Morley Update 2013 #16

Everyone -



We are in the USA and enjoying time with our east coast family (two daughters, two grandkids, a son-in-law and future son-in-law and my sister). It has been a flurry of shopping for clothes for the wedding, swim suits for Mexico and dish shopping with my soon to be married second daughter. I haven't looked at Facebook once and only check my email every couple of days. In Mexico we will have no internet access so will be off the grid from April 30-May 6.



We left Greece in a flurry of Goodbyes. A couple of days before we left there was a going away party for Scott and Vicki McCracken who began the ministry in Athens as well as a celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Helping Hands. It was great to look back over the beginnings and all the things God has done through this ministry over the years. There are people scattered over the world who became Christians in Athens many of whom have started fellowships of their own. We also saw the effects on churches who were influenced by what Helping Hands is doing and have started feeding programs, shower ministries or shelters for the people in their area both in Greece and the US as well.



At the celebration two refugee men shared their testimonies of coming to faith in Athens. Later another young man came to Kent to tell him goodbye and said "Some day I will get up and tell about how you became my friend and invited me to a camp where I accepted the Lord." No wonder we love this job!



I have a busy day ahead and as I said I will be off the grid for the next week so don't be alarmed if you don't hear from me. We are thankful for this time to reconnect with our family and look forward to seeing the rest of our family and many of you over the next few weeks and months.




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 #15

Everyone,

It's hard to believe that in less than a week we will be leaving Greece for 6 months. The Lord has been gracious to provide for our needs. We were able to get our Greek and American taxes done, we are okay with our residence permit until we get back, we have paid our medical bills and I was able to get my medicine today that the pharmacist said there was little chance of getting. I have cleaned cupboards and closets to ready our house since we will have people living in it for all but a few weeks of the time we are gone. We have a place to stay while in OR and a car for that time. We have handed off most of our responsibilities in ministry. I have been working on and made good progress on our presentations for various speaking opportunities while we are home. We are filling our calendar with chances to share about the work.

Almost all that's left to do is packing and saying our goodbyes. And that's the hard part. On Friday we will hug our refugee friends knowing that we will likely never see some of them again. Many will leave during the six months we are away. Just this week two families that we have been close to are gone. One of them is Mustafa's family. I told you about him in a newsletter - he was the little boy who answered the question about what sin was by quoting what Kent had said in his Christmas sermon several weeks earlier. This week he did something that tugged at my heart. Often in class kids will hide crayons, or erasers, or pencil sharpeners etc. in their pockets because they want to take them home. We have tried to teach them that it is not okay to take things without asking but sometimes it seems like no one is listening. On Tuesday, Mustafa came up and handed "G" (the young Afghan man who helps teach) a broken crayon. He said, "I found this in my house and I knew it belonged here so I brought it back." I find that even as I write this tears well up in my eyes at this little boy's sweet, pure spirit. He and his younger sister have been here with their dad for some time while their mom went ahead. This week they are being reunited in Germany. Please pray that they will find other Christians who can continue to teach Mustafa and his family the truth about Jesus.

The second family that is leaving is "S" the young girl with cerebral palsy that became a Christian last year. As you may recall she is 12 years old and severally disabled but has a strong faith and is bold about speaking out for Jesus. This week she and her father and siblings will join her mom also in Germany. Please pray that there will be those in Germany who will water this little plant that is growing so bravely in such difficult circumstances.

A few weeks ago I wrote about a baby whose life was saved by the doctor at our doctor's day who found a heart problem. We were all very excited on Tuesday when the whole family including little "M" came. She has recovered well from her heart surgery and was all smiles as her mother showed her off to everyone. Pray for this family, their living situation is precarious because they only have one more month to stay in the hotel that is being paid for by the Greek Council for Refugees.

There was one other fun little moment this week. Tasha told us that one afternoon Kent was playing with a little boy at the ARC - if you know Kent he loves kids and they love him. Anyway Tasha said that the women saw him playing with this boy and said "Look the "BOSS" is playing with that boy". In their culture leaders are above others and glory in their positions. The concept of a "servant leader" is something very different so they are always amazed to see Kent rocking babies, playing with children, cleaning the floors or toilets and doing laundry. They are always watching us as a team, please pray that we are an example of God's love to them.

Well my next update will be written at my daughter's home in MA - we leave here on Tues. April 16. We are looking forward to some much needed rest and time with family as well as the many opportunities to talk about what God is doing in Athens. Our calendar is filling up but if you would like us to speak at your church, small group or ??? please let me know so I can plug you in to one of the spots we have left. We'll be seeing some of you soon.

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 #14

Everyone -

I was sad because I felt like I was missing Easter this year. When I knew that we would be coming to the US in mid April, I thought how fun it would be to have Easter with my family. To go to an American Easter service and to make Easter baskets and have an Easter Egg hunt with my Grandchildren followed by a big family Easter dinner. But then…… I realized that Western Easter came early this year and was on April 1st when we would still be in Greece.



