Nicky Andrews: What does OM do here in the camp?

Jude Murray: The project is officially called Refugee Relief Serbia. Our OM Serbia team consists of me (the only full-time OMer), four local employees from the nearby town and a stream of OM volunteers from around the world. We own a massive tent, which acts as a daytime meeting place, where we serve hot drinks. It’s like a huge café, and we can seat up to 150 people at a time. Sometimes we show cartoons for all ages at the weekend. There’s also a laundry service which we run, in another part of the site. At the moment there about 800 people in this camp, mostly young guys from places like Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. They can’t cross the Croatian border without a visa, so they’re stuck in Serbia for now. It can feel like a really hopeless situation.

NA: How many drinks do the OM team make every day?

JM: We work in two shifts and between us, we serve about 3,000 cups. The hot drinks are really popular when it’s very cold. It can get down to -25C here! Unless our heating breaks down, it gets quite warm in the tent and the guys love hanging out there….chatting, playing table tennis, chess and ludo.

NA: You must have a big shopping list!

JM: Well, our refugee friends like their drinks very sweet, so each week we get through 140 kg of sugar, three and a half kilos of loose leaf tea, five kilos of Turkish coffee and 20 litres of milk. That costs about 300 euros (about 338 USD). And in winter we have to budget for heating the tent, too – that’s about 200 euros (about 225 USD) a week for the bricquets which feed the heating boiler.

NA: How do you and your team witness for Jesus in the camp environment?

JM: OM is officially registered here to provide a humanitarian service on behalf of the UNHCR. So because this project is not an outreach, we can’t be having large Bible studies or worship times (etc) in the tent. Also, we must always be careful not to favour the Christians who are refugees. Sometimes our volunteers are frustrated by all this. But the truth is, when we deal with people’s dirty washing, or serve them drinks, we are showing God’s love. I’m always inspired by that verse where Jesus says: “When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink.”

The refugees are always watching us as we work with them, and how we do it is a huge witness in itself. We’ve had volunteers come here from as far away as Australia and South Korea, and the refugees can’t believe they came all that way, at their own expense, to serve them teas and coffees. That sort of thing can lead to conversations about the Lord! These guys also look up OM on their smartphones, so they know we are Christians, and if they ask us what OM is about, we can tell them. So even while we work, we can be sowing seeds about God’s love, and maybe in other countries, people will remember what they saw and heard in Serbia.

NA: How did you come to Serbia yourself?

JM: I had done admin work for OM in north Africa in the mid 1990s. Then I left to do teaching, and that took me round the world, to Kenya, Cyprus and Afghanistan. In 2007 I rejoined OM and was promoting sports ministry in Europe for some years, based in the UK, and also working with my home church. Then in 2016, at the OM European Leaders Meeting, I heard how individuals from OM Montenegro had been coming here to Serbia since 2015, when the refugee crisis began. They were coming one week at a time, to coordinate OM’s efforts in serving the refugees. It was all a bit chaotic. There was a desperate need for someone to be based in Serbia, as a full-time project manager. I sensed God’s call! I arrived in Serbia in January 2017 for an initial three months…two years on, I’m still here!

NA: Tell me more about your role here with Refugee Relief Serbia.

JM: It would be quicker to tell you what I don’t do! I work six days a week, coordinating every aspect of this project. So that includes admin things like managing finances, drawing up work rotas, recruiting and managing international volunteers and our Serbian employees, plus liaising with the camp authorities. There are logistics too, like maintenance of the OM tent, kitchen, heating system and the team car, and of course, shopping for supplies! I can delegate some of these things to my Serbian colleagues, but I’m still very closely involved – someone has to know everything that’s going on. I’m the ultimate troubleshooter!

NA: Do you ever get time to work in the OM tent yourself, serving the teas and coffees?

JM: Yes, surprisingly. Most days I’m helping out and I really miss that contact with the refugees if management stuff keeps me away from the camp. One job I also enjoy is in the camp laundry. One of us runs that every weekday. Even doing 70 loads of laundry, I can somehow zone out and process all the things I have to think about!

