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.