Morley Update 2013 #12

Everyone -
This last month was rough. There were many stresses and I was often comforted by my daily devotions which seemed to be about trails and hard times. HOWEVER, this last week it was like God opened the windows of heaven and rained his blessings down upon us. We were concerned because of the medical bills were would be facing - thanks to you our extended team for your very generous donations. That has been covered with some extra to go toward some medical expenses we will have in the USA. Thank you SO much. We were concerned about our visa which was due to expire in June after we are gone. You cannot apply for a renewal until you get your visa and ours has not come yet this year. Last year it arrived after it expired and we immediately had to apply for a renewal in order to maintain our status as legal residents. We were unsure of what would happen if it came when we were gone and how we would be able to reapply while being out of the country. God was not worried - because our permit did not come until the middle of October of last year our temporary permit is good through Oct. 15th which is the day we plan to return to Greece. The man in our visa office said if ours came while we were gone he would hold it until we returned and we could reapply then. Had our visa come on time last year this would have been impossible. Thank you Lord! Another concern that we have had is leaving our house empty while we are gone and paying rent for all that time. We have a girl who will be living in our house July and August and paying half our rent but the rest of the time it was empty. Just this week we were contacted by a man with another mission organization to see whether they could house a team here from the beginning of May through the middle of June. God is good - all the time! We found out all of these blessing in a two day period and that next morning when I opened my devotional Bible, I was directed to read 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 which begins "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make know among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced....." It goes on like this for 24 more verses. What an echo of what my heart was feeling - Praise His Name Forever! We are SO blessed!

We continue to be very busy getting things ready to be away. We are preparing presentations, getting things organized to hand off responsibilities and continuing with our normal work here. This week we hosted our community group for the last time until we return. On this evening its was all men so there were 10 guys and me for dinner and our sharing and prayer time. It happened to be "V"s birthday so after dinner we had cake and sang "tavallodet mobārak". This is such a great group of guys. Several of them became Christians here and several of them were already Christians. They support each other and help each other to grow in their faith. It is not easy. One of the guys shared at prayer time this week that sometimes he is just SO tired of the struggles. He has a wife, a daughter who is about 11 and another baby daughter a couple of months old. He does a lot of translating for us and other ministries and they are happy to have recently moved into a real apartment but even with the rent being provided they are struggling to make ends meet. Then there are always the worries about the racial violence in Athens and the trials of their own people rejecting them for their Christianity. There are worries over schooling for his daughter, work for him, and just the strain of living in a foreign country and culture. As he shared his exhaustion most of the other men nodded their heads. Please pray for these brothers that are striving to follow and serve the Lord but have such a difficult life.

Today is Persian New Year. This is one of the biggest holidays for Persian culture. This week as people arrived for our family meal we wished them Nowruz Mobarak. It is traditional to have a table set up with different items on the table which each have a meaning such as: health, happiness, creation etc. Many of the women especially wanted their pictures taken by the table. We served a special meal of chicken and french fries and passed out some Persian calendars that had been provided by a visiting team. When we make an effort to do something honoring to their culture it says a lot to our refugee friends. They miss their homes and it is so nice to have something familiar. It is just one more step in showing them that we care.

As always let me close by thanking you once again for your unfailing support to us - I am especially aware of it when times are a little hard. We are upheld by your prayers, we are strengthened by your encouragement, we are sustained by your provision and we a blessed to be a part of such a wonderful team of people . We love you all.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select: US, Select: What do you want to do, Select: Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2013 #11

Everyone -
Well after not feeling too well for about a week after coming home from the hospital, I feel like I am back. On Saturday I got up and just felt like my energy was flowing back into me and I have been busy and felt quite well for the last four days. Thank you to all who have been praying for me. My vision still goes out occasionally but just for a few minutes. I have an appointment to see the vascular doctor tomorrow and then in two week we will have a meeting with all my doctors to make some decisions about my medications - pray for wisdom for me and the doctors.

