Thursday, January 26, 2012

Morley Update 2012 #4

Everyone,

These last two week have been frustrating to say the least. The organization we work with changed our insurance this year. This is the third company we have been with since we started. While we are SO thankful to have insurance but when we make a change there are always some bumps in the road getting started. My medications for my arthritis are VERY expensive (around 2000 dollars a month). Because of this we always meet my deductible the first month. I am fortunate to have a card from the makers of Enbrel - my most expensive medicine that will cover anything my insurance doesn't up to 4000 dollars. The only catch it that they will only pay on medicine purchased inside the USA. For the last three years we have happened to be in the states at the start of the year so I have bought my medicine there and my deductible was covered. This year although my doctor advised me not to fly for 6 months after my Deep Vein Thrombosis, Kent and I decided that since my legs are better than they have been for years, it would be worth me making a trip to the states to purchase my medicine. Two weeks ago I tried to order my medication and have them sent to our daughters house in MA since that is the closest place I can fly. When the pharmacy tried to run my card they were informed that my coverage had been terminated and I didn't have prescription coverage. I called Cigna and explained what I was trying to do - order my Enbrel in the USA at one of their in network pharmacies so that my secondary insurance would cover my deductible. I won't bore you with all the details but 8 phone calls (most of which lasted an hour with me on hold for almost the entire time) and over a week later they finally got my information entered correctly into their computer. Only then did they inform me that if I was going to order Enbrel (I am supposed to be automatically covered for any existing condition) they needed a note from my doctor explaining why this was a medical necessity. Of course because of the time zones, the only time I can talk to them it is the middle of the night here so it took me two days to get the letter from my doctor here and receive approval. I finally called the pharmacy again and they said it went through fine but Cigna paid it and did not apply any to my deductible. Since it was Saturday, I could not get anyone at Cigna that I had been dealing with so I went ahead and purchased my ticket to MA feeling it was safe to assume this was just another glitch. When I called on Monday I was informed that my coverage was such that medication ordered in the states were just paid at 80% and didn't apply to the deductible. I looked online at my benefits and it showed a list of things I was covered for, one of which was prescriptions at 80%. Underneath it said "payment after deductibles have been met". I mentioned this and they said that they couldn't get everything on the website and I should have read my manual - which I didn't receive. I was told I could appeal this and ask that it be applied to my deductible so I did. I was hopeful that it would be approved since I had such a mess even trying to get my coverage started and since I felt I had been given misinformation about my coverage. After two more days of waiting, I received a notice that my appeal had been denied. This means that not only do we have to pay our 2500 deductible but that I have a non refundable ticket to fly to MA. Much as I look forward to seeing my grandkids this is not the time I would have chosen to take a vacation. All this left me feeling helpless at the hands of people who could just as easily (and at no cost to themselves) granted my request but who chose for whatever reason to say no.

Why am I telling you all this? Maybe just to vent - but more so because this is just a TASTE of what my refugee friends face every day. They make an appeal to be granted a red card, or asylum, or family reunification papers and then are left helpless at the hands of people who can make a decision based on nothing more than their mood at the time. In my situation there is money at stake - in theirs, their very lives and the lives of their families are at stake. "G" one of the young men who has become a Christian and is a great help to us in our children's program is going once again to spend the night outside the door of the place where they grant red cards. There are so many people who need help that unless you are there hours ahead of time you have no chance of being seen. Even if you DO get in, it is entirely at the discretion of the person you see whether they react favorably and give you a red card (which allows you to live and work legally while you are in process for asylum) or whether they deny it, which puts you in jeopardy of being thrown in jail if you are caught without one. Once you get a red card you must renew it every six months by this same process.

Dr. Joseph after two years of waiting for asylum is now continuing to wait for the reunification of family papers to go through. While he waits his wife and children must continue to live in hiding and fear for their lives.

"H" one of Kent's friends who has papers disappeared for a while. We thought maybe he had left because he has papers so we did not think he would be thrown in jail. He showed up a few weeks ago and said he lost his papers and was thrown in jail. He said he told them he has papers but apparently there is no way for them to check on this or they just didn't care.

