Final Note

It is now Sunday and it has been a couple of days since I posted. I worked Thursday, Friday and a double shift on Saturday.  Tomorrow I leave to go down to Mitylene to await the ferry at 8:00 pm.  I might spend part of the day at the community center run by Opertion Mobilization to create a haven for Refugees waiting during the day for the ferry at night.  It is always great to hear thier stories because it makes what is going on real and honest.

I have really come to appreciate the people I have had an opportunity to serve with.  I will not mention any names or organizations.  But they have all  impacted me because of thier heart for people.  I didn’t say thier heart for missions.  I am seeing more and more that the idea of missions is great for bringing the Gospel message to the world.  But sometimes I think it can overshadow the heart of the Gospel message itself and our example from Jesus.  It’s all about bringing God’s love and compassion to people.  The volunteers here don’t see the refugees as a target group to evangelize.  Instead they see people who need our compassion and our help.  The extension of God’s grace through us will create a hunger to know and understand that grace.  Imagine the impact on someone who has traveled over rough mountains, through hostile territory (refugees are killed on thier way here) and across the Agean Sea(some of the boats capsizing are intentional).  Then they arrive on Lesbos.  They are pulled from the water, given food, dry clothes, a welcome and a place to stay.  They have been the recipients of these things, for the most part by volunteers.  A very powerful section of scripture highlights the nature of the righteous.

Matthew 25:31–40 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 

I believe that those I have served with truly understand the impact of these versus.  I want to thank them for thier heart and encoragement to me.

Many times when I am talking to the refugees they will ask me where I am from.  I will say America.  They will look very surprised.  They usually follow up with a question of why am I here. It is really kind of why are you here from America.  I give two reasons as straight forward as I can.  The first is this:

“I am here because of what God has done for me”

In order for them to truly understand my next response, I look them in the eye, I hold thier shoulders, hand or point to thier chest and say.  “I am here for you”.  This is followed by surprise and then appreciation.

Last night at about 10:00 pm activity at the clothing tent slowed down.  So I went and stood outside watching volley ball without a net and soccer in the “street”.  I was immediately offered a seat on a bench nearby by one of the men.  I thanked him and sat down.  He was there with some counsins, an aunt and uncle.  I can’t be sure but I think he was Lebonese from Syria. We had some small talk, which is what you have when one party doesn’t speak Arabic and the other only knows a little bit of English.  After a little while he left and I was joined by a man that traveled with a friend for 25 days from Afganistan.  He was a journalist.  He knew a lot more English.  Both of these gentlemen had noticed I had been there in the morning and was still there.  They expressed their appreciation.   One man walked up to me and send do you want some tea.  I hesitated because I was trying to understand why he was offering that to me a stranger.  I said yes and could it be unsweetened (which is kind of a special order).  He went over to the tea tent and got me tea.  Then sat down with us.  This man really didn’t speak any English except “Tea” with an implied “?”.  So he sat thier for a while in silence.  Both of us sharing a desire to communicate.   After a while he took out his phone and wanted to show me a music video of his favorite Pakistani vocalist. I listened since that’s all I could do.   I found that a lot can be conveyed with non-verbal communication.  Despite the UN being uptight about respecting cultural norms.  I have found the people I have interacted with very comfortable with physical touch.  A hand shake or a hand on the shoulder.  And know one takes offense when I say I will pray for thier journey.   As I walked out of the camp last night one man called to me “God go with you” in Arabic.

This time here has been the seed that is planted in many of these people’s hearts.  Pray for those who will water and care for them so that they can know Jesus as savior.

Shoes

There was one word that was both spoken to me and I have spoken to others more times than any other word.  It appears that this word is universally known in Pakistan, Afganistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria and almost anywhere in the world.  It is not "Coke Cola", "Hello" or "Coffee".  It will surprise you to know the word is "Shoes".  My assignment today was at the beginning of the line where people would walk up to join the line for the clothing tent.  Actually there are 2 lines.  One for single men and one for families or single women.  Actually a rough line is formed in the street waiting to join the line to the clothes tent. I first check the wrist bracelet where we mark ER for EuroRelief.   Meaning that they have already been to the tent.  If they haven't been and there is room in the line for single men, I send them forward.  If there isn't any room I have the ask them to wait on the road (not really a road, but a broad through fare with services on either side and a constant flow of refugees moving about the camp).  With wet pants and shoes (or not shoes) everyone is anxious to move from the road to the line for the tent.  It can result in pushing and shoving.  This requires gracious and disarming authority.  There is sometimes resistance, but when I insist everyone move back they do and then they apoligize for thier behavior with the hand on the heart bow.   When it comes to the families especially with children I am again faced with the same dilemma I had at the end of the line going into the tent.  How big is your family?  Are they all here?  I again might need to have the men move back and to the side to let a family through.  As before the hand puppet sometimes makes an appearance to calm the kids or distract them from all that is going on around them.  Even the young teenagers are amused.  Actually everyone is amused as the men look at me and wonder what planet I am from.  Here is the man who made them move back and he now playing with the kids with a hand puppet.  I try to shake hands with all the men and greet them.  They seem genuinely surprised.  The families know I am trying to be sensitive to thier needs and when I call attention to them being together as a family they are appreciative and proud.   A received some appreciative comments from the volunteers for the duffel of clothes provided by Calvary Bible Church.  The Nike stuff really solicited some comments.  It is a genuine need to have the clothes and shoes.  I know the refugees are not fully aware that these are donated clothes from individuals so sometimes they think they can ask for something different.   I will tell you one story.  I was fitting a young man for pants.  After bringing up a pair too small and then too large, I went back to the bin and dug out a pair of sweatpants.  The pants were a grayish color with a black and white graphic of action comics.  I knew it would fit him, but as I walked toward him I could see the familiar look of I am not thrilled to wear what you are about to give me.  So as I walked up I said "Wow!! Look what I found!!,  You are going to look so cool walking around the camp in these, everyone in the camp will be making a bee line here to see if we have anymore.  But you will have the only pair!!,  So you are good??".  He didn't understand my words but he got my meaning anyway.  He looked a little confused but took the pants and left.  He could have put those pants on and waited for his to dry and then switch and got rid of them.  However 2 days later I am walking through the camp and he is standing with some other men and still wearing them.  I walked up and pointed out his pants, with a look of "see??".  He grinned from ear to ear and the others had a good chuckle.

