Dear Friends,
Here are some of the words we used to describe the refugee camp Moria on the Greek island of Lesvos after our first day there (Sept 22): Tents, tarps, crates, containers, cardboard, plastic, hanging sheets, ropes, string, cables, hoses, dust, garbage, squalor, extension cords, pop-up shops, barbers, smart phones, music, smiles, tears, smoke, stares, hellos, high fives, shouting, pushing, shoving, fights, police, documents, security, levels, gates, fences, locks, razor wire, unaccompanied minors, single women, single men, families, children, noise, fear, resignation, hopelessness, hope, meanness, friendliness - All this in a space less than 1 square Kilometer with 9000 displaced, traumatized people from over 20 (very) different nations and cultures in a space designed for 3000.
The week we volunteered with a team of Germans and Americans was physically and emotionally demanding. We helped people find a covered corner to sleep in while we told others that they could not take up so much space so that others could also have a place. We tried to guard the entry gates to areas where unaccompanied minors or new arrivals were being temporarily housed, constantly asking people to see their papers to see if they were allowed in - which they often resented because they were just plain weary of it all. We manned the information center where we faced relentless emotional pleas for more blankets or pampers and we often had to say a heartbreaking “no” because the supplies were so limited. We accompanied people as they borrowed a pick and shovel to try and improve their makeshift tents outside of the camp - especially as a wind storm approached over the weekend. As we hiked up and down the big hill that is the camp, we often found a small hand in ours or were high-fiving or fist-bumping with the refugee children – who were always a bright sport for us.
As we met together before our shift with other volunteers in the Euro-Relief office (the Christian NGO we were working with) in the middle of the camp, the din of throngs of jostling men lining
up just outside the thin walls of the container to get breakfast for their families drowned out the voice of our supervisor as we were briefed for the day. This is daily life in Moria. Most of the refugees spend hours every day just standing in line to get access to the basics, which are rationed to the bone.
Our hearts were broken a hundred times a day. But then we would hear someone say “my friend” or “sister” as they approached us with a need or request or just the desire to talk to someone and we would try once again to help and - perhaps give a little hope.
Why did we go on this trip? What does it have to do with our ministry in Cologne? For over two years we have been working with refugees who have managed the long journey to Germany. Many of them have recounted the horror stories of flight including stays in refugee camps, especially in Turkey. In addition to answering the desperate call for volunteer help in Moria, we wanted to get a get a real look at what most of the refugees have experienced. It is sobering. To hear of inhumane conditions is one thing, to experience it, another. However, we also experienced God at work. Sue had a long conversation with G., a young woman from Cameroon who experienced unthinkable abuse while in prison due to political oppression. She was sweet and gentle, claiming that her hope was in the God who held her safe in his hand, quoting John 10:29. I believe she is a Christ-follower through the witness of another worker in the camp. PRAY for G. that she will seek and find fellowship, now that she has been transferred to the Greek mainland (an answer to prayer!). Many spiritual conversations with confessions faith in Christ take place at the GEM Welcome Center which is just down the road from the camp. Three Farsi-speakers were baptized in the Aegean Sea while we were there. PRAY for the permanent and temporary workers who facilitate the many opportunities and programs that are offered there, for open hearts and minds, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
Please keep praying for a new location for our church in Cologne to have a ministry center that could facilitate services and refugee outreach. We feel there is much potential ministry that could happen but for the lack of the right space which we experience presently.
Here are some of the words we used to describe the refugee camp Moria on the Greek island of Lesvos after our first day there (Sept 22): Tents, tarps, crates, containers, cardboard, plastic, hanging sheets, ropes, string, cables, hoses, dust, garbage, squalor, extension cords, pop-up shops, barbers, smart phones, music, smiles, tears, smoke, stares, hellos, high fives, shouting, pushing, shoving, fights, police, documents, security, levels, gates, fences, locks, razor wire, unaccompanied minors, single women, single men, families, children, noise, fear, resignation, hopelessness, hope, meanness, friendliness - All this in a space less than 1 square Kilometer with 9000 displaced, traumatized people from over 20 (very) different nations and cultures in a space designed for 3000.
The week we volunteered with a team of Germans and Americans was physically and emotionally demanding. We helped people find a covered corner to sleep in while we told others that they could not take up so much space so that others could also have a place. We tried to guard the entry gates to areas where unaccompanied minors or new arrivals were being temporarily housed, constantly asking people to see their papers to see if they were allowed in - which they often resented because they were just plain weary of it all. We manned the information center where we faced relentless emotional pleas for more blankets or pampers and we often had to say a heartbreaking “no” because the supplies were so limited. We accompanied people as they borrowed a pick and shovel to try and improve their makeshift tents outside of the camp - especially as a wind storm approached over the weekend. As we hiked up and down the big hill that is the camp, we often found a small hand in ours or were high-fiving or fist-bumping with the refugee children – who were always a bright sport for us.
As we met together before our shift with other volunteers in the Euro-Relief office (the Christian NGO we were working with) in the middle of the camp, the din of throngs of jostling men lining
up just outside the thin walls of the container to get breakfast for their families drowned out the voice of our supervisor as we were briefed for the day. This is daily life in Moria. Most of the refugees spend hours every day just standing in line to get access to the basics, which are rationed to the bone.Our hearts were broken a hundred times a day. But then we would hear someone say “my friend” or “sister” as they approached us with a need or request or just the desire to talk to someone and we would try once again to help and - perhaps give a little hope.
Why did we go on this trip? What does it have to do with our ministry in Cologne? For over two years we have been working with refugees who have managed the long journey to Germany. Many of them have recounted the horror stories of flight including stays in refugee camps, especially in Turkey. In addition to answering the desperate call for volunteer help in Moria, we wanted to get a get a real look at what most of the refugees have experienced. It is sobering. To hear of inhumane conditions is one thing, to experience it, another. However, we also experienced God at work. Sue had a long conversation with G., a young woman from Cameroon who experienced unthinkable abuse while in prison due to political oppression. She was sweet and gentle, claiming that her hope was in the God who held her safe in his hand, quoting John 10:29. I believe she is a Christ-follower through the witness of another worker in the camp. PRAY for G. that she will seek and find fellowship, now that she has been transferred to the Greek mainland (an answer to prayer!). Many spiritual conversations with confessions faith in Christ take place at the GEM Welcome Center which is just down the road from the camp. Three Farsi-speakers were baptized in the Aegean Sea while we were there. PRAY for the permanent and temporary workers who facilitate the many opportunities and programs that are offered there, for open hearts and minds, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
Please keep praying for a new location for our church in Cologne to have a ministry center that could facilitate services and refugee outreach. We feel there is much potential ministry that could happen but for the lack of the right space which we experience presently.
Gratefully,
Sue and Jason
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