January 26th, 2015

Hey Everyone!

All is going good here is Germany. So I typed in that address I gave you and it didn't take you to my building. I live in the Center of the University. It is really close to the McDonald s.  I started out like Adam and i am “white washing” into the area and we had no investigators. "White washing" is when they take all the missionaries out and put brand new ones into the area that know nothing about the place.  So we went to a college apartment complex said a prayer and started knocking doors. About 5 doors later we gave a Book of Mormon to a Girl named Hannah who is on the basketball team in Jena. We made a return appointment and taught her not the first lesson but an overview lesson of what our church is about. She really liked it and at the end we had her pray and she prayed for about 5 min. It was really long and I didn't catch much. But after my companion told me that she said she was glad we came and she hadn't felt that close to God in a long time. So yeah I think she will be a good investigator. Later that week we found a few more investigators. We just gave them a Book of Mormon and scheduled a return Appointment with them. Three are Muslim and one in Spanish maybe? It’s awesome how fast we are finding people and Elder Anderson said people don’t normally take the Book that often. It’s super exciting. We have had a few people just say "Nein!" and just shut the door in our faces. haha

View of Jena and the University from Jena Tower.

 Our apartment is the tallest building on the left that looks like steps.

Our time here is going great. We don’t have cars and we don’t use our bikes. We just use the tram systems that go all over the place. We met one of the basketball players from the sixth floor and he said he was from New York. He was so tall he had to duck to get into the elevator. We also have some crazy guy who stands outside of our church for a while each day and thinks he is Jesus. My companion and some another Elder went back to our place to grab a bowl for Institute Dinner and they talked with him. His name is Bill Cristus and he really thinks he is Jesus. My companion said “Hi Bill” and He said “It’s Jesus Christ actually”, and then he started saying that he wasn't going to save my companion and that only through him could he be saved. Kind of interesting.

Trying my first Döner! 

Some food that I have tried are Döners. They are a sandwich with thin meat and they are pretty good.  Another thing we have had is bratwurst from a little stand on the street called Grill Teufel.  It’s pretty good stuff.   I saw him grabbing a raw bratwurst from the cooler to put on the grill and that was a little gross.

There is a rumor going around that we may get sucked into the Berlin Mission. That would kind of stink because I wouldn't get to see anyone I knew from the MTC for a long time. But I heard the rumor has been going around for a while.

We played soccer again this week in about an inch of snow. It was real fun but slippery. Last P-day we had a bunch of companionship's come to Jena and we played football. That was really fun except I ended up losing one of my name tags.

Soccer with the Germans.

Well all is going well I hope all is going good back home it sure sounds like it is.

Love you all!

January 19, 2015

Hey Family!

Germany is awesome! We left the MTC real early on Tuesday and flew until 9am Germany time. We then met with our Mission President and then we went to the Church building in Germany.   I have actually not been to the mission office yet. So we got to know the mission president a bit and then we watched some safety videos and had some pizza for dinner. Before dinner though they took us out on the street to a display they had set up. They gave us some cards and a Book of Mormon and told us to go hand them out. That was pretty crazy. Been there for a few hours and we were already trying to hand out cards. haha. Well we didn’t have any luck with that so then we went back to the church. We were all so tired that day so we went to a hotel around 7 pm and went to bed. All the trainer missionaries showed up at the hotel around 9 am so we woke up in the morning with someone in our rooms. haha

View out our apartment window of the university.

 We woke up and had breakfast and then we went to the basement for a meeting. We had a short little meeting and then we got our companions. My companion gave me a matching tie and we got a picture with the president and his wife. His name is Nik Anderson from West Jordan Utah. He is a pretty cool kid. This is his last transfer so he leaves in 12 weeks. After our meeting we went to the train station. We got some more pizza there and then we said goodbye to everyone and got on a train. We had a 3 hour train ride and I sadly fell asleep for a big chunk of it. We are in an area called Jena (yay-na). We live right on a college university. It’s pretty cool. It is a university town over on the eastern side of Germany.  It is a leader in the optical industry and is where Carl Zeiss began.  

