Monday, May 5, 2014

Final letter from the mission field

Well now time is running out but we had a great week last week. So we went on splits last week with the Passau elders. And I was with Elder Richmond here in Landshut. We got a lot done. So we met with a guy from Nigeria and he was kind of drunk. But he let us in. So he was a previous investigator. And he was like oh it's the mormons. So we asked if there was anything we could do for him. And he said I need 50 euro. We told him we have the word of God. The apostles didn't give money they gave the gospel. And he praised us for that saying all you need to do is praise the lord but all I need is 50 euro. And we told him we can't do that. And then he was kind of angry at us. And said we are welcome to talk about the word of God. Not the Book of Mormon. He only talks to people from the Church of Jesus Christ. We showed him our name tags but he didn't do anything. So he told us never to come back. So we aren't going to. 

Well the rest of the exchange was pretty good too. We met with V. and then on Wednesday we had a finding day. So we were supposed to have a street display thing set up. But it didn't work out. So we made a list of people to go by on. And nothing worked out well. But one thing did happen. So one of the sisters had to go to the bathroom. So she knocked on someones door to ask if she could go. And he was an ex member and he would like it if we showed up sometime to talk. So little miracle. Maybe that will turn into a baptism in the future. 

Thursday we had mission tour. Elder Dyches came and it was great. He talked a lot about how a mission changes us. All of the things that Germany can do to us. It helped me to reflect on my mission. I've been doing that a lot recently. All of the things I've learned and done. I feel like I've made a dent in Germany. I'm really grateful for the chance I've had to serve here. I don't know. It feels like this is my life. Religeon really seems important now. It used to be more of a hobby or something that's nice. But now it's my life. God is everything. 

Last week we met with a couple R and O. So he got some disease and now he can barely talk and can't move. So she has to do everything for him. And she had soccer on the tv. So he loves religion and she doesn't really. So we said can we wanted to read in the Book of Mormon and he really wanted to. But she said well this soccer game is only on once then over. It's important because if you miss it then it's over. So I said look I have one week left on my mission. I am here to talk about the gospel. And it took her 10 min or so to turn it off. But then we read the first chapter in the Book of Mormon and the spirit was so strong. They said they would read one chapter a day together. I really feel like it was perfect. The elders are going back on Thursday afternoon with Brother Hopf our ward mission leader. He is a ninja master. Well not a ninja but tae kuan do. He got 5th place in the world championships a few years ago. But ya. 

G was supposed to come to church but he didn't answer his phone. I don't think he has interest. He just wants a job. And then we also met with Herr S. He is way cool. He is one of those guys who has life figured out. Family is first. He has an awesome job. Or had one, retired now. He knows what charity means. He would make an awesome member.  So ya we'll work on that. Well I won't but the other missionaries will. 

And we also started running with V. So he has been having some really rough thoughts. I think he might be getting slight depression. He is losing his self worth. So running every morning helps him. And Brother Hopf wants to start teaching the missionaries martial arts for morning exercise. That would be cool. 

Sunday was my last sunday speaking German. It was strange. I gave my final testimony in church. But it still doesn't feel like I'm leaving. I know I am, but at the same time no. Either way I love it here. I'm glad I came. It has been the best two years of my life.

Love
Elder Kinghorn

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

April 28, 2014

Dear family,

Well today we had a changing experience. We went to the Dachau concentration camp. It wasn't an extermination camp, but still the terrible things that happened there. I don't want to go into detail but it reminds me of the Nephites and Lamanites in the Book of Mormon, right at the very end. The terrible things they were doing to each other. I'll let you make the comparisons between them.


But once again we had a lot of fallen out appointments or appointments that were moved... But some good did come out of it. One time a bus fell out. For some reason it didn't come, so we went by on a past investigator. H.B.. He is a 7th day adventist. Didn't go too well. But he invited us back two days later... ya we aren't going back again. Apparently we are false prophets. Oh well. Then he said we would find out the truth at the final judgment. I was going to say that to him but it was useless. So I let him chastise us for the last 5 minutes then we left.

Then we were supposed to meet with M. on Wednesday afternoon, but he had to move it to Wednesday night. So we went by on a less active. I.M. He lives in a refugee home and didn't want to see us. So as we were leaving a guy followed us out and we talked to him, and he said, “No I'm a member. I was baptized in Italy.” His name is A. He is from Sierra Leon. And he is an Elder. So that's cool. He just moved to Germany. We also met with M. (from America) that day and he is a cool guy. Very catholic. And artsy. We also met the next day. He has a funny story. So when he moved to Landshut he met the missionaries and he felt very welcome in our church and not welcome in his and loved the Book of Mormon. But then a friend of his in Rome told him, “No give the catholic church another chance. The germans are slow to make friends.” So he said, “That's right.” (forgetting that our members are German too, but welcomed him the first day) Either way, right now he is too busy to really investigate the church. But hopefully he'll get baptized soon. He was reading the Book of Mormon and was taking it so symbolically. Like the wilderness is symbolic of something. It wasn't really a wilderness was it? “No, it was like forest wilderness. Not symbolic.” But oh well.

