So Paarl is an interesting place for sure...As poor as half the city
is...i've never seen more mercedes BMW's and Audi's in my life.
It's pretty funny. haha. But hey everything is good.
We hiked up Paarl Rock last week and i'll for sure be sending a few of you
pics, along with the fam of course. My Comp, Elder Holt is from Canada ya
know...It's harvest
season for him so he's all pumped about that..haha.
And he got his Calgary Flames (hockey) schedule in so now he knows when and
where the team is playing. it's just funny.
As for work here in Paarl...It's been good. We've had this assignment
from the branch down here to update a lot of records from the church, for the
less active families. So we try to do like 10 or so a week. We just noticed how
much success we really had with it because of church yesterday. A lot of the
people we visited, who hadn't been to church in forever, promised us they
would go, and so they did. We had a lot more people at church yesterday...for
sacrament that is. So that was nice. probably like 80 or something...haha. Not
that many that's for sure. But hey we can definitely tell we're making a
difference.
There's this guy named Chris Davids here in the ward. Last sunday he came
and talked to me and guess what?? he went to school
at Weber State back in like
'83. Something like that. At the time he didnt speak any english but he was
running track for them. Apparently he was way good. He was All-American and even
had an offer to get a full-ride to BYU at the time. He said no becuase he heard
he would have to stop drinking and partying and stuff...haha. But yeah crazy
huh! So we met with him later on in the week and just chated and stuff and ended
up giving a family member a blessing. just thought i'd let you konw how
small this world is...
We're teaching a lot of people...a lot of cool guys. Like this one from the
Congo named Sydney. he's way chill and he comes to church so that's
cool. We're also teaching this guy Alpha, he served a mish back lek 4 years
ago and we're trying to teach both him and his wife. I dunno what all to
say. We're doing lots of service and choppin some stuff up. haha. Just
keepin busy.
Guess what? ya know
since i'm a grown up now i gotta cook my own
meals...Yeah i've been cookin some good food lately. with a big of toproman
as well...haha. we are pretty limited to what we can buy cuz we dont have a lot
of money to spend each week...that's why we hope and pray for some good
dinner appointments. which we were blessed to have 2 this past week! yay! but
yeah lots of bread and sandwiches. haha.
Um...we're gonna be running around a lot today. gonna try to develop some
pics and go to the mall. Maybe try to find me a skateboard...;) haha. Hey well
sorry if this email isnt that interesting...i think of stuff to tell ya before
and then i forget after. o yeah!
So there's this guy named Mark who's a Rastifarian. They believe that
the second coming of Christ already happened in the 1930's by a guy...i
forgot his name. Basically yeah...becuase it says in Revelations somewhere that
a man will be born of Judea etc etc
idunno and apparently that's where this
guy was born. So he said he was Christ...yeah...anyway. Basically these
Rastifarians have like way long dreds and look lke jamacians..haha. that's
the best way i can describe it. But yeah Mark was in this like shelter place and
he was laying there one night and he saw this book, which ended up being the
Doctrine and Covenants. He felt like he should take it and start reading it...so
he did. Kinda crazy..well he found out about the church and he's been
coming. He doesnt know anything but me and Elder Holt went and took him a BOM
and told him a little bit about it. He was so excited. He was all "this is
the book..." So yeah we told him a bit about it and he's all stoked
about learning from it and he wants to know more. we were going to see him
yesterday but we couldn't get this kid Hilton to come fellowship with
us...so we just didn't go. it was in a scary neighborhood and we
didnt want
to die! haha. we'll talk to him soon i'm sure...So yeah that's all i
can say. He's just stoked about it and i've never seen anyone more
interested in reading the BOM.
Well hope you guys are doing well! Miss ya!
-Elder Devenney
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Pictures Galore!
Oh Cory, poor guy doesnt he know that when he sends me a memory card full of photos that I will be the one who decides what gets posted? There were enough photos that were so silly that I was laughing out loud. However Cory did say to mom that he wanted to make sure that I put only good pictures up...so I chose the best of the best -haha!
Dont know who these guys are...but hey figured Cory would when he gets back!
This was them being civilized!
Cory - better get used to the call center! Might be your next job when you get back!
19 yr old guys...what do you expect!
Again dont know who...
Looks like a nice guy!
The famous map!
Looks like study time to me!
Such dignified men
This is a great shot of Cory at the Provo temple
Looks like its pretty early in the morning fellas - where you off to??
First at class perhaps!?
Cory attempt at trying to capture artistic subjects at the MTC
This was one of many shots...the loot kept getting bigger...its a good thing he was there only 3 weeks....who knows how much weight he would have gained! Goodness!
He thinks hes being funny- kinda is!
Cory looks just like your room at home!
A photo he uploaded...pretty cool.
Monday, October 20, 2008
First Letter from South Africa
Well hello everybody!
Plan to forward this Mom! thanks!
I made it to south africa on wednesday, after a long plane ride no doubt. We
stayed at the mission home over night and found out where we would be heading
off to in the morning. I'm in a place called Paarl, it's about 30
minutes or so north of Cape Town. I was pretty happy i didnt have to hop on
another plane to go someplace else like a lot of missionaries had to do. Paarl
is an interesting place...full some well off to some not so well off, and some
really really poor people. It has a bit of everything. We do most of our work in
the townships around here, those being the people that seriously live in not
much more than a couple room, rundown, apartments or homes. It's so crazy.
but the people here are amazing and they really like to talk to us, so that
makes it nice. It's pretty funny when there are 98% black and colored
people...it's just a weird feeling. But seriously, they're so great.
We're in the Klein Drakenstein branch down here, and there's only one
church building in the whole city. The City itself is pretty big, with smaller
townships all around. Ok ok let me start fresh..
My companion is Elder Holt. He's a red-headed Canadian, so mom, you might
appreciate that. He's been out for about 10 months now and he hasn't
even been in Paarl all that long, but he's good. We're making some
progress and we're doing well as a companionship. Yeah...We're going to
try to find him a hockey stick and me a skateboard here hopefully soon. haha. We
live in a pretty nice apartment. It has a loft system...Like kitchen and desks
and couches downstairs, then beds and bathroom upstairs. it's small...but
good. you'll see it soon i'm sure...
