Recuperating...

Dear Dad,

I hope I didn't worry everyone too much about what I said in my email last week. I wasn't trying to worry anyone. The people in the mission offices have taken good care of me and I am fine. I have taken things easy and I feel like I have recovered fully from my fall. I am still avoiding overexerting myself, at least for another week according to the mission president´s wife. 

Other then that the week was pretty good. We worked hard contacting and searching for referrals this week. Although not all the days were perfect, we put in a good effort and I feel like we've seen results. Well, we did see results, actually. We had six investigators come to church on Sunday. That was a real blessing. It was also testimony meeting and although I didn't understand every word of what the members said, I feel like I understood enough I and feel like every testimony that was shared was truly heartfelt and sincere. I feel like the spirit could be felt in that meeting. I don't know how many of these investigators will be baptized. I hope they all are. I´m glad to see the fruit of the labor of my companion and I. We also had a good lesson throughout the week with other people that said they wouldn't be able to make it to church this Sunday but they would try for the following Sunday, so that is also good. 

As I was writing this your email came in and I just finished reading it. A lot of what you said has to do with what was said in this talk or discourse my companion gave me. He received it from the previous mission president.

The talk describes four types of missionaries: Those who break the rules and go home, those who break the rules and finish, those who follow the rules but with a grudging attitude, and those that follow the rules and give their heart, their desires to the Lord. It is a very good sermon. It taught me a lot about how it is important we have a righteous and willing heart in the work we do. It doesn't mean we don't feel tired or upset or anything else, but it means we are trying to change our hearts and focus on the here and the now, the lives we can bless here and now. 

I have kind of been sad as I've laid in bed at night. We watched a little talk by Elder Holland as well and he talked about how a mission is the tipping point in your life. Life will not be the same after this. He also talked about Peter. Peter followed the Savior and in the course of his mission, he became such a perfect representative of Christ, that people would desire just to stand in Peter's shadow. I don't want to be selfish or anything like that. I want to help these people come unto Christ. At times I do think I home though. At times I want to be home. I think of you all and how  much I would love to just be in your presence. 

I guess that is part of the reason eternal life is so marvelous. To be in the presence not only of my Lord and God but my family as well, the people I love most in this world, that truly will be a blessing. I am trying to change my heart. I am trying to give my self fully unto the Lord so that I can become like Him, so I can know Him. It isn't easy, though.

I love you all and miss you all  very much. Thank you so much for the email. 

Love,

Elder McMurray 

Up On The Roof, or One More Thing To Be Worried About

Dear Dad:

Sorry to hear about the weather and your not feeling well. That isn't fun to have to deal with. Hopefully the weather gets more consistent and as a result your health does, too. 

I´m glad to hear you've taken to my words from Christmas. I know praying with greater intent and reading the Book of Mormon every day will bless your life and everyone´s life. I wish I had been more consistent with both things in my life before my mission. I know the Lord will bless us when we do these things. 

I´m disappointed to hear about Manchester City. I saw some of the game against Hull last week and they looked good, but it was Hull. Hopefully Pep can turn things around. I´m sure he can. 

We watched a movie as a district last week called Freetown. It was made by the guy who made the Saratov approach. It wasn't a perfect film by any means, it had problems, but I would recommend checking it out. I think you would enjoy aspects of it.

I love Mom's idea of family reunions As families grow and people's individual lives become more complex, it gets difficult to keep in contact as frequently as many would like. That doesn't change the love we have for each other.

I had a somewhat scary experience this week. On Wednesday we had a service project at a member's house that involved doing work on her roof/second story or floor. I don't really know how to describe it. It´s a platform, about  13 or 15 feet off the ground. I was working near the edge and I don;t know how, but I fell off. I sustained a slight concussion and some cuts and scrapes. I don't remember falling. I remember being on the roof and the next thing I know I was in a taxi with my companion, headed to the mission offices. 

One of the senior missionaries is a doctor and he checked me out, made sure I was OK. For a time in the taxi I had trouble remembering where Samuel and Naomi went to school or whether I had called you guys for Christmas. I quickly was able to recall all these things, though. 

My memory is totally fine. I cannot however recall my fall or the time after my fall. I am fine. I don't tell you to worry you -- I tell you so you know what is going on in my life here. I am taking things very carefully. Don't worry. 

I just read your words about Grace and they really lifted my spirits.  I´m glad you shared them with me. I agree with you on grace. We are nothing without it. Lost, without hope. 

I am trying to work my hardest and continue to improve my self. I hope the Lord will see the gratitude I have for the grace He has given me. I love you all. I miss you everyday. 

I believe things will get better for me here, as I focus on these people and on my objectives as a missionary. I will strive to work harder and harder each day. I am grateful for your prayers and your words of encouragement. Your spiritual thoughts brighten my week as well. I love you and miss you all. 

Love, 

Elder McMurray

P.S. The photos are from the mission Christmas party and from the view from the top of our roof on New Year's Eve.

Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I really enjoyed getting to talk to all of you yesterday! I miss you all a lot and even though we talked a little longer than planned, I´m glad I was able to get to spend so much time talking with every one and seeing every one, too. 

As far as things with me and my week, it was pretty normal. In the middle of the week, we had our mission Christmas party. The party was mostly just playing sports and getting to talk with other missionaries for a couple of hours. We also had a pretty nice dinner, where we got a decent sized steak and french fries. It was pretty good. I got to see my friend from the MTC too, Elder Beck, and spend the day with him, which was nice. We did a little proselyting activity as well,which was fun. 

The mission president reminded us though of the importance of working hard and staying focused on our objective. Makes me kinda feel bad about to talking to you all for so long, but that call really lifted my spirits and gave me a real boost. On Thursday, we went on exchanges with our zone leaders. I went with Elder Gerkin. We worked in area, which is pretty different than mine. We worked really hard, though. I learned a lot about being a missionary from him. It was nice because he's an Anglo, so there wasn't a language barrier:  I was able to understand a lot about how we need to adapt as missionaries to our areas. 

Even though a lot of the mission looks the same, each area is different, with different needs and different problems. The importance is being humble, asking for help and guidance in identifying these problems from the Lord, then changing the way you find or teach so that you can invite more people to come unto Christ. It was really good. 

Friday I got sick and was up for most of the early morning. Friday afternoon when I came back to our area,  we went out with a recent returned missionary who is in the bishopric and contacted and taught our investigators. We tried to get them to come to the ward Christmas party and we were able to get some of them to. By the time of the party I was in a lot of pain though, so I didn't really enjoy myself too much. Saturday was kind of slow, since most of the people were getting ready for Christmas. We contacted a lot of members. We are trying to build a good relationship with them and work through them to find people. Saturday night we ate with the Bishop, who is a good guy, and at midnight everyone set off fireworks, so my companion and I watched that from our apartment. 

Fireworks are beautiful but only for a couple of seconds and then there gone. I think there´s a metaphor there somewhere but I´ll let you find it. 

Sunday I got to talk with all of you, which was amazing. I was very grateful for that. It was a blessing. Today we have a party as our district, since it is p-day. We are going to watch a movie and play some games possibly. It should be fun. I really want to work hard this week and try to find as many people as we can. I´m grateful for this opportunity. I will be patient and try to learn as much as I can. 

I hope you all have a great week and get a chance to relax. I'm very grateful I got to see you all. I miss you. Have a great New Years! Stay safe.

Love,

Elder McMurray 

P.S. Thank you for the photos. I really appreciate them. They´re wonderful.

Also, I´m sorry there are no pictures this week. The computer I am using does not have a port for me to put the sd card for my camera. Hopefully next week