"Be not afraid, only believe"

Good afternoon my dear friends and family, it is an incredibly snowy day here in Hutchinson KS! We had over a foot of snow over the span of five days, and Hutch, despite having a gigantic salt mine, ran completely out of salt and went into an Emergency situation! There is no salt or sand to break it all up, so we are learning fast how to cruise in ridiculous piles of snowy stuff. I am loving it!!! Fortunately our mission car handles it nicely. I'm not so sure it handles the same as Sister Chloe Murphy's brand new Jeep, but it suffices ;)

This week we had some miracles. As we pulled up to a Sister's home she called us in excruciating pain, sobbing from the prescription malfunctions following a total knee surgery. We told her we were right outside and she gave us the code to her temperamental front door. After many attempts we decided we could not open it, and must wait for the nurse to finally arrive with a key. She called again, in tears. Becoming emotional to hear her in so much pain, I attempted the door with angst, yet it would not budge. I remembered a parable I had studied that morning, and had not thought to apply it to something menial as this situation, but the Holy Ghost taught me within seconds how Christ's moral of this story will change my life forever.

Mark 5:25 and a woman with a blood disease, who had given all her money for a cure to no solution, heard of the ministering of Christ, and knew he was to pass by her. From behind she touched his garment, "and straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague." Jesus felt "virtue had gone out of him" and turned to find who had done it. The woman fearing and knowing what was done fell before him confessing. He said, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."

In that moment of struggle I decided Faith, and mid-prayer the door creaked open.

More miracles occurred inside that home, too sacred and personal to share. Amid the trials and strife we are constantly battling, the tares sown inside us must make us stronger before harvest, and every moment counts. In Hutch we are changing a culture and I am constantly needing to remember strength of the mighty winds that come with such an epic occasion as the Restoration of the gospel. I am being endlessly challenged to choose doubt or faith, fear or courage, pride or meekness. And I certainly do not understand how to handle it entirely but that is the whole point. We exist on earth that our faith might be tested. Oh boy is it hard but the miracles I await for I know will be worth it!

Best,

Sister Murphy Senior