Ok so now i'll tell you a bit about my first couple days here...
On Thursday (my first real day) i think we had two appointments that we were
teaching lessons. And then we just visited a few less members and taught and
shared some scriptures and thoughts. i got to meet quite a few people so that
was nice. that day was pretty pointless tho...I'll continue.
Friday we visited this kid named Kenny. He's 23 and his mom basically
opened up to us aobut his drug problem. We're gonna try to get him on a 14
step substance abuse recovery thing. We gave him some church mags and music to
listen to so if he feels the urge to do anything to just turn those on and get
his mind out of that area. Then we taught a girl named Nicole about prayer and
the Holy Ghost. We also had two fellowshippers with us, this kid Robby and his
buddy Hilton. They're both members. They've gone with us a lot and i
think they're thinking about missions in the future...we'll see.
They're way cool guys tho. I dunno why they like coming with us...i hated
having to go with the missionaries...even the one time i went. haha. but
yeha...we taught nicole...then just visited a bunch of other people. yeah..
Saturday we did some service for this guy Jerry in the morning. We worked for
lik 2 hours moving a big thing of rocks and dirt and then moved some bricks.
he's less active but he came to church on sunday so that was nice to see.
Then after that we had to go visit a few people and had appointments with a few
others. Funny story...So we're looking for this person to update their
record of the church, trying to find where they live, etc. and we didn't
really know where we were and we're walking down and we see a bunch of young
colored girls...teenagers...they started to approach us. We kinda knew something
was going on...They came up to us and started flirting with us and were telling
what beautiful red hair my companion had and what beautiful eyes i had, so yeah
they just started flirting with us. All we can do in situations like that are
just like turn around and go someplace else ya know. one girl grabbed my arm and
tried to have me go with her and all i could do was shrug her off and continue
in the opposite direction, towards the house...it was insane. but kinda
funny...we laughed at it. So that was my first encounter with girls flirting
with me. haha. i'm sure it'll happen more and more...
Later on we did some tracting and found some new investigators. so that was
kinda nice...We also visited this guy named Alfonzo. He's a college student
and he plays rugby. He sounds like he's american. yeah he's in the
branch down here.
So sunday was interesting...we found out on friday that we would both be
speaking in church for sacrament...you betcha i was excited! haha. I had to talk
on Fasting and the importance of it. I told alittle bit about myself...did the
talk...testimony...yeah. haha. Church is good. or was good...i guess. It's
just different. Being the white tall elder is alittle crazy but the people sure
are nice. They have such strong testimonies. O yeah it's way small down
there too...the branch i mean. Or the number of people that actually come to
church...
After church we had a dinner apppointment with Sister Campher. The food was
awesome but the after dinner entertainment was not...She wanted us to sing hymns
for her..Solo! Yeah right! haha. But we had to...We got up in front of her and i
sang "There is sunshine in my soul today" Needless to say it was quite
awkward and i'm pretty sure it sounded terrible. but whatever. My companion
sang stuff too...then we continued to sing hymns together and she talked to us
about her conversion and going to the temple. From there we made a bunch of
stops to see some people. Found a new family to teach. and yeah...That sort of
stuff. Hope that gives you a bit of what i'm going through down here. It
seems like a good place to start off my mission...so i'm excited.
Alright so yup yup all is good...Dunno what else to say. miss you all!
Mom K definitely send over my camera if you can...Seriously idunno what i was
thinking...i'll make it work somehow. I would love to document these run
down places and the people. Itwould be torture not to have my SLR down here sotell layne to pack it all up and send it down if possible. ASAP! thanks! haha. You are all still welcome to send letters or anything if you want, they'lljust go to the mission home then to me. This is the address. It's just hard to answer everyone's emails but i'lldo my best! Thanks! Miss ya!SACTMPO Box 181Observatory 7935South Africa
Plan to forward this Mom! thanks!
I made it to south africa on wednesday, after a long plane ride no doubt. We
stayed at the mission home over night and found out where we would be heading
off to in the morning. I'm in a place called Paarl, it's about 30
minutes or so north of Cape Town. I was pretty happy i didnt have to hop on
another plane to go someplace else like a lot of missionaries had to do. Paarl
is an interesting place...full some well off to some not so well off, and some
really really poor people. It has a bit of everything. We do most of our work in
the townships around here, those being the people that seriously live in not
much more than a couple room, rundown, apartments or homes. It's so crazy.
but the people here are amazing and they really like to talk to us, so that
makes it nice. It's pretty funny when there are 98% black and colored
people...it's just a weird feeling. But seriously, they're so great.
We're in the Klein Drakenstein branch down here, and there's only one
church building in the whole city. The City itself is pretty big, with smaller
townships all around. Ok ok let me start fresh..
My companion is Elder Holt. He's a red-headed Canadian, so mom, you might
appreciate that. He's been out for about 10 months now and he hasn't
even been in Paarl all that long, but he's good. We're making some
progress and we're doing well as a companionship. Yeah...We're going to
try to find him a hockey stick and me a skateboard here hopefully soon. haha. We
live in a pretty nice apartment. It has a loft system...Like kitchen and desks
and couches downstairs, then beds and bathroom upstairs. it's small...but
good. you'll see it soon i'm sure...
Ok so now i'll tell you a bit about my first couple days here...
On Thursday (my first real day) i think we had two appointments that we were
teaching lessons. And then we just visited a few less members and taught and
shared some scriptures and thoughts. i got to meet quite a few people so that
was nice. that day was pretty pointless tho...I'll continue.
Friday we visited this kid named Kenny. He's 23 and his mom basically
opened up to us aobut his drug problem. We're gonna try to get him on a 14
step substance abuse recovery thing. We gave him some church mags and music to
listen to so if he feels the urge to do anything to just turn those on and get
his mind out of that area. Then we taught a girl named Nicole about prayer and
the Holy Ghost. We also had two fellowshippers with us, this kid Robby and his
buddy Hilton. They're both members. They've gone with us a lot and i
think they're thinking about missions in the future...we'll see.
