Morley Update 2013 #29

Everyone -



I can't believe we have now been back in Greece for two weeks. We spent our first few days settling in, putting things away and finding things. When 5 different groups live in your house things get put away in odd places. Just when I think we are getting into a routine things change. We struggled with jet leg but finally settled into a normal sleeping pattern and then we changed our clocks back. We worked a regular week and then this week we will leave on a retreat. We got settled in and put things away and then next week we will have two girls living with us for 6 weeks so I need to rearrange for that. I guess I had forgotten how much of life here is about change.



On Saturday night we were invited to attend the wedding of our landlord's daughter. It was an orthodox wedding so we were excited to see the different cultural and religious traditions. The wedding was a lot of chanting by the priests but near the end they put the bridal crowns (like in my big fat Greek wedding) on their heads and walked them around the altar. Then the priest said some personal words to the bride and groom and their family. The wedding started at 7pm and we left the church at around 8:30 pm to drive to the reception about 20 minutes away. When we arrived there we waited some time and then the parents of the bride went to each table and greeted each person. Then the bride and groom came and there were toasts by the bride's parents. The food was buffet style and the bride and groom's table went last. When they finished the bride and groom went to each table and greeted each person and both set of parents went to each table and greeted each person. Of course all this took time. Then the dancing started, first Greek dancing for some time and then modern dancing. At about 11pm, I asked the brides cousin if they would have a wedding cake. She said "Oh yes a big one but they will not do it for a while yet." It was after midnight when we decided to call it a night and the dancing was still going on with no cake in sight. The next morning about noon we saw the whole family (including the bride and groom) looking sleepy and wearing slippers, robes etc. walking some of the rest of the family to their cars. I guess we just don't have the stamina for Greek celebrations. Sadly there was no plate breaking either.



On Monday we had a team meeting and team fellowship at our house. Kent and I both said we felt a little disconnected after being gone so long but it was good to see everyone and to begin to get up to speed on what is happening. Tuesday was our first day back to work. I received many warm hugs and kisses from women and children and Kent was greeting happily by some of his men friends as well. There were a lot of new faces and many faces missing as people have moved on and new ones have come.



Wednesday Kent went in to Men's Day. Thursday we invited Dr. J and his family over. We picked them up at the metro and we all went to a nearby beach for a while. The kids and Kent and Dr. J played in the water and built a sand castle and I sat on the beach and talked with "S". She recently took an exam that would allow her to practice medicine in the UK and other EU countries but missed passing it by only a few points. She will take it again in January. In the meantime she is studying hard and Dr. J is putting in many hours at the nursing home which provides them with their small income. Please pray from them - pray for the strain of financial stress and emotional stress after being apart so long. Also pray for "S" to pass her test in January and for God's provision until then. Pray that Kent and I will know how to best support and be there for them as well.



Friday was Tea House day and it was very different than when we used to have it on Saturdays before we left. Because many of the children are in school on this day it is much calmer and less hectic. When it came time to watch a video the kids all said they wanted the "Christmas" one. It was a simple cartoon of the biblical Christmas story in English but our new team mate Liisa translated into Farsi as it went along. The kids were mesmerized. I honestly have never seen them so quiet for a video. I ordered some more bible story videos from Amazon and had them sent to an intern arriving next week. Hopefully they will enjoy them just as much. Before we left Greece I had not been able to handle coming for Tea House because I just wasn't feeling well enough so I was pleased to see that by the end of the day I still felt good.



Monday was a holiday (OXI day) a very patriotic day for Greeks when they stood against the demands of Mussolini and just said "OXI" (NO). On Tues. in the children's room we had the story of Noah. Ritsa was asking the kids whether it was easy for Noah to obey and what the other people probably thought about what Noah was doing. They said they probably laughed at him. Ritsa asked if we ever found ourselves in the same situation. The kids didn't respond so I shared that when we felt God was telling us to come to Greece to tell refugees about Jesus some of our friends were saying "That is foolish, you can't leave your family and your home and go there". But we had to listen to God and we have not been sorry even though it is hard sometimes to be so far away. I finished by saying that if they ever felt like God was telling them to do something they needed to obey and not worry what other people thought - they would not be sorry. I then realized that "M" a woman who has been wavering about making a decision for Jesus was sitting in the room that day with her son. I looked at her and she was listening intently. She is leaving the country legally soon - please pray that she will listen to what she knows God is saying to her.



