Morley Update 2012 #42

Everyone,

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Monday of this week we had planned to take some friends down the coast to see Sounio but they called in the morning to say that she was sick. That meant we had that rare commodity of a free day. We decided to do our Christmas decorating. Now for some that doesn't seem like a day's work but when you take into account that we have five big tubs of Christmas decorations plus a couple of boxes you can see why we need a day. We both enjoy decorating and I especially like opening my nativities (I have 11 of them). Our tree is decorated with ornaments that Kent and I made together - hand painted balls, tassel angels and gold and silver bows. Our tree has always been decorated with items we made ourselves but a few years ago when all the kids were out of our house I made them take all the tacky styrofoam, clay, felt and paper ornaments and decided I was going to have my dream tree. We still hang Frosty and Chrystal on the tree and the Santa mobile Katie made in the 4th grade hangs in our entryway. Kent has the styrofoam Caroler and Snowman we made the first year we were married (almost 40 years ago) on his desk. He is more sentimental than I am. When we finished the house was beautiful. I got out my Christmas music and played the keyboard and the only thing missing was our family.

Yesterday was a day of decorating again as the team gathered to Deck the ARC and get ready for our Christmas parties next week. We put up our 6 Christmas trees, hung stars and snowflakes from the ceiling, made a backdrop for family pictures and put up wreaths and lights galore. We practiced singing our Christmas song in Farsi and set up tables ready for gift packing on Monday. We will have 5 parties next week. Four of them are for people from our meal days and waiting list. One of them is a believers party for those who have come to faith in Jesus. Please pray for the team as we enter this hectic time - there is a nasty cold/flu making the rounds so pray that we all stay healthy. Also pray for the puppet presentation - Here is a short synopsis of the story: Joseph and Mary went on a long journey and were very tired - you (our refugee friends) have been on a long journey too. When Mary and Joseph got to where they were going they couldn't find a place to stay - many of you arrived here and couldn't find a place. Maybe you even slept outside. Mary and Joseph stayed in a stable and Jesus didn't even have a bed but slept in the cow trough - some of you are worried about how to provide for your children. Then an angel came and told Joseph that a bad king wanted to kill all the little boys and that he should take Mary and Jesus and flee to another country until the bad king died - Jesus was a refugee. Jesus knows what it is like to leave your home, to travel a long way, to not have a house, and to live in another country because your own country is not safe. He loves you very much. Christmas time is a time to remember when Jesus came down from heaven as a baby. This is a powerful message for these people who have been through so much.

After the puppet show Kent will be sharing an object lesson. He will have a gift box and talk about how Jesus is God's gift to us. Then he will open the box and take out a candle - Jesus is the light of the world. Bread - Jesus is the bread of life. Water - Jesus is the living water. He will talk briefly about what each of these things means to us. Pray that the message will be received and understood.

For each of the refugee parties a local church is coming to help. They are providing the food, decorations and helping to serve and clean up. Pray for these churches that God will bless them for their generosity and that those who come to help will have their eyes opened in a new way toward refugees.

As always we are thankful for our larger team of supporters. This last week we had a team from Omaha NE who came to serve. They were such a blessing to us. They truly had servant's hearts and no matter what we asked them to do they did it cheerfully and well. The church they come from is called Glad Tidings and I think it is so fun that they have chosen to come help us each of the last three years at Christmas.

As you prepare for the Christmas season I pray you have time midst the busyness to think about what God's gift of Jesus means to you. I also pray that you will be sensitive to those around you who are walking in the darkness and searching for the light. I pray that you're eyes will be opened to those who are hungry spiritually and you will offer them the bread of life. I pray that you will see those who are trying in vain to quench their thirst with what this world has to offer and that you will share the living water with them and they will be satisfied. We love you all.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: 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 #41

Everyone -
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I am thankful for many things - for family and friends all over the world. For my comfortable home, for food on the table and clothes on my back (and front). I am thankful that I have always lived where I could worship as I chose and where I could have an education. I am thankful I was allowed to marry the man of my choice - and what a good choice he turned out to be! I am thankful that God has allowed Kent and I to be here in this place, at this time, with these people. That means I am thankful for you because it is only through your generosity that we are able to serve.

