morley update

Everyone,




Exciting news! As of this week Kent and I are homeowners - at least for the next few months. We have purchased our first "fixer upper" and hope to have it fixed and back on the market in a few months. It is in the River Rd. area near my parents home and the work needed is mostly work that Kent and I can do ourselves. One nice thing about this house is that there was a recent "add on" in the form of making over the third bay of the garage into a family room with a half bath and laundry area. Since this is new we won't have to do much to it and will be able to move into this area while we are tearing up the rest of the house. We will not have a kitchen but will have a microwave, our gas grill which has a burner, a toaster, coffee pot and crock pot. We should do just fine with that as well as an inexpensive refrigerator which we hope to find to put in the garage. We are also going to get a used washer and dryer and we will be all set. We are excited to begin this new chapter in our lives and plan to move in on Dec. 19th which is our projected closing date. Our furniture is still bobbing about on the ocean somewhere and we do not know for sure when it will arrive - most of it will be stored in a shop building on some friends property but it would be nice to have a bed before we move - please pray for the timing in all of this.




We spent the last couple of days scouring the ads in Craigslist for the Portland down to Eugene area looking for good deals on tools that we will need. When we moved to Greece Kent sold most of his tools except for some small hand tools so we are starting from scratch. We found some pretty good deals and yesterday by the time we came home our little Saturn VUE was packed to the gills. Believe it or not we had in the back, an air compressor, a large wheel barrow, a lawn mower, and a bunch of garden tools like a weed eater, shovels, rakes etc. Luckily at one place we also bought some big tarps. Too bad we don't still have our roof rack made out of the wire storage shelves that we had on our little Polo in Greece. We could have just strapped everything to the top! Somehow it doesn't seem quite as "kosher" here in the USA to do something like that.




Thank you for continuing to pray for us and for continuing with your faithful support. We are looking forward to getting busy with this next phase of our lives and seeing what other doors God opens up for us. We love you all.








Serving Him Together,

Kent and Myrna Morley
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

Morley Update

Everyone,



We are now back on the west coast and trying to settle into our new life whatever that looks like. At this time we are still living in a condo in Portland belonging to our son-in-law's family. We hope to settle in the Eugene area and have begun looking at houses in this area. We are hoping to find a house to buy that needs work and our plan is to fix it up and sell it using the profit to invest in another house. We are hoping to do this as a business perhaps doing 2-3 house a year. We are not sure yet whether we will try to live in the house we are rehabbing or whether we may buy a camp trailer or motor home to live in on site.



As far as my health goes we are just continuing on as planned. I have kept dropping my prednisone dosage and just dropped to 5mg a day. I am hoping that with this lower dose I will be able to shed some of the weight I put on and that perhaps my eyesight in my good eye may clear. My doctor is pleased with my blood levels so we will just keep on until we have another Rituxan treatment in January and then scans of my lungs and kidneys in February. I also saw the ophthalmologist who recommended that I get glasses both to help with my eyesight which he is not sure will clear even with getting off the prednisone and also for protection for my good eye. He said often "monocular" people injure themselves because they lack peripheral vision and don't have good depth perception or balance. Add in my poor balance with my Meniere's disease and I can be pretty klutzy. I will see an specialist who works with people who have very low vision to work out the best glasses for me. The doctor feels that with glasses and with some training I should be able to drive and do some of the other things I have struggled with. I will try to keep you updated on my health and how we are settling in for the next few months. If you would prefer not to continue to receive these just let me know.



Love, Myrna (and Kent)

Last Update from Greece

Everyone,



Yesterday the walls that once rang with laughter and the sounds of Farsi, Greek and English now echoed hollowly with only our footsteps and the swish of the broom as we swept up the bits of packing paper left from the movers. As we walked through our now empty house I thought back to the fun we had painting, choosing light fixtures and dumpster diving for extra things with which to furnish our house. Some of these things, like the little tile table and big trunk from the front porch are making the journey back to America with us. I remember the day we placed the verse on our wall that said "Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations.." I believe God WAS exalted among the nations in our home. We had people from the Sudan, Nigeria, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kurdistan, Morocco as well as placed like France, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and the Czech Republic eating and staying in our home. Women and children took showers, played games, did crafts and had chances to hear about Jesus in an environment that was safe for them to ask questions. Men came to sit around our table and be fed with physical and spiritual food. They too had times to relax, to play games, to just enjoy themselves and times to hear truth and to ask questions. Prayers and songs went up in English and in Farsi. There was laughter but there were also tears as people shared the pain of separation from family and friends or the inhumane treatment they had received at the hands of evil men. In our home for a short while these men and women we able to be a peace.



We had the privilege of hosting many different interns over the years. Several of these interns have ended up on the mission field, for security I will only use initials but, "T" and "A" are in Albania, "H" is in Turkey with her husband "C", "L" is in Laos, and Lindsey just joined our team here. Many of the short term teams who came through also visited our home which gave us a chance to share our story and the stories of some of our refugee friends. I will miss communicating with interns and short term teams but am thankful for Kenn Dirrim who is doing such a great job in taking that over. God is raising up those to stand in the gap, if indeed we leave a gap. Yesterday we spent a little time with Nick and Kirsti (Sorry if I spelled that wrong) Nick has volunteered for us off and on when he was visiting here from Finland. Now they have moved here and are going to volunteer for a time with an eye to joining the team. We already know Nick and his gifts and that he will be a huge asset and after meeting Kirsti yesterday I am sad that we won't be here to serve with them - I know we would be friends. There is a couple coming from Germany to serve for six months and they will stay in an apartment that Helping Hands and 3rd Evangelical Church are going to maintain for short term workers. Some of our furniture and all of our appliances went to that apartment. Another couple on the team bought our grill and I know they will use it to cook for the team and for many refugee friends as they already are. My puppets and some of my costumes are staying behind so they can continue, as they already are, to be used in the ministry here. The new leadership team is in place and Christy who has been shouldering that burden alone will be able to take a much needed furlough at the end of November knowing that "M" and Kenn along with Nikos will be on the job.



Kent and I are both tired. We are physically tired from packing and moving boxes. My back is still bothering me. We are emotionally tired from saying goodbyes both to people and things. Kent sold his bike yesterday and our little blue car which faithfully hauled so many things, like couches and double beds, on its crazy roof rack. We had many adventure in that car traveling all over Greece. Sometimes alone and sometimes with friends. Most memorable are losing the keys for 2 hours at Corinth, losing Christy's suitcase off the roof rack on Kythnos, and our crazy trip the Methana where we got lost on back roads for hours finally arriving at the town to discover that if got it's name Methana from the Methane gas that rises from the sulfur springs which give the whole city the smell of rotten eggs. We have seen most of the people we need to and are going in to the ARC today for one last time. We will finish cleaning the house and running a few errands. Tomorrow we will be at the airport at noon to say goodbye to Greece and to begin a new chapter in our lives. We will stay with our kids and grandkids on the east coast until Nov. 4th when we will return to Portland OR. After that we are not sure how it will all work but we intend to eventually settle in the Eugene area. We will keep you posted. Again thank you for staying with us through this arduous journey. It hasn't been easy at times but we wouldn't have missed it for anything.




Serving Him Together,

Kent and Myrna Morley
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

Everyone,



Well time is flying by and we are living in the midst of boxes, boxes, boxes. We have packed most of what we can that we are not using. The cupboards in the main bathroom, the extra bedroom, the sewing/craft room and the living room are empty as well as the filing cabinet and the desk drawers. We still have kitchen stuff that we are using, our clothes and quite a bit of glassware that we didn't have boxes for to pack. We have been trying to decide between two shipping companies hoping that one of them would come down a bit in price. We were staggered at the cost of shipping our things home. We even considered just leaving everything behind but we have so many things with sentimental value like our big oak desk that was my mom's desk when dad had the logging business and then when Kent and dad went into business together, We also have the spool bed that Kent's dad slept in as a child and then Kent had and then was our first bed as a married couple. Kent has his beloved Gas pump and we have boxes of antiques some family and some that we have picked up along the way. We started adding up the cost of just shipping these things and then replacing the other furniture and we found we were pretty much at the same cost anyway so decided we just had to bite the bullet and go for it.



