Morley Update 2012 #35

Everyone,

"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the Way...." This is Ana Cami's new favorite song and while it is adorable to hear her sing it in her little lispy voice, I'm sure by the time Christmas rolls around her mother is going to be very tired of hearing it. Who can think about Christmas when we are just beginning to revel in Fall Leaves, Cooler Weather and Football. The team here has been thinking about Christmas for some time now. Instead of writing my usual update I am posting our newsletter about our upcoming Christmas parties. Please take the time to read it - It gives you a good idea of what it looks like to have a party for 650 of your closest friends. It also gives you a chance to share in this special day. Thanks for taking the time to read it.


Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It’s hard to think about Christmas when it is still in the 80s and 90s but believe it or not our Christmas parties the first week of December are only two months away. Once again we are planning 4-5 parties for 130 people each.

This is always such a special night for our refugee friends and we spend months preparing. Gifts are bagged and waiting to be handed out. The room is decorated and the tables are set. The delicious smell of food fills the room. We welcome our friends who come dressed in their best. During the evening, each family is escorted into another room where a family portrait is taken. When everyone is seated we have a puppet show telling the Christmas story and how Jesus understands what they are going through because He too was a refugee. Our teammate Aziz will also share a message in Farsi. After the program we will serve a special meal of Salad, Chicken, Persian Rice, Pita Bread and Dessert. When the meal is finished each person receives a gift – the little ones delight in their new toys as well as warm gloves and scarves. The adults receive more practical things: shampoo, razors, lotion and other hygiene items. They also receive a scarf and gloves. Inside each adult’s bag is a one of the Gospels in Farsi. The children’s bags include a coloring book with the Christmas story in Farsi and a package of brightly colored markers. It is an evening filled with special memories for the team and for our guests.

We are blessed to partner with several local churches that prepare food, decorate tables and help serve. We also have a local school that helps out with donations for our gift bags. This is a big help but even so, putting on Christmas parties for up to 650 people can be a bit of a financial stretch. We estimate it will cost us around 20 Euros per person. Would you consider joining with us? Any excess money that is collected above what we need for Christmas will be used to buy sleeping bags. For refugees sleeping in the parks this time of year the nights can get very cold and a sleeping bag makes quite a difference. The cost of one sleeping bag is 15 dollars (around 12 Euros). This year instead of getting Aunt Matilda another knick knack for her collection or buying Uncle Harry yet another tie you might want to consider giving them a card telling them that a refugee child will have warm hands or a young man sleeping in the park will no longer have to shiver in the cold night air. Thank you for caring and thank you for sharing.

You can give by check—make out to International Teams and Designate Helping Hands Christmas:
Mail To:
International Teams International Teams International Teams
411 W. River Rd. 1 Union Street P.O. Box 11
Elgin IL 60123-1570 Elmira, Ontario N3B 3J9 Brecon, Powys
USA CANADA LD3 9WJ GREAT BRITAIN

If you would prefer to give online go to:
www.iteams.org click on your country and follow the directions for giving.


THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVESTING IN THE LIVES OF REFUGEES. Please pray for our Christmas Programs — God is at work and we are privileged to be a part of it.

On behalf of the whole team of Helping Hands,
Nikos Stefanidis
Director

Morley Update #34

Everyone,
Though it was a busy week, I find myself this morning feeling a bit brain dead and at a loss for words - I know some of you are gasping in surprise because you were sure that I would always have something to say - brain dead or not.

As I think back over the week there are little snapshots in my mind so here are a few:

I see the kids room on Tuesday. We had planned for 25-30 kids at the most and had closer to 40. I picture the room crammed with kids. The tables are filled and kids are sitting in chairs around the edges of the room. I see "G" our young refugee friend telling the story and using a very silly voice for the little airplane. I hear the kids begin to giggle and then to laugh hysterically as they listen. I see the eager hands raised to answer the questions at the end of the story and I hear the little voices repeating the memory verse in Farsi sometimes needing a little prompting along the way. "Let the little children come to me, and do not turn them away."

I see "S" the little 12 year old girl who is severely disabled. She is in her new wheel chair but is not sitting upright because the chair isn't adjusted properly. After trying to adjust it with her in it and almost folding her in half we take her out and sit her in a rolling office chair while we try to figure it out. She sits like a little frog with her legs drawn up in front of her. We finally figure out how to adjust the chair and move her back into it. It still takes a bit of adjusting and finally putting a towel behind her head before she is comfortable but the smile never leaves her face. "For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these".