NA: Tell me some of your highlights so far…

JM: I love seeing the refugee kids go crazy with joy when it starts snowing, so I had great fun building a snowman with them one time. It’s very rewarding too when the people express sincere thanks for what we’re doing here. I was really moved recently – some families, who were being transferred to a different camp, said they didn’t want to go because OM wasn’t there. And I’ll never forget drinking tea with a young guy called Azfaar* whose best friend had just died during an attempt to cross the border. He was heartbroken because he and his friend had been together ever since leaving Afghanistan. I didn’t say anything, it was just about being there for Azfaar in his bereavement. I suppose you can’t really call that a highlight, but it was certainly a huge privilege. 

NA: Are there any downsides to this sort of work?

JM: There’s always something going wrong with equipment – one of the two gas burners in the kitchen stops working, for instance. Or a washing machine breaks down, or the team car develops some fault. Personally speaking, I have very little time to myself, and it’s a massive responsibility being the one person who keeps everything going. Even when I’m back in the UK on holiday, I can get phone calls asking me to sort out emergencies! OM wants to recruit more full-time people for our Serbia team, including a deputy manager. That would really reduce the pressure on me.

NA: Who would be suited to join OM Serbia?

JM: We would love to hear from people with maturity and lots of compassion but who also won’t let the refugees’ situations affect them too much emotionally, because some of the people in the camp have tragic back-stories. We need practical outdoor types with plenty of energy who love to serve, and see this as a valid form of witness. And if you can speak even a few words of Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, Bengali or Urdu, you will be a firm favourite with the refugees! The refugees are mostly young Muslim guys, who seem to relate especially well with our male volunteers, so I would particularly encourage men to join us.

NA: How can OM supporters pray for you, and Refugee Relief Serbia?

JM: For me, I need great wisdom in my working relationships here with all my different colleagues, especially as volunteers are constantly coming and going. It means you never have a fixed group of people to work with and get used to.

Please pray too for new full-time recruits for OM Serbia, and I would especially love the deputy manager post to get filled! Pray too for greater financial resources for this project; there is so much we need to spend on daily running costs, never mind essential improvements for the tent.

Lastly, please pray that many refugees will come to know the Lord. This is a situation where the ‘least reached’ are literally walking through our door!

If you would like to give financial support to the Refugee Relief Serbia ministry, please visit http://www.om.org/en/give and mark gifts for 'OM Balkans Refugee Relief Serbia'.

To find out more about Serbia, and opportunities to serve there with OM, please visit https://www.om.org/en/country-profile/serbia and scroll down to 'Go to Serbia'. Alternatively please contact your national OM office.

*name changed

“I worked on translating the Roma Family Picture Bible with great enthusiasm because I know people in the Bor area,” expressed Slobodan, who grew up outside the mining town in Eastern Serbia, where his parents still live today. “Illustrations and simple language sometimes have more impact because, sadly, people think not everyone can read the Bible.” The Bible storybook was produced to make God’s Word accessible to Roma families, and it was designed by OM EAST to fit their culture.

“I want to give this to my parents; I hope it will speak to them,” Slobodan said. “My parents don’t know Jesus, but they have seen the change in me—a huge testimony of God’s grace and His power to make everything new!” 

The old has gone

Slobodan had been addicted to heroin and other substances for many years. “I was dying before, just going from one shot to the next,” Slobodan stated. At a Christian rehabilitation center, Slobodan heard about God. “I think God was just waiting on me to ask Him: ‘Please help me’,” he reflected.

“I was like the walking dead,” Slobodan emphasised. “But God is able to give life to dead bones—He is Almighty!” Slobodan compares his transformation with the vision in Ezekiel chapter 37: “I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley…So I prophesied as [the LORD] commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone…and breath entered them; they came to life.” – Ezekiel 37:2b,7,10b (NIV)

“My life was like these dry bones,” Slobodan said. “Then I heard God’s Word, and something started to make a noise in my heart. When God revealed Himself to me, my dry bones came together, and I received the Holy Spirit.” Slobodan believed in Jesus Christ, whom God sent to earth to save people from their sins; as a result, he gave his life to the Saviour who heals, cleanses and restores.