Then also we went to Neuötting for an ausstellung (exhibit thing with the board display) That was awesome. So Friday M. gave a devotional. It was funny but really good. I could see some of the members from before. So we spent the night in their apartment. It was fun. So on saturday we had the ausstellung. Some missionaries sang songs and some of us contacted people. It was actually pretty good. For being right next to one of the biggest catholic pieces of ground in Germany. Then we got home late Saturday and church was good. And long. It was a homecoming. Sister Klemm just got home from a mission at temple square. So we had a big thing after church that went for a few hours, lunch etc. Then we did our weekly planning and studied. And we were supposed to have an appointment with someone but that fell out too... Bummer. Our appointment with the branch president fell out. And some others. We met with G. too. He's doing alright. And we had an eating appointment with the D’s. He is Austrian and she is German. We helped them do some landscaping then had taco's. Um ya that's it. This week is mission tour. It will be kind of strange. Mission tour a week before I go home. Oh well. I'll try to learn stuff. I'll still have a few more lessons before I go home. And if it helps one person get baptized in the future then it will have been worth paying attention.

Being a missionary is hard but at the same time not. Prayer and the scriptures are really a lifeline. Energy shots. I feel like people need to learn that. It really does help. When people say they are too busy for church it's like saying you're too hungry to eat, or too thirsty to drink. The gospel is just what we need when we are busy or tired. Oh well.

Love you
Elder Kinghorn

Friday, April 25, 2014

The timer we started when we left Devon at the MTC just went over 17,000 hours.    Just a few hundred more to go!   

Thursday, April 24, 2014

April 21, 2014

Dear Family

Well this week was great, except for the fact that we had 5 fallen out appointments.... besides that it was great.  So Tuesday Elder Evans came and talked just to Munich Zone. It was awesome. I could spend hours talking about what I learned. Elder Evans spoke with love. Like you're doing good, but there is a much better way, especially with the Book of Mormon, and just his testimony. He was talking about how he became a 70; how he didn't expect it at all.  One thing that really struck me was when he said it's a requirement for us to have an absolute witness to the truthfulness of the Gospel. That is our duty as members, to gain an absolute witness of Jesus Christ. The apostles and 70's had it before they were called. And that is something we can all achieve in this life. 

So about B. I know you all have high hopes for him, but he has fallen off of the face of the earth. We haven't heard from him. He doesn't open his door ever ugh. O, just remembered 7 fallen out appointments. So B. is from Africa and she had to get her hair done... all day long.... oh well. And M. an American, well don't know what's up with him. He just is busy singing in Catholic choirs etc. So 3 from Benjamin, those two. and then two with a guy from Afghanistan. His Name is G. He actually reads in the Book of Mormon. We found him on the street and he could tell us the story of 1st Nephi. He has a sad Story. He is trying to get a job here, but doesn't speak the best german. His one advantage is that he has a german visa now so he never has to go back. We also met with our recent converts a few time. B. and S. live together and we went to them once. And we visited V. twice. He is so smart. We gave his a copy of Gospel Principles and he had read the first two chapters and had 15 or 20 questions and thoughts written down he wanted to talk to us about. So we went through a few of them. So much goes on in his head.

We also did some cool service for the stake president. They are building an entrance to their basement, so they had 3 thousand pounds of landscaping stones that we had to move. And lots of Spiders. I killed all of them. And the kids told us they were harmless. The next day Elder Parkinson had a spider bite on his arm. That made for a good conversation at church. "die beißen doch".  Way funny gamily also with 6 Kids. 1 daughter and 5 sons. Perfect Ratio in a family; one girl and a ton of crazy goys. I think you had enough with two adhd sons haha.

Yesterday was way fun. We were at the Hopf's. He is our gml and they have 6 kids. Way cute gamily. But we had lots of fun. So they had this cool tradition where they hollow out eggs. So you drill a hole on the top and bottom and then blow out all the stuff and let it dry. Then write something on it. So Sis Hopf had tons of spiritual thoughts or games written on all of them. Games like an egg toss. Or one game where you smack hard boiled eggs together and if you crack you lose. Or a swiss tradition where kids hold up a hard boiled egg and the adults throw change at it and try to get it to stick in the egg. If the change bounces off of the egg the kid keeps the change. But then scriptures from the Bible about Easter.

Yup, so today we are meeting with the Hopfs (actually we are  doing emails at their house because it's Easter and we can't do them anywhere else) and then tons of families are coming and it's a bbq basically, play Soccer etc. Just because you want to know, the next two weeks we are going to a castle and Dachau. 

So ya awesome week. As a spiritual thought I was going to send a video of Jesus but it seems like you have all seen it... Oh well too late. We sent it to everyone we could think of.

Love you
Elder Kinghorn


April 14, 2014

Dear Family,

Well things are going pretty good here. Last week we found 3 new investigators. The most important one is named B. So he first got in contact with the missionaries 1.5 years atom so we went by on him. H, let us in and said, "I only have a couple minutes." But he didn't want us to leave so we stayed 30 minutes. We talked about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He said, Yes I know it's true." We talked about authority real quick and he said, "Yes I know I need to get baptized"......... So it was pretty awesome. He said, "What do I need to do to get baptized?" So we went to the interview questions and he said yes. He already knows about all of the commandments. So he is set. He has a car and a house and doesn't live too far from the church. He didn't come to church so we went over and no one was home. Hopefully nothing happened to him. 

