2010 update #4

This is a copy of my weekly update that is sent out to supporters of our ministry here in Greece.

Everyone,
Another week has passed and we have now been home for almost three. At a meeting this week I had to apologize for being late in getting an email about team fellowship out to the team. I was informed that from then on I was no longer allowed to use the excuse "I'm still getting back into the swing of things". I guess I'll just have to go back to "I'm an idiot". Tuesday Kent went in to help with Men's showers and I had planned to do my update, run some errands and clean house for team fellowship the next day. As so often happens in Greece it seemed like everything took longer than I thought it should. Traffic was bad, the lines were long and at the end of the day my house was still in the same state it was when I got up.

Wednesday we had a clothing give away and since we had plenty of people to help that day Kent went in and I stayed home to get ready for team fellowship that night. He said things went smoothly with the clothes but that Suzie, one of our team mates, made the mistake of giving out a couple of strollers we had been given. Poor girl, she knows better but she ended up finally having to hide in the kitchen because of course she was surrounded by women who wanted a stroller - despite the fact that a few of them didn't even have children! It is a sad fact here that unless you have enough of something for everyone you must always give it quietly and out of sight. Even then the word gets out and people begin asking. Once we had a short term team working in the kitchen who gave out a plastic spoon to a child. Suddenly there were twenty children all wanting plastic spoons. I have a little Bulgarian lady friend with very short hair that asked me one day quite some time back for shampoo. I quietly gave her some and now every time I see her which is at least once a week she asks for shampoo.
At Team Fellowship that night. We spent some time as a team looking back on the old year and looking ahead to the new. Each person shared and there was laughter and there were tears. We prayed together and I at least came away feeling even closer to these team mates that I have come to love.

Thursday was our ticketed dinner day. It was a Farsi speaking day which means lots of families and LOTS of kids. I did the chair skit. There is a chair saying "Do not touch" in Farsi on it - I of course touch it and then am stuck to the chair. Kent tried to get me to pray but I won't give in and he goes to the side and prays for me. I eventually after much struggling (last time I did this I broke the chair) I give up and pray. I am then released from the chair. "S" a refugee man who has become a Christian then read a scripture in Farsi and shared a few words. Instead of our usual spaghetti with cheese we served a meat sauce thanks to the generosity of some Greek friends.

I spent quite a while talking with "Z" again. We had invited her family and "S"s family over for dinner at our house the next night. Tasha told me that earlier in the week "S" found a ticket left over from the Christmas Parties. She can read some English but "Z" can't. "S" showed "Z" the ticket and "Z" asked her what it was. She said "A ticket to go to Myrna's house. didn't you get one?" "Z" said "It is not." "S" said, "It is too - you can't read English. You don't know. If you don't have one you can't go to Myrna's" "Z" still didn't believe her so asked Tasha "What is this?" Tasha said "It's a ticket to go to Myrna's" "Z" said, "I don't have one" then Tasha and "S" started laughing and told her what it really was. Since Tasha had told me about this, I made a ticket that looked like the tickets we give out and wrote on it "Special Ticket for dinner at Myrna's house". I gave it to "Z" and told her she could use it anytime. She laughed and said "I very happy thank you very much." "S" is really quite a jokester and as she learns more English that side of her is coming out. I was teasing her yesterday that her dimples always show when she is teasing.

By Thursday night Kent had a very sore throat and was coughing and feeling horrible. I postponed our dinner with "Z" and "S". Friday and Saturday neither Kent nor I got out of our pajamas. Kent was much more ill than I was. I just had a scratchy throat and felt more like I was coming down with something. Sunday Kent was still sick but did at least shower and put on new pajamas. It was a nice day so he napped out in the sun on the side deck.
Monday I went to work but Kent was still at home and slept most of the day. It seemed like we had a smaller crowd at tea house for some reason. I worked in the kitchen the first couple of hours pouring tea and greeting friends. The second half I went to sit with the women but as time wore on my glands began to hurt more and more and I started to feel feverish. I finally went home early and spent the evening covered up on the couch. It's kind of crazy, Kent was RARELY sick when we lived in the US but here he seems to catch almost everything that comes along. I have actually been more healthy than he has. We thought after the first year our bodies would adjust to all the germs but apparently it is taking a bit longer. Of course we are constantly exposed to people who are ill and who don't have an opportunity to use good hygiene.