I went to work yesterday and received many warm greetings. One big surprise was to see Mr. Ali come walking in. You may not remember but he is a wonderful older Sundanese man who we met when we came to Athens the first time 7 years ago. He has been in many Bible Studies with Scott and is quite an intellectual but has not made any kind of commitment. After many years here he left over a year ago to go to England where his son is and try for asylum there. I asked what he was doing back and he said that he applied for asylum based on the fact that it is not safe for immigrants in Greece especially black people. He was attacked once when he was living here before. He said they told him that they knew this was the general climate in Greece but that he needed proof that he was personally attacked so he is in Greece trying to get some kind of police report that he can show. Who knows if this is even possible or how long it will take. After Mr. Ali gave me a hug, he said "What is this I have been hearing about you being sick. You look great - is this just a story." He kept teasing me about it until I showed him the big bruises still on my arm from my IVs.

It was good to be back in the kids room. Our story was on Jonah and "G" read the story to them from a series of Bible story books we have been able to obtain in Farsi. They are very well done and though I couldn't understand it the kids kept giggling and laughing and were very engaged. Afterwards during the question and answer time they were very accurate in their answers. I talked to them a little about how if we didn't know the story we would say that getting swallowed by a fish was a bad thing but that God used it to save Jonah's life. I told them that sometimes things that we think are bad are God's way of doing something good in our lives.

Kent preached yesterday with our good friend "V" translating. He spoke on Nicodemus coming in secret to Jesus found in John 3. He told the people that he respected that fact that they came to hear about Jesus even though they might be afraid what others would say or think. He told them that Jesus knew exactly what Nicodemus needed to hear because he could see Nicodemus' heart. He asked them to think about if they met Jesus right now what would they say to him. Then he asked them what they thought Jesus would say to them. Tasha told Kent later that several of the women were crying after he spoke and she asked them if they wanted to talk but they said not yet. Seeds were planted - pray with us for them to grow.

We are still busily trying to get things ready to be away for six months - it is hard to believe we will be leaving in only a month. We are going to speak to the man at the visa office tomorrow to see what we can do about reapplying for our residence permit. We still have not received it for this year (we have our temporary one) and it expires in June. Last year we didn't receive it until September after it had already expired in June. We were told we couldn't reapply until the permanent one came so we need to find out what we can do if it doesn't come before we leave. We don't want to let it expire because Greece seems to be denying many people who are well qualified and we don't want to take that risk besides having to go through all the hassles of starting over again. Please pray with us that it will come and that we can reapply or that we can find another solution. Once again we will be in southern CA the month of May and in OR/WA from June through early September. We may also make a trip to WY during that time. We plan to be in Chicago for a short time in September and back in MA by the end of September. If you live in one of these areas and would like to have us speak at your church or small group please let us know so we can get you on our calendar.

As always thank you SO much for your faithful support. God has been good to us and he has used many of you to provide for our every need. We love you all.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select: US, Select: What do you want to do, Select: Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2013 #10

Everyone -

Still having a few health issues so stayed pretty close to home this week. I did go out Monday night to the McCracken home for a celebration of the arrival of Dr. Josephs family. It was so wonderful to meet his wife Shahida and his children Zari and Shahavais. Here is a quote from Scott's letter: "Words cannot express the love and appreciation I feel in my heart for the way you have all welcomed me and cared for me and prayed for me and my family. I think I will not be missing my family in Pakistan because now I have this family here in Greece with new brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers," said Shahida at the welcome party in our home last night, where 37 people from 11 nations gathered to welcome them and to corporately express thanksgiving to God for their safe and long-awaited arrival.

The children were very shy and overwhelmed at first but by the end of the evening our Greek brother Michalis had them very engaged in an energetic and joyful balloon fight!

I wish you all could have been here for the party as it was a small taste of heaven with all the love, rejoicing, and gratitude to God that was in the room (not to mention feasting on good food)! They have asked us to please communicate again to all who prayed and/or gave to help them make it this far in their difficult journey. And please don't stop praying for them.

Last week we had another Doctor's Day. I was still in the hospital but Kent was able to go for part of the day before leaving to come and get me and take me home. Here is a quote from Suzie Gonzales, a fellow missionary who volunteers with us: "I helped out at a ministry day clinic today with the staff of Helping Hands. The event was hosted by a Greek ministry at their facility. Their staff was amazing!! I was able to teach refugees basic dental hygiene, a pediatrician taught about nutrition, another doctor did physicals, some gave lessons on easy & healthy ways to cook & then we all ate a delicious meal together prepared byDonna & some of the wonderful staff . All in all it was a very blessed day!" On this particular Doctor's Day we may have had a hand in saving a baby's life! One of the women brought in her baby for a check up. The doctor told her "You need to get this child to the hospital today - there is something wrong with her heart." The baby had been seen by another doctor but they had missed it. After hospitalization they found the baby had an extra aorta coming from the heart and the doctor's said if this had not been found she would have died within a couple of months. Praise the Lord for the doctor's who volunteered their time to have this day.

