Morley Update 2012 #18

Everyone,

It has been a good week. On Friday night we hosted our community group at our house. We used to have this group in our home once or twice a month but it has been several months since I felt well enough to attend, let alone cook and host. We had 8 refugee guys plus Scott, Kent and I. One of the men's wife and daughter usually come but were unable to make it on Friday. Before dinner we sat around and shared our "highs" and "lows" for the last week. One of the guys shared that his high and low was the same thing - The men he lives with are strong Muslims and often give him a hard time about being a Christian - even threatening to make him leave and live on the streets again. He said that is a "low" but it is also a "high" because when they do that it gives him a chance to share with these men about what he believes. He has been beaten up for being a Christian but he still says with a smile on his face, " I love to tell others about Jesus". Several of the lows concerned having no papers and no job, an increasingly desperate situation for many refugees here in Greece. As the economy worsens even guys that could find work before are without jobs. Pray those who are seeking a "Red Card" (the paper that lets them stay here legally while they are being processed) and also for those who are without work.

On Saturday some friends from America arrived. Ryan and Callie McFadden are here for a week or so using us for a base and spending some time seeing Greece. When they leave here they will unpack their tandem bike, which takes up two suitcases and they will be biking across Europe for a few months.

Tuesday I went in to work for the first time since I have been sick. It was good to be back although I realized I am maybe not ready for full time yet. I was amazed at all the new faces and missing some of the ones who are gone. As usual I greeted people as they came in the door and then worked in the kids room. I had two funny conversations with two different little girls. One was at the door - a little girl wanted to hang out with me and she kept saying things to me in Farsi. After she had tried saying several things and I had answered each time in English she looked up at me and said "FARSI!". Later in the day I was coloring with a little girl. Every so often she would tap me on the arm and say "Excuse me" in English and then say something in Farsi. I would tell her in English that I didn't know what she was saying but of course she couldn't understand. Finally after this happened several times, I said "Na fahmee dam" which mean in Farsi "I don't understand". She sighed and then began speaking Farsi again - this time very loudly and very slowly!

Kent has been having three people in his English class but on Tuesday he only had one guy so they started chatting. The young man speaks English pretty well and had come to the Saturday seekers class that Kent taught last Saturday. Kent asked him what he thought about that and about Jesus. He said "I love Jesus and I like to know more about the Bible". He told Kent a bit of his story. He was born in Afghanistan but has been on his own since 8 years old when the Taliban slit his father, mother and little sister's throats in front of him. He was in Iran for a time and worked sewing pockets on shirts - however most of his money was extorted from him by a taxi driver and others who threatened to send him back to Afghanistan if he didn't give them his money. He finally made his way here but of course has no papers and no legal status. He thinks is 20 years old but is not sure. After he and Kent talked for a while longer and he said "I like to study English but it would be all right with me if we just studied the Bible". Kent plans to get together with him on a regular basis and do just that. Please pray for this young man and for Kent as he tries to carve out time to get together with him.

Recently a couple of our teammates started a study with a few of the women. One of them reads her Bible at night by the light of her husband's cell phone because the people they live with are strong Muslims and don't want her to study the Bible. One of them took a Bible for her husband as well because he told her "You go and learn and then come home and teach me". Pray for these women. Our friend "Z" is doing the translating for this study - continue to pray for her as she is still on a journey toward faith herself.

Our Afghan team mate "A" is in the states this month but God has blessed us with several translators. "J" who I mentioned last week and another man from our community group who translated for Kent when he preached on Tuesday. It is great to see more and more refugee believers stepping up to be open about their faith and helping in the ministry. Pray for these guys. They risk persecution and ostracism for their faith.

Thank you for your continued prayers and partnership with us in this ministry. Please continue to pray for Greece as a country. As you may have heard there is essentially no government in Greece at this time - the acting prime minister is a judge who will serve until elections in mid June. It is looking more likely that Greece will not be able or willing to meet the austerity measures put up by the EU and may be forced to withdraw from the European Union altogether. Many Greeks are suffering financially and are feeling more hopeless as time goes on. In the midst of this Greek churches are beginning to reach out to their neighbors in need. Pray for the country of Greece and pray for the Christians here in Greece. How all of this will affect us personally and the ministry is not clear at this time but likely the main affect will be financial and what that will look like we won't know until it happens. However, this is God's work and we are confident He will provide. Know that we are safe and well and glad to be about the Lord's business. We do miss you, our family and friends, but are glad we are joined together in this work. 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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