Everyone,
Here are your weekly snapshots:
1. Last Tuesday I spent the day getting ready for a birthday party for the two year old twin daughters of my friend "Z". In the morning I went shopping at Jumbo, one of my favorite stores in Greece. It is a large store filled with kids stuff, household decor, party things, kitchenware, school and office supplies etc. The prices are cheap and sometime so is the merchandise but I love it. I've found a lot of things there for making puppets, decorating for parties (and a wedding), and inexpensive gifts for kids. Since "Z" loves for us to take her and the kids to the sea, I got the girls sand toys, sun hats and sun glasses. I wanted to get them swimsuits but, although it has been in the high 70s here lately, the Greeks are still wearing jackets so they didn't have swimsuits in the store yet. When I got home I made the cake for the party. It was white with pink trim, flowers and butterflies. I even wrote the girls names in Farsi with frosting. See attached pictures
2. Wednesday morning Kent, I and our friend Sahar (a former refugee from Iran) went to a local school to speak. We got there at 10:15 planning to set up and speak to a group of kids in the 3rd and 4th grades at 11:00 and a group of older kids at 11:30. The teacher making the arrangements (who is a friend and roommate to one of our teammates) met us with the news that they wanted to squeeze in another group of kids in at 10:30. It was a mad scramble to find a cord to plug in the computer and set up chairs for 120 kids but we made it. It was fun to talk to a group of kids in English (reminded me of my VBS days). Sahar spoke with the kids about coming to Greece as a refugee and then I showed a power point presentation of some of the things we do with refugee children. I told of how some of the refugee families don't have a place to live. Afterward we let the kids ask questions and one little boy raised his hand and said "We have an extra bedroom, someone could come and stay with us." When our time was up there were still lots of hands raised. This school will be a valuable link for us as they have already donated van loads of supplies and will continue to do so in the future.
3. After we spoke at the school we raced home, picked up the birthday cake and parties supplies and headed for the ARC. While Kent had a leadership meeting I helped set up the room and decorate. At one point I was sitting with "Z" while she painted my finger nails with shocking pink polish for the party. She said "I very happy today. None of my children ever have a party before." "Z"s life is hard. She has had to move again and is staying with yet another family. Everyone she has ever known has abandoned her. A few weeks ago Nader spoke on the Lost Coin. Afterward "Z" told my friend Tasha. "I feel lost. Everyone leaves me. I want to believe in Jesus but I need to know that if I do He won't leave me too." Please continue to pray for "Z" and the other women who are seeking.
4. We had a good time at the party. Once again we all had to participate in the dancing. At one point "Z" was trying to teach me to do this Persian move where your body and shoulders are still and only your head moves from side to side. It did not go well and we ended up in each others arms laughing hysterically. The only negative to the party is that we had four separate instances of kids throwing up. This was a little too much to blame on the candy and excitement and sure enough five team members came down with the stomach flu on the weekend. So far Kent and I have managed to escape.
5. Last Friday Kent took Dr. "S" (our Pakistani friend), "D" (from Aghanistan) and Peshraw (our Kurdish friend) to Corinth for the day. They had a great time relaxing and being "tourists" instead of refugees. They are all believers and it is good for them to spend time together. Kent said they told him they would remember this day for the rest of their lives.
6. Yesterday our friend "H" came in to the ARC. I saw him talking to Kent and then Kent motioned for me to come over. He told me that "H" was leaving for another country in a few days and wanted to say goodbye. "H" was one of Kent's first English students. He didn't do too well in English and still speaks very little so most of our communication happens in a mix of English, Greek, Farsi and sign language. Although he didn't master English he did meet Jesus. We had "H" and couple of other refugee friends over to our home several times. He got to know some of the Persian believers. One day "H" and Kent, along with two other refugee friends, were visiting a refugee camp in a nearby town when they were stopped by the police. "H" and one of the other guys did not have proper papers so ended up in jail together. While they were there "KH" witnessed to "H" and they studied the bible together. When they got out "H" accepted Jesus and was baptized. "H" is also the refugee friend who was in jail for three months (again for papers) at the end of last year. Kent visited him regularly and took him food and other supplies. One of the hardest parts of this ministry is always having to say goodbye to people you have grown to love. We will miss "H" and ask you to pray with us that as he moves on he will find a place for himself and that he will meet other believers who can help him to grow in his faith.
7. A few more prayer requests. 1) Our refugee friend "S" is in the hospital and is very ill. The doctors do not know what is wrong with him. "S" is one of the first refugees we got to know here is Greece. He helped us move into our house. He is a strong believer and has been a help to the ministry in translating and witnessing to others. He lived in the nest for a time and finally left Greece and had made a life for himself in Switzerland. About 6 months ago he was deported back here where life has not been easy. Through it all he has maintained his faith and has been attending a bible study that Kent teaches. Please pray for his healing. Pray that the doctors will find out what is wrong with him. 2) Another request is for our friend "G"s son Mohamed. He is about 12 and a few nights ago he stepped on a broken piece of glass and nearly severed his big toe. They did surgery yesterday to sew it back on. Sahar left a Farsi bible at the hospital with them and "G" (who is one of the women seeking) was reading it and her husband was reading it as well. Please pray for Mohammed's recovery and for "G" and her husband to open their hearts to the Lord. 3) Also please pray for our team mate Carolyn and her fiancee "E". A couple of weeks ago "E" was hit by a car after he was able to push Carolyn out of the way. He recovered from his concussion but is still limping and in pain because of a badly sprained ankle. Pray for healing and for work for "E" and also our friend "Y". I'm sure you know of the trouble Greece is in with their economy. Refugees always have trouble finding work but the economic crisis has made this even harder. Pray for Greece and pray for our refugee friends. 4) I was just getting ready to send this when Kent received a call from Dr. "S". He was very upset having just got word that the Greek embassy in Pakistan has denied his wife a visa to come to Greece. He has not seen her or his two small children in over a year. He is a new Christian and trying to trust in God but it is hard. Please pray for him and his family.
Thank you for all you do for us. You do not know what a blessing it is to write these updates and know that they will be read by people who care and who uphold us in so many ways. I'm so glad we are doing this together! We love you all.
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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