When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith…And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. (Matthew 8:5-13)

As I read this passage this morning I found my faith freshly stirred. A Roman Centurion came to Jesus, appealing for mercy on behalf of a servant who was suffering terribly. Jesus had thousands of people come to Him and appeal for healing. Some demanded. Some cried out in pain. Some simply reached out to touch Him. But there was something different about this appeal. Something that called Jesus to marvel at the faith of the centurion. What was that difference? The centurion understood what it meant to have authority. When he ordered soldiers into battle, they went, no questions asked. He knew that when someone in authority speaks, things get done. And He knew that Jesus had authority. He knew that when Jesus spoke, massive, life-altering, mountain-moving things happened. When Jesus spoke, raging storms instantly ceased. When Jesus spoke, disease ridden flesh was restored and evil spirits fled. When Jesus spoke, life surged back into dead people. The centurion knew without a doubt that if Jesus simply spoke the word, his servant would be restored to health. So he asked Jesus to speak. He asked Him to speak the words that would bring healing to his servant. How did the Savior respond to the centurion’s faith? First, He marveled. Then He healed.

Oh let this truth be fuel for your prayers! Jesus, the living Savior, has all authority. He has authority over nature and life and death and comas and Ian. With but a word He can cause neurons to begin firing and brain tissue to begin repairing itself. With but a word He can restore shattered bones and torn ligaments. When Christ speaks things happen! And He invites us to draw near and lay our requests at His feet! Oh how this stirs my faith! The mighty King of the Universe who spoke the galaxies into existence invites me to pray for Ian. When you pray for Ian, take a moment to praise Christ for His absolute authority over all things. Then humbly ask Him to touch our dear friend Ian.

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

Romans 11:33

Jesus, knowing pain intimately, in tender sympathy, sweet mercy, and staggering wisdom, has spared Ian from the agonizing pain of his broken leg. While his leg is healing, Ian is sleeping.

Praise Jesus.

David

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

From Steve:

Today’s surgeries were as successful as they could have been. The surgeon planned to do Ian’s knee only if the forearm surgery went well. Ian did well with the first surgery, so the doctor went ahead with the second. His forearm now has plates in the bones and will likely be nearly 100%. The knee surgery was intended only to reconstruct the bones as best they could. Ian now has various plates in his knee and will need to undergo surgery later to reconnect ligaments, etc., and graft new skin. Even after it all, medically he’ll be a long way from 100% in the knee. Please pray that no infection would develop and that the ultimate outcome of all of this would be a fully functional 100% knee.

I praised God for Ian’s coma after seeing the xrays of the damaged knee today. The pain he would have endured with this knee injury would have been unbearable. The coma is a design of God, I think, to keep someone from that level of pain. When he was through the surgery, my prayer changed to, “Lord, wake him up but not now; let him get past this knee stuff first. Or, heal his knee miraculously, then wake him up!” God is good.

Thank you for praying…

Steve

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

I just received this email from my dad. In the Chronicles of Narnia they often say that “Aslan is on the move!” It seems that Jesus is indeed on the move.

Hi everyone,

Mark

Thanks – Stephen A

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

Hey Friends!
Ian is in surgery today. This was sent by his dad:

I just talked with the orthopedic surgeon (this was actually yesterday). He said his surgical plan is an aggressive one. The arm will be the simplest of the two, so he’ll start there and see how Ian is doing. If Ian is doing well in the surgery, he’ll proceed with the knee. The knee was extremely badly damaged, and his plan is to try to reconstruct it so something more could be done with it later. Medically, his best case scenario even after subsequent surgery was that the knee would bend again someday but that it would be a long way from 100% functional.This is an aggressive surgery that brings with it risks. Please pray he would come through it well, that the doctor would proceed with the knee reconstruction, and that the outcome would be better than expected. Pray that his knee would be whole again. Pray most of all that he would wake up.Thank you for your prayers….

Steve

The doctors are saying that his knee would be a long way from 100% functional. I’m excited to hear the doctors say this! Why? Because I believe that God wants to heal Ian in a way that will absolutely astound the doctors. God loves to do things that make His name famous and bring Him great glory. Healing Ian supernaturally would most certainly bring fame and glory to God. I can just imagine the doctors saying, “I don’t understand why Ian is getting better so quickly! I haven’t seen this before.” So let us pray fervently that God would touch Ian in such a way that even the doctors are baffled. Let us pray that the doctors would see clearly that there is a God and He is very real. Thanks.

