Day 1: God of the Nations

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 same time, that He and His message can reach around the world and touch so many people. To stand and sing "Blesed be Your Name" with a refugee walking a road I can't fathom speaks volumes as to how God can meet us in any circumstance.


This afternoon, we had orientation where Kim asked us, "Why are you here?" and walked us through Matthew 25:31-46. In Eph. 2:8-10, we are saved by grace through faith for good works that God prepared beforehand for us to do. This is what we are saved for and made for. We are to reflect the love of Christ, but we are also to see Christ in them. He used the illustration of handing the water bottle to someone. Who is Jesus in this picture based on the passage in Matthew? Jesus says He is the one we offer food or drink to or visit in prison when we do so to any of these. These refugees are more accurately called persons of concern (POCs). Kim challenged us to also think of them as Persons of Christ.


Tomorrow we will have our first shift in camp among 6,250 POCs representing 40 nations. Please pray for strength, endurance, and meaningful interactions.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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