So let me end with the shoes.   We do not have men's shoes.  If we ever get them they are in such high demand, that they are gone in an hour.  Many men will get dry pants, shirts, socks and even a jacket.  But no shoes.  So all day long they come back to the tent walk up to me, point to their feet and say "Shoes?  Shoes?? Shoes?".   I say "no shoes, no shoes" with various hand gestures indicating no or none.  For each person they will go back and forth 2 or 3 times this way.  I had to tell this to about 100 men. They are convinced I have shoes and am holding out on them.  They have been told that maybe later so the same will return 2 hours later.  I say maybe tomorrow.  It is hard and frustrating.  If you hike 2 months from Afganistan, Pakistan or even Sri Lanka ride across the Agean in a water swamped boat you shoes are not in the best of state.  So with the echo of "shoes Shoes" rattling in my head please pray that we will receive more shoes especially for men. Also pray for my final days here.  I work Friday and Saturday.  I actually plan on working double shift Saturday so that I have a chance to walk around during my unscheduled shift so I can talk more at length with people.

24 Hours at Skala Skimmea

Tuesday morning arrived at Skala Skimmea at 7:30 AM, a stage 2 camp pretty much run by Operation Mobilization.  There is a doctors tent operated by WAMA (World Wide Access to Medical Advances). There is a tent operated by Samaritans Purse for blanket/sleeping bag distribution.  It appears that all the Samaritans Purse volunteers are Greek.  Aside from that there was just the 4 OM volunteers for food distribution, bus ticket management, coordination of refugees through the camp.   When we arrived we got the run down from the previous shift and became oriented to the layout and how the refugees would progress through the camp.  There is a stack of pallets at the corner of the parking lot where you can stand and look out over the Agean to see if any boats are arriving.  We could see 2 off in the distance. We then cleaned up the kitchen and sat down to visit.  I was with one of the volunteers I had worked with before from Switzerland, the shift leader was from South Africa and the other volunteer was a young man from Germany.  This was his first shift after arriving the day before.  We spent the morning catching up on our various backgrounds, christian faith and the refugee situation.  Meanwhile a Bulgarian lady from Samaritans Purse and the Greek Lady from UNHCR made us lunch.  It was quite involved and included rice, green bell peppers, tomatoes, chick peas and raisens (maybe more but I am not sure).  With only 7 of us in total at the camp they made enough for 20 people.  They said they wanted to cook for us in celebration of women's day. They served us large portions that I we really struggled to finish.  Afterwards we cleaned up. Since there no refugees in camp we all layed down for a nap.  I only napped about 20 minutes.   I was going to walk down to the beach to the stage 1 stations.  After zig zagging down hill at an incredible angle for 15 minutes I realized I was still a long way up from the beach and would not be able to get back quickly to the camp in case we started receiving refugees.  I then hiked back up and started talking to the other volunteers.  We had various groups come through the camp.  One was an international immigration board of about 15 people from various European countries.  Then some French journalist trying to unravel how the various organizations work together operating the camp.  Then people from the Danish Red Cross.  They're workers have been here over 6 months and they are trying to determine if they still need to be here.  Our shift leader who is in charge of the camp shows them around and explains how everything works. 

In the picture the refugees enter from the left, on the table will be bottles of water, figs and bananas.  As they move down th line on the right they will recieve blankets or sleeping bags, at the end there will be small table for bus tickets and the large tent at the end is where they can wait inside on benches and cots, to the left of the big tent is a large open area with benches and place to wait outside. This video will give you a better sense of what it is like in Skala Skimmea.  Who will remember?   Around 4:30 we start receiving refugees up from the beach a van full at a time.  We move to our various stations.  Food table, blanket distribution, bus ticketing, etc.  I follow the folks in the lead through the the process.  They almost walked right past the big tent expecting to board the buses for the next part of the trip.  I explained they needed to wait and it could take awhile.  I had to move to the exit gate to keep people in (technically they can exit if they want and start walking).  But after directing them to signs they start to understand they might be there a while.  The camp is actually a soccer field that was donated by the town.  So it actually has a high fence surrounding it.  This is not meant to keep the refugees in, but they might not know that.  I am really at the back gate to keep little kids wandering off into the countryside.  After a while there is about 40 refugees in the camp.  After a couple of hours they realize they are going to be there a while and frees me from the back gate.   They also understand the layout and they need to keep an eye on their children.  As it turns out we have been asked to keep them overnight because Camp Moria is full. So one of the workers starts making Lentil Soup in a 35 gallon pot over a propane burner.   A Greek priest came to visit us. He actually grew up in California, but has lived on Lesbos for about 12 years.  We had a great conversation about God's grace, caring for people and the refugee situation. He has been involved working in the camp with our shift leader since last summer.  After hearing my story that I had a great uncle who was a priest on the island, he offered to research church records for me to see if there are family on the island. At 10:00 the generator was turned off and the camp got real quite. I was used to being at camp Moria where  people are awake walking around all night long.  But at Skala Simmea it is lot smaller, plus this was only a single group they must have been exhausted they went right to sleep and we didn't see any of them until 7:30 the next morning.  One of the structures on the left of the picture above has cots for the volunteers.  I think I was able to get 6 hours sleep.  When we got up at 6:00 am we started really cleaning up the kitchen area (getting rid of cooked food from the past 2 days) making a vat of oatmeal, making another large pot of refugee tea (3 kilos of sugar per pot). After our relief shift arrived we left at 8:00 am and drove down to the beach where the boats land.  There are still lots of remnants of black rubber rafts (the rubber looks flimsier then an inner tube) littering the beach for the next 10 kilometers. This morning at 10:00 am the Operation Mobilization team got together at an apartment in downtown Molyvos, for coffee (what a treat), pastry, juice, fruit, cheese, bread, fellowship, singing, sharing and prayer.  There was 4 Americans, 2 Germans, 1 Greek and 1 Dutch.  Prayer time everyone prayed in thier own language. Even though it lasted over 2 hours it was a really encouraging time.  The rest of the day I have off.  My next shift is Thurday during the day.  God Bless, til then.     

