NEW HORIZONS IN COSTA RICA

Tough time with some physical problems 2014-17, but I'm feeling better now. Thank you, God! Hernia surgery in 2014 along with high blood pressure issues that were way out of line. Much better now. Oh yes, tore up my left ankle in Romania in April, 2016. Took 22 months to get better. Truth is, I think God did something in my ankle to heal it. It is 97% better.

Weight loss in 2018 has helped in every way. 54 pounds at the present time. Boy, I feel better. Dropped two pant sizes, two shirt sizes. I'm not near the man that I used to be. Are you laughing? I am.

So, off to Costa Rica looking for new horizons. Our Board of Directors gave the go ahead for a four year plan and year-to-year after this. I think we will re-evaluate the situation in seven or eight years. I'm pumped because Stephanie is excited about serving in Costa Rica as well. She is as excited as I am. I'm thankful for her.

What kind of "new horizons"? Developing our youth camp there hoping to add one or two weeks in 2020. Our next youth camp is set for February 5-9, 2019. Looks like there will be 80 to 85 youth who do not have a personal relationship with God. And, another 15 or so who are born again already. Should be a great harvest putting smiles on young faces. Can't wait!

Other horizons—building relationships with Costa Rican pastors. Most pastors lead a very lonely life. No one to really talk to. Lots of stress and pressure. I've had a ministry with pastors over the years listening to them and affirming them. And, this helps us connect with churches because we need somewhere to send the young people after they come to Christ in one of our youth camps.

Mentoring young leaders. Love to do this! So, I will spend a lot of time connecting with young men and Stephanie will help with the young ladies.

How about those horizons? Looks good to me!

OK, gotta go ... the plane is about to take off from Miami to San Jose, Costa Rica. Time to go!

Eric

THANKFULNESS IS A WIN-WIN

God loves for us to be thankful and to tell Him about it. Don't you like this too? I do. We all do.

When I express thankfulness something special happens in my heart. It starts a positive change, lifts my heart and puts a smile on my face. It helps the other person who hears me giving them some encouragement. That's what I mean that it is a win-win situation. Good for me ... good for the other person. I love it!

The Bible tells us to give thanks for everything. Everything? Yep. Everything.

Try it for yourself. When something "bad" happens, thank God for it. Oh, it's easy to thank God for something "good". Give it a try when something difficult or painful happens. What I've found is that when I do this, I begin to handle the situation much better. Cope with it better.

Takes trust in God to do this. Takes faith too. Trust Him with the good or the bad. It make time some time, but what seems bad right now actually might turn out for our good later on. Actually, Romans 8:28 says all of it is good. Check it out. The word "bad" is not in that verse. Only "good".

I'm serious, give this a try. It will help you and it will help others.

The Gift of Encouragement:

The book of Proverbs in the bible, chapter 15, verse 23, tells us that a good word spoken at just the right time to someone is very encouraging. I'm sure you can recall when someone said something nice to you, how happy you were and how it brought a smile to your face. I can and I'm thankful.

Yesterday, on the way out of church, I called out to one of the TV camera operators. "Thank you for your ministry. Good job!" Boy, you should have seen the bright smile on her face. She has a job, oops, ministry, in the church that is taken for granted. Do you feel this way sometimes? That you are taken for granted?

At the crosswalk I paused to thank the male church member who was donating his time to to help pedestrians as well as drivers who wanted to get out of the parking lot as quickly as possible. His work is vital for our safety. "Thank you for your ministry," as I smiled to him. He was stunned at first. Was his mind questioning the term "ministry"? Or, was it because he was blown away that someone actually thanked him for doing his work. Hey, I'm thankful for this man along with a number of others who do this for both morning services at our church here in Jacksonville, Florida.

And, there are a host of others who play important roles behind the scenes to help make the ministry of our church possible. Grateful for all of them!

Hey, I'm thankful for you taking time to read this. You are the best! Now, spread the cheer to someone else.

Eric

O MIGHTY WARRIOR! It's the title of my book that was sent to the publisher today. YAY! Boy, I've got a lot of hours in this book. Whew! What a joy to finish it today after Stephanie, my wife, and I finished editing the book. What a thrill!