We leave tomorrow for our fall retreat. It is a working retreat with LOTS of meetings and planning. We will be reviewing all of our ministries and making decisions about them. Please pray for unity and pray that as many personalities, and passions come together that we will be able to hold our opinions and agendas lightly making room to listen to each other and to God. Thank you for your constant love and support - we are so thankful to be 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 #28

Everyone,



Well in a couple of days we will be winging our way back across the ocean to our home in Greece. When we left it seemed that the 6 months stretched endlessly before us and now we look back wondering where it went. We had many special times with our family and friends, most notably spending a week in Mexico with our family for our daughter Becky's wedding. We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. We went from spring flowers, to wild flowers and on to fall leaves. We ate corn on the cob, berry cobbler made from wild blackberries we picked ourselves and more fast food than we should have. We shopped 'til we dropped, went to movies and even went to Disneyland (on FREE tickets). We hiked, and swam and played golf. We spent time with our grandkids and kids - we played Pinochle, Pictionary, Sorry and Liar's Dice. We went to garage sales, antique stores and flea markets. We stopped at farm stands at first buying things like strawberries and this week buying pumpkins. We had long walks and longs talks. We drove from CA to OR to WA to WY back to OR and CA again. We spoke to 14 different groups and did a week long VBS doing the mission thought for the kids and teaching the adult class. We attended Winema Week of Missions where we had a display and shared about our work. I saw 7 different doctors, gave countless samples of blood and had multitudes of tests. I'm not sure we came to any good conclusions but we didn't come to any bad ones either.



Now we look forward to returning to our home in Greece and the work God has called us to. It will be hard to leave our family, it will be hard to leave the beautiful countryside and with all the green trees and fields to return to life in the city. It will be hard to return to struggling with language. But it will be good. It will be good to see our team mates and refugee friends. It will be good to settle into our home again and be in the same bed every night. It will be good to go to the ARC and be with the kids, hugging the ones I know and meeting the ones who have come in the time I have been away. It will be good to see the smiles and get the kisses that will come when I greet the women I have not seen in so long. It will be good to cook for our community group guys again and to meet new guys that Kent is sure to bring home for dinner. Thank you all for walking with us on this journey - my leg is healing though it is still somewhat sore and tends to swell up a bit when I'm on it too long. I went to the doctor this week again just to be sure there were no blood clots but they said I just have two large hematomas that will just take time to heal. Thank you for all your prayers and your continual support. Our next update will be from Greece!



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 2012 #27

Everyone -



We have settled in at our daughter house in MA and are greatly enjoying our family here. We have our two married daughters Allison, her husband Dave and their two kids Emma and Adam and Becky and her husband Todd - though he has been away caring for his brother who has been recovering from brain surgery in North Carolina and will be home this week. We also have my sister Amy. Last week we were all together (except Todd) for my birthday dinner. I turned 60 which had really been bothering me quite a bit earlier in the year - it just seem unavoidably OLD. However once the day came it was fine. We are enjoying playing with our grandkids who make us laugh every day. We love sitting at the bar in the kitchen visiting with our daughter as she whips up wonderful gourmet meals. We had a great time going to garage sales with both of our daughters and my sister yesterday. This week we will be spending a couple of days helping my sister with some bigger projects she is needing to get done at her beach house. I should more accurately say Kent will be doing most of the work - my leg is still bothering me quite a bit and I may need to go back to the doctor and have it looked at this week just to be sure before we head home to Greece.



Our time in the USA has flown by and we are looking forward to having these last couple of weeks to rest and recuperate. We couldn't find a more beautiful place to do that than New England in the fall - the leaves are beginning to turn and there is a crispness in the air in the morning. The farm stands are in full swing with fresh cider and donuts, pumpkins and chrysanthemums, corn mazes and hay rides. I will write one more update before we return. We are anxious to be back at work and I am ready to settle into our home and make it ours again. Even as I am writing this Kent is talking with our team mate and planning a big dinner at our home the week after we return. I will close now because my daughter has my waffle ready - we love you all.



