Some final thoughts...

A day at camp...

Camp is a short 5 minute drive from town. Leaving the beautiful seaside town and driving the road toward camp is like entering another world. On the road to camp, the drive is usually slow because there are so many POCs walking along the road. Some as friends. Some as families. Never single file. They are free to come and go from the camp and many take the opportunity to walk to town for a change of scenery or to fish or to play by the water.

As you near camp, you can begin to see many of the white tarps covering tents and white ISO boxes, scattered on the hillside. 14,000 people in a space designed for 6,000 people.

Two different worlds clashing in such close proximity.

Entering through the gates to camp, you see tents with spray painted numbers, on pallets covered by tarps in every nook and cranny. Some tents without pallets or tarps. These dwellings line the entire path walking into camp. One side is tents. The other side is ISO boxes. The entire camp is filled with these dwellings.

There are overflowing dumpsters everywhere.

A constant chatter is heard in the camp. Many POCs set up shop with various foods, fruits and veggies. Sometimes you pass a barber shop. Many POCs are sitting or standing outside of their housing units during the day. Some on their phones. Some having tea. Some visiting with their neighbors. Some sleeping.

The many smells wafting through camp range from sweet smells of donuts or other delicious foods to the not so fragrant smells of body odor and garbage.

The constant calling of "my friend, my friend," is heard often. In new arrivals, we are always giving instruction to the minor boys waiting in line for food... "no line, no food" they often try to butt in line. We try to create order.

The RIC area houses all single women, single women with children and minor boys. There are 650 minor boys in new arrivals, 1500 minor boys in the entire camp. These boys are "orphans", here without any parents or families. Medical area is set up in the RIC area as well. Many wait in line overnight so they can get in for an appointment in the morning.

Outside of Eurorelief information center is chaos during the day.  This is where the POCs come to have any question answered. Many want pallets that we don’t always have. Many need housing. Many want to move their housing. Many are not happy. Many are frustrated.

Diaper delivery also happens in this area. Families are given 2 diapers per day and 6 wipes to last the week?!

While all of this may paint a sobering picture, many of these people are still in a better place than where they came from. And, you see many more smiles than angry or sad faces.

Our team took some time on Saturday to share things we are thankful for in the midst of this hard stuff. Some of my highlights:

·       On my last evening in new arrivals, I was handing out the bags of clothing and sleeping bags to people who had just arrived in the last day or so. There was a family of 5, 3 children and the cutest little boy ever. He was maybe 2. As I handed them their bag, he saw the sleeping bags on the top of the pile in the bag, and he also saw OTHER sleeping bags behind me on the shelf that we pack from. He kept pointing to one that he wanted. We are really not to do exchanges (or we would have EVERYONE doing that). I couldn’t resist. Kevin started pointing to a couple different bags and when he got to the green one, the little boy smiled and reacted excitedly indicating that was what he wanted. What a joy to hand this little boy a green sleeping bag. Seeing his entire face lit up with a smile was beautiful! His entire family was smiling. His sister wanted to change out her bag, so we did. This family left with some happiness in their hearts. It was really a beautiful thing.

·       Sharing tea early in our week with the 10 ladies from Somalia. Visiting with them, sharing, laughing, enjoying tea and being able to pray for them was sweet.

·       The time Eric and I had tea with the elderly man and were surrounded by many children.

  

Here are a few things that others shared:

·       The times spent with the children. When they run up to you with smiles, hugs and so much joy, it is so sweet.

·       Barb shared of a child she cared for during her two weeks. He had a burn on his arm and she was changing his bandages throughout her time in camp. After she cared for him, he gave her a thumbs up and blew her a kiss.

·       Playing ball with the boys.

·       Drawing and sketching with some of the boys.

·       Enjoying time with our team. We all had a lot of fun together and grew together.

·       Interacting with Norman and Kris, the shift coordinators. It’s always a joy to hear others stories and journey of faith and to be able to encourage them in it.

·       Seeing joy in the POCs in spite of their circumstances.

·       Perry and Kevin got to celebrate with 5 minor boys who were given asylum and would be going to Athens soon. There was a little dance celebration among their friends.

Many of the POCs we met were from Afghanistan and Somalia. Both of these countries have an unreached population of 99.9%. While we could not necessarily evangelize to any of the people we met, we certainly touched lives and represented Jesus. By helping to meet basic needs, we DID help them. Honestly, many on the team are still wrestling with all of the emotions that go along with what we have seen and experienced. Wrestling with “why are we the lucky ones because we were born where we were.” Wrestling with the unfairness of things.

We know God is good. Continue to pray for the team as you think of them and our experiences. Each of us are returning to the US a different person. Many are in the process of discerning next steps in their lives, in where God is calling them to use their gifts. Some have received more clarity on that. Some have been more challenged to do something at home.

We are thankful for this time. We are grateful for so much. We have mixed emotions. We are trusting God and His big picture. We are only a drop in the ocean.

A day in Athens

We enjoyed sightseeing in Athens on Saturday. We shared a sweet time over lunch, debriefing our experiences. Many emotions came out, but great processing together.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Vendors selling nuts

Olympia and the gate (I think...)

