I just got off the phone with a call to Nicy Murphy. For you Texans, Nicy Murphy is the Mary Hill Davis of Colorado. The annual Colorado offering in September is called The Nicy Murphy State Missions Offering. I never will forget when Kelli was in high school, and she was able to meet Nicy Murphy. Since we had arrived from Texas, she was amazed that Nicy Murphy was a real person and that she was actually alive. Kelli had obviously never been able to never met Mary Hill Davis.
That was about 20 years ago, and Nicy is still alive. I remember kidding Nicy, who was a member of our church in Colorado, about her age. I often would ask how old she was, but she always declined to give me an answer. Today, as we spoke on the phone, she happily told me that she was now 97 years of age. She has a goal of reaching 100; she continues to write and work on many projects. She said she was running out of time to get it all done.
Nicy lives back in her home town of Guymon, Oklahoma, but for many years she travelled throughout the Rocky Mountain states working with Woman's Missionary Union. She never married, but she gave her life to starting new work in Montana and the Dakotas and Wyoming and Colorado and wherever possible. She was a true pioneer in ministry in the Colorado Convention and in the Northern Plains Convention.
Nicy wrote a wonderful little book about her years of ministry. The Flip Side or Workin' for the Lord ain't all that dull tells some funny stories of driving through the snow, flying from state to state with Phil Card as pilot, leading conferences in remote places, and just doing the Lord's work. One of the funnest stories is of the lingerie salesman who wanted to give her a free bra. There's more to the story, but you'll just have to read it. If you can find one of her books, read it. It'll leave you laughing and also inspired.
I love Nicy Murphy. She gave her life to share missions all over the western part of the United States.
Thank you Nicy for being faithful to God's call to your life. You did good! Keep it up!
2 comments:
Before Nicy moved to Guymon, I had the privilege of traveling with her and Sydney Portis to a woman's retreat for the Mesa Verde Association. The plan was for me to drive our mini-van. Before we left my husband told me, "You take care of Nicy Murphy!"
It ended up that Nicy took care of me. During that weekend I caught a bug that kept me very ill in the back seat of the van. Sydney drove us home while Nicy wiped my forehead with a cool, damp cloth. What a comfort she was! When we arrived in Denver, Sydney tucked me into bed and called my husband in Windsor so he could come get me.
What a treasure that memory is!
Nicy Murphy is a cherished member of the Word Weaver Writer's Club in Guymon, OK. She never fails to amaze us with her skill in writing. With poems that make us laugh until our sides hurt to prose that give pause to think of the life one leads. And we have often wondered at the wit that she injects into her limericks. No matter what her age, she is very young at heart and a joy to us all.
Virginia and Pam love Nicy Murphy.
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