April 25, 2013

Hello everybody.

Well story of the week- while playing soccer here there was a high ball.  I went for the header, but so did a guy from the other team.  I did not see him, nor him me.  My forehead hit him in the nose.  I don’t think it’s broken, but it was bleeding bad.  He is fine now.  

My three person companionship is down to two because people from Provo came.  We lost the one fluent in Spanish, so in lessons we don’t know everything any more.  Speaking of which, I told an investigator that my great-grandpa found the golden plates in his attic.  Hopefully I don’t do that in the field.  

I get to email Monday as well, so that is exciting, and I find out where my first area will be, so that will also be exciting.  Nothing too exciting happened this week, a bunch of classes, watched the Joseph Smith restoration video.  That was really good.  

For the city center I was with an Italian that spoke little English and Spanish, but he could understand lots of Spanish.  We found a guy from Nigeria that spoke English, and he seemed really interested and we talked to a Spanish lady for a while.  She housed some missionaries in the 80s.  she also took a Book of Mormon.  

I got two letters and the packages.  Thank you.  Pictures are always nice,  and cookies can never be a bad thing either.  

The Prada was good.  We got in for free with a student id card.  There is a way famous painting called like the Le Mirmabes or something like that.  There is a mirror and a girl is mail things.  There was a large crowd around it.  You would really like Madrid.  the architecture in lots of places is like renaissance Italy.  

I am excited to be able to talk to you on Mothers Day. 

Gizmo is always fun I guess, or at least St. George is.  Graduations are not though but hearing Elder Perry will be.  

I can understand the general idea of what people are saying.  

We had way good gelato for Pday though.  It is cooling off a bit, but this week has been sunny and nice.  Most of the elders think it’s way too hot, but I am not.  I like the warmth.  

Paul does seem way inspirational.  I want to learn more about him.  I remember you taught us a lesson about him once for Sunday School.  Are you keeping busy there?  I hear you made a dress with Tanya.  She is excited about it.  She has told me like twice now.  

You should take golfing lessons to pass the time, or soccer, then we can all play when we get back.  haha.  Thats exciting that Dad said we can all go visit our missions.  That would be fun showing you all where I served and fun seeing where Devon served. How late do you stay up because when i checked this morning you had not sent one yet.  I knew you would later in the day though.  I just came to print of emails but the printer was not working.

Well my time is about up.  I will write again monday.

Love you all

Elder Kinghorn the Younger. 

ps Thank you for all the love and support.  It’s really is nice and really nice to hear from people. 

April 18, 2013

Hello everybody

This week has been good and lots more classes.  Last week at the park, my park companion and I (we change companions just for contacting every Saturday) talked to two people from Germany for an hour, the whole time we were there.  We talked to them about just about everything.  We talked about labor unions, so it was everything.  They live in Stuttgart and he is a professor there.  It was cool because my companion’s grandpa is from Germany and with Devon living there we had a connection.  It seemed like we were meant to find them.  They are protestant and said that it is sad when people don’t have religion in their life, religion is like a guiding star.  They didn’t speak Spanish and we don't have any English Book of Mormons to give out (seems strange) but we do have pamphlets in English to hand out.  so we gave them that.  He said to us to look him up online. Five minutes into talking with them he invited us to sit down on the bench with them so they wanted to talk with us.  We did talk to them about religion a bit though.  We talked about the church and missionary life, but we more got to know them.  At first they weren’t interested in taking a Book of Mormon at all, this was before we knew they didn’t speak Spanish.  By the end they gratefully accepted the pamphlet, so maybe Devon will find them.  

It is finally warm and sunny here and it is lovely.  All of the elders say it is to hot, but it is nice.  That is really sad about the Boston Marathon.  Good thing Dad did not want to do it this year.  Kyle said there were in Boston that day, but he said all of the missionaries are safe.  

About being protected if you obey--My teacher shared a few scriptures in Acts about when Stephen was stoned to death.  The other apostles were commanded to go back to the city and the Lord said he would protect them.

