Day 1:Greece

Yesterday was my first full day in Greece. While distributing cots and mattresses at a refugee camp, I met a man from Syria named Yasin. He hasn’t seen his wife and daughters in a year and half. He was a business man with two homes and 4 cars. His business made and distributed textiles all over the Arab world. Now, he sells cigarettes to other refugees trying to get enough money to get to his family in Central Europe. From what I hear, Yasin is an odd case. Not because of his old life but because of his current one. My sources could be wrong, but its not typical for a man to send his wife and family ahead of him to safer places. I know very little else about Yasin. However, I do know that being in his presence created a moment for God to speak to me. 

I don’t fully know what He wants me to do with it but these are my thoughts. Taking the advice of my friend Liz, I’m not going to try to make sense of it yet. For now, just feeling with Yasin is where God has me. It’s painful but pain isn’t a bad thing. Pain is not a problem. Pain is a sign of a problem. It’s obvious that war and murder is a problem, but my pain is new to me. I have a suspicion that it is pointing to something else. This time it wasn’t hard to put myself in another mans shoes. This time, God gave me what I have been asking for. This time I was able to experience beyond perspective. Yesterday, I knew that men in this world wore shoes like his. Today,  I feel like I had a chance to take a step or two in those shoes. I know I have to put my shoes back on tomorrow and that’s ok. I just hope that I walk a little differently tomorrow.