Morley Update 2012 #46

Everyone,

This is my last update for the year 2012 and what a year it has been. Who but God could have foreseen the changes in our lives this year would bring? In March Kent became the team leader, in April I was hospitalized twice with blood clots and a small stroke, in June our children's leader moved to England, in July Heather and Chris Shepherd who were planning to join us were denied a visa and moved to Turkey, in November our dear friends and the founders of this ministry Scott and Vicki McCracken announced that they will be moving back to the states this summer. Add to this the coming and going of refugee friends as well as interns and short term teams and you can see how it might have been a rather stressful year.

Through all these changes we have seen God at work. Kent did not seek and even initially resisted taking the leadership position but God has given him a peace about it and blessed him with Christy and Nikos as a leadership team. Nikos provides wisdom and leadership and Christy is very detail oriented and helps to keep things running smoothly. Though my health continues to be an issue at times we are adjusting and I continue to function as the short term team and intern coordinator as well as help out at the ARC on a reduced schedule. The week our children's leader left, the Lord provided two interns who stepped in and were a great help over the summer as we were adjusting our children's program. Our young Afghan friend "G" continues to grow and work with the kids and my teammates Donna and Ritsa have filled in the gaps nicely. Over the past year especially, the political and economical climate in Greece has worsened. In some cases this has led to a growing distrust of foreigners. Whether it is related or not, we have seen several people denied visas in our ministry and in other ministries over this last year. Please pray as we have several new people wanting to join the team and we worry about them being able to get the necessary papers.

We have definitely seen the Lord working in the lives of refugees as well. Our believer friends have continued to grow and the Lord has added new believers throughout the year most recently the three women who were in a seekers Bible Study. As well as believer friends here who often help in the ministry: teaching, translating, cooking and sharing, we also have several believer friends who have moved on. Kent has two friends in Kurdistan who became believers here and who want to share Christ with their own people. Others are in various countries and are involved in local churches or Persian fellowships. Greece continues to be a hub where God is reaching the nations.

As I look back on 2012 and ahead to 2013 I am excited to see what God has in store. 2013 promises to be a banner year in our lives. Kent and I will both turn 60 - Kent's birthday is January 12th so he doesn't have far to go. We will also celebrate our 40th anniversary this year. Due to an agreement with Greece over social security issues Kent and I will spend 6 months of the coming year in the states. We will be attending our daughter's wedding May 4th in Mexico and then head to CA for Kent's dad's wedding. We will spend much time reconnecting with our supporting churches and individuals and hopefully forming new relationships as well. I will take the time to get some needed medical attention and we look forward to a bit of extended time with our parents, kids, grandkids and extended family.

We pray that this new year will hold blessings for all of you. We are continually thankful for your faithfulness to us and to the Lord. 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/us
Or Send to:
International Teams
411 W. River Rd.
Elgin IL 60123
Please designate for the ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley and indicate whether this is a one time gift or monthly support. Thanks :)

Morley Update 2012 #45

Everyone,

I am writing this update early because we just got home from family meal day and my heart is full because of something that happened today. Two weeks ago when we had our Christmas parties, Kent gave a talk on the Gift of Jesus. He took things from a box that illustrated what the Gift of Jesus was. He had a candle - Jesus is the light - he had water and bread. He also had a paper chain which he took out and hung around his neck pretending it was very heavy. He talked about how our sin weighs us down like this heavy chain and we cannot do anything about it. Then he told how the Gift of Jesus and what he did on the cross can free us from the burden of that chain of sin. On the family nights when he gave this talk, the children had already been sitting for a puppet show and a song and they were pretty excited, wiggly and a bit noisy. I wondered how the adults could even concentrate on hearing the message at all.

