-
Stories From Camp: Lesvos Five
More than 400 people came to the camp during our shift yesterday. First I met an eleven year old girl from Syria. She and a friend spotted the kids’ area and went straight for the hula hoops and jump ropes. They laughed as they tried to get the hula hoops to stay up. She spoke with me for a bit, because she wanted to practice her English. She said it had been a long journey to get to Lesvos. She had gorgeous, big eyes. Then I talked with a man who has a wife and three small children back in Syria. He said crossing the water to get…
-
Meeting The Boats: Lesvos Four
We decided to drive to a different city where most of the boats seem to be coming in now. We spotted some life jackets on the beach and helped the men who were there clean them up. This is one of the life jackets we found there. It looks more like a pool floaty. As you can see, it clearly says “not for use in boating.” This is not a safe life jacket. This is one of the deflated rubber boats resting on the shore of the island. We found another spot where refugees had just arrived. Then we saw another boat come in. The Red Cross was there helping…
-
Available: Lesvos Three
I am pacing around the front gate of our camp. The movement helps me stop shivering in the cold. Lights from Turkish villages twinkle in the darkness on the other side of the sea. This is where the boats pass through. But tonight, the water is quiet. The EU recently gave Turkey three billion Euros to help stop the flow of refugees. We’re thinking this means that our little piece of the Aegean is now more heavily patrolled, so smugglers are choosing other routes. Many refugees are still coming to the island, just in other places. Sometimes ministry looks like simply being available. The Greek people were available this summer, when…
-
When Refugees Have Faces: Lesvos 2
Somewhere on this island there is a little girl wearing socks with hearts on them and sneakers with velcro straps that I put on her feet. She came over on one of the boats, in the cold, dark, night. For months I have been reading about and talking about and praying for this big, faceless group we call “refugees.” But instead of a refugee, there was simply a little girl, maybe four years old, with wet tights and cold feet. And the truth is, I don’t know what will happen to her next. Bethany, who showed me the ropes in the clothing tent last night, says the most important thing we…
-
Perspective
A couple of weeks ago I had a long travel day for work. I had to drive three and half hours each way, so I left the house when it was dark in the morning, and returned home long after the sun had set. I don’t like driving in the dark. But I noticed that the morning darkness seemed to be more bearable. Driving before sunrise doesn’t bother me as much because I know that eventually daylight is coming. It’s just as dark as it is in the evening, but instead of seemingly endless hours of nighttime, I know that morning is on its way. I’ve been thinking…
-
Do My Elbows Look Fat?
As a woman, I am aware that there are certain things I am supposed to worry about. I am supposed to worry about wrinkles, and muffin tops, and stretch marks, and whether or not my teeth are white, and whether or not my eyelashes are thick enough. But recently I was made aware that there was something missing from my worry cabinet. The commercial started like this: “Apples may fall, but the apples of your cheeks don’t have to.” First, I must comment that I feel that statement was a rather lazy way to begin a commercial. But that’s not the point. The point is, all this time I had…
-
Taste and See That the LORD is Good
“Taste and see that the LORD is good.” -Psalm 34:8 Sometimes it’s difficult to see God in our lives. And then there are days when it’s so easy. Saturday was one of those days. It was my birthday, and my family and I spent the day at an apple orchard. It was easy to taste that the Lord is good. We walked through the rows of trees, sampling the sweet and tangy apples in more varieties than I have ever heard of. It was easy to see that the Lord is good while gazing upon the beauty of creation on a gorgeous September afternoon. It was easy to see His…
-
Your Best Butt Ever
Coming home from the World Race a little over a year ago was weird. In so many ways. As I’ve mentioned before, I arrived home loving myself and my body for the first time in years, and it felt great. And because I felt so great, I was heartbroken to watch the women around me struggle with self-hatred. I had been in a sort of isolation for those eleven months I was away. Without access to television commercials, magazines, billboards, or a full length mirror, I had nobody but God and an incredible group of loving friends to help shape my identity. And then, I came back to America. And…
-
That Time I Almost Punched a Plastic Surgeon
I almost beat up a plastic surgeon the other day. Okay, not really. I mean, can you imagine me trying to throw a punch? The only thing I would damage is my own hand. I was driving in the car, listening to the radio, and a commercial advertising a “mommy makeover” came through the airwaves. At first I thought maybe it was going to offer a massage for women who are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, or pedicures for women who are having trouble touching their toes without pain after a difficult c-section. Cool, I thought. Moms deserve to be pampered and cared for. But nope,…
-
Hoarding Manna
One of the most annoying days as a Christian is the day you realize that you are totally like the Israelites. You spend your Sunday school years sitting back, eating popcorn, watching the story of the Exodus play out on the flannelgraph board, thinking, “Haha, suckas, get your act together! What losers.” And then, one terrible and wonderful day your eyes are opened and you realize that you are, in fact, one of those “losers.” I’ve been thinking about manna lately. The story is found in Exodus 16 and goes like this: the Israelites are in the desert and are complaining (again), so God, in all His goodness says, “I…