It might be ready next summer or early fall. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Not only this, but my sweet wife, Stephanie, has two books at the publisher. She finished the revision part of the editing process today and sent it in. Next will be a final proof for her to look at. This may be ready for her to approve by February. The title is Strong and Courageous. It provides hope and advice for families struggling with children who have autism. Chocked full of godly wisdom, practical advice and experiences that she has experienced with her grandson and with people she counseled in the past. She has 30 years experience as a Marriage and Family Therapist having earned her master's degree in that field. She has helped many families who struggle with this. Quite frankly, after I read it aloud during part of the editing process, I realized that her book will help anyone struggling with disease. I'm quite excited about her book.

The other one she sent to her editor a couple of months ago is a devotional book. Stephanie is a skilled writer. It's going to be a well read volume in the future.

So, that's what we have been up to recently. It's great that we are both doing this encouraging each other.

Since we both had something to celebrate today we enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner tonight at—where else, but in Celebration, Florida!

ERIC MURPHY UPDATE DECEMBER 2016

ARTICLES:

—LIFE Romania: Our Excitement!

—How Is My Ankle?

—End Of The Year Giving

—What’s On The Horizon?

—Ministry Team in Montenegro

LIFE ROMANIA: OUR EXCITEMENT!

In the last Update I was about to burst with excitement. I waited for LIFE Romania Director, Iulian Avramescu, to announce his plans for next summer. The news is out! Two camps in two locations at the same time! Double the outreach, double the results. At least, pray that this will be the news to tell after next summer’s youth camps at CAMP MIA in Romania.

God willing, Stephanie and I will be at one of those loccations at Targoviste for the four weeks of youth camps and the counselor training prior to the camp season. Can’t wait! Iulian is dividing his impressive staff into two groups to lead one youth camp in Sistarovats in western Romania and one in southern Romania. His vision is to expand his ministry to the extent of having three camps running at the same time. Then, four youth camps. Next, five and so forth. Ambitious plan and I love it!

May God bless Iulian and Roxana Avramescu and their incredible team! 

HOW IS MY ANKLE?

Thank you for asking. Still doing the exercises that the physical therapist gave to me. This strengthens the ankle, yet I still have soreness and pain. I have lost 31 pounds which helps, but I have been on a plateau for a few weeks. However, I can tell that I have started to lose some weight in the last few days. This is part of the treatment in order to reduce stress on my ankle. I made a ministry trip to Philadelphia last week and had no problems walking through the airports. So, I’m on the move again. Thankful for your prayers.

END OF THE YEAR GIVING

We are grateful for all who make sacrificial gifts so that we can make an impact on young people. If you would be so kind to make a special donation for 2016 before the end of the year, it would be a big help for us. Make a difference, one teen at a time. 

Address: Life Impact For Eternity, 3984 Manatee Avenue East, Bradenton, Florida 34208 or online through Pay Pal at our website: www.lifeimpactforeternity.org

Thank you very much!

WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON?

Youth camp in Costa Rica in January where I will be speaking and doing the evangelism. Pray for this. Going through a personal edit of the book I have been writing during the “down” time rehabbing my ankle. When I finish this I hope to submit the book for a professional edit around December 16. Behind the scenes administrivia, as I call it. Preparing ministry budgets for 2017 is one example. Calendar planning for 2017 is another priority. A trip to Romania for counselor training and church ministry in April has me very excited. Love, love, love what we are doing!

MINISTRY TEAM IN MONTENEGRO

Pictured in this Update is our ministry team at LIFE Montenegro. Jelena Vilotjevic, Sasa Olah and Danijel Petkovski. Oops! As much as we would like to call him “ours”, I have to tell you that Danijel is serving with Inter Varisty Fellowship in a ministry to students. We partner together with him at Camp Monty as well as with the ministry to both high school and college students at the Niksic Youth Center [NYC]. He is awesome. Well, all of them are. Pray for their followup ministry, weekly Bible studies and outreach. Go team, go!

Stephanie and I thank God for you. You are part of the team to help us reach young people for Christ. Couldn’t do it without your help! Thank you so much.

Eric Murphy

International Director

www.lifeimpactforeternity.org

ericmurphy_life@hotmail.com  or  ericwmurphy@gmail.com

Address for donations:

Life Impact For Eternity

3984 Manatee Avenue East

Bradenton, Florida 34208

Prayer--a very important part of my life. It always has been important over the years. But, for the last three or four years, prayer plays more of a major role in my life.

