CRAZY WEEK AND NOW I GOT MORE RESPONSIBILITIES!!!!!!

HELLO ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!!! So happy that I get to talk to all of you again and hear from you. I hope that everybody's week has been good and packed full of adventure!! I know that mine has!! Lots of things happened this week and it looks like there are going to be a lot more to come! Let’s jump right on into this email!!! So Tuesday morning was transfers and we had to be at the Brampton Stake Center before 7am because my companion and another Elder had to be at the trainers meeting so they could get ready for their new missionary companions. That meant we had to get up at 4:30 in the morning so that we could all get ready and then have an hour and a half drive to get there. Once we got there and dropped them off at the church it was just Elder Bagley and me and we had to find something to do for 2 hours before transfers started. We ended up just napping in the car because we were so flipping tired! 😴 Once transfer finally started we were able to get things rolling. I got to see a bunch of missionaries that I haven't seen in a while so that was great. Then Elder Bagley and I moved our stuff from our car to the next car so that we could drive up to Barrie to meet our new companions. We finally got up to Barrie and I met my new companion Elder Olson. He is a super awesome guy. He is from St. George, Utah and has been on his mission for a little over a year now. Funny thing is that I was the one that replaced him when I first came into the mission and went to Owen Sound. So we both started our missions in Owen Sound and now we are both serving in Midland!! Pretty weird but super cool as well. After we got to Barrie we had to have another set of missionaries drive us to Midland because WE DIDN'T HAVE A CAR!!! Our car had been vandalized a couple of weeks before I got here and it was in the shop so we were without a car. We got to Midland and went to our apartment that is above a Chinese restaurant which is sick! I put all my stuff away then we went out to eat with a member and spent the rest of the night walking around downtown talking to people. Wednesday was a freaking killer!! All day walking around talking to people and knocking doors! It was a super long day and the walking wouldn't be too bad but Midland is like a roller coaster and every street just goes up and down. It was pretty funny because in that day I got yelled at by people driving by like 7 times. Things ranging from “hail Satan!” to “the power of Christ compels you!” Long day but it made my bed just that much more comfortable when we got home. 🛏 Thursday we had District Meeting in the morning and we had to get a ride from the Barrie elders again. Going to district meeting was deja vu from the 6 months ago when I was in Owen Sound and traveling to Wasaga Beach for those meetings. District Meeting was good we talked about the importance of setting goals and making plans which is good for me because I like to just go and do whatever, without any goal or plan in mind. After the meeting we went out to eat at a Chinese place and it was delicious as always. Then as we were driving home the best thing of this entire week happened!! THE CAR GUY CALLED AND SAID THE CAR WAS FINISHED!!! 🚙 I was so happy to hear that, it almost brought tears to my eyes. We finally had our freedom to go out and go to more places than just in Midland. I am so thankful for the invention of the vehicle it has made life so much more enjoyable! We spent the rest of the day driving around and visiting people and also had a bible study that night. Friday we got our oil changed in the morning and then we went over to the President Smith's house to help him put picnic tables together for a corn roast that we were having the next day. It was pretty fun to meet his family and help him with some things. After that it was pretty much a run of the mill rest of the day. We had dinner with a member who made some awesome burgers and homemade poutine. Then we spent the rest of the night visiting people. Saturday was the big day for the Corn Roast that the branch was having. It was so flippin fun!! To start off you already know that they asked your boy to be the grill master because they had heard of my amazing grillin’skills. 🍔 🌭  So I was making sure that everybody was getting the most divine burgers and hot dogs that they will ever have in their life. After that they set up some games for us to play and it was a bunch of water games. Let’s just say I got soaking wet from all of that nonsense. After the corn roast was done we helped clean up and then went out and visited more people in the area. Sunday was church and it was super hectic! We had a meeting at 8:30 in the morning and then Branch council at 9:00. In that meeting they asked me if I would serve as assistant branch clerk!!! So now I have a calling in this branch so that is kind of sweet. Sacrament meeting was good, they had me get up and introduce myself to everybody. There were about 55 people there which was really good for here because we usually get around 30 to 40. After sacrament we taught gospel principles and then taught Young Men's. After church we went on splits with some people in the ward and went out to visit more people. We had dinner with the Branch President that night and then went out with him to visit with even more people. Lots of running around that day. On Monday the big thing that happened was that my companion and I decided to make a video because we are supposed to make sure that every missionary knows how to change a tire. So we made a “how to video” and it is hilariously bad.  But it was the best that we could do and I enjoyed it. The rest of the day was just dropping by more people and visiting with them. That is all I got for this week. I have been enjoying myself so far since I have been here in Midland, and I am looking forward for the week to come. I hope you all have a good rest of your week and I hope everyone had a good Labor Day yesterday! Love and miss you all!!! --  Elder Murray