“Through my testimony, I want people to see how deep the hole may be from where God can save us,” Slobodan shared. Recovery proved to be an intense process, involving over a month of sleeplessness, as well as hallucinations. “I never thought I could be free, but when Jesus frees you, He takes it all away. I no longer desire drugs,” said Slobodan, who has now been clean for 12 years. “Since then, with ups and downs, I am trying to serve Him.”

The new has come

“I want to tell others who don’t know, that there is a better way,” said Slobodan. He desires to share the hope of Jesus in whom there is unfailing love, full redemption, forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.

Slobodan lives in Croatia where he and his wife work with Roma Bible Union, making Jesus known among Roma in her home country. During a visit to Bor, Slobodan presented the Roma Family Picture Bible to a small congregation that meets in the pastor’s basement. The couple and their colleagues trained local church members to lead children’s clubs in surrounding Roma villages, also distributing Bible storybooks on outreaches. “I see those living in Bor and hear what they tell me—I used to be the same,” said OM EAST’s partner.                                                                       

The vision in Ezekiel continues to inspire Slobodan; his Creator is still able to breathe spiritual life into individuals, and He can bring renewal along believers’ journeys of faith. “We need believers to speak God’s words to us personally and as a church today so we can be renewed,” he expressed. “Let the Lord renew us as He used to do in those days. When God is working, it is heard and seen. Let people see this in our lives!” 

“It is the greatest and most remarkable of all changes that a man can undergo—to be brought out of the grave of spiritual death and made to rejoice in the light and liberty of spiritual life. None could work this but the living God, the Lord and giver of life.” – C.H. Spurgeon ('Faith’s Checkbook – Daily Readings', 2013 Watchmaker Publishing, p.167)

Praise God for His power to make everything new! Give thanks for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross; praise Him for His resurrection and victory over sin and death. Give thanks for God’s grace in Slobodan’s life. Please pray Roma families would trust in Jesus, who sets them free. Please pray believers would be strengthened and renewed for His name’s sake.

Subheadings reference: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

OM EAST’s literature and media ministry produces high quality print and digital media in over 25 languages. Working with partners, they seek to share the gospel, strengthen churches and bring hope to people groups throughout Eurasia.

Today, however, it is tears of joy that brighten Volker’s eyes, as he describes how many refugees from Iran are turning to Jesus during a worldwide move of God amongst Iranians.

“It’s a privilege for me to witness the Lord touching so many Iranians in Serbia, including in the camp where OM works,” he shares. Commenting on OM’s mission to see vibrant communities of Jesus followers among the least reached, Volker says, “This is exactly what I see happening in Serbia amongst the Iranians! I would like to tell the outside world about people and events which could be from the first-century church.”

Baptising refugees in Bulgaria

Volker shares the story of an Iranian, Ali*, living in Bulgaria, who has played a strategic role in God’s work in the Balkans. Ali is in his 50s, but as a young man he became a battle-scarred veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, and then pursued a life of extreme violence in the drug gangs of Teheran.

When the Islamic revolution broke out, Ali fled to Bulgaria and became heavily involved in the underworld as a major drug dealer. Convicted of murder, he was sent to prison. There, he was converted by a visiting Bulgarian pastor and immediately began preaching to his fellow inmates, many of whom accepted Jesus as Lord.

Ali was released from prison in 2015, just as a new wave of refugees from the Middle East entered Bulgaria from Turkey—a new route due to other borders being shut down. Ali started preaching the gospel to every Iranian refugee he met, and many responded, even becoming baptised right away, while still moving westward, crossing illegally into Serbia.

One of Ali’s contacts who accepted Jesus in 2016 was Farzad*. Ali gave him his first Bible and supported him when Farzad was baptised by a Bulgarian pastor.

