When we all left on the World Race, we knew this year was going to be full of surprises. This last month has been a prime example. We had team changes at the beginning of our time in Jordan. Meaning, that my time with Team Joy Riders has come to an end. I will definitely miss being on a team with them as we have made so many memories over the last four months or the race. However, I am looking forward to getting to know my new team! God didn’t waste any time shaking things up with us. With my new team, God is bringing a new adventure.
God has placed me with some powerful individuals and when you put us all together, we’re a force to be reckoned with. Allow me to introduce you to Team Powerhouse.
From left to right front: Carla, Brishna, and Daniel.
From left to right back: Taylor, myself, Aislinn, and Tyler.
So, I stated above that God is bringing new adventure with this new team. I don’t believe that saying that is enough for what he has called to us to. It’s way more than just an “adventure”. The Lord has been pressing on Taylor’s, our Team Leader, heart about going to Moria Refugee Camp on the island of Mitylene in Moria, Greece. This refugee camp is reportedly the worst refugee camp in the world.
“This is a crisis with about 7,000 people at the moment, all living in a space made for 2,100 occupants and a sewer system designed for only 800 users.”
Going into debrief, the Lord told me that He was going to do something big and crazy and to trust Him with it. I didn’t know what that meant, but once the team changes happened and Taylor shared what God had been putting on her heart, I knew that was it.
With this decision to answer the Lords calling to Greece, we will have to opt out of traveling with the rest of our squad to Georgia and Armenia. We will be spending around six weeks at the refugee camp working up to 10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. A normal day of work at the camp consists of this:
“…digging holes, installing heaters/insulation, housing and clothing new arrivals, picking up trash, serving food, and setting up tents. We help the refugees from the time they first arrive in camp by serving them food and water and providing them with bedding, hygiene kits and one set of clothes. Then, we house them which is the real challenge when there is already so many people living in camp and of so many different, and sometimes incompatible, nationalities.”
This sounds crazy, right? Well, God has decided to throw us into that! Apart from the Lord calling us to serve there, here are some other reasons why we would like to go:
Taylor – “Volunteering over the last two years in Athens with refugees has changed my life in ways I never anticipated. Once you serve alongside displaced people, “refugees” are no longer a distant crisis you hear about over dinner on the nightly news, but your precious friends and family. The lives of those in Syria and other impoverished, war-torn lands matter just as much as our own. I believe it is our call as people who love Christ to serve alongside the least of these, and in the process we find that we all have a common human value worth fighting for. Long story short, this is why I want to go to Greece.
Tyler – “I realized that the Lord has been planning this all along (of course) in such an interesting way. When I envisioned the trip, I really hoped to work with refugees at some point. Also, I could never get clear pictures of what Georgia and Armenia were going to look like. Any time I was daydreaming before the race, these two countries were always a blur. Also, when we had ‘MANistry month’ in Turkey a few months back, I had the biggest urge to go to the Greek islands. I didn’t know why, but God was preparing my heart and mind for what was to come.”
Brishna – “I don’t really know why I want to go or if I even want to go, but I don’t think it’s a mistake that I am on this team. I know the conditions of the camp are awful and like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I want to see how God is in the midst of all the suffering, and I want to show the people there is something to hope for and to look forward to. I think it will be a very humbling experience.”
Daniel – “Before being on this new team, I really never expected to go to a refugee camp in Greece during my race. Before leaving my friend Jack actually sat down with me at Chick-fil-A one day in my lunch break to talk about his experience doing the World Race a few years back and one story that stuck out was about him going to a refugee camp during the height of the crisis and volunteering. He told me how it was hard. Regardless, I’m motivated. The crisis still isn’t over. To meet people in the middle of their suffering and offer hope, that’s what Jesus is all about. I want to go to offer what hope I have in Christ by meeting the tangible needs of people, and doing the grunt work that needs to be done for the camp. I want to see God move in the hard places. That’s why I want to go to the refugee camp in Moria, Greece.”
Aislinn – “I never really knew much about the refugee crisis until coming on The World Race and visiting camps in person. What I’ve learned is that the need is so great and that refugee is more than just a term or a problem to deal with, these are real people each with unique stories and needs. There are a great physical/tangible needs in the camps but there is also a greater spiritual need for hope and salvation. I want to go to Moria to be the love and hope of Christ to people that desperately need it. I want to sit with people and look into their eyes, listen to their stories, tell them that they matter and that God loves them, and that there is more for them.”
Carla – “In Cyprus we had the opportunity to really learn about the refugee crises and it really blew my mind. Once you are faced with the reality it seems impossible to not get involved. It is what Jesus came to do, to serve the least of these.”
Charles – “God told me that, within all this change we just encountered as a team, He was going to do something big. That He was going to do something crazy with me. He has decided to take me to the worst refugee camp in the world. The people there are broken. They probably feel that there is no hope and that they will never get out of the ‘struggle’. I know what that feels like, being completely broken, feeling like the struggle will never end. I feel like that’s all I’ve known and what I’ve come from. Jesus saved me and gave me hope. Jesus meets us wherever we are, in the middle of our messes. He is, Emmanuel, always with us. Maybe the people there don’t know that. That is why I want to go. To do whatever I can to show the people in this camp that there is hope and His name is Jesus.”
Here is a video of the camp:
There is such a huge need for help at this refugee camp and to be honest, the 7 of us won’t be enough. But, that doesn’t mean we won’t do everything in our power to be as close to enough as we can. We can’t do this without your help. You all were able to help me raise what I needed to get out here and follow Jesus around the world. Due to Greece not being apart of our original route, we must raise the funds to get there to help. The total cost for us to raise, as a team, is $2,900. This comes out to around $415 per person, which covers all flights, a ferry to the island, communications, transit, and lodging.
With your help, I became fully funded for this missions trip before I even left. With your help, I raised $18,700. I have 118 subscribers. If each subscriber donates $5, I will have raised my portion, $415, of the $2,900. If each subscriber donates $25, our team would be fully funded to go and serve at the Moria Refugee Camp.
Will you help my team and I in raising a total of $2,900? Will you partner with us in being the Church and bringing the hope of Jesus to one of the most broken places in the world?
DO NOT donate on this page or I won’t receive any of the money you donate for this trip. Below are three ways you can donate to this trip. You can donate through out GoFundMe page, Venmo, or PayPal. If you’d like to donate another way, please contact me via email at [email protected] or through Facebook and we will figure something out!
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/help-send-us-to-moria-refugee-camp
Venmo: Charles-Peterson-26
PayPal: [email protected]
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet my new team and learn about our newest adventure with the Lord. God bless you all and I can’t wait to share with you what God does at this camp!
