Praise the Lord! Most of us had a better shift on Tuesday night. Thank you for your prayers.
Our team had a nice time together over breakfast on Tuesday morning. All 7 of us were together. You could feel the heaviness over our group. The culture shock and experiences have begun to catch up with many of us. We spent time together on Tuesday morning sharing, crying and praying together. It was just what we all needed.
After breakfast, Perry spent some time at the Hope for Art project, visiting with Abdallah. A few others joined me to visit One Happy Family. This ministry is like a local "Y" for the POCs. It's really a community center that offers English classes, library, gym, space to play, make pottery, they have yoga and sports ministry, a garden...so many things for the POCs to explore and learn various crafts and trades. Honestly, as soon as I stepped foot on the grounds, my heart was lifted. It really was a happy place...a sweet respite for the POCs to take a break. The center is run by close to 60 POCs and 20 other international volunteers. They do have opportunities for volunteers to serve. They need to be at least for a 3 week minimum. I need to do more research but this place could have some potential for us to get plugged in to.
My evening shift at camp was a good one. I was involved in new arrivals again, handing out meals and packing bags for new arrivals. Work was steady and time went pretty quickly. Some of the others did some clean up work, census work and then guarding the gates in the women and minor boys areas.
We were thankful to learn that we have a day off on Wednesday.
Wednesday morning started with me sharing breakfast with Kevin and Barb. Then, Sarah and I went to a nearby town to hike. We invited two of the girls we had worked with the night before--Sharita (from South Carolina) and Silvia (from Holland). We had heard of a beautiful hike at Mt. Olympos, in the nearby town of Agiasos. It was strenuous, but beautiful. It took about 1.5 hours to hike up and an hour to come back down. It was about 4.5 miles. It was awesome--just what I needed! I'll let these pictures speak for themselves. We enjoyed a delicious lunch in town when we finished.
Not sure what everyone else did for most of the day--Kevin and Eric relaxed in town, and LH and Perry took the bus to Mytilene. Barb had to go in for her shift around noon today. The six of us plan to regroup together tonight over dinner in Mytilene.
It's hard to believe we only have two more shifts left at camp. These two weeks have been full of so many thoughts and emotions. I'm hopeful that in the next two days before going in for the evening shift that I'm able to connect with one more ministry. The person I've reached out to is currently in Athens and has said that if they are back in town before Friday, they will reach out to me (since we fly out on Saturday morning). Please pray that this connection comes together.
Tuesday was a much better day for everyone. Thank you for your prayers. Barb continues to improve. Eric is battling a cold now. Kevin may be on the verge of a cold too. Please continue to pray for strength and health for everyone. The amount of people in the camp and the conditions definitely create the opportunity for much sickness and germs. And, some of the longer days begin to add up. Another reason we were thankful for a day off today.
Looking forward to sharing more with each of you when I'm back home.
Our team had a nice time together over breakfast on Tuesday morning. All 7 of us were together. You could feel the heaviness over our group. The culture shock and experiences have begun to catch up with many of us. We spent time together on Tuesday morning sharing, crying and praying together. It was just what we all needed.
After breakfast, Perry spent some time at the Hope for Art project, visiting with Abdallah. A few others joined me to visit One Happy Family. This ministry is like a local "Y" for the POCs. It's really a community center that offers English classes, library, gym, space to play, make pottery, they have yoga and sports ministry, a garden...so many things for the POCs to explore and learn various crafts and trades. Honestly, as soon as I stepped foot on the grounds, my heart was lifted. It really was a happy place...a sweet respite for the POCs to take a break. The center is run by close to 60 POCs and 20 other international volunteers. They do have opportunities for volunteers to serve. They need to be at least for a 3 week minimum. I need to do more research but this place could have some potential for us to get plugged in to.
We were thankful to learn that we have a day off on Wednesday.
 |
| Wednesday morning |
Wednesday morning started with me sharing breakfast with Kevin and Barb. Then, Sarah and I went to a nearby town to hike. We invited two of the girls we had worked with the night before--Sharita (from South Carolina) and Silvia (from Holland). We had heard of a beautiful hike at Mt. Olympos, in the nearby town of Agiasos. It was strenuous, but beautiful. It took about 1.5 hours to hike up and an hour to come back down. It was about 4.5 miles. It was awesome--just what I needed! I'll let these pictures speak for themselves. We enjoyed a delicious lunch in town when we finished.
Not sure what everyone else did for most of the day--Kevin and Eric relaxed in town, and LH and Perry took the bus to Mytilene. Barb had to go in for her shift around noon today. The six of us plan to regroup together tonight over dinner in Mytilene.
It's hard to believe we only have two more shifts left at camp. These two weeks have been full of so many thoughts and emotions. I'm hopeful that in the next two days before going in for the evening shift that I'm able to connect with one more ministry. The person I've reached out to is currently in Athens and has said that if they are back in town before Friday, they will reach out to me (since we fly out on Saturday morning). Please pray that this connection comes together.
Tuesday was a much better day for everyone. Thank you for your prayers. Barb continues to improve. Eric is battling a cold now. Kevin may be on the verge of a cold too. Please continue to pray for strength and health for everyone. The amount of people in the camp and the conditions definitely create the opportunity for much sickness and germs. And, some of the longer days begin to add up. Another reason we were thankful for a day off today.
Looking forward to sharing more with each of you when I'm back home.
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