The Weekend

Well it's hard to keep it straight, but here is the update the past couple of days. Thursday night we met as a group (about 25) at the Belvidere Hotel for prayer and study time.  I offered to do the message, which meant I guess I volunteered for the whole thing.  Since I wasn't there for the previous meeting, I wasn't sure what was expected.  Anyways I did a kind of message/study/discussion time around Matt. 5:43-48.  Praise God it went really well, with lots of involvement from a group that consisted mostly of people young enough to be my kids. On Friday I was off.  I spent a couple of hours talking to a young man from Estonia in the common room.  I thought he was a volunteer with one of the Christian organizations, because that is all I have met so far at the hotel.  Well it turned out he is not a Christian.  He is not sure if he believes in God.  He had a lot of questions and was eager to get together again.  I tried to bring the conversation back to a personal level but he kept wanting to discuss broader issues.  I am hoping before this week is out to be able to see him again. Later I walked down to Molyvous and greeted the owner of Nadia's apartments who we got to know when Cheryl and I were here 2 years ago.  It was good to see her, but caught her at a busy time.  If you ever find yourself visiting Lesbos be sure to go to Molyvos and stay at Nadia's apartments.  I continued through town and walked out to the breakwater.  Every way you turn you see the castle, the beautiful Agean sea, the Turkish coastline and the mountains of Lesbos.  It is breathtaking and difficult to capture in pictures. On Saturday my shift was moved from first shift to second shift (we leave the hotel at 2:30 pm and are back by 1:00 am)because some of the volunteers were sick, well it turned out they went anyways.   Good thing because we were pretty much busy the first 5 hours.  I brought a hand puppet with me.  I spent most of the time managing the line getting into the clothing tent.  As I said before it's a great time to just "talk" to the refugees. I usually ask them where they were from and where they are going.  Lots of answers on where they were from Afganistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, Syria, etc. Whenever there was a family with little kids the hand puppet would make an appearance.  The kids would really get excited, sometimes the very little ones looked a little concerned.  This would also break the ice with the parents.  Part of the job was to figure out who to let into the clothing tent.  Really gets crowded with 6.  So the challenge looking at the line is to figure out where one family ends and the next one begins.  Some families have 2 parents, 4 kids, a brother and a mother of one of the parents.  Need lots of hand diplomacy when you try to send in only part of the familiy.  They are excited to let you know who is in thier family. When it quieted down later in the night I went for a walk around the compound.  Two men in their late 20s came up to me and thanked me for the work we are doing there.  They are surprised to find out we are volunteers that have come from other countries to help.    When asked about where they are going, they either didn't understand my question or they are not sure where they are going after this.  I let them know I would pray for thier safe journey. After a short night of sleep I joined others for a trip down to Mytiline for church service.  A lot like my CBC family except add 2 violins and a ukulele to the praise team, mix in Greek, English and Greek/English choruses.  After the message the pastor whose name is Philemon (like the book of the Bible) asked me to pray.   He hadn't met me and did not know who I was.   Following his line of sight I knew there wasn't someone 7 foot tall standing directly behind me.  After my initial shock I prayed.  What a privilege.

After some of us went out for lunch and took the coastal route back to the hotel.  This got us back around 5:00 PM.  With us was a young man who was a refugee from Afganistan 2 years ago.  Shortly after his arrival he became a Christian and arrived yesterday excited to tell the other refugees about Jesus. He speaks Farsi, Arabic, Greek, Russian and English.   There were some mixup on his sleeping arrangements so I offered for him to share my room for the night, but I suspect it might be a permanent arrangement while I am here.  We joined the larger group down at the Belvidere Hotel for evening praise and worship time. Today is Monday.  I had breakfast over at another hotel with Euroreleif the umbrella organization that all the Christian organizations operate under here.   Then went and dropped off my laundry.  It is now 11:00 with no specific plans for the day, except rest.  There is a prayer meeting tonight and then Tuesday I have a 24 hour shift at a stage 2 camp.  Right close to where boats land at Skala Skimmea.  This camp is run by EuroRelief the umbrella organization for the Christian groups operating here.  The place I have been working at is Camp Moria. It is a stage 3 camp.  At camp Moria the Tea Tent, Clothing Tent and Family Compound is staffed by Christian organizations. God is so good.  I am guessing it will be a couple of days before I can get internet access again. Hoping to have more stories at that time.

The Walk

Well at this point I have been doing a lot of writing and you have been doing a lot of reading. So now going to switch to showing some pictures from a walk I took today.  I think I covered about 4 miles up into the countryside. Molyvous and the castle dominate the view as I head out on my walk.

Why do I feel compelled to take pictures of VW busses, it must be the wandering hippie in me.

A fellow traveler he appeared not to be moving very fast, but he must have known a short cut because when I got to the end of my walk he was nowhere to be found.

I am hoping I am on the right trail, since there aren’t any signs along the way except this one.

You can see the trail I took up here leading down to the right toward the coast.

My intent was not to find the dump for the life jackets as I headed up into the hills, but there it was along with a boat graveyard.

I can’t imagine relying on this for your kid as you cross the Agean sea.

In the center of this picture is the place I am staying.

Well I have tons more pictures but I will spare you until I get home.   I will finish with this other companion I met a long the walk.  You can see the Agean Sea and Turkey in the background.

Contact

I would like to share just one incredible story that really was a culmination of a spiritual journey for me over the past couple of years.  

In preparation for going on this trip many have asked how can I communicate the gospel message if I don't speak the language.  I didn't have an exact answer, but it didn't bother me because if God has called me then He will work it out.  I don't want to be glib about this, I have been frustrated by my desire to communicate to others in thier language.  But it just isn't going to happen. I have a language learning disability (not a clinical diagnosis) but an observation from being in Germany for 3 years and having a 30 word vocabulary, let alone a total lack of being able to pronounce the words I do know so that someone could understand me.  On my trip to Tanzania it took me 3 days to be able to memorize in Zwahili  "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" in order to baptize 28 candidates.  

I determined that when I get here I would communicate my love and compassion through non verbal communication.  Not just acts of kindness and but somehow the ability to convey through listening, contact and prayer.  This was all vaguely in my mind in the days of prayer leading up to my trip.