They're way cool guys tho. I dunno why they like coming with us...i hated
having to go with the missionaries...even the one time i went. haha. but
yeha...we taught nicole...then just visited a bunch of other people. yeah..
Saturday we did some service for this guy Jerry in the morning. We worked for
lik 2 hours moving a big thing of rocks and dirt and then moved some bricks.
he's less active but he came to church on sunday so that was nice to see.
Then after that we had to go visit a few people and had appointments with a few
others. Funny story...So we're looking for this person to update their
record of the church, trying to find where they live, etc. and we didn't
really know where we were and we're walking down and we see a bunch of young
colored girls...teenagers...they started to approach us. We kinda knew something
was going on...They came up to us and started flirting with us and were telling
what beautiful red hair my companion had and what beautiful eyes i had, so yeah
they just started flirting with us. All we can do in situations like that are
just like turn around and go someplace else ya know. one girl grabbed my arm and
tried to have me go with her and all i could do was shrug her off and continue
in the opposite direction, towards the house...it was insane. but kinda
funny...we laughed at it. So that was my first encounter with girls flirting
with me. haha. i'm sure it'll happen more and more...
Later on we did some tracting and found some new investigators. so that was
kinda nice...We also visited this guy named Alfonzo. He's a college student
and he plays rugby. He sounds like he's american. yeah he's in the
branch down here.
So sunday was interesting...we found out on friday that we would both be
speaking in church for sacrament...you betcha i was excited! haha. I had to talk
on Fasting and the importance of it. I told alittle bit about myself...did the
talk...testimony...yeah. haha. Church is good. or was good...i guess. It's
just different. Being the white tall elder is alittle crazy but the people sure
are nice. They have such strong testimonies. O yeah it's way small down
there too...the branch i mean. Or the number of people that actually come to
church...
After church we had a dinner apppointment with Sister Campher. The food was
awesome but the after dinner entertainment was not...She wanted us to sing hymns
for her..Solo! Yeah right! haha. But we had to...We got up in front of her and i
sang "There is sunshine in my soul today" Needless to say it was quite
awkward and i'm pretty sure it sounded terrible. but whatever. My companion
sang stuff too...then we continued to sing hymns together and she talked to us
about her conversion and going to the temple. From there we made a bunch of
stops to see some people. Found a new family to teach. and yeah...That sort of
stuff. Hope that gives you a bit of what i'm going through down here. It
seems like a good place to start off my mission...so i'm excited.
Alright so yup yup all is good...Dunno what else to say. miss you all!
Mom K definitely send over my camera if you can...Seriously idunno what i was
thinking...i'll make it work somehow. I would love to document these run
down places and the people. Itwould be torture not to have my SLR down here sotell layne to pack it all up and send it down if possible. ASAP! thanks! haha. You are all still welcome to send letters or anything if you want, they'lljust go to the mission home then to me. This is the address. It's just hard to answer everyone's emails but i'lldo my best! Thanks! Miss ya!SACTMPO Box 181Observatory 7935South Africa
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Corys leaving SLC!!
With dad having a business trip taking him out of town the same day Cory was leaving, he made the effort to track Cory down and hang out a bit before they got on the plane. Nancy made some nice goodies for them all to enjoy and he got to make some last minute phone calls. Missing you Cory!
Tickets to SA!
Nice! Goodies Nancy made for the trip. Im sure he really appreciated that on the long flight!
Traveling companion
I cant believe how handsome my brother is!
Looking sharp. I got a call from him as well, however I must have been in a meeting at work. When I checked my messages the following day, there was Cory leaving me a message. I am so sad I didnt get to talk with him before he left. I did save it to my phone however! :)
Another photo of the guys
Heading out to the plane.....
Tickets to SA!
Nice! Goodies Nancy made for the trip. Im sure he really appreciated that on the long flight!
Traveling companion
I cant believe how handsome my brother is!
Looking sharp. I got a call from him as well, however I must have been in a meeting at work. When I checked my messages the following day, there was Cory leaving me a message. I am so sad I didnt get to talk with him before he left. I did save it to my phone however! :)
Another photo of the guys
Heading out to the plane.....
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
October 10th
Alright this will be short probably. Mom don’t worry about sending anything else to me, I have so much right now I wont even get close to eating half of it. Also don’t worry about those laundry bags..i was kidding. They like it but yeah they have one. Your just so talented and have so many fans that’s all. Haha. But if you’ve made them and sent them its cool…no worries. Thanks for the medicine, I appreciate it. And the treats with it…but yeah we have so much anyway its insane.
I try to reply as fast as I can but we don’t really have a whole lot of time. Were not even suppose to write until our p-day but no one really follows that rule, so yeah.
Ive some pics being developed so youll soon see me! Haha- so exciting I know. I think I told you but 3 of my 4 companions are going to Africa. The other kid is in another district. The other 5 in my district are going to Winnepeg Canada….
Uh I think that’s all here nothing really new. Had elder tad callister of the 70 here for our Tuesday devotional. It was good.
Well thanks for typing these up MOM!( GRR still doesn’t know its me) Keep up the good work. Love you!
Elder Devenney
I try to reply as fast as I can but we don’t really have a whole lot of time. Were not even suppose to write until our p-day but no one really follows that rule, so yeah.
Ive some pics being developed so youll soon see me! Haha- so exciting I know. I think I told you but 3 of my 4 companions are going to Africa. The other kid is in another district. The other 5 in my district are going to Winnepeg Canada….
Uh I think that’s all here nothing really new. Had elder tad callister of the 70 here for our Tuesday devotional. It was good.
Well thanks for typing these up MOM!( GRR still doesn’t know its me) Keep up the good work. Love you!
Elder Devenney
Last Letter from the MTC( I have two other letters still to upload)
Hey! plan on forwarding this again...thanks!
Today is the last day at the mtc for a few of us. Like you know we leave at 5
in the morning, go on a plane for some 26 hours...and arrive in AFIRCA! frick!
insane stuff i think. haha. I'm pretty excited for it...as you already know.
