People!

I really love seeing new places (though Lesvos seems quite familiar now as I have spent many weeks of my life here since 2017), but the people are what really refreshes my soul. I wish I could show photos of the refugees, but the UN and the Greek government definitely frown on that. But here are some photos of volunteers and Greek people we have met on this trip. Stories are in the captions of the photos.

Our team had a special treat last night. Gina (who owns the hotel we are staying in) and her friend, Mercini (who owns the Olivewood House where we love to shop) made us a lovely Greek meal. Their hospitality is truly fantastic! Both these women are Greek Orthodox, but they seem serious about their faith (for many here, it seems to be just cultural and not a true belief). We had a great time, and it is true that the Greeks just keep putting more and more on your plate. You cannot say “no”. You must eat! And then you must eat more! We also found out that Mercini swims each morning in the Aegean. Even in the winter. No wetsuit. No kidding. 

We attended Oasis church on Sunday. It is a church started by I58, a Mennonite organization. Read Isaiah 58 to find out about their heart. It is a very vibrant congregation. We loved the worship and teaching there. There are at least 100, and most are 20-30. Some Greeks come as well as some refugees.

This is a group of EuroRelief volunteers planning their next task. Notice we all wear red vests and have walkie-talkies. New arrivals are registered by EuroRelief (we keep all the data for the Greek government). There are always a number on call to be at the camp within 20 minutes to greet and help those who have just arrived at camp. They arrive by boat from Turkey. Quite a few don’t make it. Melanie met a woman whose little baby drowned on the way just a little over a week ago.

There are about 70 EuroRelief folks here on the island. They meet for a meal, worship and devotion once/week, and we got to attend Tuesday night. This is such a great group of people. Most are from the Netherlands, Germany or the USA, but anyone can apply to volunteer here for EuroRelief. There is a LOT of support for the volunteers here which is really necessary to prevent burnout from the constant demands of the jobs at camp. For two weeks, it’s not too bad for us, but I can see how it could wear you down quickly.

This is Kathleen from Germany. Yesterday, when she and I were doing a bed count, we met an Afghan refugee who is teaching mathematics, German, and music to young refugees. Here he is asking Kathleen to check some of his German.  We were invited in for tea and heard a lot of his story. The Taliban killed his father and his first wife. He’s been in Greece for over four years, and he lived in the old camp - Moria (there are just a few left at this camp who were in Moria). He encouraged refugees to protest their condition, and for this reason, he was not allowed by the police to leave camp for two years. He is free to leave now (not leave the island with papers, but just to come and go out the gate as the rest of the refugees). His second wife and three daughters are now in Germany and he hopes to join them soon. In the meantime, he has made his Isobox into a classroom. He is definitely an educator at heart. He also told us he was not a Muslim anymore because of the way they treat women. He said he is now Christian. 

This lady is the artist behind all this pottery. We would have bought more if we didn’t just have carry-on bags.