On Wednesday night we arrived at the clothing tent in Camp Moria at about 11:00 PM.  One of the volunteers was a young lady from Switzerland (I will refer to her as SV Swiss Volunteer) serving her first shift after arriving the day before.  She asked about the WC which was on the other side of the camp.  I offered to walk with her, but she assured me she didn't feel unsafe.  I asked if she was sure, I actually just wanted to stretch my legs.  I didn't say this but she indicated it was ok to walk with her if I just wanted to get out and walk.  Long and short we set off for the WC.  When we got there I used the facility then came out to wait.  She mistakenly went into the shower part of the building.  She emerged to find the other place where the ladies go and was directed there by one of the refugees.  As I stood off in the distance this refugee woman than walked up to me, probably recognizing that both of us were wearing the EuroRelief yellow vests.  She engaged me in a conversation in Arabic.  At first I thought she might be asking for directions to family services or some other service in the camp.  Finally SV emerged and joined us.  Between the 2 of us we realized she wanted to know our names.  We exchanged names with her.  Then for the next 20 minutes she tried to communicate that she was there with her Familiy.  We thought at first she was talking about a friend, but in retrospect I thinking she was communicating she needed a friend.  She was excited to introduce us to her family.  

We walked over to where her family was in 2 small dome tents.  She had 3 boys, ages 6 - 12.  They were very polite and were excited to shake our hands.  We ended up sitting on a bench and having a "conversation".  She knew probably 30 words of English, 10 words of French.  SV knew a little French.  But I would say 95% of the communication was arm gestures, pointing and so forth.  This is the gist of what we were able to learn.  She was Lebonese married to a Syrian man.  Syria, Lebannon, and Iraq are no more because of bombs and I also assume because of the way she spread her arms and named some group, because of ISIS.  They have lost family and thier life back there is gone.  They are journeying on to eventually end up in France based on the registration papers they received at the camp.  We "talked" for over an hour.  SV was incredible in her perseverance to understand, express compassion and to interact with the kids.  At one point I felt compelled to offer to pray with this person.  I offered through hand gestures, but she really didn't understand.  After 5 minutes I needed to pray outloud for her anyways.  I asked for God's peace and comfort.  For a safe journey.  For protection for her family and for her to come to know of God's love and grace.  SV followed suit by also praying asking Jesus to be with her to love her and to give her strength in the days ahead.  There is no way she understood what we were saying except through the miracle of the Holy Spirit.  Yet by the time we were finished she was openly sobbing and the tears streamed down her cheeks.  After seeing that I was soon joining her as I tried to clear the tears from my eyes.  Being cautious of cultural norms SV offered her a hug.  She grabbed SV like a lifeline and held on for the next 5 minutes continuing to sob.  I was truly in the presence of God's Holy Spirit.

We sat there for a bit and then the shift leader who was first worried about where we were and that a group was soon to arrive from a boat came running down the hill.  I felt bad because it was her first shift as leader and there was only her and one other person.  We excused ourselves from the Lebanese lady and headed back to the clothing tent.  This night we had many families.  We had a little bit of a break from 1:00 - 2:30 but then many families came in.  Families take a lot longer as you are searching for both kids and adult clothes at the same time.  Even though we had lots of clothes we didn't have much variety of sizes even for the kids.  It was try this, try that.  We were busy all the rest of the night and when we left at 8:30 am there was still a line, even though our relief crew had been there since 7:30.  As I stated before it is difficult not being able to provide everything that they could use, but one of the great things of working the clothing tent is monitoring the line and letting people in as groups. It gives you a lot of opportunity to "talk" to the folks.  They like to ask questions and joke around.  They are interested that I am from America.  

Please continue to pray that I will be able to communicate in a way that demonstrates God's mercy and grace.

 I have the day off today and then a day shift tomorrow.  Hoping to be able to share more great stories.

Camp Moria - First Stop in Europe

I have a very powerful story to tell from my shift last night, but that will have to wait till tomorrow

 because many have asked and I promised I would tell you exactly what my responsibilities would be while I am here.  

There are 3 stages that a refugee goes through.  Stage 1 is rescue.  For many months this meant waiting for them to land on the beach or have thier boat/raft flounder.  In recent weeks the Greek coast guard and others are patrolling the waters and picking up refugees as soon as they are in international waters.   During stage 1 they are provided any immediate medical attention.  Where ever that may be they are than transported to stage 2.  This is where they are registered or given immediate care.  Immediate care is hot tea, Ramon noodles cup, blankets and dry clothes.  

Stage 2 is Moria Refugee Camp.  I hear there are other camps, but this is the official one as far as I can tell.  My first shift was Tuesday night from 11:00 pm - 8:00 am. It is roughly a 45 minute ride over curvy treacherous roads.  My driver an American youth, too young to be one of my kids, I think made it in 30 hair raising and frightful minutes.  The passenger was a young lady from Germany who drove us back the next day at only slightly manageable speeds.  

We parked about a kilometer from the camp in a dark side road.  As we hiked up the road and approached the camp gate (former prison facility), it was not the kind of place that you want to get your first impression of at night.  Large floodlight, lots of concrete, high steel fencing, barb wire and guards.  Further in large white tents, fabricated structures, small 3 person dome tents scattered about, bodies sleeping on the ground in every nook and cranny wrapped in wool blankets, groups of refugee men standing around.  A landscape recently bulldozed and concreted over for roads.  Terraces cut into the hill for more structures, with seperate compounds for single men and families.  

We reached a section with a "Tent" (prefabricated and assembled structure donated by IKEA) tea and Ramon noodles, another "Tent" for blankets (and non food items), and a third tent for dry clothes.  They will typically follow through these tents in sequence, but if the lines get long they might switch from the tea tent to the dry clothes tent first.

My group is assigned to the dry clothes tent.  After getting oriented to the layout the previous shift leaves.  There are not refugees to serve at this time and it is expected to be a quite night.  The shift leader and the other helper set up cots in the very back to catch some sleep.  I keep watch outside.  I am given a mobile phone on which common messages are shared to about boats sited and thier progress to the camp, so that we can be ready.  At 1:00 am we are joined by 3 more volunteers who joined the others on cots in the tent (2 15' by 50' structures joined together).  I continue to wait outside.  At about 2:00 am one of the volunteers a young lady from Wisconsin? I think joins me and we talk about how and why we are here.  A common conversation when meeting a volunteer.  At about 3:00 am we are alerted that 66 refugee men who are wet are being brought in.  We awake the other volunteers to get ready.

