Personal News

7 crowns, 2 bridges and 1 root canal . . . just think if I had not given up eating/drinking sugar 8 years ago! Last week I had the drilling for the crown work and one temporary bridge put in. Tomorrow I will have the final crown work done and the permanent bridge in. Whew! The Hungarian dentist, Dr. Sandor Harmati, is fantastic. Last week, he was drilling for one hour and 50 minutes on three of my teeth to do the crown work. That's a long time to be drilling!

I thought his watch band was starting to cut my forehead. When I could finally take a look I realized that he did not have a watch on, instead, it was his wrist bone pressing into my forehead. The dear man must have been working so hard! I asked him if he was becoming tired. "No, last week a woman from Great Britain was in here and had just one day to do 11 teeth. Unfortunately, these 11 teeth were in different places in her mouth. She could hardly talk afterwards!" he said with a laugh. Goodness!

By the way, the dentist was wearing a plastic shield that covered his entire face. I jokingly asked if he thought he was going to find asbestos in my mouth. He laughed and told me that he was taking out large portions of mercury from my old fillings. Yep, poisonous material from yesteryear. I felt better about the dental work knowing that they stuff was coming out of my mouth!

OK, how about some ministry news?

Sunday was great! I preached in three meetings in two churches and The Hungarian Brass was with me for the entire day. We played about 35 songs! Think about it, I played my trombone with this temporary crown piece on my upper front teeth applying pressure on the trombone mouthpiece. God certainly helped me! In fact, we had a practice on Saturday afternoon for two plus hours and I thought that I could hardly get through the first hour of practice. So much pain! But, the second hour went much better as the Lord helped me on Saturday. He helped again on Sunday. It was a LONG day! But, it was a good one! Really good! The people in these churches love music and they love preaching.

Pray for two teenagers who were in one of the meetings on Sunday. Both heard the Gospel and both carefully considered making a decision, but neither one made a decision for Christ. I could tell that they were struggling. Pray that they will make this decision this week!

Personal news and ministry news . . . they both go together because God uses imperfect people to accomplish His task in this world. That goes for me and for you as well!

Eric

The Hungarian Brass CD Will Soon Be Released!

Sounds great! I cannot contain my excitement! The title of the latest CD release from The Hungarian Brass is called "Faithfulness". We are dedicating it in the memory of the co-founder of this group, Gaal Laszlo. Together, Laci and I started The Hungarian Brass in 1991. He was one of my dearest friends. Laci went to be with the Lord quite suddenly in September, 2006. It was totally unexpected as no one knew that he was suffering from heart disease. He is greatly missed by his wife, family and friends.

He was in our home just a few days before his death. Laci and I had a deep conversation that covered many topics. At the end of our talk we prayed together, first me, then Laci. When we stood I gave him a hug and told him how much I thought of him and how I valued our friendship. Let me tell you . . . I am SO glad that I did that . . . I had no idea that it was to be our last time talking and praying together . . .

So, based upon Matthew 25:23, "Well done, good and faithful servant," we honor our dear friend. "Faithfulness" is a term that describes Laci quite well! He was faithful to His Lord, to his wife, to his family, to his church, to his work and to his friends. His work ethic was unbelievable! His ability to play the french horn . . . unsurpassed, in my opinion.

Something that is very special to me is that Laci's son is playing the french horn in The Hungarian Brass. Laci Jr. is playing his instrument beautifully . . . his father would be so proud.

Despite the loss of our friend, our colleague and our mentor, The Hungarian Brass continues to serve in Europe and abroad. This weekend we will serve in two churches here in Hungary in Veresegyhaz and in Szada. Next month, we will be on tour in the United States. Check back for a schedule that I will post soon.

Eric

My Mother Was Released From The Hospital!

Thank you for praying! The catherization revealed no blockages! It seems that the nuclear stress test that she had was abnormal, but, there is a problem with heart palpitations and arrhythmia, or more exactly, tachycardia. This will be monitored and future treatment will be determined. The good thing is that she was able to go home!

Can you imagine that this was the first time in her entire life that she was a patient in a hospital? She was born at home and never had any sickness to cause her to go to the hospital. That is quite unusual for a woman in her 70s!

Once again, thanks for praying!

Eric

Pray for my Mother

My mother, Glenna Murphy, is headed to the emergency room right now. She failed a stress test for her heart, so, she needs to go to a specialist for heart treatment in Charleston, West Virginia. First, she will have a catherization to determine how much blockage there is in her arteries. Then, they will determine what to do based upon the percentage of blockage. I am back in Hungary as of a couple of hours ago. So, you can imagine that we are all concerned and seeking the Lord's help. Please pray for my mother!

