The Anabaptist Voice 03

       Warm Greeting to you from Tucson. It is springtime now and we are enjoying all kinds of plants and flowers that show us the wonders of creation and the love of God.
       Tuesday was our youngest son Jim’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Jim. May our God guide you and bless you. Last Wednesday our oldest son Mike called to say that he got laid off of his job as an architect technical manager in Seattle but he has two possible job offers. He knows God loves him and his faith is strong. Thank you, Lord. His daughter Eryn is to graduate from high school this summer and is planning to go to a college in New Mexico. Our third son David works at Microsoft in Seattle where they too are reducing their work force. God is in charge, and we are depending on our Lord. That’s Naomi in the photo with the ‘Teddy Dog’ that she made.
       Last Monday, Michi and Naomi went to Linda Dowdle’s house again for the weekly ladies worship meeting. Their focus was going through tough times with the love of our Lord. Jesus went through hardship for us. He knows our needs and hardship. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear… (Psalm 46:1, 2) We also shared that obedience to Jesus would help us to learn of Him and His love.
       Michi shared her testimony at the weekly Vineyard small group meeting at Elizabeth Willott’s house last Wednesday evening. Michi felt again the wonderful love of God.
       Last Sunday after the church service we went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens with Elizabeth Willott who works there. We could see so many different kinds of butterflies, and different kinds of trees and plants. They are all gifts from God. Thank you, Lord, for all the wonderful things You made for us. It was wonderful to have fellowship with Elizabeth, also. Here is a photo of one of the butterflies in the “Butterfly Magic” garden at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
       Michi talked with Walter Kay at Warden Hutterite colony. It was wonderful to be able to chat with her. She is a wonderful Christian and depends on our Heavenly Father. The talk with her was a blessing to Michi who misses our friends in the Hutterite colonies. We wish we could live in one of the colonies. Don is reading a book written by Jacob Hutter called “Brotherly Faithfulness” and Michi is reading “Peter Riedemann’s Hutterite Confessions of Faith”.
       May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. (2 Cor 13:14)

your brother and sisters in Christ,

Don, Michi & Naomi Murphy
Tucson, AZ, phone 520-297-1639
www.AnabaptistChurch.org

Jesus said, "Do not store up wealth on earth… You can not serve both God and mammon.”