I picture my house last night filled with team mates as we gather for team meeting and team fellowship. Scott and Vicki McCracken's little girl Ellie is laying on the floor giving "Uncle" Themis the eye as he sits down to eat his dessert. He can't resist and soon more bites are going into her mouth than into his mouth. Cami's two little ones, Matthew and Ana are everywhere. Ana moves about the room climbing up into different laps, always assured of a welcoming hug. These children know that they are loved and trust even in these fallible humans they are surrounded with. How much more can we trust in the love of our Father in heaven? "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

I picture "M", a beautiful young girl on the cusp of being a young woman, staying to help clean up after class. When I gave her a hug afterwards she held on tightly and I thought to myself "Oh if only I could be sure that all the hugs she receives will be "safe" hugs like this". I picture one little "live wire" that could not be still during class. I pulled her onto my lap and she then settled in and listened. I watch other members of the team rocking babies, wiping tears and noses or lifting a child high over their head resulting in giggles and pleas for more. And I think to myself "this is God's work". "And He took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them."

Thank you for all you do to make it possible for us to serve here in Athens. 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: https://www.iteams.org/us
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2012 #33

Everyone -

I missed my update last week because we were away at our fall Planning Retreat. This is a time when we look at goals, programs and strategies for the coming year. As we spent time talking, dreaming and planning it seemed that our focus came down to two broad areas for the coming year. The first was Discipleship. As more refugees are coming to the Lord we want to make sure they are not "slipping through the cracks" but that we are being intentional about discipling them. This means both making sure they have materials to study that they can take with them if they are leaving soon and also hopefully developing a network of people to pass them on to as they settle in new countries. It also means developing a framework for longer term discipleship with refugees who stay. We have seen several refugee who have come to the Lord in the past year or two grow by leaps and bounds as they have been mentored by people on this team and others. We want to make sure that happens for each person who comes to faith. The second area we want to continue to focus on is Team Health. Our team is much smaller than it was when we first came here and sometimes that can mean people are more tired and stressed. Although we have great relationships on the team, just as it takes constant attention and care to keep a marriage strong so we need to attend to our relationships on the team.

Yesterday Kent received a phone call that had him in tears. However, this time they were tears of joy. As you may recall we have not heard from our dear friend "George" since we came home from furlough two years ago. We did not know if he was alive, in prison, in another country or ??? Kent especially had been worried about him and several of you have been faithful to pray for him. The phone call that came yesterday was from George. He is in Kurdistan! While here in Greece you may remember that he was brutally attacked while in prison and his jaw was broken very badly. Since then it has not healed properly and he has been in pain and had a lot of trouble eating. While we were gone he talked with his parents in Kurdistan who advised him to come home and get it taken care of. He returned to Kurdistan, had surgery and is doing very well. Kent was so thankful to know he is all right and we hope to remain in contact with him. Thank you SO much for those of you who have continued to pray for him.

Yesterday was a happy day for a little girl who has a very difficult life. "S" is 12 years old and is severely disabled with I believe Cerebral Palsy. She cannot stand or walk or even sit without support and has limited mobility with her hands. She has been using a baby stroller to be transported and to sit in. Recently our team mate Donna began the search to find a suitable wheel chair for her. With a budget of 500 euros you can imagine her options were limited. Finally she was led to a shop in her area. After looking at several chairs and trying to figure out how they could be adapted to work, the owner brought down a chair that sells for several thousand dollars. He offered to customize the chair for "S" and to sell it to them for the 500 euros. Praise the Lord! Yesterday Donna took "S" to the shop and they fitted the chair for her. She is SO happy and we can't wait to see her in it! "S" has become a Christian and is bold about speaking out about her faith. Her family is not kind to her both because of her disability and because of her faith. She suffers from almost constant headaches and yet she almost always has a smile on her face. Please pray for this dear little girl.

Last week in the kids room there were two sweet little girls who are sisters. The oldest is 7 and the younger one is 4. They are here with their father because their mother has gone on to another country to try and get papers so she can send for her family. We are seeing more and more fathers with children who's wives have done this. The men are not used to caring for the children and often let them run around the city alone if they are older or if they are younger they come to the ARC in dirty clothes and are not bathed. We have been talking about how to help these men at least with laundry and hygiene. When the two little girls came in to the ARC the younger 4 year old was afraid. She said "Will the police come here and take us?" Imagine at 4 years old worrying about something like this! We told her "No the police do not come here." Later the older girl was telling Donna that because her mother is not here she is trying to learn how to do the laundry (most likely hand washing clothes in a sink, wringing them out and hanging them to dry) - at 7 years old! Sometimes my heart breaks for these children forced to face such problems at such a young age.

Last week I asked you to pray for "G" a young man who is a great help to us in the ministry. He decided not to take the job handing out leaflets but recently had a chance to be paid to do some translating for a friend who is working for a local organization. She was willing to work around our schedule so he could still participate in ministry. Please pray that he can do this with enough regularity to pay his rent and have enough to live on.

