I was told by the squamates who already had their first shift at the refugee transition point that it was intense and hard, but I didn’t begin even imagine how accurately those words would describe it.
We arrived a the camp around 3:00 pm ready to start our shift. Myself and two of my team mates were immediately asked to man the clothing tent that would provide warm, dry clothes for the refugees who just got off the small rafts that voyaged them across the Aegean Sea from Turkey, to the beach of the island of Lesvos, where we are currently located.
The journey across that sea on those small, unreliable rafts is long, cold, and rocky. We have heard countless stories of those wounded and lives that were lost during that trip.
Our “camp” actually isn’t a refugee camp at all, its main purpose is essentially a “bus-stop” for refugees getting off the rafts and getting on a bus to the next refugee camp that helps carry them along their journey to their final destination.
Last night, we began providing dry clothes for those who were drenched and shivering from the cold. The enclosed tent that we were working in was no larger than 12 foot storage unit and housed thousands of clothing units to be given to the passing refugees.
I couldn’t even tell you howmany people came in and out of the clothing tent, but those faces are ones will forever have imprinted in my mind.
I will never forget the beautiful blueeyes of a shivering red-headed girl who was so drenched, it seemed nearly impossible to remove the wet clothes from her tiny body. Her hands trembled as she held on to me tightly to receive my body heat as I placed warm pants and a sweater on her body, a hat on her head, and dry socks and shoes on her feet.
During the ten minutes I had with this little girl I tried endlessly to get her to smile, but nothing would do the trick.
Tears started to well up just thinking of all she has already gone through and all that is still yet to come. There was a moment where I could not hold back the emotion anymore, stopped what I was doing, and just held her. When my arms wrapped around her, the trembling stopped, if even for just a second, and she wrapped her arms around my neck in return. The words, “Lord, keep her safe” left my mouth as I pulled away from that embrace and proceeded to pull the sweater over her head. When she was all dressed, I picked her up and carried her to the door. With one last smile from me, I said goodbye. In the midst of the chaos in that small clothing tent, a small half-smile broke on her face as I handed her to her father outside.
The rest of that shift was still hard and chaotic, but those beautiful blue eyes looking back at me stuck in my brain.
About 5 hours into that shift, frustration and stress began to get the best of me, and I started to forget about each individual life that was before me. Then, an elderly lady came in also drenched from head to toe. At this point, we were running low on clothes and I could not find her anything that she could wear. After searching everywhere I finally found her a less than ideal outfit choice that fit, but I could tell was uncomfortable for her to wear. She communicated to me through broken english and sign language that she wanted a different pair of pants. My first reaction was frustration. I just spent what felt like forever finding those pants, and she didn’t want them. I proceeded to tell her no, and suggested she move out of the tent. Then, the example of my teammate, AnnaKate, brought me back to myself again. She stopped the lady and kindly motioned for her to wait as she found her a different outfit to wear. A smile broke on that elderly lady’s face and as she waited, we miraculously were able to find the perfect option for her that was warm and fit well.
This reminded me of something I briefly had forgotten in the midst of the chaos. It reminded me that each body that came into that tent, was not just a number in the masses, but was truly a life, a soul, that mattered and needed the love of Christ shown to them with care.
So now, in less than an hour, my team and I will go back to that same transition point, and we will once again provide dry, clean, and warm clothes for those who need it. Today, I will go back with a joy and love that only Christ can give, ready to continue to create smiles on the faces of those who have left everything to escape war and devastation to find a better life. Their journey is not even half-way finished when they reach where we are, but to know that we are helping along their trek is the most rewarding and satisfying thing.
