Morley Update 2010 #45

Everyone,

Time is flying by and we will be flying back to the States before you know it. I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and are enjoying the holiday. We had our Thanksgiving dinner with the team on Monday because it is our day off. We gathered at the Dirrim's home. We had to cook three turkeys because the largest one I could find was a little over 8 pounds and I had to go to two stores to find that! There were babies, kids and lots of women bumping into each other in the kitchen. There was laughter, loads of food and a man doing the dishes! (Thanks Kenn) I am always blessed when we gather as a team. Even though my family is far away, God has given me a wonderful family here.

It was a good week. Recently we went from having men's showers to having a meal and gospel outreach for single men. It was a hard decision but we were giving 60 men a shower and 40 more were turned away. We decided that by opening for a meal we could serve 120 and at least do something for more people. It has been a good thing for the men on our team because instead of just running people through the shower they get a chance to sit down and talk with the refugee men. "S" is an Afghan young man I wrote about in a previous update. Kent has spent time with him as have some others on the team. He has been very sad and frustrated with being stuck here but has been coming to the ARC and had taken a bible and other literature with him to read while he is in the park since he doesn't have a house. Last week he sent a text message to Nader our Iranian team mate saying "I have become a Christian and am ready for baptism". Nader told him to come in the next Friday so they could talk. On Friday Kent and Nader and some of the other men spent time talking and praying with him. He told them "In Islam I felt like there was a path to God and I started down the path but then I was just going in a circle. I was praying and trying to follow Islam but I wasn't getting any closer to God. Now I have joy in my heart because I feel very close to God". This is a man who called Kent crying a few weeks ago because he was so depressed about his situation! "S" also said "I think it is like if I want to go to America. I can try and try but I cannot get across the ocean by myself. I need an airplane to carry me over the ocean. Jesus is like the airplane that carries us to God when we can't get there by ourselves." Please pray for "S" and for several other young men who are very interested.

On Wednesday we decorated the ARC for Christmas. We put up 10 Christmas trees, hung stars from the ceiling, draped a huge garland across the front of the room and put up lights. I know the kids will be excited when they come in and see it. We will have our first Christmas party next Wednesday. It is a kids party and I have been working on puppets (see attached picture). As you can see by their faces all the puppets are very excited about being in the show! :} I am also making a costume for myself. I will wait until the day of the party to take a picture of that because I don't want to ruin the surprise but let's just say I will look VERY festive.

Tomorrow we welcome a short term team from Nebraska. They will be here for 11 days and help out with several of our Christmas parties.

I have a couple of prayer requests. One is that we would stay healthy through these next weeks and get all the things accomplished that we need to do before we leave. Pray that God will bring to our minds any things that we need to gather for our paperwork or take care of here before going. We are particularly concerned about our FBI background check. We need to have new fingerprints taken for that and have tried everything to get them taken here but cannot. We will have them taken as soon as we arrive in the states but that will only be about 2 1/2 weeks before we need the results and the Christmas and New Year's holidays fall in that two weeks. They say it can take up to 12 weeks to get the report back and that would be a big problem for us. Last time we got them back in only a couple of weeks so please be praying that they will come quickly.

I thought about listing all the things I am thankful for during this season but decided it would take too long. If I HAD made a list YOU would be on it. We are VERY thankful for all of you who support us with prayer, notes of encouragement and financially. We look forward to seeing many of you in the New Year.

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
To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks ;}

Morley Update 2010 #44

Everyone,

I find I am feeling a little stressed. We leave for the states in only a month and there is a lot happening before then. We are having 4 large Christmas parties at the ARC plus one smaller children's party. I need to have a puppet show ready for the children's party and our church is sponsoring one of the large Christmas parties so I am helping to facilitate that. We have a short term team coming in one week. Short Term Teams are a big help but I need to coordinate airport transportation, settling them at the hotel, orientation plus making sure they know how to navigate around the city, use money etc. In addition I am gathering papers and sending off for needed documentation to apply for our residence permits again. I need to make sure we have all our ducks in a row so that when we hit the states we can get the process started quickly. I am also trying to figure out a speaking schedule for when we are home and make sure we have all the pictures and materials we need for presentations. I need to pre-purchase medications, arrange to have our rent and other bills paid, plants watered and all the other little details that need to happen in order to be gone for three months. To top all this off I started having some trouble with my eyes and had to go to the ophthalmologist. I was seeing long black strands and clumpy black dots as well as flashes of light. Turns out I have a vitreous separation, which is not dangerous once it separates but can cause problems during the process. I need to put a gel and some drops in my eyes twice a day for the next 20 days and then see the doctor again. Are you feeling sorry for me yet? I can hear my friend and team mate Ilir say "Do you want some cheese with that whine?"