It was a BUSY but nice week. We had a couple staying with us for almost 2 weeks that were here to teach a leadership seminar that Scott McCracken was facilitating. That seminar lasted 8 days and finished last Thursday night. On Friday Kent went to work at the men's meal day and then came home to pick up Hank and Cathy and I to head for a retreat center near the sea about an hour away. We were attending a marriage seminar (lead by Hank and Cathy) for some believer refugee couples. There were three couples from Afghanistan/Iran and one couple from Ethiopia/Eritrea. Our team mates Carolyn and Ebi (she is Canadian - he is Iranian) and Scott rounded out the group. It was a good weekend with teaching times, but fun times of playing games, walking on the beach and sharing meals together as well. I knew some of the women to speak to - if you can call saying Salam and Koubi (hello and how are you) speaking. Because "V" one of the men serves as a translator for us at the ARC he was able to do the translating for the weekend. That meant that for the first time I got to hear a little more from these women about what they think and feel and also to hear their sense of humor. I always enjoy laughing with refugee friends. Their lives are so difficult and often after an event someone will say "It has been a long time since I laughed and it felt so good". I left after the weekend feeling much closer to these women and when I saw them on Tuesday the smiles were warmer and the hugs tighter as we remembered our good time together.

The marriage retreat ended Sunday morning and we got home around noon. I immediately went to the kitchen to mix up roll dough, make cheese dip and fix veggies for our Team Thanksgiving which was happening that afternoon. At 4:00 we gathered at the Dirrim's house to enjoy a traditional turkey dinner. There were around 25 people present. We cooked three turkeys because the largest turkey you can get here, IF you can find it, is about 8-10 pounds. It was a nice evening of food and fellowship.

Monday morning Kent took Cathy and Hank to the airport and I finished putting together some short term team manuals and cleaning the house. At 4:00 we left to go to the airport and pick up a short term team from Omaha NE. Since it was the 19th (an odd numbered day) this meant that we could not take them directly into town to their hotel because our license plate is even numbered. In Athens you can only drive in town on odd or even numbered days depending on your license number. Since we couldn't take them into town until after 8pm we brought them to the house and did their orientation here. Doing orientations for short term teams is always interesting because they have been on a plane for hours and have had little or no sleep. Then you sit them down on a comfortable couch and begin to go through an orientation manual with them. It is inevitable that eyes begin to droop. I try to be animated but often have to stop and let people get up and walk around in order to wake up. After we finished orientation we ordered Gyros and they had their first taste of Greek food. At 8:30 Kent left to take them in to town to their hotel.

Tuesday is family meal day. At 8am we got a call from Nikos our Greek director saying he was at the ARC and the police had our Stoa (alleyway) blocked off and were investigating a break in from the night before. Several cars had windows smashed and one of the little shops had been broken into. The big gate which had been down was wrenched off it's track. We didn't know how long the police would be there but knew that no refugees would enter if police were around. Kent and I left early and headed in to the ARC to see what the situation was. By the time we got there the police had gone and the shop owners were fixing the gate and sweeping up the glass. We decided we could go ahead as usual. It was a busy day with lots of kids in the kids room to hear the bible story and make the craft. When we finished, and the floors were swept and mopped, the short term team unpacked the suitcases of medicines, craft supplies etc. that they had brought. We got everything put away before we headed home.