There continue to be protests, strikes and unrest in Greece over the austerity measures. Yesterday there were strikes which made it a little more difficult to get to work. When we came out from work our big metal gate to the street was partially down which was a sign that there had been some trouble. As we walked to the Omonia Metro station we could see evidence that rioting had occurred - the streets were almost empty and littered with trash and in the metro station all the ticket machines had been destroyed. Kent said when he rode the bike through Sytagma on his way home there was enough tear gas lingering in the air to make his eyes water. We are safe but we worry about our friends with riots, the police sweeps and the violence against refugees and immigrants. Please continue to pray for this country.

Thank you so much for your faithfulness to God, to us and to our refugee friends!

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: https://www.iteams.org/us
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2012 #32

Everyone,

Well we are getting back into the swing of things although we have continued to still struggle a bit with getting our sleeping patterns adjusted. Kent had a busy week working, getting caught up with leadership stuff and preparing for the retreat. We had planned to go snorkeling for a while on Monday (our day off) but he ended up working on retreat stuff and running downtown in the afternoon to help unload a large donation of fresh nectarines at the ARC. Since we didn't take a day off I think we may sneak away for a while on our personal ministry day just to get into the water for a bit. The weather has been beautiful - temperatures in the low 80s during the day and cooling off to the low 70s at night.

I wanted to share something our team mate Tasha told us that happened on Saturday. There had been a donation of some money for food - our cupboards have been a bit bare. Tasha bought enough food to give 6 families a small bag of groceries that would last a week or so. She said she felt compelled to give it to this one woman who had been to camp but had not been interested in studying further. She said when she gave it to the woman on Saturday the lady started crying. She told her that they did not have any food and the night before her children had been complaining they were hungry but she had nothing to give them. She said she prayed and asked God to please give them some food. Tasha took her into the office and with the help of our friend "Z" translating she read to her from the Bible where it says that God cares for even the sparrows and how much more he cares for us. The woman told her that she wanted to know more about the Bible and would like to join the women's Friday study.

In my last update I said that a good friend was in jail. This is "J" whose story I told a few updates back, he has been on his own since 8 years old after his family was killed. As I said he is a new Christian and was baptized at camp. Several of the men from our ministry as well as another ministry went down to the jail and later to court to advocate for "J". He is no long "on his own" but has a caring family of believers surrounding him. He was released on Tuesday but is still seeking legal papers to stay in Greece. Please pray that he will be successful.

Please also pray for "G" the young man who helps in our children's ministry. He is a big help to us both in translating and just his servant's heart - among other things, he always cleans the bathrooms - not a pleasant job. Yesterday he came to seek advice on what he should do. He has been offered a job passing out leaflets. He would be working from 5am to 5pm every day - 7 days a week. He would receive 10 euros a day. His heart is to continue to serve with us but jobs are very hard to come by and he has not been able to find anything else. Several of the men got together with him and told him that though it was his decision they advised him to at least try it for a while - maybe it would lead to something better or he would have some time off etc. He is very sad about this because he loves working with the kids and also is active in his church on Sundays. He would still be able to come to community group on Friday nights but it is hard to see him have to work so hard and give up so much for so little pay. Please pray that God will direct and if this is not what he should do that God would close the door or if it is what he should do that God would give him peace and provide for him to have fellowship and open doors of ministry to him.

Tuesday was my first day back at work - I received some big smiles and hugs from kids and women alike. At lunch I sat with a family I hadn't met before. When they meal was served (spaghetti) the woman got out a container and she and her husband both put their meal into the container to take home. Then they and their little boy who looked about 4 years old shared the remaining bowl of spaghetti. Later one of the other families was going to throw out some leftover spaghetti and they asked if they could have it and added it to their container. Kent and I received some money when we were at home and plan to buy groceries with it. I want to find out what this family's situation is and see if I can help them.

Yesterday my friend "N" told me that they were losing their place to stay. I knew this was coming and Kent and I had decided we would help her for a month if needed but it is always hard because if you can't do it every month you are just postponing the inevitable. I asked her what she was going to do. She said today she is going to the GCR (Greek Council for Refugees) and she thought they would be sending them to a camp in Thessaloniki which is about 6 hours away. She is sad about this but it may be a good thing for them to get out of Athens. He husband is a drug addict. Her children are in school here so if they have to move I think it would be good to do it soon so perhaps the kids can be enrolled in a school there. Please pray for "N" and for her family.

