As you can tell, the hope of writing many posts yesterday did not come to fruition. Jetlag got the best of me. I’ve gotta say, it’s a formidable opponent. Anyway, here’s one of the things we did in Athens.
Greece in general, and Athens particularly, is a hub for refugees. On their journey to Western Europe or America, Greece is the first stop for many from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Northern Africa. These people are there for many reasons, but the tragedy is that Greece refuses to do anything to help them. There are refugee centers in Greece, but their location makes them undesirable to these people because they are far from… anything. As a result, many refugees live in extreme poverty. They are without homes, without jobs, and without countries.
Helping Hands is a Christian NGO that offers many services for refugees. Some afternoons they serve hot tea at their center, providing a place for conversation and relaxation. Other days they open the center up for showering and a place to brush teeth. They offer English classes, Bible studies, and many other educational opportunities for refugees.
We went on “tea day.” After a brief orientation, we participated in a devotional with the staff their, assigned jobs (child care, serving tea, etc), and the doors opened. Rather than having a particular job, I spent the afternoon mingling with the people that came, simply talking and playing chess. I’m not joking when I say I lost more games of chess in that 4 hour period than I’ve played in the last two years.
The people that come to the refugee center know that those that work there are believers. Gospel conversations are inevitable as they spend time there, but much of the time these people need to be reminded that 1) they are loved, and 2) they are, at least by some, seen as people and not problems. To that end, most of my conversations were simply about how long they’ve been in Athens, why they left, whether or not they have family there or at home, and where they’re headed or hope to go.
I discovered that one man I spent a fair amount of time with, Vitturi, is a believer. He has been in Athens for 20 years, and through the ministry of Helping Hands, was baptized 3 years ago into the church. Since then, he has attended Bible Studies, been to church, and genuinely tried to grow in the Christian life. His brothers are those he lives with in the streets of Athens. It was a pleasure meeting him, and getting beaten into the ground multiple times over the chess board.
Vitturi has very few possessions. Because they have nowhere to call home, refugees must carry everything they own with them. All of Vitturi’s fit into two relatively large bags (considerable, compared to most refugees). He brought them in with him, and kept them close throughout the afternoon. Once, around 3 o’clock, some kids that were playing came a little too close (in Vitturi’s estimation) to his belongings.
Have you ever seen The Fellowship of the Ring? About halfway through the movie is a scene where, after Bilbo gives Frodo his coat of mithril armor, Bilbo gets his first glimpse of the ring of power, a trinket that formerly had a hold on him stronger than he could have predicted. When he sees it, he lunges at Frodo’s throat, his face changing from that of a warm old hobbit to a lecherous thief in an instant. Almost shot for shot, that was Vitturi’s reaction to this perceived threat to his possessions.
It got me thinking about the way we put our confidence and security in things rather than in the blessings that are already ours in Christ. Furthermore, we put our hope in our possessions rather than the blessings still awaiting us in Christ. Vitturi’s possessions came under a brief threat, and his entire demeanor was changed because what he held as most valuable was, in his mind, jeopardized.
What are the things that, when threatened, we would turn into greed-controlled monsters to protect?