Continue to pray for us as we prepare to leave for the states in a little over a month. The team had a meeting yesterday and we have completely rearranged the schedule to accommodate for a smaller staff with our being gone and the Aslami's relocating. Kent said they came up with a good plan and everyone seems excited about some new possibilities for ministry with this schedule. Kent has been especially overwhelmed with leadership things this month and then has had to deal with my health issues on top of it. Pray for strength for him and for us to be able to focus not just on what we need to do here but the things we need to do in preparation for our home assignment. There are details to take care our for our house, residence papers etc. Then there are things we need to pull together to hand off responsibilities to other team members - Christy Taylor will be team leader while we are gone and Kenn Dirrim will be handling a very full schedule of Short Term Teams and Interns coming this year. We also need to prepare for presentations we will be giving in the states as well as making some appointments for me to see various doctors. I still have a couple of appointments here where we need to make some decisions about my medications. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors.

I have one more thing to ask and I always feel a little awkward but you are our extended team so here goes. We have already had to plan to raise a little extra support this year due to the higher cost of insurance and our deductible. Our insurance changed again and even after our 2000 dollar deductible is met we are responsible for 20% of our medical bills up to another 2000 dollars. Because of my recent hospitalization and all the tests they had to do we are already at that cap. This comes at a time when we were facing extra expenses of traveling and being away for 6 months. SO if you have been thinking of supporting us we would be grateful. As I said we need to raise a bit more monthly support but a one time gift to help with our recent medical bills would also be greatly appreciated. You can give by following the directions underneath our signature at the bottom of this letter. God has been very faithful to provide through many of you for us in the years we have been here and we have no doubt that He will continue to provide - thank you for all you have already done for us.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you this year and being able to share more fully with you and with others about the work here. If your church or small group would like to have us speak we would love to get you on our schedule. We will be in CA the month of May and the OR/WA area from June through early Sept. We also look forward to some much needed "down time" and time with our families. We love you all - thank you for standing with us.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select: US, Select: What do you want to do, Select: Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2013 #9

Everyone,

I am writing this from my hospital bed but thankfully I will go home today. I have had a couple of toes that were discolored and not looking too good for some time and I kept putting off getting to the doctor because it seemed like there was always something going on and it wasn't convenient. Finally I got an appointment for this Monday with an Internist that I had not seen before. Our team mate Christy was at the house meeting with Kent that morning and when she went to leave she asked if I would be at the ARC the next day for Farsi Family Meal and Outreach since I had been sick a couple of days with a cold that the team and the refugees are passing around. I said I planned to be there, then I laughed and said "Unless the doctor puts me in the hospital for my TOES!" haha

When we got to the doctor it turned out that he was a wonderful Christian man who is a friend of several of our team mates. In fact he is going to be volunteering with another ministry at their new clinic. Anyway he looked at my toes and said "I am not liking what I am seeing. These are blood clots in your toes and the most likely cause is an infection in your heart and you must be in the hospital. I want you to see your rheumatologist TODAY and if he doesn't think it is something else you should go to the hospital." I didn't get out of the rheumatologist's office until after 10pm so they said I could wait and come to the hospital the next morning. So BOTH Kent and I missed work that day.

After two days and MANY tests of my heart and my vascular system they decided that the clots in my toes are not from anything going on with either one. It is likely just poor circulation due to my immune disorder and will be controlled by adjusting my blood thinner. For the next month I am back on the anti coagulant injections twice a day for a month and then they will decide what to do about my long term blood thinner. I was worried when he said they would see me in a month because that is only two weeks before we plan to leave for the states but I told him our travel plans and dates and that I HAD to be able to go to my daughter's wedding (not to mention my father-in-law's wedding as well!) He said "Of course, of course we will get you healthy and strong by then." So of all the serious things it COULD have been it was really not too bad. My doctor said after he saw me tomorrow around 11 and my rheumatologist saw me at noon I could go home.

