What a Day!

The April 2008 Update will soon be available in that the first draft has been written. It is now in the proof reading process . . . talk about vulnerability! :)

If you would like to receive the Eric Murphy Update write to one of these addresses:

ericmurphy_life@hotmail.com or ericwmurphy@gmail.com or ericwmurphy@hotmail.com

So, it means that certain news items or reports are only found on this Update.

For example, an article in the April 2008 Update is "What a Day!" and you can get this by subscribing to my Update. What an awesome day I had today!

Check back for some new blog postings as I have some ideas rumbling in my brain right now.

Until the next time,

Eric

Communication

J.P. Morgan released its 2008 Global Internet Snapshot this morning.

Here are some highlights:

"Cell phones: For every 100 U.S. citizens, 77 have a cell phone calling plan. In Italy and Hong Kong, there are 135 mobile subscriptions for every 100 people. The global average? Only 41 out of every 100 citizens subscribe to cell phone service. Mobile phone users are growing at an annual rate of 27%... Indian cell phone users grew by 84% last year alone.

Computers: For every 100 Americans, there are 80 PCs. Global PC ownership is a humble 13 for every 100. Internet: 1.3 billion people now have reliable access to the Internet, thanks to an annual growth rate of over 20% during the last eight years. Yet global Internet advertisers spent only $40 billion last year, 6% of the total estimated worldwide advertising expenditure."

Very interesting!

Americans have the computers. However, in Italy and in Hong Kong there are more cell phones than there are people! Another thing that I caught is that slightly more than 1 out of every 6 people in the world have access to the Internet. That number will grow.

Despite all of this high tech we have not kept pace in communicating with people regarding their spiritual needs!

We have a message of hope . . . it is Jesus Christ!

Actually, He is standing by to receive communication from you . . . right now!

It's your call!

Eric

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

I was so pumped! Friday, March 21, I flew the Hungarian airlines [Malev] flight from Budapest to Podgorica, Montenegro. Most Americans do not realize that the Alps extend all the way through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro even down to Albania. It was beautiful flying over the snow capped mountains to Montenegro. I was praying for small villages that I could see as I flew over them. The vast majority of them do not have an evangelical church!

Oh yes, I was pumped [as I call it, excited, enthused, you know what I mean] because I had big plans to visit the young people who came to the camp that I organized last summer in Montenegro in the city of Niksic. Couldn't wait to get there!

The descent to the Podgorica airport was a lot of fun as we zoomed over the tops of the mountain peaks, then the pilot made a tight bank tilting the plane in a 360 degree turn to have a lower approach to land the plane. This plane was larger than what Malev normally flies there as there was a mechanical problem with the original plane, so, we were flying a substituted plane. The pilot was making adjustments because of the size of the plane and the high altitude mountains. I loved it!

After getting through passport control and grabbing my small suitcase I rented a small Chevrolet called a Spark. Supposedly, five can ride in the car . . . I guess they were thinking of three midgets in the back seat. But, it was fine for me when I could move the driver's seat all the way back. I put my hand behind the seat to feel how much space there was between the front and back seats . . . about 2 inches.

The drive to Niksic was about one hour and I enjoyed the climb in elevation and enjoyed the view of the mountains. First stop: Hotel Onogost where we held Camp Monty 2007.

Walking into the hotel lobby I was greeted by the lady behind the reception desk, "Oh, oh, oh, it's you!!! Come in!! Come in!! You're back!! Are you bringing the camp to us again this summer? Please say 'Yes'!!" She introduced me to the new assistant manager as she told her a quick summary of last summer. Big smiles! She warmly greeted me and introduced me to her secretary. We set an appointment with the manager of the hotel to meet on Saturday morning to organize the details of Camp Monty 2008.

Strolling back to the restaurant, then to the kitchen, I found some of the cooks we met last summer and Mio. My, they warmly greeted me with Mio giving me a bear hug. Mio, a Montenegrin man, is a waiter and served us last summer. So, I announced to everyone that I had a song to sing for Mio and the others. There was much hand clapping and laughing. Then, I cranked up an operatic aria of "O Solo Mio" as I belted out the song loudly. The place came alive! Mio was in tears and everyone else clapped their hands so hard I thought that they would injure themselves. Another bear hug from Mio [will I ever breathe again]! Of course, I told them that we plan to come back for another camp, July 21-25 . . . more hand clapping and big smiles.

The value of relationships!

Oh yes, the theme is "Making Lemonade Out of Lemons". It had been raining during the week, but, it stopped for a few hours on Friday. It started again Friday evening and it continued on Saturday and Sunday. I went to the basketball courts, but the young people were not there. It was a downpour. The forecast called for rain through Wednesday, maybe longer. When it rains in Montenegro, it RAINS!