One of the fake investigators we have here we have the best lessons with.  She didn’t want to pray because she prayed when her grandpa had cancer, but he died so we talked to her about that (the investigator she plays was a real one she taught on her mission).  We just talked about how God is always with us, and we just have to trust him in our lives, because he knows more than us, just like when we are little kids, we want something from our parents but they say no, we may not understand why, but they know what is best for us.

One thing that lots of the teachers saw a lot is how grateful they are for the missionaries that taught them.  I was thinking that you Mom and Dad and my family have been missionaries in my life.  Where would I be if you did not bring me the gospel?  You have really helped my testimony in how you have raised me.  You have been so great in my life, and so supportive and make is so much easier to serve a mission. 

I am almost done with the mtc.  I’m so excited to go out into the field.  Classes are good and all but it is the same thing every day.  I went through the temple is Spanish today.  The temple is right by the mtc.  

Last Pday we went to Santiago Burnabeau- Real Madrid soccer stadium.  It was sweet.  It made us want to be better soccer players.  You go to the top of the stadium at first,  then you go through the hall of fame.  There are a ton of trophies.  They were voted the best soccer team of the twentieth century, so they had a ton of fame things.  There were just videos of sweet soccer goals.  It was strange because the champions league trophy (the league for all the best clubs in Europe) was the most basic trophy.  

Speaking of which Real Madrid is going to play Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi finals.  Hopefully Madrid will win (maybe Devon will think otherwise).  If Madrid and Barcelona both win then they would play in the finals and that would be a huge game.  With it being the finals, and the rivalry, the city would be crazy.  Anyhow, after we went through the hall of fame we went down into the press conference room.  We took a bunch of pictures of us pretending like we were important.  Then we went of the field, and the bench where the players sit.  It was super cool.  I did not go to the stadium with Travis.  He is in a different district and zone.  Hopefully in the field we can be companions.  That would be cool.  Maybe we could ask the president for our last transfer and he would let us.

Today we are going to the Prada, the big art museum. 

I have not gotten the box yet.  Yes, I do think I get along with the sisters better.  It seems that way in life with me.  They are more talkative.  

Thats exciting Tanya is done with BYU, but also kind of sad I’m sure.  Its a good place to be.  

Sounds like all of the house jobs are keeping you busy.  thats exciting it will finally get finished.  

Thats to bad what happened to Tiger.  Would he have been in the playoff then if he would have had a birdie instead of a triple?  i like Adam Scott though.  Thats cool after the British Open.  Playoffs are always fun to watch.  Who did you watch the Masters with?  Did Kevin come over?  I found out that Real Madrid won their game and are now going to play Bayern Munich, a team from Devon’s mission.  Madrid better win.  Then if Madrid and Barcelona both win they will play in the Champions League finals.  That would be a huge game.  I found this out from talking to the Germans in the park for an hour.  

Can you get the super high speed google thing or just provo?  

Did the Lakers make the playoffs then?  If they do then I would have won another nickel, but Tiger still needs to win a major.  He will win the us open.  hHw is work going?  The conference was a success I guess.  Are you going to switzerland anytime soon.  The soccer stadium was way cool.  You would like it a lot.  The sisters who aren’t even into sports loved it.  Life is all good here.  Just a lot more classes and such.  We get to get out a lot more than Provo does, so that’s nice.  We still play soccer often.  The president of the MTC here, President Sitturid loves golf as well and he has a Alpine membership.  He gave it to someone for two years but will get it back when he returns.  I told him we should go golf when we get back.  He went golfing on a Pday but I did not go.  Spanish is coming along.  There was no silent Sunday though. 

I love you.  Everyone says all of my ties are nice, so you did a good job of picking them out. 

Love your hijo,

Elder Jason Kinghorn

April 11, 2013

Hello People,

Spanish is coming along fine.  It really helps having 3 more fluent people in the class.  They were all in Spanish emersion programs.  

Thats no surprise Hill is the starter (BYU football).  Louisville would have been one of the teams I might have picked (basketball).  How has Real Madrid done against the team from Turkey I think?  Its not La Liga (soccer team).  They are also in the European club championships.  The Masters is today (pro golf tournament).  I will try not to think about it to much.  That sounds way windy when you went golfing, but I’m sure it was still fun.  How is the conference going?  Are you getting a lot of leads.  It looks like it is going to rain today, but I have an umbrella so I will be good.  