C. is from Nigeria. He let us in on friday durring splits with the passau elders and he was cool. Really catholic guy. But had some of the catholic doctrine wrong. He actually believed what we believe about baptism. But claimed it was catholic so whatever.
He wasn't home yesterday when we were supposed to have our nextappointment so oh well.  He sadly fell off the face of the earth. Not literally but you know  And we also met with B. and S. They are recent converts from Congo. B. is really funny. I like him a lot. And also we met with another recent convert twice named V. He is from  Rowanda. He actually told us some stuff that I don't want to put over the internet. He has had a really hard life. But luckily there is peace in Rowanda right now. He is just here to study. V. loves the church.

Then we got to finish conference with the Lotts. They are nice. The senior couple missionaries. Then the other missionaries, the Powells are also cool. They gave us some rice pudding. Their job is just to take pictures at the castle of records for indexing. Family history mission. They were actually in Braydens mission taking pictures of the R.A.F. records but they finished. So ask Brayden if he remembers them.

Oh and Elder Evans of the 70 is coming to Munich zone. Just for the Munich zone. haha no one else. I'm excited to see him tomorrow

Oh one thing. I was reading in the Bible again in the Acts of the apostles when Paul gets shipwrecked. Just read through it, the second to last chapter. Everything was going wrong, but Paul knew it would end up all right. He didn't know how, but he knew it would. Sometimes we need to do that. Remember that things will end up right even if we don't understand how.

Bye. Love you.

tschüß

Love you
Elder Kinghorn

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

April 7, 2014 Quite the Week

Dear Family

So Now I am in Landshut in Bayern. This is actually in the same district as Neuötting. Which is really cool. They just changed it. Neuötting used to be with Rosenheim. So conference I was able to see Martin and Brother Bachmann. That was really cool. Martin came early yesterday and we talked for an hour. Then for priesthood Bachmann was there and I sat next to him. I could tell he was really happy to see me. I thought I would never see him again. That was a nice experience.

So saying goodbye to Ravensburg was hard. We got called Wednesday morning so we had one day to say goodbye to everyone. So we went out to lunch with the Buchanans to where D. works. He was really sad I was leaving. Then we went to see L. and he was bummed I was leaving. So he Gave me a ninja star. Im pretty sure it has been used to kill someone before. But still a cool gift, very personal. I could tell it had been used a lot.Then we went to pack and then we were supposed to have a lesson with Sister S. but she had allergies and couldn't meet.... but that was ok because I wanted to go to institute anyways to say goodbye to the few people who come. So the B’s and D. were there. And T. was there. So we drove D. home and he was bummed out in the car. I just had my arm around him. He was bummed.

So Thursday we got transferred and of course there were inefficiencies in it. for our district they spent 600 euro on tickets just for the 6 of us. When they could have done it for 120. So we all met up at the train station and I was able to say goodbye to Elder Gunn. And then Sister T. was there. That was really nice of her. We talked for a while and it was a great reunion. Then we came here to Landshut. And we have quite a few members. Like 65 active members. We are just a few priesthood holders short of being a ward. And we left the apartment thursday after putting my bags in the room and the second person we talked to stopped and we had a great conversation. Her name is J. and she is 30 years old ish. with 2 little kids. And friday we had a lesson with her. We showed her around the church and she loved the focus on the family and family history. She had already read some of the Book of Mormon and had some real questions. So we will see how it goes. And we have this african from sierra leon who should play football for byu. His body is just muscle. He is ripped and I wouldn't want to be on the other end of him in a football game. And we met with some recent converts from africa. They are cool. V, is from Rwanda and has a rough situation. But conference was amazing. We really had a great time. One of my favorite talks was from elder oaks. Always push forward. There is no up and down in callings only forward and backwards. I don't know what he exactly said it was in english. I watched it in german. But I loved it all. Bednar also gave an amazing talk. And the talk about the luge and bobsled. All were just amazing.

I love you

Elder Kinghorn

So this is my new address:


Kirche Jesu Christi hlt
Elder Devon Kinghorn
Zweibröchenstr 717
84028 Landshut
Germany



March 31, 2014

V. is doing good. We changed his baptismal date from the 19th of april to the 26th. The ward told us the day before Easter is a bad day in Germany. He is still soaking up the gospel. He is reading in the Book of Mormon regularly and getting little bits from it. So he is really doing awesome.

L. is also doing good. He gave me an airbrush. So I guess when I go home I have to learn how to do art with an airbrush. 

M. was hit by a car on his bike. But once again God let him escape with some bruises. He is in the hospital but he says he is fine. We are visiting him tonight. And his sons came to church because he was gone so grandma and grandpa had to babysit. Which means they came to church.
Oh and the best news. So a new family with 5 kids is going to move in, ages 1 to 14. The dad came to church yesterday. So thats going to be great. 

