SHORT WEEK WITH NOT A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENING

WELL HELLO AGAIN!

Hey everyone! Hope your week has been good and that you have had a little adventure. This past week was pretty good but also pretty short since we just talked on Wednesday. So there isn't really a lot to update you on but we will go ahead and get along with it!

On Thursday in the morning went and taught a lesson and they fed us lunch, which was TACOS!!! They are honestly amazing people. We pulled a little prank on them and hid about 25 pass along cards in their house. So they have been updating us throughout the week and are telling us when they find them. 😂  They have almost found all of them so they are doing well! After that we went out and visited some people and then had bible class that night and it went really well. We studied Mark 14 and we had a pretty good turn out and everyone gave really good input and ideas. The rest of the night we worked on some records for the Branch.

Friday we went out with the Elder Spackman to the doctor’s office because Elder Olson wanted to get this lump that he has looked at. We were there for a couple of hours and he has to go back this week for an ultra sound. They say it is nothing major but they just want to have a better look at it. After that we went to McDonald's because IT IS MONOPOLY SEASON!!! So we got our monopoly meals and we are now one away from $10,000 and one away from a year of free movies. So I will let you all know when I get that money!!! Don't worry I won't forget all of you when I get rich. After that we did some weekly planning at the Spackman's since he is our branch mission leader. Then we had dinner at a member’s house which is always delicious!! The rest of the night we went out and visited some people.

Saturday we had District Meeting in the morning and that was pretty good. I am in an all Elders District and I haven't been in one of those since the MTC. Shout out to all the day ones!!! After District Meeting we went and visited some people and we taught a lesson to a lady and it went really well. She is super sweet and she has two cats in her house. After the lesson I had to take off 10 pounds of cat hair from my clothes but it is okay I am glad that I was able to meet her. That night we drove with the Spackman's to a dinner that we had. The member is from the Philippines so we had some really amazing food!! We also helped them move a fridge and a stove to the upstairs. After that we drove back and it was time to call it a day.

Sunday was a pretty stressful day with the amount of things that we had going on. It was all good though. We were able to handle it all and get to where we needed to be. Church was good. There were some really good speakers who talked about equality and repentance. We also taught the Young Men's lesson about developing Christ-like attributes and that went pretty well. After church we went out and dropped by a bunch of people to see how they were doing and then we had dinner at the branch president's house and then went to a self- reliance course held at the church that night.

That was about all for this week hope everyone has a good rest of their week and can find a little time to relax. 

Love and miss you all!

--

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

I know it is pretty early for you guys to be hearing that phrase but I just celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving!! It was kind of weird to have it this early but awesome nonetheless! I hope everyone's week was great! Mine was pretty good, long week and a couple of cool moments. But let us just jump right on into it!!

Monday last week was the last P day of the transfer so everybody got together and played some sports in Barrie. It was a super fun time and it was great to see all of the missionaries in the zone. After that we came back to Midland and visited a couple of people.

Tuesday we taught a lesson to an investigator we have at the library. It went pretty well and she was accepting to everything we said. After that we moved the new senior missionary couple into their apartment. They are the Spackmans and they are freaking amazing!! So nice and so friendly, I am really looking forward to serving with them. Then we went and moved a fridge for a member and that was a job and a half!! That thing was so heavy and we had to take off the doors just to fit the thing into the house. After we finished that mess the Spackman's took us out to eat for lunch. The rest of the day was spent dropping by to visit people and working on some branch records.

Wednesday we had district meeting in the morning and it was really good. We did an activity about how to increase productivity in the areas that we serve in. After that we went out to lunch with the district because it was our last meeting together. Then we went back home and got Elder Olson's glasses fixed because they weren't sitting on his face right. We went and got some curtains for our apartment from the member who we moved their fridge for them. They wanted to show their thanks, so they took us out to a steak house and we had some BOMB STEAKS!! Later we went out contacting and dropping by to visit people for the rest of the night.

Thursday we had a lesson in the morning with some returning members. Then we went back and had some lunch and did some weekly planning. Sister Cepeda drove up from Owen Sound to come and visit and that was super awesome! I always love seeing and being able to talk to her. We went out to eat at a local restaurant and it was really good! After that we had the bible class and then we worked on some records again.

Friday was spent just going around and dropping by to visit people to see how they were doing. We had dinner with a member that night and they made some meat pie which was freaking delicious! Then we made some white wash notes just in case both of us got transferred out of Midland.