In my situation with my insurance, I was left at the end feeling like I was just a number to them. No one really cared about me or my situation. That is how so many refugees feel all the time. One man I know owned his own car dealership and mechanic shop in his home country. His business was burned and the family fled. They have been here now for several years and everyday he goes early to stand in the square to find work. He used to find something fairly often but with the economic situation now he says there is nothing. "How can I take care of my wife and 4 children, if I cannot work?" he said recently as we sat together at one of our meals. We meet many people who were professionals and respected in their own countries before everything they had was swept away and they were reduced to being a number, one of the masses of unwanted people who are just trying to survive.

At Helping Hands we try to see people not numbers but it's not always possible. When we have no more tickets, or no more food, or no more room we can sometimes get tired of the constant pleas we hear for things they need and things they want. It's been VERY busy at the ARC lately especially on Saturdays. Last Saturday we had 70 kids in the kids room and the baby room and big room were packed. Sometimes people think that missionaries are supposed to be more caring, loving and giving than "regular" Christians. But we are human and sometimes after a long day we just want people to go away and leave us alone. Pray for us. Pray that even when we have to say "No" we will look at the person and not just see them as another number. Pray that we can find creative ways to say "Yes" when possible. Pray that in the midst of Chaos we can see that one child or that one mother or that one young man and listen to them. Pray that we will find the balance between hardening our hearts and feeling overwhelmed by the needs around us. We are so thankful to have a place where we can welcome people. A place here we can invite them to sit down and share a meal with us or where we can sit with them and hear their stories. It means so much to be able to have some of these people into our home and to count them as friends. We know that could not happen without you and your support financially and in prayer. Thank you for allowing us to represent you here on the field. 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 join our Support Team:
Online go to: https://www.iteams.org/us
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 :)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Ministry Update 2012 #3

Everyone,

I actually had something in mind for my update but then popped on to Facebook for a minute and saw something I really wanted to share. This update was posted by a friend and supporter Casey Martin:
"So I'm sitting on the couch with my son jacob (he's three) and he says to me "maybe you can get a blanket so you're not cold anymore". I was instantly filled with fatherly pride that my son at such a young age would consider the needs of others without any prompting. So I said to him "that's very nice would you like to go get one for me". He smiled and said "yeah I will". Then he looked down at the toys he was busy playing with on the couch and then looked around the room. He appeared to be searching for someone to delegate the task to. His eyes went first to his sister..then to his mom..then he looked back at me and then back down at his toys again before saying "um..maybe you can get it yourself ".

This was such a perfect picture of how we sometimes look at the problems in this world whether they are around the block or around the globe. We say "There are people in this world who lack the basic necessities of life". God says "Why don't you do something to help?" We look down at our "toys" and then we look around us. Surely God didn't mean us personally - there must be someone else who can do it. Maybe it's the government's job. Or maybe it's the job of someone who has more resources than we do. Aren't there people who are "called' to do this sort of thing? We really wish these people would be taken care of but.....we shake our head sadly over their plight and go back to our toys.

I don't write these things to make anyone feel guilty and I know that many of you ARE reaching out in tangible ways to help those who are less fortunate but I think it never hurts to be reminded that it is not enough to FEEL compassion for people but we need to be open to taking action in whatever way we can. James talks about faith without works and says in James 2:15-16 "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?" in James 1:27 it says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world". Sometimes we think being "polluted by the world" is watching the wrong movie, dressing the wrong way or not going to church. But maybe being polluted by the world means buying into to the idea that we deserve what we have and in fact if truth were known we probably deserve more. I know that most of us have worked hard to achieve the standard of living we enjoy and there is nothing wrong with that. I am also aware that there are people who want to be handed that same lifestyle without working. However many people in the world have had no opportunity to achieve this or maybe have achieved it and then watched it be swept away by evil men.

We meet these people every day. Men who stand in the square day after day hoping to be hired on to a job so they can provide for their families. Mothers trying to take care of their children while living in abandoned buildings. Young men and women who have been denied an education and desperately want to learn. Families living on the streets because it was too dangerous for them to stay in their own country. We do what we can. We try to provide food, clothes and the little necessities like shampoo and toothpaste. We do laundry and provide showers. We sit with them, we listen to them, we cry with them and we laugh with them. We teach them. We teach them English or Greek or we show them how to fill out the papers for the doctor or the police. But most importantly we teach them about Jesus. We teach them about Jesus not just in the classes we have or the sermons we preach but we teach them about Jesus by doing all the things I mentioned above. Jesus said, "Love your neighbor". Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give". Jesus said, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.......I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Thank you so much for joining us in ministering to "the least of these". We are so grateful to have a team of people who love not just in word but in deed. Because of you we were able to do more than just SAY "be warmed and fed" during these last couple of weeks. We were able to give out sleeping bags and blankets - we were able to offer meals and hot tea, we were able to give out grocery packs and we were able to show the love of Jesus in tangible ways. We know we could not do this job without you - thank you for giving, thank you for praying and 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 join our Support Team:
Online go to: https://www.iteams.org/us/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 :)