Oh on Saturday we had a finding day in Stuttgart. It was kind of a catastrophe. So the whole zone went to Stuttgart. Dornbirn in Austria all the way to Freiburg. We all went to Stuttgart for a finding day. So it started off good. But it was way late in the day. We started at 3 pm. So it ended at 6. So we got on the train at 6:30. It should have been a 2.5 hour train ride for us and 4 hours for Dornbirn. But our train was really stupid. And full of drunk soccer fans. And it turned into a 4.5 hour long train ride for us. And don’t forget it is daylight savings here. So we pulled into Ravensburg closer to 11 but really 12. And Dornbirn stayed the night with us because they couldn’t get home with the delays. They would have missed their two times they had to change trains. And would have slept at the train station. So then they woke up at 5:20 to shower and leave. So we got 5 hours of sleep. 

Well this week we did some service. We helped build an animal shelter. We laid the concrete blocks. And I am really stressed right now. I could vent and vent but it doesn’t bring anything. I don’t know what to do. 

Martin sent a thing about adjusting to normal life from Deseret News. its about how to continue staying active and how to continue with your momentum as a missionary into normal life.

Well I love you
Elder Kinghorn

March 24, 2014

Dear Family

Well this past week I got pretty sick which was no fun. I had some throat infection. Monday night I felt pretty crummy. Then Tuesday after district meeting I went to the doctor and he gave me some decongestant and throat spray. Then Wednesday we met with V. and we were going to meet with a less active family, but they live far away and it would require a lot of walking. So Sister Buchanan told us we should cancel it and I should lay in bed and I got a blessing. So that helped me get over it faster. So I did. I wasn’t feeling good at all. Then Thursday I woke up and coughed up some blood in my phlegm and the mission nurse said I needed to go back to the doctor so he gave me antibiotic. German doctors don’t like giving out antibiotics. So ya, we stayed inside most of the day except for a meeting with our ward mission leader. And I felt pretty crummy going over there. It felt nice to lay in bed. I’m sure Elder G. was bored out of his mind. I feel bad for making him stay in. But the drugs started to work, so Friday I was feeling better. Still sick, but better, and we were able to work. Then Saturday I felt almost fine. And now no problem. 

V. is doing great. We were supposed to meet with him on Tuesday but his dad was in the hospital, so we moved the appointment to Wednesday. And that lesson went really well. We talked about the offices of the priesthood. And he is really soaking it up. He also told us about a ward that is meeting in Russian here. He would love to hear the gospel in his own language. But we had the perfect lesson. The priesthood. How no other church in the world has the priesthood, but also how important it is to pray about what we say. Not to blindly believe us, but to put it to the test. Pray about it. And I think that was what he needed to hear. Then on Friday we met with him again. We talked about receiving answers to your prayers. And he loved that too. Just receiving personal revelation. So that was great. 

Then we had our game night in the church. Some ward members came and also some less actives came and we just played games for 1.5 hours. It was a real hit. This was the first one. It helped everyone bond. Well, only a few people came but thats ok. 12 is enough people to entertain everybody. Brother D. was supposed to come to make chili but he didn’t show up. We were all disappointed. Then the next day we found out his dad almost died in Berlin, and he had to go to Berlin. Never judge people. You never know the full story. Then on Saturday we had a finding day. We found 9 potentials in Ravensburg. It was a really good day. Now this week we will see what happens with them. It was a killer finding day. And we also cleaned up the church, it was our turn. Then yesterday at church we had two amazing talks. They were perfect for what V. needed to hear. So it was perfect that he was at church. Then he came to the Buchanans for lunch, so that really built up his relationship with them, bonding with the ward. Then we went home and studied and then went to M. again. He really loves having us over now. He is on the verge of coming to church I think. He just has some stuff to get over. He knows he needs to be active. And he wants his two boys to know the church. Its just hard to come back after years of not being active. But once again we shouldn’t judge. 

Ya Its amazing how many different things you learn in another language. I have heard the new film is amazing. I saw the old one. So Im excited to see the new one. 

Thats really cool about the sharks. And thats pretty cool that 6 of the 10 people were LDS. That probably doesn’t happen too often. Well, by accident. I wonder how many people on your cruise were members? Oh well. Sounds like it was really nice there. Here it finally got cold again. For a while it was amazing outside. Blue sky warm etc. Now its grey sky and rainy, a normal german spring. And that’s funny dad got paid for the vacation. Nice timing right? And that’s crazy that Brayden is home. I really can’t believe it. How fast time goes. And that’s ok that you didn’t have any amazing missionary experiences. Its like what brother Bachmann says, they see it then in the next life they say oh that sounds familiar. So maybe what you have done will make an influence and you don’t even know it. So at the final judgment you can see what influence you had.

So the Buchanans had a senior conference this past week in Bern. They brought back a brochure and in it there were pictures of bears. So does that count as seeing a wild animal? I also saw some birds this week. But there is a cool monkey place not far from here. So we might go see that one day. That might be entertaining. But that is so cool there were so many buildings on one island. Here we don’t even have a building. We are in a 4 story building of trade schools. So that’s funny. I bet everybody thinks we are crazy. Oh well. Lots of the jews thought the apostles were crazy. Just a side effect of being from the true church. Always been persecuted.  