Things really are to expensive here.  General Conference was really good. This was the most I’ve ever gotten from Conference.  It seemed like there was a ton of things about missionary work.  President Monson’s talk about missionary work really helped me know why I am here.  It was kind of strange to watch live Conference knowing that you all were watching the same thing.  It made me a bit homesick, but not bad.  I was completely fine.  I have not talked in a British accent to much, but I have a bit.  I need to work on my Spanish accent more than anything.  My teacher has a way thick accent.  

Just for the record, I would bet a nickel Tiger is going to win the Masters.  What is the betting line?  You should pay the $4000 and go for the weekend.  It would be quite fun, but you should actually do it in two years so I can come also.  

Sometimes we get kind of distracted in our class, being in a building all day.  This sister and I are quite alike and laugh often.  But we get things done, and some of our lessons have gone really well.  We are getting better.   Last night we had a surprise one with our teacher and his girlfriend about the law of chastity.  It actually went way well.  My time is running out so tell mom about anything I did not send to her.  

That’s good you finally got a couch.  You just need to do cabinets now.  

It is really cool going to contact people every week.  Even though we can’t speak the language that well, they can still feel the Spirit.  How is everything at home?  Did Tanya come over often while Dad was gone or did you just stay in St. George?  When I get back you better be a pro golfer. Okay?  Then we can all go in St George.  

We go to the temple every Pday.  It is a pretty one.  We are not too close to the city center.  It takes like 17 minutes to get there by subway.  Did you get the letters I sent home?  I finally bought stamps last week.  They are not cool looking though.  Maybe I will find some someday.  

Nutella does not taste quite the same.  I think it is something different.  They must make it or something.  I would like some golfing pictures.  I have none of those.  I am excited to hear Holland speak.  

Well this past week has been good.  We have finally had a few days of sunshine.  Although one day it was pouring and we played soccer and it was rad!  Today we are going to Real Madrid soccer stadium.  It’s called the Santiago Bernbau.  We get to go on the field, the locker room and the press box.  It sounds pretty cool.  The Egyptian temple was closed.  People said it was kind of disappointing anyway.  So we took a gondola over the city.  That was cool.  And went in some stores and bought some stamps.  

Last week at the city center we found a guy from Nigeria, he was already a member but sounded like he was struggling a bit.  We talked to him for a while (in English) and told him about General Conference.  Speaking of which on Saturday we watched in live at 6, then Sunday at 11 we watched Priesthood.  At 2 we watched another, tthen at 6 we watched live again.  We are watching Sun afternoon tonight.  I have not seen Elder Holland speak yet.  

They do cook with a lot of olive oil here.  They made paella the other day and it was good.  My companions are from Montana and Cedar Valley California or Modesto.  I’m not sure.  I hope Modesto though because Monsters vs Aliens is in Modesto for a bit.  

Chocolate is good here and the oranges are amazing here.  I met my mission president the other day.  They came and stopped by the MTC.  We didn’t talk for too long though.  

All of my roommates snore.  I don’t wake up to often though.  There are four other people in the room, probably will be more soon though.  Eight more are coming tomorrow and 8 more italians next wednesday.  There are 6 girls and 2 other elders in my district.  They are going to all of the missions.  We are the advanced Spanish class.  I was district leader but they switch after three weeks.  I really didn’t do too much, more just passed things along.  We still play futball (soccer) almost every day.  All of the teachers are way good.  Teaching the fake investigators is good.  It helps me know the scriptures a lot more.  One of my companions was in a Spanish emersion program so he is almost fluent.  I really like all of my teachers.  One has a super thick accent.  

Well farewell. 

Love

Elder Jason Kinghorn

April 4, 2013

Hello everybody,

Well I will be sending you a letter, computer time is limited.  The city center is very pretty.  Its kind of like renaissance Italy style.  Today we are going to an Egyptain temple museum here.  Next week it’s either the prado or the stadium. 