Wednesday was a team meeting day and Kent and I arrived early to get the short term team started on their work projects. They had a busy morning sorting Christmas donations and cleaning our baby room from top to bottom and washing all the toys. The long term team spent much of our meeting finishing last minute details for our Christmas parties which are only a week and a half away. After the meeting we ran home to get food ready for team fellowship that night and I headed out for another meeting about Christmas parties. The short term team blessed us by providing chicken for our meal that evening and leading us in a fun team building game. By the time we got home at 9:30 that night I was TIRED. Pray for our team over the next couple of weeks. In addition to our regular program next week we all have things to prepare for the Christmas parties. Kent and I are in charge of the program this year. I need to get the puppets ready and rework the script. He needs to prepare the object lesson he is going to give. I also need to prepare some kind of back drop for out family portrait room at the parties and get my elf costume out and make sure it is ready to go. Others on the team are shopping, preparing music, giving out tickets etc etc. It is a hectic, crazy but rewarding time of the year.

I want to thank those of you who gave money for Christmas or sleeping bags. Due to the economic crisis in Greece (and elsewhere) we found not only monetary donations to be down this year but we didn't get as many donations of gift items either. This means more for us to buy. We spent yesterday making some decisions about gift bags and leaving out some items we had planned to include in order to come in under our budget. We are SO thankful for local churches who are sponsoring parties and providing the food and we are thankful for the donations that we did receive. We will still be able to give a memorable evening to our refugee friends. I also mentioned those of you who gave for sleeping bags. A group of our men headed to Patras today with a van full of sleeping bags to give to the men sleeping outside in this port city. About 30 men have been coming to the bible study they are helping to lead in a local Greek church. We will also do a sleeping bag give away here in Athens as well as hand out bags to men individually as we see the need. Thank you for helping to make both the Christmas parties and the gift of a sleeping bag possible. If you didn't have a chance to give but would like to you can follow the link at the bottom of this page under our names. Instead of designating For the Ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley be sure to designate For Helping Hands Athens Christmas or For Helping Hands Athens Sleeping Bags.

As we a coming to the close of another year we are so grateful for the wonderful extended team we have. Your financial support, prayers and letters of encouragement are SO appreciated.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: 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 #40

Everyone,

In one of the monasteries at Meteora, one of our favorite places in Greece, there is a room lined with paintings. Under these paintings are writings describing the meaning of the picture. One of my favorites is of a priest holding a tray on which he is offering cups of tea, glasses of water and some rolls. Underneath the painting it says this: "The man who opens his heart to the only Light, who is Christ, is overflowing with true joy and goodness. His heart expands, like a spacious and sweetly perfumed chamber where guests assemble; he provides hospitality to each and every brother, seeing within him the image of God. He quenches their thirst with the cool water of love, of comfort, of sacrifice, of offering. And through this blessed door of hospitality, he may come to encounter the Heavenly Gate of the Kingdom of God."

I love the part that says "he provides hospitality to each and every brother, SEEING WITHIN HIM THE IMAGE OF GOD." We have had so many people come through the doors of the home God has given us here in Athens. Women, men, children and babies. Young, old, poor and affluent. There have been friends, family, interns and refugees who have come to stay for a night or a week or a month. These rooms have echoed with the sounds of Farsi, Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Kurdish, Greek and English. They have been filled with the sound of laughter which transcends language and is a sound I love to hear. There have also been times when these walls have provided a safe place for tears as friends share the anguish of their hearts. This home has been a place where we can pray for one another and show our love and concern. We have hosted seekers, believers and skeptics. People we know and people we meet for the first time when they walk through our door. No matter who they are, where they came from or what their circumstances - they are all made in the image of God. If we can remember this how much more quickly will we open our homes and our hearts and ask people to enter.

Who in your life is in need of hospitality? Is God asking you to open your heart or your home to someone? It may be a small thing - just a cup of coffee or tea. It might be something more. Something that costs you time, money or emotional investment. Whatever it is God can use it to quench their thirst, quiet their hunger and sooth their soul. And who knows you may just bring that person to "encounter the Heavenly Gate of the Kingdom of God."