I know many of you on our church prayer chain or who are on facebook with me were praying. Thank you so much.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select US, Select What do you want to do, Select Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2013 #8

Everyone - it has been a little crazy around here and I just realized I hadn't sent out my update which I normally do Thursday morning and it is Friday evening. I will just tell you one quick story and then give you an update on Dr. Joseph and attach a letter he asked us to forward to all those who have prayed for him and his family.

The story. On Tuesday in the kids room we had the story of Noah and the Ark. Our craft was a picture of an ark and the animals that they colored and cut out. Then they colored a circle which was one half the sky with clouds and rain and lightening. The other half was the sky with a rainbow and a dove with an olive branch in his mouth. We connected the circle behind the picture of the Ark with a metal brad so that you could turn the circle and have an ark with a stormy sky or an ark with a rainbow. Ritsa held up what we were going to make and turned the circle to show how the sky changed. You would have thought she had done a magic trick. The kids all gasped and then started clapping their hands. What fun!

Now on to Dr. Joseph. The people who have been keeping watch over his family felt they need until the --- to arrange safe passage to the airport for them so that is the day they will be arriving. I asked you to pray about a place for them to stay. The political party that Dr. Joseph is associated with has a house that was given to them which no one has been living in. They told Dr. Joseph he and his family could use it for as long as they were in Greece. Scott McCracken also received funds covering their airline tickets here and living expenses for several months - God is Good. I am not attaching Dr. Joseph's letter here because I wasn't sure I should put it on a public forum. Thanks for understanding.

Serving Him Together,
Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org select US, Select What do you want to do, Select Give
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2013 #7

Everyone -

Sorry I didn't get this out yesterday - we had friends in for dinner and I decided to cook Chinese - it was fun but I spent most of the day chopping vegetables! The weather here has turned cloudy and gray with bursts of heavy rain. Wednesday Kent spent the day doing what we call IMs. This is a time for team members to get together with Kent one on one and share how they are feeling about ministry and life in general. IM stands for Individual Meeting but Kent is fond of making up other acronyms for it. This week due to some differences of opinion, he was afraid it would stand for Irritated Members but all is well. We are so blessed to serve with this team! He took the car in the morning so he could park near the metro since he was afraid he would get wet taking the bike. Of course when he got to the metro he couldn't find any place to park within several blocks. Just as he left the car it opened up and poured. He said he was soaked by the time he got to the Starbucks to start his day of meetings. He sat through the first meeting with his feet freezing in his wet socks and shoes. After the first meeting was over he ran to a nearby shop and bought some dry socks. I got soaked doing my laiki shopping yesterday and it looks like I might get wet on my walk today. Good thing we are from Oregon, although we have become so used to the sun our webbed feet have almost disappeared.

HERE IS A BIG PRAISE if you haven't already heard it. In an amazing turn about for the Ambassador of Greece, Dr. Joseph's wife and children have their Visas to come and will be reunited soon here in Athens after 4 harrowing years! On Tuesday we were chopping salad at the ARC when Kent's phone rang and he stepped away to answer. When he returned he was crying and shared the good news. Please continue to pray for the family's safety as they leave the country and for the process of becoming a family unit again. Dr. J's wife and children have been in hiding for four years, moving from place to place to keep ahead of the Taliban. There have been many tragedies and near tragedies during this time. When Dr. J left thinking he would only be going to Greece for a conference, his little boy was a baby and his girl was 2 years old. Now they are 4 and 6 and will need to get to know their father all over again. His wife has been under a great deal of strain as you can imagine so it will take time to adjust to feeling safe and trusting again. Also pray that Dr. J will get settled in a place where they can live. Right now he is in a small room at a nursing home where he takes care of patients in return for his room and board. He will need to move to something larger for the whole family. Thank you to all of you who have faithfully prayed for this dear brother over the years.

Kent has a girlfriend - her name is Ellena and I don't mind a bit. We have a single woman "A" who has a little girl Ellena, who is a toddler and an older boy. Kent of course loves kids and is partial to little girls having had three of our own. He has charmed many a small child who was a bit shy with his "electric finger". He holds out one finger and waits - when the child touches it he jumps and goes "zzzzztt". They find this very amusing and non- threatening. He started doing this with Ellena when he first met her - now she is his girl. On Tuesday when "A" walked in with the kids one of the other guys on the team took Ellena - she immediately started crying and wanted her mom. "A" took her back and then saw Kent standing across the room - she pointed him out to Ellena and she immediately wanted down and ran to him with her arms outstretched. "G" our Afghan friend and helper tried to take a picture with his phone but Ellena kept hiding her head. I am attaching a picture anyway. Kent is such a good example to the refugees of a Godly man. Especially the women are impressed that he is so kind and caring. Often their experience with men (fathers, brothers, uncles and even their husbands) has not been positive. As one refugee said to me when she saw Kent rocking a baby at a clothing give away - "He good husband, good father"..... and a good grandpa too!



