The Plight of the Refugees: A Missionary Report

My Uncle Kim and Aunt Joyce are missionaries that travel all over the world offering a helping hand to those in need. While visiting with my family this summer, they shared that they would be traveling to Lesbos, Greece in November to offer support for the refugees crossing the seaway from Turkey. The journey by raft is a little over 6 miles and can take 4-7 hours when successful.  With the colder winter months coming, the journey will be even more treacherous for the desperate refugees. There are between 1,500-4,000 new refugees arriving on the shores of Lesbos each day.

The following is a story about The Plight of the Refugees: A Missionary Report, from my Uncle Kim during his time in Greece assisting these desperate souls who we must remember are parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, children, and babies. These updates are from November 10-18, 2015.

My Uncle and Aunt volunteered their time with "Adventist Help" which is an initiative by ASI Europe to help reach people on the move in the mounting refugee crisis. The vision of Adventist Help is to follow Christ's method: minister to people's needs, show them sympathy, and win their confidence, so that we might introduce them to Christ, and the peace and hope that only He can give. The three values of Adventist Help are - friendly with a personal smile, helpful with reaching arms, and trustworthy while saving lives. Adventist Help will provide immediate medical support for refugees at Europe's "entrance" points, make contact and provide welcome/emergency waist bags and backpacks, and support for local follow-up projects done by churches, ministries, etc. There are three ways that you can help this effort: volunteer your skills in frontline assistance, tell your local churches to register on the website, and donate to ASI Europe - tagged "Adventist Help." If you are making donations in the USA, please visit Outpost Centers International - tagged "Refugees - Europe." Thank you.

First update after our arrival in Lesbos

It's difficult to capture in words the experience with the boat loads of refugees as they arrive in overloaded rubber rafts. Last night five rafts came in, many very effecting dynamics take place all at once. Great joy and rejoicing, praises to God, crying, anxiety, sickness, injuries, smiling faces, fearful faces. Pain and sorrow, hope and excitement.

Then there is the local community that is trying to cope with an overwhelming flood of humanity and hundreds of thousands tons of trash and debris. In the midst of the continuing refugee crisis they attempt to give time and attention to their normal daily life of catching fish, raising sheep and harvesting olives.

Then there are what they term "The Crows," (we would call them Vultures) that grab the raft as soon as it is empty and start to scavenge it. Slicing the air chambers pulling up floor boards, grabbing the motor, etc...

Without question the Lord desires to bless them all.

Second Update

Overcrowded rafts of refugees continue to arrive.  Many every hour, we’ve had at least eight come in since nightfall. Night arrivals are always a bit  more tense as the refugees are understandably experiencing more anxiety. Interestingly enough, each raft generally comes with a specific people group.  All Syrians in one, all Afghanis in another, tonight a raft pretty much full of Africans arrived.  Some from Somalia others from Mali. With the guys from Mali I could speak French—which was helpful. We have been receiving folks from Iraq as well.

Our Adventist Help medical bus is in continual use. Depending on how many boats come in during a certain time effects how busy or slow things are. This week we’ve had more than enough doctors and medical staff.  In our own group we have two doctors and two nurse midwives.  Then there is another young Swedish doctor who doesn’t stay with us but works with us each day.  On top of that there are other non-government organizations who have brought over doctors—but they have no specific location from which they can work out of.  As a result we have a total of seven or eight doctors around throughout the day, plus paramedics, etc….  This is what we call “overkill”. We welcome them all and they really appreciate it. Without our medical bus they just sort of wander around aimlessly—which is sort of amusing to watch. Doctors not knowing what to do with themselves—as soon as a potential patient shows up they hover round. We have a good spirit throughout—every one is there because they want to help and be of service.

While right now there is a growing number of volunteers arriving daily—the question remains whether or not this will hold once we get into the winter months and the weather turns cold and rainy. There is a bit of “fear” that the good will will taper off as the climate turns miserable.

As of today, we have teams of volunteers scheduled to be on site from now all the way through to December 20. For this we are grateful. In the days ahead we’ll learn whether or not we will be able to get volunteers over the holiday season and into the new year.

We’ve got an electrical issue with the bus that we’ve not been able to solve. It doesn’t effect the daily activities, so that is good—but if and when we need to move it we’ll have a problem. No power is getting to the instrument panel and starter motor.  Not good.  But, we’ll tackle it again tomorrow and see if we can make any progress.

All the way around the medical bus and the Adventist Help team is an encouragement.  To the refugees, the volunteers and the local community. We provide free medical care to the residents and for this they are very grateful. Because other non-government organizations don’t have the capacity to set up a clinic they have been donating equipment to us. So much so that one of the doctors that comes to help tells us that our bus is not much better equipped than the nearest hospital.

