Learning German Letter #2

So alas it's P-day and I am allowed to write whomever I wish.  So, I find myself writing you.  It seems like I've been here a day and also an eternity- very strange feeling.  Sundays here are great.  We had a fireside from the Provo Temple President which was amazing.  Then right after that we watched the talk "The Character of Christ" by President Bednar.  Oh, may I ask you to send letters and DearElder instead of email.  We get mail daily.

It's amazing how much German I have learned this past week.  And German isn't as guttural as we think; that's Dutch.  German sounds like a mix between Spanish, French and, well, it's own twist.  I bet you want to hear about my district....

Yesterday after gym we all took showers and no one had a key so we were locked out for a bit.  Another companionship saved us by retrieving a janitor to come let us in.  Oh well, that is just the type of adventure you'd expect with 4 boys living in the same automatic locking rooms.

I have more bad news.  It's not 8 weeks, it's 9.  Our expected departure date is July 17th, same as Natalie's.  How ironic!  If she flies to Munich she could be on the same flight that I am.

Anyways, thank you family for all of your love and support.

With much love,
Elder Kinghorn

First P-Day at the MTC -Letter #1

Well hello guys. Before I write my letter can you do a favor for my companion? He doesn't know his fathers email address. Could you call him at... and send a letter to me telling his email address? Thank you that would mean a lot to him. Well thus far I have learned a lot in the mtc. Both spiritually and linguistically. German grammer is really cool. It makes a lot of sence and in english it sounds like Yoda. I'll come back being able to talk like the little green man.... And a german. I found the best thing for me is flash cards. I've already gone through close to 100 since Saturday night. Repeating in my mind isn't as effective as I thought It would be but flash cards work very well. We have given three lessons in german 20 minutes for the first two and 30 minutes for the third. They really throw you into the fire as you're at the MTC. We are busy all the time. Almost no time to think. It's always class time. But I enjoy it here. It isn't as bad as people make it seem. Well except for the food. It's the same as BYU so I'm used to it but some of the other elders... well it doesn't agree with them. Oh well that's life, hey at least we aren't going to Africa. If we were then we would really have a problem with food once we got there. Everyone is super excited to be going to Germany. But the few of us going to the Alpine mission feel cool because we get to see a few more nations. It will be lots of fun but for now it's time to enjoy the experience at the MTC. We have spiritual experiences all the time. It's really cool when you're speaking in German and the spirit testifies that the gospel is true. In every language the gospel is true. No exceptions. I feel like I need to tell you more but I've included a lot in my letter home and it's only been a week. Not much happens here besides studying. Its every day from 7 to 9:30. Plus a few breaks for meals. But other than that there isn't much happening. I'll keep you updated next week.

I love you

    Elder Kinghorn

First Letter From the MTC

Surprise!!  My branch president has told us to write home today and not on p-day.  P-day is normally Tuesday.  So far the MTC has been a blast.  I really love it here.  My companion is a Canadian.  He is a linguist prodigy!!!  So far he has been a huge help with my German.

Well, it's Friday and I've already given my first less in German.  It went well.  I forgot just about every German word in my vast vocabulary.  Tomorrow we teach again.  If Dad has any hints for a left brained person on learning a language, I would love to hear it.

Well, I've got to to.  Send more Tuesday.

Love, Elder Kinghorn

Elder Kinghorn Begins His Mission

Devon entered the MTC mid day on Wednesday May 16, 2012.   Our stake president, President Howard Bangerter came to our home and set Devon apart as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We felt the spirit of the Lord in our home as we were able to listen to the blessing pronounced upon Devon by President Bangerter.   After Devon was set apart everyone shared some thoughts with Devon.   We all let him know how much we appreciated his preparation and our faith in him that he will be a great servant of the Lord as he enters his missionary service.  

We met Tanya and Kevin down in Provo when it was time to say goodbye and drop him off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo.  While it was hard to see him go knowing that we won't get to see him for 2 years, it really was a great day and we're very proud of his decision to serve a mission.

As we get letters from Devon we'll share appropriate items here in his blog to let you all know about the work that is going on.   We don't know yet when his preparation day is so we're not sure when we'll receive our first letter from Devon.   I guess we'll be waiting for the mailman just like so many other missionary families.

Devon had a year of German in high school, however it wasn't that good of a class and didn't teach him very much.   So now we are pretty sure that in two days there in the MTC he will have been learning a lot more German already than what he learned in his whole time in high school.

- Dwain

Family in front of out home (Tanya and Kevin were at school)

Family in front of the Missionary Training Center

Devon heading off.....  

Some Mission Photos

Here's a few photos taken the day before the MTC.

Devon in front of the German flag

With Bruno, our family dog

Getting Ready to Leave

Of course we had various last minute things that we did "for the last time for two years" through the days heading up to the start of the mission.

We went out for a nice Italian dinner at Cucina Tuscana in Salt Lake - great food.

Then we went out for an afternoon of shooting the rifles and shotguns with Michael Smith.

And of course there was a last bit of golf.

Thoughts on getting prepared

This is Devon. I have 10 days until I enter the MTC to serve in the Alpine-German Speaking Mission. I am very excited to serve the Lord for two years. Right now I am doing some last-minute preparation including a dropbox account. All I need to get are a few short sleeve white shirts, another pair of shoes, and my last Hepatitis shot. It's strange with the days winding down, I have started to realize the task that I am undertaking. Despite this, I am not nervous at all. I look forward to the challenges and trials I will face, including the task of learning the German language.

I am not really disappointed about not watching movies for two years because I have already seen "The Avengers" twice opening weekend. That was the movie I really wanted to see before I left. Now it is about time to leave everything behind including family and close friends. I am not too sad about that, because I know that this is the Lord's will and two years is a very short time. It will go by in a flash, and I intend to return home knowing that I worked as hard as I could have.