We hit the ground running in a Refugee Camp…
We arrived on the island of Lesvos, Greece at 6am yesterday morning after an overnight ferry ride. From there we got settled into our amazing accommodations and were swept away to a world that has changed me forever. We had about 1-2 hours of basic training and then we began our very first shift at a Refugee camp.
The camp we are working with is designed to house around 1800 people. There are currently over 5000 desperate people residing there. People that have fled their homes and life as they know it just to survive. They have abandoned everything but each other to find hope.
After training we were all assigned a place to work. I was given the opportunity to work in housing with a young lady from Switzerland who is spending her vacation at the camp serving. We were given a family and a “room” assignment to take them to. Seems pretty simple and straightforward. So, we gather up this beautiful family of 7 and show them to their small housing cube. When we get there the current family living there refused to let the new family move in. There was already a family of 6 living there and now they would have to share the tiny space. They warned us this could happen and often does. So following protocol, I calmly explained to them that this is the way it works. When they still refused we went and got a translator to clear up confusion. This still didn’t work so we had to get a camp staff involved. He talked with them for over an hour and had to threaten to call the police if they didn’t comply. While we were waiting I got a chance to sit with the family and have a semi-conversation. They don’t know English and I don’t know Arabic. But it’s amazing what you can learn about people with just a few words and body language. I could tell the women of the family were not well valued. More than once they got yelled at for silly things. I could tell the father calls the shots and that the precious grandmother had dementia or some sort of mind issue. But I could also see sadness and fear in the young girl’s eyes. I wanted so badly to take her in my arms and tell her how much Jesus loves and values her, how much He wants to show her how beautiful and valuable she is. Since our conversation was limited to words like daughter, mother, brother, baby, etc. I took the time to silently pray for each of these beautiful people. I am almost certain they were Muslim and don’t have a relationship with Jesus. I prayed for their hearts and that the housing situation would work out. That God could somehow change the course of their lives and meet their needs. I have no idea what these people have been through, but I can imagine the horror that they have seen and it just wrecks me. It’s hard to see the countless people in the same situation. I have a feeling I will never be the same when I leave this place and I pray I won’t be. Yesterday before going to camp I prayed that God would allow me to see the world through these people’s eyes and see the refugees through his eyes. He is just starting to answer that prayer. This month is going to be a hard one, but I know it will be worth it! Back to my family from Iraq. The police ended up being called and I had to move my family into a temporary tent until the situation was resolved. I was sad to have to do that. They had been disappointed one more time.
I moved on to the next assignment because there is much work to be done here. A volunteer came up and asked for a few guys to help. We looked around and no guys to be had, so we told him we could try and do what he needed. We ended up building a huge and might I add heavy tent that will give about 20 people a temporary roof over their head. That only took us a few hours! But we got it done with no instructions and a pretty old dysfunctional hammer. It was an experience!
I took a little dinner break and while I was eating found out my family from Iraq was getting moved. I was so excited!! The police had to come and remove the other family, but my family was going to get to spend the night in the small building rather than a 3 person tiny tent! God is so good!!! The family was so happy as they were gathering up their stuff to move. I will never forget that teenage girl though. She pulled me aside and gave a hug and a kiss on the cheek and told me she loved me. I saw her smile for the very first time that day. I pray she felt loved and got a glimpse of Jesus today. I believe the Lord worked their situation out. We can’t bring up Jesus or really talk about our faith but we can love people the way Jesus did. We can pray for them and intercede for their hearts and that’s what I am committed to! I commit to loving fiercely and praying for them without cease.
Today was hard I am not going to lie this month will be physically and emotionally draining. We are already feeling the effects after day one. BUT, it is going to be so worth it. This camp is doing great work and spreading hope to group of people who desperately need it. Please be in prayer for each person in the camp that they will come to know Jesus and find true HOPE! Also, be in prayer for our team that we can rest and be able to serve fully.