Devin (far left), Elder Anderson (front right) in the train station headed to Jena.

So we have a branch and we had about 13 people at church not including the missionaries. I had to go up and bear my testimony and tell a bit about myself. It went pretty good except I didn’t know some words I was trying to say and so I just said them in English. The members all thought that was pretty funny. My first day here we went to institute and I had no clue what was going on. They speak so fast and it turns out they all pronounce things a little different around Germany. I have had a great time so far. We have been trying to talk to people on the streets and that is not the easiest.

On Friday we went to a member’s house he was a cool guy who recently got married. We had cake and some watery hot chocolate. It was really cool except I didn’t know what they were saying.

Germany is a really cool place all the yellow and red buildings and all the roofs are red, also all the sidewalks are cobble stone.

So Saturday we went and played soccer with a bunch of Germans and it was crazy. It was on a little soccer court like the size of a basketball court and we got whooped. There was a super tall German guy and he was on the city team. It was really fun and we got to meet a lot of people.

Eating some German Pizza and watching some church approved videos in our apartment.

I am in an area where we don’t get cars. We have three bikes, for some reason, but we don’t know where the sisters left the helmets so we haven’t used them yet. It’s ok though because we are really close to everything. The church is a two minute walk from our apartment and so is the store. Also, we went to an investigator’s house and we just used the train system that goes through the streets. It is like the trolleys in San Francisco except theses have rails that go through all the streets. I will send you some pictures.

Here are some things Dad and Adam will like. My Companion right now was roommates with the Emery kid in the MTC. Also, there is a basketball team two floors below us. There is some guy on the team who used to be in the NBA. The zone leaders told us a bit about him. His name is Jordan and I don’t remember what team he played for but I think they said he was going to play for Houston but then he came to Germany to play. I will find out more about him and let you know.

That’s awesome Abby that you are doing so well at basketball. You little punk! Hope you can find a place to live Adam and Sara. I’m glad the Jobs are going good and don’t worry Adam the commute gets better unless my dad plays Willie Nelson.   Megan that’s awesome you get to go to Portland. Maybe the family could visit you. I know Sara and Adam like Portland haha.

Glad all is going well. I will write more next week I’m sure I will have a lot more to write about then,

Devin Kenley

It was Elder Anderson's birthday the other day so we got to celebrate.

January 14, 2015

Devin with President Ronald A Stoddard and his Wife Barbara

Dear Kenley Family,

We're happy to inform you that Elder Kenley has arrived safe and sound here in Frankfurt, Germany! He looks great, and we're thrilled to have his positivity and talents here among us in this mission! He'll change many lives.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Alles Gute,

Germany Frankfurt Mission Office

January 7th, 2015

Hey guys,

 All is going good! We got our travel plans and we fly to Chicago and then to Frankfurt. I leave on Tuesday the 13^th of January at 10:45 am.  It’s only an 8 hour flight from Chicago to Frankfurt so that shouldn’t be hard at all. My flight is United Airlines flight 6466 to Chicago and then United Airlines flight 907 to Frankfurt. I am giving these to you in case you want to watch me fly over on the internet. That’s crazy that Dillan is already leaving, and since when was his first name Jeremiah? The Language is going pretty good I defiantly don’t fell ready to speak to Germans though. I have quite a few friends here. I got to know the whole zone pretty well and we share a floor with Italians. The food was pretty good the first few weeks but it is getting pretty old now. It’s the same things each week.  I hope you all can come over to Germany too, and Abby I was going to take the rock wall class in middle school but they ran out of spots. I sure hope you get in you would love it.

The whole Zone

All is going good. I am glad Sara and Adam are coming up that’s so cool. Well I hope all goes well I will call you from the airport. We got calling cards and are allowed to call home, so be ready. I think we have a 3 hour layover so I will be able to chat for a while. I guess the next time I will be writing you from Germany. Crazy! Don’t worry dad I will get a picture with the board on the way to lunch right now and try to send it later today. 