“Farzad has become such a key figure in this whole story,” says Volker. Farzad had been an artist and photographer in Teheran, and as a divorced single parent, he had brought his toddler son with him to Bulgaria. Like many others, Farzad hoped to go to Germany, but after leaving Bulgaria, he found himself stuck in a Serbian refugee camp when the border with Croatia closed. It happened to be the camp near Sid where, under Volker’s direction, OM runs a community meeting tent and laundry services.

Encouraged by a dream, now networking for God’s kingdom

Volker has got to know Farzad well over the past two years and has seen how God has used him to share God’s love with other Iranians in Serbia.

In autumn 2016, when Farzad entered the camp in Sid, he witnessed to the handful of other Iranians in the camp but was cautious about how he did it—at that time, the presence of many strict Muslims in the camp created an atmosphere that tended to inhibit Iranian believers from openly identifying as Christian or meeting together to pray or study the Bible.

In the last year, though, many of the stricter Muslims moved to other camps in Serbia, and many Iranians have taken their place. Despite coming from a Muslim theocracy, many of the Iranians were surprisingly liberal in style and outlook, learned Farzad. Although there was now a more open atmosphere towards Christianity in the camp, Farzad was preoccupied by another thought: Since he still entertained hopes of reaching western Europe, should he try to cross the border into Croatia somehow?

He knew that most attempts resulted in failure, but many people still wanted to try “The Game”, as they called it. Even the Serbian government staff in the camp openly wondered why Farzad had not yet tried to cross the nearby border.

Then, one night in autumn 2017, Farzad had a powerful dream. The next day he sent Volker a message. “Farzad saw a highway filled with lots of people walking to somewhere beautiful,” says Volker. “But his own feet just wouldn’t move, he was rooted to the spot. He sensed the dream was from God, telling him to stay where he was.”

This realisation that God wanted him where he was led Farzad to become bolder in preaching and discipling, both in his native Farsi, and in English. He encouraged believers of every nationality to meet together for fellowship and built up many Christian contacts in the Iranian diaspora worldwide, using social media.

Suddenly, in early December 2017, the camp authorities announced they were moving Farzad, his son and two other single parents and their children to a camp over 160 kilometres away, near the Romanian border.

“This has had an effect like the apostles being scattered in the Book of Acts!” Volker exclaims, adding that Farzad witnesses tirelessly to the same mix of nationalities, and on social media, to Iranians in the rest of Serbia. “Really, everybody knows him!” laughs Volker.

A special volunteer from Germany

Amongst Farzad’s network is Ramin*, a German born in Iran who now pastors a Persian church in Germany that is linked to an organisation that builds God’s kingdom among Iranians everywhere. Ramin contacted Volker and became one of the volunteers that staffs the OM-run community tent in Serbia. In August 2018, he led Bible studies and prayer meetings for Iranian believers in the tent for five days, from 9:00 in the morning until 18:00 at night. Five people attended the first day’s Bible study, and the number rose to 20 by the fifth day.

“There was one Iranian Muslim guy who came along just to disrupt and criticise, but he gave his life to Jesus on the final day,” recalls Volker.

He shares, though, that there is ongoing need to nurture the young believers towards greater maturity. “So, I’m very excited by the possibility of running an intensive discipleship training course for up to eight Iranian believers over five days, which would then be repeated for a second group of eight.” says Volker.

The course, later this year, would be hosted by a nearby church in Sid and led by Ramin and others from the organisation he works with. The training would be aimed at equipping Christians to launch a church plant in the camp.

God loves everyone

In August, Farzad travelled hours by bus to meet with Volker one day. Farzad said to him, “When I first became a believer, I knew that God loved me, but I couldn’t grasp that He loves everyone, even His enemies. But from my two years seeing OM in action, I know that God does love everyone…” And then he cried. “And I cried too,” says Volker.