Yesterday was Valentines Day and I am again so thankful for my husband. He is not only a good husband but he leads the team here with wisdom and patience. He is almost always able to see the positive in people and circumstances and brings peace and calmness in the midst of turmoil. Continue to pray for our team as we look at personnel changes and covering areas of ministry while we are away. As we have said we will be in the USA for 6 months starting mid April. We are available to speak, share and help out wherever we can. We will be in southern CA for the month of May and in OR/WA with a possible trip to WY from June through early September. We will likely make a quick few day stop in Chicago on our way to MA and will be in MA from mid to late Sept through mid Oct. If you would like to have us share with your church, small group or ??? just let us know and we will try to schedule you. Thank you all again for your unfailing 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/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 2013 #6

Everyone,
I am amazed each week at how time seems to be whizzing by. I can't believe we are into February already. The weather here has turned sunny and warm and we are enjoying being outside. I shared this on Facebook but for those of you who didn't see that I thought I would share it again. After all my health issues in 2012 I decided to make getting healthier one of my goals for 2013. One of the things I decided to do was to add a brisk walk to my daily routine. I'm not very fast and I only go about a mile but it's a start. As I started out today wearing a bright blue tank top I definitely stood out from the Greeks bundled in their heavy coats and sweaters. My route includes a hill and about 1/2 way up it I met an older lady. Greeks do not usually greet people they don't know so I didn't really pay much attention as I approached. As she drew even with me she raised her hand and made a circling gesture that is very common. It usually means something like "I don't believe it but what can you do?" I looked at her expecting to be scolded for not having a coat but instead she nodded and said "Bravo sou" (Good for you). Just the boost up the hill I needed!

Our week was much the usual routine. I spent much of my time working on short term team and interns emails. We have 11 teams scheduled for the rest of this year as well as local volunteers and interns. It takes quite a bit of correspondence for each team, as well as planning schedules etc. I was at the ARC for family meal day on Tuesday and it was a good day. The kids had the story of Cain and Abel. Their culture is very much about retaliation and keeping the upper hand, so it was a good chance to talk with them about taking responsibility for our own mistakes and not striking out at others when we are unhappy. The craft they made was very cute but included a lot of cutting and gluing - I made the comment at one point that I wished I had been able to go to kindergarten so my cutting skills would have been better but that they didn't have kindergarten when I was small. One of our Greek volunteers said "Did they have scissors?" This is the kind of abuse I have to put up with daily!

Yesterday at our team meeting we began the discussion of how we will do ministry in the near future. D and A will be transitioning to work most of the time in Patra which means our two main Farsi speakers will be away most of the time. One of our team mates who has been going back and forth to Canada in an attempt to satisfy visa requirements was stopped at the border and informed she could not return for at least 3 months. She is married to an Iranian and they are trying to get papers for him to immigrate to Canada and how this will affect her being able to return at all we are not sure. Kent and I will be leaving mid April for our six month Home Assignment which is two more people gone and will unfortunately leave the team a bit short handed. We have teams and volunteers coming in to help as well as several people in the process of joining the team so please be praying for their support, visas and God's timing. We take comfort in the fact that God is not upset by all of this but is busy working out His plans. We have committed as a team to pray about any changes to schedule etc that God might have for us before jumping into anything. Please join us in asking the Lord to lead.

As Kent and I prepare to be in the US for 6 months starting in mid April, we are looking for chances to share about our work with refugees and to connect with our supporting churches and new churches as well. If you are part of a church or small group that would like to schedule a time to have us share please let us know. We will be spending the first month being a part of our daughter's wedding and also Kent's father's wedding but will be in the Oregon/Washington area June through August and maybe into September. We will be in the Hemet/Moreno Valley area for most of May. Let us know if you would like us to speak or serve in some way.

As always we thank the Lord for you and for you continual 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/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 :)