Bad news for my companion elder Ledek. he might have to get surgery on his
ankle..i explain it more in my letter mom, it's on the way. but yeah
he's not coming with us
on tuesday. there will be 3 of us going now.
You'll understand later...i dont have time right now. but yeah...sucks for
him. haha. I'll miss him...
The mtc was a good experience. i learned a lot and really strengthened my
testimony. it's weird to think that i might be teaching people in south
africa lessons in like 3 days. it doesn't seem real and i dont feel ready.
but i guess the best way to do it is to just dive right into it and start.
I'm assuming that's how it'll be.
If you guys wanna know anything just ask..i'm so wise now when it comes to
the scriptures. haha. i'm totally kidding. i wish. ask me in 2 years and
i'll probably give you a better answer.
Cape Town is seriously the farthest away from Ogden that i could have gone.
It's so awesome. Yesterday at our farewell devotional or fireside or
whatever they announced where all the departing elders were going and when it
was our turn we stood
up and some kid turned around and was like "i'm
sorry" we were like uh...don't act like you know anything about south
africa. cape town is like a vacation. i'm going to be on a vacation for 2
years. yeah when they called his mission and he had to stand up with other
elders guess where he was going...Utah. HA! yeah we definitely said that we were
sorry for him. haha. south africa or utah...you take your pick. I'm just so
stoked for it and i know it'll be a great experience for me. feel free to
email me from now on. Hopefully i'll be able to check that blog in a couple
days. who knows...i'll keep ya posted and i love you guys! Thanks!
-Your wonderful son/brother!
o yeah dont plan on coming by the airport..i hope you already knew that. i can
call you before i leave...i think.
Today is the last day at the mtc for a few of us. Like you know we leave at 5
in the morning, go on a plane for some 26 hours...and arrive in AFIRCA! frick!
insane stuff i think. haha. I'm pretty excited for it...as you already know.
Bad news for my companion elder Ledek. he might have to get surgery on his
ankle..i explain it more in my letter mom, it's on the way. but yeah
he's not coming with us
on tuesday. there will be 3 of us going now.
You'll understand later...i dont have time right now. but yeah...sucks for
him. haha. I'll miss him...
The mtc was a good experience. i learned a lot and really strengthened my
testimony. it's weird to think that i might be teaching people in south
africa lessons in like 3 days. it doesn't seem real and i dont feel ready.
but i guess the best way to do it is to just dive right into it and start.
I'm assuming that's how it'll be.
If you guys wanna know anything just ask..i'm so wise now when it comes to
the scriptures. haha. i'm totally kidding. i wish. ask me in 2 years and
i'll probably give you a better answer.
Cape Town is seriously the farthest away from Ogden that i could have gone.
It's so awesome. Yesterday at our farewell devotional or fireside or
whatever they announced where all the departing elders were going and when it
was our turn we stood
up and some kid turned around and was like "i'm
sorry" we were like uh...don't act like you know anything about south
africa. cape town is like a vacation. i'm going to be on a vacation for 2
years. yeah when they called his mission and he had to stand up with other
elders guess where he was going...Utah. HA! yeah we definitely said that we were
sorry for him. haha. south africa or utah...you take your pick. I'm just so
stoked for it and i know it'll be a great experience for me. feel free to
email me from now on. Hopefully i'll be able to check that blog in a couple
days. who knows...i'll keep ya posted and i love you guys! Thanks!
-Your wonderful son/brother!
o yeah dont plan on coming by the airport..i hope you already knew that. i can
call you before i leave...i think.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Date Unknown- After October 2 is all I know...
Hey!
So I recieved my travel information the other day. There are a total of 4 of us going to Cape Town. We leave on the 14th of Octoboer at 3:30 am, we leave the MTC at 5am to make it to the airport. After we leave slc at 8:30am we will arrive at JFK around 3pm, from there it looks like we probably going to be rushing because our flight out of NYC leaves at 3:55pm. We hop on that flight and go straight to SA cape town. Our arrival time is 3:55pm so with the time change I think its a 7 hour flight. It should be a good 18 hours or something, maybe not that long, but yeah...well get there on the 15th of oct. good stuff.
As for our baggage I have some good news. Since we dont fly S.Africa arilines, I shouldnt have to worry about the whole 2 suitcase thing. We fly Delta the whole way there and we are able to check 2 bags. Each weighing 50lbs for free. As well as a 40lb carry on. charges will happen if my check bags are more obviously. Its 150$ for bags to 70 pounds and 300$ for bages 71-100lbs. I shouldnt have to worry about it tho I dont think. My shoulder bag will have to count as my carry on so no worries.
Other than that I think thats all thats new. Im half way done with the MTC! Yay! Its not too bad tho haha. Conference has been good because we get an excuse to not have class and more time to write letters and chill. Its nice. Just starting the plan of salvation so I gotta study up! Taught in the TRC again twice yesterday. Me and Elder Ledek are really getting good at teaching lesson#1. We are happy with how it went.
Then we had the Referral Center after dinner. This is where people call after they see a commercial to either find out about us, or oder a video, bible, etc. Our job yesterday was to call people and make sure they got what they wanted, offer something else, bear testimony, and ask if the missionaries could come teach them mroe about a subject. Getting referrals and sending missionaries is really the goal of the RC. AS a district I think we got like 7 or 8 referrals. We thought that was pretty good. Its hard tho cuz most of the time they dont even want to talk to you. but its a good experience haha. Then just class and stuff.
Oh yeah my 2 roomies keep getting pies, cinnomon rolls, donuts from the parents. You can order online and theyll just ship it out here. Your welcome to try that( Duh cory- do you think we are all made of money?! Sheesh- whats up with the one uping at the MTC- I think its called "keepn up with the Jones?!" JK :)) If not I guess ill just eat more of theirs. Actually whatever gets sent we always share anyways...so no worries just thought id let you know.
Alright well thanks for the letters everyone. Jessica I wish I could have gone to the concert last week. I was thinking about it that day. but im glad you had a good time. Im jealous. Whitney thanks for writing, mom and Layne I cant believe you bought that camper thing! Thats lame, but cool I guess. Remember Im a boy on a mission - dont worry about the toys! Amber and dad thanks for writing I always appreciate it/ Tell everyone Hi for me. Raegan quit being a slacker...JK. But yeah thanks all. Keep em coming cuz I wont be here much longer.
