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:
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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 :)