10 ways Refugees made me Smile…
- Children run up to you, jump in your arms and call you friend. (Some may bite you, but the pure joy on their faces makes it all worth it!)
- People just hand you their smiling babies and you get to make them laugh.
- They offer you tea, quesadillas, or anything else they happen to be cooking.
- While guarding a gate for hours they hang around and attempt to teach you Arabic or at least we all laugh while I try to make the right sounds.
- They help me search for a specific tent number in a never ending sea of tents and people.
- A family of 12 who are living in a 3 two person tents graciously tells me that they appreciate all the work that I am putting in to help them. The grandma who is 80 ish years old and has a ton of health problems kisses my cheeks and hugs me tight. They make me smile, but my heart still hurts for them and I wish I could do more.
- I met W’s(same teen boy from a previous blog) dad and they are going to Athens. He gets to leave the camp and be with family! Tonight, they were both at a worship service and we got to laugh and play games together.
- I sit and talk with a single mom from Section A who feeds me vegetables and fruit and tells me all about her kids and her family in Germany and how she wants to pray for peace. I got to share with her where my peace comes from. She showed me pictures of where she wants to go and her hopes for the future. Tonight, she came to the worship service and heard about how much Jesus loves her!
- I hand out clothes at the community center and see the joy that comes from a warm coat, new clothes, and shoes for a lady and her kids. She is so thankful even for the small amount of needs that were met.
- A translator opens the door for a Jesus conversation and I get to share with him the greatest story ever told and how he can have real hope. He says he wants that someday just not today. I pray that someday comes soon!
And there are so many other moments during this month that my heart was filled with so much joy and my face had a great big smile on it! I have shared the tough moments that broke my heart in two and yes they are many, but I want you to know that there also so many moments that made me smile! I hope they make you smile too! Please continue to pray for these precious people and my prayer is for you that you will see Refugees in a new light. I don’t know your opinion about the Refugee Crisis. But mine and God’s is that these beautiful people are made in God’s image and He has a good plan for them and their future. He wants them to know and love him. He wants to provide all their needs. I pray in his timing he will. I challenge you to see them as people and pray for their hearts and their future. They need Jesus just like you and I. Remember could always be just a few steps away from a refugee camp. These things could happen in America and we could be fleeing for our safety. If you get a chance love them like Jesus! It could just change your life! It sure did mine!
Update: We will be leaving Lesvos today and Athens tomorrow. Then will arrive in Malaysia on Friday! Pray for our transition to a new continent and saying hard goodbyes!
