Weekly Update #9

 A good day to you all from Dublin! This week was loaded with things, so let's get down to business.

     Tuesday went decently. I went into a Starbucks for my first time to teach someone. Unfortunately, they did not show up. Sad day, I do say. Anywho, that's about it for Tuesday.

     Wednesday was great, to say the least. We met with the jolly Polish trainer who I am now thoroughly convinced that he is trying to kill me via working out. Now, to say a bit about this: I love that man to death, kid you not, and the workouts he is having us do are intense and well worth every bit of strain. 'Tis mucho bueno. Sister Alleman (Or Allaman, I really don't know how it is spelt) also gave him an English Book of Mormon. The only problem was he can't read English well enough. We'll STP later. We then got some burritos, went to the park, and watched pigeons as they ate the rice Elder Oldham didn't want to eat. There was this one tenacious fellow, Rodrick, who fought off most of the pack. There was also Nick, Mack, Nicky, Jerry, Thompson, Joey, and Billy. Pigeons are fun, let me tell you. Then, there was a spider in our room. Now, this isn't a tiny mini spider, this chap was a Goliath.

After capturing the beast in a pint glass, we attempting to flush it down the toilet, but it resisted. Finally, after waiting for a period of time, we banished the beast into the Dublin sewage system. 

     Thursday went over very well! We taught someone in the park and then we went to a family's house for dinner. Now, this family has two young boys, aged two and four. They are madness. Also, they both can speak German because the father is German. It is so swell, to say the least, because the youngest mixes German and English together in the same sentence. Nevertheless, we had a good lesson with them and then exchanged. 

     For our exchange, I was to lead the Terenure area with Elder Holman, our District Leader, along side. It went great! We did the Zuu workouts in the morning, we studies while his stomach made much noise, and then we went to teach a person but the appointment fell through. Probably the largest of disappointments, but we also did some survey finding. While survey finding, we talked with a Muslin who was a boss. To preface, a week or so before this occurred Elder Oldham turned on a seminar thing about Muslims from an LDS standpoint. During the course of our conversation with this fellow, he asked me what I knew about Mohammad. Due to the listening of the seminar, I was able to answer him. It was a bueno day.

     Saturday we thought we lost our phone. So, we went to the chapel to do some workouts with other missionaries and when we got back to the flat we could not find the phone. We tore the flat apart until we decided that it must be at the church. Unfortunately, the other missionaries had the keys as well, so we needed to get to them to get the keys then the phone but we needed a phone to tell them to meet with us and it was a paradox. So, we made plans to go to a payphone (or if you hear the story from Elder Oldham it was going to be a member's house) to contact them. As we were getting ready to leave, the phone rang. It was a wrong number call, but nevertheless it was a tender mercy to have our phone and to not have spent a morning trying to recover it from where it wasn't. Life is good. Later, we visited the Polish friend again! We also met one of his Italian friends and we'll possibly be hopefully helping him to learn a bit more English. The workout was great and we were able to give him a Polish Book of Mormon. He thanked us but told us that he could not promise us that he would read it, because he honestly didn't know if he would be able to find time to read it. On Friday, we hope to be able to talk with him again with the Alla[e]man's to resume our work. 

     Sunday is the big day. On Sunday, we had a Northern Europe Area conference with Elder Jeffery R. Holland. To say the least, it was a spiritual feast. The other speakers were great and marvelous, but Elder Holland brought it home. For the most part, it was like his talk "Safety For the Soul", but add an additional thirty minutes to it and everything else that makes life good. He stated that if The Book of Mormon was false, then Christ didn't exist because in essence the Book of Mormon is the only book that has yet to be proven false, therefore it stands as the primary witness of Jesus Christ. It's not online yet, but I want it to be so I can read it again. He had plenty of other things to go along with it, like stating how the Book of Mormon came about and how it would be impossible to produce such a work without divine help. It was so good. 

     And that was this week! Attached are several drawings I've done when I had time to do so. 

     Have a great week!

God Speed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Weekly Update #8

   Greetings from the fair city of Dublin!

     

     First to note, every first Monday of a month is a bank holiday, so libraries are closed. That means emails shall be sent on the following Tuesday. Thus why you're getting this today.

     To kick things off, some people are no fun. For example: Those who don't keep commitments or those who disregard appointments and replace talking about eternal salvation with going to a pub. We had seven appointments set at the start of the week, and everyone fell through. It's fine, though! We still had three lessons and a new investigator, so progress is made. 

