I'M HOME!!!!!

After a long day of travel, it's great to be back home again!!

THE FINALE!!!!!

Well everyone this is it, the final email that you will get from me.
It has been a crazy 2 years with lots of ups and downs but I am truly grateful for everything that I was able to experience. For this email I wanted to skip the travelogue and just record my thoughts on everything that has happened.
I can honestly say that this has been the best 2 years of my life. Now, it has taken a lot for me to get to this point but I wouldn't take back any of it. I have learned and experienced so much. I have been able to make friends with some of the best people I know. I have gone through a lot of struggles, but I am grateful for them because they have helped me become the person that I am today. I am grateful for the opportunity that I had to continually study the scriptures every single day. They have become a great source of strength and peace for me as well as a resource of endless knowledge and application. I am grateful for the relationship that I have been able to build with my Savior. It is because of him that I was able to make all the changes that I did and become the person that I am now. He is my rock and my foundation and has helped me get through the things I could have never gotten through on my own. I am grateful for all of the people that I have met out here. You all have truly changed my life for the better and I will be forever thankful for the blessed opportunity I had to get to know every single one of you.
When I reflect back on my mission, I can recognize that there were a lot of hard things that I went through. A lot of sad moments, times when I wasn't motivated, times I wanted to go home, times that I didn't really believe. But all of those things just seem like a distant memory now. They have been overcome with all of the good memories that I have. All of the funny and stupid things I found myself involved in as a missionary, the people I was able to teach, the homes I was able to go in, the companions I had, and the endless love from my Father in Heaven.
It reminds me of a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes
I think we all can look back and recognize a lot of difficult moments that we went through and a lot of the time we are going through them right now. But I love how the Lord says that our afflictions will be but a small moment and if we endure it well we will come out a better person than we were. Hard times and struggles are just a part of life but that doesn't mean that they are the only thing. God sent us here to learn and grow and have joy not only for the here and now but for eternity as well.
This mission has meant so much to me and I will never be able to express in words how much it means to me.
Thank you all so much for everything that you have done and continue to do for me.
Love and miss you all!!!

Elder Murray

I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE!!!

HEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

How is everyone doing!!?? I want to preface this by saying this will be a shorter email because I got a lot of stuff going on today. However I will try to summarize this week the best I can for all of y'all. So without further delay, let us jump right on into this thang!!!

I guess first thing to talk about is the biggest highlight of this week. We were able to go to the Temple with Diane and Brenda on Saturday!! It was an absolutely amazing time. I am so glad that I have been able to be a part of this journey that she has taken. I am truly blessed for these wonderful opportunities that I am able to be a part of. She said she had a wonderful time there and she is looking forward to being able to go back again!

Other than that it was kind of a chill week, did the usual missionary grind with dropping by people and walking around talking to people.

On Friday night they had soccer night over at the Chapel so we went over and played with them. ⚽

I realized that I am still absolutely terrible at soccer and I don't think that I am ever going to be good at it. Oh well, I guess I can't be amazing at everything or there wouldn't be any challenges for me in this life. 😂😂 

Other than that not a whole lot to report on.

Hope you all have a good rest of your week!!

Love and miss you all!

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

SPIRITUAL HIGHS IN SWEATER WEATHER!!!!

OH MY LAND!!! THAT WEEK WENT BY FAST!!
Hey everyone!! Hope you all had a good week and that it was full of joyous moments! So glad I get to talk to you again and hear about all the amazing things you are doing. My week was super busy and eventful, lots of things happened this week but it was absolutely amazing!! But without any further delay let us jump right on into this thang!!
Last week on Monday we just did the regular stuff. Did some shopping, emailing, and played some sports. For dinner that night we had tacos at a members place and it was freaking amazing. 🌮Then we had to drive to Guelph so I could interview this guy who was wanting to get baptized. That went super well and he passed with flying colors!! He got baptized just this past Sunday so he is doing well! 
On Tuesday, we had a couple of appointments with the people that we are teaching. Those all went well. I honestly love working with the people here in Cambridge, they are all so amazing. We also had to clean out the other apartment that Elder Luker used to be living in. That night we drove out to Kitchener for dinner and as well dropped in to the English class over there to see how everything was going.
Wednesday we had Zone Conference and it was my last one!!! Kind of surreal but it was a great experience overall. They had me give my testimony since I am going to be going home. I really enjoyed the opportunity that I had to do that. 😀 After that we came back to Cambridge, grabbed something to eat, and then boogied on over to the lesson we had that evening.
Thursday we had the food bank in the morning. That's always a good time to be able to help people out. After that we did our studies and then we had a couple of lessons lined up for the rest of the day.
Friday we had the blessed opportunity to go to the temple!! We don't get to go that often but when we do go it is always an amazing experience. I am truly grateful for the blessing of having the temple in my life and the comfort and peace that it brings to me every time I go. After the temple we came back to Cambridge and ate some dinner and did some drop bys.
Saturday and Sunday was General Conference!!! What a power house of a weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! I learned so much and felt so inspired during the whole thing. This week was definitely a week of blessings, I feel so energized and renewed! 😊
Yesterday we had Canadian Thanksgiving. 🦃It was a good day. We decided that we were going to go by all the people in our congregation here that were single and didn't have any family coming over. It was great to be able to talk to and visit all of them. For dinner that night we went over to Diane and Brenda's and had our thanksgiving dinner. Really good food and got super stuffed!
Well that's all I got for this week! Hope you all have a good rest of your week!!
Love and miss you all!!