And yes transfer calls are on Saturday. So we will see what happens.
Love you

Elder Kinghorn

March 17, 2014 Temple Trip

Dear Family

Well the temple trip was awesome. We left at 8.15 about. Then we went to pick up Sister P. She reminds me of Grandma Carson. Just laughs a lot. So she also lives in Ravensburg. So then Elder G. and I went to the backseat of the rented mini van. Then we drove to pick up Sister T and Sister K.  Sister T. is the relief society president, and the wife of the first counselor in the branch presidency, but he had work. Sister K. is from Russia and speaks 4 languages: russian, german, english and french. She is getting her masters in english so she can speak really well. So we first went to drop off her english paper at the university because it was on the way. So we crossed the fairy to constance to go to the college. Then we dropped it off. The school looks a lot like UVU, cement with color to make it look better. Then we drove to the temple it took 5 hours because of traffic... There was an accident so that stopped traffic for half an hour, but we had tons of fun. Then we made a deal with Sister T. that she would teach us how to make german bread. She makes the best bread, white and dark. Next monday we are going to learn, well how to make the white bread. The dark bread schwäbische leib takes 10 hours to prepare and bake. But that's next monday. Today we are just going to play games with the Buchanans. 

But anyways, at the temple I met this really cool french guy named Laurent. He is cool. We were talking and he said I could go to his house anytime I wanted. It’s a 3 hour train ride from paris. Not bad. We just clicked. I also met an italian who spoke almost no english. But he served a mission a few years ago and he served in a branch and said one week they had no one at church. Just the two missionaries. But I did the session in german with headphones. I can't understand french. So that was a really cool experience to do it in german. You learn different things. One of the workers only knew french. But then we drove back and it took 3 hours. And got home just in time for bed haha. Long day, but it was worth it. 

So Monday was also a great day. We went to the castle, then coming back we went to Markdorf to go by on people and we found a 16 year old girl right above a less active. We should have had an appointment yesterday but her dad was in the hospital so she went to visit him. And then we went home and went shopping for food etc. Then at 6 we went out to do missionary work. So we met with S. family. She is less active and from the Philippines. He isn't a member and a german. Then we went by on M. and he said come back tomorrow. So we did. We had zone training in Singen then went by on M. afterwards. He was happy to see us. He is at a point where he knows the gospel is true and wants the blessings. Just something is holding him back. His wife doesn't believe in God, so that's one problem. Then we also met with V. He is kind of worried about the priesthood and home teaching. But he'll make it. He is just shy around new people. Everything is just going well here. We also met with some other less actives. And then at church it started out small. No one was there for sunday school. But then sacrament meeting 6 more people walked in. It was perfect. Oh, and we met with S. last week. She is from Africa and really cool. Her dad is a minister in Africa. But she doesn't go because the church, but she works a ton.  Hopefully we can meet her soon.

Well that's awesome that Alex is going to Berlin. The food there isn't quite as good. Except for the döner. So Jason loves them in Spain and anywhere outside of Germany they might as well be garbage. Then southern Germany they get like a C. The very best ones get a C. Then in Frankfurt and western Germany they get a b. And in Berlin they get an A. He'll love it here. Even though it's basically a different country. 

About the lady we found, we called her and her husband didn't have interest. So we'll give her some time. Read the Book of Mormon, let it do its work.

Sounds like fun renting a scooter. Did you just get one scooter or two? And ya, having your own adventure is better than buying a guided adventure a lot of the time. Sounds like you're having an adventure and you have a nice long trip. That will be fun. You'll come home to Utah and say wow it's cold. Take lots of pictures. And in May I'll look at them. English isn't as common as you would think. Ya, europeans speak it. But so many people here speak no english. Lots of turkish people and africans have no english skills, and people from eastern Europe. It's kind of funny, we speak german and they go wow that's crazy. Or were you born here. It's nice to break the stereotype. 

And thanks for eating the pizza. That is needed before dinner. All you can eat for two weeks! Sounds perfect. Sounds like eating appointments here. Yesterday we had lunch with the Buchanans and we went to pick up D. from a bus stop and he was talking to a friend. So I got out of the car and invited his friend. So he came. And he might come to our ward activity on friday which would be awesome. 

The Buchanans have been here their whole mission. Usually senior couples don't get transferred. I've only heard of it twice my whole mission. One they opened up a branch in Italy so a missionary went to help. And the other was a genealogy mission in England and they recorded all of the stuff so they got transferred here to Germany. So when you two go on a mission you'll probably stay in one place. Probably spanish speaking. Like Spain. 

Sign me up for chem 351m and econ 110. and the religion class with Rachel. The rest I can change later. I have tons of time to think about things after my mission. All the classes will still be open. About appointments, we usually set them up closer to the appointment. It's rare that we have them set up earlier. So we have V. twice this week and L. once and a couple less actives. 

Love you. Have fun.


Elder Kinghorn

March 10 Well It was a Good Week

Dear family,
You know the story we were completely lost and found the perfect person? Well we might have one of those stories.  We were in Markdorf trying to get to a potential who isn’t on the map. Just the gps can get us there,  but we weren’t with the Buchanans who have a gps. We were walking trying to get there by memory- a farm in the middle of nowhere.  We ran into this lady and talked to her. She said, “That’s funny I was just thinking about religion on my walk and the past few days.” So we talked to her and gave her a book. Then we are going to call her today. Well (apostrophe but this computer doesn’t have the key. It makes this symbol £) so we will see what happens in the coming weeks. 

