A NEW PLACE BUT NOT MUCH HAPPENING

HEEEEEELLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Hey so glad I get to speak to everyone again! Hope your week has been good and full of awesome experiences. My week has been pretty good, nothing too crazy just the regular stuff, trying to adjust to the new area and meet all of the members here. But anyways let’s jump right on into this email!!!

Monday was the last P day of the transfer and it was a crazy one. We had sports in Barrie that day so we drove down and met up with some other elders and had some sushi. Then we went and played some sports and signed journals. Oh and I got to smash a pie in another missionary’s face because I made a bet with him and won! It was super good I will try to get the video for you guys. After that we scurried back home and ate a super fast dinner with the Spackmans then we went and said good bye to a couple of members. Then we had to drive to Orillia so I could drop off Elder Olson and pick up Elder Coffey and then drive down to Aurora to spend the night.

Tuesday was transfers and that is always interesting. I got to see a bunch of missionaries I haven't seen in a bit. Then the rest of the day was spent driving to the new area and meeting my new comp and having dinner that night.

Wednesday we went and did some service in the community by helping them set up their Christmas Decorations in the park. Then we did some studies and then we went and dropped by some people and invited them out to the Christmas party that was happening on Saturday. We had dinner at Sister Tisdale’s house and it was super delicious. After that we went walking around for a couple of hours.

Thursday was pretty good not a whole lot happened, it was American Thanksgiving though!! We didn't have a dinner appointment that night so Elder Heppler and I just chilled at the apartment and ate some left overs.

Friday we had District Meeting in Hamilton and that was good. I have a lot of great people in my district this transfer so it should be really fun. After that we had interviews with the mission president and lunch. Then we drove back and stopped by some people on the way and finally got back home and had dinner at the MacDonald's house and it super good. Then we walked around some more for the rest of the night.

Saturday we had breakfast with the MacDonald's in the morning and then we went to help some people move into their new house for a couple of hours and they got us lunch too which was super nice! Afterwards we made up our studies and then went to the Branch Christmas party that night. It was super fun I got to meet a lot of the people there. It kind of reminded me of the parties we would have back at home except I didn't know anybody. That took up the majority of the night and they gave us all the leftovers so we have lots of food now!!

Sunday was pretty good, not as hectic as Midland so I get to have a little bit of a break now. It was testimony meeting so I was able to hear from more of the members. The classes were great as well, Elder Heppler gave the priesthood lesson and he did an awesome job. After church we had a lesson with a guy and then drove out to our dinner appointment we had that night. They are an awesome family and said we could come and skype at their place on Christmas so that will be sick!!

Now to explain the area and my companion a bit. Simcoe is about a city of 14,000 people so I am still a country boy. Not a whole lot going on here since it is winter time and most of the people have left for the winter. Elder Heppler is from Lonepine, Montanna with a population of about 140 people, so he is the REAL country boy between the two of us. He came out one month after I did so he has got some experience. I love this guy already, we have so much fun together and we have the exact same truck back at home just the color is different!! I can tell that we are going to have a blast this transfer.

That's all I got for this week. Hope everyone has a good rest of their week.

Love and miss you all!!

--

Elder Murray

THE NEXT CHAPTER HAS BEGUN!!!!!

SO LONG....FAREWELL, TO YOU MY FRIIIIIEEEEENNNNDDDDSSS!! GOOD BYE FOR NOW UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!

Hello everyone! So glad I get to talk to all of you again and read about the things you have been up to. Everything is going pretty well with me and I will apologize but this email is going to be VERY SHORT because I gotta leave in like 10 minutes. So to let you know what is happening.

I am leaving Midland and I am going to Simcoe to be with Elder Heppler. It is down around the Hamilton area so they are sending me south for the winter! Kind of sad to leave the people here in Midland but I am excited to move on to the next adventure!

This week was pretty good. We had our last district meeting and were able to meet with some amazing people. We also took a trip to Port Severn and Honey Harbour to visit some people and look around. 

But yeah that is all I got. I will attach some pics for you guys so I am not just short handing ya.

I love you all and hope you have a good rest of your week!

--

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!!!!!

GOOOD MORRRRRRNNNNNIIIIINNNNGGG!!

So glad I get to talk to everyone again this week! I hope that everyone had a good week and that it wasn't too crazy and hectic. First of all happy Veterans Day to all of you and a big thank you for those that have served and that are serving now. Thank you for protecting our rights and our freedoms. My week was pretty good, nothing too crazy and wild but a nice week overall. Without any further delay let us jump right on into this thing!!!

Tuesday nothing really crazy happened, just regular p-day stuff and then had some tacos at the Thompson's.

Wednesday was pretty rough. I couldn’t sleep at all the night before because of this massive migraine that I had. So Wednesday was pretty uneventful because of the amount of pain that I was in and my eyes were completely red so everyone thought I was on some sort of drugs. 😂 We had dinner with a member and it was super good and we had mutual with the young men. We watched the District with them to show what being on a mission is like. They all enjoyed it and they started asking more questions about a mission so hopefully it gets them a little more motivated to serve.

