Spiritual Tourism

The refugee crisis has been on my heart since I began hearing of it in 2015 though we were limited in what we could tangibly do.  Finally, Jordan and I had the opportunity to go and see the island, the refugees, the camp with our own eyes.

Jordan called this spiritual tourism.

We recognized that our short week in Lesvos was not going to leave a lasting impact at the refugee camp, but it could (and did) leave a lasting impact on us.  We went with spiritual eyes to see the situation, the people, the camp; we went with spiritual ears to listen to the stories and gain a better understanding of what we've been hearing in the news.  We listened to stories.  We asked questions.  We prayed.  We spoke encouragement.  And now we seek to share these things with you.  

We've already shared a bit about the overall refugee crisis and the process they go through upon arriving in Lesvos.  We also want to share some of our own personal experiences in Lesvos.

The Greek government does not allow photos or videos to be taken inside or near the refugee camp itself, so we are limited in what we can visually share, but we tried to take a brief video each day to explain a little bit about our experience.

The first day, after a brief orientation from our friends and hosts, we simply walked around camp, met a few of our friends' contacts, and prayed silently while observing the environment.  Jordan worked at camp for 2 days, I worked at camp one day and had the opportunity to work at the clothing warehouse another day.

And we celebrated Jordan's 30th birthday with baklava! :)