Love you all.  Keep working hard and doing well in school (Abby) and make sure to read the scriptures every night. ! Love you

Devin Kenley

December 24th, 2014

Hey Family Merry Christmas! 

The MTC is pretty good. I get to call home at 4:45 pm tomorrow for a half hour is all, and no it is not Skype. It snowed here a little bit but it is all gone now. To answer Abby’s question about the language, they don’t really teach you the language, they more teach you how to teach the gospel and you have to pick the language up for yourself it feels like. I met some kids going to Korea the other day and I hear kids saying komsamnida all the time. (I know I butchered the spelling). 

So my schedule is basically wake up at 6:30am shower, then its study time from 7-8 and then breakfast for 30 min, then class until lunch which is at 12:50 pm and then class again. We then have dinner at 5:45 pm, then class till 9:30 pm and then bed at 10:30pm. That is pretty much it. On Tuesdays we have devotional instead of class for the last class session, and Wednesdays are P-days with class after dinner, and Sundays we have no class at all. haha. 

I don’t know if I can use Dropbox but I can send pictures. I just haven’t really taken any.

I got everyone’s Christmas packages. Thanks so much it has made Christmas feel a lot better. 

If you’re able to watch MTC devotionals you can watch the one from yesterday and see me and my companion on the stand. He had to say the prayer so we got nice seats on the stage. haha. 

Christmas Tree made out of boxes, ties, bottles etc.

Grandpa sent me big scoops in his package.  The kind I got that one time on our drive up the Alcan Highway. It was great getting them. If you could send me my chicken sweater that would be awesome. 

Well hope all is going well I will talk to you tomorrow and I think I will be able to write again before I call. You best be ready for my phone call. 

Bye everyone Love you lots!

Devin 

December 17th, 2014

Hey family! I have been getting the dear elders letters! They print them off and we check the mail every day after dinner.  Yes, I saw that Sara had stalked me. The funny thing is that that was not my companion it was another guy who looks like Hayden Summers. He is cool he likes to snowboard.  None of my roommates have ever snow machined. They all say they want to try it, however. 

Me pointing to Germany on the world map.

 I live in a room with Elder Peter Neary, Elder Jordan Watts, and Elder Peter Hatch. So if you want to Facebook stalk them you can. They are all pretty cool kids. My roommates are form Illinois, Utah and Michigan.   I ran into Emily going to a devotional. I have seen three people I know. Emily and FHE sister from college and a girl from an english class in college. If you could send me some Swiss cookies that would be awesome.  If you want to send me more pictures that would be awesome too. Love you guys.

Love Devin

December 10,2014

Hey Guys! The MTC is good.  The days are really long because all we do is study and eat. The food here is pretty good. I know how to say a prayer and bear my testimony in German now. Class is a bit rough because my teachers have only spoken German from day one. I can make out some very simple sentences, but I still need to learn a lot of the filler words.

Me and my MTC companion Elder Peter Neary

Tell Andy Nye that I saw Emily here at the MTC. She just left yesterday but it was cool that I got to see her before she left. I thought it was funny that the only people I have recognized here are three girls. I don’t know any guys here. My companion is Elder Peter Neary. He is real nice.  All the other people in my district are pretty cool too. I have been playing volleyball mostly for exercise. You guys should send me dear elder letters. They are really nice to get. Anyway, all is pretty good here. We are going to the temple later today. 

I love you guys,

.

Love, Devin

December 3, 2014

Devin Enters the MTC!

Today we dropped Devin off at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. He went in on December 3rd after a delicious breakfast at IHOP. We saw two other missionaries going in that same day at IHOP. We dropped him off at about 12:45 pm. It was really quick and we couldn't be more proud of him as he starts his adventures in serving the people!

Outside the MTC