We had a short work week this week. On Tuesday Kent did men's showers. When he got there an hour early there were already enough men waiting to fill up the day. This means that there were men who wanted and NEEDED a shower and were not able to get one. Here's an excerpt from a friend's newsletter.
This past Tuesday morning, when the male teammates arrived at the ARC … there were already 120 guys waiting for a shower. Only 74 were able to get one … the guys get an 8 minute hot shower and then the timer cuts the hot water off and it runs cold … REALLY cold … sometimes even that is not enough incentive for them to leave the water that is slowly … ever so slowly … rinsing out the dirt that has crept into their very pores, wrinkles, and creases in their skin. The dirt that covers them when they sleep in the park, under (or on) a bench, in a tunnel, on the sidewalk, in a doorway, wherever they can put their body down for a couple of hours before the shopkeepers, police, neighbors, whoever, kick them awake and shoo them away.Something as simple as a hot shower is a way for us to show Jesus' love to these men.
Tuesday night we had Greek class. We enjoy it and are beginning to make sense of how to conjugate the different verbs and how you tell if a table or door or water bottle is male or female. I could make all kinds of jokes here but will refrain. It's not as easy as you would think. For instance you would think that the words for "girl" and "boy" would be a cinch - NOT. Children are not considered male or female they are neuter. Whereas "juice" is obviously male while "salad" is female!
Wednesday we had a grocery give away. We met at the ARC and packed 50 bags of groceries. My job was unwrapping and bagging 50 2kilo bricks of cheese. My hands smelled like Feta for the rest of the day. We gave the food away down at the lower gate because we were having a new front door installed upstairs. I was standing among the milling women and children, greeting those I knew and getting lots of hugs from kids when a friend asked me to watch her cart while she took her ticket up to get her bag of groceries. I was standing there with the cart when one of the women I know came up and as a joke said to me in Farsi. "Do you have a ticket?" I said "No, please I need one." She said "Here" and laughingly reached into her pocket and gave me an old bus ticket. I love it that in the midst of this place of darkness and need we can share a smile, a hug and a laugh with our friends. Something as simple as a few groceries and a smile is a way for us to show Jesus' love to these women.
Thursday was Farsi day and as usual we had a packed house. The day before during the grocery give away a man with a toddler had asked if we could give him money for medicine because the baby was sick. I had to say "No, I'm sorry." We keep a few basic medications and first aid items at the ARC but we do not have money to give out for medicine. Sometimes we as individuals will take someone to a pharmacy and buy them medicine but I was busy and did not have time that day. I thought about them later and wondered if I should have stopped what I was doing and taken them but God had other plans. The same couple came in on Thursday. The woman does not speak English but she told one of my teammates who speaks a little Farsi that the baby had been very sick and she had prayed to Jesus. Now the baby was well. They are a Muslim couple so we will see where this leads. We did the doctor skit again. Kent was the doctor and the whole audience but especially the children laughed appreciatively as he pulled various items out of the man on whom he was doing surgery. Of course at the end the heart filled with sin is revealed and Kent shared once again that even though the result of sin is death through Jesus we can live. Something as simple as sharing the gospel through a skit is a way for us to show Jesus' love to these people.
Friday Kent went to meet with his friend Dr. "S". He comes home so frustrated with the system after one of these meetings. Dr. "S" is close to despair as he worries about his wife and family and yet even though he has a documented case of persecution and a death sentence on his head there seems to be no way to move his case through the system so he can bring his family to safety. Please pray for him. Kent just tries to be there for him. Something as simple as sharing a cup of coffee and caring enough to listen and pray together is a way for us to show Jesus' love to this man.
We had a three day weekend. Saturday we drove down the coast with friends, stopping to walk along the beach, exploring little roads and ending with a Taverna dinner as we watched the sun set over the sea. Sunday we went to church at Nea Zoi and came home to a lazy afternoon. Monday was a Greek holiday. "Clean Monday" is a day when Greeks "clean" their homes of items banned for Lent and then take the day off to go out a fly a kite. We drove around, stopping in to listen to the music and watch some of the kites and then spending some time dumpster diving. It was good to have an extra day to relax and we feel refreshed and ready to get back to work. I am closing by giving you a link to a blog post written by a friend of ours who works with refugees in Rome and recently visited the Athens Refugee Center. It is a stark look at the very dark corner of the world where we work and yet in the midst of this darkness we see rays of light and hope in the eyes and faces of the people we serve. Thank you for being a part of that. Here is the link:
http://fifthfloor.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/within-a-yard-of-hell/
Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@juno.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
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