Last night the team had a celebration going away party for us. We were moved as people shared different things with us about ways we had touched their lives. At the end we sat in two chairs and they gathered around to pray for us. I had a flashback to 2006 when we were finishing our 3 month short term trip here. We sat in chairs then as well and the team gathered around. I remember Nikos particularly praying that God would send us back to Greece. Now 8 years later God is sending up back to America. There have been tears, ours, people on the team and refugee friends but we know that this is God's leading and His timing. We are ready to be settled and begin a new chapter in our lives. Please pray for us as we finish here. We have a busy week ahead as we see a few more people, finish packing and take care of necessary paper work (always a joy in Greece). We have sold our bike and our car and most of our furniture that we wanted to sell. We still would like to sell our two big couches but if they don't sell we will ship them home. We will go back to the condo in Portland where we were staying before we came here for a time until we find a place in the Eugene area. Please pray with us about that as we are not sure what that will look like. At this point we are planning to look for a house that needs to be refurbished and fix it up to resell. It is something we have wanted to do and we did this to our own house before we came to Greece. We had planned to try and live in the house while doing the rehab but after such a long time of living out of a suitcase are not sure we can handle living in the midst of a complete mess again. We have considered buying a larger travel trailer or motor home and living in that while we do the house or possibly buying a second house that needs only cosmetic work that we could do over time. All this is predicated on us being able to get financing which has been a bit of an issue since we have been out of the country for the last 6 years. We would prefer not to have to rent somewhere because that is just money that has no return on it. We know that Lord has the right place for us and will open doors as the time is right. Pray that He will show us what is best. You could also pray for my back. It was bothering me before I came and has been made worse by all the packing. Some days I do okay but there have been a couple days that I have just had to be on the couch quite a bit. I have a back brace which I can wear and got some muscle relaxants from the pharmacy which seem to help. Thank you for standing with us during this time. I picture marathon runners coming in to the last mile, tired but with their supporters lining the way, giving them water and urging them on. You have been there for us through out this journey and we could not have done it without you. 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 :)

Update from Greece

Everyone,



I can't believe we have already been in Greece for one week. Only three weeks left. We had our team retreat this weekend. It was very special to be away with our team again and to renew those ties. A new leadership team was announced. Please pray for Christy who has been serving as team leader and will continue but with the support of two associate leaders Kenn and Mikko. This will greatly relieve her burden and both these men bring unique gifts that will benefit the team and the ministry as a whole. Pray for them as well as Nikos, the director as they all find their roles in leadership.



We got home on Monday and the sorting and packing began. Please pray for my back. I had been having trouble already and last night it was so bad that I got up twice to take Ibuprofen during the night. On my birthday we went out for dinner and during dinner I felt chilled and by the time we got home was so chilled that I got in bed with the hair dryer. This is like what happened when my disease was flaring. Before long my fever had spiked to 104.6 and I was a little out of my head. This is different because I used to only get a fever of about 100-101. This incident worried us because I had only recently lowered my prednisone and we were afraid my disease was breaking through. I have not had another incident however and several people on the team said they had had a bug that caused them to spike a fever so we are hoping that is all it was. I will lower my prednisone again on Thurs. so please pray that my disease will stay in remission.



An answer to prayer is that Helping Hands is furnishing an apartment to house interns and short term workers in combination with 3rd Evangelical Church and they are buying a lot of our furniture and appliances. This is a huge help to us. Kent has had a couple of calls about the bike and we are getting a couple things fixed on the car before we advertise it. There is a new family moving to Athens who may be joining our team who are going to look at the possibility of renting our apartment which would mean they might also be interested in our light fixtures, air conditioners etc. Pray that God will be in all of this. We have a moving company coming to look at things tomorrow and Kent is talking to another one today.



We went to the ARC for a while on Tuesday and saw several people we knew. It was especially sweet to see our faithful volunteers "A" "Z" and "J" who have become Christians through HH and who continue to grow and serve faithfully in spite of the difficult situations they face. "A" has particularly had a hard time recently. Please pray for her especially. We hope to see more of those we are close to this week when there will be a believers day. Kent also wants to spend time with Dr. Joseph and "V" a leader in the Afghan community who heads up an Afghan Fellowship.



We attended our church Sunday with our whole team. It was so good to see everyone. Our church family here has been so faithful to uphold us in prayer and many, many people came to hug us and tell us they had been praying. My Greek is not good but I recognize "dinatos" (strength) "parastika" (get well) and "doxa sto theo" (glory to God). It was especially sweet to sing worship songs in Greek again and I told Kent we will have to stream these when we move back to the USA so we don't forget them. Thank you for upholding us during this time and for your faithfulness to us in prayer and financial 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 :)

Health and Ministry Update

Everyone,



I saw my doctor yesterday and she gave me the go ahead to travel to Greece. I am still having a great deal of trouble with my vision - the prednisone is making my good eye blurry so not only am I blind in my right eye but I have quite a bit of trouble seeing out of my left. This makes me feel vulnerable when I am out alone and makes simple things like shopping etc difficult. I have purchased stronger reading glasses so am able to read but much of my time is spent in a blur. I am also having trouble with one of my legs swelling and once again the doctor thinks this could be exacerbated by the prednisone but is probably genetic since poor circulation runs in my family. There are just other little issues with the steroids that make me feel a bit frustrated - weight gain, fat face, jittery feelings etc. Basically my doctor said "No one who is on steroids likes it but at this point it is a necessary evil and it is doing it's job." My blood counts look great and we are on our way to getting me in remission but it mean we need to hold the course and drop the dosage of the steroids gradually so I will just have to put up with the side effects for at least several more months.



Future plans: At this point we plan to be in Greece sometime shortly after the 20th of September. We will stay in Greece until around the 25th of October. This will give us time to say our goodbyes and sell or give away the things we are not bringing and pack the things we will ship home. We will stop in MA on our way home for a week to visit our kids there and then settle back into the Eugene OR area where we were originally from. We are not sure what that will look like yet but are exploring some different possibilities as far as work and or ministry. International Teams has said that they will consider the end of October as our last active ministry day. They then recommend a three month "transition" period where support continues as we transition into finding work, housing etc. This would mean International Teams would continue to accept and distribute our support as usual through January 2015 and then would close the books on us. We realize that this has been a bit crazy in that we have been in the states now for 8 month already so it may seem like we should have had time to transition. However until we closed the door on Greece and indeed until we actually close the door this next month we haven't been free to pursue other things not knowing what our future held. That said we totally understand if you have been supporting us and feel you need to conclude that support. If you can continue through the transition time it would be a big help to us as we face the added costs of resettling. Either way we are so thankful for your faithfulness to us through all of this. There are some ways you can pray for us. Please pray that our time in Greece especially at the retreat would be a time of closure and passing of responsibilities and a way that is supportive and helpful to the team there. Pray for those involved in making decisions about new leadership and what that looks like. Pray also for us to have good times with those refugees with whom we have formed special relationships. Pray for us to find the right shipping company and to make good decisions on what to bring and what to leave behind. Pray especially that our motor bike and car would sell. Pray for protection for our health especially as my immune system is compromised. Pray that the Lord would be opening doors even now as far was what our lives look like when we return. As always we are so thankful to all of you who have been with us through the ups and downs of this journey - we aren't done yet. 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 :)

Very Short Health Update

Everyone,



I had my scans and blood work on Monday. My doctor was leaving on vacation so I was supposed to call in the next day and talk to whoever was covering for her. At 9pm my phone rang and it was my doctor. She said "I apologize for calling so late but I'm leaving in the morning and wanted to talk to you first about your scans." I thought "UH OH this can't be good" Then she said, "I didn't want you worrying because everything looks so great." WHEW! I had been a bit worried because my legs have been swelling and my eyesight in my good eye has been VERY blurred. I have also had a lot of pressure on the side where they did the kidney surgery. Anyway, the doctor said that the mass in my lung was a tiny bit smaller (not as much as she would have liked but at least not bigger), my kidney masses were the same or smaller, my blood work was GREAT. My inflammation counts were down to normal. My Anka count was down, my kidney functions were good, my hemoglobin was good, liver good, etc etc. She said all the symptoms I have been having were most likely from the prednisone and since I was doing SO well she would go ahead and drop again early to see if that would help. Kent and I are both very relieved and feel like we are on the right track - I see the doctor on Sept. 8th but I'm sure she will okay my going to Greece for the retreat and to close up the house. Thank you for praying.

