Good News

Everyone,



My doctor just called to say that my bone marrow and my PET scan came back unremarkable except for my kidneys which we already knew were a problem. What this means is NO cancer! The doctor wants me to see a urologist this week to begin chasing down the kidney thing which is something Kent and I had decided to press him on anyway. We know I have tumors in my kidneys. We know they show chronic and acute inflammation. We know the tumors are not malignant but it seems to me they could still be what is making me so sick. Anyway I am feeling encouraged today and pray they we can find a way to treat whatever is going on in my kidneys and that it will prove to be the source of my illness. I wanted to let you know the news as I know many of you have been praying so diligently for me. Thank you and I love you all.



Myrna

Health and Ministry News 2014

Everyone,



(Scroll down if you want to skip the health and personal stuff to read about ministry news) Another week has come and gone. We spent most of the week snowed in at my parent's home in Eugene, OR. Thursday was my Mom's 90th birthday and we had planned a family dinner at a local restaurant with all the family. My sister from MA had flown in and was staying at my parent's home and my other sister and brother and their spouses were coming down from Portland. The snow put a stop to that since even the restaurant phoned to say they were closing. We had also planned a party following church on Sunday but church was also cancelled due to the ice and snow. So we had four days of just hanging out at my folk's with my sister. It was a good time but we were all going a little stir crazy by the time things thawed out on Monday.



Yesterday (Tuesday) I had my bone marrow test. I must say after all the horror stories I had heard about how painful it was I was pleasantly surprised. I told the doctor it felt more like being stung by a bee and not even a very big bee. He did three draws of marrow and a biopsy of the tissue because they are going to test for everything they can think of - cancers, infections, fungus etc. He said that my blood count was low again so that something was stressing my marrow but that it could be just all the inflammation from my arthritis being so bad right now. It will be two weeks until we have the results from these tests. Tomorrow (Thurs) I have my PET scan. They will insert radioactive material into me through an IV and after it circulates through my body they will scan my whole system. This can reveal cancers, infections, or just anything abnormal that is going on in my organs. Dr. Chang said he would call me if there was anything that needed to be followed up on from that test and get it going right away.



Thanks to all of you who prayed for me and encouraged me as I worked through my feelings of discouragement last week. I still have my moments but for the most part my pity party is over and I am just waiting to see what happens next. I appreciate being able to share my heart with you and know that you will understand and uphold me during these times.



The work in Greece continues - this is from a recent note to the team from Christy who is our acting team leader in Kent's absence.


I don't know how many of you had a chance to look around the main room today after the program, but most of the adults were having spiritual conversations! We ask God for His Spirit to move in our center, and I believe it is! Praise God for being a God who pursues us and is building His church among the nations! Be encouraged, our God is alive and active.



Please be praying for the doctor's day coming up tomorrow Feb. 13th. Again a note from Christy.

We have everyone invited for Doctor's Day and I think it's going to be a great group of people. Sahar will send out more info later. Be praying for this time. Many of the people coming have shown interest in spiritual things lately. Sahar will give a short message during lunch from Isaiah about how Jesus came to heal us from our spiritual sickness of sin. Let's join together in praying that this day will not only bless families physically, but also be a step in their journeys towards knowing Christ.



Thank you all again for you unfailing love and support to us and to the work in Greece. 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 :)

Biopsy Report

Good News/ Frustrating News



I went to the doctor today for "the big reveal" the results of my kidney biopsy. The good news - I do NOT have cancer in my kidneys. They saw dead tissue or scarring but no cancer cells. This is good news. The Frustrating News is that we are left with not knowing what is wrong with me. I started to cry and said to the doctor "You need to know that saying "We don't know what it is, is NOT an option." I am SICK. I have to rest after I take a shower before I have the energy to get dressed. Kent and I went to the movies and I ended up huddled up under a blanket shivering until the end of the movie when he could get me home to bed and I could then go through having a fever and sweating. The night we planned to go out for Kent and Katie's birthday I was home in bed shivering, feverish and sweating. I have ZERO energy and can't even go for a short walk without sitting down to rest. We have no LIFE." The doctor said he understood and also wanted to get to the bottom of it. Our next step is to do a bone marrow test and a pet scan to rule out any other cancers or perhaps infections anywhere in my body. If nothing shows up there we are left with consulting with an infectious disease specialist. They cannot do the bone marrow test until Tues the 11th and it will be two weeks after that before we have results. More waiting, more limbo, more not knowing how to plan! I should be rejoicing in the fact that my kidney biopsy came back clear and yet I feel like crying. Please pray for patience for me and for Kent and for peace. Pray for answers soon and for a plan. Thank you for continuing to hold us up.