Eric

Ministry in Jupiter FL

Starting with an early breakfast appointment with two key leaders from Grace Immanuel Bible Church, Jupiter, Florida, Sunday, October 14, was a full day! Lynne and I ministered in two adult Sunday School classes at 9 AM & 10:45 AM. These dear friends are praying for us and have a vital interest in missions around the world. How encouraging! We had lunch with Pastor Jerry Wragg and Bob Whitney, who oversees, the Expositors Seminary. They, along with their wives, treated us to a delicious Sunday dinner.

We had a short rest before meeting with the missions committee at 4 PM to give a report. One hour later we departed for ministry at Beacon Baptist Church in the same city. Pastor Jim Blalock welcomed us . . . what a great meeting they we enjoyed there at Beacon. The people were very responsive to the ministry of the Word as I spoke! One interesting note is that I had a deep impression from God to change the conclusion to my message. I found out after the service when I learned that there was a young man in the meeting who is struggling. He is staying with a relative in Jupiter right now and this relative shared with us how this message was just what he needed. Hopefully, he will respond in a positive fashion.

These two churches have faithfully supported us for more than 26 years! What a joy it was to see so many friends again!

And, we are grateful to Allen and Sandy Harrison for providing lodging for us while we were in the Jupiter area. We are blessed!

Eric

Missions Conference in Albuquerque: Excellent!

The missions conference at the Hoffmantown Church was excellent! The two services on Sunday morning were joined together in one main service focusing on home missions and foreign missions. The focus on home missions highlighted ministry in Mississippi following the devastation of Katrina. Then, the focus on missions around the world was on a ministry in Mozambique to a tribe of 1.7 million people of whom the majority cannot read. Both presentations were well done and the messages were fantastic!

We were hosted by our friends, Dave and Charlotte Cauwels. Dave is an elder in the church. This couple has a great love for the Lord. What a joy it was for us to be in their home. Thanks Dave and Charlotte!

October 2007 Calendar

OCTOBER 2007

3-7 Missions Conference at the Hoffmantown Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico
8 Travel to Orlando, Florida
9 Drive to Jupiter, Florida
10-13 Eric in a training meeting in Delray Beach, Florida
14 Ministry at Grace Immanuel Bible Church and at Beacon Baptist Church in Jupiter, FL
15-19 Visiting supporters, doctor appointments in Orlando
20 Return to Budapest
23 or 30 Planning meeting for future camp ministry in Slovakia
28 The Hungarian Brass at churches in Veresegyhaz and Szada, Hungary

Albuquerque: Missions Conference

Pastor Wayne Barber is a dear friend. He pastors the Hoffmantown Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Lynne and I are attending their annual missions conference. This is a great conference under the leadership of the missions pastor, Curtis Brickley. We are staying in the home of Dave and Charlotte Cauwels. Dave is an elder in the church and part of his charge is to oversee the missions outreach of the church. What a dear couple!

Coming up on Saturday is the world's largest hot air balloon festival here in Albuquerque. The sky will be full of hot air balloons and it will be a treat to see this.

Great Bible teaching, preaching and fellowship here! What a treat!

Eric

Prayer Needs

Prayer Needs

--Pray for The Hungarian Brass as we finish a recording for a new CD this month.

--Lynne's last treatment for Multiple Sclerosis in Germany was September 20-23, 2007. Pray as the German doctor is treating six areas that the MS has affected in Lynne's body. There is progress in two of these areas. The doctor told us recently that he thinks that the downward regression of the disease has finally been stabilized! This is big news for us! She is not better, but it means that she is not becoming worse! It takes about 6 to 8 weeks to see how much the recent treatment has helped Lynne.

--Pray that the discipleship done in Montenegro in September will help those who received Christ this summer in camp. We hope to go back in March to do more follow-up and make preparations for Camp Monty 2008.

--Plans for conducting youth camps in Montenegro next summer are being made. We need basketball coaches and players and English language teachers at Camp Monty 2008, July 21-25, 2008. Pray as we may have a second week in the mountains, July 28-August 2, 2008. Read the article on the website under Projects/Ministry for more information.

--That God would give direction regarding the youth camp at Lucatin, Slovakia, near Banska Bystrica. This camp was formerly used by the communists for youth camps. There have been some complications, so, we need wisdom to find the next step to take to enter into a relationship to use this facility. What great potential is there! Pray for an important
meeting on either October 23 or 30.

--Work Teams are needed to renovate a four story conference center in the High Tatry Mountains in Slovakia at Rackova Dolina. We need work teams to install sheet rock ceilings and do painting and trim work in March and April, 2008! Contact me right away at ericmurphy_life@hotmail.com or ericwmurphy@gmail.com to register a team or to come as an individual worker.

Eric