Way back, E. M. Bounds influenced my thinking about prayer. Still does. In recent years, a young pastor from Washington DC, Marc Batterson, has greatly influenced me. Thanks Marc! Read his classic, Draw the Circle. This book is a game changer.

God impressed upon me the importance of getting up early in the morning to meet with Him in prayer. It's life changing! Not the first day although that was a special experience. Not the first year. Truth is, it's a growing experience that is ever changing.

Some huge prayers have been answered and I give God the glory! Some on the list are not marked "Prayer Answered!" Keep praying. Keep claiming promises from the Bible. Just keep on keeping on as the old timer once told me.

Sometimes it is like digging a long ditch. The soil is full of rocks and there are patches where you get into bedrock--hard work. Keep digging. I often pray aloud when I get into those patches where the digging is hard. Helps me to stay the course, to keep my mind and heart focused. Keep digging.

Then again, there is a day every now and then that I start off with an outburst of praise. "God, you did it! You answered my prayer! Thank you! I praise you! I magnify you." God absolutely loves praise. He loves a thankful heart. I'll write more about praise and thankfulness in future posts.

Meanwhile, it's time to pray ...

ERIC MURPHY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2016

ARTICLES:

—Young Adults Youth Camp in Romania

—Announcing!

—The Goal Has Been Met For The Matching Gift Challenge

—Gearing Up For Costa Rica

—Want To Connect With Us In One Of Our Youth Camps?

YOUNG ADULTS YOUTH CAMP IN ROMANIA

This week there is a special youth camp in Romania for young adults. In Europe most of the colleges do not start classes until late September or early October, so, September can be a good time for their youth camp. Pray for a great harvest as LIFE Romania Director, Iulian Avramescu, leads this youth camp. 

FOLLOW-UP MINISTRY AFTER CAMP MONTY

Pray for Jelena Vilotijevic and Sasa Olah along with our ministry partner, Danijel Petkovski, as they reach out to Camp Monty teens at the Niksic Youth Center. It’s time for follow-up, an important part of the program of Camp Monty during the school year at LIFE Montenegro.  

THE GOAL HAS BEEN MET FOR THE MATCHING GIFT CHALLENGE 

Rejoice with Iulian at LIFE Romania that the Matching Gift Challenge has been completed. God put in the heart of a donor to challenge Iulian and his team with a $50,000 gift if they could raise an additional $50,000 in 30 days. On the 30th day, the need was met. In fact, they went over the goal, raising $51,475.00. Praise the Lord! This is a great help for this growing youth ministry as four young adults have finished their training at the Word of LIfe Hungary Bible Institute and are now serving full time as part of the team. These funds will help cover their small salaries until support can be found to cover their needs long range. They join a team of four other staff members. As a result we have a dynamo team to serve at the Sports Tournaments [weekend outreach], Winter Camp, small group meetings and follow-up ministry. How exciting!

GEARING UP FOR COSTA RICA

In late January, 2017, Stephanie and I plan to be in Costa Rica for the LIFE Costa Rica youth camp. We need some special gifts to make this camp possible. Young Costa Ricans cannot afford the actual cost of the youth camp. Every $100 helps sponsor a teenager to attend camp. Pray about making a special donation to reach a young Costa Rican for Christ. 

WANT TO CONNECT WITH US IN ONE OF OUR YOUTH CAMPS?

In this Update I’ve written about our youth camps in Romania, Montenegro and Costa Rica. We need individuals and groups from churches to come to one of these camps to help us reach young people. Want to be involved? Why not? We are working on our camps for 2017. Why not make the trip of your lifetime by coming to one of these countries and make an impact on the lives of these young people. 

OK, the ball in in your court? 

You just received an invitation from me. 

Your move. Let’s connect! 

Contact me by email at ericmurphy_life@hotmail.com or ericwmurphy@gmail.com or by calling me at 321-663-5710 or on Facebook. I would love to hear from you. Soon. How about today?

Thank you for your friendship, your concern and your prayers. You are the best!

Eric Murphy

International Director

SEND DONATIONS TO:

Life Impact For Eternity

3984 Manatee Avenue East

Bradenton FL 34208