Morley Update 2010 #31

Everyone -

I know you are thinking - "has Myrna completely lost it and thinks it is Tuesday again already?" Well even though I couldn't get to sleep until 2:30 because it was 98 degrees in my house I am not that crazy. As I mentioned in my last update. Kent and I are going to take Tues. and Wed. next week off and be gone Sun.-Wed. I don't know whether we will have email so wanted to just send you a quick little note about a wonderful day we had this week. Those of you on facebook will have heard some of this.

When the ARC is open we have shower days for women and children one day and for men one day. Since we have been closed of course there has been no opportunity to do that. Recently Tasha found out from a couple of our women friends that they had not showered in a couple of weeks because there are so many people living in their house that they can not get in to the bathroom for long enough even for a quick cold shower. I decided to open my home for a women's shower day. On Thursday we invited 5 Afghan women and 11 of their children to come for showers, food and fellowship. When the women got there of course even though it was almost 100 degrees out they had on long sleeves and head scarves. The head scarves came off first. I was wearing a tank top - something I would never do at the ARC so said "Here you don't wear scarves and we don't wear sleeves. One of the older women stood up and took off her long sleeved shirt and just had on a sleeveless top underneath. Soon all the women taken off their long sleeves and shoes and were relaxing on the balcony talking and laughing. Several women on our team had crafts and coloring for the kids and my toy box was soon emptied onto the living room floor. The women and children took turns taking showers and I did laundry for a couple of the women in between. We snacked on fresh fruit from the laiki and homemade cookies. Late in the day I got out a huge Greek Salad I had made that morning and we ordered souvlaki. After we ate the kids sat quietly watching a video and a few of the little ones napped. The women sat around talking more quietly and were the picture of relaxation. It was truly wonderful to be a part of.

After the women left Tasha and "Z" stayed behind so "Z" could skype her sister in Australia. The twin (2 year old girls) were tired and restless. They wandered out on the porch and discovered a bucket half full of water. At first they just swished their hands around. Then the started splashing each other and giggling. It finally ended up with us giving them cups and they and everything on my balcony were soaked. They were having such fun and it was the perfect ending to a special day. I am attaching a couple of pictures.

The next day as I swept and mopped floors and wiped up sticky hand prints I was once again thankful for the house the Lord has provided for us through you. If it were not for your faithful support we would not be able to do the kinds of things we do for refugees or for the team. Thank you SO much. You are truly a blessing to us and to those we are here to serve. We love you all.



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

To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/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 2010 #30

Everyone,

Today was our first day back at work after our Greek class. We finished the class on Friday but since we did a 60 hour class in 30 hours we have a lot of studying still to do before it all settles into our brains. I was amazed however, on Sunday how much more of the song service I was able to understand. I have been trying to watch a little Greek TV (soap operas) each day as well. I can see a difference in my understanding although I am far from understanding everything. Greek soap operas are a lot of yelling so hope I am not picking up bad words!

Kent and I are both very tired since our class and feel we need a few days to catch our breath. We didn't want to be gone this week however, since we feel a bit out of touch with the team and ministry. So we will work this week and then will take two extra days and have a four day weekend next week. We normally have Sunday, Monday off but will take Tuesday and Wednesday as well. We plan to go to a nearby island and snorkel.

I wanted to let you know about some changes in ministry responsibility that are happening for both of us. I, Myrna will be taking over communications and organization of short term teams. This will be a good fit for me because although my arthritis is doing pretty well, I can't keep up with a full work week. This gives me something I can do at home on the computer with my feet up. It is also something I can do when I am at home preparing for hosting people (refugees, team mates and short term people) in our home.

Kent will be stepping into more of a pastoral role on the team. He will meet bi-monthly for care meetings with each team member, as well as oversee team fellowships and prayer days. He has also taken over managing the team fund which we all contribute to monthly and use for retreats or special team events.

Kent and I will both still be very much involved directly with refugees but also see the importance of member care and facilitating short term teams. After all several members of the team, including Kent and I, started as short termers. Please pray for us as we transition into these new roles. Also pray that our Greek will continue to find its way into our long term memory. Pray for the work on our building. We are still hoping to be back in the building some time in August. Pray for the events we are doing outside the building during this time. We look forward to returning to a somewhat normal schedule if there is such a thing in this ministry! Thank you for all your prayers for us during our time here. I can't believe we passed our two year mark on July 10th. We love you all.