Hope everyone enjoyed conference with will be the first one where ive watched every session- yay! Well uh....I cant think of anything else to write so...Love you- Thanks!
Elder Devenney
So I recieved my travel information the other day. There are a total of 4 of us going to Cape Town. We leave on the 14th of Octoboer at 3:30 am, we leave the MTC at 5am to make it to the airport. After we leave slc at 8:30am we will arrive at JFK around 3pm, from there it looks like we probably going to be rushing because our flight out of NYC leaves at 3:55pm. We hop on that flight and go straight to SA cape town. Our arrival time is 3:55pm so with the time change I think its a 7 hour flight. It should be a good 18 hours or something, maybe not that long, but yeah...well get there on the 15th of oct. good stuff.
As for our baggage I have some good news. Since we dont fly S.Africa arilines, I shouldnt have to worry about the whole 2 suitcase thing. We fly Delta the whole way there and we are able to check 2 bags. Each weighing 50lbs for free. As well as a 40lb carry on. charges will happen if my check bags are more obviously. Its 150$ for bags to 70 pounds and 300$ for bages 71-100lbs. I shouldnt have to worry about it tho I dont think. My shoulder bag will have to count as my carry on so no worries.
Other than that I think thats all thats new. Im half way done with the MTC! Yay! Its not too bad tho haha. Conference has been good because we get an excuse to not have class and more time to write letters and chill. Its nice. Just starting the plan of salvation so I gotta study up! Taught in the TRC again twice yesterday. Me and Elder Ledek are really getting good at teaching lesson#1. We are happy with how it went.
Then we had the Referral Center after dinner. This is where people call after they see a commercial to either find out about us, or oder a video, bible, etc. Our job yesterday was to call people and make sure they got what they wanted, offer something else, bear testimony, and ask if the missionaries could come teach them mroe about a subject. Getting referrals and sending missionaries is really the goal of the RC. AS a district I think we got like 7 or 8 referrals. We thought that was pretty good. Its hard tho cuz most of the time they dont even want to talk to you. but its a good experience haha. Then just class and stuff.
Oh yeah my 2 roomies keep getting pies, cinnomon rolls, donuts from the parents. You can order online and theyll just ship it out here. Your welcome to try that( Duh cory- do you think we are all made of money?! Sheesh- whats up with the one uping at the MTC- I think its called "keepn up with the Jones?!" JK :)) If not I guess ill just eat more of theirs. Actually whatever gets sent we always share anyways...so no worries just thought id let you know.
Alright well thanks for the letters everyone. Jessica I wish I could have gone to the concert last week. I was thinking about it that day. but im glad you had a good time. Im jealous. Whitney thanks for writing, mom and Layne I cant believe you bought that camper thing! Thats lame, but cool I guess. Remember Im a boy on a mission - dont worry about the toys! Amber and dad thanks for writing I always appreciate it/ Tell everyone Hi for me. Raegan quit being a slacker...JK. But yeah thanks all. Keep em coming cuz I wont be here much longer.
Hope everyone enjoyed conference with will be the first one where ive watched every session- yay! Well uh....I cant think of anything else to write so...Love you- Thanks!
Elder Devenney
October 2
Family,
So as I sit here on my p day while doing luandry theres just something so much more difficult about doing it here than at home. As if I dont know how to do laundry all my life, theres something about the MTC where all the pressure is on. A little mistake can ruin all of your clothes....that would really suck. So thanks for teaching me mom! Ill have to wait a half hour and see if it worked or not...kinda scared I wont lie! haha
I think I wrote you a letter yesterday but I have some more time to write so I figured I would. Thanks for sending the package yesterday and just so you know I almost laughted at it...haha you guys are soooo funny let me tell ya. Nah I appreciate it so thanks. Keep encouraging people to write me. I dont like being lame knowking I do have family very capable of writing me, at least while im at the MTC, Ill understand it will be harder when Im in SA.
Lets see...hows that blog coming along? Does it even look good?( HA cory doesnt even know the hours I labor here....) Ill try and take some pics and send you some. I really dont have all that many opportunities to, but Ill try to more. so uh hows the dog? Anything new going on?
Things here are good, nothing too exciting. We are finally on our pday like I said, we got up and went to the temple at like 6am- it was WAY early. But good of course. temple food is so much better than the MTC food. even tho it costs money, its worth it.
Ok well Im a busy guy doing laundry and I need to change stuff...things are good here, Thanks, Love you!
Elder Devenney
PS: oh yeah, all my roommates want a laundry bag like mine.!
So as I sit here on my p day while doing luandry theres just something so much more difficult about doing it here than at home. As if I dont know how to do laundry all my life, theres something about the MTC where all the pressure is on. A little mistake can ruin all of your clothes....that would really suck. So thanks for teaching me mom! Ill have to wait a half hour and see if it worked or not...kinda scared I wont lie! haha
I think I wrote you a letter yesterday but I have some more time to write so I figured I would. Thanks for sending the package yesterday and just so you know I almost laughted at it...haha you guys are soooo funny let me tell ya. Nah I appreciate it so thanks. Keep encouraging people to write me. I dont like being lame knowking I do have family very capable of writing me, at least while im at the MTC, Ill understand it will be harder when Im in SA.
Lets see...hows that blog coming along? Does it even look good?( HA cory doesnt even know the hours I labor here....) Ill try and take some pics and send you some. I really dont have all that many opportunities to, but Ill try to more. so uh hows the dog? Anything new going on?
Things here are good, nothing too exciting. We are finally on our pday like I said, we got up and went to the temple at like 6am- it was WAY early. But good of course. temple food is so much better than the MTC food. even tho it costs money, its worth it.
Ok well Im a busy guy doing laundry and I need to change stuff...things are good here, Thanks, Love you!