Love, Myrna

Very Important Update

Everyone,



It is with a sad and yet peaceful heart that we want to inform you that we have made the decision to transition back to the USA and leave behind the work in Greece. As you know we have been wrestling with this decision for some time because of our love for the refugees and the work there. However, in talking with my doctor and due to the uncertainties of this disease as well as the needed ongoing treatment we feel I need to be here. I am also finding it much more difficult adjusting to the blindness in my eye than I expected, partly because the high doses of prednisone are making my good eye so blurry that I am finding it hard to do many things on my own. Having Kent gone right now for extended periods would be very difficult. We never expected when we uprooted our lives that we would only be gone for 6 years and that we would be coming home and looking for work, housing, etc. in our early 60s - not the most optimum time. That said we have NO REGRETS. If there was a magic button that could erase the last 6 years we would never push it. Apart from anything that God might have done THROUGH us in the lives of refugees in the last 6 years, He has done amazing things IN us and we will be forever changed. We are SO grateful to you our extended team for being a part of sending and sustaining us and we hope that you too feel it was all worth it.



SO what does it look like from here. I know these last months have been long and hard for all of us but we would ask you to bear with us a bit longer. I am waiting to hear back from International Teams on the procedure but I believe that they recommend a three month transition period of support to allow returning missionaries to get their feet under them before completely cutting ties. We still have many loose ends and even added expenses before we can settle in here and get on with our lives. We plan to return to Greece at the end of September for a team retreat so that Kent can help with the transferring of leadership. We will then stay on for most of the month of October to close down the house, pack our things, sell or give away what we can't bring, say our goodbyes and arrange for shipping. My doctor has given the okay for me to go barring any surprises with my next appointments. I am having scans of my lung and abdomen on Monday the 25th and blood work as well. We plan to return to Oregon the end of October or first of November.



I will let you know any more details as I have them from International Teams or as we make firmer plans. Right now you can be praying for us that we "finish well". Pray that we can get a chance to say goodbye to our team and our refugee friends in a way that provides closure and doesn't feel like abandonment. Also pray for us as we do all the things that come with making this kind of a move. Pray for my health and stamina through this and for protection from illness as we travel. Pray for God to raise up a new team leader and for the team as they are in this transitional period. Pray for peace for us that God will guide and God will provide. Thanks you so much for standing by us these last years and especially these last months. This is not the way we planned things but God is not surprised nor dismayed by this. I think of the song Blessed be the name of the Lord - He give and takes away, my heart shall choose to say - blessed be the Name of the Lord! 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 :)

Wedding and Health Update

Everyone -



It was a wonderful, busy, exhausting week filled with family. All of our kids converged on Saturday. Becky and Todd from MA, who stayed with Katie and John. Allison and Dave with Emma and Adam from MA, who rented a house with Kent and I. Ben is already in Eugene and his girlfriend Elin has a son Calvin who immediately became joined at the hip to Adam. Of course Katie and John are also in Eugene. On Sunday we just spent the afternoon at the house we had rented - my parents came over and we just visited and reconnected.



Monday was "Cousin's Day". We met at Detroit lake (Thank you Gaults for the use of your house). There were cousins from the Gibson side of the family and the Morley side of the family, There were 28 of us all together. We swam, played, visited and snacked all afternoon. In the evening we finished up with homemade Mexican food - I fried a LOT of tortillas that night!



On Tuesday I was exhausted so I told Kent I was staying home the whole day - I read, did crossword puzzles and napped. Others played golf, disc golf, shopped, and ran errands. In the evening we all gathered back at our house again and grilled hamburgers.



Wednesday was another errand day with a few things to get ready for the wedding. Kent and some of the family went to the river in the afternoon but I stayed home again since we were taking the grandkids out that night. That night was "Sibling Night" Our kids and John's sisters and brother in law went out to dinner while we took Adam, Emma and Calvin to pizza, miniature golf and the arcade.



Thursday we hiked in to Sweet Creek Falls - this time there were 14 of us our kids and Amanda (Whitney) Perkins. It is an easy 1 mile hike but for this out of shape recovering sickie it was plenty. I took a chair and sat and rested as the crew swam in various little falls along the way. On the hike out we did it without stopping and I was pretty shaky by the time we got to the car. We drove on over to the coast. I walked down the hill to the beach but then they decided to go a different way and by the time I had walked back up I decided to just lie down on a picnic table and rest while they went on down to the beach. Afterwards we had wonderful sea food at the fish market in Yachats.



Friday morning was Spa day for the girls (thank you to my sister Amy) and golf for the guys. Amy arrived from MA the night before and Kent's sister Nadene and her husband Don as well as his Dad arrived from CA. That night we all gathered with John's family at Katie and John's for rehearsal and pizza. It's so fun watching the blending of two families becoming one!



Saturday was a full day of running errands and getting things ready for the wedding. Allison was cooking pulled pork for 100 people at our house so the counters were covered with crock pots filled with simmering meat. We were all too tired to cook so ordered Thai food and I went to bed while the kids were still visiting outside.



Sunday we went to the park in the morning and set up for the wedding. Our friends Roy and Linda Sturtevant stayed at the park to watch over things while we went home and changed. The day was perfect. Katie wanted a dress made from a table cloth her grandmother owned and somehow her Aunt Kathy achieved it even using trim from a pillow case that was made by Katie's great great Aunt Emelia. (See attached pictures) We ate, visited and played. The ceremony was at 4 and by 7 when the band started most people had gone home so by the end of things there was pretty much just our family and a few close friends. Kent danced with his wife, sister, daughters and granddaughter - that night his legs kept us both awake half the night!



Yesterday the troops began to scatter. Becky and Todd and Amy flew back to MA. Nadene, Don and Charles left for CA. Kate and John left for their honeymoon in Yosemite and Kent and I moved to their house to watch the dog and water the plants - we will be here until Saturday. Allison and Dave and the kids fly out today.



Thank you all for praying for me - though I got very tired at times I was SO happy to be a part of things and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I have a lung scan coming up next week, and blood work the following week with a doctor appointment the first part of Sept. I am feeling a bit jittery and have gained about 10 pounds on the prednisone but other than that am doing okay. I am still adjusting to the blindness in my eye - it combined with the deafness in my ear and that fact that they are on opposite sides can make me feel a bit isolated at times especially in a group. Kent and I are looking forward to having some time on our own now that the wedding is over to process everything and make our final decisions about where we go from here. Thank you for standing with us in this process. 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 :)
















3 Attachments

Short Health Update

Everyone,



Just a quick health update. I had my second Retuxin treatment this week and it went well. No side effects. I am feeling good. I don't have much stamina yet but that will come as I build my strength back up. I saw my doctor on Monday. She said she would be hyper vigilante with me this first 6 months since my disease has been so atypical. I am going to have a scan of my lung the middle of the month. She is hoping the mass will have shrunk or even gone away because she "doesn't like it". The end of the month I will have some blood work done which MAY tell us if I am going into remission but won't be definitive because I will still be on the steroids. It will take almost the whole 6 months to wean me off of them. I asked her some questions about my disease like Will I likely have times when it will break through the remission and flare again? She said, "Normally I would say 'Yes this is a disease that tends to flare'. However once again yours is so atypical that I really don't know what to expect, maybe not." I asked her if it would shorten my life and again she said, "Normally I would say 'Most likely because the mortality rate is higher for people with this disease and then you have the added risk of the medications we have you on.' Again yours has been less aggressive than normal so maybe not. We just really can't predict." She said if I go into remission we will try to treat with the Retuxin every 6 months but if I break through I will have to go on other oral drugs for maintenance.