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 #26

Everyone,



Several people have been wanting to know what has happened with all my doctor tests so I wanted to write an update mostly about that. After many different scans, tests, blood workups, etc. Here is what they came up with. There seems to be no reason that my blood should be forming clots regularly so they have taken me off the blood thinners and I am taking an aspirin a day. My brain scan was in the neurologist's word "pristine" and he does not feel I have had a stroke but have been experiencing visual migraines. He has me on a new medication and since being on it I have only had a couple of short incidents of double vision and he told me if I started having problems I could double the dose. My heart looked fine except for some normal "aging". My inflammatory arthritis is in good control but I have severe osteoarthritis in my knees and back.



When they did a scan of my abdomen - they did a scan of my organs and I have some lesions in both kidneys. They don't know what these are so they did a second scan this week. They have remained stable. The doctor said that normally he would like to scan them again in a few months to see if there was still no change but he didn't know what to do since I was leaving. I told him that when I had my mammogram last month they found some calcifications that the radiologist said he wanted to look at again in 6 months. I said "how about a year since I don't live here?" He said "No, 6 months." I calculated and realized that 6 months would be February which happens to be the month of my mother's 90th birthday so I told him I would fly back for my mom's birthday and he could do another scan. When my other doctor heard this he was pleased and said they would scan my kidneys then as well and if the lesions remained stable then he would feel more comfortable leaving them for a longer time.



SO we were happy to be done with doctors and planned to spend the last few days here in OR with our family and then on Wednesday after seeing my primary care doctor one last time we planned to head out to CA to spend some time with Kent's Dad and his wife and other family there. However on Saturday Kent and I and Kate, our daughter, decided to do an easy 2 mile hike in to Sweet Creek Falls and then go over to the coast for the day. About a mile in to the hike I was going down some steep flat rocks to get a picture I wanted and slipped. I fell twisting my knee behind me. I managed to limp back to the car and we came home. I iced it and elevated it that day but yesterday we decided I needed to go to urgent care. Nothing was broken and the doctor believes it is just sprained but said it is hard to examine properly when it is so swollen and I am in so much pain. So today I am getting a splint put on it (they were closed yesterday) and I will have my primary care doctor check it again on Wednesday to see if she thinks it needs further attention. It is still painful this morning but seems a little less stiff so that is good I think. I believe we will still be able to leave OR on Wednesday as planned.



The team in Greece is back from the conference in Germany and the programs at the ARC are in full swing. Several people on the team were able to connect with refugees we knew in Greece who have moved on to Germany so that was very special. Pray for the team as they continue on. Pray for our new teammates as they navigate the system in getting permits, setting up a home, getting electricity etc. Pray for us as we travel and pray for healing for my knee. Thank you for upholding us during this protracted time away. Though we look forward to more family time we are both ready to be back and getting on with the work God has for us. We love you all and are so happy that we got to see so many of you - If we missed you we are sorry but know that we appreciate you and couldn't do what we do without you.



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 #25

Everyone,




We spent the last week resting and spending time reconnecting with family. On Monday the 12th we joined Kent's dad Charles and his wife Lee, and sister Nadene and her husband Don, in a house up on the Little North Fork of the Santiam River. It's a large house with a deck overlooking the creek below. Thursday we were joined by our sister in law Barb, her son Seth and his wife Christi along with their two children Ivy and Isaiah. Our daughter Katie and our son Ben also joined us that night. Friday our niece Tammy came and Saturday Katie's boyfriend John arrived. On Sunday afternoon there was an influx of another aunt and uncle and 5 more cousins for the afternoon. Since there was no internet we spent the time playing family games, hiking to waterfalls, swimming, reading and having a family sing along. We have a weird family tradition of singing "Rocky Top" on Christmas. I know this is not your typical Christmas song but then we are definitely not your typical family. We broke tradition this year and sang Rocky Top along with old Gospel with some Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash and even a little Elton John thrown in. I love being a part of this crazy, fun loving, close knit family I married into.



After we left the house there on Monday the 19th we drove 1/2 hour to where my brother's family had joined together with another family who are close friends for their own mini reunion. We were just going to pop in to say hello but they talked us in to spending the night. There were 7 kids under the age of 6 in the house when everyone was there. I especially enjoyed visiting with my little great nieces from England and listening to their adorable British accents. I had a chance for a good talk with my niece from England and another chance to sit and chat with my other niece from Portland who I have seen but haven't had one on one time with - both of them are beautiful wives and mothers. Kent spent much of his time out in the boat with my brother water skiing. He had a great time but did ask after we got home where the Advil was so I think he found a few muscles he hadn't used in a while.



