Morley Update 2012 #12

Everyone,

This last week my world has revolved (literally) around my home. I continue to have several times daily where everything begins to spin and I have to lay down for a bit. Because of this I have been at home with a few exceptions all week. We picked up our friends and supporters Tom and Linda Samek on Friday. We drove home with a small detour so they could get their first glimpse of the sea. On Saturday they went with Kent to the ARC where Tom spent most of his day in the kitchen pouring tea and doing dishes and Linda worked in the kids room.

Sunday we took our time getting up and around and since the sun is finally out and the spring flowers are beginning to bloom we took a drive down the coast. No historical sites were open due to Greek Independence Day but we stopped at a few of our favorite places and ended with a Taverna dinner by the sea. I had two pretty severe attacks of spinning - one time laying out on the ground for a while. Because of this I elected to stay at home the next day while Kent took Tom and Linda to Corinth. They had a nice day and took lots of pictures.

Tuesday was family meal day and once again I was at home while Tom and Linda joined Kent at the ARC. They both spent quite a while in the kitchen but Tom did get to spend some time visiting with a refugee friend of Kent's who speaks English. Yesterday we had a clothing give away and prayer time which Tom and Linda led. I did my prayer time at home. One of the passages we were supposed to look at is Mary's prayer. I couldn't help but notice that she starts by saying "My SOUL glorifies the Lord and my SPIRIT rejoices in God my savior" In reality Mary's BODY was going through the changes that could negatively impact her life but that didn't affect what was happening inside her. I don't understand why my health is a continual issue but I can concentrate on what God wants to do IN me at this time. A friend also wrote me a note recently that said "Instead of asking 'Why me?' we need to ask 'What next?'" I 'm not sure what God has for me right now but I appreciate your prayers both for healing and for seeing what God would have me do if healing doesn't come.

Today Tom and Linda went off sight seeing around Athens on their own. Kent went to town for meetings with several different guys. Tom and Linda will be here until Sunday. We are thankful to be able to give people who are a part of our extended team a first hand look at what God is doing here in Athens. I wish you all could come and have that experience. In the meantime thank you for your faithfulness to us and to the Lord.

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 :)

Morley Update 2012 #11

Everyone,

I realized last night after I went to bed that I had neglected to write my update. My days are a bit mixed up lately as I have not been able to keep my regular schedule. On Sunday night and Monday evening I had two violent attacks with my meniere's disease - horrible spinning that came on suddenly and was accompanied by throwing up and other unmentionable body functions. Because of this Kent and I decided that I would stay home for a while and try to get a handle on this. For one thing there is no way I can be at work or on public transportation when one of these hits. I am trying tweaking my medications (taking more meclizine and spacing it throughout the day). So far I haven't had any more violent attacks but had several times yesterday that I had to lay down and close my eyes to stop the room from whirling. Of course this is frustrating and discouraging at the best of times but we have good friends arriving today to work with us for the next week and a half. I don't even know if I will be able to go in and am also not sure about taking a couple of day trips we had planned. I would appreciate your prayers about this.

I want to tell you about Kent's good friend "H". "H" is a young Iraqi man. In Iraq his brother was involved in a car accident where a man was killed. Although it was determined that his brother was not at fault he spent some time in jail. Earlier this year when he was released from jail the father of the dead man killed "H's" brother. At that point his father told him that he should leave Iraq because there was no telling what this man would do. He came here hoping to find a better life but like so many others is stuck in the bureaucracy. "H" speaks good English and he and Kent have become friends. They have had many spiritual conversations and often "H" will bring other young men into the ARC with him to meet Kent and he will translate for them. In January "H" called Kent one night and told him that he had just heard the news that the father of the man killed in the accident had bombed "H's" home killing his parents and destroying their home. His only other family in Iraq is an uncle who is more concerned with trying to cheat "H" out of any property his parents had than in helping him. He is very alone in this world. On Saturday "H" stayed for the seekers class in the book of John that Kent and I have been involved with along with our team mate Aziz and Scott McCracken. Kent was out of the class spending some time with two boys who's parents were attending the class. After the class "H" told him. "At the end of the class the man had us pray. He said if we were praying to God and wanted to accept Jesus as our Savior we should tell one of you after class. I want to tell you that is me." Kent said "You are saying that you have accepted Jesus?" and "H" said "yes". Kent will now spend time with "H" going over a 5 lesson course on what it means to be a Christian. At the end of that time "H" will be baptized. He is alone no more - Praise the Lord!

Kent is also spending time with another young man that he met with yesterday. This young man is also going through some rough times in his life. Pray for Kent as he shares encouragement and hope with him and the other young men God seems to bring into his life.

Though I have been at home Kent is keeping very busy. He goes in early twice a week to teach an English class and stays late on Saturdays for the seekers class. We are still involved in the community group of refugee believers on Friday evenings. Last week it was in our home so I got to attend for the first time in a few weeks. Some weeks they meet at the ARC after men's meal day so I don't go in and it means another late evening for Kent. He also goes early on Wednesdays for leadership meetings and spends more time doing emails, preparing lessons, taking charge of team meetings, team fellowships and team prayer times. He meets with individuals on the team, encouraging them and dealing with the little issues that come up as a group of people work together and bump up against one another. He is feeling good about his new role and is working hard to stay on top of things.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement to us. Thanks you for your financial support. Thank you for being our extended team. Thank you for all you do to invest in God's work here in Athens. Because of you there is rejoicing in heaven over one who is saved! 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 :)

Morley Update 2012 #10

Everyone -

It was a busy couple of days. Tuesday we had our usual family meal day. After we cleaned up we finished our preparations for a kid's day on Wednesday. These are fun days for kids we do every so often. The basis for this day was Persian New Year which is a big holiday about new beginnings. We used that theme to share bible truths with the kids. We invited 55 kids, ages 6-12 to come for 3 hours. In order to get ready for those three hours many hours of preparation happened. There were crafts to get ready, stories to translate, puppets to gather and practice with, games to plan and prepare, veggies to cut up, tables to set and on and on. We try to plan for everything because we know that when the kids arrive the craziness begins.

