Tuesday, August 30, 2016

29 August 2016 - Liberal, Kansas



Elder Murphy & Elder McCarney


The Heartland!


Desayuno con la Hermana Castillo!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

22 August 2016 - Liberal, Kansas

Pictures from Ben this week.



Brother Baker





15 August 2016 - Liberal, Kansas

Buenas Tardes a todos!
Espero que todo esté bien con ustedes! This week was definitely the best week of my mission! Let me tell you why:)

Emma and Eduardo are doing fantastic! Emma is absolutely loving the gospel and the Book of Mormon and there is a true light filling their home!  Martina and Leslie are also doing fantastic! We had some amazing spiritual experiences this last week! On Friday, they brought up being baptized and why it's something they want and need to do. They talked about the feelings that have been filling their lives as they've prayed about and read the Book of Mormon and bore their testimonies about knowing the church was true. So amazing. The Lord is completely in charge of His work. 

We contacted a media referral in Oklahoma this week and met Mary, who is so amazing. She is so ready for the Gospel and loves every bit of it. We know she'll face trials of faith, but she already has so much faith that she'll blast through them all. She said a prayer at the beginning of the lesson and prayed specifically that her very large pitbull would be quiet and calm during the lesson and almost immediately the dog was quiet. Heavenly Father is so aware of His children and cares very much about their spiritual progression towards Him. 

I've thought a lot about the Lord's vision for us, recently, and how much bigger it is than we are now thinking. We are His children and He cares about us and the steps we take towards Him, no matter how stretching, in order to bring to pass a miracle. There's a quote that says, "When the  Lord  said,  'Lengthen  your  stride,  quicken  your  pace,  heighten  your reach,  widen  your  vision,  and  stretch  your  capacity,'  he  was  in  reality  saying 'expect  a  miracle,' for  these  are  the  stuff from  which  miracles  are  made." I know we can experience miracles every day of our lives. Our Heavenly Father is aware of us and knows our strengths and weaknesses. His desire is to help us find and choose joy:)

Have an amazing week! Love you tons!

Con amor,
Elder Murphy


Wednesday, August 10, 2016

8 August 2016 - Liberal, Kansas

Hola hola everyone!
¿Cómo fue su semana? Espero que fue la mejor!

Without a doubt, the best week of my mission! It feels almost as if each moment gets better! Kansas is so amazing and I'm so grateful for each opportunity to see the Lord's hand affect the lives of those who come to know Jesus Christ and follow His example. Last week, Nathan got baptized! He was such an amazing miracle! So prepared by the Lord to accept the Gospel. He loves the Gospel and shares it with almost everyone he comes into contact with!

We're still working a lot with the Emma and her family, and they are doing amazing! Yesterday, it wasn't looking like they'd be coming to Church, since Emma said she'd gotten sick the night before, but we continued to have an attitude of faith. We said a prayer as church was starting and asked that they would at least be able to make mit to take the Sacrament and just as the young man passing in the foyer was about to head out, they walked into the doors! The Lord truly does answer prayers in His own time and in His own way. After church, we asked Emma how she felt and she said, "I feel like this is my place." And to top it all off, it was probably the most spiritual, missionary work-oriented testimony meeting I've ever been to! Recent Converts and long-time members stood up and bore solemn testimony of the Restoration and how important it is for investigators to listen to the missionaries, keep commitments, and be baptized. The Lord's hand is in every detail of this work. He's in charge and He know exactly what's going on!

Martina and Leslie (Emma's friends) are also doing super amazing! They weren't able to come to Church, but they've been reading the Book of Mormon and are absolutely loving it! Each day we go over, there seems to be more and more light in their home and in their countenances. El Evangelio es verdadero!!!!

Hope you all have an amazing week! Love you tons!

Con amor,

Elder Murphy





 Los Vatos del Oeste! Elders Murphy, McCarney, Cerdas and Stanford

Elder McCarney, Nathan, and Elder Murphy



Vaca

Dodge City Days 2016

Araceli!!!!!! (Wichita West)

 Olga!!! (Wichita West)

 Elida, Clarissa, Ever, and Victor!! (Wichita West)

Aqueous August MLC

La Mera Frontera

Barn

25 July 2016 - Liberal, Kansas

Hola hola everyone!
Espero que todo ha estado super bien con ustedes!

Sorry it's been so long! Time just seems to fly by! Things in Liberal have been amazing! I'm learning so so much from Elder McCarney and miracles are happening every single day. Truly, this is the Lord's work. There's no way it couldn't be! His hand is in every detail of His work and we are only instruments called to allow Him to work through us!

This week was really amazing. So many miracles! We got a referral from the Hugoton Elders to visit a guy, Nathan, who'd come to church the week before in Hugoton, but lived in Liberal. We met him on Thursday, and he is so awesome! He's been talking to all of his friends about the Church and as he's done so, it's almost like there's a new person we're teaching every time we go over there. So ready and prepared for the Gospel. Such a crazy miracle. I feel as Ammon did when he said, "I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." (Alma 26:16) The Lord's hand is in every detail of His work. 

Yesterday, we stopped by a couple, Emma and Eduardo, who hadn't been really progressing, but we'd felt we needed to stop by after not seeing them for a little over a week. We walked in and there was a completely different spirit and light in their home. We'd just gotten there from a pretty big dinner and they asked us, "do you guys want to eat something?" Haha we told them we'd just eaten and they gave us a blank stare and said, "Come on, we're eating!" Pretty funny! As we were talking, over some tacos de carnitas, they began talking about how they'd begun to feel as they'd prayed and as we'd gone by. We testified of the Restoration and following Christ's example and they accepted baptism! They're such an amazing family! 

There's a quote I've been thinking of a lot lately by Hartman Rector Jr. that says, "When the Lord said, 'lengthen your stride, quicken your pace, heighten your reach, widen your vision, and stretch your capacity,' He was in reality saying, 'expect a miracle,' for these are the stuff from which miracles are made." Truly, as we stretch, rely on the Lord, and do everything we can plus more through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can see miracles every day of our lives. 

Yo se que el Senor nos guia en cada momento de nuestras vidas. El nos fortalece y nos protege por los desafios y las pruebas de fe que tenemos. Su amor para nosotros es perfecto y sin barreras. Yo se que vive nuestro Senor!!

Love you all mucho! Have an amazing week!

Con amor, 
Elder Murphy

11 July 2016 - Liberal, Kansas

Zone Training