Week 13 - Christmas!!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY

This coming week will be Christmas and I couldn't be more excited. It's gonna be my first one away from home really and I think its gonna be an awesome experience as a missionary. Plus I love presents as always. This last week has been a really good time. It's the first week of my third transfer and we have been teaching a ton of lessons. My new companions are Elder Hogue from Canada and Elder Taylor from Saratoga Springs Utah.

They are great guys and really good elders. They are awesome at contacting and teaching and that's all we've really been doing this week. We've taught over 20 lessons easy. Some people have been more interested than others but were making progress. and who knows what'll happen, I don't know, I hope I get some baptism soon. I know it's obviously not a terrible thing if I don't, but I've been working soooooo hard. We wake up at 5:15 now for the gym and it's been hard but I think I'm getting used to it. I've been trying this transfer so far to focus on obedience because I know that through it and following the rules with exactness will bring blessings. I know I'm not perfect but that is what repentance is for.

Besides that, we haven't seen much crazy stuff. We saw a couple get in a fight and drove past a drug bust and a couple crazy wrecks. Oh and always the homeless who just kinda chill on the streets doing drugs. But that's all for now. I decorated the apartment for Christmas last night and will send some pictures because I think it's pretty cool. We hung up some lights and set up a little tree we got. I'm excited for the Christmas thing we do as a zone on Tuesday. It'll be interesting for sure. I miss you guys a ton and look forward to your contact every week. I can feel your love and I'm keeping you all in my prayers as well. Love you all and merry Christmas!!!

Elder Jacob C Murray

Week 12 - Transfers

 Hello,

This is my 12th email home!! This week was the last week of my second transfer, and its gonna be Christmas soon. I'm super pumped. I'll have 2 new companions but that'll be okay I hear there pretty cool guys. I'm pretty much taking the lead of this area now cause it's only me left and it's actually really kinda scary. It's a lot of responsibility and I don't wanna mess anything up. I'm sure it'll work out okay but I gotta try my hardest and keep having faith.

This week was good. We had some really good lessons and a couple of our friends asked us to be baptized, so it might not happen while I'm here but jts crazy that I have been teaching these people and that I could start them on that path. The mission tour this week by Elder Brown was awesome, we got some amazing advice on how to improve our numbers and our testimony, and then with Elder Anderson we got to learn more about the importance of the Book of Mormon, I wish I could be more detailed in my emails about my week, but frankly the days have been blending together, and same with our lessons. It has been surprising me though how many people have never heard of the Book of Mormon and aren't totally haters. It's really awesome and pretty uplifting. I really wanna share this stuff with people but I just still feel underprepared. I am studying as hard as I can and I'm learning but I have a lot of emotions right now. I'm looking forward to the new transfer because we might see some baptisms, which would be super exciting for me. I love and miss you all and think about you a lot. I know not many crazy things happened this week but sometimes it's how it is. Love you all

Elder Murray 

Week 11 - Changing Lives

 Hello all!!

This week is my 11th email home. There are less than three weeks to Christmas and then on to the new year. I'm excited and looking forward to the season as it continues. Light the World has been amazing and an incredible tool in our efforts to find and teach about Christ. We have an amazing opportunity to hear from a Seventy this week and Neil L. Anderson as well. This week will be one to remember as Neil L Anderson is addressing our mission specifically.

This past week was a solid one but nothing too crazy happened. My new area is pretty sketch lowkey and one of our apartment complexes always has some sort of crap going down. We overheard multiple arguments this week which can get pretty funny. And we see some other iffy stuff but we mostly just mind our business. We have been eating good, grilling and just generally making good eats. Next week we find out our new transfers, so I could end up somewhere else or I could stay here, who knows? It's been kinda chilly so I bought some thermals to wear under the pants and they have been awesome. We really didn't have much special happen this week. We taught some great people, one man, Michael met with missionaries a while back and they changed his life. He decided to become sober and is now over a month sober and going regularly to AA meetings. Its amazing how the gospel can bless peoples lives and I'm glad I get to be a part of it every day. Some of our super solid friends moved away and that was really sad because they were just about to be baptized, so we sent them to the elders in there new area and hopefully they still keep their commitment. Its weird to think its Christmas season here cause there's no snow and its only ever fairly chilly not freezing. Also something about being a missionary makes holidays different. Maybe it's the fact we don't get them off lol. I don't know but I'm excited for Christmas anyways. I hope you all are doing well and I hope that you stay safe this coming week. I love and miss all of you daily. 

Love 

Elder Murray 

Week 10 - Here we are

 Hi everyone, 

This weeks email will be shorter because I was able to talk to my fam so much this week. It was Thanksgiving and I was able to focus on what I was grateful for and how I was growing as a person and a missionary. I find I am very grateful for everything in my life as it all has helped me become the person I am today. I was able to get better at contacting this week and we had some awesome lessons I was able to take part in teaching. We also had this thing called Mission Leadership Conference. It's a conference with President Beardall for all the mission leadership and it was very inspiring and I got some great notes and help out of it. For Thanksgiving we got food from members and ate at our apartment. It was really a good time.

This week has had some good laughs, like lighting a campfire in a cup and seeing the sun for once. I am growing to love the mission more and more every day and hope that I will be able to keep learning and growing. Christmas is soon and it doesn't feel like it at all cause holidays on missions are a weird thing. That's okay though cause I'm still excited for Christmas and hope it's not too much different. Thank you all for checking in and supporting and loving me it means a ton. Happy Thanksgiving and have a good week everyone!!! 

Elder Murray