Profiles ( Of a refugee )

Since we've been here people have requested that we start doing stories of the people we've met. Do to some security reasons I cannot give their entire story because their safety is more important. However, I want to do my best to give people an idea of what these people have been through.

(Sarah)
This man is a friend I have made over the past couple days. His journey took 45 days by foot through below freezing temperatures. The jacket he is wearing was only given to him upon arriving here. He had to flee his country because his family was kidnapped and were going to be killed unless he left. As he travels this journey alone his hope is to find a place to bring his family to safety. He is only in his 20s but has been kidnapped and beaten for weeks by terrorists before escaping. In arriving at the refugee camp there were no tents available so he slept on the ground. He continued to say how thankful he was to be in a country that would give him a cup of water and a warm blanket. I met him on Christmas day and as I listened to his journey and many of his stories I was blown away by his courage and his kindness. These are the faces and stories that we encounter here in the refugee camp. They are filled with real people, who have families and friends. And they have a story to tell.


(Connor)
Meet my friend from Afghanistan. He is around my age and has had life experiences beyond my comprehension. Working as a nurse in his first years out of school, and then became a police officer that worked with the military doing drug busts in various provinces. Because of his many talents and qualifications, he also began to work with political parties. He is a man who loved his country and his jobs and made a decent living. Then due to two different attacks by a terrorist organization he was forced to flee his country on foot which led him on a 45 day journey to Turkey. Throughout his journey he had to be hidden in a trunk with 4 other full grown men, and walk through chest deep water during cold nights holding his bag above his head. All of this because of severe danger that he would face if he remained where he had been in his life. He is a good man who loves justice and serving others above himself. His goal is to reach any country in Europe that would have him and give him a chance at a fresh start. 

The people we are encountering out here are incredible people with stories that most of us would think are movie plot lines. Their stories are not finished yet however. From here they go on to Europe and will search for a country and a job that will have them for their shot a new life.  We hope that these stories have stirred your hearts and brought light to a situation that is predominately covered by the media. Remember to pray for the refugees, for Greece, and for all Europe to receive them. Thank you guys!

LESVOS (the place you see in the news)

Hey everyone! We have finally made it to Greece. We are currently working on the most well known island for refugees, Lesvos. About 10 kilometers (6ish miles) from Turkey, all of those little boats carrying refugees arrive on the north, east and southern parts of the island. Completely overcrowded, and sometimes traveling during rough seas many boats have problems in the water. There are volunteer teams of rescuers covering much of the coast to do their absolute best to make sure that people make it to shore alive. They then place the refugees onto buses which take them to camps to get registered for asylum. And that is where our team comes in...





This is a snapshot of what life looks like here in the refugee camp Moria that we work at everyday from 4pm-12:30pm. Refugees wait in this long line to be registered for asylum and given papers to travel through Europe. While waiting on papers this prison you see in the background has been converted into housing for them, however it is not enough to hold all the people awaiting papers. Everyone who does not have housing in the prison some (somewhere above 1,000 people women and children included) has done there best to make camp around the prison. Our outreach team is currently doing our best to help the organizations already here serving the overflow of people with food, clothing and blankets. More refugees come in wet by boats everyday and are unable to leave until they have proper papers and the cold is becoming increasingly unbearable as we move into January. However in the midst of all of this we are seeing joy, where people from all different nations, languages and religions are coming together to serve and bring hope to those who are fleeing war torn countries.

Thank you so much for reading and following us!

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it's the final countdown

(7) seven. days. until. outreach.

it's so unreal that we leave for Greece in 7 days. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that we leave in exactly one week, to fly across the world and work with Syrian refugees for 3 months. It can only be Jesus. I cannot believe anything differently because despite the fact that I'm still trying to work out housing for our team next week, we still owe thousands of dollars just to get on a plane.

but Jesus.

I know he's called us, I know he has a plan. I have to continually believe these two things, make them my daily even hourly reminder, or it would seem impossible. So this time next week I'm excited to tell everyone the miracle the God did in getting our entire team on a plane, and the favor that he's given us in being able to find housing in Greece.

So this week, this stressful next 7 days, I choose F A I T H.
When Connor and I need to go and get international licenses in between lectures: I choose faith
When we go and buy presents for all the people hosting us in Greece: I choose faith
When we pack up everything in our room into boxes: I choose faith
Whether I'm able to find housing for us before or after we get on that plane: I choose faith
When I'm reminded that our entire school still owes $12000: I choose faith

In choosing faith, I consciously am choosing Jesus over my circumstances. So this week while you're reading this or if you think of us, pray for us, I promise we'll need it.

----> p.r.o.g.r.e.s.s r.e.p.o.r.t

     Well tomorrow marks exactly TWO WEEKS until we leave for Greece! The amount of support and supplies that have been donated in the past month continually blows me away and has been a daily reminder of God's faithfulness in mine and Connor's life. I wanted to personally thank every single person who has donated money towards us getting over there and to anyone who has donated to the sock drive. This has only been made possible through the sacrifices you all have made.

Just to give you guys an idea of how much has been brought in I wanted to show you the numbers:

Connor & Sarah's Grand Total to get to Greece: $7530.00
Total still needed to be raised: $2958.00

This means we have raised a total of: $4572.00 in only ONE MONTH!