Thursday was good. My migraine died down a lot! We had a lesson with the returning member couple again and it went really well and they both got callings in the church!! They are progressing so much it is so amazing. After that I went to Collingwood for exchanges and I was with Elder Marsden. It was a good time. We did some service and got to experience the first snow fall in the area. Then we spent the night walking around in the blizzard. ❄❄❄

Friday we did our studies in the morning then we met up with the other Elders at 98 Super Panda to exchange back and have lunch. After lunch Elder Olson and I drove back to Midland did some weekly planning and then had dinner at the Corbiers. Then we spent the rest of the night dropping by less actives.

Saturday most of the day was spent visiting people in the branch to see how they were doing and if there was anything that we could do for them. Before dinner that night we helped a guy move some drywall down into his basement. After that we tried to drop by more people but we struck out so we spent the night calling people at the Spackman's.

Sunday was good, crazy hectic as always but good. The theme for sacrament meeting was the blessings of tithing so that was super good to hear. The classes were all good. We talked about the Holy Ghost and the importance of self-reliance. After church we had some lunch and then did our studies and then we traveled to Barrie for a stake priesthood meeting. The meeting was good and I got to see some people I haven't seen in a while. After the meeting we drove back home and wrapped up the day.

Well that's all I got for this week, hope everyone has a good and safe rest of the week. Keep on being awesome and stay looking beautiful.

Love and miss you all!!

--

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

THE STRONGEST MAN IN MIDLAND!!!!!

Hey everyone!! So happy that I get to talk to all of you again this week and hear about all of the amazing things you have been up to. Sorry about not letting you all know last week but we had a Zone Conference in Toronto all day yesterday so that is why I didn't get a chance to email. But we are here today! This week has been pretty good. I had a couple of cool experiences and a new addition to the wardrobe so I can keep looking fresh. But anyways let us jump right on into this email!!!

Monday was pretty good. We went to Barrie and had a Zone Halloween party. It was super fun. We had a pumpkin carving contest to see who could carve the best pumpkin. We were separated into groups of four and my team came up with a brilliant idea. We decided to make a snowman pumpkin!!! It looked super legit and of course my team won the contest for creativity and originality. After that we played some Kill Ball and had a fun time with that. Then we came back home had some dinner and then dropped by to visit some people.

Tuesday I finally finished a life debate that I have been struggling with. I have been debating whether or not I should buy new shoes. So I came to the decision to just bite the bullet and bought a fresh new pair of brown shoes. And I will say I am quite happy with my decision! It was also Halloween on Tuesday so we had to be in our apartment at 7 so we could be safe. We pretty much spent the day visiting with people and walking around. We spent the night at the Spackman's just hanging out and talking about Halloween stories.

Wednesday we had District Meeting in the morning. It went pretty well and we talked about how to have a more effective morning schedule to get us better prepared for the day. After the meeting we came back to Midland and made up our studies and went to drop by a couple of people. That night we had dinner at the Healey's and it was super good and then went to the church for mutual that night. And that night is where the title of this email stems from. The young men decided that they wanted to have an arm wrestling competition so we made the bracket and started to go for it. Long story short I beat everyone that was there!! But it didn't just stop there! I have been challenging every man in the Branch to an arm wrestling competition! Thus far I am undefeated, 14-0. So basically you can say that I am just an unstoppable force, so Dad and Sethe, you boys better prepare yourselves for when I get back cuz you boys are going DOWN!!!

Thursday we had a lesson in the morning with a returning member couple that went super well as always because they are so amazing!! After that the rest of the day was spent visiting with  people and doing some weekly planning. That night we had Bible Class and we are starting fresh in Luke Chapter 1. I learn so much from teaching that class and I am so grateful for the people who attend it.

Friday I had exchanges in Georgian Bay. I was with Elder Leyton all day, and he is from Peru! I had a really good time with him. We basically spent the day visiting with people and walking around in Collingwood. 

Saturday we exchanged back in the morning and then we helped a new family move into their house. They are from Barrie and have 3 kids so they will be an awesome addition to the Branch. After helping them we went back home and finished weekly planning and then went back to help them again because they had another load come in. After we got finished over there, we went to have dinner with the Sheppards at Pizza Pizza. After dinner we spent the rest of the night walking around and talking to people.

Sunday was hectic and great as usual. Meetings starting at 8:30 in the morning and then church right after. I ended up having to wing a lesson for 3rd hour because the teacher didn't show and they asked me to do it. After church we did our studies and then went and had dinner at the Branch President's house. Then we had the Self Reliance Course at the church for the rest of the night.

Monday was amazing! Like I said we had Zone Conference in Toronto all day and Elder Pearson from the Seventy came to speak to us. He was absolutely amazing!! He was an excellent speaker and gave us all really good insight about how to be better missionaries. I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to him one on one! He chose five missionaries that he wanted to speak to AND I WAS ONE OF THEM!! It was really good, he asked me how I was doing and how I thought the conference went and just got to know me more as an individual. After the meeting we drove back home and had dinner at a Chinese place.

That's all I got for this week! Thank you all for the continual support that you show me as I am out here. Hope you all have a good rest of your week!

Love and miss you all!!!

--

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net