Elder Devenney
PS: oh yeah, all my roommates want a laundry bag like mine.!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Amber here
Cory! I know you wont get this till you read your blog upon your return, but hello??!!! Wheres MY personal mail?? Afterall I am taking chunks of my life to post your letters on the blog and all I get is a shout out from the letter?! Lame.
Love you!
A
Love you!
A
Oct 1 2008
Mom and Family,
Thank you so much for the letters you been sending! Jess, Amber, Dad you are all so Great! I really apreeciate it. Mail is what we look forward to, besides gym time of course. haha. Weve been playing a bit of volleyball during gym, and its awesome. I wont lie though its pretty difficult to play when half of the kids here seem like theyve never played before. No joke. Its pretty sad but still fun.
So yesterday we had tuesday deveotional and had elder Garn of the quorem of the seventy and his wife talk, it was good from what I remember. you dont get a lot of sleep here especially when your companion snores way loud and talks in his sleep! we bought him some of those snore things that cover your nose or whatever...help spread the nostrils to help not snore...it hlpes some. but hes good. Its just the other 3 of us that have to suffer.
So along the lines of what elder garn was talking about was aot of D&C section 4..."the field is white already to harvest" we as missionaries need to be unified in what we do. there are people ready to hear our message(especially in SA) but yeah lots of other good info goo...
So my companion and I taught lesson #1 to an investigator today( pretend) she was a sweet old lady that acted as if she was of the baptist faith and wanted to learn about the church. Me and Elder Ledek did way good we thought. Bettern than expected for sure. It was a little sketchy at first but by the end we really got things moving and taught by the spirit the best we could. The more practice and times we teach the more comfortable well be at it. But yeah..it was a cool experience for sure.
So lets see what else? I cant really remember what i said the other day. Ive been here for a week- yay! Its weird wondering what everyone else is doing because im so busy all the time. sometimes forget there is life outside the MTC.
Oh Yeah! I saw Nicole like on my third day here. Im sure youve seen the pic on her phone. It was so random and kinda funny. But still cool that I saw her.
Well the church is great! ha! MTC is doing good! haha, Elder Devenney wouldnt mind some packages of goodies while he is here...just so you know. Trevors mom already sent me some treats so hurry and catch up mom and dad!!
Ill write again soon...
Hello All...
Elder Devenney
Thank you so much for the letters you been sending! Jess, Amber, Dad you are all so Great! I really apreeciate it. Mail is what we look forward to, besides gym time of course. haha. Weve been playing a bit of volleyball during gym, and its awesome. I wont lie though its pretty difficult to play when half of the kids here seem like theyve never played before. No joke. Its pretty sad but still fun.
So yesterday we had tuesday deveotional and had elder Garn of the quorem of the seventy and his wife talk, it was good from what I remember. you dont get a lot of sleep here especially when your companion snores way loud and talks in his sleep! we bought him some of those snore things that cover your nose or whatever...help spread the nostrils to help not snore...it hlpes some. but hes good. Its just the other 3 of us that have to suffer.
So along the lines of what elder garn was talking about was aot of D&C section 4..."the field is white already to harvest" we as missionaries need to be unified in what we do. there are people ready to hear our message(especially in SA) but yeah lots of other good info goo...
So my companion and I taught lesson #1 to an investigator today( pretend) she was a sweet old lady that acted as if she was of the baptist faith and wanted to learn about the church. Me and Elder Ledek did way good we thought. Bettern than expected for sure. It was a little sketchy at first but by the end we really got things moving and taught by the spirit the best we could. The more practice and times we teach the more comfortable well be at it. But yeah..it was a cool experience for sure.
So lets see what else? I cant really remember what i said the other day. Ive been here for a week- yay! Its weird wondering what everyone else is doing because im so busy all the time. sometimes forget there is life outside the MTC.
Oh Yeah! I saw Nicole like on my third day here. Im sure youve seen the pic on her phone. It was so random and kinda funny. But still cool that I saw her.
Well the church is great! ha! MTC is doing good! haha, Elder Devenney wouldnt mind some packages of goodies while he is here...just so you know. Trevors mom already sent me some treats so hurry and catch up mom and dad!!
Ill write again soon...
Hello All...
Elder Devenney
Sept 29th
I guess I havent really written you guys back for a few days now, so I Figured I would now. I have some extra down time because we just finished a service project.
Well as i sit here listening to music with my other 3 roommates, I just wanted to reassure you guys that im good. things arent the easiest, and I havent even been here a week. Im excited to no longer be the new elders cuz that sucks to be honest. Being newbs is pretty lame and it takes a while to figure everything out. My district is very cool. there are 8 of us all together. We take things serious at times but laugh so much. We have to have a little bit of fun while being here ya know? Yesterday was fast sunday and we had good meeting s and devotionals. They all had really good speakers and talked about a lot of good stuff. the main focus yesterday was about our companions and how necessary it is that we never lose eachother. Its been good that me and Elder Ledek have gotten along. hes pretty chill and we have a lot in common. Everyday for the most part we have large group meetings and class. We usually have 3 classes throughout the day that are around 2-3 hours long. then we have personal and companion study in between. WEll get like 45 minutes of gym time each day except saturday, that will be nice. on friday we played some sand volleyball. Some of the kids in our district arent very good...but its still fun. On saturday we have class for like 12 hours - no joke, its crazy. for extra time we try to walk around and teach other elders about the first discussion. This includes our heavenly fathers families, apostasy, the restoration, Christs ministry, Bof Mormon, prayer, etc. Its going good, and Elder Ledek and I are getting it down the more we teach. Tomorrow, is our first TRC where we have to teach an investigator lesson #1. Its not a real investigator, but yeah hsould be intense, but good practice. Well get to watch oursleves after and see where we didnt do very well and what areas we can improve on.
The food is actually pretty good I think...although some might say otherwise.
So I think prayer is becoming a big part of my life as Im in the MTC. I think Im having the most sincere prayers Ive ever had and its been great. I really need my heavenly fathers help while being here. I need help to learn, apply, and teach these different principals. We seriously pray so often and I can really feel the difference.
I just finished the Book of Mormon again and I started into the PGP. I have to say that Moroni has to be my favorite section of the BOM. It gives so much and is straight forward. Im pretty sure I marked up like half his book. haha.