V. is doing good. He came to church and we met with last week. He is following the word of wisdom completely. Ok he had a coffee on saturday but not too bad. He is really trying his hardest. So he is doing great. We pushed his baptismal date back to the 19th of April, the day before Easter. So that’s exciting. I think this one he will be ready for. Then we had a lot of less actives come to church yesterday. We had an attendance of 20. It was amazing. haha Ya, another small branch. You’re just laughing at me. I will be shocked when I see our ward and using a real church building. I haven’t used one since I was in Austria. 

So also this past week we met with L. He is doing great. We actually were able to talk about the scriptures with him. And then he gave me an airbrush. I have no idea how to use it. Looks like I get to learn when I get home. L. has some really good artwork. A really talented guy. Then we also went by on an potential  we found a few weeks ago in Friedrichshafen.  They let us in. It was great. They’re a couple in their 70s probably. The husband lived in Oregon a long time ago and worked with some Mormons. And then 30 years ago the missionaries talked with him about the gospel in Friedrichshafen. So it was perfect.  And we also met with K, the indian. He is a really nice guy. About 25 years old. He was really sincere about it. He was interested in Jesus. He knows absolutely nothing about Christ. We are meeting him on Saturday. And then we set up some more appointments for this week. So lets see how they play out. And then the best appointment for the coming week will be Thursday. We get to go to the temple. I’m 
so excited. Ill tell you about it next week. 

Dad, sounds like you are busy. How far away is that from campus? Here is an idea. Try to get into Germany. Germans love solar. It's much more common here than in America. If you have a good advantage you could really take the german market. 

We had 3 new investigators last week. Hopefully this week 2 more. So we are getting a much bigger teaching pool which is great.

Well I love you all


Elder D. Kinghorn

March 3, 2014

Dear family,

First of all my emails today will be short because I’m writing on an ipad and I’m rusty with typing on the screen... No we didn’t get ipads. This is the Buchanan’s. So first of all, today was fasching. That is the crazy german holiday and they had a really fun parade in the city, tons of witches bands. goblins etc. and its not like America. The parade interacts with the people. They would take children from the audience and take them for 100 feet or put them in cages etc. so it was fun. That was our fun today. The buchanans went with us. Then we went to go get lunch where D. works. at cochwerk or something like that. It’s Cafe Rio but with German food. And now here we are at the Buchanans writing emails.

Next week we are going to Schloss Meersburg, so a castle. But onto more important stuff. V. is doing good. Sadly he didn't come to church. We are going to address this on Wednesday when we meet again. He is just always too busy to come to church. He has given up alcohol now. So now he is quitting black tea and then coffee. We might need to move his baptism back for him to come to church more. We'll see how he does in the future. We almost had some awesome lessons this week but they all fell out. It was a real bummer. We had 3 or 4 lessons fall out with members. Ugh so frustrating. At least we can always count on meeting with V. a couple times a week, and less actives. We had almost no one at church yesterday, a total of 16 people... normally we are in the 20's. But R. and J. both came which is good. J. is getting close to baptism too

well that is the week in a nutshell as much as I can on an ipad.

Well that's cool about Vivint. I remember learning about some solar stuff in chemistry. I can work there, then Mike Smith can contract a new building and we can get Michael to fly their jet around. Hmm who else could join haha. No I'm kidding about that. Well actually I'll need a job asap when I get home. I hear it's killer if missionaries don't have a job set up. Basically I have no clue what I want to do. Working at the lab at BYU could be good, but it won't even be 20 hours a week. Do you know any places where I could do a summer internship either for chemistry or business? If not, it doesn't matter. One thing a mission helps with is the ability to pull long hours. Study for 3 hours a day, then go work, meet with people or just do the grinding work which I don't enjoy but whatever, it needs to be done.

A girl named T. just got baptized. I never taught her, but she was a previous investigator who we found all the time in trains and I asked her if she wanted the Munich sisters to teach her. I met tanya probably once a month on average. We talked quite a bit, just constant contact. God was just waiting till she was ready. Which is truly a miricle. God puts us on the right path. Saturday she got baptized. Good things happen. It just takes work and energy. Our efforts as missionaries are never wasted, even if sometimes it seems like they are.

We had 2 appointments with R, but both didn't work out. Ugh so frustrating sometimes. She wants to meet but I think she is a 22 year old girl and sometimes doesn't remember things, like the one she said oh ya I need to work at that time. So oh well. This week we'll meet with her. The M’s are doing just fine. Haven't come to church in a while but we should meet with them this week or next. And the M.'s are cool. didn't meet with them either. Same problem with they aren't good with appointments. It's the culture there. Oh well.

Ya, that's funny about the Cadillac commercial or the Sunday school thing.

Well I need to go.

