Dear Friends & Prayer Partners;

It seems that even though we’re always busy in the work of the Lord, there are times where it seems like there’s nothing interesting going on to write about. The day-to-day work of the ministry is fulfilling, but it’s not “exciting.”

It’s kind of comparing the real old west to the old western of the movies. Herding cattle and farming, which was the day-to-day life in the old west, wasn’t as exciting as dealing with Indian attacks, stage robberies, and gold discoveries. So, in the movies, they show the exciting stuff, and forget about the daily grind.

This has been one of the things that has always thwarted me in writing a regular newsletter. Well, now that I’ve got some exciting news, it’s time to write.

-- IN THIS ISSUE --

• TRIP TO OAXACA
• VIDEO/INTERNET BIBLE SCHOOL
• TRIP TO TABASCO
• MINISTRY NEEDS
• FAMILY NOTES

-- TRIP TO OAXACA --

I just returned from giving a pastors and leaders conference in the town of Matias Romero (town), Oaxaca (state, pronounced wa-ha-ka). This was the first time in several years that I went on a trip with other ministers; typically, I’m either traveling by myself, or with Deborah. But, this time, they invited me to go with them.

The trip started out as a disaster. By mid-afternoon of the first day, we were six hours behind on our travel schedule, with problems getting insurance, blowing a tire, and trouble finding a replacement tire. That was a good sign. Whenever you have to struggle to accomplish something for the Lord, that means the enemy is working against you. It seemed that everything went wrong, up until the conference started; then everything went right.

We had about 70 pastors for the four days of the conference. It was a great success, providing the pastors with much needed ideas and information about how to advance in their ministries. While there, I also gave a marriage conference, and another of the pastors with me did a youth conference.

It’s interesting how I ended up going on this trip. As I wrote you in my last newsletter (in January), I’ve been working on preparing to start the video bible school. I’d talked briefly about this project with one of the pastors here who has a bible school in his church (where I teach some classes). He’d always seemed interested in the project, but not enthusiastic.

Last year, the two pastors (one of whom has the bible school) and a doctor had gone to the same city to do a pastors and leaders conference. This was to be the second one with the same group of people. I didn’t know it, but those pastors had asked the group about starting a bible school in their area, because the nearest one was four or five hours away. The pastor with the bible school had this in mind when he invited me. What he didn’t know, was how close I was to launching the school.

We presented the concept of the school (I’ll get into that more in a minute) to the pastors and leaders at the conference. That is, we presented the school I’ve been working on preparing to them; the others have come on board with the vision I’ve been carrying for 12 years. Fifty of our conference attendees have signed up to be our first students. They are anxious to go.

-- VIDEO/INTERNET BIBLE SCHOOL --

Although I’ve always referred to this project as a video bible school, the Internet has always been part of the vision. For those students who have access to the Internet, we’ll provide the school to them directly through the Internet. For those who don’t have access to the Internet, we’ll provide the school on DVDs, like I mentioned in the January newsletter. Since there are Internet cafes all over Latin America, most of our students will be studying through the Internet.

As far as I know, this is going to be the first school of its kind. There are other video bible schools (which are quite expensive) and there are other Internet bible schools, which are all text. But, this will be the first video bible school on the Internet.

As I mentioned above, the pastors who I went on the trip with are fully on board as part of the team. That has been one of the problems I have had with the concept; knowing that I couldn’t do it all on my own. Now we have a team put together to complete the work.

Here in the area that I live, we have some excellent bible teachers. It seems that the same people teach in all the bible schools. We are going to use more or less the same group for this new school. In the areas where I have expertise, I’ll teach the classes, but in the areas where I am weak, we’ll seek out people who are truly knowledgeable in those areas.

Another major change we’re doing is trying to have the students form study groups in the various places where the school will be held. One of the conceptual problems I’ve always had was the problem of grading student’s homework. By forming study groups, we can have them grade their own homework, and turn their grades in to the school. In the case of students studying alone, they’ll have to send in their work for us to grade it.

The plan of study I’ve put together will ultimately include everything from new believer studies, through discipleship, leadership training, pastoring (associate degree level), and finally have bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. Along the way, the students will have the opportunity to take electives and specialize in a number of different areas. Since we are not limited by class space, or scheduling, we can offer a whole gambit of courses.

