Morley Update 2013 #9

Everyone,

I am writing this from my hospital bed but thankfully I will go home today. I have had a couple of toes that were discolored and not looking too good for some time and I kept putting off getting to the doctor because it seemed like there was always something going on and it wasn't convenient. Finally I got an appointment for this Monday with an Internist that I had not seen before. Our team mate Christy was at the house meeting with Kent that morning and when she went to leave she asked if I would be at the ARC the next day for Farsi Family Meal and Outreach since I had been sick a couple of days with a cold that the team and the refugees are passing around. I said I planned to be there, then I laughed and said "Unless the doctor puts me in the hospital for my TOES!" haha

When we got to the doctor it turned out that he was a wonderful Christian man who is a friend of several of our team mates. In fact he is going to be volunteering with another ministry at their new clinic. Anyway he looked at my toes and said "I am not liking what I am seeing. These are blood clots in your toes and the most likely cause is an infection in your heart and you must be in the hospital. I want you to see your rheumatologist TODAY and if he doesn't think it is something else you should go to the hospital." I didn't get out of the rheumatologist's office until after 10pm so they said I could wait and come to the hospital the next morning. So BOTH Kent and I missed work that day.

After two days and MANY tests of my heart and my vascular system they decided that the clots in my toes are not from anything going on with either one. It is likely just poor circulation due to my immune disorder and will be controlled by adjusting my blood thinner. For the next month I am back on the anti coagulant injections twice a day for a month and then they will decide what to do about my long term blood thinner. I was worried when he said they would see me in a month because that is only two weeks before we plan to leave for the states but I told him our travel plans and dates and that I HAD to be able to go to my daughter's wedding (not to mention my father-in-law's wedding as well!) He said "Of course, of course we will get you healthy and strong by then." So of all the serious things it COULD have been it was really not too bad. My doctor said after he saw me tomorrow around 11 and my rheumatologist saw me at noon I could go home.

I know many of you on our church prayer chain or who are on facebook with me were praying. Thank you so much.

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 select US, Select What do you want to do, Select Give
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 2013 #8

Everyone - it has been a little crazy around here and I just realized I hadn't sent out my update which I normally do Thursday morning and it is Friday evening. I will just tell you one quick story and then give you an update on Dr. Joseph and attach a letter he asked us to forward to all those who have prayed for him and his family.

The story. On Tuesday in the kids room we had the story of Noah and the Ark. Our craft was a picture of an ark and the animals that they colored and cut out. Then they colored a circle which was one half the sky with clouds and rain and lightening. The other half was the sky with a rainbow and a dove with an olive branch in his mouth. We connected the circle behind the picture of the Ark with a metal brad so that you could turn the circle and have an ark with a stormy sky or an ark with a rainbow. Ritsa held up what we were going to make and turned the circle to show how the sky changed. You would have thought she had done a magic trick. The kids all gasped and then started clapping their hands. What fun!

Now on to Dr. Joseph. The people who have been keeping watch over his family felt they need until the --- to arrange safe passage to the airport for them so that is the day they will be arriving. I asked you to pray about a place for them to stay. The political party that Dr. Joseph is associated with has a house that was given to them which no one has been living in. They told Dr. Joseph he and his family could use it for as long as they were in Greece. Scott McCracken also received funds covering their airline tickets here and living expenses for several months - God is Good. I am not attaching Dr. Joseph's letter here because I wasn't sure I should put it on a public forum. Thanks for understanding.

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 select US, Select What do you want to do, Select Give
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 2013 #7

Everyone -

Sorry I didn't get this out yesterday - we had friends in for dinner and I decided to cook Chinese - it was fun but I spent most of the day chopping vegetables! The weather here has turned cloudy and gray with bursts of heavy rain. Wednesday Kent spent the day doing what we call IMs. This is a time for team members to get together with Kent one on one and share how they are feeling about ministry and life in general. IM stands for Individual Meeting but Kent is fond of making up other acronyms for it. This week due to some differences of opinion, he was afraid it would stand for Irritated Members but all is well. We are so blessed to serve with this team! He took the car in the morning so he could park near the metro since he was afraid he would get wet taking the bike. Of course when he got to the metro he couldn't find any place to park within several blocks. Just as he left the car it opened up and poured. He said he was soaked by the time he got to the Starbucks to start his day of meetings. He sat through the first meeting with his feet freezing in his wet socks and shoes. After the first meeting was over he ran to a nearby shop and bought some dry socks. I got soaked doing my laiki shopping yesterday and it looks like I might get wet on my walk today. Good thing we are from Oregon, although we have become so used to the sun our webbed feet have almost disappeared.

HERE IS A BIG PRAISE if you haven't already heard it. In an amazing turn about for the Ambassador of Greece, Dr. Joseph's wife and children have their Visas to come and will be reunited soon here in Athens after 4 harrowing years! On Tuesday we were chopping salad at the ARC when Kent's phone rang and he stepped away to answer. When he returned he was crying and shared the good news. Please continue to pray for the family's safety as they leave the country and for the process of becoming a family unit again. Dr. J's wife and children have been in hiding for four years, moving from place to place to keep ahead of the Taliban. There have been many tragedies and near tragedies during this time. When Dr. J left thinking he would only be going to Greece for a conference, his little boy was a baby and his girl was 2 years old. Now they are 4 and 6 and will need to get to know their father all over again. His wife has been under a great deal of strain as you can imagine so it will take time to adjust to feeling safe and trusting again. Also pray that Dr. J will get settled in a place where they can live. Right now he is in a small room at a nursing home where he takes care of patients in return for his room and board. He will need to move to something larger for the whole family. Thank you to all of you who have faithfully prayed for this dear brother over the years.

