This was an experience I will never forget. People say that all the time, but I really mean it, I've been to some of the most impoverished places in our country as well as the world (Calcutta, India, Skid Row in Los Angeles, CA, as well as Indian Reservations near Phoenix, AZ), but I've never been moved as deeply as I was today as I interacted with and listened to the stories of those in this refugee camp.
I'm going to post pictures of everybody from today's outreach at the refugee camp, but this blog is going to be mainly focused on the interactions I had with a man named Albert (pronounced - Al - Bear - t). If you weren't aware, Germany is a hot spot for the European Union to send refugees, of the 12,000 refugees Europe got out of Syria alone, 10,000 of those went into Germany. At today's camp alone there were at least 10 different countries represented. War torn areas are no respecters of persons.
We showed up at the refugee camp this afternoon in like 10 vehicles, there were 32 or so of us. We piled out and there were kids waiting on us when we got there. Soccer balls were flying the minute we stepped into the parking lot (soccer is definitely "The International" sport, I've now played it with children in missions work on 3 separate continents)! I hopped in and played goalie while 15 or so refugee kids and 6 or 7 of our team mixed with campers kicking a few balls in my direction. Soccer was definitely an ice breaker with the kids and their parents who initially I feel were watching us apprehensively. It didn't take 5 minutes before several of the girls on our team were walking around holding children and playing games, as the time progressed the parents warmed up to us. Some even started taking video and pictures of us playing with their kids, some of the parent went as far as asking if we wanted them to take pictures for us with our own phones.
It was really neat to see how the language and even religious barriers came down once they saw that we were just their to love on their kids. Our teams did a few songs for the kids as well as a drama depicting Christ teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, this was all pretty well received. We had 1 young man as an interpreter who spoke the major language used in the refugee camp which is some sort of a hybrid gypsy dialect, most of the kids however did speak some German.
We were standing around listening to some instructions for a game our group was going to be playing and I felt a little tug on my shoulder, I turned around and there was this beautiful baby in the arms of her father. She was just smiling at me and wanting my attention, so I talked to her a little bit, played some peek-a-boo, and all the other things us dads do with little children. I wasn't sure how much attention to give her, I didn't want to offend her dad or have him feel uncomfortable at all. As soon as that thought went through my head, he smiled and just handed her off to me. It took a few tries before she was convinced to let her daddy go, but she warmed up to me as you can see in the picture. He was very excited to take our picture.
As we spent more time together, I had to find one of our campers to interpret, Albert who was from Chechnya had lived in the refugee camp for just over 3 years and had picked up enough German for us to go back and forth. As we talked, I began to realize the trials of his life. He revealed that his left leg from the knee down had been amputated after a bombing where he lived during Russian insurgency, his brother also lost a leg. His father, a second brother, and a former Chechen president were all executed together about 10 years ago during the height of the second Chechen War.
Somehow Albert, his wife and 3 of his 4 kids made it out of Chechnya into a refugee camp in Germany (he has 4 kids, his youngest, Dana, was born in Germany 9 months ago). He was happy with the camp they were at, much safer than others they've been at in the past. We talked a little bit about me, not much, as the interpreting was more difficult going from English to German. I said U.S.A., he knew Barack Obama, Texas, and that was about it when it came to the U.S.A.
Before we left I asked if I could pray for him and his family, our interpreter explained that I was a pastor which didn't seem to bother him. But he did not have much of a positive attitude towards God nor much of a clear understanding of who God is, which is more than understandable considering what he has come through and out of. He did agree to let me pray for him and his family, after he made sure I knew that he felt safe at their current camp. I think he felt bad, like he may have been taking advantage of my compassion or something of the sort, you could tell he was very proud. So we prayed, and I prayed for him, his health, for his family, specifically his kids and their health as well as protection and safety in their future. He started to get a little emotional and choked up and told me thank you while I was still praying, he cut me short, but in a very polite manner. I honestly felt like he was about to cry and did not want to do that in front of me. I couldn't blame the guy, it took everything within me not to fall completely apart as I thought about the children there, and what they were growing up in and around.
After we prayed, he spoke a little more with the interpreter and asked if he could get a group picture of all of us, then wanted to get a few pictures of me and him. We hugged, shook hands, then he let me hug his little girl. Shortly after we left, he followed us out of the gated area and waved while holding one of the soccer balls we brought.
Albert and his family of 6, were just one of dozens of families represented at today's refugee camp. Josh and Kayla, as well as the rest of the team had amazing interactions with these families and showed the love of Christ to each of them. Pictures of today's awesome experiences are below.We are such a blessed people, it is amazing to me how happy it made these families that we just came and spent some time with them. We didn't bring them funds, toys, or a solution. We just brought love, kindness, and the Gospel message. Somehow that recipe was able to communicate through 5-6 different languages 4 different religions, and 4 different generations of refugees. God is good my friends...God is good
-Be Blessed,
Ryan