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

To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/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 2010 #29

Everyone,

I just realized it was Wednesday and I usually do my updates on Tuesday. My mind is swimming with Greek and the days run into each other. Last week we had class every day except Sunday (although we did homework that day) for three hours every morning. Then after class we always have at least 4-5 hours of homework sometimes more. On Friday we will finish the 2nd level of the Greek course that most of us take here. It is a 60 hour class and we are doing it in 30 hours! That means a LOT of study time on our own. Once we finish we will still have plenty of studying to do to get these things set in our minds before we attempt 3rd level in the fall. Even though it has been hard at times it has been a fun class as well. We have done some extra things like learning Greek worship songs and singing them at the end of class. We are SO thankful for our friend Mnlista who came on her vacation time to teach us. I am sorry not to write more news but my life these last two week has consisted of only Greek class. Thanks for praying for us during this time. We are not only surviving but actually learning. We love you all.


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

To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/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 2010 #28

Everyone -

This update is a day late because yesterday we started our 9 day INTENSIVE Greek class. After spending the morning (9:00 to 12:30) in class, Kent and I took a 1/2 hour lunch break before starting on homework. We worked until 6pm when we took another 1/2 hour dinner break before continuing with homework until 9:00pm. Kent still had to get up early and finish a little this morning. Today we had class again from 9:00-12:30 and ate a snack while we worked on homework. I finished at 5:30 and Kent is still at it at 6:00. At the end of this we will either be speaking Greek or dead - I'm not sure which!

In defense of our lovely teacher she is giving up vacation time from teaching school to volunteer her time with us for these two weeks. We have asked her to pile on the homework because we want to get as much finished in this time as we can. There are five of us in the class. Some of us naively thought that we could still participate in some ministry besides class but it is quickly becoming apparent that this will not be the case. Our team leader is in full support of this and we thank our team mates who are working a bit shorthanded these two weeks in order to give us this chance.

We continue to have ministry outside the ARC. We have had a beach day, a women and children's outreach, a feeding with gospel presentation, and a men's outreach. We are having two Farsi women's Bible studies, plus home visits and park outreaches. The renovations on the ARC are coming along but we will see how soon we are able to use the building again. I will close because my brain is very tired and I need to fix us something for dinner. We would appreciate your prayers over the next couple of weeks - our old brains need all the help we can get!


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

To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/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 2010 #27

Everyone,

God is moving in Greece - especially among the Afghan women! For some time we have had a group of women who have not only become friends but seekers of truth. Five of these women now meet weekly with three of our team mates for Bible Study. They not only study each week but read at home and call with questions about what they have read. One of these women has accepted Jesus but is still very shy about it not knowing what women outside the group will think. Recently we participated in a family camp put on by Hellenic Ministries. Our friend Sahar, a former Iranian refugee, who is a strong Christian and worker in the kingdom led the discussion times at the camp. The women were asked to write down their questions about the Bible or about Jesus and turn them in so no one would feel frightened to ask whatever they wanted. They had some great discussions and at the end of the camp TEN women said they would like to continue to study the Bible! We will have the first of those weekly studies next Tuesday with Sahar leading. Please pray for these two groups of women. Pray that God will complete the work He has started.

We had a good three days of meetings with Erik Olson. Erik is the director of Muslim Ministries for International Teams and he gave us a lot of good information. He lived in worked in Iraq with the Kurdish people and has a real heart for this ministry. We talked about Muslim's world view, their values, their culture and how all of that fits into the way we share Jesus with them.

Thursday night we had one of those special evenings where different cultures were gathered around our table. This was especially sweet because we brought our Pakistani friend Dr. "S" together with our Greek friends Fotis and Mary. Fotis is one of the guiding/preaching elders in our church. Erik Olson also joined us. Dr. "S" was able to share with Fotis and Mary the trials he has gone through and his anguish at being separated from his family. Fotis assured him of his love and support and that we would pray with him. Fotis also asked Dr. "S" to share a bit of his story with the church next week so the church can also pray. Dr. "S" talked about how he came to faith in Jesus Christ and his desire to be baptized. We will have a day soon where the church will gather either at the sea or at Kosmo Vision Center's pool and baptize Dr. "S" and then have a meal together. We are so thankful for the body of believers God has led to to be a part of and how they have welcomed our friend with open arms.