     Tuesday was neato. It was moves week, so no district meeting, but we had three of the seven appointments fall through on this day. Wednesday we ate at Boojum's again, this time we were inside during the rain. We also did a hefty game of chair football with most of the Elders and Sisters in our Zone. It was excellent. Three appointments fell through on Wednesday. We also met a rather intoxicated man who said seven or so times "do you know what the Catholic Church doesn't say?" but never told us what they don't say. I want to know, I really do. Please... Tell me...

     Thursday was a day of fun. On Wednesday we scrambled around trying to find a joint teach for a lesson. We finally found one and celebrated by going to sleep. The seventh of our appointments cancelled, but we still taught folks! Bueno! Also, Pizza Hut again. Attached are some pictures!

     Friday. Let me tell you about Friday. On Friday, we were out and about survey finding when we ran into this gent. As we stopped him, we soon learned that he was from London, he was drunk, and apparently he was on the run from under covered officers (FBI he claimed), and only had five minutes to chat. Quite odd, let me say. He then proceeded in telling us his philosophy about life, princesses, life, how he was called by the Good Lord to hunt after the Devil's Disciples, and whatnot. To say the least, it was an interesting conversation. He shared with us his philosophy on life: "You're born into the world with nothing, you leave the world with nothing. Tick-tock." Wisest words from a fellow like that, if I'm to say. Half an hour later, he said goodbye and left us with a final statement, "Boys, boys, good boys, you've really touched me. Thanks for sharing, and may the Good Lord bless you. All respect to you, boys. There's tears in me eyes, y'know now. I'll try not to cry as I head to Frankfort. Tick-tock." Twenty steps later: "Boys! I changed my mind, I found a hankie. All respect!" This is my highlight of the week.

     Saturday came and went like other days and we met with the chap who's a personal trainer and he promptly attempted to destroy our bodies. Zuu is a rough work-out. It destroys all your muscles at once. Avoid it as best you can. This Wednesday we'll be meeting with him and trying to get him as an investigator, so fun!

     On Sunday, we hiked around and WE FOUND ELVIS! WHOOOOOO! That was great news. He's a swell fellow, though he had his family over and it looked like he was a leader of the Romanian mob. Slightly dodgy, but jolly nonetheless. 

     Monday there was a ward picnic that we attended and stuff happened, it was great, overall. This week was a good week. Really enjoyed it and really enjoyed seeing the tender mercies of the Lord. Hope for the best this week.

     And photos! The following are the foods of the Pizza Hut. 

The next one is a view from my desk. The tennis ball is Coach, then we have Jesus telling me that I can do it and a fox cause foxes. 

The final one is Herbert the Joyless Duck. It's an advertisement from Cadbury about their chocolate puddles, and Herbert is in the corner. He doesn't look happy and the ad says 'Discover the joy of puddles'. 'Tis odd, methinks.

     That's all! Hope all is well for ya'll and hopefully you have jolly weeks!

God Speed

Elder Kinville

Weekly Update #7

  Greetings from indecisive Ireland! Y'know what they say in the song: love and the weather can't be depended upon. Which holds true, at least the last bit. But this week has been a blast.

     Attached are pictures from this week. There are others, but they will be sent in separate emails.

     Monday was exciting, as you all know. Our landlord dropped by to open our flat and let us in after we were locked out. When we entered, we ate a delectable meal of smoked Norwegian salmon and brie cheese and some rice crackers. Mucho pictures have been attached for viewing convenience. 

After that, the day waned on as it normally does.

     Tuesday was the last district meeting of the transfer. It was also Sister Foster's last district meeting. Our district is composed of Elder Beveridge, Elder Holman (District leader), Sister Foster, Sister Wilkin, Elder Oldham, and this chap named Elder Kinville. 

After, we had district lunch at Boojum's, a Mexican burrito place. When we arrived, it was sunny, but it quickly turned to downcast and began to rain. We were sitting outside, so we ate some burritos in the rain.

We then taught a nice lady who came to church last week, not yesterday. She was fairly receptive, but there's still work to be done.

    Wednesday. We met a personal trainer that day. Elder Oldham said we needed to GQ into a personal trainer and start talking to him. Enter one of the Allaman's friends from Poland. We ran into him while doing service for the Allaman's and we asked for some morning exercises. To our humor, he showed us. But on Friday night, to our horror, we learned how much of the body is worked from these simple things. To say the least, we are in pain and sore. But, we must endure to the end.

     Thursday, I can't remember. But on Friday, we had the chicken feast! 

Yes, it was cooked in a crock pot; yes, it was incredibly fancy; yes, we did eat the chicken feast. That was marvelous. 