Our tent is well stocked with donated clothes, with the exception of men's underwear and shoes.  The pants for everyone don't come in very accomadating sizes.  None of clothes are what you would want to be seen in.  The point is to have the refugees get into something that is dry and the next day they can dry thier clothes in the sun.  Soon the line is formed.  We let them into the tent 3 at a time and attempt to find them pants, sometimes shirts, a jacket and socks.   You only get something if it's wet or missing.  Many will try to get an upgrade for a worn jacket that isn't wet.  If they have wet shoes we give them socks and cut up space blankets to stuff between the sock and shoe.  The process is chaos because of the language barrier and the refugees thinking they might be getting better clothes than what they have.  Some even shed thier jackets outside, trying to game the system.  A few make it difficult for the rest and the volunteers.  

I did get about a 1/2 sleep between the first group and another that arrived about 5:30.  As we left during the daylight things looked less onimous.  Some of the refugee men in line for clothes and as I walked around the next day tried to engage me in conversation as best they could with 20 words of English and my 0 words of Arabic.

That's it.  That's what I am doing physically while here.  Tomorrow what is happening spiritually.

Small Acts of Generosity

In just 2 days I have been the recipient of several small acts of generosity by the people of Lesbos. 

The first occurred when I was walking around Mytilene harbor with 2 oversized bags.  I was hot, tired and sweaty.  So when I asked at a tour office where I could drop off bags for storage they said leave them there.  I offered to pay and they said no it wasn't a problem to leave my bags there all day.  I picked them up 5 hours later.  

I already told you about the gentleman that led me around the neighborhood to show me the shop of the hat maker and then led me to the shop where the daughter of the hat maker was working.

Later up at Hotel Pyrgos I left some money on the counter to pay for my coffee and cookies.  I was there 2 1/2 hours in conversation with the young ladies I mentioned earlier, who were legitimate guests of the hotel.  When I went to say goodbye to Katerina, she didn't want payment for the coffee.  I left the money anyway.

On Tuesday I was heading down from Orfeas to Molyvous about a 20 minute walk.  I passed a van with a young man sitting in the passenger seat.  He was selling bunches of oranges and tangerines in large bags.  I wanted to buy one to eat as I went along.  He indicated to help myself, which I did.  When I offered to pay he indicated no charge.  I gave him 1/2 a euro anyway.  

One of these acts alone would not have surprised me.  But I am a stranger, I don't speak Greek.  My bags could have been a risk for the tour office to watch for 5 hours.  They didn't know what was in them.  Partly I am aware that this is an economy where things are difficult and people don't have much. I post this in appreciation for the Greek people of Lesbos and thier small acts of generosity.

I started my shift work last night and I have another shift tonight.  I know that folks are waiting to here what I do and what is going on.  I will post tomorrow, but there won't be any pictures because that is restricted.  So here is a picture from just outside my door where I am staying.  The land you see on the horizon is Turkey.

Two Conversations

At the hotel on Monday one of the young Muslim women engaged me in a conversation.  She wanted me to understand the similarities of the Muslim faith and Christianity.  I am not sure why she started this conversation, but I think she overheard me talking to the other volunteer in the dining room on how a Christian nation should respond to a crisis like this, but ministering to Muslim refugees.

Anyway she went on to explain that they believe Moses and Jesus were prophets.  She covered other similarities like the belief in one God, who is the creator of all things.  She stressed that the differences between our faiths is minor.  I explained that unlike Islam, the true Christian faith acknowledges God's grace not works.  We believe thier is nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven.  Jesus is more than a prophet.  He is God's son.  He is devine.  He died on the cross for our sins to make us righteous in God's eyes so we can have a relationship with him.  I said this was not a minor difference, but a big difference that distinguishes true Christian faith from all the others.

In a non confrontational manner we continued this conversation for almost 2 hours.  Only interupted for a few minutes for her to put down her prayer rug to perform her mid-day prayers.  It was an interesting conversation and we did have common ground on some topics.  I know she is a true believer of her faith, but one thing she revealed about thier that it is a balance between fear and hope.  They fear God, they fear the stuggle with the temptations of this world and doing enough to obtain paradise.  They hope because God is merciful when dealing with thier short comings.  I don't know this young woman's name but I pray that someday she will find that it's possible to live not only with the assurance of hope but that she will know the assurance that Jesus died that she could have salvation.

On Monday evening I went to a worship and prayer gathering down the road at another hotel.  It was a small group of about 2 dozen.  They had already started so I was trying to sneak in unobtrusively, when across the room someone waved to me.  It wasn't someone I met that day, so I assumed it was a young woman from Maine that I knew was over here but didn't expect to run into her so soon.  I don't think I have seen her for about 4 years or so, but I knew she was working with EuroRelief.  I went over and greeted her, then sat down for the worship and prayer time.  At the end we were supposed to pair up with someone to share prayer requests with.  I ended up paired up with her.  We shared a lot about the purpose of our being here.  It seems like every Christian I meet realizes what an opportunity to not only provide aide for refugees physical needs, but their introduction to the west gives us an opportunity to share the hopes and values we have in Christ Jesus.  This young woman and  her friend raised enough support to stay through May.  It was great to hear how much God was working in her life and how mature she sounded in her faith. 

At the end of the day I was struck by the strange experience of having 2 very different conversations.  One with a devout Muslim and one a devout Christian.  But both volunteering to help with the refugee crisis.  One because of fear and obligation, the other an expression of gratitude for what God has done for her.

Mytilene

On Monday I exited the ferry at 8:00 am.  In the harbor there were dozens of life jackets floating around, I assume the drifted down from the north about 40 miles away.

I had my large suitcase and an extra large duffle bag in tow behind me with a backpack on my back as I made my way around the harbor in search of a place I could buy a SIM card for my phone.  Cobble sidewalks and parts that were not wide enough to get through without picking up one of the bags made me a bit of a spectacle.  Finally found a Vodafone shop and purchased a SIM card.  Even though the lady banged away as the computer for a solid 10 minutes to do the setup, she beat the service at ATT which takes 1/2 hour, while the person waiting on you talks about sports and everything else under the sun.  Now that I had a phone I called up to the team coordinator in the north, since their was some confusion on whether I should get a rental or have someone pick me up.  She said the driver would be there at 2:00 if I wanted to wait.  I had some folks to visit so I decided to hang around Mytilene.

