Morley Update 2010 #35

Everyone,

It was a big day Saturday. We reopened the ARC for the first time in two months. We saw many familiar faces - some of whom we hadn't seen during this time some of whom we have seen at other events or the park. We also had new faces. Several new families were there and quite a few new single men. Already the changes in the ARC are making a difference. I told you about the new turkish toilet (hole in floor with places for your feet on both sides - we also call it a "sqatty potty") in the ladies rest room. We still have a western toilet but are keeping that stall locked and it is for staff use only. The women on the team were very excited to know we had a place to go to the toilet that was clean and no one had been standing on the seat. I was feeling a bit guilty though because it seemed like we were keeping the best toilet for ourselves and making the refugees use the other. I was showing my friend "Z" around and when she saw the turkish toilet she clapped her hands and said "Finally". I realized that to them this was the "nice" toilet and the other was just something they had been putting up with. No more guilt.

We only served tea on Saturday but already the kitchen made a big difference. Instead of standing bending over a sink for hours washing cups we just threw them in the dishwasher. This will mean we need less people in the kitchen freeing up more people to be spending time with refugees. I know it will be such a help when we serve food. I used to stand for a couple of hours by the door of the kitchen rinsing greasy spaghetti plates in a dishpan before they went into the kitchen to be washed. This meant going out on the back balcony to empty my pan and then running back and forth into the kitchen to refill it when it got too greasy. It meant carrying stacks of dripping plates through the kitchen where people were working to the sink. All those plates (about 120) then had to be hand washed, double rinsed - once in bleach water, and hand dried. Now they will be stacked on our rolling cart and wheeled into the kitchen. They will be scraped into the under the counter garbage can and rinsed in the sink. After that they will run through the dishwasher and come out ready to be put away in the cupboard.

I asked for prayer for our friend Doctor "S" who has taken the name "Joseph". His wife and children have been in hiding in Pakistan under threats of death from the Taliban. They were caught in the floods and he had not been in contact with them. He was able to talk with his wife this week and they are safe. Joseph said he knows it is because God protected them and he wanted to thank everyone who prayed for them. Please continue to pray that his family will be able to leave Pakistan and join him.

Please also pray for "G" Kent's kurdish friend who was beaten so severely while he was in jail. Kent had not been able to find him but recently heard that he is living near the hills of Athens. He is hoping to go to see him this week. He is very concerned because when a mutual friend found him he refused to let him in and seemed in a very bad way. "G" has always been such a great guy that it is very hard to hear of him being in such a state. Please pray that he will see Kent and that we can know how to help him.

Please also pray for the many refugees who are once again living in the parks. Many of them had been living in abandoned buildings but recently the police have been making sweeps through these areas and arresting people or just sending them out. They have no where to go so they end up with their families in the parks. New families continue to arrive and they squeeze into already overcrowded apartments just to be off the streets.

Along with all the new families, we are also missing many faces - some of them people whom we have come to love. During the months of July and August many refugees leave during the rush of tourists. Often we don't even get a chance to say goodbye. This is the nature of refugee ministry and we rejoice in those who have gone on and taken a faith in Jesus Christ with them. "C" and her husband "A" along with their two small children became Christians here and we watched "C" blossom from a shy, sad and fearful woman into a confident, laughing woman who openly shared her faith with others. They moved on to Italy and hope to move on from there. For others it may be only seeds of faith that we hope will be watered and tended by someone else along the Refugee Highway. "T" and her mother and sisters had become a good friends but were just beginning to open their hearts to ask questions about Jesus. They have moved on to Germany.

We will miss these people and carry them in our hearts but we turn our attention to the new families as well. Our goal is that when people come through our doors they will find not only food for their bellies but food for their souls. Jesus said "I am the bread of life". When they get a drink of cold water or hot tea we hope they will also find what their hearts are thirsting for. Jesus said "I am the living water". When we give them clean clothes or laundry soap or a shower, we hope they will look to the one who can truly make them clean. "The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin". And as we help them on their way down the Refugee Highway we point them to the one who said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life".

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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