Being on the mission field is interesting. Sometimes you feel like this is the best job in the world and sometimes you think of your old life and wonder "what were we thinking?" Sometimes that can happen on the same day with the same set of events. Wednesday is a good example. We started with a team meeting and then set up for a shoe give away. We received a donation of several hundred short, rubber, fur lined boots for kids in all sizes. My job at the beginning of the day was to escort families up the stairs, determine the child's size by having them stand on a chart on the floor, take them to the appropriate table and help them try on their shoes. When they finished I was to take them to a table to sign up for the children's party and escort them back downstairs. Depending on my outlook, I could tell about trying to get shoes on dirty, sweaty, stinky little feet with no socks, I could tell of a child insisting on a pair that was too big or a parent trying to get me to give them a pair that were too small for their preteen son because we didn't have any that fit. I could tell of standing in line at the Christmas party sign up while a mother argued that her small child should be allowed to come even though the invitation clearly said "7 to 12 years old only". I could tell of walking up and down the stairs until I was limping and finally trading jobs with someone just to sit down for a few minutes. I could tell how when Kent and I left on the bike there were demonstrations downtown and we had to go the long way around even though it had started to rain. I could tell how by the time I got home I was wet from the rain and from getting splashed by dirty water thrown up by a bus. I could tell how Kent built a fire because I was freezing but I still had to fix dinner before I could finally sit down and warm up. I COULD tell it that way.

Or I could tell about the kids. So many of them wearing flip flops or dirty ratty tennis shoes and no socks even though it is beginning to get cold out. I could tell about how excited they were to pick out which color of shoes they wanted and how they smiled when they slipped their feet into the warm fur lined boots. I could tell how many of them said "Thank you" in English. Or I could tell you about the parents. I could tell you how they looked on fondly as their kids tried to decide if they wanted red, black or blue and how I thought that it's probably been a long time since they were offered a choice about anything. I could tell how they knelt down and felt the toes to see if the shoe fit and how I remembered my own mom doing the same thing. I could tell about their grateful thanks and how they walked out holding the hand of a child who skipped along happily in their snug new shoes. I could tell how thankful I was after work not to have to ride the bus and how even though it rained, we rode along the sea. I could tell how my best friend and partner in life and ministry often reached back to pat me on the leg as if to say "I'm glad we are in this together". I could tell how when we got home I was grateful for my home, my fireplace and food to cook. I could tell how we finished the evening toasting our feet by the fire and doing a crossword puzzle together.

Wherever you are living your life you have a choice. You can look at things with gratefulness or with discontentment. Pray that we never forget how much God has done for us and all the blessings He has given us. Pray that God will give us a heart to love and care and to reach out to those less fortunate, for they are all around us. Thank you for all you do for us. We love you all and look forward to seeing you before too long.

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
To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks ;}

Morley Update 2010 #43

Everyone,

Well I missed another week - my brother and sister-in-law were here and we went out of town on the weekend.