Thank you SO much for allowing us to be your hands of hospitality to the refugees in Greece. Through this ministry many have been ushered up to the Heavenly Gate and many have walked through that gate into the Kingdom of God. Pray for those who are still outside the gate. Some want to walk through but are held back by fear and doubt. Pray for them and pray for us that we will be sensitive to those around us who are in need of the "cool water of love, comfort, sacrifice and offering". We love you all and are grateful to be in this work together.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: 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 #39

Everyone,

I wanted to give you all a heads up about something that will be coming up in five months. Amazingly we have been in Greece over 4 years now. We arrived in July of 2008. In many ways it seems like we've been here forever and in many ways it seems like we've only just come. We have been through several leadership changes, with Kent now serving as the team leader. We have seen team mates and refugees come and go. We love our job and are so glad that God has called us here. However, the USA has an agreement with Greece that if you have worked in this country for 5 years you must go out of the country for 6 months or you are subject to the Greek social security system. There is some difference of opinion as to whether this would be enforced or even applies to us but International Teams has recommended that all missionaries who have been in the country for 5 years come back to the states for a 6 month "home assignment". At first we were unhappy about this because it is a long time to be away from the work. As time has gone on we have come to see that this could be a very positive period in our lives.

First of all this will allow us to reconnect with our supporting churches as well as develop relationships with new churches. We have been very fortunate to have good support but our costs continue to rise. Even though the Greek Economy is not doing well, prices for things like food and gas have skyrocketed. Our monthly insurance payment more than doubled this year and our deductible went from 1500 to 2500. Airfares continue to rise and that means we need to put away more money in anticipation of furloughs.

This time will also allow us to reconnect with family. Our parents are getting older and we look forward to spending time with them as well as our kids and grandkids. Our second daughter Becky will be getting married while we are home and we look forward to this special family event.

Being home for an extended period will allow me (Myrna) to receive some needed medical attention. I have received good care here but there are several areas where I feel I would like to get another opinion especially from someone who speaks English fluently. As you can well imagine American doctors are reluctant to see someone who will only be in the area for a week or two so being able to be around for a few months will be a big help.

We know this will be a busy time for us but in many ways there is something very relaxing about being in our home country for a while. When you live in a foreign country things are just more complicated. We realize that little things like shopping, applying for paperwork, and common everyday tasks can sometimes be tiring. As a couple we look forward to reconnecting with each other. We will have been married 40 years this next year and these last years have probably been some of the most stressful. We have had to adjust to a new culture, to being a part of a team, and to sometimes working outside our comfort zone. We are faced every day with people in tremendous need and often all we can do is listen and love them. This can be emotionally draining. My health problems over the last year have also taken their toll and we are still trying to figure it all out.

Although we will be away, through the magic of email and skype we will be able to continue to function as members of the team. Kent will be "meeting" regularly with Christy and Nikos and keeping up on leadership decisions. I will continue to facilitate short term teams and individuals by handling the correspondence while having someone here handling the "on the ground" logistics.

A big part of what we want to do while we are home is to be able to share what God is doing here in Athens. We will most likely leave here in mid April but will go to MA first. Our daughter is getting married on May 4th in Mexico. We will probably fly from there to CA to see Kent's dad and sister's family for a few days before heading on up to OR where we will be based for the next three and a half to four months. We plan to spend some time in WA connecting with supporters there and will most likely also make a trip to WY to visit a supporting church there. Over the next few months we would like to schedule as many speaking times as possible. We would also be available during the week for things like VBS, Camp, or small groups. If your church would like to have us come and speak or serve in some way please let us know. If you have a specific date you would like, let us know so we can try to coordinate our time. If you are flexible on the date and we can plug you in as our schedule forms that would be great too.

One other item, if anyone knows of an apartment or home in the Eugene OR area that would be available to rent for a low price from the Middle of May into September could you let us know the details.