Saturday was another day of walking around and talking to people and we also mowed a less active member’s lawn that hadn't been cut all year. All she had was a little electric lawn mower with butter knives for blades. So it took us about 2 hours to finish the whole thing.

Sunday we had church and I gave a 30 minute talk that day about gaining an eternal perspective. Everyone said they really enjoyed it so I guess I didn't do too badly. After church we had dinner at a member’s place and it was decked out with all of the Thanksgiving foods. I stuffed myself pretty good and I didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day. The rest of the day we spent walking around talking to people.

Monday was pretty funny it was Thanksgiving as well as Elder Olson's Birthday!! I sang him a song just off the top of my head not rehearsed or anything and it was pretty funny. He also got a package from his mom and it contained some marshmallow shooters!! So we have been in an all-out war ever since then. We ended up going to the jail that day to visit a couple of the inmates there. After that I bought Elder Olson a DQ Blizzard for his birthday and then we spent the rest of the night walking around.

Tuesday we spent dropping by to visit people. Then we worked on some more branch records.

That's it for this week!! Hope everyone has a good rest of their week and it is filled with some adventure!!

Love and miss you all!!

--

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

THE FRESH PRINCE OF MIDLAND!!!!!!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLL THIS IS A STORY ALL ABOUT HOW!!!

Hey everyone! I’m so glad that I get to talk to you this week. One quick announcement! P day is going to be on Wednesday next week because of Thanksgiving, so the next email won't come out until then. But anyways I hope everyone had a good week and that you were able to have some adventure but relax a little at the same time. My week was pretty good. I got to see and do a lot of things. But instead of me blabbing about it, let’s just jump right on into this thing!

Monday we went to Barrie again and did some shopping! Elder Olson and I went and got matching Carhartt hats at Cabela's and they are looking pretty fly! Then we went to Marshall's and picked out some new shirts to wear. Let me tell you something, I love this shirt! It has pineapples, palm trees, roses, and flamingos all over it! After shopping I went and got my hair cut because it was getting a little long and not looking clean cut anymore. After that we drove back to Midland and had some dinner. Then we went out and visited a couple of people.

On Tuesday it was just a pretty regular missionary day. We started it off with sitting at the church and updating records and organizing the area. A member brought us lunch so we just ate it there and it was delicious might I add! After that we went and visited some people in the branch to see how they were doing. That night a member was able to get a hold of a couple of ties for me and Elder Olson! They are TTC ties!! Basically TTC is just the bussing system in Toronto and the drivers wear these ties. So now ya boi is a certified TTC driver! 😂

Wednesday we had District Meeting in the morning and that went pretty well. Afterwards we went to the Jail in Penetang with the Branch President of Georgian Bay. We visited two inmates to see how they were doing and how we can help them progress in the gospel. After that we had dinner at a member’s house and then we went bowling with all the Young Men and Women for mutual. It was a good time and you already know that I had to show everyone up with my amazing skills. After that we went to the church and got some things ready for the bible class the next day.

Thursday we went and visited a returning member couple and they are amazing!! They are so willing to progress and they give us treats every time that we are over there. We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how if we let him in he can truly change us for the better. After that we went and gave a member a blessing because she had been struggling with stress and anxiety lately. Then we went and cleaned the apartment one final time to make sure everything was all sparkling clean. We had dinner from a member that night and after dinner we taught the bible class. That went super well; the people that come give really good insights and ideas.

Friday was Temple trip day so we were able to go to the temple in the morning with all the other missionaries that are in a 2 hour radius of the temple. It was amazing to be able to go to the temple and be inside of it again. Always such a strong peace and comfort in there. After that we went with a group of missionaries to get some lunch at Flips. Flips is basically a breakfast place that serves some pretty decent size portions.

Saturday and Sunday were General Conference days, so we basically were at the church all day watching the sessions, eating food, and talking to our investigators. We actually had 5 people who are looking into the church come to general conference to watch! General Conference was amazing I think my favorite talk was by President Nelson and his re emphasis on the Book of Mormon and the influence it can have in our lives. 

That is about it for this week! Thank you for your continual support and all the emails that you send me. I hope everyone has a good rest of their week and that you can see the tender mercies of God in your life.

Love and miss you all!

--

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

WHY IS IT SUMMER NOW???!!!!

HEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOOO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!