I am getting along with my eye although I still find it bothersome and have trouble seeing as well as I might. Some of the problem is that the steroids affect my vision in my good eye making it somewhat blurry at times but that will go away once I am off of them. I am glad to be feeling well enough to help with preparations for our daughters wedding coming up on the 10th. Our kids and grandkids from out of town will be arriving tomorrow and we are looking forward to a week of family time. Please continue to pray for Kent and I and the decisions we are facing. We love you all.



Myrna

Short Health Update

Everyone,



Just wanted to let you know that I am feeling GREAT. I am having NO side effects to the Rituxan or the Steroids other than a drippy nose. I am getting stronger each day and am enjoying life again. Vicki McCracken took me for a day of shopping for some new clothes. I wouldn't recommend the "protracted illness" method of losing weight but it IS effective. Though I was exhausted by the end of the afternoon I finally have clothes that are not falling off me. We are spending a few days with my parents and yesterday my dad and I went to the local farm and I cooked us a dinner of mostly fresh vegetables and fruits that night - corn on the cob, fresh beans, a huge salad, fresh fruit salad etc. It is SO nice to enjoy cooking and EATING again. Our kids came over and it was nice to spend time making some plans for Katie's wedding and knowing I can enjoy it and even help with some things.



We will be moving for the next couple of weeks to our sister in law Barbara Morley's home in Willamina. My brother's Daughter and her family are coming in from England for a month so we needed to give them the space there. We will enjoy being with Barb and Kent is looking forward to completing some small projects that need doing around her place.



I have another Rituxan treatment on the 24th of July and a Dr. appointment on the 28th. At that point they will begin weaning me off the steroids which will take about a month and a half and if my inflammation levels stay down I will be in remission which is of course our goal. Thanks for all your prayer - please continue to pray with us as we wrestle with where God wants us to be and what our future life will look like. We love you all and are feeling grateful, blessed, happy and hopeful.



Love, Myrna

VERY IMPORTANT HEALTH UPDATE

Everyone,



Well this is the biggest roller coaster we have been on to date but in the end we think we have landed in a good place although not without some loss along the way.



On July 5th I lay down to take a short nap and woke an hour later unable to see out of my right eye. It was completely blind and so Kent immediately put me in the car and headed for the hospital. When they saw me in the emergency room they were very concerned and talked with a neurologist and ophthalmologist and it was determined that it was best for me to go to a larger hospital and see the ophthalmologist first and then go from there. However the emergency room doctor said "I am telling you I am scared so I want to give you another half an aspirin and please go straight there." We met the ophthalmologist and he examined me. He said that the blood flow had stopped to my right eye and that the retina was already destroyed and there was almost no chance that I would regain my vision in that eye. His bigger worry however was that it was being cause by a clot that had perhaps been thrown from my carotid artery and that he wanted me admitted immediately to the hospital on stroke protocol.



I was admitted and told I was not to raise my head above a very low level or get up or eat or drink anything for the first 24 hours. I was also taken down almost immediately for a CT scan of my carotid arteries. Though this showed that my arteries were clear I was continued on stroke protocol in case there was still a chance of it being a clot from my heart or elsewhere. Our second biggest concern besides a stroke was that this could have been caused by a disease called Giant Cell Arteritis which often takes the sight in the other eye with a few days to a week. We were fairly devastated over the loss of one eye but could barely even face the thought of losing my other. The decision was made to start me on massive doses of steroids 1000mg a day 250mg every six hours by IV as the best chance of protecting my other eye. There was still a 10% chance it could happen but at least the risk was greatly reduced. A decision was made also to do surgery the next day and remove a piece of the artery that runs down my right temple to biopsy it to determine for sure if this was Giant Cell Arteritis although we had already begun to treat for it.



In a side incident as they had been doing the CT of my carotid arteries they caught on the scan the top portion of my lungs. It was discovered that I had a mass on one lung that had not been there three months ago. They felt they would most likely need to go in and biopsy that which is a fairly major surgery so the doctor wanted a full scan of my lungs first to see if there were other masses or only this one. Since I was due to have a scan of my kidneys again they just did a full abdominal scan. There we no other masses in my lungs but they did find something on my spleen. By this time I had 11 different doctors in different fields involved all trying to piece this together. They were all talking, consulting, going over all the previous history and adding new tests. It was felt that this was likely some type of immune disorder that involved vasculitis which is where inflammation causes the artery to swell and close causing a loss of blood flow just as if there were a clot there. The treatment for all these different diseases starts with massive doses of steroids which we were already doing.



That night God gave me a very special blessing. My night nurse was a woman who had been blind in her right eye since college and also has Meniere's disease and is deaf in her left ear - exactly like me. She was such an encouragement to me and so understanding and kind to what I was going through that in a short time I had really worked through grieving over the loss and was able to see it as a learning curve. There have been some funny incidents already. I no longer have depth perception so have poured a glass of juice on the table thinking I was pouring it into another glass with ice, I have yet to get my toothpaste on my toothbrush on the first try and navigating crowed corridors here at the hospital is very scary and I am thankful to have Kent by my side helping to guide me. I know it will just take time to learn how to compensate. I also was have many hallucinations where shadowy figures either pop up beside me on my blind side or I suddenly see a figure standing beside me. They are of course not really there but it is startling and disconcerting. This is a normal part of my optical systems working it way through the new blindness and has already greatly improved.



The next day I saw the retinal specialist who confirmed that the sight in my eye was gone. I had many other blood tests and consults with various doctors. On July 8th we met with the head of ophthalmology who also happens to be the leading rheumatologist in the area and teaches at the University as well. He surprised us by saying "I am sure it is Wegner's Disease or as it is now referred to as Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis or GPA." I had actually heard some pretty scary things about this disease and said to him "How freaked out should I be?" His answer was "Not even a little" He said in the last few years they have come up with some new treatments for this disease and have been very successful in getting it into remission and keeping it there.



The treatment for it are the massive doses of steroids which I am already on and then adding a two round treatment of chemo therapy (Rituxan). In fact as I am writing this the nurses have come in to get me ready for the chemo so I will finish this in the morning.



I had my chemo last night and it went very well. The actual chemo started flowing into me at 9pm. They start it slowly constantly monitoring you for any reactions. Each have hour for the next 2 hours they increase the dosage if you have not had a reaction. I did well and by 11pm was up to full dosage it continued then at that dosage until 3pm. So far I have not had any side effects and even ate a good breakfast. I am now off the IV steroids and am on oral steroids still a massive dose of 80mg per day but will be able to go home today. I will need to rest and be careful the next couple days as the chemo works through my system but then should feel pretty well. I will have another round of chemo in 2 weeks and then they will gradually begin weaning me off the steroids. The hope is that in two months I will be in remission. If not they have bigger guns to hit it with but don't want to use them if they don't have to. If I am in remission they will watch me closely for the next 6-9 months doing regular scans, blood work and just keeping a close eye on things so that I don't come out of remission. I will be getting a "bump" dose of Rituxan every six months to help me continue in remission as this is something I will always have but if it flares up we will just knock it down again.