Sock Drive Stats:

Pairs of Socks: 154

Blankets: 22

Hats: 16

Mitts & Scarves: 9

Money donated: $400.00 (This amount has been given in cash to go and buy the socks ourselves)
*The money donated above has not yet been spent*

This is our supply so far!

Kids socks from Target!

Every single person who has sacrificed their time and money to support this cause is going to be a part of something so much bigger than them. By clothing someone who is not able to clothe themselves you have brought the love of Christ. One single pair of socks can change one person's life and you have all been a part of that. This mission is not just about Connor and I or our team, because the people that send and support are just as much a part of the mission as the people going. So I wanted to acknowledge the people behind the scenes, because without your love and support the mission is never possible.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'"
-Jesus

For those of you who have read this and not had the time or chance to be a part of supporting financially or through the sock drive it's not too late! There's still 2 weeks left and every single bit makes a difference.

Love you all,

The Hendrixs

S o c k D r i v e

As our outreach team prepares for Greece we have been presented with a tangible way to help all of the incoming refugees. Winter is quickly approaching around the world and the problem with that is many of the people making the trek across the Mediterranean Sea are arriving with hypothermia.

Our desire is to have a "Sock Drive" so that we are able to give these people something warm for their feet upon their arrival. We are not limiting donations to socks, winter hats, mitt's, scarves and blankets will all be welcomed.

The last day we would like all of these items in is December 1st so that we are able to box them all up and bring them with us for when we leave December 7th. If you have been looking for a tangible way to help people who are in a lot of need, this is your open door.

Socks can be sent to:
Sarah or Connor Hendrix
2707 Hipawai Place
Honolulu HI
96822

*Please no used socks

the U N E X P E C T E D

For anyone that has come across my latest Facebook post they will know what this is about, and for those who do not I'll re-post it here to get you up to speed real quick.

B R E A K I N G N E W S from the Hendrixs:

This past Monday during prayer our base prayed for the refugees flooding into Europe from Syria and surrounding nations. The Lord spoke so clearly to me and told me that I needed to GO. I had no idea what to do, I had already planned an entire outreach for our team to Indonesia & Papua New Guinea. Within the past 5 days every single thing that needed to fall into place to change our 3 month outreach has happened. Now we are GOING TO GREECE. We will be working with Syrian refugees, giving them food, water and blankets and ultimately sharing Jesus with them. Right now there are 6,000 refugees trying to cross into Greece EVERY DAY. These people need help & they need hope. 

If you want to give specifically to the refugees that we will be helping, message me.

To fill in the blanks that come with this post I want to take a minute to answer the obvious questions:

When are you going? How long will you be there?

We leave December 7- February 20. So we will be there for just under 3 months.

Where in Greece will you be?

We will begin in Athens and also be in the island of Lesvos (in-between Greece and Turkey).

What exactly will you be doing?

We will be handing out supplies to the refugees, water, food and blankets. We will also be spending time with them individually in hopes of building relationship to share the gospel.

How many refugees are in Greece?

Over the past while 6,000 have been crossing the border into Greece everyday. Just as of last week that number jumped up to 9,000.

How can I help?

The best and most effective way to help is to donate. Our Paypal account is a link on the side of our blog, you can donate using debit or credit. If you would like your money to go towards only buying supplies for the refugees you can message me and request that. 

If you would like to write a check you can address it to:

Sarah Hendrix

Mailing address: 2707 Hipawai Place Honolulu HI 96822

Below is a video made by Samaritan's Purse. The work they are doing over there is exactly what our 3 months in Greece will look like as well. 

Hopefully this answers a lot of the questions regarding our change in outreach. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. This is such a real need in our world today and anything you can do to help makes a huge difference in people's lives.

Love,

The Hendrixs

lend a helping hand

Last Thursday our school had the privilege of working with another ministry on the island that dedicates every Thursday to feeding 600-700 homeless people that live in Honolulu. It's titled "Feeding the Hungry" but they do so much more than that. They also clothe them and provide an atmosphere of trust and respect where people can talk about their lives. Dozens upon dozens of bags of clothing were given away, and two truck loads of food were brought in. Over a matter of 5 hours we had given everything away. The food brought in was not just a ridiculous amount of non-perishable cans, there were mountains of fruit, milk, yogurt, bread, desserts, literally anything you could possibly find in a grocery store. The clothes given away did not have holes or stains, but there were items for all shapes and sizes. I realized in working with this ministry that trust and respect were not only given to these people through our words and conversations, but also in the food and clothing that we gave away- we gave them our best.

Some of the team unloading the first truck load of food

Prayer for some new friends

Working at the clothing table!

As this becomes the month of Thanksgiving for all my Canadian friends and family, and in the following month it will be Thanksgiving for Americans, I just want to encourage everyone to serve the homeless and hurting in their community. It honestly is such a blessing to be able to serve someone, or even a group of people who might not have the means to help themselves this time of year. For the next three months my team and I will be doing this every Thursday, this isn't a ministry that we've personally started, we chose to find something that was already happening in the community and lend a helping hand. So my prayer for everyone reading this would be to find something happening around you, to join in and serve people that aren't currently able to help themselves.

Much love,

The Hendrixs