Saturday was a special day for our team. We saw our team mate Carolyn join her life together with "E" our Iranian brother in Christ. Their wedding was a sweet blend of cultures as the whole service was in English and Farsi. Most of the wedding was in the western style but they also included the Iranian "Honey Ceremony". The bride and groom dip their little finger into the honey and feed it to each other to symbolize their sweet and happy life together. Iranian couples also give a gift of sweets to the guests, so we were given little boxes with a piece of Iranian Candy and a Maple Sugar Leaf from Canada.

I wish all of you could experience the richness of culture that we see as our lives cross paths with people from all over the world. On our dining room wall it says "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations..."Psalm 46:10 God is truly being exalted among the nations here in Greece - thank you for being a part of that. We love you all.


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

To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/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 2010 #26

Everyone,

This will be short because I have a busy week and not much time this morning. You would think with the ARC closed I would have more time but instead we seem to be busier. It stayed hot all week and there were several bus/metro strikes which continue to disrupt our plans.

Tuesday we spent the day with our team mate Carolyn and her fiance doing their pre marriage counseling. It was a good time together and we talked into the late evening. On Wednesday Carolyn's parents flew in for the wedding so Kent spent part of the day picking them up at the airport and getting them to Carolyn's since there was a strike and no metro to the airport that day.

Wednesday morning Kent went down to the ARC and helped haul the old kitchen cupboard and bags of the tiles they had torn out down to the garbage. Then they needed to pack bags of sand up the stairs. Not the most fun on a hot day. The demolition part of the ARC went very quickly - tearing down is easy. Now we have started the process of waiting on plumbers, materials etc. We are still hoping to be done by the end of July but know in Greece things go at a different pace. The metro is being extended and was slated to finish in 2007. It is still far from being done. Siga Siga (slowly slowly).

Thursday we had planned to take a few of the younger girls and go up to visit the family camp that was being held last week. At the last minute our plans had to be canceled. There was a transportation strike that day and it was not a day we could drive in to town so we spent the day working on some lesson plans and getting caught up on paper work.

Friday morning Kent met with Dr. "S" in the morning and then came home bringing a refugee friend with him. Kent and Brett were taking a group of six refugee men to the beach and then coming back here for a BBQ. I was not planning on feeding anyone lunch so I quickly tried to fix something since Kent and "N" needed to leave again. They ended up with yogurt with a nectarine cut up in it with honey drizzled on top, a banana and some village bread and more honey. "N" wanted me to sit with them while they ate - so I did. He speaks some English and some Greek so we were able to converse a little. When he and Kent went to go he said "Thank you so much. It has been two years since I have seen my mother" I said "Well, I can be your mother in Athens". It is still amazing to me what a difference the small things we take for granted can mean in these people's lives. Kent seems to "collect" young men who are about our kids age and I enjoy getting to mother them a little.

Brent's wife Kristin and their two little ones spent the afternoon with me while the guys to the beach. At 6:30 they arrived back here happy and hungry. The hamburgers, chips and salad I made disappeared quickly and they had plenty of room for brownies and ice cream. The party broke up fairly early because "A" one of the men wanted Kent to help him move a washing machine someone was giving to his family. Kent didn't get home until late because of course you can't just walk in a get a washing machine but must politely make conversation for a while.

Saturday Kent went to the ARC to help move a refrigerator we were donating to a refugee family and then went to an outreach at the park sponsored by one of the local churches. Sunday we went to church and then played games with friends. This week is shaping up to be another busy one and the team will be arriving here soon for a prayer day.

I said this would be short but should have known it wouldn't happen. Thanks for taking the time to read all my ramblings and for all the encouragement and support you are to us. We love your all.


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

To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/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 2010 #25

Everyone,

It is HOT and expected to get HOTTER. The temperatures have been close to or in the low 100s during the day and our thermometer on the porch read 90 when we went to bed and still read almost that this morning. This winds have died down so the only breeze is created by the ceiling fans we have in every room. We have resisted getting an air conditioner both because of the expense of getting it and running it and because there is usually only a relatively short time that we would really use one. It seems like the heatwave is starting early this year so we'll see how the summer goes. Kent is not bothered much by the heat except at night when we are trying to sleep but I find myself entering what I call "trudge mode". I just trudge around getting done the bare necessities and then collapsing in a chair as soon as possible. We need to get down to the sea and snorkel!