Today in the kids room we talked about the Christmas story and how baby Jesus grew up to die on the cross and take away our sin. Donna asked the kids in Farsi if anyone could tell her what sin was. A little boy of about 5 or 6, who is kind of a wiggle worm raised his hand - he raises his hand any time we ask a question. Donna called on him and he rattled on for some time in Farsi. When he finished "G" looked at me and said, "He said, 'Sin is like a big heavy chain around our neck and we can't get rid of it but God can take it away'". I was amazed! Here in the midst of semi-chaos two weeks ago, this little child actually listened to the message, remembered it and applied it. As I told Kent about it later I could not help but weep and his eyes filled with tears too. Sometimes you feel like maybe your words are just going out into thin air, but the Holy Spirit is at work and God's word does not return void. At the end of class we asked if someone wanted to pray. This little boy raised his hand again and prayed in Farsi. Donna told me afterwards that he said "I love you Jesus. You are my best friend. I'm glad you are in my heart." What a gift in this special season! Please pray for this boy and his family. His mother has gone on to another country to try to get asylum and the father is here with this little boy and his younger sister. The father always stays for the message on Tuesday. Today we talked with him a bit afterwards and told him how his son had repeated the message he had heard at the Christmas Party. Our teammate Carolyn and her husband told the father that if he ever had any questions or wanted to talk about these kinds of things they would be glad to sit down with him.

This is our last week and then we will be closed for the Christmas holiday and won't reopen until Jan. 8th because of another Greek holiday. Many of our team are away at this time so it is a busy week ahead and we will all be glad of a bit of rest. Kent and I will stay close to home since we will be taking our 6 month home assignment next year and didn't feel we could spend any money traveling now with that coming up. We will have refugee friends and team mates in during the break and may take a day trip or two. Have a wonderful Christmas. We will miss being with our family but as always we are so thankful that God has called us to this place and has provided us with a network of people we love. Thank you for your faithfulness to God and to us. We love you all.

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

Morley Update 2012 #44

Everyone,

Well our week of Christmas parties is over - here are a few "snapshots".

It is Monday - 2 hours before we open our doors for the first Christmas party. The gift items we have ordered have arrived but we have over 500 bags to pack in an hour. Kent and I are packing men's bags. The book of John in Farsi, a stocking hat, socks, shaving creme, three razors and shampoo. The items are on the tables and Kent and I are putting things in the bags as fast as we can while Mike counts and puts the bags in boxes. We are moving right along and have done over a hundred bags when suddenly everything come to a screeching halt. Lisa comes into the room looking for more conditioner for the women's bags. Much to our dismay it was mixed in with the shampoos for the men's bags and we have to stop and go back through each bag we have already packed. Amazingly we finished on time!

I am dressed as an Elf and going around the tables passing out candy to the kids. So many little black eyes looking up at me. Some are shy, some are sparkling with excitement and some coolly amused. Many of the kids call me Papa Noel as I tell them "Christmas Mobarack" and give them their candy. After the party I pose with most of the kids and many of the adults for pictures beside the tree.

The kitchen is a hive of activity. Our friend "A" has been there for hours cooking two huge pots of rice the Persian way. Each night a group from a local church brings food to prepare and serve. 150 salads are made and waiting on trays on the bakers rack. There are huge pots of rice and chicken, Arabic bread is stacked on the counter. Desserts are on a side table waiting to be put on decorative trays and the big refrigerator is filled with bottles of soda. When the time comes to serve the bowls are heaped with rice, chicken goes on top and the Arabic bread acts as a "cover". Our guests are very appreciative of the meal. Not just because it fills their stomachs but because having food that is familiar and cooked like home feeds their souls.

It is the night of the men's party. The team has sung "Tavalod Isa Mobarack" (Happy birthday Jesus) and when we finished the men were asking for more. After the object lesson that Kent brought, Susie came with her guitar once again and she and some of the team sang a couple more songs in Farsi (Joy to the World and Angels We Have Heard on High) The men loved it and sang along, especially on the chorus, always asking for "one more time". For years when the Taliban was in power in Afghanistan, music was banned so being able to sing freely together has special meaning for many of these men. Singing freely together about Jesus is even more amazing!