We are now settled back in at Veneta and will stay put for a little while - YAY! We are speaking at Bethany Church in Franklin on Sunday. In Greece most of the team is away in Germany for the International Teams European Conference. Pray that the team will be able to connect with some of our refugee friends who have moved on to Germany while they are there. Pray that the team will be rested and refreshed by their time away. Our new teammates have moved into our house in Greece and are getting settled. Please pray from them as they get the kids registered in school, find an apartment, and get moved, decide on a language school etc. They have been serving for the last 4 years in Afghanistan so already speak Dari but want to learn Greek. Because they are EU citizens they do not need to go through the process of getting a resident permit etc. which is a big load off their plate but there will still be plenty of adjustments. Since they lived with us for a week and a half this spring they at least know how to get around the city and where the shops are etc. Time is flying by and we can't believe it near the end of August already. Thank you all for your prayers and support during our home assignment. We have so enjoyed getting to see some of you and hope to see more of you in the coming weeks. 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 #24

Everyone,



Just a quick update. We had a lovely week last week. We stayed in Turner OR in a little Apartment provided for us on the Convention Grounds. In the Evenings we were the Mission Speakers at Vacation Bible School. Kent taught the adult class and together we gave a 15 minute presentation to the kids and adults each night. An offering was collected that we will take with us when we return to Greece and buy food for a grocery give away - it was a small VBS but they raised 300 dollars.



Because we were doing a new presentation each night it kept me hopping to find new ways to present what we were doing. On the last night we played a Refugee Game. We had a Boy and a Girl represent the two teams. Their starting scenario was this:
Girl: You are a 12 year old girl and so you are not allowed to go to school past 5th grade. Soon you will be sold to marry an older man. Your mother decides to take you and your sisters and run away
Boy: Your family is accused of working against the government and now the Taliban is trying to put you in prison or kill your whole family. Your family decides to leave.
The game was played by taking turns choosing box #1 or box #2. These were up on the screen and were revealed after they were chosen. The choices were things like:
1) You have enough money to pay a smuggler to take you out of the country – ahead 1 space/ You don’t have money for a smuggler so go into hiding – stay where you are

2) Your father finds a little work so you can buy food to feed your family – ahead 1 space/ Without work your family is hungry and you must look for food in the garbage cans along the street – stay where you are

3) In Athens you are living in the park, it is cold and you are frightened because some nights men come to the park and begin to beat any refugees they find – back 1 space/ You found a room to share with two other families – it is crowded and dirty but at least you are off the street and safe at night. – ahead 1 space.

4) You hear about a place called Helping Hands and go there – ahead 1 space/ You try to get help but most people turn you away telling you that they don’t want you and to go back where you came from – back 1 space

5) At Helping Hands you get to take a shower and wash your clothes – ahead 1 space/ You have no where to take a bath and your clothes are dirty and smelly – back 1 space

6) You talk to the people at Helping Hands and they tell you how much God loves you and they teach you to pray – ahead 1 space/ You don’t feel like anyone loves you and you have no one to talk to – back 1 space

These are just a few of the choices but you get the idea. The last choice was this:

You finally get asylum and go to another country – Go to the finish/ You are denied asylum and sent back to your country – Back to the beginning.



At first it seemed a little mean to have the whole game win or lose hang on the last question but this is the reality of being a refugee. We have known refugees who have made it to a new country. They found a job, got an apartment, made a life and a year later were picked up for not having the proper papers and sent back to Greece where they had nothing.



Since the VBS was in the evening this left us with the day free (once we had our lessons prepared) to relax. One day we went to Silver Creek Falls a lovely state park with 10 different water falls - I hiked to 4 of them - Kent did all 10. Another day we did a little shopping and then met some friends who live in the area for a long lunch. One day we took our great niece and nephew to lunch and then out to see an animated film. It was a good week. We are back in Veneta for a few days before we go back to the Salem area to spend a few days staying at a house up on the Santiam with some of our family. There will be 19 of us for 4 days so it should be a great time. The team is Greece is getting ready to be closed for 2 weeks as most of the team heads to Germany to attend the International Teams Convention. It will also be a chance to connect with a few refugee friends who have moved on to that area. Pray for them - I know the team is tired and in need of a break. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We love you all.



