Greece has been a wonderful month, full of lots of conversations, new ways of hearing the Lord and seeing Him move in our lives. Some of the work that we have been doing has been at a refugee center that just opened in April. Here is what we have been up to there.
Our team works at the refugee center Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-6pm. The center is located very close to a refugee camp where many displaced people live. The entire center is air conditioned to allow people to escape the hot summer days here in Greece. There are three main stations set up for attendants to utilize. First, the clothes section. After checking in, everyone gets to pick out a new shirt and pair of pants. Sometimes the center gives away items like socks, belts, and shorts but donations of those items are few and far between.
After getting a new pair of clothes, each person gets to use the shower facilities. For many of them, these two days might be the only time they get to shower each week.
After showering and changing into a new set of clothes, volunteers in the laundry room will do loads of laundry for everyone. While waiting for their laundry to be done, they can hang out in the living room area. There are tables, couches, and a floor area with lots of pillows- a great place for taking naps in the AC!
I have been working in the kitchen to provide snacks, sandwiches, and beverages for both the attendants and the volunteers. A local bakery donates pastries and sometimes bread for sandwiches. We sort the pastries to make sure we do not serve any with meat in them. Many of the people we serve are muslim and to hold them with utmost respect, we do not serve anything with red meat in it. In the afternoon, we serve sandwiches in fruit. Sometimes we also get donations of various deserts to serve in the afternoon. We always keep tea and coffee available for them throughout the day.
The truth is that I have really loved my time at the center, but it has been much harder in ways I wasn’t expecting. Although there are a few families who come to the center, most attendees are single men from different areas of the Middles East. Due to drastic cultural differences, the women volunteers must avoid talking to the men at the center. In fact, we are encouraged to keep a straight face most of the time and engage in as little conversation as possible. While I know this is to protect both us as volunteers and the men at the center, it takes away a lot of the joy I get from serving.
I am a very relational person and love to meet new people and hear their stories. Working at a refugee center really seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to use the gifts God blessed me with. And while my experience hasn’t been exactly what I was expecting, a change in perspective has allowed me to see the purpose in working behind the scenes.
Although my job is not to have conversations with the men or to ask them to share their story, I still get to serve in a way that allows their stories to be told. For example, by serving in the kitchen or working in the laundry room, the guy volunteers get to be out in the living area engaging the men in conversations, asking for their stories to be told. One of the people I was working with, Barbara, shared some great wisdom. She said that as she cuts and divides the pastries and hands over coffee, she prays blessings over them. So we began to pray for the food to fill them with life like nothing else will so they will keep coming back to the center. We prayed their hearts would be open to receive Christ. We prayed for them to receive hope and freedom for a new life. I wish I had prayed even more- you can never underestimate the power of intercession.
Eric, one of our squad leaders who is with our team this month, has become friends with one of the guys from Pakistan. Through multiple conversations at the center, they have been sharing their beliefs with each other. Eric gets to hear about this man’s story and the role that religion has played in his life and in turn, Eric has been able to share the gospel and all the Lord has done. Eric was even able to give his friend a Bible! Their friendship is something I get to celebrate and am blessed by too.
Some of the long-term team living in Greece started a Bible Study with some of the guys at the center. They meet for an hour or so each week and sometimes they even meet outside of the center for further discipleship. Just last week, one man came to believe in Christ as Lord and Savior! Those stories are ones that motivate and excite me for the work we are doing, the ways I get to serve. It has been amazing to see how the refugee center is creating a space for the power of Christ to move!
My role looks different than Eric and the long-term team’s, and sometimes it doesn’t seem nearly as much fun. But it’s important and necessary. I have to remember that Christ is exemplified when I choose to have a positive attitude and loving heart, regardless if I ever have a conversation with the people I am serving. I pray for my friends and the conversations they do get to have, while I wipe down counters, wash dishes, and refill coffee. I didn’t come on this journey for the glamor or spotlight- I came because I am a vessel to bring glory to God. And through the process, I realized my heart was positioned in such a way that I experienced joy and fulfillment in a role in a way I never have before.