The BIG question for us is what does that mean for our future. We have always desired to go back to Greece and plan to spend this next couple of months while they are trying to get me in remission praying and seeking the Lord on whether that will be possible or not. We know that I will not be able to be there for at least close to a year and even then we are questioning whether it would be wise for us to be there without the oversight of our doctors and with a compromised immune system. If we were going back we realize that Kent would need to go on ahead of me and get back to work sooner. Perhaps coming and going during the 9 months following my remission until I am well enough to go as well. He has asked International Teams already a month or so ago to find a new team leader either way so that the team will not be impacted too heavily whatever happens. What we would ask of you is you diligently pray with us that we would hear God on what He is saying about us returning to Greece or deciding that it is time for us to return to the states. As I said we are using this next two months of waiting for remission to try and come to some sort of decision. It will be difficult either way. I am VERY frightened at this point about going back with this disease hanging over my head. On the other hand it would of course be wrenching to us to leave the work we love there and then for Kent to find work here in the states and for us to know what that all looks like. Pray for peace, pray for discernment, pray for unity of mind and most of all pray that we hear the Lord. I know that last year has been a trial for all of us and we are so grateful for you standing with us financially and in your constant prayer support. That support is so important to us going forward in whatever way the Lord leads and we are so thankful for the team of people we have. We may not see the future but we know who is holding the future and trust that in His timing the best will come. We are feeling blessed already just to feel we are perhaps on the road to me being somewhat well again and are continuing to take it a day at a time. We love you all and truly could not do this without you.



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 :)

Doctor's Appointment

Everyone,



I know people are wondering how my doctor's appointment went yesterday so thought I'd write a short note. I didn't write yesterday because I spent the afternoon and evening in bed throwing up every hour or so. I have been nauseated for several weeks with it getting increasingly worse. I blamed the antibiotics I have been on. The doctor took me off them on Monday so am hoping I am still just getting them out of my system - I felt a little yucky this morning but am better now. To top it off my brother brought home a nasty cold last week. My sister in law was next and I came down with it yesterday (hope Kent avoids it). Thankfully it only seems to last a couple of days.



Anyway the doctor's appointment went about like we expected. She took the history and examined me. Gave me a number to call to set up a scan. Said she hadn't received the pathology reports or the tissue samples yet so she would request those. She said "The answer is in that tissue and maybe I am over confident knowing how many other doctors have looked at this but I can't imagine that we won't find it or that we won't at least come up with enough data that we can propose a reasonable course of treatment." She said it would take a few weeks to run all the tests so I have an appointment for July 29th but they will call me if they find out anything sooner.




Please pray that my nausea will clear and I can begin to feel stronger during this time of waiting. Our daughter's wedding is coming up on August 10 and I would like to be able to do a few things in preparation for that. Thanks for all the prayers and support I don't know what we would do without you. Love, Myrna

Ministry Update

Nothing new with my health - waiting for my July 1st appointment with OHSU.



I did want to send you an excerpt from my friend and team mate Lisa Dirrim's newsletter about the recent camp our team participated in.



Family camp started out in a bit of confusion. When they loaded the buses down town, it appeared that 23 guests had not come, so camp would not be full. We started making phone calls and soon had 23 new guests invited. We sent Kenn back with the church van and another vehicle to pick them up. As the guests came off the boat and we checked them in, we were only missing 5 guests! Now we had more guests coming than we had space. After a bit of scrambling it all worked out, but some of the most significant things that happened at camp, happened with the guests who were invited late. God knew they needed to come, even if we didn’t invite them the first time. We ended up with 85 guests and 77 staff for a total of 162. The camp is owned by Hellenic Ministries, but the staff for the week came from Helping Hands (our ministry here), Oasis (the southern Baptist ministry here), a group from Harding College, a group from Grace Baptist Newhall, and others from South Africa, Czech, Albania, Iran, Afghanistan, France, England, Greece, and South Africa. The predominant languages for the week, were Dari and/or Farsi.



I had 14 kids under the age of 5. We were on a rug under a big tent with 3 women’s discussion groups meeting nearby. About half of the smaller kids ran back and forth to their moms. The first session was at 10 in the morning and the last one finished at 11 pm or later. The days were long with lots of fun activities in the afternoons, swimming, a climbing wall, archery, and canoeing. In Tasha’s discussion group, they decided to pray for 1 women and her needs each time they were together. The second time they met, before she could pick a lady, one asked to be prayed for. She asked for prayer that “she would have the faith to believe what was writing in the book (the Bible, the Injil). Another Muslim women prayer for her in the name of Jesus. By the end of the week this women’s prayer was answered. The next time they met, a women prayed that her husband in Germany would come to Christ first. Before they even climbed the hill to get the snack following the prayer time, this man called and told his wife, he had decided to follow Jesus. After this, every woman wanted to be next. While we did not see very many choose to follow Jesus during camp, many wanted more time to count the cost of following Jesus before making a decision. It was a very good camp.



Kenn was part of a men’s discussion group in addition to organizing and working at the first aid station. It was his joy to see the men who came to Christ last year at camp, come back as volunteers and serve as translators or kitchen workers and to see them share Christ with other men during the quiet moments at camp.



Please pray for those who made decisions and for those who heard but are counting the cost. Pray for chances for our team to share further with those who are seeking.



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 :)

health update

Everyone,



I am feeling pretty discouraged. I have started running fevers again at night - I had one every night this week. I had been feeling pretty good and felt I was recovering well from the surgery but have taken a real nose dive. I am very weak and can hardly do anything. Even taking a shower wears me out so that I need to lay down afterwards. We went in to see my surgeon yesterday and she did some blood work and a chest xray to see if she could find anything but it may just be that the tumors are active again and causing this. I finally got an appointment at OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University) but it is not until July 1st. I would appreciate your prayers for endurance and strength during this time. I know it is hard for Kent as well because I am not up to doing anything so he just is stuck here taking care of me. Today he did go down to Eugene and will take my dad golfing for Father's day and then he is going over to our daughter's house for dinner. At least he will have a little break. I realize this is short and sort of whiny but it's all I have right now. Thanks for understanding and holding us up.

Love, Myrna

Health Update

Everyone,



It's been a emotional roller coaster the last couple of weeks. I am healing from my surgery. Today I got the staples out of my incision which runs from my navel to my back. I was pretty uncomfortable at first but am doing pretty well now. Last week the infectious disease doctor called us and said he thought maybe I had a disease called Wagners so he wanted me to see a kidney specialist. The kidney doc called and scheduled me for the very next day. I looked up Wagners and was NOT encouraged by what I read. It is not a disease you want to have. Kent and I decided not to say anything to our family until after we went in so as not to worry people unnecessarily but we were both pretty stressed out. As soon as the doctor walked in and sat down she said "You do NOT have Wagners" WHAT a relief! She spent and hour and a half with us and said she really wanted to try to work with the other doctors to get to the bottom of this. We left feeling a bit encouraged. While at her office my blood pressure dropped quite low and I had to drink some hot broth that I am convinced they made from dead horse's hooves - at least that is what it smelled and tasted like. I was exhausted by the time I got home.



They next day my rheumatologist called to say she wanted to see me and could I come in the next day. I asked if I could wait a while because I wasn't really feeling up to it. They agreed. Within a hour or two my kidney doctor was on the phone saying that whether I felt like it or not I needed to go in fact she wished I had been able to go even earlier because my liver toxin levels had risen even more. Once again we were a bit frightened and wondering what this would mean. When we got in there the rheumatologist apologized for making me come in and said she thought the toxin level was because of the fungal medication and she would talk to the infectious disease doctor about it. She had wanted to see me because she assumed since I am off all my arthritis drugs that my joints would be swollen and painful. Instead my arthritis has never been better it is like I don't even have it. Once again we left feeling better than when we came in.



This week we got another call from the infectious disease doctor. He said "I am sorry to tell you this but we are at the end of the line with what we can do. All the tests are back and we can find nothing that is causing this." He said he had asked the kidney doctor to look at Wagners disease again, the pathologist to look at lymphoma again and had asked another infectious disease doctor to review the files. He said if these all come back negative - which they did today - then we are left with two things 1) I am starting on a very high dose of two different antibiotics in the hopes that it might kill whatever it is even if they can't find it - he said "This is a complete Hail Mary - we are just shooting in the dark and hoping we hit something" We will do a scan in 4-6 weeks to see what has happened. 2) I need to get seen by a research facility - in this case we are applying to Oregon Health and Science University. These doctors are doing research on diseases and things that the average doctor doesn't see so it is possible they will find something the other doctors have missed.