First I stopped into a tour office to ask where I could find a place to store my bags for 5 hours.  They said just leave them here.  I then went in search of the gentleman who owns a shop where he makes hats.  I had bought one from him almost 2 years ago while visiting the island. How is it possible that you can establish a connection to someone after only 20 minutes, when they don't speak English and you don't speak Greek?

I have thought of him often as representing something old world as he showed me the various equipment that he uses the make the hats.  I was not sure where the shop was, I showed the label in the hat to several other shopkeepers who gave me directions that eventually I ended up in the right neighborhood.  One gentleman finally stood up from drinking coffee with a friend and told me the person I was looking for died 1 year ago, he was 91 at that time, so I assume he was 90 in the picture above.  I suspect those that I talked to earlier might have been reluctant to give me this news. He led me to where the shop was, down an alley where all the shops looked abandoned.  He then said his son-in-law owns a shop on the street where we started.  He offered to lead me there.  I went in and showed the lady the hat and label.  I saw she recognized it and I surmised from her reaction that she was his daughter.   I told her I was sorry to hear about her father.  Told her he was a kind and gentle man.  As I talked I was not sure how much she understood, but she got very teary eyed and expressed appreciation for me stopping in.  

After that I grabbed something to eat, a large bowl of yogurt mixed with Apple pieces and topped with banana, walnuts, raisins and honey.  Those were the ingredients I remember.   When the server explained it to me, I thought he described 2 dishes.  I went over to sit by the harbor later hoping to digest what was in my belly.  After an hour I walked up the hill to the Pyrgos Hotel.  I greeted the manager Katerina who we got to know 2 years ago.  She was happy to see me, but was a little disappointed I didn't have my better half with me.  She told me to sit in the common room while she got me coffee and some little cookies.  

I met a young woman from LA that was working in one of the camps.  She had been there for about 4 weeks and was taking a break by staying at the hotel.  I also met 2 young ladies from the UK that were part of a medical organization.  One was a surgeon.  Not much use for surgery so she was the supervisor for her group.  The other was a medic.  Both of them were Muslim.  

Have to cut this post short the editor is acting funny as I type on the iPad. 

Hold That Ferry

Well what I expected to go wrong didn't, but it came awfully close.   In order to save several hundred dollars my plan was to book a ferry from Athens.  This was not only cheaper than booking through to Lesbos the plane fare, but also to save on an overnight in Athens.  There was one risk and that is since I did the booking, if the flight from Zurich was late and there were delays getting from the airport to the sea port, I ran the risk of missing the ferry.  I thought it was a slim risk.

So this is what happened.  The flight from Zurich was late by 25 minutes.  No problem I had enough buffer, even with waiting for bags.  Well the bags took quite a while, my bags were the last batch on the carrousel.  No problem still had quite a buffer.  I bought a bus ticket for Port Piraes which I understood was 45 minutes away.  The Ferry was due to leave at 8:00.  It was now 5:30.   I looked at the post by the bus stop and it said bus leaves at 6:05.  No place to sit for 35 minutes outside, so I go inside the airport for15 minutes.  I come out and the bus is gone.  I find that there is an electronic board showing the bus left at 5:45, my watch says 5:47.  AAARRRGGHH!!!  Next bus is at 6:15.  Ok, if the bus ride is 45 minutes, then I will get there at 7:00.  The paper I have says to be there 1 hour ahead so I think I am all set. 

After moving right along for 1/2 hour, we are now stuck in traffic going 5 - 10 miles an hour.  So 7:00 comes and goes.  I can't tell where we are or how close to the port.  I talked to the only person that seems to speak English on the bus, does he know how close we are.  He says he is staying in a hotel that night because he won't make the ferry.   Part of the issue is this isn't a direct ride to the ferry, we drop off people at various bus stops on the way.  At 7:35 I ask the bus driver how far?  He says 30 minutes.  Oh oh.   I move my prayers up a notch.   We finally pull up to the Blue Star ferry office at 7:48, (I think the bus driver was accounting for more traffic and time to the actual ferry).  The ferry is actually 4 blocks from the ticket office, where I need to check in.  I dash in, while an old man and kid who were waiting at the curb, fight over carrying my very oversize, bags.  The lady inside processes my reservation and says I am late.  I ask can I make it, she doesn't think so.  The old man grabs my bags we run out to the side walk and he grabs a taxi.  It is now 7:52.  The taxi dashes through traffic and enters the ferry port area, my ferry is the last one about 3 football fields away.  We try not to run over dock workers as we pull right up to the loading ramp.  It is now 7:59.  As I grab my 2 oversize bags and struggle to get up the ramp and into the garage area,  the workers raise it up before I could turn around to look.  They check my bags and I struggle to transfer my toiletries into my small backpack.  As I head up to the main deck, the ferry has already pulled away and headed out to sea.   What should have been nearly a 2 hour buffer turned into 1 minute.  I am not sure where I saw that the trip from the airport was 45 minutes not 1 hour 45 minutes.  Maybe if I had seen that I would have made other arrangements.

Praise God I made it.  I was able to grab a salad on the ferry, did a little exploring than put in for the night.  I have a 4 berth room and at first I thought I had it to myself.  However a little while after typing this post, 2 Greek men joined me, about 10:00 pm.  Not sure where they were for 2 hours. Pretty tight quarters so decided to try and sleep.  After tossing and turning for a couple of hours I am now down in one of the lounges finishing up this post.  Will try and catch up with another post on Tuesday, assuming Monday to be a very busy day.

One Week to Go

It is now Sunday and I am leaving on Saturday.  It will be a busy week at work, getting ready packing, plus all the other normal weekly activities.   So probably won't be able to post again before I leave.

The amount of support I have had has been overwhelming.  I have all the financial support I need for the trip.  This has been a blessing beyond my expectations.  Many have given very sacrificial lay to this trip.  I am using some of the extra money to pick up first aide supplies,  extra work gloves to share with other workers and possibly rent a vehicle.   I am checking with the coordinators to see if that is helpful.

