Remembering to Serve People on the Journey to Refuge
Photo Cred: Reed Eaglesham
Dear Readers,
I’m doing something new, using my blog to ask for help.
Origin is headed back to Greece. We will be in Athens in May to serve alongside our friends with Canadian Global Response. Ten of us will be going to “remember the poor.” You can help them too. People on the journey for refuge have had to run, to leave, to survive, to witness. Its not a pretty experience and its worse than most of us can imagine.
Artist and activist Ai Weiwei, wants you to know that “Over 65 Million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes.” I watched the film and cried. This is what many of the dear people we met last year have gone through. What will our compassion do? Compassion comes alongside the human flow not to judge but to give hope. Though we are tempted to, I’m learning we must not underestimate the power of a cup of water, a smile, a listening ear, a gift, and a moment of care and kindness in a safe environment. We believe these are the small gestures affirming the incredible worth of each person.
Our team of ten is going to Athens but we cannot accomplish this alone. We need your help to extend the ministry of our friends there in city. We will be assisting with what they want to do in order to serve folks who had hoped to pass through the city but have gotten stuck there and who find themselves to be intensely vulnerable. Our strategy for supporting and extending the ministry of our partners on the ground in Athens requires about 1000 euro’s per day in ministry funds.
Help us serve people on the refugee journey in Athens, Greece.
Let’s move remembering the poor into real presence and action. Here’s how you can give. By clicking on the Origin in Greece button you will land on our Canadian Global Response project and giving page. Follow the instructions, making sure to to note “Origin in Athens.”
Thanks so much.
Craig