I asked the doctor if they didn't find it if this would just eat my kidneys completely and he said "That is my fear but I don't know how to stop it". Kent and I were both feeling pretty emotional about all this because of not knowing what that meant for our lives and our future or even my chances of dying. However today both our urologist and the infectious disease doctor told us that they don't expect this to kill me - their fear is that it would eat my kidneys to where I would need dialysis and perhaps a kidney transplant but that I would survive. We are both feeling a bit more hopeful and like we can face whatever comes as long as we are doing it together.



Please pray for these new doctors who are looking at my case with fresh eyes. Pray that the antibiotics would work. Pray for continued healing from the surgery and continued peace for Kent and I as we move forward. Thank you for your unfailing love and support.



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 :)

Health and Ministry Update

Everyone -



Health News:

I am only up to writing a short note. I am home and feeling little better each day but spend a lot of time floating away in sleep on the pain pills. I wasn't able to eat more than a few bites at first because of some intestinal issues but that has mostly righted itself and I am trying to get a little more nutrition down. Kent is taking good care of me - figuring out ways to make me comfortable and fixing soup, baked potatoes, eggs etc. We are at my brother and sister-in-laws house still. They are gone for two weeks. Kent was going to sleep in their bedroom but the first night I had some vivid dreams or hallucinations from the medications that scared me so he has been right here at my side - so thankful. People have asked for the address here it is:

care/of Dale Gibson 2421 Donegal Ct. West Linn OR 97068. We don't have any report back yet except the pathology report for cancer and it is not cancer which we pretty much already knew. Now we are just waiting for them to find something else which usually takes at least a couple of weeks and then once they find it to culture it and find a way to kill it which can take up to a month more.



Ministry News:



The team recently did another of our "doctor days". Many families were able to talk with the doctor's. There was a nutrition class where they taught them to make breakfast burritos that are inexpensive and easy. I love the mix of cultures! As usual several people said it was the best day they had had in a LONG time and were very grateful.



The Team was away at a team retreat this last weekend. We've heard good comments about the teaching and sharing time so continue to pray that the team is uplifted an united especially in our absence.



Meetings are underway for the summer camp which will be happening the first couple weeks in June. The men's camp will be during the first week of June and though some of our men will participate we will run our regular programming during that week as well. June 10-16 is the Family Camp and we close down as almost the whole staff goes to help at this camp. This is a highlight of the year for staff and refugees alike. MANY decisions for the Lord and baptisms have been during or followed our summer camps. Please pray for the final planning, pray for adequate staff, pray for the right refugees to come and pray that their hearts will be open.



We Love You All and could not do this without your support.



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 :)

Update on the Update

Everyone -



Our lives are never dull - after Kent had purchased tickets last night to fly to Greece for the week next week, this morning my doctor called to say. "Good news! We've moved your surgery up to Monday night!" We were happy to be able to get the surgery done sooner but Kent had already made plans for things he was going to do in Greece and of course we had bought tickets on line so we worried about getting a refund. However we called and Delta said that since we bought them on the Delta site and since it was within 24 hours there was no problem and they just refunded the full amount. SO thankful! So Kent will not be making a trip to Greece and I will be having surgery this Monday the 19th at 5pm at Good Samaritan Hospital in downtown Portland.



Love, Myrna

Health Update

Everyone,



A lot has happened in the last few days and I am still trying to process it all. I got up Monday morning early so I could go in for my scan. I am going through a bible study called "Stronger" and the lesson for the day was "God is stronger than your bad news". I told Kent on the way to the hospital for my scan - this does not bode well for me. After my scan was over the technician said to me "Do you have an appointment with your doctor right away?" I said "Yes I have one on Wednesday". They have never asked me before whether I had a doctor's appointment - another little sign to me that perhaps things were not going to be well.



The day before on Sunday when we were at church in Elmira I had asked several people to pray that God would give us a definitive answer. Since I had been feeling some better we were in hopes that they would say that the tumor had shrunk or there was scar tissue but we were afraid they might say "Well things look about the same I think we should just continue to wait and see what happens and then we would know what to do about Kent returning to Greece etc.



We got our definitive answer. I was not supposed to get the results of the scan until Wednesday but we had only been home a few hours when the doctor called. He said "The tumors have grown." I said "A little? A lot?" He said "Significantly". He felt it was time we needed to go ahead and do the open kidney surgery and said he would call the surgeon when he got off the phone with me.



Yesterday we saw the surgeon and the news seemed even a little more discouraging. She said that well over half of my left kidney was gone and that the tumor in my right kidney had increased as well. She said that she planned to operate on the left kidney trying to lop of about the bottom third of the kidney. However she said that there was a possibility that she would not be able to find enough good tissue to sew things back together again and if that was the case then she would need to take the whole kidney. This is why she has chosen to cut on the left kidney although it is the more difficult kidney because if I have to lose a kidney better to lose it than to lose the one with more healthy tissue. She said the other concern is that they would seed infection or whatever this is into my abdomen so they were going to try and stay as far to the side as possible and keep me in the hospital with drain tubes for a few day in order to prevent that. She said "I usually go in pretty confident of what I am going to do and I am sorry to not be able to give you better answers but I just don't know what I am going to find when I get in there". She wanted to have a second surgeon in the room as well so because of that they will not be able to do the surgery until May 29th.



One of the hard things about this is that though it is a serious surgery and a six week recovery it does nothing to make me better - it only gives them more tissue to hopefully be able to find out what is eating up my kidneys. My Infectious Disease Doctor says that he only knows of maybe 2 cases ever that are even similar and the surgeon said she has show my scan around to everyone she knows and they are all baffled.



Needless to say this has hit me pretty hard and I am having a few struggles dealing with it emotionally. Although Kent understands and is very sympathetic to this he is going to leave on Saturday and fly to Greece for a little over a week coming back a couple days before my surgery. He really feels that since he will for sure not be able to leave until after our daughters wedding in August, and because we don't know what the future holds as far as treatment if they are able to find what is wrong, this is his one window of time to go back and take care of some leadership responsibilities. Please pray for us both during this time - pray that his time there will be productive and pray for peace for me as I am here doing the pre-op stuff without him.



We don't know where this will lead but we are trusting God that he will show us the way through. Thank you for your prayers and love.



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 :)

Health Update

Everyone -



I know we were expecting to get a scan this week and perhaps have some answers but my doctor wanted to wait a full month to give the medicine time to work. SO I have my scan scheduled for the 12th with an appointment on the 14th to see the doctor and discuss the results. I have actually been feeling better and have not had the fever and chills for the last couple of weeks so we are hopeful that the medicine is doing it's job. I had trouble with my lower lip cracking open and being very sore in reaction to the medication for the first few weeks but after trying some things and making some adjustments to my other medications it has almost cleared. Please pray for us during this time - if my scan shows the medicine is working and the only treatment is going to be continuing on the medicine then Kent will likely take a flight back to Greece as early as possible. I will stay on here both to be sure I am nearby in case of complications during the treatment and also just for financial saving since we need to come back to the states in August for our youngest daughter's wedding. We don't like the prospect of being apart for so long but feel like it is the best option. IF the medicine is not working the plan was to go ahead right away and do the surgery to take a bigger chunk of the tumor and of course Kent would stay for that. I find I am a little emotional lately just about everything - we lost a dear friend in an accident recently (we were staying in their home while they were gone and he was killed while they were away) and it just made me realize how fragile life is and how we need to cherish the time we have with each other.



Kent spoke with Christy who is acting team leader in Greece while we are away and she said thing are going great so we are thankful for that but anxious to be back at work. I have continued to field Short Term Team Correspondence and Kent has kept in touch plus taken care of a few administrative things so hopefully we won't be too out of the loop when we get back. Thank you again for praying for us and for continuing to support us through all of this - we are so grateful to God for giving us such a wonderful group of people like you.



