First full day on the island –  a decent sleep. The bed is very comfortable, but I’m still adjusting to the 10 hour time difference so was awake a bit in the middle of the night but no complaints.  Up and shower -‘yeah! and off to breakfast. We eat breakfast and dinner at the hotel with a fixed menu, but we choose our drinks and wine and beer are on the list at no extra charge!  This begins my list of luxuries here.

After breakfast, Rachel and I set out with Kim and two other volunteers to head back to Mytilene for our orientation.  I am trying to pay close attention because I will be driving this beginning on Friday.  The directions are pretty straightforward but the roads twist and turn, the other drivers are varying degrees of crazy or reckless, and I don’t have my driver’s license with me.  I always leave it at home as I’ve never needed it before.  Prayers would be in order!

The camp is about an hour from our hotel and we work in 8 hour shifts most days.  The EuroRelief tents are manned 24 hours a day so sometimes we will be there on the graveyard shift.  Other times we may stay up at this end of the island and clean the beach of discarded life jackets and punctured rubber dinghies.  The refugees are told to puncture the raft as they land so the boats cannot be sent back to Turkey.  There will be much more on this in the days ahead.

We arrived in Mytilene, a harbor city right on the Aegean.  It is the capital city of Lesvos.  We boarded this beautiful sailing ship which belongs to YWAM.  It houses 40 folks so that gives you an idea of its size.  In a galley below deck, we met for our orientation, led by Kim.  It covered politics, history, culture, and all the nitty- gritty details of functioning in the camp – absolutely NO pictures, conservative dress, open heart etc.  Kim read Mt 25 to us – the part about the sheep and the goats and serving the least of these and so serve the Lord.  In this story, the ones serving are not the Jesus person, but those being served.  It was a beautiful illustration for this time. We then headed over to a community center run by the evangelical church here on the island.  Here people can come to shower, get a meal, wash their clothes.  We walked around a bit – on some stone paved streets, and then had lunch in a little cafe overlooking the harbor.  Back in the car for the 80 minute ride back.  Arriving in Molovos, we stopped to see the little town, which is a hill village overlooking a small harbor, with Turkey nearby, on the horizon.

Now begins my embarrassment – we are on a Greek isle – a tourist destination with many little shops and cafes and restaurants.  This time of year, the climate is perfect.  Warm and breezy but not too hot and cool at night.  When we are not on duty, we can swim in the sea or the pool, shop, or just hang out in little cafes, by the water, drinking cool drinks.  Or we can visit the medieval castle or the ancient Roman aqueduct which overlooks our hotel.  The closest thing I can compare it with is like being on Maui and plunking down a large refugee camp somewhere there.  Surround the camp with fences and razor wire and gated entries.  Work there for a while and then come out and you are in Maui!  This isn’t quite as upscale as Maui, but it’s a Greek island, for pete’s sake!  And because we can’t post refugee pictures, you will think I am here on holiday!  The disconnect is huge, and I haven’t even been to camp yet – that is tomorrow.  Such a different trip from any other.  Ill be interested to see how I feel tomorrow, after a day in camp.

I am posting this the next morning – sitting at a table by the pool, looking out at the hills, the oleander, and the Roman aqueduct.  I’m enjoying my very dark Greek coffee, juice, and a marvelous dish of tangy Greek yogurt covered in excellent honey. Such a perfect way to start the day.

Thank you for your prayers as the work really begins today.  I would love to hear from you. The comments section doesn’t seem to work on this site so please feel free to email me.  May I serve Jesus faithfully tonight.