Morley Update 2012 #7

Everyone,
If you think missionaries are all work and no play you should spend some time at the Morley household. Kent and I have been having a rousing game of musical beds and have kept it going for two days now with no end in sight! We have been having unseasonably cold weather the last few weeks and even quite a bit of rain which is fairly unusual for us. The refugee center has been packed with people coming in to escape the elements because even though we don't usually have heat we offer hot tea and when you pack 400 people into a room it begins to warm up quickly. Many of these refugees are suffering from the cold/flu symptoms that seem to abound this time of year. A team mate shared that in his English class it seemed that everyone was coughing and sick and he was almost afraid to breath in. A couple of nights ago Kent quite suddenly came down with a horrendous cough and cold. That same evening I had a meniere's attack that sent me staggering to the kitchen to down a couple more Dramamine. I took it and went to bed only to be plagued by cramps in my feet that kept me up and down from about 2:30am on. After Kent came to bed he too had a restless night.

The next morning we had a clothing give away and I had two meetings. I was not feeling great but decided to go on in anyway. Kent was staying home and got up about the time I was leaving. After I got to the ARC we got busy laying out clothes and setting up tables. Just as we were about to open the doors for the refugees to come in my world began to spin again. I made my way to the office to take more pills and sit down. After a half hour or so I was able to function and decided to go ahead with my meetings but I called Kent and told him I would call him when I was ready to come home on the metro and he said he would pick me up at the bus station so I did not have to navigate that also when I was feeling less than stable. I made it through my meetings and when I started the walk to the metro I called Kent to meet me. When he picked me up I asked how he was feeling and he said "Not too good, I went back to bed and slept most of the time you were gone". When I got home I ate a sandwich and then said I was going in to lay down a while. I slept for two hours and got up feeling a bit better although the headache I had been fighting all day had returned. We sat in front of our heater and watched a DVD together and then ate a bit of dinner. Kent was feeling pretty rocky and before long said he was going on to bed. Since I had a nap I wasn't sleepy yet and stayed up a while. When I finally went to bed I could tell Kent wasn't sleeping too well. I went to sleep only to be awakened by the cramps again. Once again I was up and down trying all my little tricks such as drinking vinegar and eating mustard. As soon as I would drift off it seemed I would get another cramp and be up again. Finally at 4:30 they eased off and I felt like I would get some sleep. At that point Kent who had been coughing a lot got up and began to dress. I questioned him and he said he was getting up because he felt like he was going to choke lying down. I got up and found him the Greek version of Mucelex and went back to bed. I woke up at 7:30 with a headache and decided I should get up. Just as I was rising Kent came in and said he was going back to bed and he is still asleep. Ah the glamorous and exotic life of a missionary!

As I said, we have been running at full capacity at the refugee center. I have been spending a lot of time in the children's room and we can barely move around between the chairs. On Tuesday after the family mea,l we as usual invited everyone to stay and learn more about Jesus if they wanted to. We had 35 kids who stayed to hear the bible story in Farsi. I was amazed that although the room was full the kids were very attentive and engaged as our friend "G" a young Afghan Christian shared the story of Moses and the burning bush. After the story "G" asked questions and many hands went up to give the answers. We did a craft and then worked on coloring pages. Toward the end of the day when there were only a few children left in the room I noticed that one little boy was singing to himself as he colored. It was such a sweet sound and I was struck once again of how we offer a place of peace and safety to these kids whose lives are often filled with uncertainty and strife.

We have been seeing an increase in unaccompanied children and recently there has started an alarming trend of refugees whose families are separated pretending that a child is alone in order to have children's services take charge of them in the hope they will reunite them with the parent who has gone on ahead. This means that the children are kept in a hospital for a time and then a group home. Of course the parent who is there (usually the dad) cannot visit because children's services think the child has been abandoned. This is confusing and scary for the children and we worry that if people are successful in this - in other words if the child DOES get sent on - then more and more people will try this as a way to get their children out of Greece.

We recently had a real praise. We had all been quite concerned for a little boy who is 9 years old. His mother and sister had moved on to Austria leaving him behind with his father. His father decided to return to Iran and "A" was left here alone. He is a very sweet and trusting child and when he told us of his plan to go on to Austria by himself we were worried to say the least. We began to pray that God would protect and provide for this child. This last week another woman was moving on and she took him with her in order to leave him in Austria with his mom. Praise the Lord! Unfortunately there are many other children, especially boys from 10-14 who are traveling on their own. Please pray that God would surround and protect these vulnerable children who are part of this mass of humanity seeking somewhere to call home.

Pray also for our friend "G" the young man who helps out with the kids program. He has been very discouraged lately by his inability to get a red card which would give him some form of legality here and protect him from being arrested for not having proper papers. He has gone many times and slept on the street outside the police station in the hopes of being interviewed and accepted. The other day he was saying "Because I am telling the truth they won't help me". Other people are lying and cutting themselves to pretend they have been attacked so they will get priority. I believe God wants me to tell the truth but it is hard to see others who are lying be accepted." "G" is seeking to be a man of integrity and to grow in his relationship with God. He is a great help to us and we would ask you to pray that he would be granted the papers he needs to be accepted here. Please continue to also pray for the country of Greece, their government and our Greek brothers and sisters. Thank you for your support that allows us to continue to be involved in this work. We are always aware of you our extended team - you are truly reaching out to the nations. We love you all.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@juno.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
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