Serving Him Together,

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

Health and Ministry Update

Everyone,

I had my biopsy today. It was fairly quick for the biopsy but I had to lay on my side for a couple of hours afterward so we arrived at the hospital at 7am and even thought they bumped us up earlier we didn't come home until around 1pm. I was still feeling the effects of the anesthesia so went right up to bed and slept for four more hours. I have to lay low a bit today an tomorrow but otherwise feel fine. We will get the results from the doctor on Monday, Feb. 3rd.



We now have a vehicle to drive thanks to your overwhelming generosity. In fact we have back up vehicles so are well covered. We are amazed at how God provides our every need but are well aware that he uses his people and their willingness to share in order to accomplish this. We are very humbled by this whole process.



The team is Greece is working hard. They are planning a doctors day on Feb. 13th. We have a team of dentists from Northern Greece who are bring down a fully equipped van in order to not just examine patients but to take care of the problems. We also have a team of doctors who will be seeing patients inside as well. This is all happening at a facility about 1/2 hour from us which is a nursing home/retreat center run by Christians. They have agreed to sponsor several events a year for us. They provide the building, transportation (a bus) and a meal for everyone. This is an incredible blessing for us and makes having these types of days possible. We have 1 intern man who has joined the team for three months and another who will be arriving in a couple of weeks - this will be a great help with both Kent gone and another couple from the team on furlough which makes us short on men. Once again the Lord is providing.



Thank you all again for traveling with us on this journey. We have been amazed at the outpouring of love toward us during this time and are SO thankful to serve with such an amazing extended team. Thank you for being a part of that team. 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 :)

Myrna Health Update

Everyone -



We saw the oncologist today and as expected we won't really know anything for sure until the biopsy. The frustrating thing is that I have been taking Aspirin for my blood and Alleve for my joints and she thought I would need to be off both of them for a week before they could do the biopsy. Why my General Practitioner didn't tell me that so I could have stopped them earlier I don't know but there it is. Dr. Feilder was going to talk to the radiologist about how soon he felt he could safely do the biopsy but she said she thought it would probably be the first of next week. She said looking at my scans, reviewing my symptoms and looking at my blood work she feels it is likely that I have lymphoma - there is a marker in your blood for lymphoma and mine was elevated, the fever, chills and sweating are lymphoma symptoms, the tumors growth and the fact that I have been on Enbrel all point that direction. However she said once again that if it IS lymphoma it is very treatable. We just need to find out for sure IF I have it and what type it is so we know how to proceed. I will have a CT scan of my chest this week to reexamine a spot on my lung to see if it has changed. Kent and I are both very frustrated with not knowing how to plan because we still don't know how long we are going to be here but we do have to trust that God really is in control and is able to take care of: the team in Greece, our refugee friends, our transportation and housing needs long term if needed, our finances and on and on. Thank you again for standing with us in this time. 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 :)

Important Morley Update

Everyone,



I apologize for being out of communication for the last few weeks. We haven't quite known how and when to share what is happening in our lives. As you know my (Myrna's) health has not been very good lately but I hadn't shared that increasingly I was running fevers almost every day and feeling more and more unwell. Kent and I kept holding on to the fact that I was scheduled to come to the states for some scans at the end of January and thought I could just wait until then.



Shortly after Christmas we felt we needed to get some advice from a medical professional so we consulted with an internist that we trust there in Athens to see if he felt this was something small that could be dealt with or if I needed to go to the states. After talking with me and doing a few tests he felt I needed to go to the states immediately and that Kent should go with me.



We bought tickets and left one day later on New Year's day. We stopped for a few days to see our kids and grandkids in MA before coming to OR and consulting the doctors here. It took some time but I now have the results from my first scan. There is an increase in the lesions in both kidneys which is consistent with lymphoma but could be something else. Only a biopsy will give us a definitive answer. I had made an appointment with an oncologist when I arrived here but the earliest she could take me was Jan 21st. After seeing my scans my primary care doctor is pushing to try and get me in earlier. Please pray that we will have answers soon. We will try to keep you informed as we go along and apologize for not letting you know sooner but we were hoping to have something definite to share. Thank you for you unfailing support and love to 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 #34

Everyone,

Sorry I have not been very good about my updates. We finished the Christmas parties and I intended to write about them and then came down very sick with an awful cold/ flu thing about mid week last week. Yesterday I finally felt well enough to shovel out the house a bit - I had done nothing for a week. I was pretty tired but decided to mop the floor because there were a couple of coffee spills that had been mocking me for days. This may have been a mistake or it may have happened anyway due to the fact that I have not been able to take my Enbrel for 2 weeks because of being sick but whatever the reason, my back went out. By the time I managed to shower, I couldn't even stand to dry my hair. I had some pain medication from my knee injury so took some which allowed me to get up and down without actually screaming - just a lot of sucking in air between my teeth and doing my Lamaze breathing. I am a bit better today but still taking pain meds - hopefully I will be better tomorrow because we are planning to have a houseful of team mates and refugee friends on Christmas.