Testimony of Michiko Koyama Murphy
03/11/2009

     I was born in 1933 in a small, very old village in Japan, a land of Buddhism and Shintoism. Although these religions may not appear to be strong on the surface, their roots are spread deep and wide. Even now less than 1% of the population in Japan are Christians.
     My grandfather became the first Christian in my family. He was from a traditional Samurai family and because the Samurai had lost their power he began searching for a meaning in life. He went to the Buddhist priest and asked questions, but he did not get an answer.
     One day he saw a sign on a Christian church. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) He went in and talked to the minister.
       There were many persecutions in the past toward the Christians. Sometimes they were thrown out of Japan. Some of them were burnt just because they were Christians. In 1872 Christianity is allowed in Japan again. In 1875 my grandfather was born.
     During the 2^nd World War, many Christians were persecuted. One of my relatives was thrown into prison because he was a Christian and would not say that the Emperor is God. When I was going to elementary school, older students came to me and said that I was a spy, because I was from a Christian family.
     To become Christian in a strong Buddhist country means giving up many things. Family and relatives and the town where he was living would reject him. My family had our own well for getting water but many people had to use the community well. When a person became Christian they were not allowed to get water from the community well. I asked Grandfather how could they live? He told me that they went to the well at night.
     Grandfather gave up his life and he chose Jesus. He gave up everything for Jesus. He burnt the family shrine, which was in the house for generations. He burnt all the books and ornaments that were of Buddha. Thus he broke the strong bondage of tradition and the power of Buddha. He counted the cost and chose Jesus.
     I was raised with the love of God and His Word. I thought I was a Christian, because I knew the Bible fairly well, but it was only head knowledge, and I was not following the Lord. After some years, my heart was getting hungry for the Lord.
     Fifty years ago, in 1959, when I was working as a secretary at a school in Tokyo, Japan, I met and married my dear husband, Don Murphy, who was an English teacher there. (Here is our wedding photo.) He is a wonderful gift from God. So even though I was not listening nor walking with the Lord, He still cared for me.
     As was my custom, I prayed, too. My prayers were always, “Give me, give me.” Still, the Lord answered my prayers. One significant one: While we were living in Florida, one day Don came home from work with news and told me, “I was transferred back to Baltimore, and we are to be there in two weeks.” My prayer was, “Lord, please sell this house before we leave.” He sold the house before we left. Praise God.
     Before I was born again, my life was meaningless. I did not know why I was alive. I got hungry, so I ate. My life was busy with our five little children to take care of, make meals and wash dishes, clothes and clean the house. Even though I worked all day, it does not show any sign of what I had done. If I did not wash clothes or dishes, the house will be a mess, and I did not like that. Still life was meaningless. I wanted to find some meaning. Do you know what I did? I did oil painting. When it was done, I could see what I have done, so I told myself, “See, I can see I am alive. Here is the proof.” Did it help? No.
     When we moved to Renton, Washington from Baltimore, Maryland, I started going to a ladies’ Bible study on Thursday mornings. (We were going to a Catholic church) My hunger for the Lord was slowly taken care of, and I enjoyed the study and the fellowship very much. During that time, I was asked to teach Sunday school, and since our son was in the 1^st grade, I agreed to teach.
     Just before Easter 1974, I was preparing for the class, and I was looking for a picture of Jesus on the cross. I wanted to show the picture to the children how Jesus died for our sins. During that time a Catholic priest came to our house and asked me if I would become a Eucharistic minister. That meant I should be in the front of the church, wearing a special robe, when people came up to receive communion and I would be the one to put the host in their mouth. I told the priest, “I will ask my husband and then give you the answer.” I felt filthy before the Lord and felt awful. I never felt that way before. My mind was in turmoil. However, the class would have to be taught, so I continued to look for the picture of Jesus on the cross. I found a picture in one of our books, and suddenly something wonderful had happened.
     As I was looking at the picture of Jesus on the cross, a wonderful power came down on me just as if oil was being poured on me. The anointing moved from the top of my head down to my toes, and I felt totally cleansed from all my sins. I suddenly realized with my whole being that Jesus took my sins away from me. He died for me on the cross. I was born again, a new creature in the Lord.
     I had no more need of painting. Making meals, washing dishes, washing clothes, my daily chores that were meaningless to me became meaningful. I became alive in the Lord. To take care of the family was the God given job for me at that time. I learned to thank the Lord for my family, I learned to pray for every one of them as I cook, wash clothes, etc.
     After both of us were born again, Don and I started going to a Life in Spirit seminar. At the end, they put their hands on our heads and prayed for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Not at that meeting, but later, both of us were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
     The joy and the love of the Lord took root in me and my life was changed ever since. I found it a joy to read God's Word. The Word became alive. I drank and ate God's Words. Now I know that I need to abide in Him and His Word.
     Several years ago Don talked to me about making an Anabaptist songbook. I soon realized that this was God’s plan for me, and He had prepared me for this job many years ago. When I was in 3^rd grade, I learned to read music. When I was in high school, I learned to listen to a simple melody and write the notes down. I never thought about this until I started to work on the songbook.
     Not only that, God had prepared my dear husband to use his talent for the songbook. He wrote a computer program for the songbook that will write the indexes automatically. If he had not made that program, I would have to spend long, long hours to write indexes. The program is so useful and helpful for me in many different things, and I am so grateful.
     Naomi is also helpful. She recognizes problems in the songbook for which I am grateful. I am so thankful for the gifts that God has given me, especially my dear husband. God made us one, and as we are getting older, we become closer to the Lord and to each other.
     When we wake up, we pray together. Before we sleep, we pray together. At lunch time, Don reads a chapter from Psalms or Proverbs. We have church every evening at 5 pm and we share what we learned. We pray for each other. Since we moved to Tucson, Don and I share a room for our office, so we are close all day. When he is helping a customer on the phone and it seemed difficult, I pray silently for the Lord’s help. We pray when one of us leaves the house… If I have a headache, I ask Don to pray for me and he puts his hand on my head and prays for me.

    Jeremiah 1:5 says
        Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
        Before you were born, I set you apart.

I am grateful. I am set apart for a purpose. Whatever it is, I want to obey Jesus. We are loved. We want to love the Lord. We want to be pleasing to Him.

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