Your Thoughts are Higher than Mine

Happy Monday, Friends!!

 I hope that you have been experiencing the GRACE of God in your life lately. I grow more aware of grace every day, and it is a humbling thing for sure. A beautiful, clarifying thing.

Well, God has been up to some things! First of all, He has provided abundantly for my needs. I am happy to announce that the support for my start-up cost has been  reached!!!!!!! Through your prayer, God's faithfulness and willing hearts, we have gotten over the first financial hurdle :) I am confident that the next hurdle will be passed soon as well. What is the next hurdle, you ask? ....

Monthly support! Any amount that you can faithfully give on a monthly basis, for one year, is a gift that will enable me to stay in Peru and continue the work that God has called me to. So far I have $80.00 promised, which means I need $306.00 more. Whether you can give $5, $10, or $100 a month, it all helps :)

The second thing that God has been up to is something that I don't understand, but He does. Some of you may have read or heard about the accident that happened involving the pastor of the church I will be serving in. In March, Pastor Julio fell off the roof of the church building, suffering injuries in his leg, hip, arm, and jaw. He was taken to a hospital in Piura, where he was put on a waiting list for surgery. After about two weeks, he was finally worked on and is now home with his family. The doctor had his jaw wired shut, and his body will require a few months to heal. Due to this, he will not be leading services for the next few months. After correspondence between the leaders at Elim Fellowship and the church in Peru, it has been decided that it would be best if I post-pone my original departure date until I get an OK from Elim and the church. So, with that said, I am still planning on spending one year in Peru, in the same place, but will not be leaving in May as originally planned. I will continue to seek support and most certainly ask for prayer - now even more that my family in Peru is in need of God's grace! Please join with me in declaring healing and restoration over that family and the church.


Like I said, I don't understand why this happened, and it certainly was not in my plan. My original reaction was to get angry and confused. Why would God let this happen? Was He closing the door to Peru? Did I hear Him wrong when I felt called? These are all natural thoughts for man (or in my case, woman) to think when big changes take place that we are not prepared for. But the amazing thing is that God knew that this was going to happen, and it does not scare or throw Him off one bit! He can take a terrible situation, like the accident Pastor Julio was in, and turn it into something He uses to bring breakthrough! Whatever the purpose God has in all this, I know it is good, because..

"All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

Thank you again for your support, friendship and prayers.

Love, Laura

Contact Information:                                   

Laura Murphree     

4701 Buffalo Road

Warsaw, NY 14569

Phone: (585) 322-2618

Under Appointment by:

       

1703 Dalton Road

Lima, NY 14485-9516

Tax-deductible contributions: Checks to Elim Fellowship

"Preferred for Laura Murphree's support"

OR Online Giving at www.elimfellowship.org                                                  

Praise Him!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has given towards this trip!! I am amazed by your generous gifts.

I am glad to tell you that there is only $650 to go for the initial cost :) I still need $320 in monthly support pledges.

God is soooo good!

Be expecting a much lengthier update in the next few days.

Love love love,
Laura Beth

March Newsletter

Hello friends :)                                                                                                

                                                                                                            

It’s three months into my adventure ( I say that because preparing for missionary life is as much a part of the adventure as is the going) and God is doing amazing things! I have received a few generous donations from churches and friends who have felt God’s release to give. God has a way of surprising me with blessings that I do not expect - like when I recently shared at a church and the pastor promised that they would give one whole month’s worth of support!!  Hallelujah!!

After the pledges that have already been made, I am still in need of the following:

$327 in pledges for monthly support

$1,950 in one time gifts

Remember that any amount you can give counts! When we give in faith, God is able to take our seed and make it grow a hundred fold. In this case, the seeds you sow are going into the “soil” of Peruvian hearts and lives! Many of the people that I will be serving have grown up knowing only poverty and what the world can give them - which is not much. God longs for them to know HIM, the life and purpose He offers! That is why another thing you can do (and probably the most effective too) is to pray. I have been sent to go to the field in person. When you pray, you in effect are also in the field with me, doing the work of God!!!  How cool is that?

I would like to share something with you that God has been teaching me lately. As I prepare for this trip, there are things that I have to do that I am not comfortable doing. Writing these letters, asking people for money, and standing in front of large groups of people to give presentations are some examples. The reason I do not feel comfortable doing these things is because of fear, plain and simple. The thing about fear is, God has not called me (or you) to it. He did not create us to fear but to boldly proclaim His love and follow Him without looking behind.

Did you know that fear is a sin? Did you also know that the Bible says that “love covers a multitude of sins”? If this is true, then love covers fear. If God is love, and God is in us, then God’s love in us covers and conquers fear! This is good news!

God’s love and blessing,

Laura

Contact Information:                                   

Laura Murphree     

4701 Buffalo Road

Warsaw, NY 14569

Phone: (585) 322-2618

Under Appointment by:

       

1703 Dalton Road

Lima, NY 14485-9516

Tax-deductible contributions: Checks to Elim Fellowship

"Preferred for Laura Murphree's support"

OR Online Giving at www.elimfellowship.org                                                  

                                                                                               

                                                               

First Newsy-Letter :) :)

Hello lovely people! I thought that I would update you on how things are going in regards to my trip to Peru. I admit that this process of preparing is unlike anything I've done before. It is a truly humbling thing to realize that all the experience I thought I had in missions was only a taste of what was yet to come! The planning, the fundraising, the relationship building have me quite busy. With that said, I want to reassure you that I am 100% confident (and excited) that God has me where I am at and where I am going for His eternal purposes! The years of longing for something more, for traveling to other places is being realized in my life. And it's all God's doing! It amazes me every time that I think about it.

 A review of what I will be doing in Peru: Working under the supervision of Jonathan Edwards in the Betesda church, which is lead by a Peruvian pastor and his family. Teaching and helping with the church's children's ministry on Saturday mornings. Helping with the youth and women's ministry. Serving as a translator/help for missions teams that come to the church. Possibly teaching English 1 or 2 days a week at a nearby school. I will be living there for ONE WHOLE YEAR. As far as support goes, I have received a few donations that I am very grateful for :) I am still in need of some friends who will pledge monthly support (I need $386 per month, a very reasonable amount for a missionary), and $2,050 for my one-time expenses of air fare and visa renewal. Elim Fellowship, my sending agency, requires that I have all the funds for the latter before I leave for Peru. My goal is leave on May 2nd of this year!

In order to make donating easier, Elim Fellowship has set up a way to give online. I hope that you will find this convenient :) To make on-line donations and electronic funds transfers, click here. If you have any questions at all about my trip - what I'll be doing, my heart for missions, how to donate, or anything else, fee free to email, facebook message, or call me!! Thank you so much for being awesome and loving towards me (and yes, I mean that regardless of whether or not you support me financially ;) You are precious!

God bless you abundantly,

 Laura Murphree
 blurph412@yahoo.com
(585)322-2618