Today Kent is feeling some better but still coughing. He didn't go in to showers today and we have the day off tomorrow so by then he should be back up to par. Please continue to pray for our refugee friends. "S" and "Z" continue to study, attend church and go to Persian Christian Fellowship. Pray for them. Also please pray from some of the men who have become Christians. This can be dangerous for them because some of the more radical Muslims don't take this lightly. One of the men who was recently baptized has been receiving threats. Pray for protection and courage for these men. Also please pray for jobs, especially for some of the men who have become Christians and are so faithful to help out with the work here. Many of them struggle daily with how they will live. We are in the process of trying to get a housing program restarted. We had a house called the NEST that we rented and allowed some of the men who help us in the ministry and one family (Z) to live in. We had to let this house go and are in the process of looking for two apartments to rent in order to have a family Nest and a men's Nest. Please pray with us about this. Many people do not want to rent to refugees even though we would be paying the bills. Also we do not have all our funding for this project. If the Nest is something you would like to support financially you can do so in the same way that you give toward our support (see below) Instead of designating the money for the Ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley you would need to designate it for The Nest- Athens. Thank you all once again for your faithfulness to God and to this ministry. We love you.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley

To Support:
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Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks ;}

The Basics

Before posting my first update next week. I wanted to take a minute to give those of you who may not know about the ministry here the basics of what we do. There are hundreds of thousands of Refugees who have flooded Greece mainly from the Midlle East and Africa. These people have fled their own countries because of war, famine and persectution. Their goal is to get to the Western World in hope of a better life. A cultural, continental, and religious crossroads, Athens provides a unique opportunity to join God’s work among the nations. Greece hosts nearly one million refugees and immigrants, many from Muslim backgrounds: Afghans, Iraqis, Iranians, Palestinians, and Somalis, to name a few. Helping Hands – a Greek registered non-profit organization – seeks to share Christ with this community by practical demonstration (e.g. feeding, clothing, and shelter ministries) and explicit proclamation (e.g. preaching, teaching, and discipleship ministries) of the Gospel. It is our desire that every refugee have the opportunity to experience Christ’s love in word and deed. Kent and I both work at the Athens Refugee Center (ARC). I work with children and women both at the ARC and when we have outreach events. Kent teaches English, helps at men's showers and meets with men in small groups. We both help out in the kitchen serving food, making tea and doing whatever is needed. We love to host refugees and team mates in our home and see this as a big part of our work here. We are supported by several churches and a large group of faithful partners who contribute regularly in order for us to be here. Before we came I was moved by the verse in Psalms 46:10 that says "Be still and know that I am God, for I will be exalted among the nations" The "nations" are gathered here in Athens and our desire is that His name is exalted in all that we do.

Entering the world of Blogging

As a technologically challenged person, I entered the world of email with fear and trepidation. To my surprise I found that I liked being able to communicate at the click of a button. No more seaching for a pen that would write, trying to unstick an envelope that had picked up moisture or finding a stamp that didn't require the addition of another two cents. Thus I happily began writing my little weekly updates about our work here in Greece to a growing number of faithful readers (or at least people who were too polite to ask to be taken off my mailing list). But as is the way of all things technological I was recently informed that email was quickly becoming passe and ANYONE who was up to date was on Facebook. I resisted for a time but lured by seeing pictures of my grandchildren I opened an account and once more was pleasantly surprised. I am now in contact with many old friends and even some young ones. I can also (if I care to) keep up on who plays Mafia Wars, Farm Town, Restaurant Town, Zoo Town, Circus Town, Fish Town and on and on. Despite some downsides I enjoy Facebook and was content with my status as a "cutting edge" techno buff. Now I have been informed that people would much rather go to a blog to get their information than to sign on to email or facebook and that I should really consider posting my weekly updates there. Once again I am not sure where this will take me. It may be that I just post my updates and let it go at that. I may find that I wish to expound on the many joys of living in a foreign country or share the latest witticism from my adorable grandchildren. We shall see but for now I will be posting my updates about our work with refugees on Tuesdays and we'll go from there.