I love you

Elder Devon Kinghorn

February 24, 2014 A New Transfer


Dear Family

Well this was a good week. First off it was stake conference which was really good. So the Saturday session was in Wintertur (spelled something like that) in Switzerland. And it was all about member missionary work. The first counselor in the stake presidency gave a really good presentation. And lots of the members gave the that's too hard.... answer. Or that doesn't work. I could tell he was a bit frustrated. Then yesterday I talked to him and he was like ya it didn't work too well. But I said it will just take time. Lots of missionaries are out now really understand what's trying to be brought across. So I think now is the push for more member missionary work, but most members don't get it. But in the next 10 years tons of RM's will apply it really well. Then others can copy the example. I think he liked that. The Sankt Gallen stake has 17 missionaries out. So in 2 years there will be 17 members who really understand member missionary work. It's just sad when members hear something then say that's too hard. I don't want to be that kind of a member. In the time of Noah only 8 people got on the arc. Would I get on? That's a big question. Would I get on the arc? I would hope so. What are the arch's in todays world? What has God told us to do through the prophet that we should do? Are we doing them? 

Well then Sunday at the we went to Dornbirn because it was a video from Salt Lake to all of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. So some buildings had it, some didn't. It was good. Bednar and Hales spoke. It was so good. Bednar actually gave his talk in German. I could tell someone translated it for him so he could read it. But it was really cool to hear him talk in his own voice in German. Ya we could tell he hadn't spoken German in 40 years. But oh well. Well besides that this week we had a great time. I had an austausche with Elder Sharp on Tuesday and Wednesday. Well we had a change of plan. We stayed in Ravensburg and Elder G went to Dornbirn. Because Elder Sumsion got transferred so he had to say goodbye to everyone. So we went by on a ton of people and set an appointment up for a potential we found the week before. Then we met with the M. And L (the son not the other member) had a friend there. So before we went we were going to talk about tithing and the blessings it brings. But we decided to change it to watching the restoration movie and go through the first lesson. Low and behold we had a 22 year old girl named R/ there. Then we told her we'd give her the Book of Mormon and she was so excited. She said she loves to read. So we are meeting with her tomorrow night. Also V. is doing great. He is now going to start giving up alcohol. He really has changed a ton since I first met him. He was a mess. His depression really is better now. He thinks clearly now. We might move his baptismal date back so he can overcome his problems. But it's still planned for the 22 of March.

We taught the M’s, and their cousin was there. And we met with A. and another time with V. I'm bad about writing about all of our investigators. So Monday was a miracle. We had nothing to do so we went by on some people. Well were going to. Then after the first one we ran into V. going on a walk. So we talked for like 2 hours walking around the city. God just places people right in our way it's perfect. 

That's cool about the post cards. Here is a gift I want. Scan all of them and email them to the family. That way the information doesn't fade with time. Thank you. 

Ya so turns out we're related to the Buchanans. Yesterday we found it out. I don't remember how but we were on the Familysearch website. Small world.

I love you


Elder Kinghorn

Monday, April 7, 2014

February 17, 2014 Hello


Freiburg Zone Conference- Birthdays! Miles, Fox, Horlacher, Stuart, Garrett, Orchard, Kinghorn, Bartholomew, E. Bignall, Robins Front: Sponseller, Woods & Allman


Happy Valentines Day










Frieburg Zone Conference


Dear Family,

So this was another pretty good week. I had an awesome exchange in Dornbirn, Austria with Elder Sumsion. We had a good time. We went by on some really odd people. One lady just kept on going about random stuff. And her shirt had a few buttons unbuttoned and she didn't notice for a while so that was awkward. But she was nice. So they'll see her again sometime. Then we had an appointment with the 9 year old named E. who just got baptized. The mom was less active but she came back. And the step dad is turkish and really cool. So we had turkish/austrian food. Then we had a hot pepper just because and I was fine and Elder Sumsion almost died after eating it. It was funny. Then we barely missed the train. We were sprinting from the car to the train station and watched the train leave. Sad story. Happens. Oh well. But another funny story about spicy. So Saturday we met with Br. D. He is less active. He said that he has this chili and we are having a game night next month and he is going to make it. And he is going to make an extra spicy batch for me and anyone who thinks they can handle it. But he is from Berlin and ya he has a rough story. A drunk driver killed his family a while ago. So that really hit me when he told us. Life is hard. But he still prays and loves God. That's just hard to hear about. Losing your wife and kids. Luckily families can be together forever. It brings hope.

This week we had zone conference. Luckily we have the Buchanans who drive us. If we didn't it would be like a 4-4.5 hour train ride. Dornbirn had 5.5 hours to get home. We used to go to St. Gallen, Switzerland but they kicked us out because it's better for the whole mission to make a new zone. Well except for us. We get hosed and have to go close to France. Oh well. But it was really good. I really learned a lot at zone conference. I really loved it. And that was the whole day friday. We drove there and drove back. I keep getting farther and farther from the zone headquarters. In Austria it was about an hour from door to church. In Ulm it was 1.5 hours. Munich 2. Here 4. Well 2-2.5 with a car. and ya. nvm. So also J. came to church. She wants to get bapatized soon. We had a really good lesson with her at church about the gospel of Jesus Christ, faith, repentance baptism the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. V. didn't come because he was visiting his brother. But this week he'll come again. Sadly our lesson with A. didn't work. Oh well.