Its way good...well Ill probably write you again here soon...Please send some letters, and tell others to do the same....Thanks!
Love you!
Elder Devenney
Well as i sit here listening to music with my other 3 roommates, I just wanted to reassure you guys that im good. things arent the easiest, and I havent even been here a week. Im excited to no longer be the new elders cuz that sucks to be honest. Being newbs is pretty lame and it takes a while to figure everything out. My district is very cool. there are 8 of us all together. We take things serious at times but laugh so much. We have to have a little bit of fun while being here ya know? Yesterday was fast sunday and we had good meeting s and devotionals. They all had really good speakers and talked about a lot of good stuff. the main focus yesterday was about our companions and how necessary it is that we never lose eachother. Its been good that me and Elder Ledek have gotten along. hes pretty chill and we have a lot in common. Everyday for the most part we have large group meetings and class. We usually have 3 classes throughout the day that are around 2-3 hours long. then we have personal and companion study in between. WEll get like 45 minutes of gym time each day except saturday, that will be nice. on friday we played some sand volleyball. Some of the kids in our district arent very good...but its still fun. On saturday we have class for like 12 hours - no joke, its crazy. for extra time we try to walk around and teach other elders about the first discussion. This includes our heavenly fathers families, apostasy, the restoration, Christs ministry, Bof Mormon, prayer, etc. Its going good, and Elder Ledek and I are getting it down the more we teach. Tomorrow, is our first TRC where we have to teach an investigator lesson #1. Its not a real investigator, but yeah hsould be intense, but good practice. Well get to watch oursleves after and see where we didnt do very well and what areas we can improve on.
The food is actually pretty good I think...although some might say otherwise.
So I think prayer is becoming a big part of my life as Im in the MTC. I think Im having the most sincere prayers Ive ever had and its been great. I really need my heavenly fathers help while being here. I need help to learn, apply, and teach these different principals. We seriously pray so often and I can really feel the difference.
I just finished the Book of Mormon again and I started into the PGP. I have to say that Moroni has to be my favorite section of the BOM. It gives so much and is straight forward. Im pretty sure I marked up like half his book. haha.
Its way good...well Ill probably write you again here soon...Please send some letters, and tell others to do the same....Thanks!
Love you!
Elder Devenney
Friday, October 3, 2008
First emailed letter
Date: Thursday, October 2, 2008, 2:08 PM
Hey i hope this works...i kinda forgot the letter that has everyone's emailin it so...yeah i have whitney's right next to me...and i guessed mom's,hope it works. Well whit i know you'll get this at least so if you couldforward this to everyone that would be great!I'm sitting here with a large crowd around me while doing some laundry.I'm happy to say that it was a success...from what i can
tell. i didnt messup any of my shirts...although i will have to use my lint roller on my pantsbecuase of a certain towel i put in with it...yeah bad idea. The MTC has been pretty good so far. I'm assuming you've all been ableto look at my letters that i send home, or on the blog that i hope amber iskeeping up with. I havent looked at it, and idunno if i'll be able to, but isure hope it looks good. I've been here for more than a week now and i haveto say the first week is a little rough. There's a lot to do and a lot tolearn, but if i just go with the flow like i did, then it's thursday alreadyand that seems crazy. every day since sunday went by so fast. which is great.when we first got here everyone would be like "just make it to sunday andyou'll be ok" haha. It was the truth tho. Now i get to say that to allthe new kids that came in yesterday...haha. Those poor souls...So my companion and i
(Elder Ledek) have been really hittin it off well.He's from orem and played soccer at UVU for those of you that dont knowalready. I'll send some pics of us hopefully soon...I just gotta starttaking more. Went to the Temple this morning...had to get up at like 545 for it..but it wasworth it. Temple food is much better than MTC food. That's all i have tosay about that. My roommates like to keep our room nice and cool all the time,like as low as the the therm will let us. So i stole my comps blanket for thepast week to keep warm. and last night i had to sleep with a hoodie on. Andsometimes i even have to sleep completely under my covers. but we turned it upbecuase i've felt like i'm getting sick and it sucks...my throat hurts.ya know when you can feel it coming??? yeah that's how it is. So i'vejust been eating those throat things all day. I just hope it doesnt get worse. Idont wanna get sick
here...As for teachings and things like that...We have the RC and the TRC. The TRC iswhere we actually get to teach investigators lessons. it's pretty intense.and we had our first one on tuesday. it went really good we thought...alwaysroom for improvement. Bringing in scriptures and things to make the messagebetter. The key is always bearing testimony, teaching by the spirit, and makingcommitments, then following up. And obviously just knowing the informationi'm going to teach. Study study study a lot. then teach later on in theafternoon. That's what all our classes are on. We usually have class 3 hourstwice a day. then eating in between and study time, personal and companionstudy. then little sleep...haha. Nah it's not too bad. it may sound brutalbut right now it's getting better. It's not bad, i just cant wait to getoutta here. South Africa will be awesome.Next week we'll be learning and
teaching Lesson 2 which is the plan ofsalvation. So i'll keep ya posted on what that's all about and how itgoes. Sorry if this doesnt make a lot of sense...i'm being timed here and idont want it to stop before i send it. Thanks for everything! I'll keepwriting letters and keep on sending them please! Email just once a week and idont have a lot of time to reply! just wanted to let you know how i'm doing again. Love you all!