I brought a very large duffle bag to church a couple of weeks ago, so that folks could donate clothing items and shoes.   Just like God's blessing they filled the bag to overflowing.  My daughter is going to help repack it so everything might fit.  I don't think she will be able to do anything to make it lighter.  I am so thankful for my church family and their generosity.

I have saved for last what I am most thankful for is the commitment to be praying for my trip.  When people have asked me if I am going with somebody I know, I have been answering incorrectly saying I am going by myself.   I will be working with a group of people I have not met yet.  However after all the people from church, work, family, friends and missionaries in Brazil and Bolivia have told me they will pray for my trip.  I feel like 100s of people I know are going with me.

Several family members and friends have expressed concern for my safety and are worried that the refugees represent a danger because of their culture and religion.  I understand their concern and would not want to appear cavalier about the danger.   However living in this world presents dangers everywhere because of mans rebellion against God.  It's possible that some of the refugees are criminals, terrorists or fanatics with resentment of western culture.

 But they are far outnumbered by those who are persecuted for their moderate views in Afghanistan, have their villages destroyed by war in Syria or have been driven from their homes in Iraq by ISIS.  We do not want their impression of the Christian west to be one of hate, but of compassion.

I think of the feelings of the Jews toward the Samaritans during Jesus time. I won't go into all the historical, political and religious reasons, but the hatred of the Jews for the Samaritans even effected Jesus disciples.  In this passage the disciples weren't just suggesting avoiding the Samaritans but wanted the village destroyed by fire.

Luke 9:51-56 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

The Samaritans did not receive Jesus because he was going to Jerusalem.  So the Samaritans weren't big fans for the Jews due to the resentment of the temple in Jerusalem.  Not a pretty picture on either side.  As you can see from the last verse in this passage, Jesus emphasized that he came to save, not to destroy men.  Shouldn't we as his followers do the same?  Our compassion will lead others to salvation through Jesus Christ, not our distrust and hatred.

Next time I post we will look at in detail the incident of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well.

I can't say it enough your support and prayers give me the confidence to know I am doing the right thing and have confidence that God will give me strength and wisdom.

Pastor Keith

Frequently Asked Questions

Over the past several weeks I have been asked the same questions several times.  Some of the questions I ask myself.  Here is the best I can do to answer them.

Q. What will you do about languages?  Do you speak any?

A.  I expect to have to deal with 3 groups of people while I am on the island.  First my fellow workers for Operation Mobilization and partner relief groups.  They represent people from all over the world, but most of them have a working knowledge of English.  Second will be the people who live on Lesbos that speak Greek.  Most of the service industries (hotel, food, etc.) have a nominal understanding of English.  I am learning some Greek, but my mind is a sieve. The third group is the refugees.  They represent a diverse language group including Arabic, Kurdish, Urdu, Pashto, Dari, etc..   I don't have the natural talent to learn a language. I will be totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to allow me to listen and communicate in a way that expresses God's love and compassion.

Q. When are you leaving?

A. I actually begin my travel on Saturday, February 27th.  I will taking the bus down to Logan airport, flying from Boston to Zurich, Zurich to Athens.  I get to Athens on Sunday afternoon.  I then board an overnight ferry for Lesbos and arrive Monday morning the 29th.  This is when I officially start ministry.  I will be in Lesbos till March 14th.  Reverse my itinerary and I will be home the evening of March 15th.

Q. What will you be doing.

A. I covered this in my last blog entry.

Q. Where are the refugees coming from?  What is going on?   Why did they have to cross the water in these rafts?

A. I don't have the answers to this question.  It appears the stories are many.  Here are more links about the journey.

A Refugees Journey

Piper Perabo



Q. Where will I stay?

A. I don't know the exact accommodations, but it appears to be a hotel with a kitchenette that I will share with another team member.

Q. How can I help?

A. First and foremost pray for my preparation and trip?  Pray I will have my eyes open to what God will have me do, who I should talk to and how can I communicate His Love.  Calvary Bible Church has started a clothing collection to fill my duffle bag.   I am guessing that is pretty much full.  We are coming down to the wire if you want to support my trip go to https://my.omusa.org/page.aspx?pid=327.  Enter "Keith Stackhouse OM1000693872" in the comment box.  Donations need to entered by 2/20/2016.

Practical Help

So questions have come up on exactly what I would be doing as part of the Operation Mobilization team.  In this post I hope to give you a real sense.

This will not be a beach trip for me.  There are a number of NGOs better equipped to help there (i.e.; they have jet-skis and medical teams).  On the beach is more of a first responder role.  In reality it is meeting an immediate need of rescue from drowning and hypothermia.

    

Instead I will operating in one of the camps.  Directing refugees, clean-up, and lots of miscellaneous help.  My actual shift and duties will be determined upon arrival.  One thing to understand there are a lot of groups operating on the island with various roles and responsibilities.

This list will give you an idea:

• Euro Relief – ER – Christian Greek NGO that runs Sykaminia transition camp together with other NGO's
• Waha – Islamic medical NGO that runs the medical tent on our site
• Samaritans Purse – SP – Provides WASH (water-sanitation-hygiene) on the site and facilitates the distribution of NFI's (non-food-items) on the site and around the island.
• Operation Mobilization – OM – Contributes supplies, broad support and volunteers
• Youth With A Mission – YWAM – Teams of volunteers
• World racers – WR/”the racers” - Teams of volunteers
• Drop in the ocean – Drop – Works at the dirt road and volunteers in the transition camps
• Stichting bootvluchteling – Dutch boat refugee.. - Dutch organization working at the dirt road
• International Red Cross – IRC – Provides busses and a variety of other things
• United Nations High Commission for Refugees – UNHCR – provide busses & NFI's
• Medicins Sans Frontiers/doctors without borders – MSF – Run Madamados

What about having the opportunity to share the hope that I have as a Christian and the salvation that God has given to us through His Son Jesus Christ.  Since we are operating in camps that are managed by the UNCHR, we can’t distribute literature.  Doing so would not only jeopardize the opportunity to help on Lesbos, but effect any international effort with the UNCHR.  This doesn’t bother me because I believe that the way to reach someone is through hearing their story, extending compassion and sharing what God has done in my life.  We are free to engage the refugees without any restrictions, being respectful of all they have gone through and their privacy.

