Thoughts from Doug

Words can't express how much I appreciate all your prayers while we were in Greece working on the island of Lesvos. Each day we went out to the camp I felt those prayers as God surrounded me with his love and peace. I'm going to try and sum up my thoughts and feelings of what has gone on the past nine days. 

I went on this trip to serve, by being the hands and feet of Jesus. I asked God to use me in anyway he wanted as I'm going to do HIS will, not my desires. I can say that what I did was not easy, it was at times very emotional. The camp we worked at was the first place refugees go when they come ashore. Most come from Turkey to Greece on rubber Zodiac style rubber boats, some on larger boats, crossing 6 1/2 miles across the Aegean Sea, day and night.  Rescue workers help them ashore, assist any immediate critical needs, and then load them in waiting vans to bring them to camps like the one we worked in. They enter a gated camp and are given water and a banana. Then the processing begins. They are carrying their earthly possessions in a back pack or plastic bags. Families with children and babies, some with grandparents, and younger single men. Almost all of them come wet. Some wet to the bone with the rescue thermo blanket still around them. They get staged in a huge tent and then given blankets, hot tea and an oatmeal type meal. It is here where we are able to wrap them in a cloth blanket, smile at them and the little children. The universal language, a smile. Some see hope for the first time in months with that smile. Then they go to the clothing tent to get dry clothes and shoes. Then the UN personnel start the paperwork to process them out of this stage one camp and onto the next camp on the island. (It is in that processing camp that they get registered in Europe and are able to continue the journey to freedom.)

They are at our camp for about 4-6 hours before they are loaded on a 52 passanger bus that leaves with as many as 72 aboard as the little children sit on parents' laps. 

I hope to be able to share more in detail when I see you all in person. The whole process is very interesting to see other volunteers coming from all over the world to show love and compassion to people that are fleeing their countries to find hope for a new future. I asked myself many times, how bad did they have it that they are willing to risk their lives crossing a Sea to get to the next step in their journey to freedom. 

To sum it up, again I'm thankful for all of you for supporting us in prayer. I say again it was prayer that gave me strength and kept the evil one away. God used our team to show the love of Jesus by our actions and deeds. We served not only the refugees, but the workers that have been on the island for months working 7 days a week. We served other organizations in the camp like Samaritan's purse, WAHA which is the doctor's tent on site, and the people from the UN. Many of these people are locals that were hired because of their compassion for people. None of them look at race and pick which ones to love on. They look at them as people in need. They're not looking to solve a world of political problems, they are looking to show compassion and work as hard as they can to respond to an emergency situation. 

Isn't that what Jesus did when he walked this earth? He healed people, he made the blind man see, he gave living water to those that chose to listen to him. Jesus came to serve, not to be served. 

In Matthew 25 it says-“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

I will forever remember the many lives we were able to touch. I thank God that he chose me and our team to be a light in a dark place!!

Love all you guys.