Tuesday/Wednesday – May 30-June 1

Early Tuesday morning began our 24 hour shift at Skala. It’s really not as bad as it sounds. The day was very quiet, although it did get quite hot.  Luckily we have shade and a lovely breeze.  Then we can nip down to the village a mile below us and enjoy a break, some coffee, and a meal.  This village is my favorite place here so that is refreshing.  Then we sleep at night.  I also downloaded a movie on the iPad for us to watch after dark. Pretty basic.  We are just gatekeepers to protect the camp and be available in case a boat does slip through.

I am now with a team of four – all Americans.  Aubrey joined us on Friday – a young woman here for 2 months and then Dustin, a GEM missionary here just for a week to see what is going on.  He and his family live in Germany.  He does the driving now as he has his driver’s license with him, not just a picture of one on the phone!  I was really getting the hang of the driving, but it is nice to have someone else maneuver all the hills and switchbacks.

As for me, I feel like I’m going a bit native.  My hair is drying in the breeze, days go by without makeup, and I bought a funky pair of pants which are getting a great deal of use.  I am also acquiring a nice tan, which is the real reason for the trip!  My Big Fat Greek Tan!

We got back to the hotel about 7:45 Wednesday morning, showered, ate breakfast, and set off at 9:30 for Mytilini for a 7 hour stint in the community center.  Again the morning was packed with young men – most of them being Algerians and Pakistani with a few Moroccans added in.  The room we meet in is about the size of  a big living room, no windows and one door.  At the back, through another door is the shower, washer and dryer, sink and toilet.  There are two bog windows there so it feels like air conditioning when the door is opened but that is infrequent as they are showering etc.

The front room is stifling as we are tucked in a corner fixing countless cups of tea and coffee and then washing and rewashing the mugs.  I know, in the two times I’ve been there, I have washed each mug at least a dozen times.  Today’s drama was provided by a young man with a bad headache.  Someone fetched Doctors Without Borders so a crowd gathers as they work and the room temperature goes up another couple of degrees.  Everyone needs to get in the act! He was alright and ended up just sleeping most of the day.  Then the lady who delivered food had her purse stolen from her car.  Again a crowd gathered to discuss that at high volume!   I thought there was absolutely no hope that she would ever see it again, but we prayed and a couple of the guys headed out and soon returned with her purse, only missing the money!  O me of little faith.

Many of the men just want to charge their phones and get drinks and food.  But some attempt to interact and that is often informative and occasionally very funny.  Here my age has been a benefit because, unlike the US, most cultures greatly respect their elders.  So I have collected a number of sons as they call me mom and tease and protect.  Very nice.  At 2:30 the guys are supposed to leave and then at 3 families can come.  Dustin and I headed out for some lunch by the water.  Such a relief of a break – cool breezes, cold water at the restaurant, and a 5€ burger. Great break. When we got back, most of the men had cleared out but as no families came, the young woman in charge allowed some of the guys to stay. After a bit, a Syrian mother and her two daughters arrived and soon after another mother and her four children. Well, I thought the men should leave, but they were allowed to stay and still use the bathroom area so the women could not get in.  I really felt bad for the women and was a bothered that the men weren’t kicked out.  The women never did get their showers, but I got to interact with them and that was terrific. The lovely Syrian woman had some English so we chatted some. She has 4 children, 3 with her and a son in Germany.  While her girls colored in my coloring book, she showed me a number of pictures from her former life in Syria – family times, formal occasions where she was dressed up in lovely clothes and looked so happy and normal.  Her home was also very nice and now she is here, with almost nothing and no certainty that she will be able to unite her family anytime soon.  And she still smiles and wants to see my pictures. What does one do with that?

Then the other family is from Afghanistan but from the north.  They look somewhat Mongolian.  The mom has 5 children – ranging in age from about 15 to a months old baby – which I got to hold so happy me! There is no husband – and that is a question one does not ask.  Often he is dead, has decided his family is too much for him, or has gone ahead to make a place for them.  No matter what, it is so very hard for these women.  The young men are fun and to younger girls love to chat them up – many are terrifically good looking.  But I love the women and children.  They have my heart.

As the time there was winding down, Kat and Sandra, my Aussie friends arrived.  They had been in the camp and said their goodbyes – very hard,  I had hoped to have dinner with them, but my plans were not my own.  We grabbed a few minutes and some ice cream and then I had to drive back to Molivos with my team.  I will miss them very much.  Great women.

So after supper and some writing, the day was done.  Camp tomorrow.