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 :)

Health and Ministry Update

Everyone -



I know it has been a while since I sent an update but we have just been waiting on results. I saw an infectious disease doctor today for a follow up. He is covering for my doctor who is out of town until the 15th. He said the University of WA found some mold DNA in one of my tissue samples. The doctor said this could mean that I have contracted a fungal infection mold can cause although it is more common to see this in the lungs than in the kidneys. He said it IS possible for it to be in the kidneys especially in light of my compromised immune system. He said it is also possible that it is some sort of contaminate that got on my sample and is a red herring. He wants to put me on an anti fungal medication for a period of time and see if it helps. However it is VERY expensive so he needs to line up our insurance coverage and even some help from the pharmaceutical company first. He said it could take months to completely work but that he would like to scan my kidneys in about 3 weeks after I start the medication and see if it seems to be working. If it doesn't seem to have changed anything then we would consider going ahead with the open biopsy at that time. He said if it is working we should begin to see the tumors shrink or see some scar tissue. There are some side effects to this medication - one of which is that he said I would likely see some flashing lights. I was not excited to hear this since I'm finally free of these since I am on the medication for my visual migraines. I have been feeling a little worse lately - less energy and more fevers. I don't know if that has anything to do with the fact that they took me off the antibiotics I was on or not. All in all I am a little discouraged again - it seems like it just goes on and on with no end in sight. I told the doctor today that I wouldn't mind so much if we lived here because life would go on normally as we waited for this test or to see if this worked. Instead our lives are on hold while there is always something looming in the near future that MIGHT happen which would be a big event. I told Kent today that I am so glad he is here with me to navigate around Portland, finding different doctor's offices etc. and just to be a support to me. I know he especially feels a desire to be back in Greece and getting on with what God has called him to there. However he has prayed about whether he should just go back and leave me here (which we assume may happen at some point) but has not felt a peace or a compulsion from the Lord that he is supposed to go now. So for the time being he will be here supporting me, taking care of administrative things by computer and doing what he can to support the team from a distance.



I mentioned the high cost of the medication the doctor wants to give me - hopefully most of that will be covered but I guess I need to mention finances even though it is not a subject I like or bring up often. We are once again being hit with bills above and beyond our deductible until we reach a cap of I think 5000 dollars more. As you can imagine the bills are coming in so we just wanted to let you know if you feel led to give a one time gift toward this it would be greatly appreciated. We have been so blessed by our supporters and God has provided amazingly through you but it is hard when we feel like we are sitting on the sidelines to ask for extra finances. We are thankful for everyone of you and for the gifts that come our way every month.



Please be in prayer for the ministry in Athens especially these next couple of weeks coming up on Easter. There will be some special presentations and a very clear presentation of the gospel. I always think of the two ladies who were watching the Jesus film one day at the ARC and crying during the crucifixion. After the part about the resurrection they said "We didn't know that Jesus came back to life - why did no one tell us this news!?" That news will be proclaimed loud and clear in these next couple of weeks. Pray that it falls on hearts that are ready to hear.



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 :)

Health Update

Everyone,



I had my appointment with the infectious disease doctor yesterday and we were somewhat encouraged although it could take some time to pin things down. He kept looking at my scans and files and saying "This is weird, this is just weird." This is the same thing I have heard from every doctor I have seen. He said the main thing that is weird is that you usually don't see anything like this - cancer or infection in both kidneys, usually it is just in one. He asked me a lot of questions and then said that he wished I had not been taking the antibiotics prescribed by the last doctor because while they would not kill whatever it was they would make it harder to grow in a culture. He told me to stop taking them right away. He said he had three ideas of the kind of infection I might have. I can only remember the name of one of them, it is Mycobacterium bovis and he said it is a cousin to TB. It comes from eating unpasteurized milk or cheese and could be from feta that I had in Greece. I told him that I get my feta at the grocery but Kent reminded me that we eat out even in small villages and don't know where they get their feta. Dr. Crislip said that because of my compromised immune system something that wouldn't make someone else sick could make me sick. Anyway that was one possibility. There were two others but I can't remember their names. He said he was going to do a blood test for one and that he was sending tissue samples from my last needle biopsy up to the University of WA where they have a molecular lab and can do some DNA testing on some of these infections. He said "we might luck out and get a hit but I think we are probably going to need more tissue and that will mean an open surgery to get a chunk of the tumor to biopsy". He said he would like me to be off the antibiotics for 5 weeks before the tests so I have a feeling they will wait until then to do the surgery which would mean beginning of May - wait, wait, wait....He said he is pretty confident that it is not cancer but is an infection however. I said okay so when we find it what do we do? He looked and me and said "WE KILL IT!" I like that answer! He said "if we find out what it is I'm going to find a way to kill it." He said most likely that would be with oral antibiotics but we wouldn't know until we knew what it was. I said "how will we know it's dead?" and he said "that will depend on what it is - we need a diagnosis." I am supposed to call a week from Friday if I don't hear from him - he said "If you DO hear from me it will be a very excited phone call because it will mean we got a hit." He also said he was going to consult with a colleague who had a special interest in kidney infections. So I feel like once again we are on the track but the wheels are turning slowly. If we do the surgery it will be a major surgery rather than a minor laparoscopic surgery and we don't know what the diagnosis will be, so we still feel Kent needs to be here. We have been filling our time recently helping the McCrackens redo their large yard at their new home in Portland. It has been good for both of us. Kent is busy and I have worked outside and am feeling stronger although I DO spend quite a bit of time sitting and resting while bossing Kent and Vic around. We may help out some others with this kind of thing just to keep us out of trouble.



I would like to share just one way God has blessed us recently. A couple in the church at Willamette Christian had generously lent us a car which we have been using for the last month and a half. They found they needed it back and guess what the Lord provided for us through dear friends and supporters - a pickup! Right when we were doing yard work and needing to haul wheelbarrows, and dirt and pavers. It was perfect! God is good - all the time.



Again we want to thank you for taking this journey with us. Many of you have been with us since the beginning. There have been times along the way when we may have been tempted to "hurry" God. In the two years when we were fund raising and longed to be in Greece it was hard to understand, but I look back and know that God brought us to Greece at just the right time. Just last year when they were slow approving our visa - it meant that we got our temporary papers later which made us legal until just the right time for us to return from our furlough. We may not understand this latest detour but God has His own timing and his own purposes and our job is just to "stay the course". Thanks for being on our team - we love you.



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 :)

Health Update 3/10/14

Everyone,



I am sending this because I know many are wanting to hear how my doctor appointment went today as we were hoping to finally have some answers. I cannot even begin to tell you how disappointing the day has been. The doctor basically said "Well we saw pretty much the same thing as last time - inflammation, white cells, puss and dead kidney tissue. Something is eating up your kidneys but we don't know what it is." She went on to say that at this point she didn't feel she had anything to offer us and had spoken with our other doctor who felt we needed to see an infectious disease specialist. She said "if when everyone is done they are saying we don't know what it is then I think we should go in and take a chunk but I think I would want to consider doing an open surgery so I could really see and feel what I was doing and I don't want to put you through that pain or risk unless we need to." She did put me on antibiotics (I think just because she could see how frustrated I was) but said she is not hopeful they will do any good but they won't hurt me. She said she had circulated my scan around to quite a few people and everyone is saying they have never seen anything like this before. I asked her about what she thought this meant long term and she said "I have no idea because I don't know what it is but we need to find it and stop it." SO both the doctors I have been seeing are stepping out for now and I am to call my general practitioner tomorrow to set up an appointment with an infectious disease doctor. More waiting, more tests, more not knowing. I am disappointed, frustrated and scared about my future health if we don't get this under control. I am thankful to be surrounded by my family and friends and to be upheld by so many who are praying. Last night as I lay shivering and having one of my chills and fever spells, I covered myself with a beautiful quilt made by some dear friends from my home church in Elmira. I am overwhelmed by the concern and care that has been shown to us and we appreciate you all so much. We continue to live one day at a time and will keep you in the loop. I will try to send out an update soon with news from Greece. We are in contact with the team there and Kent spent some time on the phone this week with Christy our team mate who is leading the team in his absence. Things are going well but of course they are anxious for us to return. For now we both feel that Kent needs to be here until we see where this goes so we are trusting the Lord to take care of everything else.

