Morley Update 2012 #6

Everyone,
Since Valentine's Day was this week I had planned to write this update about Love, This is the 40th Valentines Day that Kent and I have celebrated as a couple. Those years have been filled with love. Sometimes it's the giddy romantic love that prompts poetry and romantic get aways. Sometimes its the comfortable love that says "I can relax and be myself because I'm with my best friend". Sometimes it's the nurturing love that makes chicken soup or brings you 7up and Tylenol when you're sick. Sometime it's the forgiving love that can look beyond the action and see the person that you love and respect behind it. It's a love that chooses Intimacy over Issues, Relationship over Retaliation and Co-operation over Conquest. It's the love that says "I CHOOSE to love you even when I'm not sure I like you at the moment". Coming to the mission field was actually one of the most challenging times for our marriage. Adjusting to culture, language and ministry combined to leave both of us feeling unsure of ourselves and less than competent. This led to irritability and a general sensitivity to anything perceived as critical. I can only remember a VERY few times in our marriage that we have really blown up at each other one of them was after we had been on the field for several months. At that point we stepped back and said "God has called us here, God has called us to be together. So what do we need to do? We spent some time again going over a book on Marriage. We purposed to spend time together and to exercise more patience and less eye rolling (me). Some of it was just holding on until the storm passed and we began to find our place and to learn to navigate in this new environment. We've now been here over 3 1/2 years and though there are still times when we struggle with culture, changes on the team and in ministry or just physical weariness, we would not change our lives for anything. We are so blessed to have each other and to still be in love after all these years.

Now on to other matters. Several people have requested that I explain what is happening in Greece and why there are so many riots and so much unrest. Although I don't pretend to understand it all very well myself here is what I can tell you. Like many other countries, for years the Greek Government went on a spending spree. They borrowed heavily and spent freely. There was also much corruption in the government - people being paid highly for jobs they were not doing and government officials were taking money designated for certain programs and using it elsewhere or to line their own pockets or the pockets of those who supported them. In order to fund all these government programs they kept raising taxes and because people perceived these taxes to be unfair they began to find ways to falsify earnings and avoid paying them. Tax evasion became the norm rather than the exception. This of course caused more of a deficient. Eventually things came to a head and the Greek debt is now at 160% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). The European Union in trying to keep Greece afloat has provided a bailout package but it comes in installments with certain requirement for cutting the deficient that must be met each time in order to receive the next installment. These austerity measures have included cutting public sector jobs, raising the retirement age, doing away with bonuses, trying to privatize businesses that have been government run, and cracking down on tax evasion while raising taxes yet again. As is always the case when trying to weed out corruption and streamline government there are people who are caught in the middle through no fault of their own. The unemployment rate is soaring, businesses are closing, people living on pensions are seeing those shrink away and hard working Greeks are wondering how long they can hold on. There is anger, frustration and despair. Whenever there is a new set of cuts being implemented there are large demonstrations protesting what is seen as injustice. Greeks are proud, independent people and it is very hard to have other countries dictating to their government how to run the country. On the other hand the European Union is not going to continue handing out money without making sure that necessary steps are taken to ensure that Greece will do what it needs to in order to become solvent again. Whether that is even possible is the big question. Whenever there is a demonstration there are groups that use these gatherings as an excuse for violence and rioting. Once the rocks start getting thrown and the police begin to retaliate it often escalates into the types of things you are seeing on TV with building beings burnt, property being destroyed and people being hurt.

How does all this affect us? On an emotional level, our hearts break for our Greek brothers and sisters who are suffering during this time. For people losing their homes and businesses, not being able to feed their families and feeling a sense of despair. Our hearts break for our refugee friends who used to be able to find a bit of work here and there to get by but now in the face of high unemployment for Greeks can find nothing. Our hearts break as we see some Greeks become increasingly antagonistic and even violent towards refugees who are seen on a further drain on an already struggling economy. Our hearts break for refugees who wait months sometimes years for someone to look at their papers, hear their case and maybe allow them to move on. On a practical level, we don't feel in danger. We almost always know ahead of time when and where demonstrations will occur and can avoid these areas. When there are strikes such as the recent 48 hour transportation strike its makes our lives more difficult in terms of getting downtown to the center to go to work and it means that refugees who come in that day will have had a long walk to get there. The general economic situation means we are seeing higher numbers on Saturdays when we are open to all and you don't need a ticket to come in for the day. It means our rooms are more crowded, our chairs are all filled and the controlled chaos becomes a little less controlled and a little more chaotic. It also means that many Greeks who have been faithful in financially supporting Helping Hands are giving more sacrificially or not being able to give at all. So far we have not had to make any program cuts and we rest in the knowledge that where God leads He will provide.

Pray for Greece. Pray for the Government to be honest and to do what is best for the country as a whole. Pray for wisdom for the leaders as they make hard decisions. Pray for the people that they will pull together and support each other in positive ways during this time. Several churches have started food pantries to help out those who are suffering financially. Pray for protection for refugees and for others who can get caught up in the violence. Pray that God will provide for His work here and for safety and protection around our building. I hope this gives you a little bit of a picture of how things look through our eyes. Thank you for being a part of what God is doing and for your faithful support. 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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