Morley Update 2013 #25

Everyone,




We spent the last week resting and spending time reconnecting with family. On Monday the 12th we joined Kent's dad Charles and his wife Lee, and sister Nadene and her husband Don, in a house up on the Little North Fork of the Santiam River. It's a large house with a deck overlooking the creek below. Thursday we were joined by our sister in law Barb, her son Seth and his wife Christi along with their two children Ivy and Isaiah. Our daughter Katie and our son Ben also joined us that night. Friday our niece Tammy came and Saturday Katie's boyfriend John arrived. On Sunday afternoon there was an influx of another aunt and uncle and 5 more cousins for the afternoon. Since there was no internet we spent the time playing family games, hiking to waterfalls, swimming, reading and having a family sing along. We have a weird family tradition of singing "Rocky Top" on Christmas. I know this is not your typical Christmas song but then we are definitely not your typical family. We broke tradition this year and sang Rocky Top along with old Gospel with some Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash and even a little Elton John thrown in. I love being a part of this crazy, fun loving, close knit family I married into.



After we left the house there on Monday the 19th we drove 1/2 hour to where my brother's family had joined together with another family who are close friends for their own mini reunion. We were just going to pop in to say hello but they talked us in to spending the night. There were 7 kids under the age of 6 in the house when everyone was there. I especially enjoyed visiting with my little great nieces from England and listening to their adorable British accents. I had a chance for a good talk with my niece from England and another chance to sit and chat with my other niece from Portland who I have seen but haven't had one on one time with - both of them are beautiful wives and mothers. Kent spent much of his time out in the boat with my brother water skiing. He had a great time but did ask after we got home where the Advil was so I think he found a few muscles he hadn't used in a while.



We are now settled back in at Veneta and will stay put for a little while - YAY! We are speaking at Bethany Church in Franklin on Sunday. In Greece most of the team is away in Germany for the International Teams European Conference. Pray that the team will be able to connect with some of our refugee friends who have moved on to Germany while they are there. Pray that the team will be rested and refreshed by their time away. Our new teammates have moved into our house in Greece and are getting settled. Please pray from them as they get the kids registered in school, find an apartment, and get moved, decide on a language school etc. They have been serving for the last 4 years in Afghanistan so already speak Dari but want to learn Greek. Because they are EU citizens they do not need to go through the process of getting a resident permit etc. which is a big load off their plate but there will still be plenty of adjustments. Since they lived with us for a week and a half this spring they at least know how to get around the city and where the shops are etc. Time is flying by and we can't believe it near the end of August already. Thank you all for your prayers and support during our home assignment. We have so enjoyed getting to see some of you and hope to see more of you in the coming weeks. 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 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 #24

Everyone,



Just a quick update. We had a lovely week last week. We stayed in Turner OR in a little Apartment provided for us on the Convention Grounds. In the Evenings we were the Mission Speakers at Vacation Bible School. Kent taught the adult class and together we gave a 15 minute presentation to the kids and adults each night. An offering was collected that we will take with us when we return to Greece and buy food for a grocery give away - it was a small VBS but they raised 300 dollars.



Because we were doing a new presentation each night it kept me hopping to find new ways to present what we were doing. On the last night we played a Refugee Game. We had a Boy and a Girl represent the two teams. Their starting scenario was this:
Girl: You are a 12 year old girl and so you are not allowed to go to school past 5th grade. Soon you will be sold to marry an older man. Your mother decides to take you and your sisters and run away
Boy: Your family is accused of working against the government and now the Taliban is trying to put you in prison or kill your whole family. Your family decides to leave.
The game was played by taking turns choosing box #1 or box #2. These were up on the screen and were revealed after they were chosen. The choices were things like:
1) You have enough money to pay a smuggler to take you out of the country – ahead 1 space/ You don’t have money for a smuggler so go into hiding – stay where you are

2) Your father finds a little work so you can buy food to feed your family – ahead 1 space/ Without work your family is hungry and you must look for food in the garbage cans along the street – stay where you are

3) In Athens you are living in the park, it is cold and you are frightened because some nights men come to the park and begin to beat any refugees they find – back 1 space/ You found a room to share with two other families – it is crowded and dirty but at least you are off the street and safe at night. – ahead 1 space.

4) You hear about a place called Helping Hands and go there – ahead 1 space/ You try to get help but most people turn you away telling you that they don’t want you and to go back where you came from – back 1 space

5) At Helping Hands you get to take a shower and wash your clothes – ahead 1 space/ You have no where to take a bath and your clothes are dirty and smelly – back 1 space

6) You talk to the people at Helping Hands and they tell you how much God loves you and they teach you to pray – ahead 1 space/ You don’t feel like anyone loves you and you have no one to talk to – back 1 space

These are just a few of the choices but you get the idea. The last choice was this:

You finally get asylum and go to another country – Go to the finish/ You are denied asylum and sent back to your country – Back to the beginning.



