Coming alongside the refugee


Communicating though a closed chain link gate with a woman from Afghanistan who speaks Farsi, trying to convince her that she must sleep one night in this crowded section of camp among a few hundred strangers, seeing the frustration on her face from confusion, exhaustion, and discomfort, it’s hard to acknowledge that there is still compassion in this act. This is the safest place for her until her paperwork is completed and she can be “housed” in camp. She had arrived with 100 others that morning after crossing the water on an overcrowded raft from Turkey. Our team was able to provide limited supplies: two sets of clothes, one pair of shoes, basic hygiene products, and a foam mat to sleep on. Then the refugee’s indefinite waiting continues.

Even though this woman and her family did get placed in a tent among the olive trees at the top of the hill in camp the next day where she could experience a small sense of freedom, it’s that feeling from the night before and seeing that same desperation and hopelessness in faces a thousand times over that made me say last summer that I would never go back.

But then there was also practicing English with Linda from Angola and Mona from Somalia, learning Farsi with Niguine from Iran, enjoying the laughter and dancing of Devine from Congo, playing games with six-year-old Amsa, getting to know Mustafa from Iraq and Ahmed from Somalia, and sitting with the child that fell asleep in my arms. I couldn’t get these images out of my mind. When these people have fled from their homes and are experiencing what seems like an endless and perhaps aimless journey, if there is any hope and support that I can provide by just being there among them, it’s worth it.

So Sarod, Mari, and I (Aubrey) are returning to Lesvos, Greece this July, and Calandra and Abbie are joining us as we serve the more than 8,000 refugees located there. Our former teammate, Jessica, will also be there for three months. Our team leaves July 12 and returns July 23. We will be updating this blog regularly while we are there. Please join us in prayer throughout this journey. Please pray for our hearts and minds as they will be overwhelmed by what we encounter. Please pray that we can be an encouragement to those we interact with. Please pray for the refugees, for their physical and mental health, for their safety, and that they can ultimately find a place to call home again.


 

Comments

  1. ChrisMay 31, 2019 at 7:03 AM

    Praying that the love of the Father through His Son in the power of His Spirit will shine though your good works and penetrate hearts. Praying for gospel moments that only the Lord can orchestrate!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1: God of the Nations

Image
After a couple of travel issues, we all arrived on the island of Lesvos, Greece either late last night (Saturday) or early this morning (Sunday). We were greeted by an unusual rain shower for July at breakfast and on the way to church which provided a reprieve from the typical 90 degree heat. We had two options for church this morning. The first was a Greek Evangelical church that had a combined Greek/English time of worship and a message translated into both languages. The other was Oasis, an evangelical church that refugees and many Eurorelief volunteers attend. This had familiar worship songs in English and had a message in English that was also translated into Farsi and French. At this church, shoes are removed at the door, and everyone is seated on mats on the floor. At lunch, we each got to compare our experiences. One of my (Aubrey) favorite experiences on any mission trip is multi-cultural worship. It's a reminder of how big and how personal our God is at the sam...
Read more

Live by faith

Image
"Faith is living as though the Bible is true despite circumstances (what is happening), emotions (how I feel about it), or cultural trends (what others have to say about it)." The Eurorelief Chaplin, Tim, would share this faith principle with us every day before we started a shift along with a couple of verses by which we could apply this. How can we walk intentionally through camp interacting with so many people and cultures and demonstrate this? As I (Aubrey) reflect on the past week, I am looking for those moments and needing those moments to balance the hardship and disappointment I saw in so many faces as they wander through each day. So where did I see God show up? In providing basic needs such as meals, clothes, and bedding to families who just arrived in Europe In sharing laughter with Deca from Somalia as we kicked around a latex glove balloon one night, even while we faced ridicule from a man of a different culture because I chose to believe that I...
Read more

Camp experience

Image
“If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as noonday.  The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:10-11 A refugee camp is a place that must be experienced to be understood, and even then there are only levels of understanding. I (Abbie) am experiencing it as a Eurorelief volunteer. I can understand that. But for the people of concern who live here, their understanding is raw and heartbreaking and kind and thankful. In the few short days I have been here, I have seen all of these and so much more that cannot be put into words: the stories that are too traumatic and unbearable to even imagine, but these stories intersect with such kindness and compassion that these people of different cultures extend to each other....
Read more