Well, my plans were drenched. I thought to myself, "I need to make lemonade out of lemons with this situation."

I worked on various details to organize for camp . . . menu, banquet plans, van rental to pick up the English language teachers and sports coaches, basketball gymnasium rental, visiting a possible indoor/outdoor site for our new program for this summer [soccer], etc.

Then, I thought about how some of my friends have done something called "Prayer Walking". The idea is to go to a town where there is no church and walk up and down the streets praying for the people. It is intensive prayer and it gives a burden for the people and their needs. Well, no prayer walking in this downpour . . . so, I slowly drove up and down the streets in Niksic praying for the people. As I thought about it I could not keep from grinning, "I am 'prayer driving'!" You know what, it was a very meaningful time as I did this for a couple of hours. I felt like I really connected with the people although I could only see very few of these people who were braving the elements.

So, I made lemonade out of lemons and got a lot done! I went down there brimmed with plans, but, God had other plans. Actually, I feel pretty good about my time there!

Yes, I am still pumped!

Eric

Long Day in Montenegro!

Missionary church planter, Rick Hughes, gave me a place to catch some winks last night before getting up at 3:30 AM to catch a plane from Podgorica, Montenegro to Budapest, Hungary. I turned in my rental car at the airport at 4:30 AM after which I learned that my flight had been cancelled.

The new plan called for me to catch a flight on Adria Air to Ljubljana, Slovenia at 3:15 in the afternoon. LONG WAIT! A really long wait! Unfortunately, the airport in Montenegro is very low tech. Wait, check that, no tech! LONG WAIT!

Now I am in Slovenia and I hope to catch my Malev flight (Hungarian airlines) to Budapest to arrive at 8:30 this evening. The original flight plan called for me to arrive in Budapest at 6:30 AM! What a difference!

But, God had a reason for this! That's the latest with me . . .

Eric

Personal Upgrade

Much is said about upgrading your computer, I-pod, or any other kind of equipment. This is what companies do with their advertising, that is, they create a "need" and try to make us purchase the upgrade or buy something new.

Truly, I am grateful for a new laptop that has been provided for me! What an upgrade!! I am thrilled and I am thankful. A sacrifice was made to provide this donation. I am excited!

At the same time, what about making a "personal upgrade"? Say what?

Well, I made a recent trip to the States for our board of directors meeting, a missions conference, two church meetings and did some planning with Lynne's family regarding the future [aging parents, mother-in-law has Alzheimer's . . . so sad!]. Fifteen day whirlwind trip highlighted [perhaps I should say "low lighted"] by a serious bout with a sinus cold and a horrible, deep cough!

When I returned home to Hungary I did not feel well. This went on for six days. Hey, what is going on here? This is more than jet lag. Time for a "personal upgrade"!

--I started my walking regime again although I did not feel like it at all. I walk between 2 and 3.5 miles a day. By the second day I felt better!! The last three days I picked up the tempo and I am walking faster which works my heart and lungs. This morning I felt like I was on a "high" and did not want to stop walking! It was invigorating.

--I read an article on the body becoming too acidic and that we should be slightly alkaline. I downloaded a food list that listed foods in both of these categories. Beef is acidic. Give me a break! Pork, cheese, yep, acidic. Groan! Alkaline--red beets . . . oh wow! I couldn't wait to run to the store to buy fresh red beets. Okay, I am becoming sarcastic. I started drinking three glasses of spring water with fresh squeezed lemon [pure water is better, but I cannot find it right now]. This cleanses the liver and the kidneys. I am now up to four glasses a day and will try to increase this number. I made some changes in what I am eating and I felt better in one day! No joke! One day!

--Would you believe 70 sit-ups a day? Well, 50 repetitions work the abdomen and 20 work the lower back. There is a connection you know. Yes, I started last Thursday and I am up to 70 right now. I am doing some other back exercises and I will add other exercises as I build up my strength. It really has helped!

--Power Time: This is the time when I read from the Bible and let it impact my life, my mind, my heart and my soul. I decided to do more with my Power Time. Also, I have a stack of books that I want to read, so, I marked the books with pencil to read 10 pages a day from one book to do a "personal upgrade" for my mind. I had been reading books, but, I made a definite list and an action plan to go through a certain group of books.

--Scouring for ideas: Some of my reading provided some tips from successful people who were sharing what they are doing on a daily basis. I made some notes. One writer reminded me about putting my thoughts into a journal. Ouch! I did that earlier and let it slide. OK, I have got to work on that area.

--Getting up early: I like to get up early. Recently, I started getting up earlier. I find it refreshing and I am getting more done.

There are a couple more things going on and I may write about them later. As I do this "Personal Upgrade" I find that I am doing more thinking as I evaluate myself. It seems that this is how to start the process. I have to be honest with myself, write down my evaluation and take action steps.

I love the upgrade!