At first it seemed a little mean to have the whole game win or lose hang on the last question but this is the reality of being a refugee. We have known refugees who have made it to a new country. They found a job, got an apartment, made a life and a year later were picked up for not having the proper papers and sent back to Greece where they had nothing.



Since the VBS was in the evening this left us with the day free (once we had our lessons prepared) to relax. One day we went to Silver Creek Falls a lovely state park with 10 different water falls - I hiked to 4 of them - Kent did all 10. Another day we did a little shopping and then met some friends who live in the area for a long lunch. One day we took our great niece and nephew to lunch and then out to see an animated film. It was a good week. We are back in Veneta for a few days before we go back to the Salem area to spend a few days staying at a house up on the Santiam with some of our family. There will be 19 of us for 4 days so it should be a great time. The team is Greece is getting ready to be closed for 2 weeks as most of the team heads to Germany to attend the International Teams Convention. It will also be a chance to connect with a few refugee friends who have moved on to that area. Pray for them - I know the team is tired and in need of a break. Thank you for your continued prayers and 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 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 #23

Everyone,



I have found it is much easier to keep up with my weekly updates when we are in a regular routine. Sorry they have been a bit sporadic. Since I last wrote we spent some time with Willamette Christian Church in West Linn who have been faithful supporters from the beginning of our ministry. We met with their missions team, got to share with their leadership and join them for their morning prayer session and do a small group presentation in the evening. They also graciously printed up some prayer cards that we needed for our time at Week of Missions.



After a week spent at home working on presentations for a VBS and making a backdrop for Week of Missions as well as seeing a few friends, we left last Saturday and headed to the Salem area. We attended a school reunion for Kent on Saturday and attended church with friends in Salem on Sunday morning. We then drove an hour and a half over to the coast to set up our display at Winema Week of Missions. This is a big conference that is held every year at the coast which focuses on missions and brings together missionaries from all over to share what God is doing in the world. We set up our display and then headed back to Salem again to speak at Turner Christian Church for their evening service. This church is always a joy to speak at because many of the congregation are retired ministers, missionaries, bible professors or other people who were in full time Christian service - talk about preaching to the choir! They are always so encouraging and engaged in what we are doing.



After the service we drove back to the coast in time to climb into our bunk for the night. We spent the week listening to speakers, networking with other missionaries and sharing about our work with anyone who was interested. What we DIDN'T spend our time doing was walking on the beach in the sunshine. It was cloudy and cold all week and even drizzled several times. The only afternoon it was sunny at all was the afternoon that we were scheduled to give a presentation in the small chapel during the afternoon free time. The leader stood up to dismiss people and said "Get out there and enjoy the sun this afternoon because this is the only break we are supposed to get. For those interested Kent and Myrna Morley will be presenting their work in the chapel at 2:00." We learned a long time ago not to worry about how many people come to a presentation. Our job is to be there and share and God is able to bring the people in that he wants to hear.



A highlight of the week for us was that one of the main speakers was Fouad Masri the author of the Bridges series on How to Reach Muslims. We had been led through this series by a team mate who had taken the class in Spain. Fouad is from Lebanon and is a real ball of fire for the Lord. He was very encouraging to us in our work and is sending us materials to use in training our team. He also has said that he would like to visit us in Greece and see the work there for himself and to be an encouragement to the team.



We are back in Veneta for one day doing laundry and repacking our suitcase. We will be leaving in the morning to be in the Salem area next week as we participate in a VBS at Turner Christian Church. It is an evening VBS and we will be the missionary speakers and Kent will also be teaching the adult class.



News from Greece: The summer programs are in full swing. We have two interns as well as a short term team from Omaha in Greece at this time. Muslims are still celebrating Ramadan (July8-Aug 7). This is a time when they are fasting and seeking God. It is a time of spiritual warfare especially for new believers. Several men in the discipleship class reported feeling a lack of mental clarity and struggling with fatigue more than usual. Pray for protection for believers. This is also a time when God often uses dreams to speak to Muslim people. Pray that for those who are genuinely seeking truth, God will reveal himself to them.



Please pray for our friend "Ch". He is the young blind man we have shared about. Recently someone stole his keys and he was locked out of his house for two days. A friend looked through the window and everything in the house had been stolen including his laptop. One of our team mates has been working on getting him some software for the blind and it is supposed to be arriving in August. The team will be meeting with him to see how we can help.



I was encouraged in reading the last team meeting notes at how many Bible studies are happening. There is a seeker/believers class on Friday after tea house, a discipling class for new believers on Monday and Thursday (in cooperation with two other ministries), there is the men's question and answer time on Wednesday afternoon, and two women's bible studies on Thursdays one in the mornings and one in the afternoons. There is also a group that meets after the International Christian Fellowship Church on Sunday to discuss the sermon and worship and fellowship in Farsi - a couple of our team is involved in this. God is at work in Greece - His Word is going our and it will not return empty! Thank you for joining with us and with God in this work.




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 :)