Yes, the visa went through. And the package worked, well I think. I got a mystery package with a shirt in it. So if that's what you mean, then yes I got that. Other than that no. I got a package Rachel sent a month ago. Packages come after we leave the apartment, so maybe tomorrow. Elder G and I are still together. So that means we are going to be the oldest companionship in the mission on Thursday, except for President. Oh, so the movie. You know the movie Silent Night? Well I met the family of the guy who produced or directed it.

But ya I've seen some of the pretty areas. In Rosenheim and Wiener Neustadt and Dornbirn they have mountains. It's really cool. And we see the Swiss Alps from here. And I'll have a good birthday. Don't you worry.

Love you

Elder Kinghorn

Sunday, April 6, 2014

February 10, 2014 Morning

Dear Family,

Well this week was awesome except for the 30 minutes before church. So before church we got on our bikes and my seat was soaking wet, so that sucked. Then riding to church my foot slipped off the pedal and I almost died. Somehow I saved the crash and I looked down and I had stepped in dog crap so that's why it slipped and it was all over my shoe. So that was the crappy (pun) part of the week. Besides that, it was awesome. So first off we met with V. twice and he came to church. We finished teaching him everything, and he is ready to get baptized in March. Just needs to keep working on everything and he'll be set to go. So at church yesterday we talked about following the law and how we follow it. Then he brought up some example and our gml (ward mission leader) said, “Well it's like if Germany went nazi again we wouldn't support them. It has to be good. That's how God wants it.” 

Then also last thursday we were going to see the M's and we somehow missed the bus stop and went to the next city Meersburg. So that was awkward. It's only happened to me once before. So we went to go the other direction and waited at the stop took a picture of the view then waited some more. And after 4 minutes a less active M. showed up.  He lives in Ravensburg. and we were miles away. But he drove us to Markdorf. So he said we can meet him this week.  So that's sweet. Then his two sons came to church because he and his wife were gone. So they stayed at grandma and grandpa's.  And they loved church. Not too sure what happened in primary. But I heard it went well. Then I sat next to one of them during sacrament meeting and he liked it. He is 8 and his brother is 4. I forgot their names. I'm bad at that. 

So we also met with L. last week and he has been in pain recently with his back. So he wasn't too happy. But still super nice. Someday we'll get him back to church. And then Saturday was awesome. So we had a finding day in Ravensburg and we set a goal to get 2 lessons with people during the day we had never seen before and find someone who would get baptized. So Dornbirn came up and I went with Elder Fox and the Buchanans to Friedrichshafen to go by on a ton of people. And ya we found a couple really cool people next to old potentials. One of them is this 25 year old kid. And two of the elders in Ravensburg went by on one of the people we told them to from the Philippines and they had a lesson. She and her daughter were interested. Well the daughter is half German. Then Elder G and S set up an appointment with another guy for next week. Then later that day Elder G and I went by on another old potential in Markdorf and we talked for like an hour and wants us to come by this Saturday. So 3 new investigators in one day. Then we went to the Ms again that night. And Br. M was sick upstairs but everyone else was there and ya it was good. We read Mosiah 24 with them. They have troubles reading in the Book of Mormon. So that's what we did. Then sometime last week we talked to this guy in the bus. His name is A. He is from Kazakstan. But his grandparents are all German. It's common because of WW2. But then we met with him last night. He was a little bit buzzed and his friend was passed out drunk on the floor. And we had a really good discussion with him. And we read Alma 7:10-13 with him and he started to tear up. He said his life is really crappy and he wants to make it better. So we are meeting with him Thursday. Lots of stuff planned this week. 

D with the visa problem is going through another way to stay in Germany. Hopefully it works, we'll see.  So this week I was reading in Alma 14 and I made a connection to Matt 3. So the Nehor's were giving the exact same temptation that satan gave Jesus. Just worded differently. If thou be the son of God. And if you have power from God. I think lots of temptations today are exactly the same. Just think about it.

So the visa should be done tomorrow. But it's not certain. So don't send anything. And transfer calls are Saturday so just to be safe don't send anything. And the ward mission leader didn't call it. It was a stake thing. The stake ran it. So I heard about the family history thing. I thought it was just free for members. That's what the Buchanans said. Is it free for the whole world to use? Whatever. I don't know what's going on in the world. 

And the whole 3 month thing, it really hasn't hit me. It feels like I'm a missionary. I know it's coming up and we are really working hard. But doesn't feel different. So just don't bring it up and it will be fine

Well the kickers... Remember how Kyle and I would go snowboarding? Well we would go off of those kickers. No flips but we'd fly. Then we found a smaller jump into powder where we'd try flips. So ya, if we biffed it on the kickers it would have been just as bad as if they did :) Good thing I didn't face plant it. 

Ok here is something for mission prep to think about. So when Jesus talks to the publicans and sinners, how some missionaries are scared to talk to the scary gothic people or drunk people? The sinners are the ones who need Christ.  Like A., his friend was passed out on the floor, he was so drunk. But he has potential. That goes for everyone. Those are the people Christ talked with. Well if they were willing to listen. The sinners he helped. And the righteous he called to help the sinners become righteous. That's the gospel.

I love you

Elder Kinghorn