I jumped out of the van, ready to work my shift at the transition site from 4:15 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. with a couple of teams from my squad. The area was covered with refugees just wanting to get a ticket and onto the bus that would take them to the next transition site.
The line to receive clothing was filled with people who had just come from the beach and needed a dry and warm outfit. We had some girls working in the clothing tent while Kyle and I manned the outer line.
At first it seemed easy. No one was being rude or pushy. They understood my charades and desire to have a system to effectively distribute the clothing to them. I divided them into three lines: men, women and children.
As they waited, a woman in line handed me her baby to hold. He was a beautiful boy. Healthy. He was wearing a beanie and a winter outfit. He was wrapped in one of the gray blankets we had passed out earlier in the evening. She asked me if I could get her something to put over his face to shield him from the cold air. I asked Tabitha to check if we had any baby blankets. The ladies found something for her and brought it out to me. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted but it was all we had left from the donations we had received.
I asked her his name and how old he was. His name was Ramesh* and he was 9 months old and her name was Naasa*, she was only 19. She told me that she was leaving her country because of the war but also to make a better living for her son.
It was finally her turn to go into the clothing tent and receive dry clothes. I held baby Ramesh* for her, while she changed clothes, and he fell asleep in my arms. As I rocked him, I thought about how he doesn’t even know what’s happening right now. He’s so innocent. When he gets older he will read stories about this and his mom will tell him the story of their escape. I prayed that the Lord would protect him and his mom as they traveled on. That they would actually make it to the country that they intended to for safety and to start a new life.
The other day I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Craig Groeschel called Love One Another: #struggles. He emphasized the point that:
True compassion demands ACTION
He mentioned, that every time you see the word compassion in the Bible it is always accompanied by an action.
In Mark 1:41 it says,
“Filled with COMPASSION, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.”
In Matthew 14:14 it says,
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had COMPASSION on them and healed their sick.
In the beginning of Matthew 20:34 it says,
“Jesus had COMPASSION on them and touched their eyes.”
I want my time here in Lesvos, Greece to be fueled by compassion.
To see the need and meet it.
To be His hands and feet extended.
To hold a woman’s baby so she can receive clean dry clothes.
To give out bottles of water and fruit to a family that has finally made it to a place of temporary shelter.
To pick up trash under the big tent so the next group of people can have a cleaner place to rest while they wait.
We are called to live like Jesus.
To allow His compassion to dwell inside of us which causes us to ACT.
We are the body of Christ. There are so many parts that make up His beautiful body. We cannot do this alone.
Some are called to Go.
To Give.
To Pray.
To Plant and to Harvest.
Every part is significant and beneficial to the Kingdom of God. [Check out 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 for more insight on the body of Christ.]
Ask the Lord how you can help. Ask Him how he wants to use you.
As we follow the example of our loving Savior, may our hearts cry be YES.