We love you all.

Myrna (and Kent)

Latest Biopsy Results

Everyone,



This is just a quick not to give you the latest biopsy report because I know many of you have been praying. Thank you. The news is good - I talked to the nurse today and she said there is NO CANCER but that there IS an infection so I would need to see the urologist again to see how we need to treat that. Whether just heavy antibiotics or if it needed to be drained or something. At this point I feel cautiously optimistic. I will be glad to talk to the urologist on Monday and find out what kind of infection it is, what the treatment will be etc. I have still been having all the same symptoms so will be glad to get on some kind of treatment soon. We still don't know what this means as far as when we will be able to return to Greece but feel like maybe we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Again we will know more Monday - we hope! As always thank you for your prayers and we will continue to keep you updated as we go along.



Love,

Myrna (and Kent)

Everyone,




(Scroll down for ministry news) As I write this I feel a bit like the little boy who cried "Wolf". When Kent and I were on our way to see the doctor Monday I said to him "I just have no idea what to expect. She may say, 'Here is some medicine, you can go home to Greece'; she may say 'We need to do surgery'; she may say 'We need to do a scan every few months for a while'; I just don't know what to expect." When the doctor came in she started by saying "this is all so confusing, these tumors really don't look like ANYTHING we have seen before and I am not sure how to proceed" I asked her what the PET scan showed and she said "Oh that's right, I hadn't looked at that yet" and she pulled it up on the computer. She read the report and said "Oh.........this says you have renal (kidney) lymphoma." Of ALL the things I thought she would say that wasn't on the list! As we talked she said that the radiologist was reading the patterns of how my kidneys lit up as renal lymphoma but that didn't mean for SURE that I had the disease and the only way to be sure was to do another biopsy. She said 90% of the time biopsies are accurate but there ARE instances of false negatives. She said "The question is do we do another needle biopsy and see if we can get more tissue or do we go in surgically and get a bigger chunk so we can be sure". I said that I voted for the surgery and she said that the problem with that was that if it IS lymphoma we want the kidneys to be in the best working condition possible to flush out the chemo and the surgery would compromise them somewhat. Also she said the tumors do not have smooth edges so it would be hard to get a whole tumor. She ended by saying "I want to consult with other doctors and other radiologists to see what is best and to see if they have any other ideas - there are a lot of smart people out there and I need some time to think about this and talk to some other people."



Yesterday I saw the oncologist who I already had an appointment with and he said that he really doesn't think it is lymphoma because all the pieces don't fit but all the pieces don't really fit anything. However the only thing to do is to biopsy again and after talking with the kidney doctor they decided to go in with a needle first and see if they could get a firm diagnosis and if not, then they would go in surgically. So I am having another needle biopsy likely tomorrow or Friday and will probably know the results from that Monday or Tuesday. If the results are negative they will be scheduling the surgery. How to pray? If I DO have lymphoma pray that it will show up on the needle biopsy. Or if I have something else pray that they can get a diagnosis from the needle biopsy. As far as how I am feeling about all this I just sort of feel nothing - it's like too many times of gearing myself up for dealing with whatever comes and never knowing. So right now I am just in a wait and see mode - I'm sure if it comes down to a lymphoma diagnosis it will be hard because I thought cancer was off the table but I said the other day "It is what it is" and Kent said "Or it isn't what it isn't". Thanks for riding this roller coaster with us - we love you all.



Ministry News:


Here are a few encouraging things that have been happening in Greece:


This week at ICF (a local church where one of our team mates attends) there was an Afghan/Iranian couple that has been coming to the ARC. Another older Afghan woman was with them. The husband of this family was sharing from the Bible last week with another Afghan man at our Farsi Meal and Outreach after the talk on Tuesday. Another Afghan woman has been coming to the prayer time at ICF for the last month or so. She also has been coming to the ARC.

Around Christmas during the Men's Meal and outreach, in front of other Afghans a man said "now I believe this". This is amazing to see this man say this in front of other Afghans.

Last Wednesday there was a good group of people at the men’s time and there was a man that used to be part of the Taliban. He is very open to hearing about the Gospel.

At the doctor’s day "R", an Afghan believer, shared her faith with another Afghan woman. After the woman left, "R" and "M" (another Afghan believer) prayed for her. The doctor's day went very well and refugees were blessed, not just in being able to see a doctor or a dentist but in being able to have a day away from their stressful lives, to have a meal, to sit and talk. Many good conversations happened that day. I am attaching a couple pictures from the day.

As always we are so thankful for your partnership with us and with the Lord in this work. We sometimes don't understand why we are "on the bench" right now but God does and we trust in His perfect will and timing.



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 :)

Good News

Everyone,



My doctor just called to say that my bone marrow and my PET scan came back unremarkable except for my kidneys which we already knew were a problem. What this means is NO cancer! The doctor wants me to see a urologist this week to begin chasing down the kidney thing which is something Kent and I had decided to press him on anyway. We know I have tumors in my kidneys. We know they show chronic and acute inflammation. We know the tumors are not malignant but it seems to me they could still be what is making me so sick. Anyway I am feeling encouraged today and pray they we can find a way to treat whatever is going on in my kidneys and that it will prove to be the source of my illness. I wanted to let you know the news as I know many of you have been praying so diligently for me. Thank you and I love you all.



Myrna

Health and Ministry News 2014

Everyone,



(Scroll down if you want to skip the health and personal stuff to read about ministry news) Another week has come and gone. We spent most of the week snowed in at my parent's home in Eugene, OR. Thursday was my Mom's 90th birthday and we had planned a family dinner at a local restaurant with all the family. My sister from MA had flown in and was staying at my parent's home and my other sister and brother and their spouses were coming down from Portland. The snow put a stop to that since even the restaurant phoned to say they were closing. We had also planned a party following church on Sunday but church was also cancelled due to the ice and snow. So we had four days of just hanging out at my folk's with my sister. It was a good time but we were all going a little stir crazy by the time things thawed out on Monday.



Yesterday (Tuesday) I had my bone marrow test. I must say after all the horror stories I had heard about how painful it was I was pleasantly surprised. I told the doctor it felt more like being stung by a bee and not even a very big bee. He did three draws of marrow and a biopsy of the tissue because they are going to test for everything they can think of - cancers, infections, fungus etc. He said that my blood count was low again so that something was stressing my marrow but that it could be just all the inflammation from my arthritis being so bad right now. It will be two weeks until we have the results from these tests. Tomorrow (Thurs) I have my PET scan. They will insert radioactive material into me through an IV and after it circulates through my body they will scan my whole system. This can reveal cancers, infections, or just anything abnormal that is going on in my organs. Dr. Chang said he would call me if there was anything that needed to be followed up on from that test and get it going right away.



Thanks to all of you who prayed for me and encouraged me as I worked through my feelings of discouragement last week. I still have my moments but for the most part my pity party is over and I am just waiting to see what happens next. I appreciate being able to share my heart with you and know that you will understand and uphold me during these times.



The work in Greece continues - this is from a recent note to the team from Christy who is our acting team leader in Kent's absence.


I don't know how many of you had a chance to look around the main room today after the program, but most of the adults were having spiritual conversations! We ask God for His Spirit to move in our center, and I believe it is! Praise God for being a God who pursues us and is building His church among the nations! Be encouraged, our God is alive and active.



Please be praying for the doctor's day coming up tomorrow Feb. 13th. Again a note from Christy.

We have everyone invited for Doctor's Day and I think it's going to be a great group of people. Sahar will send out more info later. Be praying for this time. Many of the people coming have shown interest in spiritual things lately. Sahar will give a short message during lunch from Isaiah about how Jesus came to heal us from our spiritual sickness of sin. Let's join together in praying that this day will not only bless families physically, but also be a step in their journeys towards knowing Christ.



Thank you all again for you unfailing love and support to us and to the work in Greece. 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 :)