I am still working on a reduced schedule - I continue to struggle with visual problems and yesterday after being at the ARC all day I had a headache and visual migraine (seeing lights and jagged lines) in the evening. For the time being I plan to continue to go to the ARC on Tuesday for family meal day and to attend team meetings etc. on Wednesdays. I will continue to be the coordinator for short term teams and volunteers as well as host things such as community group and other events in our home. I am finding other things I can do from home - this morning I cut out the craft that will be used this week on Thurs and Saturday. I have also done some proof reading of newsletters etc. for our director, Nikos, who said to me yesterday - "Don't worry about how much you can do - just enabling Kent to be here as the team leader is so important." I truly enjoy being at home and always have felt fulfilled in my role and a wife and homemaker. I just need to rest in the fact that this seems to be where I am at for now.

Thanks you so much for your continued support - financially, in prayer and in little notes of encouragement. We are so grateful for the wonderful team of supporters we are surrounded by - we are truly blessed!

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: https://www.iteams.org/us
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2012 #31

Everyone -
We arrived home in Greece on Tuesday morning. We had only slept an hour or two on the plane so were tired. We unpacked and Kent took a nap for a couple of hours - I tried to nap but was plagued by leg cramps all day - even my usual cures of drinking pedialite, eating mustard and sipping vinegar did not help. When Kent got up he ran a few errands while I did laundry and caught up on emails for Short Term Teams. We managed to stay up until 9:30 and then fell into bed. I was up several times with leg cramps but actually managed to rest pretty well.

We got up and Kent had a meeting with Christy who has been acting as team leader while he was gone. She did a great job and things are going well. In the afternoon we had a team meeting and then team fellowship. Kent and I both managed well and didn't go to bed until 10 that night. We both slept fairly well so I think we will avoid any major jet lag.

At team meeting we learned that due to police sweeps several of our refugee friends are in jail - in fact our phone rang as I was writing this and we received news that another good friend was in jail. Besides those in jail there are several families and individuals that we have had relationships with that have moved on to other countries. One of them "J" did a lot of translating for us. We are glad he is out of Greece but we will miss his smile and his help. This is the nature of our work - we always know there will be many goodbyes and we are always aware of the danger for our friends that they will be arrested or attacked in these days of unrest. Please continue to pray for the country of Greece as hard decisions are coming up due to the economic crisis and racial tensions are on the rise.

Today is liaki day so I will get my shopping done and Kent will catch up with paperwork and planning for team retreat which is coming up. We enjoyed our time home with family and I am feeling well and recovered from my gall bladder surgery. We look forward to getting back into the swing of things here and continuing on with the work God has called us to. Thank you for your support and care for us - 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: https://www.iteams.org/us
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2012 #30

Everyone,
We arrived in OR on the 11th and spoke at our home Church - Fern Ridge Christian Church (formerly Elmira Church of Christ) on Sunday. Kent and I both said we felt a little under prepared and there were a few technical glitches like the music my future son in law worked so hard to put behind our presentation not playing but it went well all the same. When sharing about the work in Greece it is easy to be excited about what God is doing. We were very blessed to have our former pastors Darren and Ruthie Knowles visiting that same day so it was a day of reconnecting with old friends and making some new ones. Several supporters traveled quite a ways to hear us and we were so happy to be able to share with our extended team.

On Monday we traveled to the Salem area to see our sister-in-law and her family. We had a lovely day of visiting and good food. However that night I became very ill and by morning we knew I needed to go to the hospital most likely to have my gall bladder removed something I was planning to do sometime after we returned to Greece. Sure enough an ultra sound revealed that a large stone had moved and we were past the point of no return. Because of the blood thinners I take we waited until Wednesday morning to do the surgery. All went well and after another night in the hospital I came home to my parent's home to recuperate. I have some pain but am doing quite well. However a few things like going on hikes with my kids or playing golf will be out. I am restricted from lifting for the next two weeks so Kent will need to deal with all our bags when we make our trip to CA next week. The doctor said it will be about 6 weeks until I am fully recovered so I will need to take it a bit easy even when we return to Greece.

Thank you for praying for us - we are happy to be with our family and enjoying the beautiful green of Oregon.

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: https://www.iteams.org/us
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2012 #28

In our ministry we often remove names to protect people who might be in danger if their identity was known. We also work with people who are dealing with sensitive issues with the government or in regards to their papers etc. I am careful to ask permission before sending out emails and I am also sensitive to not putting anything on this blog that would compromise anyone's safety or hurt their case for papers etc. This week I sent out an email with several prayer requests that I did not feel comfortable posting in this more public place. If you are interested in praying about these issues please send me a private email and I will forward to the letter on to you. Thanks you for understanding.
Myrna Morley
backhoeboy1@gmail.com