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Morley Update 2012 #2

Everyone,

This morning I had what we call an "IM" with our team leader Brett. IM stands for Individual Meeting and it is something we try to do bi-monthly for each member of the team. It's a time to check in with leadership and talk about how we are doing. We talk about goals, things to celebrate and things to work through. Most of the team meets with Kent as team pastor but Kent and I each meet with Brett. Brett and I had scheduled this meeting for December and then things got a little crazy and we put it off until now. It was a very different meeting than it would have been a month ago. I had been planning to talk to Brett about changing my status to "volunteer' just because I was not being able to keep up with things at home and still be at work due to the amount of pain I was in. I'm sure it would have been a meeting of tears and sharing my frustrations. Instead it was a joyous meeting with me sharing plans I have for hospitality in addition to my regular work schedule. I am enjoying work, enjoying life and feeling positive about my role here again. I know my husband would say some of the same things - we are excited about ministry and having energy left over to do things just for fun. Even things that would normally annoy us are not so bad when our lives don't revolve around how I am feeling. As you know we have been through some team changes recently - some welcomed and some endured and we are most likely not done yet. Continue to pray for God's Direction and Will. We know that this is His ministry. He is in control and our trust is in Him.

Saturday at tea house we had a large team of volunteers come in so I was able to sit with the women instead of being in the kids room. I talked for quite a while with "Z" who has the two older boys and 5 year old twin girls. Recently they discovered that Narges one of the twins has a hole in her heart. It has been there since birth and should have been discovered and dealt with earlier. She is still small enough now that they are planning to go in through her groin and put something in there that will close up the hole. It is not an uncommon surgery but as you can imagine "Z" is worried. The other issue is that at this point it looks like they will charge her 1000 euros for the surgery. Please pray for "Z" that she will turn to Jesus during this - she is very close to accepting. Also pray that Narges does not get sick in the meantime and that the surgery can be scheduled soon and that the cost will be covered.

Another big news item for us is that our friend "A" (for my family - she is the one who made your Christmas gifts) has been accepted to immigrate legally to Germany where her son is currently living. We are SO happy for her to be able to go without worry of being caught and sent back and to have a place to go. Life has been VERY hard for her here but through it all she has kept her sweet spirit. She is truly one of my favorite people and I find as I am writing this that the tears are starting to flow as I think about her going away. There are so many bittersweet moments in this ministry. We are thankful that she will have a chance at a better life. We are thankful that her son is a Christian so she will not stop hearing about Jesus but our hearts ache with the thought of not being a part of her and her sweet children's lives. Pray for her as she goes. Pray for her husband who is a heroin addict and not a kind man. Pray that her son will be a strong witness to her and her husband. Pray for us because it hurts to say goodbye and the temptation is to close ourselves off from loving new people because of the fact that we will likely have to say goodbye to them as well.

We continue to have our seekers class after Saturday tea house and we have 20 or more people. It is mostly men but last week there were 3 women. I enjoy seeing the refugee believers answering questions for the seekers and having a chance to share their faith. I also enjoy being a part of a bible study again. Every week I realize again how much I have missed teaching. I am SO thankful for Aziz translating so that we can share freely without the barrier of language. I am hoping to begin a once a month women's day in my home and want to especially invite seekers who may be too shy or afraid to ask questions in a bigger group. Pray that we will know which women to invite and how to share with them. Continue to pray for the Saturday seekers class as well as the community small group for believers that Kent and I are involved with on Friday nights.

Kent is planning to begin to start teaching English again. Aziz has quite a few interested and wanted Kent to take the advanced class. It will most likely be two mornings a week before our regular schedule. This is always a great time for developing relationships as well as teaching English.