     There was a rainbow after a rainstorm, 

we drove on some back roads when we borrowed the car for the day to try-by referrals,

 there was a vote in Ireland on same-sex marriage, 

we drove by The Bleeding Horse, famous pub, 

and plenty of fun times. We also found a hobbit door. This door is a bit shorter than I am and my hand is on the handle in the middle.

     Thus concludes the excitement of this week. It has been jolly good thus far and I am excited for the next six weeks of this transfer! 

     Remember, every journey, great and small, starts with one step. So make it a good one.

      

God Speed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

These pictures are from the previous times!

The first one is me and my grandpa (my trainer's trainer), Elder Walker, who's also the Dublin Zone Leader!

The second is part of downtown Dublin! Cause, Dublin.

The third are those who were there at my kebabtism! 

The fourth is me eating my kebab.

You have been spammed by pictures now.

Weekly Update #6

Cheers from yet another internet cafe, this time in the Rathmines area of Dublin!

     This week has been incredible. One of the things I mentioned last week was the crazy string of events that happened Saturday or whenever. Imagine a whole week like that. Also, we were on the Hunt for Elvis.

     But to preface all of this; as of now we are locked out of our flat. In the flat happens to be my camera. Which translates to a lack of pictures this week. Lesson learned: DON'T FORGET YOUR FLAT KEYS EVER! And never trust your companion to remember. 100% sure that there's a scripture about putting your trust in the Lord rather than man.

     So on Monday, I got kebabtised! A kebab is a Turkish peta type bread with mysterious meat (which is probably why it's banned by the FDA in the US), vegetables, seasonings and sauces, and some other delicious stuff. It was excellent and I loved it! So good, let me tell you. After Monday, we ran into a member from California who's a pilot and was on a layover in Dublin. That was neat as cheese.

     Tuesday was a district meeting where we talked district stuff and made plans to be spectacular this next week, which we were. While survey finding in St. Stephen's Green, we ran into a lady who was too busy so we passed her a card. As we walked away, she called back saying something to the effect of "Oi! Get back here, you haven't told me what a Mormon is!" We got the info so life is bueno there.

     Speaking of bueno, there is a candy bar here called a bueno and they are mucho bueno! Kid you not.

     Wednesday took forever, Tuesday too. I can't remember much from Wednesday, frankly. So, it happened. We taught a Brazilian chap who identified us as servants of Christ. That. Is. Phenomenal. Kid you not.

     Thursday and Friday were pretty speedy. We instituted a constitution for the Cat Game Thursday night, with assistance from the Council. You'll see the Council in due time. Meaning next week. We have five or more games we play through the week as we travel, tract, GQ, and all that fun Jazz. I'll explain more later. On Friday, we ran into the chap from the end of the chain of events on Grafton Street. That was fun, but the funnest thing was that night. We were dead tired when we decided to call some potentials. We called this Brazilian woman who was interested and she agreed on a meeting time for Saturday and she was bringing a friend! So, that's neat. We met with them and they both are interested.

     After that, we got a text from a less active member who wanted to meet with us on Tuesday. That blew us away. On Sunday, an African woman walked in during sacrament and sat down. We thought she was this woman who we had called Friday and invited her to church, but it turned out to be someone who was walking by the day before and decided to see what we were all about! That was incredible and whatnot.

     Then, while walking to a member's house for a meal appointment, we were stopped by this gent who wanted to know what we were all about and what we believed. We explained, got his info, and will be trying by for a return appointment. 

     On Saturday, we decided to eat at Pizza Hut. It was the fanciest Pizza Hut experience of my life. The starter belonged to a five star restaurant as did the price of our meal for two.

     Now, for the moment you've waited for. The Hunt for Elvis. We received a referral for a gent from a dodgy part of Dublin. All we knew was his name was Elvis. So, we headed out on Tuesday and tried to locate him. His After stopping by what we thought was his flat, and being frightened for our lives (At least I was), we discovered it wasn't his flat and we joked about finding Elvis. After knocking at his flat and finding no one, we decided to devote Thursday to the locating of Elvis. We tracted the entire street he lived on. When we reached his flat, a neighbor of his answered followed by one of his friends. His friend was rather contentious and intellectual, to say the least, but we avoided a major bash by stating what we believed repeatedly. After a bit, he got flustered and entered the flat. Goes to show how two young lads can confound the wise by bearing of testimony and simple truths.

