Morley Update 2010 #22

Everyone,

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.
Anatole France

When we came to Greece we found this to be very true. We longed to be here but it meant leaving behind people we loved and a life we enjoyed. Each time we were faced with a new change it seemed like we were jumping off a cliff hoping to land on our feet. As soon as we thought "Whew - we made it!" we would be faced with another leap of faith. Could we leave our families and friends? Could we leave our church? Could we leave our home, our business and a life we loved? We answered "Yes" and took the leap. Since we took that leap the leadership of the team has changed - twice. Programs we were involved with have changed - several times. Each time there was change we had to leave something behind in order to move ahead. Sometimes this was painful, sometimes this was a relief but it was always necessary. The one constant in refugee ministry is that it is always changing. People and programs come and go and each time that happens we remind ourselves that we are here to be a part of what God is doing here in Greece, not to follow a certain person or maintain a certain program. Our team is coming up on a big season of change. At the end of this month we will be losing two families who have served on the team for 2 years. They will be a big loss especially because we have far more women than men on the team. Next week we are having our team retreat and then in the middle of June we will close the ARC for a month to six weeks in order to make some much needed renovations on the building. Since we will not be able to use the ARC during that time it has forced us to "think outside the box" and figure out other ways to do ministry during this time. It is also a good time to reevaluate the ministries we are currently doing and see whether they still meet the needs of the refugees who are here now and whether they are a good use of our time and resources. As a team we have each invested parts of ourselves in the different ministries and it is sometimes hard to let those go. Please pray with us during this time that we will hold everything with an open hand and allow God to show us what to hold on to and what to let go. Also pray for unity among the team as we make these decisions. Pray for creativity in using the time we are closed wisely and that God will open our eyes to opportunities to minister. We are excited about what God is doing here and look at this next two months as an chance to gather ourselves and prepare for the work ahead. Thank you for being a part of this. 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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