As always time flies by - today is Kent's birthday and two days before our youngest child turned 30. It has been an amazing and wonderful journey with God and I am so happy to be doing it with the man I love. I'm thankful God still has things for us to do and we feel honored to be your hands reaching out to refugees here in Athens. Thank you for all you do for us. 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 join our Support Team:
Online go to: https://www.iteams.org/us/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 :)

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Morley Update 2012 #1

Everyone,

Happy New Year to everyone - whether the last year brought you joy or pain or a combination of both we trust you are looking ahead with anticipation of what God has in store for the year 2012. My health has continued to improve and I take joy every day in little things. Yesterday afternoon Kent and I went to the Grocery Store. When we came out to the car I began helping him load the bags in the back and it occurred to me that for at least the last 6 months or more, if we went shopping I was in so much pain by the time we got back to the car that I just wanted to get sat down and go home. After work on Tuesday Kent went to get a hair cut and I walked up the street to wander around while I waited for him. My usual routine had been to sit at the ARC with my feet up praying he would be done soon. I walked to the laiki last week and realized that for the first time in ages I was enjoying looking at things and not just limping along. Thank you again for all the prayers on my behalf. I worked a full day on Tuesday and as I said went for a walk afterward. Wednesday my knees were a little sore so I am trying to find the balance between overdoing and pushing myself a bit in order to get stronger after months of relative inactivity.

Because I am feeling better we have been having more people into our home again. Friday night we had two young Iranian men. One of them speaks quite good English and of course Farsi. The other speaks quite good Greek and Farsi. Kent and I of course speak English and a bit of Greek with only a few words of Farsi. This made for an interesting evening. We could speak English and one guy would translate into Farsi or we could speak Greek and the other guy would translate into Farsi or they could speak Farsi to each other and then translate into English. We had some good discussion though. One of the guys is very interested in hearing more about Jesus and wants to get together with Kent to look at some scripture together. Before dinner Kent prayed and then after dinner we played a game for a while. When they got ready to leave the one young man asked Kent if he would pray again which of course he did gladly.

It was great to be back at work again on Tuesday and get some very big hugs from my refugee friends. Despite being closed for the week before we had a full house - feeding about 140 refugees. Afterward quite a few stayed to hear the message although many of the women had to go because there was a meeting at the school where their children attend. Tasha shared about a refugee woman "S" who she has been talking to. "S" had told Tasha that her sister in law had a dream that she was falling into a dark hole and that someone reached down to help her and it was Jesus and then she saw a light. Tasha talked to her about how the Bible talks about Jesus being the Light and she asked "S" if she had a Bible. "S" said that she used to have one but her brother took it away and forbid her to read it any more. On Tuesday "S" came in and said to Tasha "I think I can take a Bible now" Tasha asked her "Why?" and she said "Now my brother had a dream about Jesus and the Light". Tasha got her a Bible and again showed her the passages about Jesus being the Light. "S" marked them in her Bible and took it home. Pray for "S" and for others who are in such darkness that they too can begin to move into the Light.

We are so thankful for the team here and for the many gifts and talents they bring to the work. Recently since Themis is no longer our head chef, Susie's husband Youssef has stepped forward to do the cooking for meal days. We are also very thankful for our Greek team mates Michalis and Ritsa and I would ask you to be in prayer for them. They are struggling financially because Greeks do not have the concept of monthly support and with the added stress of the financial crisis their support is below what they need to live on. We would hate to lose them because they bring much to the team. They both are great in the kitchen and with kids as well as the men and women. Because they are Greek they head up our local volunteers which is invaluable in getting Greeks involved and comfortable in coming. Michalis is especially good at networking with other Greek organizations and recently because of this, a group called Doctors of the World gave us quite a quantity of dry food stuff to hand out. Ritsa and Michalis are also both good at helping the team and refugees navigate the system here for paperwork, medical help, housing or whatever. Please pray that their support would come in so that they can continue to work without the constant stress of worrying about how they will pay their bills.

We are also very thankful for you our wonderful team of supporters. Your financial gifts have allowed us to continue to be a part of what God is doing here in Athens. Your prayers and encouragement have lifted our spirits, brought healing to our bodies and kept us sane. We could not do it without you and appreciate you more than you will ever know. We look forward together to what God will do in us and through us in 2012.

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 join our Support Team:
Online go to: https://www.iteams.org/us/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 :)