     Overall, this week has been full of blessings. We've done a lot of finding and we still got a ton more to do to keep up our pool of investigators and potential investigators, but I know as we make goals prayerfully and think about what's right and not who's right we'll find our goals easier to achieve than we think.

     I think that's about it for me. Hope all is well for my family, friends, neighbors, relatives, and whatnot. Have a great week.

     Also check out the signature I put together at the bottom. It's pretty neat, methinks.

God Speed

Elder Kinville

Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Weekly Update #5

  Good day to all ya'll from an internet cafe in the heart of Dublin!

     This week has been a jolly. Last Sunday (Not yesterday but the week before. I totally forgot to mention it in my last email) we went to a chap at St. Luke's hospital who's a member but is recovering from some surgery. To me, he looks and sounds a bit like Professor Slughorn from Harry Potter. The potion teacher, y'know. Anywho, that's neat. 

     Went on a double exchange. On Tuesday, when I emailed last, I was exchanging with the Dublin Zone Leaders and on Friday I exchanged with the Elders down in Bray. I was left in charge of the area and led Elder Beveridge and I fearlessly through the streets of Dublin. However, only having been in the area for two weeks and not having ever set foot where we were going I fearlessly led us through a torrential down pour of rain lost for a good hour or two before we got our bearings and stumbled home to eat a warm dinner. It was great, to say the least.

     On Thursday, we had Zone Interview Training. Now that was a blast. The entire zone got together and had this pow-wow and talked about the exciting stuff. The exciting stuff includes things like teaching points, helps, role playing, lunch, meeting other Elders, and all that fun Jazz. It went well.

     Now, let me tell you about Saturday. We had an extraordinary set of events that hit one right after the other, the later ones never would have happened if the first didn't. To start off, we unexchanged and returned to the flat. Due to training, lunch, and other tib-bits, we ended up leaving the flat at about 16:00. We went straight way to St. Stephen's Green, a park, to survey find. After an hour or so, we ran into this lady who told us "sorry, I'm Catholic" to which we immediately and cheerfully responded "Perfect! That's actually our first question!" Noticing that she was trapped, she ended up subjecting herself to our survey. When we were mostly through, she told us that she wasn't really a practising Catholic, but had struggles in her life. We leaped into action and left her with several resources to read over and ponder about.

     

     After that, we went off and said a quick prayer of gratitude for meeting her and took a minute to examine the beautiful scenery. As we did, two sisters approached us and started a conversation. They were members in a neighbouring ward and we had a lovely little chat. Afterwards, we decided to get up and head to the heart of the city to find us food. As we walked, we ran into a potential investigator and quickly learned that we could meet with him sooner than we had planned. That was swell and jolly. After leaving, we went to a food establishment only to discover that it was closed. We turned around and headed for a Subway instead.

     While waiting for a cross walk to turn, a gentleman approached us and asked us how he could get in contact with an Elder he met in Brazil. He was not a member, but he was taught by Elders for a bit. We explained that Facebook would be the best option and we asked him if he would be interested in taking a quick English class. Fun fact: we can teach English. Funner fact: the Church has a cheeky way of teaching English to non-members. It starts off with basic talk, like about family, locations, the usual. But by the fourth lesson, it talks about language used in religion. The fifth one is flat out a lesson from Preach My Gospel on prayer. So we could be doing that in the future.

     We parted ways, got Subway, then ran into yet another member. He had just recently moved into the Terenure Ward and offered to help us with joint teaches. That was a jolly blast. We then walked to Grafton Street and took off down a side road when another gent, this one was a wee bit drunk, shouted out to us "I knows you two! Yous' Jehovahs!" We explained that we were not, but he was a confused fellow. He then kindly offered to buy us a pint, but we kindly rejected. I said we had a health code that we lived by. He seemed shocked, pointed a large finger at me, and said "Yous don't drink, yous don't smoke, yous don't mess with other ladies. Your missus is gonna love you." he then pointed to Elder Oldham, "And him." After a pause, he clarified that my missus was not going to love both of us, but simply me. We laughed and went on our way. That was Saturday. The end.

     Sunday I gave a talk on recieving and strengthening a testimony of light and truth. A member in the congregation, a jolly chap from the Philippines, approached and started to talk art. He was a student working on a degree in animation. We chatted, talked, had a good time. After we parted, Elder Oldham noted how I've been the only missionary/member to fellowship with him in that way. Art, it's swell.

     This morning, I woke up at 4:00 to get my Garda card so I can live in Ireland. That was about it. In an hour or so, I'll be off getting kababtised and receiving the Holy Coke. More on that event next week.