“Oh well”, I thought, “I LOVE Orthodox Easter in Greece – having friends in and walking up to the church to attend the midnight service, the fireworks and church bells going off at midnight, walking home with my candle, hearing everyone exclaim Christos Anesti – Alithos Anesti” (Christ is risen – Truly He has risen). But then…… I realized that Eastern Easter is very late this year and will not be until May 5th when we will already be in the states.



I felt like the Grinch had somehow stolen my Easter. I thought of the disciples so long ago and how they must have felt. It seemed that Satan had stolen their Easter. I’m sure like the Grinch Satan was rejoicing in the sad faces and tears of the followers of Jesus. But then…… on Sunday the women made their way through the early morning light to visit the tomb.



I picture Satan on that Sunday morning long ago, like the Grinch wanting to hear the sorrowful sounds of mourning from those who loved Jesus. As he stood listening he heard the sounds of weeping and his heart soared. But then……he realized that these were tears of joy not sorrow and that the one he thought he had defeated by death was alive!



I picture Satan on THIS Sunday morning, reveling in my sadness because I was missing my Easter. But then….after being up most of the night with leg cramps and having set our clock ahead one hour, I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30am to make my way up to the cobblestone path that winds through the Olive trees to the top of Philopappou Hill. I was tired, I had a headache and I’m sure Satan thought he had won.



But then……



“So he paused, and Satan put a hand to his ear.

And he did hear a sound rising out of the crowd,

it started out small,

then it shouted aloud!

But the sound wasn’t sad!

Why, this sound sounded glad!

For the Christians in Athens, the tall and the small

Were singing! Without any chocolate at all!

He HADN’T stopped Easter from coming! IT CAME!

Somehow or other, it came just the same!

It came without baskets, it came without tags,

It came without bunnies or candy or eggs!

And he puzzled and puzzled, till his puzzler was sore.

Then Satan thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Easter,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.

Maybe Easter… perhaps…. means a little bit more.”



As the sun rose over the Acropolis, and I heard the songs and prayers in many languages I realized I hadn’t missed Easter after all. It came – Christos Anesti – Alithos Anesti!



My prayer is that no matter what you are going through, you have experienced the resurrection this year. I pray that you can say joyfully with us together – Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!

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 #13

Everyone,

It's Thursday evening here and I just realized I hadn't written my update which I usually do Thursday morning. Kent is on a conference call. He has a couple of these a month with some other people who are in leadership in IT and are doing a leadership class together. They have homework and then meet together via the computer. It's been good for him but it is a big commitment of time in addition to his other leadership responsibilities and ministry schedule. I spent my day working on a power point presentation for when we are home. I have put in many hours on it already and today was hoping to just add the sound and be done. However after many frustrating hours I found that Power Point is not equipped to do what I want, which is to have the sound volume controlled on individual slides with music and voice overs. This means I am now trying to decide whether to just start over in a different program or try to import what I have already done and make adjustments. I am not very tech savvy so it can be a real challenge.

We started our new schedule this week and so far it is going well. Kent really enjoyed the men's day. Instead of 130 guys they are having 20 guys for a meal and Bible Study afterwards. He said it was so nice to feel like he had time to really connect with the guys rather than just working in the kitchen or running around trying to see that everyone is taken care of.

We have had a family (husband, wife and three kids) staying with us this week. They are from Finland but have been working in Afghanistan the last 4 years. We have been communicating with them about the possibility of joining our team and they came to see the work in person and to get to know us and for us to get to know them. They are a great family and we have really enjoyed them. The jumped right in to ministry and have been very impressed with what they have seen. At this point it looks like they will be joining the team near the end of August. Because they are EU citizens they won't have to worry about going through the Visa process which is a BIG plus. They are going to live in our house while they look for a place and may or may not still be in it when we return in October. They go back to Afghanistan tomorrow to finish out their term and will spend the summer in Finland. We look forward to their return!

On Saturdays during tea house Kent has been doing laundry for some of the fathers who are here with their kids but whose wives have gone on to other countries to try and get asylum. He said this week when he gave one of the dads his clothes, the man asked "V" our refugee friend who does a lot of translating for us to help him talk to Kent. Through "V" he told Kent that he wanted him to know how much it meant to him and how much he appreciated Kent doing his laundry for him. He said that it made him want to listen to the messages about Jesus more because he could see that Kent really was different and really cared about him. Later "V" was saying to Kent "This really is so important. Many people talk like they are wonderful Christians but they don't treat people any better than non Christians do." He said "These people are watching to see if this really makes a difference in your life."

I can't believe it is less than three weeks until we leave for the USA. We are beginning to get a few things checked off of our "to do" list but it seems like as soon as I check something off something comes up that we need to add. I know it will all get done but it would be nice to see the list shrinking a little more. I finally bought our tickets this week - we leave Greece on April 16th and return on October 16th. Our calendar of speaking engagements is shaping up but we still have openings if you would like to have us speak at your church, small group or ??? We are looking forward to a couple of class reunions and seeing some "old" friends as well as spending time with our families. I have some doctor appointments scheduled and we both plan to keep up with some of our ministry responsibilities while we are away so we should be able to stay busy. We look forward to reconnecting with many of you as well. Thank you once again for all you do to support 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 #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 :)