At our last party and again yesterday at family meal day we had quite a few children coming in with spots. These are not bug bites but we have an outbreak of chicken pox again. At least among refugees there is not the same attention to sickness and not exposing others as we would find in our culture. People often come with fevers, flu and other illnesses. Because of the Enbrel I take I am not supposed to be around chicken pox but have no way of avoiding it unless I just stay home. Yesterday I was helping in the baby room and found out two of the little ones I was playing with were infected. I've just had to ask the Lord to protect me and amazingly even though my immune system is compromised I don't seem to pick up the viruses going around very often.

I wanted to say a BIG thank you to all of you who donated toward our Christmas parties and also another BIG thank you to those of you who donated toward sleeping bags. Because of your generosity we got our first shipment of 50 sleeping bags this week and the men on our team will pass them out to guys sleeping in the parks or abandoned buildings this next week. It has turned off cold this last week especially at night so I know they will be very much appreciated. I am attaching a few pictures from the parties - Thank you for helping to make this happen.

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 2012 #43

Everyone -

It's time for an update but we are midway through our Christmas party week and I am feeling more tired than inspired. We have had three parties so far and all have gone well.

Our first party was Monday night but for Kent and I it started at 1:30 when we arrived to set up the puppet stage and tables and then practice the puppet show. At three the whole team arrived to pack Christmas bags - we packed over 500 bags in 2 hours with different things for men, women, teen boys, teen girls, young boys, young girls and babies. It was a family party and by 5:30 the room was filled with Moms, Dads and kids of all ages. As they entered they were directed to a room for a family portrait which they will be given next week. The church that Kent and I attend, Nea Zoi sponsored this first party. They did a great job of providing an abundance of all that we needed and working hard in the kitchen preparing, serving and cleaning up. The program was well received and of course the kids and adults loved their gift bags. Once again I changed into my Elf costume midway through the party and came out to pass out candy, play with the kids and have my picture taken with pretty much everyone there. By the time we finished clean up and got home I was extremely tired and in pain from being on my feet all day. I didn't get much sleep that night and woke up the next morning feeling feverish and tired. I slept until 12 noon when I got up and took my meds for the day. I sat down on the couch and fell asleep until 3:30 when Kent left for the believers party. I got up and went back to bed and slept until 8:30pm when I got up for an hour or so and then went back to bed and slept through the night. I felt much better yesterday, so either overdid or had some kind of a bug - there are several being passed around the team.

Tuesday night while I stayed home Kent went to the believer's party. This is a group of 25-30 refugees who are believers, many who came to faith here in Athens through Helping Hands. It was a night of sharing testimonies, singing and praying together. For some of the people it was their first time to partake in communion. What a sweet time of sharing together.

Last night was our Men's party. This is mostly men who are here without their families but there are a few who have young boys or teens and there are some teens who are here on their own. I hadn't planned to do the puppet show, not wanting the men to feel it was too young for them but "V" our translator said "No, DO it the men will LOVE it!" One of my puppeteers was sick and not there so I hastily drafted Christy and we went over the script. I am so glad we did. As we talked about how Mary and Joseph felt going on such a long tiring journey only to find there was no place for them when they arrived, many men nodded their heads in understanding. When we told how Mary and Joseph had to take Jesus and flee to another country for safety because of the evil king, I saw a few eyes fill with tears. These men understand the Christmas story in a way you and I will never know and I pray that it gives them hope.

Pray for us as we have two more family parties this week. Pray for Kent as he is starting to get a sore throat today and there is a nasty sore throat/ flu going around. He is giving the message so needs to hold out for a couple more days. Pray for the refugees who come to the parties - that they will see beyond the gifts we give them to the true gift of Jesus. Pray for the churches that are giving so generously to sponsor the parties at a time when all Greeks are struggling financially. Pray that our whole team stays strong and healthy through the parties and for the following two weeks as we return to our regular schedule. We will have quite a few team members gone on furlough so will be a big short handed - we are so thankful for our local volunteers at time like this. Thank you for your part in making all this possible. We love you all. Sorry I didn't include any pictures Kent and I were both too busy to take any so I will have to wait until our official photographer makes them available - I will try to include some next week.