I’ve slowly been buying the equipment, and learning the technology necessary to put this school together, and am finally at the point where we can start recording and editing the classes. As I mentioned, we’re going to use the videos of the conference we just did as the introduction to the school. Those who wish to see those conferences won’t need to apply and become students to view them. However, all the courses will require students to register and pay a nominal fee (about $2.00 per 8 class course).

It looks like we’ll be able to actually launch the school in September of this year. I expect to have the pastor’s conference videos online before that, possibly as soon as the beginning of July. Then, we’ll have tostart an advertising campaign to let prospective students know about it.

I’m really excited about this project. As I mentioned in the January newsletter, this has been a dream for over 12 years; with lots of time, thought, and even money invested in it. I tried to launch it two years ago, only to find that the equipment I had wasn’t good enough to produce the videos I needed. That’s all right, because I learned from the experience. Since then, I’ve been working to get ready to try again.

This project is going to cost about $2,000.00 per month to produce (not including my time). In addition, although I have enough equipment to start, I really need several thousand dollars more of equipment, in order to fully complete this project.

-- TRIP TO TABASCO --

I’ll be leaving again in a couple of days to go to Villahermosa, Tabasco and see a couple of the pastors under our covering. This is the city that flooded last November. I’d written to you about it, and all the news programs were covering it.

I haven’t been down to Tabasco since the flooding. Instead of spending money traveling down there to see them, I’ve been concentrating on sending them financial help to rebuild their lives and ministries. So, this is the first time I’ll see those pastors since the week before the flood. I’m looking forward to seeing how they’ve overcome the problems that the flooding caused, and hear the testimonies of what God has done.

-- SPIRITUAL KIDS --

In the last couple of months, we’ve had a number of pastors and ministers contact us about spiritual covering. The closest of those was from northern Mexico, and the farthest was from the Philippine Islands.

Although we desire to minister to the most pastors we can, I don’t rush when these people contact me. There are many organizations out there who are trying to get pastors “under their covering.” But, I’m only interested in those who God wants to put under our covering. I’m not trying to build a big organization; I’m trying to effectively minister to those whom God has told me to minister to.

-- FAMILY NOTES --

There’s been a lot going on in our family the last couple of months; which is another reason I’ve had trouble keeping in touch with everyone. Sometimes, the work of the ministry has to take a back seat to important issues within one’s own family.

The biggest thing that happened was the death of Deborah’s father. About a year ago, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. By the time they caught it, he was already in stage four of the cancer. That caused a lot of consternation for Deborah’s sister, thinking that she should have forced him to go to the doctor sooner. I told her, “If he’d have gone two years sooner, he’d have suffered for two years. At least, this way, he’s had the last two years in peace.”

Our big concern was that he got saved before he died. God came through for us on that, and a few months ago, he left the Catholic Church, and accepted the Lord.

Deb went up to Ohio to see him during her spring break from school. Fortunately, we made the right decision on that, thinking he might not make it till summer vacation. Then, just before I left for Oaxaca, she had to go back up for the funeral.

In addition, my dad’s been put in a nursing home with severe Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of being a long, drawn out case of Alzheimer’s, his was quick. He degenerated from functioning normally to not recognizing his own name in six months. When they took him to the nursing home, there was a sign on the door, saying: “Welcome, George Murphy.” He read it and said, “Who’s George Murphy?”

I was able to go see him for a day in November of last year. At that time he seemed more like a zombie, than the active outdoorsman/craftsman that I’d known. He was listless, and didn’t talk much. I’m not even sure he understood what I said to him.

Other than health problems with parents, the family here is doing great. Jenni and Josh just completed their school year, and Rebekah has another month to go. Jenni will finish college in another year, while Josh has two to go. All three of them are doing excellent in their studies.

I’m not too sure about any traveling for this summer; although I’m pretty sure it won’t be like last year. With the video/Internet bible school project, I’m not going to be able to take long “exploratory” trips. Instead, I’m going to have to limit myself to shorter, more directed trips; ministering in a specific church, or giving a pastors conference.

Blessings in Jesus,

Rev. Rich Murphy
Maranatha Life