I will be contacting many of you personally later on as we work on our schedule but wanted you to have a chance to process this and to plan ahead. We hope to make this a productive and beneficial time for us and for you our extended team. We love you all.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: 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 #38

Everyone,

You may remember me telling of a young woman "M". (I have edited a few details) Her landlord made life difficult for "M" and her family. Well, thankfully "M" and her family were recently able to move into a place by themselves. Although they were glad to be on their own it was difficult because they had nothing in the way of household supplies. We had a few dishes at the ARC that we were able to give them and a few other people gave them some needed items. I went home to see what I could round up and gathered some silverware, knives, cutting board, towels etc. I knew that one thing she really wanted was a big pot for cooking rice etc. I didn't have an extra so Kent and I went down to a local store and bought one. I also had a few beautiful children's quilts left that I had brought home from WA a year ago - thanks to Judy Klutt and her team of women. I had been waiting for just the right person to give them to and this was such a perfect opportunity. I put a pretty pink one in the package for Kent to take to the ARC the next day. What a blessing it turned out to be as I found out their little girl had been sleeping under the carpet at night in a effort to keep her warm. I am attaching a picture of her snuggled under her new blanket. I also had a blue blanket and found that a friend of "M's" had a little boy who was sleeping under the carpet as well so I was able to pass the blue one along to him. God is so good to provide ahead for the things we need to show love to our refugee friends and he often does that through the love and generosity of our larger team of supporters. Thank you.

It was a busier than usual week for me last week because several people on our team were away. I worked on Tuesday as I usually do, and Wednesday hosted the team meeting and team fellowship in our home. Thursday was my usual busy day of laiki and grocery shopping as well as sending out my update and catching up on some short term team stuff. Friday I spent on the couch with chills and a low grade fever. This seems to be a recurring problem. I am not sick but feel as if I am coming down with a cold or something. I feel shivery and achy. I think it is related to my arthritis which seems to be flaring a bit right now. It doesn't keep me completely down but I have been taking naps and going to bed early which is unusual for me. Anyway, I usually don't go into the ARC on Saturday as it is a very hectic day and I seem to end up with a headache and am very worn out by the time I get home. However, this Saturday we were very short handed so I said I would head up the children's room that day. For the craft I had made little booklets out of copy paper and divided some foam stickers of animals that we had into envelopes to hand out to the children. The envelopes were to eliminate fighting over which animals they got. The booklets were a hit and they enjoyed drawing pictures to complete the pages where they placed the animal stickers. Much to my surprise, the envelopes themselves were an even bigger hit! Usually most of the kids leave their craft in the room hanging on the wall but many of the kids took theirs home by slipping them inside of the envelopes. They decorated them and found other things to put inside as well. It always amazes me that something simple that we take for granted is often a treasure to someone else.

Tuesday in the kids room we made a craft of a paper basket with five loaves and two fish. In the past we cut out the craft items ahead of time but realized that cutting was a skill these kids needed to learn so have had them cutting out their own projects. Although this sometimes requires us to tape pictures back together when someone misunderstands instructions, it is good to see the kids being more independent. Tuesday I was pleased to see that after we helped the older ones understand how to assemble their baskets, they in turn helped the younger ones with theirs. Not only are they learning motor skills like cutting, but they are learning responsibility and service as well.

The weather here has turned a bit cooler. Although yesterday was sunny and warm, today the sky is grey and it looks as if it may rain. We have talked about getting some wood so we will be ready when we need a fire. We enjoy the cooler weather and snuggling down under a blanket or eating a bowl of hot soup. For many of our refugee friends however the cooler weather means that their already difficult lives become that much more difficult. Often they are sleeping outdoors or if they have shelter it is sometimes in an abandoned building with no heat. Every winter we hand out sleeping bags and plan to do so this year. This is an expense outside our regular budget and any money that comes in designated for Christmas that we do not use for our Christmas parties will be used to buy sleeping bags. You can also make a donation directly for sleeping bags by clicking on this link www.iteams.org/us Please give to Helping Hands Athens and designate for Sleeping Bags. Each sleeping bag cost around 15 dollars or 12 euros. If you would prefer to give my mail you can send a check to: International Teams 411 W. River Rd.
Elgin, IL 60123 again designate for Helping Hands Athens Sleeping Bags.

As always we are thankful for you, our larger team as we strive together to be faithful to the work that God has given 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@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: 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 :)