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 2012 #42

Everyone,

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Monday of this week we had planned to take some friends down the coast to see Sounio but they called in the morning to say that she was sick. That meant we had that rare commodity of a free day. We decided to do our Christmas decorating. Now for some that doesn't seem like a day's work but when you take into account that we have five big tubs of Christmas decorations plus a couple of boxes you can see why we need a day. We both enjoy decorating and I especially like opening my nativities (I have 11 of them). Our tree is decorated with ornaments that Kent and I made together - hand painted balls, tassel angels and gold and silver bows. Our tree has always been decorated with items we made ourselves but a few years ago when all the kids were out of our house I made them take all the tacky styrofoam, clay, felt and paper ornaments and decided I was going to have my dream tree. We still hang Frosty and Chrystal on the tree and the Santa mobile Katie made in the 4th grade hangs in our entryway. Kent has the styrofoam Caroler and Snowman we made the first year we were married (almost 40 years ago) on his desk. He is more sentimental than I am. When we finished the house was beautiful. I got out my Christmas music and played the keyboard and the only thing missing was our family.

Yesterday was a day of decorating again as the team gathered to Deck the ARC and get ready for our Christmas parties next week. We put up our 6 Christmas trees, hung stars and snowflakes from the ceiling, made a backdrop for family pictures and put up wreaths and lights galore. We practiced singing our Christmas song in Farsi and set up tables ready for gift packing on Monday. We will have 5 parties next week. Four of them are for people from our meal days and waiting list. One of them is a believers party for those who have come to faith in Jesus. Please pray for the team as we enter this hectic time - there is a nasty cold/flu making the rounds so pray that we all stay healthy. Also pray for the puppet presentation - Here is a short synopsis of the story: Joseph and Mary went on a long journey and were very tired - you (our refugee friends) have been on a long journey too. When Mary and Joseph got to where they were going they couldn't find a place to stay - many of you arrived here and couldn't find a place. Maybe you even slept outside. Mary and Joseph stayed in a stable and Jesus didn't even have a bed but slept in the cow trough - some of you are worried about how to provide for your children. Then an angel came and told Joseph that a bad king wanted to kill all the little boys and that he should take Mary and Jesus and flee to another country until the bad king died - Jesus was a refugee. Jesus knows what it is like to leave your home, to travel a long way, to not have a house, and to live in another country because your own country is not safe. He loves you very much. Christmas time is a time to remember when Jesus came down from heaven as a baby. This is a powerful message for these people who have been through so much.

After the puppet show Kent will be sharing an object lesson. He will have a gift box and talk about how Jesus is God's gift to us. Then he will open the box and take out a candle - Jesus is the light of the world. Bread - Jesus is the bread of life. Water - Jesus is the living water. He will talk briefly about what each of these things means to us. Pray that the message will be received and understood.

For each of the refugee parties a local church is coming to help. They are providing the food, decorations and helping to serve and clean up. Pray for these churches that God will bless them for their generosity and that those who come to help will have their eyes opened in a new way toward refugees.

As always we are thankful for our larger team of supporters. This last week we had a team from Omaha NE who came to serve. They were such a blessing to us. They truly had servant's hearts and no matter what we asked them to do they did it cheerfully and well. The church they come from is called Glad Tidings and I think it is so fun that they have chosen to come help us each of the last three years at Christmas.

As you prepare for the Christmas season I pray you have time midst the busyness to think about what God's gift of Jesus means to you. I also pray that you will be sensitive to those around you who are walking in the darkness and searching for the light. I pray that you're eyes will be opened to those who are hungry spiritually and you will offer them the bread of life. I pray that you will see those who are trying in vain to quench their thirst with what this world has to offer and that you will share the living water with them and they will be satisfied. 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 2012 #41

Everyone -
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I am thankful for many things - for family and friends all over the world. For my comfortable home, for food on the table and clothes on my back (and front). I am thankful that I have always lived where I could worship as I chose and where I could have an education. I am thankful I was allowed to marry the man of my choice - and what a good choice he turned out to be! I am thankful that God has allowed Kent and I to be here in this place, at this time, with these people. That means I am thankful for you because it is only through your generosity that we are able to serve.