 

 

The Acropolis and Parthenon

The Olympia in the distance

  

 

 

Sitting on Areopagus (where Paul spoke from)

 

Sights in the streets

 

The library

 

Sharing lunch together

Shopping in the streets

Loved her marketing -- bought a necklace from her

Olive oil tasting - not what I expected - at home we get bread and crackers...not here...

 

Supposedly the best ice cream in Athens--it was good

T.G.I.F.

T.G.I.F

It's hard to believe that tonight will be our last shift at camp. We are hopeful that we have an opportunity to say some good goodbyes to some of the POCs we connected with.

We ended our day off on Wednesday with dinner together in Mytilene for gyros. Huge...and delicious!

Thursday started with some quiet time on the patio followed by a team meeting over some pizza for lunch. Then several of us took a short drive, meandering through the town of Moria, to find the Roman Aqueduct ruins. They were really hidden deep into the olive groves.

After returning from that bit of sightseeing, everyone tried to take some naps to be ready for our evening shift.

When we arrived at camp, we were told that there wasn't much work to do, so we took some time to walk in camp to visit some of the women we visited with earlier in our trip. We purchased some African donuts from a man from Cameroon and walked up the hill in camp to visit with the Somalian women we had met before. Just as we arrived to see them and about to enter their tent to have tea, we were called back to the New Arrivals area for a project. So, unfortunately, we didn't get to visit with the ladies. We did leave the donuts with them and said we hoped we could see them on Friday.

The project we were tasked with was to find a place in a specific level of camp to house a single woman and her four small children. She had been moved around a bit, and had somehow ended up without a place to live. So, we were to find a place to set up a tent for temporary housing, for maybe only a day or so before she could move into another unit.

Sarah, LH and me set off to see what we could find. There was a small area in one of the levels that we thought might work. We explained to the POCs what was happening and that this was a temporary situation with a new family coming in. Thankfully, there was a young boy in the area that spoke Farsi and English and could translate for us. Many of the POC families were not happy about this happening. We tried to involve them in the decision making process and asked for their help in moving a table in the corner where we were going to put the tent. They finally agreed to allow us to just see if the tent would fit.

So, the three of us attempt to put up the tent. It was not working. There were parts missing or something...we could not figure it out at all. Long story short, we radioed for Kevin to come and help us. By the time he showed up, I was called back to New Arrivals to help to hand out food again. So, I left the group with two tents to try to figure it out. (Thankfully, I learned later that the first tent was NOT complete, so we couldn't have put it up.  I was like, really...I can't put up a tent!? LOL)

So, as I helped pack and hand out meals again, Sarah, Kevin and Kris (the shift coordinator) worked on helping to house the lady and her family. Turns out, after they had it set up, she didn't want to live there. So, they moved her to another place.

Most of my evening was spent packing up food and then also the new arrival packs (clothes, sleeping bags, towels, etc). At 8:30, that is when we are asked to go to the women's section and minor boys section to guard gates. So, the rest of our night was spent there.

Friday morning, Sarah, me and Barb finally had an opportunity to go for a run together. Not everyone was up for a run, so we had a nice walk together. We had hoped to have many more opportunities to do this each morning, but with our schedules and some battling sickness, it didn't work out. We were happy to get out this morning.

 

We had decided the night before that around 9 am, anyone who wanted to, would meet near the short to jump in the Aegean Sea for a swim! As we walked the shores, I found some pretty sea glass to take home with me. 

 

 

As we got closer to the water, I wasn't sure if I would get in or not. It seemed like it would be cold. So, we all tentatively stepped into the water. I decided I was going all in. 

After I was in for a bit, we went to another area, because I said I actually wanted to swim. So, I did. It was awesome! It was refreshing and invigorating!  After a bit, I convinced Barb to join me.

Once we got back to the hotel, we cleaned up and then walked to a nearby apartment to leave clothes and other items for the warehouse for Eurorelief to sort and use for the POCs. We returned and enjoyed some greek yogurt and fruit, and some tea.

Smile and Shine

Barb has off today and will be relaxing and taking some rest time with some of the medical team she was working with. The rest of us will be heading to Mytilene soon for some lunch and then preparing for our last shift tonight at camp.

The two other ministries I had hoped to connect with (a sports ministry and a music/arts ministry) were not available to meet these last two days. I plan to connect with them via Skype when I return to the US to learn more about their work.

Please pray for our team as we have our last shift tonight. Pray that we have opportunities to say good goodbyes to the few POCs we connected with. Pray that we are able to make a difference in their lives by our words and actions. Pray for strength and stamina as we have this last shift and have a short night of sleep before we leave at 7:15 for the airport to fly to Athens.

We plan to take a day in Athens to debrief and sightsee. Pray for the team as they are beginning to process all they have seen and heard. We have done quite a bit of processing together each day. Pray that we are all able to see the positives amidst the challenges. Everyone is leaving a different person. Pray for them as they each discern next steps for their lives.

I hope to have one or two more posts, but not sure when. Thanks for following us and praying for us. You have sustained us here during our time and many experiences.