Hello:) 

There is always so much to say, yet I never feel as if I can communicate it in the best way. These blogs that we have to write every week force me to connect my thoughts to words, which is helpful. The only problem is the lack of motivation that I feel when it comes to getting things done. Recently I have been feeling quite exhausted, and the fact that I don’t sleep very much does not help. With the tiredness comes zero motivation, and I am working on trying to sleep more so that I can be healthier and also get more done.

I was taught many new things in this past week. Through our speaker, Fiona, I learned more about sin and what exactly sin is and what it means. I learned more about the Gospel and how my idea of what the Gospel is seemed to be inexplicable. Each of the students in our school also had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with Fiona and she helped me realize many things. We talked about the issues I have in my life and she helped me get to the root reasons behind my struggles. This was very crucial for me; it was hard to accept, yet it is a million times more difficult to actually look deeply at these reasons and try to begin bringing change.

Back to what I learned about sin this past week: there are a few main things that really stuck out to me. One was that there is sin and then there is sins. It looks like a very small difference, yet it shows a big difference. SIN is the root, or the inherited disposition; it is our sinful nature. SINS are the fruit, the concept of whether we walk in the flesh or in the Spirit. Sin is not wrong-doing, it is wrong-being. When we sin, we are outside of and apart from God. When we sin, we are not walking in the Spirit, but rather the flesh. We are feeding our sinful nature and not living the abundant life that the Spirit can offer. We are able to control the SINS in our life by living by the Spirit, which will then result in good and beneficial fruit.

We also touched on what the Gospel is this week as well. When Fiona asked us what the Gospel was to us, I thought about it and seemed unable to answer. I did not know what to say; did I really not know what the Gospel is? The Gospel is, after all, the exact thing that I believed in, yet I was unable to communicate what I believed. My idea of the Gospel was so complex I could not even explain it to myself. If I were encountered with a situation where I met someone who had never heard the Gospel before and I was able to share it, I realized I would not have a clue what to say. This is where what Fiona shared was so significant to me. The way that she described the Gospel made what I believe so much clearer and also allowed me to truly communicate in a simple, yet personal way of what the Gospel was to anyone who did not know. So here it is: God loves. Sin separates. Jesus saves. You decide. That’s it; so easy yet so not. Take it as you will, and you decide.

Again, this is only a small fraction of all that I have learned in just another week of DTS. It has been so amazing to be here and be in this community and have the opportunity to learn and do everything I am learning and doing. It is a struggle, but one that I am able to conquer and come through as a better person only with the help of my Father and Saviour.

Some less heavy topics, yet interesting things happening here in Herrnhut: I got a henna tattoo on my hand. My friend Raquel, from Costa Rica, designed it and I love it! This past weekend, we has a sudden spike in population here at the Castle, because the entire Fall MOTA returned from their outreach. There are now another 100 students and another 20 or so staff. You can imagine how it feels going from having the Castle all to yourself with only 15 students in your school to abruptly having to adjust to another 100 people walking and eating and talking and being all around you. It is quite overwhelming. But I do enjoy meeting new people so it is also exciting! I am looking forward to getting to know them more. I have challenged myself to remember all of their names, so wish me luck with that! Other than that, I do not think anything else is new. Our school will be getting more information about what our mini-outreach will look like later this week, so I will keep you updated on that. For those of you who do not know what mini-outreach is, it is just a two-week period in the middle of March where we go on a mini-outreach (hence the name) and get a small taste of what our regular outreach will look like.

I hope Canada is still doing well and that all of those that I love are also doing well! I miss my home; please take care of it for me! Remember that you are all loved by me and by God! I love updates on what is going on in your lives, so just shoot me an email (finamurphy18@gmail.com) and I will definitely be in touch when I can!

Love always,

Fina