It was a BUSY but nice week. We had a couple staying with us for almost 2 weeks that were here to teach a leadership seminar that Scott McCracken was facilitating. That seminar lasted 8 days and finished last Thursday night. On Friday Kent went to work at the men's meal day and then came home to pick up Hank and Cathy and I to head for a retreat center near the sea about an hour away. We were attending a marriage seminar (lead by Hank and Cathy) for some believer refugee couples. There were three couples from Afghanistan/Iran and one couple from Ethiopia/Eritrea. Our team mates Carolyn and Ebi (she is Canadian - he is Iranian) and Scott rounded out the group. It was a good weekend with teaching times, but fun times of playing games, walking on the beach and sharing meals together as well. I knew some of the women to speak to - if you can call saying Salam and Koubi (hello and how are you) speaking. Because "V" one of the men serves as a translator for us at the ARC he was able to do the translating for the weekend. That meant that for the first time I got to hear a little more from these women about what they think and feel and also to hear their sense of humor. I always enjoy laughing with refugee friends. Their lives are so difficult and often after an event someone will say "It has been a long time since I laughed and it felt so good". I left after the weekend feeling much closer to these women and when I saw them on Tuesday the smiles were warmer and the hugs tighter as we remembered our good time together.

The marriage retreat ended Sunday morning and we got home around noon. I immediately went to the kitchen to mix up roll dough, make cheese dip and fix veggies for our Team Thanksgiving which was happening that afternoon. At 4:00 we gathered at the Dirrim's house to enjoy a traditional turkey dinner. There were around 25 people present. We cooked three turkeys because the largest turkey you can get here, IF you can find it, is about 8-10 pounds. It was a nice evening of food and fellowship.

Monday morning Kent took Cathy and Hank to the airport and I finished putting together some short term team manuals and cleaning the house. At 4:00 we left to go to the airport and pick up a short term team from Omaha NE. Since it was the 19th (an odd numbered day) this meant that we could not take them directly into town to their hotel because our license plate is even numbered. In Athens you can only drive in town on odd or even numbered days depending on your license number. Since we couldn't take them into town until after 8pm we brought them to the house and did their orientation here. Doing orientations for short term teams is always interesting because they have been on a plane for hours and have had little or no sleep. Then you sit them down on a comfortable couch and begin to go through an orientation manual with them. It is inevitable that eyes begin to droop. I try to be animated but often have to stop and let people get up and walk around in order to wake up. After we finished orientation we ordered Gyros and they had their first taste of Greek food. At 8:30 Kent left to take them in to town to their hotel.

Tuesday is family meal day. At 8am we got a call from Nikos our Greek director saying he was at the ARC and the police had our Stoa (alleyway) blocked off and were investigating a break in from the night before. Several cars had windows smashed and one of the little shops had been broken into. The big gate which had been down was wrenched off it's track. We didn't know how long the police would be there but knew that no refugees would enter if police were around. Kent and I left early and headed in to the ARC to see what the situation was. By the time we got there the police had gone and the shop owners were fixing the gate and sweeping up the glass. We decided we could go ahead as usual. It was a busy day with lots of kids in the kids room to hear the bible story and make the craft. When we finished, and the floors were swept and mopped, the short term team unpacked the suitcases of medicines, craft supplies etc. that they had brought. We got everything put away before we headed home.

Wednesday was a team meeting day and Kent and I arrived early to get the short term team started on their work projects. They had a busy morning sorting Christmas donations and cleaning our baby room from top to bottom and washing all the toys. The long term team spent much of our meeting finishing last minute details for our Christmas parties which are only a week and a half away. After the meeting we ran home to get food ready for team fellowship that night and I headed out for another meeting about Christmas parties. The short term team blessed us by providing chicken for our meal that evening and leading us in a fun team building game. By the time we got home at 9:30 that night I was TIRED. Pray for our team over the next couple of weeks. In addition to our regular program next week we all have things to prepare for the Christmas parties. Kent and I are in charge of the program this year. I need to get the puppets ready and rework the script. He needs to prepare the object lesson he is going to give. I also need to prepare some kind of back drop for out family portrait room at the parties and get my elf costume out and make sure it is ready to go. Others on the team are shopping, preparing music, giving out tickets etc etc. It is a hectic, crazy but rewarding time of the year.