It was an eventful week before they came. Kent and I due to our lack of Greek - our own fault - misread our residence permit and thought the expiration date was October 26th which instead was the issue date and it was retroactive to the date we applied for it which was September 17. We were a couple days late (we thought) but weren't worried too much and thought we might have to pay a 50 euro fine. Instead when we got there we were told that our residence permit was finished and there was nothing our local authority could do about it. He told us to go to the Ministry of Interior and they would tell us what to do. We arrived there just after they opened. They were handing out number 20 and the man told us they would only take about the first 5. He said if we wanted to get in we would need to come at 5am and get in line. Kent got up the next morning and was first in line at 4:30am. When they opened at 10am they told us to fill out some forms and they would take us at 11:30. At around noon they let us in and we went through submitting all the papers we had originally submitted to apply for a residence permit. At the end of the time we paid them 300euros and the man said something in Greek that we couldn't understand. We asked for a translator who came and told us that our application would not be looked at by the committee for at least a year and then might be denied. Until then we could not travel etc. He said "You would be much better off going back to the USA and starting the process over." We asked why that wouldn't take just as long. He explained that the application we just made was for illegals who were appealing their case, so we were lumped in with all the refugees etc. If we went back to the USA we would be starting legally which would be the same process as when we came two years ago. We could only do that by stopping the process we had just started (we talked them into giving our 300 euros back). This means we have to go back to San Francisco and reapply plus jump through all the hoops like physicals, lung Xrays etc. A real pain but doable. One problem is that we are now in the country illegally but there is nothing we can do about it. Since we are already illegal we decided with our team leader that we would stay until the Christmas Break and then head back to the US to start the process. Please pray for us as we go to the airport because if they notice our expired papers they could fine us around a thousand euros each which amounts to 3000 dollars. On top of that it will be more expensive to travel this time of year than if we had waited. We were due to have a furlough anyway since we have been here over 2 years and a normal furlough is 3 months. We had decided to go in late January and only take two months since we had taken two trips home due to Kent's moms health and subsequent death. Now we will need to take our full three months in order to have enough time to do the paperwork and still get around to all our supporting churches. We will be in the Northwest from January 15th to February 28th. We will be traveling throughout Oregon and Washington much of the time speaking at our supporting churches. When we know our schedule we will pass it along to you so that you can catch us when we are in your area.

The whole situation with our papers has been a bit stressful and I found myself fretting about it. Then I was reminded of the people we work with. We are here illegally because we made a mistake in our paperwork. They are here illegally because they fled horrific conditions in their own country. During the time we are here illegally, we have a comfortable home. While they are here illegally, they are sleeping in the park or sharing a small room with other families. When we try to leave the country in December the police may notice that our papers are expired. If this happens they will fine us 3000 euros and we will go on back to our country where we will stay comfortably with family and friends. When they try to leave the country the police may notice they don't have the right papers and they will go to jail. After jail they will be told to leave the country. If they went home their very lives would be at stake, if they stay, they are in danger of being picked up and jailed again. My problems seem very small in the face of the seemingly insurmountable problems my refugee friends face every day. Pray for them.

At times the reality of what these people face every day threatens to overwhelm us. Scott was talking with a young man the other day who was crying and saying that he just didn't know what to do anymore. His family in Afghanistan won't speak to him, his uncle who is here will have nothing to do with him (this is due to some family issues). He feels alone and hopeless. Scott asked him if he could pray with him and as Scott prayed he began to weep with this young man. The next day when he saw him the young man came up to Scott and hugged him and said "Thank you". Scott said "Please don't thank me - I didn't do anything." The young man said "You cried with me, no one has ever done that before." Sometimes what we can do for people is so little but we love them and we are their friends and somehow in the midst of a very dark place that is enough.

Kent received a call from a young man named "S" late last night. "S" is in his late teens or early 20s. He left Afghanistan because their family cannot survive on the amount his father makes farming so he left hoping he could somehow make a better life and be able to help his family. Instead he is living in the park and sees no hope of moving on. When he called last night he was saying "I am very sad. Today I cried for Afghanistan. What should I do?" Kent told him to come to the ARC tomorrow and they would talk. Kent is planning to see if he can find a place for him to stay if we can help out with rent but this is not a long term solution. He wants to work and to make something of his life. Kent will also talk with him about going to Greek classes or other things he might do to give himself positive steps toward change. He speaks English and has been attending a seekers bible class. Pray for "S" and for Kent and he tries to discern how to help him. Unfortunately "S" is only one in hundreds or thousands who have the same story. Cry for Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and the African countries where there is war and famine and suffering beyond what we can imagine.

I recently saw a quote which said:
“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and
injustice when He could do something about it.”
“Well, why don’t you ask Him?”
“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.

Thank you for being willing to do something. Thank you for praying, thank you for giving, thank you for caring - 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
To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks ;}