The best things are the hardest things to leave because it means you’re leaving part of yourself behind.
And this is really hard.
This is harder than when I finished my World Race. This is harder than leaving Kansas City to go to Georgia, or leaving Georgia to go to Greece. I am leaving a community of believers that was so supportive, willing, and loving. I am leaving Syrian, Iraqi, and Iranian friends who have no control over their future. I’m leaving the beautiful island of Lesvos. And it honestly doesn’t seem real. Part of me still asks, “What just happened?” and a major part of definitely asks as I leave, “Wait, what’s happening now?”.
And so I’m taking baby steps in processing all of this. God is faithful and will see me through this time of transition, and He is holding me so tightly that I know I am never alone. Y’all, we are never alone. He is always with us. How crazy is that?
Anyway, in the spirit of baby steps for processing, here is a haphazard, random list of 11 things that I will miss from being on Lesvos.
- Gyros. Eating one gyro is totally worth the $1,000 flight.
- Being confused as being Greek, Spanish, Italian, or Arab. No one ever guessed that I was American.
- Having a South African roommate (Hein Van Der Merwe). You gain MAJOR cool points when your roommate is South African.
- The community of volunteers (YWAM, OM, GEM, CRI, CI, i58 and others). Only God can bring believers from 20+ countries under one organization and make it work. I love those people. God gave me a selfless community that truly cared for, protected, and supported each other. We fought for each other, and we won.
- Driving in Greece. Parking laws? Questionable. Speed limit? Laughable. The view? Gorgeous.
- Sleeping at Skala Sykaminia camp. It was like camping, but with cots and heaters, so better.
- Learning just enough Arabic to communicate but not enough to converse. Combine that with my Arab-like looks and you get a lot of Arabs speaking at me like I should know what they’re saying. And I never did.
- The battle of order vs. change. How do you keep order in a system when everything changes every hour? The volunteers did a great job of accepting change, rolling with the punches, and pushing forward. Never have I done anything where I’ve dealt with so many unanswered, and unanswerable, questions.
- Greek coffee shops. They’re everywhere, and always busy. Greeks drink coffee for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if they’re really pros, they drink coffee while sleeping.
- Walking into Moria. I felt something every time. Sometimes it was joy and excitement, and sometimes it was weight and burden. But every time, God felt it with me. And the other volunteers understood. God is so, so good.
- And finally, and most importantly, the refugees. Men and women just like me who were forced to flee everything but would still greet the volunteers with smiles, hugs, kisses, and gifts. I never thought I’d have a Syrian friend, and I’m so grateful that Jesus blew up my misconceptions of their people. I miss their joy, their friendship, helping them when they needed it most, and seeing the Lord work in their lives. I would do it all over again for nothing more than just the refugees. Jesus worked in them, through them, and for them.
I will miss the volunteers, and the refugees. We encouraged each other, loved each other, protected each other, and fought for each other. We pushed through language and cultural barriers to show each other, “hey, you matter to me.” Whatever good us volunteers did for the refugees, God used them to do even more good in our lives. This crazy community is what I will miss most, and it is the most painful thing to leave behind.
I praise God for the past three months. I praise him for his patience and faithfulness when we failed as volunteers. I praise him for his voice and guiding as we dealt with constant change. I praise him for his love and peace when we felt emptied of almost everything else. I praise him for his provision and love that was shown so tangibly by the community of volunteers. I praise him for his creation and majesty shown by the island of Lesvos. I praise him for bringing me here, sustaining me here, and taking me from here. He is King, Savior, my Father, and my refuge. He is Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and never has he wavered, never has he been nervous, and never has he failed.
Thank you for being faithful to the kingdom and to the Lord’s voice to send me the Greece. Thank you for humbly, sacrificially, and substantially supporting me. The work that we are doing was so good and I know it had eternal impact. During my time in Lesvos, over 80,000 refugees arrived on the island. You helped feed them, clothe them, shelter them, and love them. You gave them safety, protection, and care. You showed them that they mattered, and will always matter.
God is good, all of the time, and his grace and peace transcend anything that this world has to offer. I’m incredibly humbled that I was able to go to Greece, and I’m so grateful for his presence and peace in that place. It was an incredible time, and I’m looking forward to what’s next. He knows my future, your future, and the refugees’ future, and I joyfully surrender it all to him.
I fly back into the States on Friday, April 29th, and will be back in Kansas City, Missouri within the next week. I’d love to connect with you and swap stories about your past few months and my past few months. What has the Lord done in your life recently? I’d love to get together sometime soon!