I think about the man in the Gospels who was demon possessed.  After Jesus drove the demons out of him, he wanted badly to follow Jesus.

Mark 5:19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Just think how much more effective we would be as we have honest personal conversations about what has God done in our life.  Then when people share the burdens, the hopelessness, the trials and discouragement that they are dealing with, we have the answers that they are searching for.

Please be praying for the folks I meet on my travels (air and ferry), people who live on the island, fellow workers and especially the refugees.

The Real Reason

From the very beginning of creation, God has expressed his love for us.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

 The creation was made for us.  The story of the Bible is God’s love for us.  But we have been deceived.  The serpent in the garden didn’t just tempt Adam and Eve with fruit, but tempted them to be free of their relationship and dependence on God.

Gen 3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

It might be easy to say the rest is history.   But in a sense it is true, the idea that man can live without a relationship with God, is sin.  It is rebellion against the gift of life that he gives us.  We cannot in ourselves provide penance for our rebellion, since that would be turning the tables on God and saying sorry for our rebellion, we can fix this without you.   That’s not possible.  So not only did God give us life and all of creation, but he also gave us his son Jesus Christ.  Christ paid the price for our rebellion on the cross.

So what does this have to do with the refugee crisis?  If I accept and believe all of the above, then God has made my life possible, given me many blessing in friends, family and health.  But most of all he has given me His love, he has given me my salvation and he has given me His Holy Spirit that lives within me and strengthens me in all that I do. 

So what do I do with all that God has done for me?  He calls me first of all to love him and secondly to love others.  This love for others should be the hallmark of all who follow Christ.  Who are the others?  The good news is for everyone.

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

The good news needs to overcome political prejudices, to overcome cultural prejudices, to overcome racial prejudices and to overcome religious prejudices.  Jesus reached out to the Samaritan woman that crossed religious and cultural barriers.  This shocked the woman.

John 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans).

People from Syria, Afghanistan and refugees from other countries need to hear the good news of God’s love.   How will they hear this good news? They will hear the Gospel only through the action of Christians reaching out during their time of need.  Jesus didn’t just preach, he healed, he listened and he met physical needs.  He showed compassion and he spoke the truth direct and with authority.

How can we say we follow and love God, when we segregate and separate those who are unsaved by groups?  When we create us and them, we hurt the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This is the real reason I am going to Lesbos.  This is the real reason I want to help.  This is the real reason I pray that I will be able to show God’s compassion.  Pray with me for these people to reconciled to the creator and one true God.

The Story Continues

In late November I started to search the internet for organizations involved in the relief work in Lesbos.  Hardly any organization you would recognize was in operation there at that time.  A restaurant owner in Lesbos had created an organization of local businesses and people.  Another organization based in the Scandinavian countries looked interesting.  But then finally I found Operation Mobilization.  I was intrigued by their work and it’s alignment to my faith.  Here is a key video from that organization.

https://vimeo.com/144359543 

In early December I couldn’t shake the call from God to go.  I started to mention this to some of my family members and close brothers and sisters in Christ.  I had not stated I would go, but that I was thinking about it.  One morning I was having breakfast with one of my Christian brothers.  Again I was sharing what was in my heart.  He said “So are you going to go”.  I told him “I guess I am”.  I knew at that point the decision had been made.

The process of applying, getting references, updating my passport and so forth took a lot longer than I thought, but finally last week the process for approval was completed for February 29 – March 14 (plus a couple of days travel).

More than anything, I hope you understand that this is about people.  People that have been displaced by war.  Almost daily there are stories from Lesbos.    Here is another story of families separated.

Chaotic Lesbos far from a refuge for many women and children

If you have read this far, I have a couple of favors to ask of you.

Please watch the link through to the end.

 Washington Post - Lesbos

Next please pray for my plans coming together for my trip and pray while I am over there.  Please pray for folks I will meet.

Please don't feel an obligation to give.  However some of you have expressed that interest and God is leading you to help with support.  So I want to give you that opportunity to participate in the work through your giving.

Support:       o   Online – https://my.omusa.org/OM-Missionary-Search  use the COMMENTS BOX, not find a missionary box  in the comment box enter my name Keith Stackhouse OM1000693872

                     o   Check – Payable to OM USA and mailed to OM USA Finance Dept. PO Box 444 Tyrone, GA 30290

Thank you for reading this post, please feel free to comment.

The News Stories

Grisly Discovery in Migrant Crisis Shocks Europe

Aylan’s story: How desperation left a 3-year-old boy washed up on a Turkish beach

The above stories really struck a chord in me as I thought about the desperation of the families that were involved.  These stories and similar ones in early September, along with the extent of the crisis initially got my attention. Especially since this is being considered one of the largest refugee migrations in modern times.  I wasn’t thinking about me and what could I do.  I was just following the news. We think the world is a comfortable place and that peace and progress will be the solution to man’s problems, but I knew that wasn’t the case.  For much of the world their isn't peace but the fallout of nations in strife and geopolitical posturing. 

Some of the stories I was looking at mentioned the Greek island of Lesvos.  Having been there it piqued my interest and I googled news stories about Lesvos, since I couldn't imagine the island I had driven all over had any type of refugee activity, though I knew it was only a few miles off of the Turkish coast.  I was shocked that 1000s of refugees were arriving on the island by raft/boat every day.  Later in November the average per day would be 7,000 arriving on an island that has a population of 86,000.  I began to follow every news story about Lesvos.  The occurrence of drownings became so routine that most of them didn’t even make headlines.  Like all tragedies the consumer becomes numb and moves onto other things.

How many are aware that last Thursday 45 drowned on the way to the Greek island of Kos?

45 Migrants Drown as 2 smuggling boats sink off Greece

In the fall I began to pray for the refugees and the people who are trying to help them.  I thought and prayed that somehow I could help.  I thought about going.  I didn’t think of it in real terms.  I thought that by the time I could plan to go, that the crisis would be over, though I knew there were millions of refugees in Turkey and coming from Afghanistan I expected that the small volunteer groups already operating on the island would be replaced by larger organizations with a process to handle the situation.  When I read 7,000 a day in November, continued drownings and the families that have left everything.  I realized this was not going away.

This is why I must go to Lesvos.  Next how I made up my mind.