     Sunday was also Mother's Day in the States which meant I chatted with my family! That was a swell time, let me tell you. Enjoyed chatting and seeing everyone. 

     Attached are two pictures! My camera does not want to connect to the computer, so I'll just send the pictures from Zone Interview Training. Merry Monday!

     Have a great week! Don't be afraid to share your testimonies, as your testimony is only grown when you share it and totally invites the Spirit. 

     God Speed

     Elder Kinville

Mother's Day Call

Like every other missionary family, we were lucky enough to be able to Skype with Elder Kinville on Mother's Day. We can't believe he has already been gone for a month! How amazing is technology? My Dad was telling us that when we was on his mission, he never even got to call home once, let alone video chat. It was so good to see Elder Kinville! He looked happy and excited to be doing the Lord's work. He had a bit of a dry cough, but apparently it's going around.

Elder Kinville told us all about a typical day for him, the different types of people he has met, and about his awesome companion. 

Aniston was so excited to see Uncle Elder Kinville!

We are doing our best to keep Elder Kinville's BFF, his salamander Tim alive while he is gone. Of course Tim needed his Skype time.

We hooked the computer up to the TV and had Kim and her family from Oregon on Skype on the iPad so that they could also be there for the occasion.

Ryan misses his brother and needed a sweet selfie with him.

Elder Kinville is thriving in Ireland right now. He appreciates all your love and support! There's no where else he would rather be!

7 more months until we get to talk to him again!

Weekly Update #4

 Top of the morning from sunny/rainy/Catholic Ireland!

     This week has been a flipping blast. Elder Oldham is a great trainer and I am blessed to be under his watchful eye. This email is sent on Tuesday because Monday was a Bank Holiday so the libraries were closed. Quite sad, I'd say.

     Attached are six (6) pictures! The ones titled PTDC000* I'll explain in the email, but the others are when I arrived at the mission home. In the one where there's people sitting, the Elder I'm facing is my trainer, Elder Oldham. 

Second from the right on the front row is my MTC companion, Elder Halverson. Everyone else is swell and all spiritual beasts of valour.

     On Monday, while doing some door-to-door we were invited into a house for some tea and pancakes. We declined, but thanked the good woman. Just a neat experience, me thinks. Tuesday was exchanges and I went on an exchange with the District Leader, Elder Holman. He's a great Canadian. Excellent chap, let me tell you. Anywho, with him, I rode a train for two hours because he left his keys with his companion. See PTDC0001 for the selfie at the train station I took with him.

Later, we GQ'd a bit and I got to see an Irish beach! See PTDC0002 for what an Irish beach looks like. 

To put it simply, it's a bunch of rocks next to the ocean. Super swell.

     Elder Oldham told me something profound. While walking about, he pointed to a plane and asked me, "Elder Kinville, how far away would you say that plane is?" I made a guess of 15,000 feet or so. He smiled, shook his head, and said "Nope. Two years." I desire to question my trainee's in the same manner when the time comes. 

     The rest of the week went well enough. On Saturday, it rained a bunch and there was a bus strike, so walking was the primary option. I am very very grateful for my coat, satchel, and pants because they are all water resistant. On Saturday night, we ate dinner at a member's house. This chap is from the Philippines, and he is such a swell fellow! He talked fast, fed us food, then gave us the leftovers. Sadly, we could not eat all of the leftovers.

     On Sunday we went to St. Stephen's Green in Dublin and did some survey finding. All we did was walk around with a clipboard and surveyed people. This led to ten (10) great conversations and potentially one investigator. Super excited about that.

     Finally, today. Today is Tuesday. Today, I'm on exchanges with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Liu. Today, I had to drive a car. See PTDC0003. Turns out, everything I thought about driving in the UK/Ireland was a lie. You CAN drive for UK/Ireland for a year after your arrival, then you need a license. Elder Liu has been in Ireland for more than a year. This left the responsibility to me.

To say the least, my prayers this day has doubled thus far, even compared to my weekly prayers. But all that corn aside, it really is fun. The cars are small, roads are small, brakes work really well, and you cannot be sleepy when you drive. Driving in Ireland is a blast, love it to death. 

     On another final note, I am doing well. I am well fed, well blessed, having plenty of fun, walking plenty, working plenty, working to bring folks to Christ, and striving to be the very best like no one ever was. To teach them is my real test, to invite is my cause. 

     So yeah! Hopefully it all goes well for you all. Thanks for the prayers/compliments/questions! Have a jolly week, and I'll see you in a week!

     God Speed