Where to start…I don’t really know. We were rerouted this month from Kosovo to Greece. Our team has spent the month in Thessaloniki. From the very first day, ministry has been life-changing. This month, we worked with refugees from Syria and surrounding countries. When we got to the camp, where the refugees were, there was people, tents, and trash everywhere. At the moment, the Macedonia border, where we are working, is closed to anyone not from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. The first two days there were people from Morocco, Iran, Pakistan, and many other countries trying to get across the border but they weren’t allowed to cross. On day three, we were informed that all volunteers were no longer allowed at camp that day because the police were clearing out the camp, sending anyone not able to cross back to Athens. The camp went from thousands of people to almost no one, but more on this later.
The first day we were only at the camp for a couple of hours. We got to see a lot of people from many different countries. I got to give out warm soup to people from the back of a train car. I saw so many people and even though they were stuck in Greece, they were oddly happy. They were so grateful for anything we gave them, whether it be food or something as simple as conversation. Thus far in my life, I haven’t been much of an intentional person. I don’t seek out people to talk to and I just like to sit back. Over the last couple months, God has really been calling me into this. On the first day after soup I was still a little apprehensive to go and start a conversation. I left that day feeling like I let myself down. We got home for the night and some of my team talked about how good the conversations were that they had and I knew God was calling me to go deeper. So I decided that the next day would be different.
After arriving on day two, the makeshift kitchen that had been in the train car had been taken down because the train was leaving. We spent the majority of the day moving the kitchen into an old army tent someone had so they could continue cooking. After this, we went to a different part of the camp and helped hand out sandwiches and water to anyone who wanted some. With so many people at the camp it took 3 or 4 hours to hand them out. It was then time to find some people and to make conversation. This wasn’t too hard considering there were thousands of people around and only 6 of us. So I made my way around and found a group of people playing volleyball. As some of you may know, I love volleyball. It was three on three and every once in a while they would rotate someone else in. It was fun! When I rotated out there was a man standing off to the side that I had been playing with and all I said was “Hi” and we hit it off.
The man’s name was Ghasem and come to find out he was only a boy just barely 18 years old. We talked about all kinds of things. We started with the usuals: Whats your name? Where are you from? How old are you? From there the conversation only got better. He was telling me that he had just finished what we would call high school and he specialized in computers. The only thing is that in Iran, where he is from, there is no work to be had. He asked me if I knew much about Iran, and admittedly I told him I didn’t. He was telling me what his home town was like and what the rest of Iran was like. He kept telling me that the people of Iran were good people and that only the government was bad. Ironically a lot like back home, I thought. We continued to talk for a couple of hours and he told me of his love for American music and movies and just how much he loved Batman. His English wasn’t perfect but it was far better than the Persian that I can speak, none! He offered to translate for some the girls on our team that were trying to talk to other people. He was such a nice guy. Soon, it was time for us to leave for the day. I told him bye and that I would be back tomorrow to hang with him again.
We got home that night and I was reflecting on the day and the conversation I got to have and how excited I was to go back tomorrow and talk to him again. I really started thinking about what the people had gone through up to this point and it still wasn’t over. I kept thinking about the guy and how much he was just like me. He loved music and movies and all he desired was a peaceful place to live. This is something I, and probably you, take for granted everyday. The only thing that makes us any different is because I am from America and he is from the Middle East. God has given me so much and I take it for granted everyday. The Bible says to whom much is given, much is required. God has given me so much and He is asking much in return but up until now I haven’t been listening.
So, the next day comes, and as I said before, we weren’t aloud to go to the camp. Soon, I found out that my friend and thousands of other people had been sent back to Athens where they had just come from, to either apply for a visa to stay in Greece or to be deported.
And so it began where we would start something as a team and then the police would change their minds and not like what we were doing and kick us out of the camp. Sadly, this has become normal to us.
The following day as we got to the camp and my friend I had hoped to see again, along with many others, were gone. We now had no idea what we would be doing. They asked us to start handing out some clothes from a warehouse. It turned out that we got put in charge of handing out all of the clothes to anyone who needed them. During the days it was reasonably warm so people didn’t need so much, but at nights it was almost freezing. People would come walking by us on their way to the border and some weren’t even wearing shoes. It was at this point that it hit me: this is literally everything that they own. They don’t have furniture in storage back home or even a home for that matter. They come walking by and have maybe a duffle bag and back pack and that is it. I think back to how hard it was going to be to live this year of my life out of a hiker’s pack and a small school back pack and it pales in comparison. I have brought way more stuff than most of them and I have all of my stuff that I can go back home to. They don’t have anywhere to go back to.
Another case of how fortunate I am.
We spent the next couple of days standing outside for long parts of the day and it was freezing but how could we complain? We still had a warm house and mattresses to go back to when our shift was over.
It was kind of crazy as we handed out clothes this way. People would walk by and go through the clothes and make a complete mess and then they would go on their way to cross the border. Eventually we got a tent! There, we were able to organize things and to bring a lot more stuff in to hand out. It was really efficient and it worked for about a week…but then the police pulled a fast one on us and kicked the volunteers out again. Our tent was ransacked with no one there to attend it.
But during this week, I was standing by the fire one day trying to warm up and I turned and there was my friend Ghasem! I hadn’t seen him for over a week. We spent the next little bit talking about what he had done the past week. Even better was that I was able to give him a new testament in his language that he could read. He told me how everyone in his country was muslim but that was because if you weren’t then they would kill you. He said, “but now I am free and I can be whatever I want to be.” So we spent some time talking about Jesus and it was really cool. I only planted a seed but that was still so cool. He eventually had to get back on the bus back to Athens because he didn’t have the right papers but I do hope to see him again before we leave.
Monday of this past week we tried to take the clothes to a near by gas station. All of the buses stop there before they get to the border and our goal was to hand out hats and gloves. As no surprise, this worked for a short time but then we got the boot.
Yesterday we went back to the camp and started handing things out again, but this time before the refugees even get off of the buses. It is working so far, but only time will tell if we can continue doing it this way.
It has been a tiring past couple of weeks but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The long shifts and hour-long drives to and from the border are nothing compared to all the things I have learned and all the peoples lives we got to be a part of. It has been pretty cool that each month has been better than the one before and I hope this doesn’t stop! Thanks for reading and thanks for the prayers.