Stephen A

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

From a family friend, Patty (who is a nurse):

Guys,
When I was praying today I thought maybe we need to look at this coma thing
from a different perspective. Ian’s body is like a city that suffered mass
destruction. Now gigantic relief efforts are underway to rebuild. In his
brain there is work being done to re-wire, restore electricity, and
re-establish communications. In his leg supplies are being rushed to
rebuild the very foundations of his bone so the infrastructure will be
strong and secure. Pumping stations in the basements of his lungs are
working hard to keep fluids from flooding and building up, something that is
never good. Arteries are the main transportation system for delivery of
oxygen and sugar, supplies the hard working cells need desperately to keep
going. Now, their normal delivery routes have been disrupted by injury and
swelling but they are re-routing so the flow of supplies is not stopped by
these roadblocks for long. The sanitation department is hauling garbage and
excess fluid from all parts of his body to the waste departments for
removal. And the white blood cells are like the police department, cruising
on constant alert all over his body working overtime to keep infection and
germs at bay, arresting them where ever they find them and hauling them
away. This takes tremendous energy and is a massive, massive undertaking.
Unfortunately those of us standing by his bed can’t see it and it appears
that he is just laying there. This could not be more deceiving. Ian is
working just as hard at recovery as we are at praying. Remember it took nine
months to make Ian the first time. And we must remember that the Lord of
this city never sleeps or slumbers so He is on duty ever interceding for Ian
Himself, and He still has the plans he used for Ian the first time.

Psalm 3: 3-5 But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me
and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his
holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again for the Lord sustains me.

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

i left the hospital for the first time on tuesday. on my way back to iup, i was reminded again of what the source of my joy must be. as i was driving on 286, looking at all the beautiful leaves on the road, i was thinking about what i based my joy on before ian’s accident, and what i am still tempted to base my joy on. i love autumn, so on a beautiful day like yesterday, i would be joyful, because everything in my life would seem great. but give me a rainy day, and a sad song on the radio, and suddenly i would feel not quite as joyful. but God reminded me yesterday that our joy should not come from things on this earth. this seems like an easy concept, but in times like these, it’s way more evident that if we are basing our joy on relationships or people, we would be left with nothing when something like this happens. For all of you that are close to Ian, we feel different empty areas without Ian with us each day. For me, it’s not having my best friend to tell everything to or his smile that says “i love you.” for David, it’s the constant laughter and conversations with his life-long best friend. for the murphy’s, it’s those loud footsteps down the steps and that voice that makes everyone laugh that isn’t there now. But we must be reminded to thank God, thank God, that we are saved, that Ian is saved, and that our joy does not depend on what’s going on in our lives. We are saved. Ian is saved. our ultimate joy, that deep, insatiable joy, is that we, and IAN, are saved. Be encouraged, all of you prayer soldiers who love Ian so much, be encouraged at how good God has been to us and Ian in the past, and know that that hasn’t changed. Think about His promises for the future.

I pray that God gives all of you strength as you miss Ian and as you continue to diligently pray. I can’t wait for the day that Ian wakes up, and we fall to our knees before God.

-Larissa

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

My son’s name is David. He’s Ian’s best friend. They’ve been best friends ever since they first learned to fight with each other, sometime after they both were one. They were born six months apart, and ever since either one knew they existed, I don’t think they’ve spent a birthday apart from each other.

David’s birthday is tomorrow, Oct. 11. When Beth asked him what he wanted, he said, “I want Ian to wake up.” Up until now, I’ve always been able to get David what he wanted for his birthday, but this year I can’t. However, we know the One who gave them both physical life and then, more importantly, spiritual life sometime after. I was wondering if anyone who happens to read this might pray with me and my family that Jesus would give him what he wants most for his birthday; his best friend back.

Thanks!

-Kristi Altrogge

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

Ian continues to run a bit of a fever, but the doctors have concluded that it has to do with the trauma and is not related to any infection. They’ve told us it’s very typical for a head trauma patient to run a fever without any identifiable cause.

The tracheoscopy went well; the tube is in. They’re going to “dial down” the respirator he’s on to see how well Ian can breathe on his own. The respirator is the only mechanical/medical device on which he is depending at this point. Everything else he’s doing on his own. They’ve kept him on the respirator to this point to prevent pneumonia, since in this condition he may not be able to breathe deeply enough. They’re just not sure. They’re goal is to get him to a step down unit at some point and eventually out of the hospital and into a nursing home, depending on his condition.

He continues in the same neurological condition, i.e., he responds to various stimuli (e.g. yelling, rubbing, pain, etc.). However, he’s made no new progress, and that is of serious concern medically. The doctor told us this morning that the longer he remains in this condition the less likely it is that he’ll wake up.

While these are the facts as we know them, we serve a God who can ignore the facts and heal. Thank you so much for your prayers. It really is an encouragement to know you’re praying.

Steve Murphy

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None

We thought you might like to see Ian’s wall…
We have been putting up photos, scripture verses, song lyrics, cards, quotes, ect… on the wall/window in Ian’s room… it’s starting to have some personality. It’s nice to see the photos and encouraging to read the scriptures.

Here’s another Monday update from David:

Dear Friends:

I just got back from seeing Ian. He seems to be
doing about the same, except they took the breathing tube out of his
mouth and put in the trake (spelling?).
He looks much more like his old self, which is very much a comfort!

Some recent news:

His eye doesn’t seem to be responding to light in the way it was yesterday, Steve told me tonight.

However,
he is still moving. Tonight when I was with him, quoting scenes from
one of his favorite movies in his ear he
turned his head
away from me…possibly annoyed. They said old
sounds, songs, smells, voices, ect. could spark something in Ian’s mind
and wake him up.

But, things are still very serious.

We are so grateful for your prayers…
“The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.”
Psalm 6:9

  Filed under: Uncategorized
  Comments: None