Eric

The Old Dog is at it again!

Some very special friends, Jim & Michelle Compton, have been helping our mission logging our expenses onto our accounting program. Jim just taught The Old Dog a new trick and I logged some expenses this morning.

YES!!

This was a big help for me because I need to know how to do this. Maybe this is simple for you, but I always had others to do these things for me and I never learned how to do this. This valuable information will help me both with the ministry and for my personal needs.

Thank you, Jim Compton! [I call him "Clutch" . . . but that's another story for another time].

Eric

Recent Meetings

While in the states I spoke in two small churches in West Virginia. One is in Price Hill, a small village near Mt. Hope, WV. These dear friends had collected change [quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies] in a jar and donated it to our mission. $75 worth of love was in that large jar! Amazing! There is a potential missionary in that church who did a summer mission trip as a young teenagers last summer. She has a lot of potential. It was great to watch her as I spoke . . . she hung onto every word! She is the daughter of the pastor and his wife.

Then, I spoke in a church that is pastored by my father-in-law, Jim Stanley. He is only 84 years young . . . and still a pastor! His church is so receptive to our ministry and prays for us regularly. They are very excited about Camp Monty 2008 in Montenegro this summer!

The day after I returned to Hungary I spoke at the O Utca Brethren Church in Budapest. This was my second time speaking there this year. The topic of the message was on a difficult spiritual test, that is, it is a great temptation to respond in self defense when someone attacks you with false charges or undue criticism. This is very hard when it comes from a colleague, a friend, a fellow believer who is or has been very close to you. Jesus responded with silence with accused. How could He have such self control? Yes, He was God, but He was tempted just like you and me when He was here on this planet. So, it serves as a supreme example for me and for you. This kind of spiritual test is like graduate study . . . high level training.

The response was very good as several people told me that the message helped them and how they were were going through such difficulties. One person said he had never heard of such advice, but, that he now embraced it and would use it. Evidently, I have had to go through such attacks or I would not know what an extremely difficult spiritual test that this is.

One more meeting was with the young people and adults in Dunakeszi at the Brethren Assembly. That meeting was great! The meeting was last Friday night and they like to discuss the message after the speaker is finished because they have more time on a Friday night.

I spoke about Jepthah who had a rough start in life as the son of an adulterous relationship. He was rejected by his half-brothers who told him that he was not to have any inheritance. After he was kicked out he gathered together a gang that terrorized the countryside stealing and causing havoc. He was deeply hurt and he was taking his revenge out on everyone. Mr. Tough Guy with an attitude would have been an appropriate title for him.

Eventually, the nation of Israel has a difficult experience with a neighboring country threatening their extinction [sounds like today!]. They called upon Jepthah to be their leader in battle. After all, he had the skills for fighting! He came back and told them all what he thought about what had happened. "You rejected me and did not want me. So, now, you want me to come back and help you?" His bitterness and hurt was pouring out of him as he spoke.

Suddenly, he decided to pray to God to ask what he should do regarding this offer. He was a changed man after that prayer! It's a great story! He became the leader of the country and led them into battle with God giving them a rousing victory!

Jepthah serves a great example for troubled youth today. So many of them suffer rejection through divorce, death or abuse. They can be bitter and hurt others or turn their problems over to God. The difference between the two options is huge!

Two of the church leaders shared from their hearts about problems that they had experienced that were similar. People seemed to enjoy the openness. It was a special meeting!


Eric

FLASH ADDED TO OUR WEBSITE

Laszlo Gaal who plays the french horn in our music group, The Hungarian Brass, just added Flash to our website. www.lifeimpactforeternity.org . . . check it out! I am so excited about this! Thanks Laszlo!!

Actually, he is presently working on adding flash to the Photo Gallery section on the website. That will be an added benefit providing many more pictures and making them come alive.

I am thankful for Barb Nesbitt's help to develop our website in 2004. She did such a great job as the webmaster. She decided to get her doctorate in education, so, she had to give up a few things. I have been learning to maintain the website and Laszlo [Laci] has been helping me. Now, the flash has been added. Wow!

Eric

March 2008 Update

The March 2008 Update is being sent by email. It will soon be loaded onto my website: http://www.lifeimpactforeternity.org/

February was a great month! Great Board of Directors meeting--really good! Great meetings in several churches in Hungary, Romania and Florida! The Hungarian Brass played for a meeting at the International Congress on Revival at the Hilton Hotel in Budapest. I spoke at a wedding in Bucharest and witnessed a beautiful wedding of two young friends, Ady & Nicoleta Ilie.

There was a conversation in February that will have a great impact upon Montenegro in the future. More about this in a future blog posting . . .

Then, there was this sinus problem in February . . . ugh! It developed into a deep chest cold and hung on for over a week . . . another ugh! But, I am getting better now.