I forgot what it meant to breathe when my team drove up the refugee camp at 7:00 in the morning on October 27. Hundreds of people swarmed the front entrance. Even more lay around the outskirts still sleeping on the sides of the road and up into the hills. It took a moment before God nudged me to step from the van.
What happened last night?
Our night shift informed us of the situation at hand. There was no room within the camp and hundreds had to be turned away into the dark. After a difficult night of huddling in the almost freezing temperatures, these refugees were in no mood to wait any longer. It would be vital for us to move them through the camp and onto buses in order to get to their next destination as quickly as feasible.
This would be no small task.
I entered into my little tent of food. The goal was to hand each person a piece of fruit, some high energy crackers, and a bottle of water as they entered our site. I genuinely enjoyed the task, knowing that I cpull have a small part in giving these war torn people a chance to smile. I went into all-out preparation mode: tearing bunches of bananas into singles, stocking crates with as many crackers as I could fit, and taking inventory of the items around me so that at any moment I could reach what was needed.
As I prepared, my tent began to shake and I over heard raised voices.
My heart broke broke as I recognized one of the English speaking voices to be one of my teammates. He never yells… Over and over again he told the crowd to stop. Stop pushing. Stop shouting. Stop mobbing.
I turned to my partner Kayla and could see in her eyes the same determination that I was feeling. Prayer warrior mode had been activated as each of us whispered our prayers to the only One who was in control of such an out of hand situation. “God, I know this is where you have asked each of us to be, but the other thing I know is we won’t make it without you intervening.”
A short little tune came to my head and slowly the words followed as well.
Safety, Safety
Lord I ask Thee
Not for comfort
But for safety
The melody and the words echoed through my heart as I stepped outside to assess the circumstances. Directly outside my door I encountered the mob of refugees trying to push their way past two of our guys in order to make it to the main section of the camp. The people had broken past the front gate.
It didn’t take me but a few minutes before I couldn’t help but return inside and fall to my knees. My song continued in the background as I used other words to pray over my friends and the people we were here to serve.
A short amount of time passed before Kayla came back into the tent as well. I looked up to see her water filled eyes. I could tell how much this was affecting her. We wanted so deeply to help these people. I hugged her tightly. Praying once again in my spiritual gift of faith I began to claim the promise of certainty over our camp. Certainty that God was in control and nothing happened outside of His knowledge of it. A sense of calm finally took me.
“I am hearing every prayer.”
I knew that voice. That was my Jesus. His voice was projecting over all the discord and into my soul. Everything was in His hands. Once more I was given courage to go back outside. Our site coordinator approached us to say that the front line had been reinstated and once these last hundred or so got through we would we be back to our original system. A bit of pent up anxiety was released once more.
I had asked God to challenge me as I entered Lesvos, Greece. It’s funny to see the challenges that He brings my way. Not ones I expect, but rather ones that authentically grow me. I am not in control. I serve the God who is.
As you continue to pray for my squad and I, please be praying that the way we serve these refugees will shine Jesus to them. Pray that as they search for a better life away from the pain they are facing in their native countries that they will find Christ and understand what it means to have freedom in the Lord. God is working here in Lesvos.