Christmas Parties: There were a few near disasters along the way but the parties went of wonderfully with the refugees having no idea of the drama going on behind the scenes. The first problem came the day of the first party. Kent and I and Dirrims went to Jumbo (our version of Walmart) to pick up the 500 Christmas gifts (of about 5 items each) that we had ordered. They were to be ready by 10am. This is our third year doing it this way and it has been no problem. They are prepaid, so they just have them bagged up and ready to go. When we got there no bags were sitting by the door or behind the counter. The guy at the desk did some checking and finally said. " It's no problem - your things are here they are just downstairs and we need to get them together for you. We can have them ready by 1pm. " We said "No that IS a problem because we have to take them in to town which takes an hour and then wrap them all and our party starts at 5pm. We MUST have them by 12 noon at the LATEST". They said okay and Kent said now don't say okay and then decide you'll just have them later we need them by noon for sure! They kind of hemmed and hawed around but finally said okay for SURE by noon. When we arrived at noon - no packages. We kept bugging and bugging and finally at 12:30 they told us to go up to the cash register and our stuff was there. To get upstairs you must walk through every aisle of this huge store on both floors. They have made it so you cannot cut through at any point so we took off at a run dodging our way around Christmas shoppers. We got upstairs and there were lines stretching across the store at each cash register. We say them taking our stuff on carts down to the end where there was an unused cash register so we thought since we had already paid they would just print up an invoice there. We stood there for a few minutes and finally the manager came over and said "Now you will go through register #6." We said "You are NOT going to make us wait in line behind all those people after we have been here for almost 3 hours are you!?" But indeed he was so there was nothing to do but get in line with these huge carts. When it was finally our turn they rang everything up and it came out to the right amount but I mentioned to Lisa that they were ringing it up from a list not from what was on the carts. When we had the invoice they said "Now we must count the items" Come to find out these were just boxes of our items and needed to all be opened and counted to get the amount we had ordered. There were extras of some things, not enough of some things, and some things were missing altogether. What a nightmare! At 1:45 we asked if we could start loading the stuff that had already been counted into the cars. He said No - just wait a minute. At 2:00 our Greek director got on the phone with him and said we MUST load the things that were ready and he said it would only be a few more minutes. I grabbed a cart and Kent grabbed a cart and we just took it outside and started loading it up. We finally arrived at the ARC a little after 3pm. The gifts all had to be sorted and bagged and our church was coming at 4pm to set the tables and prepare the food. The doors opened at 5. We finished the gifts at sometime after 4 but miraculously by the time we opened the doors at 5 the room was beautiful and serene with candle lit tables and soft music playing.



Our second disaster happened on Thursday night. There had been some miscommunication with the church and they had not brought sodas so some of our men had gone out to buy and carry back 24 large bottles of soda. Other than that things were going okay and Ilir (who is our general maintenance guy) said "I'm going to go out and run an quick errand with my wife since there is nothing I need to do here" I said "Sure". About 5 minutes later someone came running out of the kitchen saying "Where's Ilir?" I told them and they said "The oven isn't working" This was a problem because we were serving chicken and to cook enough for 180 people we do 3 batches of 60 pieces each. The last batch was about 1/2 way done cooking. When Ilir got back he got the repair guy and called the parts shop and asked them to stay open late - he was then running back and forth for parts in order to get the oven fixed so we could use it the next day for the party then. Out in the main room once again the candles glowed, the music played and refugees relaxed and smiled. Inside the kitchen the stove was pulled out in the middle of the kitchen while the kitchen workers madly fried the rest of the chicken in a big pot of oil, dished up salads and served desserts. We always tell people flexibility is key in this ministry and we prove it over and over!



Despite our near disasters this is always such a special day. One young girl told Tasha - This is the best day of my life! Another women said "I will keep this with me always". Their lives are so hard and if even for this one day we can give them something to remember all the hustle and bustle and frantic planning just seem to melt away. As I tell the Christmas story and relate it to THEIR story - the long journey, the need for rest, looking for shelter - in short remembering that Jesus was a refugee, I am always reminded anew that these people understand much better than I do what Jesus gave up and went through - for us. Kent dressed as a shepherd this year to talk about how Jesus came as a Shepherd to carry us home to God.



There is one last party this week in Patras - some of our men go up regularly and help out at a church that is reaching out to refugees in this port city about 2 hours from here. Kent and I were able to help with buying the gifts for the about 40 men expected at this party. Each month we set aside a small part of our salary to go for something special for refugees - this is what we used for this. We also bought a warm coat for a refugee friend of Kent's, helped with groceries for a family and rent for another friend. This is another way that you, our financial supporters supply the needs of refugees here in Greece. Thank you for making this possible. Thank you again to all of you who gave for Christmas and for sleeping bags. 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 :)