August 20, 2008

First Impressions

  • Driving in India is crazy. No one follows any rules. There are lines on the road, but no one follows them. They all just drive down the middle of the street and only move when someone honks at them. They are always flashing their lights and honking. It is crazy scary.
  • There are stray dogs everywhere. I have only seen like 10 cows wandering the streets. I guess they let them wander just because they don't have any land; it's not like they worship them. Then at night the cows wander back to where they came from and get milked. It is pretty interesting.
  • We slept on the floor at the zone leaders houses for like 4 hours. It was weird trying to sleep. I kept thinking there were bugs all over me. I guess I will get used to it.
  • We ate McDonalds for lunch today. It was pretty cool. They only have chicken, but it is the best McDonalds I have ever had. It is pretty awesome.
  • It will take me a while to get used to it here but I will get there.

India - First Mission Experience

Devon tells this story from the Airport in India:

  • When we got to India a lady came and started talking to me. She was speaking English but I had no idea what she was saying. I was so confused. But what I did get out of it was that she had a Hindu background and she loved Jesus Christ and she saw my name tag and wanted to know where we had meetings. Well, I really have no idea because I just got there. But I gave her a pass along card and told her to call the number and they could tell her where we meet. Hopefully she does that. It really helped me. I was really nervous but it let me know that people want to hear the gospel so that helped me to know that everything will be OK.

Devon's First Adventure - The Trip to India

Elder Jenks and his 13 "Batch Mates" headed off to the SLC Airport at 6 am, Monday morning. Their flight left around 9 am. After a stop in Chicago, IL., they arrived in Fankfurt, Germany around 8 am Frankfurt time. The missionaries were allowed one call home during their flight; Devon called us just after midnight MST from Germany. It was great to hear his voice. He was very tired and a bit nervous about being so far from home. He was able to get some sleep on the third leg of his flight, thanks to Uncle Fred, and disembarked just after midnight on Wednesday morning in Bangalore, India.

The missionaries were greeted at that early hour by President and Sister Nichols. They were farmed out to Zone Leaders' apartments for about 4 hours of sleep on the floor and then gathered up again for a home cooked breakfast prepared by Sister Nichols.
His trainer is Elder Hansen from Las Vegas, NV and they will be serving in Coimbatore Branch in Coimbatore.

We are happy and relieved that he has arrived and all is fine.

August 15, 2008

Devon's Second and Last MTC Letter

Devon's second letter arrived today. Yeah!! Here are some quotes from it:

  • I got a haircut today. My hair is so short. I don't know what to do with it.
  • We get to go to the referral center 4 times a week which is pretty cool. People call in to receive either a video or a Book of Mormon. We get to talk to them and sometimes teach them. I have gotten to teach a few first lessons over the phone. It is the closest thing we have to teaching real people.
  • I love you all. I love the gospel. I am so thankful that I am here. . . . I'm so glad that you taught me well. I have strong testimony of the gospel. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know with all my heart that Joseph Smith restored the gospel and translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. I am so thankful for all the help the Book of Mormon is to me. I also love the Spirit. I feel it 24/7. . . . . It strengthens me in everything I do.

Devon will be flying out with 14 other missionaries for India on Monday, the 18th. They will not arrive until the 19th. The time difference from Twin to India is 11 1/2 hours, so it will be Tuesday evening when they arrive. And he thought that that first Thursday was the longest day of his life!

India Bangalore Mission Address

The best way to send a letter to Devon is through the mission office. They will courier it to him with their weekly communications.


India Bangalore Mission Office

#493 Anjali Plazza, CMH Road

Indira Nagar, Bangalore 560038

India

August 8, 2008

Devon's First Letter

Hello everyone! We have received our first letter from Devon. I will post some excerpts.
  • I love it here. I love being a missionary. The first day was the longest day of my life. The second day was the second longest day of my life! We get so much done. I didn't think it was even possible to accomplish this much.
  • We have already started teaching and we are getting better. Yesterday we had two 'appointments'. The first one went terrible. I felt horrible afterward. I was so depressed. I guess that is OK since we are talking about people's salvation. The second one went way better. I think it is so great how we can get so much better in just a couple of hours.
  • I am so thankful that I am here. I love this gospel. I have grown so much in so little time.

Our family is thrilled to have Devon in the mission field. We are very excited that he has been called to serve the people of India. We are anxiously awaiting his adventures in this country across the world.

Check back for updates as we get them.