So excited that it is Monday and that I get to talk to all of y'alls again! Hope everyone's week has been good and that nothing too crazy or hectic has happened. I know for me that nothing too huge has happened except for one MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!! I just would like to say that the highlight of my week was when I got to watch my boi Greg Thurber open up his mission call!!! He is going to be serving in the Cleveland, Ohio Mission and that mission borders right next to mine, just right across from mine!! I am so happy for him!!  I have a ton of respect for him and the choices that he is making in his life. So dang proud of him, so shout out to you Greg for being with me from day one and will continue to be with me for the eternities! 

Now that we got that covered let us jump right into this week!!

To explain the title of this email, this week has been super hot because we got hit with a heat wave. It has been mega hot and humid for the entirety of this week. So when you read just keep in mind that it has been over 30 degrees (high 80’s your temps) and the humidity has been crazy. Now back to our regularly scheduled email.

Monday we went to Barrie and did some shopping. I bought a new pair of pants and a couple of ties so that I could freshen up my look. Then we just went window shopping and looked at a bunch of different stores to see what they had. After that we came back and visited a couple of people.

Tuesday was spent visiting a ton of people and then doing a bunch of paper work to get the branch and the area a little more organized. We also cleaned up the old apartment a little bit more and it is getting pretty close to being done.

Wednesday we had a District Meeting in the morning and that went pretty good. We learned how to better work with members of the areas that we are serving in. After the meeting we had a District Service Project where we helped a guy lay cement for the foundation of a house. I was pretty excited until the guy told me that I had to go to the front of the house and dig a 2 foot deep trench along the front of the house!! So I spent the next 2 hours digging this trench while everyone else was working with concrete, AND THEN AFTER I FINISHED A MISSIONARY CAME WALKING ALONG THE SIDE AND CAVED THE WHOLE THING IN!!! I had to fix the entire thing so that cement could be poured in it.  I got to have a little taste of what my dad does for a living. 😂  After that I went on exchanges with Elder Fabiano to Owen Sound. That night we had dinner with the Rawlings, they fed us really well!  We had some chicken parm and some mashed potatoes. After that we just drove back to our apartment because we were an hour away from home.

On Thursday I took Elder Fabiano to visit a couple of people that I use to see when I was in Owen Sound. We went and had lunch with Bro Dunning and his family! I was super excited to go over there and see all of them again. I love that family so much. They did so much for me while I was there in Owen Sound. I will never be able to repay them. AND THEY HOOKED ME UP WITH SOME STEAKS FOR LUNCH!! Super great food and super great people, hopefully I get another chance to go back over there and see them again. After that we drove an hour and a half to exchange back in Collingwood. Then we went back to our areas. We had dinner that night and taught a Bible Class that went really well.

Friday was spent weekly planning and visiting a bunch of people and seeing how they were doing and if there was anything we could do for them. We had dinner with a member that night and it was delicious as always.

Saturday we helped a member move out of their apartment in the morning and then we went to a birthday party of a member in the ward and we were able to talk to a bunch of people about the church and why we are on a mission and what we do as missionaries. After that we had dinner with a member family who are amazing!! Their names are the Sheppards and they have five kids and one of them is going on a mission!! She is going to be headed to Salt Lake City, Utah come January. Then we walked around and talked to some people.

Sunday was good as always, got to see everyone at church and I didn't have to teach this week! I got to sit in on some classes and listen and give some input. After that we went out with Rich Sheppard and visited some people. We had dinner at the Branch President's house and then went to a Self-Reliance course being taught at the church.

That is about it for this week! Hope everyone has a good rest of their week and it is filled with some adventure!! Love and miss you all!!

-- 

Elder Murray

NEW APARTMENT LIVING!!!!!

HEEEEYYYYYYY EVERYONE!!!!

So glad I get to talk to all of ya and hear how your week has been! Mine has been pretty good and pretty hectic! Lots of changes going on around here and there are going to be even more to come! Better prepare myself for it so I ain't freaking out when it all goes down. But anyways let us just jump right on into this past week!!

Monday was super fun. We took a trip to Owen Sound for the day so we could go and celebrate Sister Cepeda's Birthday with her. We went and surprised her and we got her pretty good. We went to this place called Eugenia Falls and hiked it and it was a freaking blast! A good hike and I only fell in the water like 5 times so that was pretty good. After the hike we went and got ice cream and pizza for her birthday dinner. Super good as always, really enjoyed my time in Owen Sound and I am looking forward to going back for another visit this week when I go on exchanges there!