I want to thank those of you who gave money for Christmas or sleeping bags. Due to the economic crisis in Greece (and elsewhere) we found not only monetary donations to be down this year but we didn't get as many donations of gift items either. This means more for us to buy. We spent yesterday making some decisions about gift bags and leaving out some items we had planned to include in order to come in under our budget. We are SO thankful for local churches who are sponsoring parties and providing the food and we are thankful for the donations that we did receive. We will still be able to give a memorable evening to our refugee friends. I also mentioned those of you who gave for sleeping bags. A group of our men headed to Patras today with a van full of sleeping bags to give to the men sleeping outside in this port city. About 30 men have been coming to the bible study they are helping to lead in a local Greek church. We will also do a sleeping bag give away here in Athens as well as hand out bags to men individually as we see the need. Thank you for helping to make both the Christmas parties and the gift of a sleeping bag possible. If you didn't have a chance to give but would like to you can follow the link at the bottom of this page under our names. Instead of designating For the Ministry of Kent and Myrna Morley be sure to designate For Helping Hands Athens Christmas or For Helping Hands Athens Sleeping Bags.

As we a coming to the close of another year we are so grateful for the wonderful extended team we have. Your financial support, prayers and letters of encouragement are SO appreciated.

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 2012 #40

Everyone,

In one of the monasteries at Meteora, one of our favorite places in Greece, there is a room lined with paintings. Under these paintings are writings describing the meaning of the picture. One of my favorites is of a priest holding a tray on which he is offering cups of tea, glasses of water and some rolls. Underneath the painting it says this: "The man who opens his heart to the only Light, who is Christ, is overflowing with true joy and goodness. His heart expands, like a spacious and sweetly perfumed chamber where guests assemble; he provides hospitality to each and every brother, seeing within him the image of God. He quenches their thirst with the cool water of love, of comfort, of sacrifice, of offering. And through this blessed door of hospitality, he may come to encounter the Heavenly Gate of the Kingdom of God."

I love the part that says "he provides hospitality to each and every brother, SEEING WITHIN HIM THE IMAGE OF GOD." We have had so many people come through the doors of the home God has given us here in Athens. Women, men, children and babies. Young, old, poor and affluent. There have been friends, family, interns and refugees who have come to stay for a night or a week or a month. These rooms have echoed with the sounds of Farsi, Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Kurdish, Greek and English. They have been filled with the sound of laughter which transcends language and is a sound I love to hear. There have also been times when these walls have provided a safe place for tears as friends share the anguish of their hearts. This home has been a place where we can pray for one another and show our love and concern. We have hosted seekers, believers and skeptics. People we know and people we meet for the first time when they walk through our door. No matter who they are, where they came from or what their circumstances - they are all made in the image of God. If we can remember this how much more quickly will we open our homes and our hearts and ask people to enter.

Who in your life is in need of hospitality? Is God asking you to open your heart or your home to someone? It may be a small thing - just a cup of coffee or tea. It might be something more. Something that costs you time, money or emotional investment. Whatever it is God can use it to quench their thirst, quiet their hunger and sooth their soul. And who knows you may just bring that person to "encounter the Heavenly Gate of the Kingdom of God."

Thank you SO much for allowing us to be your hands of hospitality to the refugees in Greece. Through this ministry many have been ushered up to the Heavenly Gate and many have walked through that gate into the Kingdom of God. Pray for those who are still outside the gate. Some want to walk through but are held back by fear and doubt. Pray for them and pray for us that we will be sensitive to those around us who are in need of the "cool water of love, comfort, sacrifice and offering". We love you all and are grateful to be in this work together.

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 :)