We were blessed to have a team of college students to help so Kent and I arrived at the ARC at 9am to do their orientation. The rest of the team arrived by 10am and we spent the next couple of hours setting up and going over the program. At 12 we opened the doors. As the kids arrived they were assigned to a group based on gender and age. They played games in their group until everyone had arrived. After a few announcements lunch was served. They had veggies and yogurt, pizza and an orange. When that was finished we gathered the whole group for some singing and then the puppet show. As many of you know I love puppets and find them a great way to communicate a message in a fun way. Since our puppet show was about a caterpillar and a butterfly I dressed in a butterfly hunter costume. I would sneak around looking for butterflies and the kids took great joy in pointing out that several had perched on my hat. After the puppet show the kids divided into their groups to spend 15 minutes at each "station". We had a craft room where they made a name tag that said Happy New Year in Farsi. At the game station they tried to eat a cookie on a string and knocked over cereal boxes by throwing a ball. The cookie decorating station was a sticky fun mess with lots of frosting and sprinkles. In the story room they heard a story in Farsi tying some of the traditions of Persian New Year into new life in Jesus. By the time three o'clock rolled around the kids were wired (maybe it was the frosting and sprinkles) and the staff were exhausted. As their parents came to pick them up, each child received a small gift bag with a party blower and some candy. Since a picture is worth a thousand words I will close now and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Thank you for upholding us in prayer - I am still struggling with the dizziness from my meniere's and had several times during the day yesterday when the room started to spin and I had to sit down. Thank you also for your financial support - we are here because you give. 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 :)

Morley Update 2012 #9

Everyone -
How many of you played sports in school. I played basketball but I am not very athletic - to say the least - so I was never one of the starters. In fact I wasn't even second string. I was the girl who sat at the end of the bench. My uniform rarely got sweaty and my shoes never wore out. In spite of the fact that I knew I wouldn't be going in unless we were 100 points ahead or behind, my coach always insisted on one thing. Even if you're on the bench, keep your head in the game. Pay attention, cheer your team mates on, do what you can. So I cheered, I handed out water bottles and towels to teammates coming off the floor for a breather, and I watched. Lately it seems like God has kept me "benched" quite a bit. Our weather here has been crazy and my meniere's disease (an inner ear disorder that causes extreme dizziness) has really flared up. It is hard to get on the bus or metro when you're not sure if your world could begin to spin at any moment. Because of this I have stayed pretty close to home for most of the last couple of weeks. It is easy when that happens to get discouraged or to look back to my old life. In my personal study I have been reading the Old Testament about the nation of Israel in the desert. Every time things got bad they complained and looked back. They didn't keep their "head in the game". I don't want to be like them. So I am doing what I can. I keep up with correspondence for Short Term Teams and Interns. I work on crafts or plan puppets for the kids from home. I try to encourage team mates and I pray.

Maybe you feel like God has you "benched' for some reason. Maybe it's your health, or your family, or your job but something is making you feel like God has you sitting on the sidelines while others are in the heat of the battle. Keep your head in the game, do what you can. Encourage, look for small ways to help and most importantly Pray. Who knows you might just be voted "most inspirational" as your team moves on to victory.

In spite of the fact that I have only been to the ARC a couple of days in the last weeks God continues to be at work. At women's showers last week a group of the refugee women initiated a conversation about the Bible and were asking good questions. Kent has had some good conversations with seekers as well. The kids continue to be engaged in the stories and are also asking questions. One little girl who has accepted Jesus in 11 years old. She is in a wheelchair and her body doesn't cooperate too well but her mind is active. She had a serious conversation with Donna about her faith during a quiet moment in the kids room on Tuesday. We continue to see growth as the refugee believers help out in ministry and the seekers class is always full.

Many of those we had become close to have moved on. One of those is "Z1". While she was here she was in Bible study and had MANY spiritual conversations with different members of the team. Tasha in particular spend hours answering questions and going over scripture with her. When she left she had still not accepted the Lord. Since she has been gone, Tasha has been able to talk with her on the phone fairly regularly and amazingly though she still has not come to complete faith God is using her as an evangelist. Tasha sent her a bible and she recently asked for another and maybe a few extras because she gave hers away. She is answering questions that people have about the bible and says she thinks two people have become Christians because of this. Pray for "Z1". Her husband and small son are still in Greece - pray that she will get papers and that they can be reunited as a family. Pray that she will make the final step of faith herself and that she will continue to be a witness to those around her.

Pray for the refugee believers that they will be bold but that God will protect them. Being persecuted for their faith is a very real possibility for them both in being ostracized by their friends and in physical harm. Because of this many refugees struggle with fear. Recently a man who had asked a lot of questions and taken quite a bit of literature brought it back to our Afghan team mate and told him sadly - "I cannot keep these. Others have seen them and have threatened me and I am afraid" Pray for Satan to be bound, pray against the spirit of fear and pray for protection for those who continue to believe and to seek.

Pray for the team here as we go through a period of transition. Pray for Kent as the new team leader. Pray for the country of Greece and our brothers and sisters here who are hurting. Pray that God will continue to provide for the work here. Thank you for being part of our team. Thank you for being faithful and for all that you do for us. We love you and could not do it without you.

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 :)