're supposed to watch it every day. It is quite a bit of time. And we can quote it pretty well.

This past week was, well different. So two weeks ago we were on the run everywhere because we had no apartment. Then last monday as we were playing basketball (yes It's been 9 months [from the knee surgery] so I have the doctors ok) and Elder B. really hurt his ankle. It swelled up to quite a large size and then turned all sorts of colors. That wasn't the best. So while we were in Stuttgart we purchased an ankle brace for him. He limped onto the train back to Ulm, then to the apartment so he could rest it. We had a lesson in Ulm the next day, so we had to take a train and it wasn't the best for Elder B. Luckily there was a bus that sent us straight to H’s apartment. Our lesson went pretty well.

Then some girls on the way back heard us talking in English and thought it was so cool I was American-apparently being British isn't so cool. There was a gang of 4 or 5 15 year olds. But then we went back up to Ulm.

Oh and yesterday we met with the really cool family that we found last Sunday. I have a feeling that they will get baptized one day. They are about 30 and have a little baby. It will just take time until they get baptized. Maybe this year or maybe in 5.

I don't have much time because we have zone p-day today and dying companions like to get things moving. So I wish you all a wonderful day.

I Love you

Elder Devon Kinghorn

Stuttgart Zone Conference - Birthdays- Elders Root, Kinghorn, Gunn, Stricklin, Fiedler, Buck, Thompson, Sisters Benson & Miles

Stuttgart Zone Conference

February 25, 2013

Dear Everyone who loves me enough to read this,

So last week started out fairly good. My birthday we had no idea what to do so we went to the zoo. It was really fun. We saw some birds that make alligator noises and a spitting llama, and some monkeys. 

After that we went into the Münster-the giant church. As you walk in you have to go through the gift shop. Inside the church it was enormous, and colder than outside. We saw some paintings of peoples guts being pulled out. And statues of famous saints and everything.

This week has been pretty crazy. But this week will be good. I have no worries about it. We are going to stuttgart today for P Day. Maybe in a week or two we will go back up again and see the Mercedes Benz arena. Tours are pretty cheap. 

Last week was a very odd week. and yesterday we were let in by this really cool family. They were probably around 30 with a little baby. But this family is really cool. They want us to come back. And I think they have real potential especially because they live just down the street from the church (office space).  It’s faster to walk than to take the bus. 

This last week was really hard. It was just really tiring not being able to sleep in our own bed. Couches aren't as nice as a bed. But it was fun seeing the other missionaries. But now it's a new week and things will be different.

This week our goal is to work as hard as possible. So next week I'll tell you how it went. But so far it's looking up.

At the end of P day we got a call from our land lord. He was going to redo our bathroom (the tiles were falling off the wall and water was damaging the wall) and he was starting Tuesday. We wouldn't have a toilet or a shower for quite a while. So Tuesday we went up to Ellwangen for District meeting. Which is a 2 hour journey (this past week there was construction on the rail line so we had to use a bus). After that we had to return back to Ulm for an appointment. Then we had to go back up to Ellwangen. Which was quite a long time. And we slept there. 

Wednesday we went back down to Ulm. Then we went to visit an 80 year old guy named H. He is super awesome. He used to meet with the missionaries like 40 years ago. And he has a testimony that everything is true. A bit ago he called the church to get in contact again. He is an awesome guy. And I think he has real potential. 

After H. we went to a part member family for dinner. And it was on the very south edge of our area. So going back to Ellwangen would have been 3.5 hours. Not exactly a perfect scenario to get back at midnight. But going to a city called Ravensburg was possible. It would only be 30 minutes, but it's outside of our zone. So we called the AP's and they told us to go to Ravensburg. This was super exciting because Elder Hyatt works in Ravensburg. So I was able to see Elder Hyatt. It was pretty awesome. And Elder Pope. 

Thursday pulls up and we needed to get back to Ulm fairly early. So we took a train back. Right as the train pulled away we discovered that we had Ravensburg cell  (they are identical) so we called the Ehepaar in Ravensburg and the plan was to come back that night again. So we were able to stay a second night with them. It was pretty sweet. Ravensburg to ulm is only an hour so the train ride wasn't super long. 

So by this point in the past week I had been in Wien zone, taken a train through Salsburg and stopped in München zone to change trains as we came to Ulm, then went to Stuttgart zone because I live there. And now Sankt Gallen because we stayed with the elders there. 

One of our new converts (A.) in Ulm lives technically outside of our area but Ulm is the closest ward so we went with him to visit a kid with down syndrome. And he lives in Sigmaringen which is in the Zürich zone. 

So, in one day we were in 3 different zones doing missionary work. And in the past week I had been to 6 of the 7 zones in the mission! But I don't think I'll go to Bern Swizerland. It's really really far away. Ulm borders München Sankt Gallen and Zürich. 

Fom Sigmeringen to Ellwangen to spend the night was a really really long train ride. We left at 5:30 and got in 8:45. It was quite long. And it was Elder R’s birthday so we celebrated (he is a missionary there and was a roomate in the MTC) His companion is new to the mission. He is from Ireland. So in the apartment there was 2 americans a Brit and an Irish man all in Germany. It’s not very common. 

Saturday morning we did a street display with the elders in Ellwangen and then got some lunch and then traveled back to Ulm. But this was a Saturday so travel times were a lot different. We had to take a train, then a bus, then another train. And it took 3 hours and 15 minutes to do journey that normally takes half that time. Then we did weekly planning. and finally slept at home.

So Sunday rolls around we were tired of having a bum week. So going to church we found a potential. Then after church we had one appointment at night. So we went finding. We went on splits with two ward members. both fresh return missionaries. One speaks Russian as his native language and English, no german. The other is an American who grew up here and went on his mission to Ukraine and speaks Russian. Together we found 5 potential investigators. Actually we found quite a few russian people. I was with the American. 

We knocked on this one door and they let us in and we had a lesson. It was so cool. That had never happened to me before on my mission. Then we got a return appointment from them. It was super exciting. Then we had dinner with a family and went home to fall asleep.

That was my week. I don't even know how many hours have been spent on trains. Quite a few.

I Love you

Elder Devon Kinghorn