Kent has a girlfriend - her name is Ellena and I don't mind a bit. We have a single woman "A" who has a little girl Ellena, who is a toddler and an older boy. Kent of course loves kids and is partial to little girls having had three of our own. He has charmed many a small child who was a bit shy with his "electric finger". He holds out one finger and waits - when the child touches it he jumps and goes "zzzzztt". They find this very amusing and non- threatening. He started doing this with Ellena when he first met her - now she is his girl. On Tuesday when "A" walked in with the kids one of the other guys on the team took Ellena - she immediately started crying and wanted her mom. "A" took her back and then saw Kent standing across the room - she pointed him out to Ellena and she immediately wanted down and ran to him with her arms outstretched. "G" our Afghan friend and helper tried to take a picture with his phone but Ellena kept hiding her head. I am attaching a picture anyway. Kent is such a good example to the refugees of a Godly man. Especially the women are impressed that he is so kind and caring. Often their experience with men (fathers, brothers, uncles and even their husbands) has not been positive. As one refugee said to me when she saw Kent rocking a baby at a clothing give away - "He good husband, good father"..... and a good grandpa too!



Yesterday was Valentines Day and I am again so thankful for my husband. He is not only a good husband but he leads the team here with wisdom and patience. He is almost always able to see the positive in people and circumstances and brings peace and calmness in the midst of turmoil. Continue to pray for our team as we look at personnel changes and covering areas of ministry while we are away. As we have said we will be in the USA for 6 months starting mid April. We are available to speak, share and help out wherever we can. We will be in southern CA for the month of May and in OR/WA with a possible trip to WY from June through early September. We will likely make a quick few day stop in Chicago on our way to MA and will be in MA from mid to late Sept through mid Oct. If you would like to have us share with your church, small group or ??? just let us know and we will try to schedule you. Thank you all again for your unfailing 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@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 2013 #6

Everyone,
I am amazed each week at how time seems to be whizzing by. I can't believe we are into February already. The weather here has turned sunny and warm and we are enjoying being outside. I shared this on Facebook but for those of you who didn't see that I thought I would share it again. After all my health issues in 2012 I decided to make getting healthier one of my goals for 2013. One of the things I decided to do was to add a brisk walk to my daily routine. I'm not very fast and I only go about a mile but it's a start. As I started out today wearing a bright blue tank top I definitely stood out from the Greeks bundled in their heavy coats and sweaters. My route includes a hill and about 1/2 way up it I met an older lady. Greeks do not usually greet people they don't know so I didn't really pay much attention as I approached. As she drew even with me she raised her hand and made a circling gesture that is very common. It usually means something like "I don't believe it but what can you do?" I looked at her expecting to be scolded for not having a coat but instead she nodded and said "Bravo sou" (Good for you). Just the boost up the hill I needed!

Our week was much the usual routine. I spent much of my time working on short term team and interns emails. We have 11 teams scheduled for the rest of this year as well as local volunteers and interns. It takes quite a bit of correspondence for each team, as well as planning schedules etc. I was at the ARC for family meal day on Tuesday and it was a good day. The kids had the story of Cain and Abel. Their culture is very much about retaliation and keeping the upper hand, so it was a good chance to talk with them about taking responsibility for our own mistakes and not striking out at others when we are unhappy. The craft they made was very cute but included a lot of cutting and gluing - I made the comment at one point that I wished I had been able to go to kindergarten so my cutting skills would have been better but that they didn't have kindergarten when I was small. One of our Greek volunteers said "Did they have scissors?" This is the kind of abuse I have to put up with daily!

Yesterday at our team meeting we began the discussion of how we will do ministry in the near future. D and A will be transitioning to work most of the time in Patra which means our two main Farsi speakers will be away most of the time. One of our team mates who has been going back and forth to Canada in an attempt to satisfy visa requirements was stopped at the border and informed she could not return for at least 3 months. She is married to an Iranian and they are trying to get papers for him to immigrate to Canada and how this will affect her being able to return at all we are not sure. Kent and I will be leaving mid April for our six month Home Assignment which is two more people gone and will unfortunately leave the team a bit short handed. We have teams and volunteers coming in to help as well as several people in the process of joining the team so please be praying for their support, visas and God's timing. We take comfort in the fact that God is not upset by all of this but is busy working out His plans. We have committed as a team to pray about any changes to schedule etc that God might have for us before jumping into anything. Please join us in asking the Lord to lead.

As Kent and I prepare to be in the US for 6 months starting in mid April, we are looking for chances to share about our work with refugees and to connect with our supporting churches and new churches as well. If you are part of a church or small group that would like to schedule a time to have us share please let us know. We will be spending the first month being a part of our daughter's wedding and also Kent's father's wedding but will be in the Oregon/Washington area June through August and maybe into September. We will be in the Hemet/Moreno Valley area for most of May. Let us know if you would like us to speak or serve in some way.

As always we thank the Lord for you and for you continual 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@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 :)