Morley Update

Everyone,




This is our last month with International Teams and the last month they will be accepting donations for us. After this month if you would like to continue supporting the work in Athens and we hope you will consider doing so you can do so directly by giving the same way as you did for us only designating you donation to Helping Hands Athens. This will go into the genera fund and help cover the cost of keeping the facility running, providing food, items for special outreaches and some salaries although nothing near what they are worth for our director and secretary. If you decide to do this let me know and I will be sure you get on the mailing list of some of our team mates there so you can keep updated on the work. We want to thank you all again for your faithful support to us during this time and especially during this difficult last year. Your love and generosity to us and to the Lord has been wonderful and we are so grateful. I will send out one more update after this one when I have had my scans in February just to give the latest update on my health. After that I will no longer send out frequent updates but will try to send out something once a quarter to those people who are interested in just keeping up with how we are doing. If you would like to be on that email list would you just please drop me a line letting me know that with the email you would like it sent to? I recently deleted a bunch of addresses when I synched my new phone so have just been pasting on old address list in the space. Thanks for taking the time to do that.




As for how we are doing. We are settle into the house. And have begun work but as they say in Greece. Siga Siga. Slowly, slowly. We have had a few setbacks along the way. At first it took us some time to secure the money to buy the house in the first place. After being on the mission field for six years we don't fit into any of the little boxes to get a loan anymore. So although we have a great credit score. Owe no money to anyone and own a house in CA free and clear they will not loan us any money on it because we can't prove an income for the next three years and we have not borrowed any money in the last 6 years. We were finally able to finance the house thanks to the generosity of my brother and sister allowing us to use their credit lines. Once we had secured the money we were able to make and offer and then a second offer which was accepted. We moved in and spent the first week arranging our nest in an extra room with a half bath/laundry room. We had several adventures along the way with that - Kent is now a dryer repairman and a plumber! We then started on some outside projects. Cleaning mildew off the side of the garden shed, rehanging and cleaning gutters and Kent spend four days scrapping moss of the roof.




We were sideline for a few day the next week when I had to make an unexpected trip to Portland to the doctors due to the severe swelling I was having in my legs. Just after we settled in that night my father called to tell us he was sure he was have heart problems so we rushed over there. He did had a heart attack but because he knew the signs and caught it early there was no damage and they were able to put in a stent which should help immensely. However we spent several days that week with Kent back and forth to the hospital and me staying with my mom and keeping my feet up. Dad is doing well now and back to being mom's full time caregiver.




This week we hit the house a little harder tearing up carpeting, cutting back linoleum, and starting to dismantle cabinets in preparation for painting. We had a friend give us a big on the countertops and another look at some plastering for us. Another good friend came over and installed a lock on the garden shed and is going to come back and help us change out a coupe doors.




Friday we had to take the day off because I went to Portland for my 6 month Rituxen boost. I thought I just had to have one treatment but it turns out I have to have a second one and another two weeks. It doesn't make me sick or anything but this time I was there from 10-4 most of the time with an IV in my arm. The next one won't take as long because they can run it in faster. My blood work looks pretty good - one inflammation marker was high but my arthritis has been really bad so I'm not surprised I'm hoping the treatment will knock it down. It is better this morning but they gave me a dose of prednisone yesterday so I wouldn't react to the Rituxen so that might account for it. I will have scans in February and that is when we will really know what is going on.




Thank you again for walking this path with us. Don't forget to drop me a line saying "keep me on the list" if you would like to receive a quarterly update.





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,




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 :)