Tuesday was a pretty crazy day. We got a new apartment so our car wouldn't keep on getting vandalized where we were at. So on Tuesday we spent the day packing things up and moving it over to our new apartment. Lots of work and a lot of going back and forth with trucks so we could load everything and bring it over. However the new apartment is soooo sick!!! Alot more living space and we have a washer and dryer so I am pretty much living like a king right now. We finally got everything put away at like 10:30 pm so I was pretty exhausted and ready for bed.

Wednesday we did an online mission survey to prepare for an area seventy to come to the mission in the next couple of months. After that we went back to the old apartment so that we could start cleaning it and get it all fixed up. Then we went and visited some people and had dinner at a member’s place. Pork chops and mashed potatoes just like home. Then we had mutual that night with the Young Men and Young Women and that was pretty fun. After that we just went out and visited a couple of more people.

Thursday we cleaned up the old apartment a bit more and then had a couple of lessons with some people. We also did some weekly planning and then we went and visited a guy in prison and that was pretty interesting but super fun actually! We were able to talk to him through the glass and see how he was doing and share a message with him. He was actually super nice and super funny. He told me about some of the fights that he has seen in there and some of them were pretty brutal! After that we had some dinner and then a bible class that night. We had to house 6 more missionaries from the Sudbury area that night for zone conference the next morning. I got to see my old comp Elder Roundy and catch up with him a bit. Super fun night with all the elders there.

Friday was Zone Conference and it was pretty good. I got to see a lot of missionaries that I haven't seen in a while. The meeting was pretty good we talked about becoming better disciples of Jesus Christ. The meeting was 8:30 to 5:00 so pretty long but a good time none the less. After that we went to a members place and had some cheeseburgers. All around good day if you ask me.

Saturday we just did some more planning and visited people. Oh and we did some service for a retired pro wrestler so that was pretty sick.

Sunday was super good. We had church and the primary program and that was awesome to watch and we had a record breaking number of 66 people out to the Branch!! It was really awesome to see the seats filled up a little more. After services we had a potluck with all the members and there was some really good food there. I think my favorite was some meatballs that somebody made or the one bite brownies...they are actually called two bite brownies but I made them one bite!

That's about all I got for this week. I hope everybody has a good rest of their week and has at least one crazy awesome adventure so you can spice up your life a bit.

Love and miss you all!!!

--

Elder Murray

coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

LOTS OF EXCHANGES AND EARLY MORNING FRISBEE!!!!!!

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Hello all you beautiful people!! Hope everyone's week is going well and that you are still having crazy awesome adventures! This week was full of adventures and crazy things! But instead of delaying it let us just jump right on into it!! On Tuesday we did the regular stuff on P Day and then I went to Owen Sound on exchanges with Elder Kaku. That was super awesome!! I got to see all of the people that I love again. We went and had dinner with the Jone's that night and we had some KFC chicken! It was super great to see them again, always super fun and exciting over there. The next day we went out and visited some people that I used to teach and then we went to the Cepeda's to have some lunch and it was amazing! I love seeing them and spending time with them! Super good to see everyone there and to be in the area again. Hopefully I can go back some time and visit more people. On Thursday I went back to Midland and then at 1 o'clock I went on exchanges again with the Barrie Elders!! This time I stayed in Midland and I was with Elder Strong. We spent the day going around visiting people and then that night we taught a Bible Class at the chapel and that went pretty well. Then we had to get ready for the next morning because we had to get up at 4:30 and travel to Barrie so we could play Frisbee in the morning as a zone! Friday we got up and went to Barrie to play some sports so I had to bust out my Frisbee skills and show everybody up. We played for a couple of hours and then went to the Barrie apartment and took a shower and got ready for interviews with the mission president. After interviews we went to Quesada for some burritos. We went back to Midland and just did the regular missionary stuff for the rest of the day. On Saturday we had District Meeting in the morning in Wasaga Beach. The meeting went pretty well and after that we came home and had a pretty normal day with planning and visiting people. Sunday was hectic as always. I had to teach two classes that day and then get some stuff done for the branch and then after that we went to sing with the choir. Later we went on splits with the branch mission leader and the 2nd counselor of the bishopric. That went pretty well, we went and dropped by some people who haven't been out to church in a while. The rest of the night we finished up planning and getting things ready to move apartments in the coming week. Well that's all I got for this week. Hope everyone has a good rest of their week! Love and miss you all!! -- Elder Murray coleton.murray@myldsmail.net

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