Well Easter dinner here was not as good as home.  We did not have ham.  They gave the cooks the night off so we just had sandwiches.  Thats exciting you finally picked out on a coach.  When will it get there_  where is the old one going?  Has life there been good  I dont even know how to push the question mark sign on the computer.  Maybe one day I shall figure it out.  

Contacting people in the center is good.  I can kind of talk with them.  They just speak super quick and have a larger vocabulary.  I like all my teachers.  One has a super thick accent from Spain,  another is from Spain and the third is from Ecuador or somewhere around there. Has JJ come over at all.  How is he doing.  Have you gone out to lunch with many other people.  Well i shall write more in the letter.  Time is dwindling. 

I go kind of crazy here in the mtc.  We stay inside the building all day long and mainly are in the same classroom all day long.  Exersize time is exciting.  We play soccer most of the time.  I score semi often.  

Well at the park the other day we were talking to a old Spanish guy.  At first he was like "No I am Catholic but then we testified of the Book of Mormon and he took one and said he would read it.  We also talked to some Germans for a bit.  They seemed more curious than anything,  but we gave them a pamphlet.  They live in like Alfombra or something.  It’s in the blue triangle.  

We were supposed to meet at 4 to leave.  At like 3:45 we found two ladies.  At first we were talking in Spainish but then found out they spoke English.  We have them read 3 Nephi 11,  and the Spirit was so strong.  They were almost crying.  So they both took a Book of Mormon.  We were talking to them for like 25 minutes.  So when we went to the fountain everyone was gone.  While walking back to the metro station some drunk guys said “Hey elders,  come here.”  They tried giving us candy but we did not partake.  Then a guy from Africa said “Dont talk to them.  They are way to drunk to understand.”  He was only semi drunk.  He seemed very interested in the church.  We got his number.  We will see how it goes.  

Then at the stop we were talking to some people.  We gave them a Book of Mormon and we ended up missing our stop.  So while waiting at the next one we talked to some more people and gave them a Book of Mormon and ended us missing our stop again.  So then we were like okay, no more talking  we need to get back.  So we hurried back and were like an hour late, but it was alright.  So in the time that we were scheduled to be there we gave out one Book of Mormon, but when we were there extra we gave out four.  The Lord will bless you if you work with all your might.  

The food here is not all to great, but the Nutella is good so it makes it all right.  It has rained like every day here.  

Yesterday we played soccer in the rain and it was supper rad.  Last pday we went to Plaza del Sol.  Then we walked to Plaza Mayor.  Then we went through a cathedral.  It was a cool one.  It was right next to the royal palace.  We didn’t go inside the palace but we saw it.  

General Conference will be in English.  Easter was nice.  We had musical numbers, and everyone read scriptures about the atonement, and we watched video clips.  We do not watch The District every day.  We only watch short clips-never a full episode.  So I will be send letters today.  I haven’t had any stamps yet.  So they should get there sometime next week. 

Love

Elder Kinghorn

March 28, 2013

Just forward this to people-I don’t have much time

Everything here is good.  We went street contacting on Saturday just in the center of Madrid, kind of like an outside shopping mall place.  

I did talk to Travis a lot on the plane.  He is in a different district, but we still see each other a lot and talk.  Three people in my class are basically fluent in Spanish, so that is a big help.  The food in here is so-so.  Some people like it, but i think it is bland.  They put Nutello out every meal and it is quite popular.  Some girl gave me banana with Nutella on it and I made a mess out of it.

I really enjoy studying for the lessons we teach to the "investigators" (just our teachers who pretend to be), but I also enjoy just reading the Book of Mormon.  It seems like we don’t have much time to do that much. 


We play futball soccer a lot.  I can run, but my ball handling is lacking. I have scored though.  

We get to go to the temple every Thursday, which is nice.  I only have 30 minutes of the computer, which seems quite short, so I am trying to type quickly.  I really like my class.  This girl and I laugh a lot, but we will learn a lot.  Today we get to go see the sights of Madrid and I will take pictures.  There are five groups and five sights in five weeks.  

Love, Eldler Jason Kinghorn