by Doug and Anya Holcomb, CAMA workers in Kosovo
We live three hours from the main camp where refugees enter Macedonia from Greece on their journey from the Middle East to Western Europe. Currently, 3,000 to 4,000 refugees pass through this camp each day.
Our organization, Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA), partners with a Christian non-governmental organization (NGO). It works in this camp every day by distributing food, water, blankets, and clothing while sharing the love and hope of Jesus.
Real People, Real Stories
Recently, I (Anya) got to spend a day at the camp working alongside our partners. Everything that I’ve seen on the news suddenly came to life with real faces, tired eyes, tragic stories, and courageous determination.
I met a man from Afghanistan who, after working for the coalition forces, was fleeing for his life due to threats from extremists. He started to cry as I asked him about his aging parents, whom he had to leave behind.
I met two high-school girls who had been hindered from learning and now hope to live in a place where they can get a good education. One dreams of becoming a teacher; the other a doctor.
I met a family with two young children, the same ages as our two kids, who had been traveling for 21 days. For the past several cold nights, they had slept outside on the forest floor without warm clothing or blankets.
I heard numerous stories about the perilous journeys people had taken in small rafts to travel from Turkey to Greece. Four children had died while crossing this sea only the day before. I couldn’t stop the tears from coming as I heard story after story.
A New Family Member
As we neared the end of our day in the camp, a woman from Iran came up to me, frantic because she could not find her refugee papers. These are essential for passing from country to country. I helped her search, and in the end, she found the papers in her bag where they had been all along. She was so relieved and gave me a huge hug.
About 20 minutes later, I saw this same woman praying with one of our partners. When they finished, she turned to me and shared with joy in her eyes how she had just made a decision to follow Jesus. She found much more than her papers that day! We embraced, and I welcomed my new sister to the family of God.
She, and multiple others, shared with us that Christians have helped them time after time along their journeys. Followers of Jesus have been meeting their practical needs, showing them love, and demonstrating care. And the refugees’ hearts are opening to the good news.
As I left the camp that day, it was not with a heavy heart—despite the difficulty, pain, and hardship I had witnessed. It was with a heart full of hope because Jesus is on the move. He is using this tragic situation to draw His children to Himself in radical ways.
What Is CAMA?
Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA) is a Christ-centered relief and development agency committed to the social demonstration and verbal proclamation of the gospel. CAMA staff members seek both physical and spiritual wholeness for the people they serve. They have translated short-term relief into long-term development projects that emphasize local ownership and sustainability, capitalizing on local strengths and resources.