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

CRAZY THINGS ARE HAPPENING!!!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Hello everyone!!! So glad I get to talk to you again and hear about all the amazing things you are doing. I hope everyone had a good week. My week was crazy hectic and unexpected so prepare yourself for some news!! So without any further delay let us jump right on into this thang!!!
So on Tuesday we got a call from our Mission President telling us that some things needed to be changed around because some missionaries were going home early. Basically Elder Larson had to move to Cobourg and now I have a new companion! They combined me with a Portuguese speaking Elder so now we cover both the English work and the Portuguese work! His name is Elder Luker and he is also from Idaho, he is from Pocatello. He has been on his mission for about 11 months now. He is a super awesome guy. We have been having a blast together so far.
Most of this week was just getting each other situated with the things that are going on in each of our areas and figuring out how we are going to make things function. It is going to be super exciting and I am looking forward to seeing what it has in store!
Saturday we had another baptism!! A little girl named Kailey decided she wanted to be baptized. It was so awesome being able to work with her and help get her to this point. She is probably the sassiest little girl I have ever met in my life but I absolutely love her! 😀I am so excited for her and can't wait to see how she is going to blossom in the gospel.
Sunday was good, went to church and talked to everyone that was there. It was also Fast Sunday so we were able to hear some people bear their testimonies. After church we did some studies and then we went to Kitchener for a dinner we had over there. They fed us some really good food!
It has been a good week and pretty interesting as well. But I am looking forward to what is going to happen next. This week we have the opportunity to go to the temple which I am super excited about!!
That's all I got for this week!
Eu estou com saudades de voces
(Love and miss you all)

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

MUY BUENO SUPER SPICY!!!!!

SOMEBODY CALL 911!!!!
Hey everyone!! So glad I get to talk to you again and hear about all the amazing things you are doing. I hope everyone had a good week. My week was pretty good, had some pretty interesting experiences but that's what this is all about!! Also, as of today I officially only have one month left on my mission! 🎉That is absolutely crazy to think about how time has just flown by out here. But without any further delay let us jump right on into this thang!!!
Monday last week was pretty chill, just did the normal stuff like groceries and email. We played some basketball that day as well so that was pretty fun. 🏀 After that we had a dinner with a member here and then I did My Plan for the rest of the evening.
Tuesday was a busy day. We had a lesson in the morning with someone who we are trying to help come back to church. After that we went to the home of someone we are teaching because they had an Aunt that wanted a blessing. We got there and talked with them a bit and gave her the blessing. It was a good experience for everyone there. Then we had to boogie on over to the church because we were meeting with our recent convert there so we could get her started on some genealogy. We had a good time with that and then we went back to the house that we were just at because they invited us over for dinner. We had some delicious spaghetti and meatballs and we were able to give another blessing to the boyfriend of a member that was there. 🍝Overall it was super good day.
Wednesday we helped some members paint the inside of their living room. That was a good time. I was in charge of all the trim so I was just going around with a brush and doing the fine tuning.🖌 They fed us dinner after that and then we went and helped someone move a water softener out of their basement. And let me tell you something, when those things still got salt all up in them they are HEAVY!!! But we managed to get it out of there without killing anyone. 😂 Then we had a visit with someone else we are trying to get back to the church.
Thursday we did service at the food bank in the morning. That went well, nothing too crazy to report. Then we did some studies and did some walking around trying to talk to people. We also had another lesson with Diane. That went well and she is still doing awesome. Then we grabbed some dinner and headed over to another lesson that we had with somebody else we are teaching. We talked to them about temples and why they are important.
Friday we had District Meeting in the morning. It was Peace Day as well so I went out and bought everyone rainbow leis so we could celebrate properly. I got myself a different one because I am the Big Kahuna. 😂We talked about setting goals and making plans for ourselves and the people we work with. After that I went on exchanges to Kitchener with Elder Lee from Korea. Elder Lee is freaking awesome and I had an absolute blast with him. We went to the University and tried talking to people down there. We were able to have some good convos with people, oh and while we were walking it decided to pour rain. So ONCE AGAIN I get soaked, but it was alright I was still having a good time.😊 For dinner that night we went out and bought the hottest Korean noodles that they sell. Let me tell you something about those noodles, those pieces of garbage are HOT! 🔥It felt like little sun devils were doing a dance to call down the power of the sun gods in my mouth!! 😈 It was definitely something I would probably only do once. But it was fun nonetheless.
Saturday in the morning we worked out and if there is one thing you need to know about Elder Lee is that he loves to work out. The guy is freaking jacked!!! 💪He decided he wanted to do a shoulder workout that morning and I realized that I am still just a young boy. That guy freaking destroyed me with that workout!! I can still feel the effects of it as I am typing this out. We exchanged back that morning and Elder Larson and I did some studies and knocked out our Weekly Planning. For lunch and dinner that day we got fed lasagna, so needless to say I don't want lasagna again for the rest of my mission. After that we just did some walking around and some drop bys.
Sunday was good with church in the morning, so we were able to talk to everyone there and see how they were doing. We got Carlee all set up to do genealogy as well. After church we did some studies and then went out and talked to some people. For dinner that night we went to a members place and their house was super nice!! It was massive and sat right on the lake.🏘 I felt super fancy walking around in there. The father showed us all of the guns that he has and let us hold them. It made me realize even more how excited I am to go shooting guns again! After that we spent the rest of the evening just continuing to drop by to see people.
Well that's all I got for this week. Hope everyone has a good rest of your week and lots of happiness and joy!!
Love and miss you all!

