Everyone,
We had a great mini vacation away. As you know we took Tuesday and Wednesday off last week giving us a 4 day weekend - we work on Saturday so our weekend is Sunday, Monday. We went to the island of Kythnos with two women on the team who have become our adopted "daughters" here. Kythnos is very dry and rocky - not the paradise with white sands and long beaches of some of the islands. We chose it because it is close (about 2 hours by ferry), off the beaten path and because of the rocky coastline which we thought would be good for snorkeling. We were right. We rented an two bedroom with kitchen and deck overlooking the sea. With four of us sharing the cost and because we could do our own cooking it was pretty reasonable. The view was beautiful, the sea was clear and the snorkeling was great. We saw a lot of new interesting sea creatures and dove down for some nice shells. One day Kent and I spent 8 hours in the water with only a couple of short breaks. It was a restful and renewing time but by the end of Wednesday we were all water logged and ready to head home.
Our first day home - we had a family beach day. Somehow that sea didn't hold the allure that it does sometimes but we had a fun day swimming with our refugee friends. We invited a couple of newer families and this time two of the husbands came. Kent knew one of them from English class so was able to make conversation. The women were all eager to learn to swim so I did a lot of holding their heads out of the water while they tried to paddle.
Friday and Saturday I spent most of the day on the computer organizing some short term team material and getting a calendar made up. Stacie, the woman who was doing this before me has been a big help and spent some time showing me how to set up a calendar online as well as some other "techie" stuff. For the next week or two I will be spending quite a bit of my time learning different aspects of this job and updating some information we have etc.
Kent spent Friday having Bible Study with our friend Dr. "S" who has taken the name "Joseph". Since publicly expressing his faith in Jesus at church he felt it was best to take a new name for the protection of his family back in Pakistan. Please pray for "Joseph" and his family. He has been out of contact with them for about a week now as they are in the area of Pakistan affected by the major flooding. Please pray that his family is safe and that he will hear from them soon. Also continue to pray for his wife and two small children to be able to leave Pakistan and join him here or wherever God may take him.
Saturday while I was home doing computer work, Kent went to the park for an outreach there. The team just shows up at one of the parks where refugees gather. We put down blankets to sit on and have crafts for the children and a chance to visit with some of the women and men. Often families will invite team members to their homes afterward so this is a chance to deepen relationships.
The renovations on the ARC are coming along and we anticipate being able to begin cleanup maybe even next week. Everything (even things in the cupboards) has a layer of dust on it so it will all need to be wiped down and put away again. We hope to get this done in three days and be back to having ministry in the ARC the following week.
We will continue to do a modified schedule until September because August is a very slow month here. The city of Athens is almost empty as Greeks all go for a holiday to the islands. Many refugees attempt to leave amid the flood of vacationers so our number dwindle considerably. This year it is also the month of Ramadan which is a time when Muslim seek through prayer and fasting to purify themselves and attain a higher spiritual level. From the middle of August to the middle of September most Muslims will fast from Sunrise to Sunset each day. We try to take in to account that many of the refugees will not be eating or drinking during the day for this month and to plan our events accordingly. If we serve food we provide containers so it can be taken home and eaten after sunset. By being respectful of this time we open the door for conversations about spiritual things.
Thank you once again for your faithful prayers and support. I am attaching a couple of picture from our trip to Kythnos, one with Tasha and Christy with us on the balcony and one looking down from the balcony at one of the place we snorkeled. 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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