2 Days.

Hello Friends,

We are so excited to say that we leave the day after tomorrow to go serve in Ecuador. I'm not sure if you have heard any of the buzz about the short video clips going around getting the students pumped for the trip but today we challenged all the people going on the trip to fast from something. We didn't specify that it had to be a food fast but we did challenge them to think of something that takes a lot of their time and put it on hold today. The purpose of fasting isn't to just do one less thing but to replace that thing with an intention to seek the Lord in the time that you would that particular activity. So I want to challenge you to do the same. In preparation for our trip, maybe you are going or maybe your child or someone you support is going, fast something today and spend time in prayer for our trip. It is only 2 days away and we are excited that the Lord is going to be using us as His vessels down in South America. However, we desperately need your prayers in order for this trip to work. God's hand has been in everything so far and we don't doubt for a second that He will continue to bless us and work through us.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. You are a very important part of our team.

grace and peace.

6 days.

Today we are sitting at 6 days till the trip and we can hardly believe it is here. We are finishing up all the last details of the trip and are getting ready to go. The T-shirts are printed, the devotionals are done, the music is rehearsed, the skits are finishing up. There was so much to do in early June in order to get ready for this trip and by the grace of God and the hard work of Lewis Young, Steve Murphy, Rick Heiser, and the rest of the team, we are able to say now that we are ready for the trip. This week we want to encourage you all, as well as ourselves, to be covering this whole trip in prayer, down to every detail. We hope that you can join us on Sunday night for our Ecuador Commissioning service. This will be a great time for us to worship the King and cover this trip in prayer. We invite you all and hope you can come. It starts at 6:30.

The biggest thing I can ask for you to be praying for is our team. Our hearts are already being prepared for the work God is going to do down there but pray that God would continue to soften our hearts to what He is going to be doing in and through us. Trips like these are great opportunities to seek the Lord away from our normal routines and other distractions. Please pray that God would move our group and that these students would learn more of what it looks like to spend time with God on a daily basis. Our devotional should be a helpful guide to spending time with the Lord. Pray that God would use these devotionals that He has given us to really bring us close to Him.

We have seen God work in so many ways in getting us ready for the trip. We want to give God all the credit for what He has done so far and we will continue to give Him that credit that He is due. We hope you can join us on this journey through prayer and checking up on this blog to see how things are going.

peace and love,
J Murph & Team

Ecuador Countdown...

We officially have 18 days left until we leave for Ecuador, and we're hard at work preparing for the many opportunities we have to serve while we are away. The students are brushing up their Spanish skills on Monday nights with Jennifer and Abraham, and preparing skits and music for worship services and VBS. Plans for the construction of benches and tables we'll be building for MTW are underway, and we're developing engaging crafts and games for VBS. Supplies are being purchased, t-shirts have been ordered, lessons and workshops are being planned, and details are being pinned down. Most importantly, we're covering this trip in prayer, and preparing our hearts to serve...

This past Sunday lunch at Sonic was our last fundraiser, and it went very smoothly. Thanks to Paige Lockridge for planning the event, and to all those who came out to eat lunch!

Please continue to pray for us, that God would provide for our needs financially, and spiritually. Pray that God would work in a powerful way to use us as His instruments while we are away, and that our own lives would be changed for His glory!

A big THANK YOU to all our supporters. We would be unable to take this trip without your faithful support, and we are so thankful for you!

Continue to check the blog for more updates on the trip...