Elder Devenney
Hey i hope this works...i kinda forgot the letter that has everyone's emailin it so...yeah i have whitney's right next to me...and i guessed mom's,hope it works. Well whit i know you'll get this at least so if you couldforward this to everyone that would be great!I'm sitting here with a large crowd around me while doing some laundry.I'm happy to say that it was a success...from what i can
tell. i didnt messup any of my shirts...although i will have to use my lint roller on my pantsbecuase of a certain towel i put in with it...yeah bad idea. The MTC has been pretty good so far. I'm assuming you've all been ableto look at my letters that i send home, or on the blog that i hope amber iskeeping up with. I havent looked at it, and idunno if i'll be able to, but isure hope it looks good. I've been here for more than a week now and i haveto say the first week is a little rough. There's a lot to do and a lot tolearn, but if i just go with the flow like i did, then it's thursday alreadyand that seems crazy. every day since sunday went by so fast. which is great.when we first got here everyone would be like "just make it to sunday andyou'll be ok" haha. It was the truth tho. Now i get to say that to allthe new kids that came in yesterday...haha. Those poor souls...So my companion and i
(Elder Ledek) have been really hittin it off well.He's from orem and played soccer at UVU for those of you that dont knowalready. I'll send some pics of us hopefully soon...I just gotta starttaking more. Went to the Temple this morning...had to get up at like 545 for it..but it wasworth it. Temple food is much better than MTC food. That's all i have tosay about that. My roommates like to keep our room nice and cool all the time,like as low as the the therm will let us. So i stole my comps blanket for thepast week to keep warm. and last night i had to sleep with a hoodie on. Andsometimes i even have to sleep completely under my covers. but we turned it upbecuase i've felt like i'm getting sick and it sucks...my throat hurts.ya know when you can feel it coming??? yeah that's how it is. So i'vejust been eating those throat things all day. I just hope it doesnt get worse. Idont wanna get sick
here...As for teachings and things like that...We have the RC and the TRC. The TRC iswhere we actually get to teach investigators lessons. it's pretty intense.and we had our first one on tuesday. it went really good we thought...alwaysroom for improvement. Bringing in scriptures and things to make the messagebetter. The key is always bearing testimony, teaching by the spirit, and makingcommitments, then following up. And obviously just knowing the informationi'm going to teach. Study study study a lot. then teach later on in theafternoon. That's what all our classes are on. We usually have class 3 hourstwice a day. then eating in between and study time, personal and companionstudy. then little sleep...haha. Nah it's not too bad. it may sound brutalbut right now it's getting better. It's not bad, i just cant wait to getoutta here. South Africa will be awesome.Next week we'll be learning and
teaching Lesson 2 which is the plan ofsalvation. So i'll keep ya posted on what that's all about and how itgoes. Sorry if this doesnt make a lot of sense...i'm being timed here and idont want it to stop before i send it. Thanks for everything! I'll keepwriting letters and keep on sending them please! Email just once a week and idont have a lot of time to reply! just wanted to let you know how i'm doing again. Love you all!
Elder Devenney
Thursday, October 2, 2008
MTC Address if you want to write...
What you need to do to write Cory is go to dearelder.com This is the rest of the info:
Elder Cory Clancy Devenney
MTC Mailbox #242
SOAF-CPT 1020 (South Africa-Cape Town)
2005 N 900 E
Provo, utah 84604-1793
Elder Cory Clancy Devenney
MTC Mailbox #242
SOAF-CPT 1020 (South Africa-Cape Town)
2005 N 900 E
Provo, utah 84604-1793
Corys First Letter Home
Family,
Today we completed our first day here at the MTC. I wont lie to you, it’s a bit overwhelming. But its been good. I got through the first day so that is a good sign. My companion is a pretty chill guy and I don’t see why we wouldn’t get along. Hes a big guy, taller and bigger than me, but way chill. Hes from Orem and played as a soccer goalie at UVU. Ive seen some friends here already, and ate luch with Elder Stagg. Oh Yeah, my companions name is Elder Ledek. Ive also seen Elders Hoxer and Halveson( kids that I know).
Weve been given some extra time tonight to write a letter home, so that’s nice. My schedule for the week basically looks like- eat, class, eat, class, bed. It’s a lot of study time and Im hoping these 3 weeks go by pretty quick.
My prep day is Thursday. We don’t have one tomorrow because we just got here, but next Thursday you will hear from me again. I need your emails because we can email a little while we are here, so that’s nice. I cant remember what they are so remind me ok? Tomorrow wont be as bad because we are able to just were slacks and a shirt, not our suits. I really just need to forget about all the worldly things and try to take as much in as I can while Im here. Its so crazy to think about not being able to see you guys, my friends, skate, play sports or talk on the phone etc. for two years. Now that Im finally out here and know that I cant come home, its been a little hard. I do miss you all, but im not homesick. I think ill be alright in that area. I wanna hear about anything new that’s happening at home….I know I just left but Im curious because Im not there. I hope your doing alright mom, just be happy for me( which I know you are).
I just ate a dang good brownie, so Im happy now. Haha. Well I love you all. Ill write again in about a week and tell you if Im still alive!
Thank you!
Love,
Elder Devenney
Today we completed our first day here at the MTC. I wont lie to you, it’s a bit overwhelming. But its been good. I got through the first day so that is a good sign. My companion is a pretty chill guy and I don’t see why we wouldn’t get along. Hes a big guy, taller and bigger than me, but way chill. Hes from Orem and played as a soccer goalie at UVU. Ive seen some friends here already, and ate luch with Elder Stagg. Oh Yeah, my companions name is Elder Ledek. Ive also seen Elders Hoxer and Halveson( kids that I know).
Weve been given some extra time tonight to write a letter home, so that’s nice. My schedule for the week basically looks like- eat, class, eat, class, bed. It’s a lot of study time and Im hoping these 3 weeks go by pretty quick.
My prep day is Thursday. We don’t have one tomorrow because we just got here, but next Thursday you will hear from me again. I need your emails because we can email a little while we are here, so that’s nice. I cant remember what they are so remind me ok? Tomorrow wont be as bad because we are able to just were slacks and a shirt, not our suits. I really just need to forget about all the worldly things and try to take as much in as I can while Im here. Its so crazy to think about not being able to see you guys, my friends, skate, play sports or talk on the phone etc. for two years. Now that Im finally out here and know that I cant come home, its been a little hard. I do miss you all, but im not homesick. I think ill be alright in that area. I wanna hear about anything new that’s happening at home….I know I just left but Im curious because Im not there. I hope your doing alright mom, just be happy for me( which I know you are).
I just ate a dang good brownie, so Im happy now. Haha. Well I love you all. Ill write again in about a week and tell you if Im still alive!
Thank you!
Love,
Elder Devenney
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