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

THE LUMBERJACK IS BACK!!!!!

TIIIMMMMMMBBBBBERRRRR!!!!
Hey everyone! So glad I get to talk to you again and hear about all the amazing things you are doing. Hope everyone is doing well and had a good week! My week was pretty good, still on that regular missionary grind and trying to finish strong! But without any further delay let us jump right on into this thang!!!
Last Monday was pretty good, nothing too exciting happened. Elder Larson and I bought matching shirts. They look pretty dope so I am excited about it. After P day was over we just went out and hit the streets to see if we could find anyone to talk to.
Tuesday we had some really good lessons with Diane and then Carlee. They are both doing extremely well. I am so happy that I am able to stay here for my last transfer so I can continue to work with them.
Wednesday we ended up doing a lot of service. A member here asked us if we could cut her grass for her, easy enough, but she has a massive yard!!! Best part about it was she had an old John Deere that I got to cruise around on 🚜  The entire time I was singing the song "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" to myself, that's how you know that I was having a blast. 😂 After that we had a visit with someone who really needed somebody to talk to so she was very appreciative that we stopped by. We also had a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader that night and that went well.
Thursday I was on exchanges with one of the Portuguese Elders. It was a good day. We did service at a garden which was pretty much just pulling weeds. After that we came back and grabbed something to eat and then went out and dropped by some people until dinner. After dinner we drove to Kitchener to put up some ESL flyers and ended up talking to a lot of students at the University there. It was a good time. I have always loved talking to the people that are my age, I find that the conversations are more....meaningful. (I don't know if that's the word I wanted to use there but oh well 😏).

Friday we had District Council in the morning, it was good. Since it is a new transfer and we had new people in the district we did a little get to know you activity that I came up with. It was basically Pictionary. You had to draw something and everyone had to guess what it was. HOWEVER, while you were drawing and everyone was guessing your companion had to be doing push-ups until somebody guessed it right. It made for some pretty good laughs. 😁After that we went to give a member a blessing and she is living with two of her friends that are not members of the church. Well we went over there and talked with them for a bit and all three of them wanted blessings! And they liked us so much that they invited us to come for dinner on Tuesday!! So that was a cool experience to be a part of. After that we did some studies and then weekly planned for the rest of the evening.
Saturday was a day to remember, a member asked if we would be willing to come help stack some wood in the morning. So of course we agreed to do so. We got there in the morning and they fed us a wonderful breakfast. Then it was time to get down to business. We went out there and he said that he still had logs that needed to be split and asked if I was willing to do it. I said "oh trust me, I am more than willing." So I ended chopping wood for the next 4 hours, on top of that it was the hottest day of the week. So needless to say I was very exhausted by the end of it. But I felt like a man, a big strong man!! So it was all worth it. 💪
Sunday was a good day, nothing too special. Church is great as always, and after that we came home and did some studies and then went out walking for the rest of the night.
Well that's all I got for this week!! Hope you all have a good rest of your week!!
Love and miss you all!!!

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net