It was a busy week at the ARC. Monday we had our last tea house until we reopen after the renovations. Tuesday we gave away 400 pairs of new women's shoes that had been donated by a local business. Wednesday we had our last Farsi meal before we close. Although we will see many of these people while we are closed - at beach days and visits to the parks, we also knew that this was the last time we would see some of them. Summer is the season when many people leave and especially with the economic crisis in Greece, everyone wants to go. The sad thing is that many of them will finally scrape together enough money to pay a smuggler or buy tickets somewhere but will either get caught as they leave or when they arrive at their destinations. If they make it through there is still no guarantee. We know many people who had been in another country for over a year and were doing well with a job, housing etc. They were picked up for not having the proper papers and back they came to Greece only to be denied asylum once again and told to leave the country within 90 days. The system is definitely broken and needs to be fixed.

On Thursday we dismantled the ARC taking things out of all the cupboards, off the walls and out of the office. It was hot, heavy work and we were all tired by the end of the day. Friday some of the guys went back and tore out the cupboards in the kitchen, moved the appliances etc. The renovations will be carried out for the most part by a local christian contractor who is donating his time and using his own crew. We are hoping to only be closed for about 5 weeks but are prepared that it may be longer. While we are closed we plan to do a family beach day each Friday. We will do a team park visit once a week and we have a couple of events planned at a local christian sports center. We may do some meals in a local church and we will use a lot of this time to just get together with refugees that we often don't have time to see outside of regular events. The whole team will be having a three day seminar on reaching Muslims, taught by one of the men from International Teams Headquarters who has a lot of experience and knowledge in this area. Kent and I along with a couple team mates will also be doing a ten day intensive Greek Class taught by a woman who is volunteering her time.

Last week Kent was gone all week to a men's retreat about 2 1/2 hours from here. Another local group, Hellenic Ministries has a camp and they invited our team to join them in a couple of week long outings this summer. This retreat was for men who wanted to learn more about Jesus so Kent invited a couple of men he has been talking to. The camp sits right on the sea and all the men said they felt like they had spent 5 days in Paradise. The part of Athens where the refugees live and where we have the ARC is a dark place. There are drugs, prostitution and streets teeming with people who have nothing to do. They live in old run down or abandoned buildings or sleep in the parks. They move from place to place getting food, or clothes or showers or whatever other small necessities they can find. For most of them this is the only part of Greece they see. Having a chance to get away from that for even an afternoon is such a gift to these people.

Each day at the camp the staff met early for prayer and planning. Twice a day they divided into 2-4 groups depending on the number of translators they had. Usually there were two Farsi groups and one Arabic group. Kent led one of the Farsi groups. Some days they just allowed them to ask any questions they had about Jesus, the Bible or Christianity. A couple of days they showed parts of the Jesus film and asked if there was anything in it they wanted to know more about or didn't understand. Kent said they had great discussions and even those who were strong Muslims were respectful and willing to listen. The rest of the day they played sports, swam in the sea, had canoe races or just hung out. At the end of the time "Y" one of the men Kent took said "This is the first time I have met 'real' Christians." Kent looks forward to having more conversations with "Y" in the near future. Pray for him and for "N" the other man that Kent took with him.

I will close now because Kent and I need to prepare for an afternoon pre-marriage counseling session. One of our team mates in getting married next week to an Iranian believer she met here. They have been dating for the last couple of years and engaged for about 6 months. Their pastor is marrying them but because of some family obligations he was not able to do their counseling so they asked if we would do it. We always enjoy getting to use some of the things we have gathered over the years on marriage. Pray for this couple as they begin life together. Pray for them this week as they finish preparing for their wedding and as their two families from very different cultures come together for the first time. Also please pray for ongoing issues they have with "E's" papers and for him to find regular work.

We think of you our team back home often and are so grateful for the support you give us. Thank you not only for the financial support but the little notes of encouragement and the prayers that go up on our behalf. We love you all.


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

To Support:
Online go to: www.iteams.org/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 ;}