Serving Him Together,



Kent and Myrna Morley
Tripoleos 76
Elliniko 16777
Athens Greece
011 30 210 96 38 625
backhoeboy1@gmail.com
http://kent-uniquelymorley.blogspot.com
To join our Support Team:
Online go to: www.iteams.org 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 #23

Everyone,



I have found it is much easier to keep up with my weekly updates when we are in a regular routine. Sorry they have been a bit sporadic. Since I last wrote we spent some time with Willamette Christian Church in West Linn who have been faithful supporters from the beginning of our ministry. We met with their missions team, got to share with their leadership and join them for their morning prayer session and do a small group presentation in the evening. They also graciously printed up some prayer cards that we needed for our time at Week of Missions.



After a week spent at home working on presentations for a VBS and making a backdrop for Week of Missions as well as seeing a few friends, we left last Saturday and headed to the Salem area. We attended a school reunion for Kent on Saturday and attended church with friends in Salem on Sunday morning. We then drove an hour and a half over to the coast to set up our display at Winema Week of Missions. This is a big conference that is held every year at the coast which focuses on missions and brings together missionaries from all over to share what God is doing in the world. We set up our display and then headed back to Salem again to speak at Turner Christian Church for their evening service. This church is always a joy to speak at because many of the congregation are retired ministers, missionaries, bible professors or other people who were in full time Christian service - talk about preaching to the choir! They are always so encouraging and engaged in what we are doing.



After the service we drove back to the coast in time to climb into our bunk for the night. We spent the week listening to speakers, networking with other missionaries and sharing about our work with anyone who was interested. What we DIDN'T spend our time doing was walking on the beach in the sunshine. It was cloudy and cold all week and even drizzled several times. The only afternoon it was sunny at all was the afternoon that we were scheduled to give a presentation in the small chapel during the afternoon free time. The leader stood up to dismiss people and said "Get out there and enjoy the sun this afternoon because this is the only break we are supposed to get. For those interested Kent and Myrna Morley will be presenting their work in the chapel at 2:00." We learned a long time ago not to worry about how many people come to a presentation. Our job is to be there and share and God is able to bring the people in that he wants to hear.



A highlight of the week for us was that one of the main speakers was Fouad Masri the author of the Bridges series on How to Reach Muslims. We had been led through this series by a team mate who had taken the class in Spain. Fouad is from Lebanon and is a real ball of fire for the Lord. He was very encouraging to us in our work and is sending us materials to use in training our team. He also has said that he would like to visit us in Greece and see the work there for himself and to be an encouragement to the team.



We are back in Veneta for one day doing laundry and repacking our suitcase. We will be leaving in the morning to be in the Salem area next week as we participate in a VBS at Turner Christian Church. It is an evening VBS and we will be the missionary speakers and Kent will also be teaching the adult class.



News from Greece: The summer programs are in full swing. We have two interns as well as a short term team from Omaha in Greece at this time. Muslims are still celebrating Ramadan (July8-Aug 7). This is a time when they are fasting and seeking God. It is a time of spiritual warfare especially for new believers. Several men in the discipleship class reported feeling a lack of mental clarity and struggling with fatigue more than usual. Pray for protection for believers. This is also a time when God often uses dreams to speak to Muslim people. Pray that for those who are genuinely seeking truth, God will reveal himself to them.



Please pray for our friend "Ch". He is the young blind man we have shared about. Recently someone stole his keys and he was locked out of his house for two days. A friend looked through the window and everything in the house had been stolen including his laptop. One of our team mates has been working on getting him some software for the blind and it is supposed to be arriving in August. The team will be meeting with him to see how we can help.



I was encouraged in reading the last team meeting notes at how many Bible studies are happening. There is a seeker/believers class on Friday after tea house, a discipling class for new believers on Monday and Thursday (in cooperation with two other ministries), there is the men's question and answer time on Wednesday afternoon, and two women's bible studies on Thursdays one in the mornings and one in the afternoons. There is also a group that meets after the International Christian Fellowship Church on Sunday to discuss the sermon and worship and fellowship in Farsi - a couple of our team is involved in this. God is at work in Greece - His Word is going our and it will not return empty! Thank you for joining with us and with God in this work.




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 :)