If possible, we would like to set up a way to become an increased blessing to the local community. This refugee crisis places very real and very significant burdens on the residents of the island, in many, many ways.  This community appreciates us very much, in time I believe they would welcome a member of our team being based here to minister to them.  At least this is a hope I have.  Speaking with a young Greek doctor from Athens, working in our bus today I learned that the local residents will be very reluctant to admit to foreigners that they need any help.  Since he himself is an “outsider” from Athens, they won’t even admit it to him. That being said, our God is in the business of breaking down barriers and opening hearts.

ASI Europe - Please Donate Now to help those in need during this time of crisis. Tag your donation, "Adventist Help." If you are making donations in the USA, please visit Outpost Centers International - tagged "Refugees - Europe." Thank you.

Third Update

On the Sabbath morning directly following the Friday night massacres in Paris, two very effecting experiences followed one another.

Being alone at our bus I engaged a man walking nearby, we had not met before, he was interested to know about the medical bus and Adventist Help. In broken English he explained that he was Greek, but had been living in Paris for the last 36 years. Learning that, I responded in French and our visit picked up a pace and continued. He had arrived on Lesbos just the day before, learning of the refugee crisis on the island he wanted to come and help. Early Sabbath morning, as the news of the tragedy in Paris spread around the world, his heart was in great anguish as he learned that two of his good friends had been killed in one of the shootings. He had feared that his son too might be dead, as he frequented the same cafe where the others were shot. With relief he received a call from his son assuring him that all was well. We are looking out over the sea—searching the horizon for signs of rafts headed our way. The media has just claimed that a passport from one of the terrorists has the stamp “Lesbos, Greece” as the entry point into Europe. Right here where we are standing.

With rafts now reaching the rocky shore, our conversation, and the contemplative realities it has stimulated come to an end. It’s time to turn our attention to the needs at hand.

An elderly Syrian woman is laboriously assisted, almost carried from a raft to the bus, she is soaking wet, shivering, in much anxiety and shock. She is taken to a private area we’ve petitioned off where she can be helped out of her wet clothes, towel dried and outfitted with warm clothing. Dr. Nico, a Greek pediatrician who has asked to spend a week with our team comes to speak with me. He is quite emotional. “Kim, right here we have an elderly Syrian woman who is being so kindly and gently cared for, being attended to in every way by a young lady doctor—Who is Jewish! Kim, this gives me hope for the human race.

As you are hearing from various sources this refugee crisis continues to loom larger and larger, both in reality and in the international communities. There is no simple or easy solution to the tragedy. In Europe and the US negative sentiments toward the refugees is increasing. Among Christians as well as among the general population there is sharp division, people are becoming more polarized in their positions. I have no political wisdom whatsoever on how the crisis should be handled. Ultimately neither Europe nor the US combined could absorb well all the refugees that are forth coming. Each nation needs to have the sovereign right to control it’s borders. It is well and appropriate that they do so.

Our response is more along the dynamics of the story and example of the good Samaritan. These people are in desperate need of help. Were Jesus standing on the shore as these overcrowded boats arrive how would He receive them? Would He relieve the distressed, warm the shivering, revive the feeble heart beats of the little children, give hope to the fearful? If through the leading of the Spirit we can discern what Jesus would do, then we can ask for grace and strength to do likewise. Beyond that I have no intelligent answer to give anyone.  Among the Adventist community there are those who have expressed to us openly the sentiment that we are assisting terrorists. Given the dynamics I suppose that possibility does exist.

Each day we must live in the kingdoms of this world—with their laws, their policies, their decisions, their attitudes.  At the same time we are to be governed ourselves by the kingdom of God, for as Jesus says, “the kingdom of God is within you.”

Many of those streaming out of these rafts have for years been living the horror of what Paris experienced that Friday night. Day after day, week after week, month after month, their towns, their cities, their villages, their homes have been the war zone. Bombs, explosions, bullets, murders, executions, atrocities not to be mentioned have torn their lives to shreds. Speaking of these, Jesus tells us, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.” Were we in their position and condition…what then?  What treatment would we be grateful for?

As for the others, the tares that have mixed themselves in with the wheat, taking advantage of kindness. Planning to do evil with the good that is provided. With extreme, perhaps even painful clarity Jesus tells us, “Love your enemies.” “Do good to those who hate you.” Perhaps it is much to our dismay that God causes His sun to shine, and His rain to fall upon the just and the unjust. It is hard for us to understand how much God loved a murderer and executioner named Saul. A man, who with his whole, heart, body, soul and strength committed himself completely to persecuting and killing Christians. From his own mouth he proclaims that he was a terror. Yet, praise be to the One who loves us and died for us, the unfathomable love of God found access to even this man’s heart and by so doing worked a transformation that has brought an innumerable and untold host to the very gates of heaven! Praise be to God!  Only God, and God alone is able to carry and comprehend the woes and tragedies of our age, indeed of all ages. We have One who loves us with everlasting love, let us trust ourselves to Him for He does all things well. Amen.

ASI Europe - Please Donate Now to help those in need during this time of crisis. Tag your donation, "Adventist Help." If you are making donations in the USA, please visit Outpost Centers International - tagged "Refugees - Europe." Thank you.