Praise God for the openness of Iranians to the Gospel, and the increasing number of Iranian believers in the refugee camps in Serbia. As OM coordinates the discipleship course, pray for the finances and volunteers to fall into place. Pray, also, for God to lead Farzad and his son to a secure place and future. Lastly, please pray that God raises up more long-term workers to join OM’s work in Serbia.

For more information about how you can get involved, please visit OM.org or contact your national OM office.

* name changed

OM EAST partner Goran belongs to the Gurbet Roma, a predominantly Muslim minority group living in Serbia. Goran heard God’s Word when he started going to church with his wife and daughters. He believed in Jesus Christ after recognising an answer to prayer. “In 1996, my mother was in a coma for three months,” Goran shared. “My wife said we should ask the pastor to pray.” Their pastor prayed and then declared she would recover. “I said [to myself], if my mother really gets up, I will give my heart to God,” Goran remembered. “Two days later she got up.”

Goran’s decision to follow Jesus challenged cultural values and traditions he grew up with, causing him to live differently in his Gurbet Roma community.  

Changing family values

“The Roma come from the East where a lot of worth is placed on having a son,” Goran explained. “[When I worked on the black market] I had a lot of money. In one day I could earn enough to buy a car, but it meant nothing to me because I didn’t have a son.” The number of sons is reflected by the size of a family’s house; there is one storey per son. Goran as father of two daughters had only a ground-level house. “It was terrible,” said Goran, expressing the sorrow that remained for many years.  

At a seminar around five years ago, the theme “Me and my son” rubbed salt into the wound. “I came home with sadness in my heart,” he said, crying at the memory. “Then I heard [the words], ‘you have an emptiness in your heart; I am the Fullness that fills the emptiness.’” God’s comforting words changed Goran’s heart; for the first time, he gave thanks for his daughters. “From this moment on, my life was different,” emphasised Goran. “Our God is the best!”

“[In our culture] adoption is a taboo topic,” Goran added. Nevertheless, his daughter and son-in-law chose to adopt, since they were unable to have children. “They were the first to adopt here,” shared Goran. “Now 10-20 other couples have adopted children, too.” 

Leaving the family business

“Do you want to work for me?” Goran sensed God ask him in 2002. Goran left the black market, completed a theology diploma and co-pastored a predominantly Roma church for 15 years. 

“You are stupid! You have to follow the Roma tradition,” a man responded once Goran told him he intended to work for God. Goran considered his family heritage: “My father stole, my grandfather stole...should I follow this tradition?” However, when the same man saw Goran again, he encouraged him in his choice. Similarly, another friend acknowledged: “You are a new man. You are on a good path!”

“I want to show Roma, and others, that Roma can do things,” Goran said, addressing perceptions of, and toward, his people group. “This is very important for our culture.” Two years ago, the former pastor started a Christian non-profit organisation. His tasks include Bible translation as well as producing literature and media for the Roma. In 2017, OM EAST provided the design and layout for Goran’s new book — a Gurbet Roma-Serbian-English picture dictionary. The dictionary is being used in a school, and it is also a tool to help Serbian or foreign believers learn Gurbet Roma so they can communicate the gospel in people’s heart language. “It’s good to represent the Roma and the Lord,” said Goran, whose publication featured in the local press. “My greatest joy is to work for God. As we translate scripture, we are glorifying God.” 

Passing on hope 

“There is no word for ‘hope’ in our language,” stated Goran. “The words ‘blessing’ or ‘thankfulness’ don’t exist either.” 

“What does it say about the condition of a people group who need to borrow the word ‘hope’ from the local language?” an OM EAST worker wondered. Gaps in the vocabulary are one of Goran’s greatest challenges as he makes the Bible available in Gurbet Roma. 

“When I translate, there is revival for me in my heart; I have read Hebrews 10 times and I want to study it again,” he said, smiling. “It’s important to put God’s Word in your mouth.” Goran has found a Saviour; Jesus Christ has forgiven his sins, changed his heart and given him a new purpose and hope. “What you know, [you should] give to another,” said Goran, who leads a youth group and desires to invest more time speaking to individuals in his community about God’s Word. 

Goran lives and works in the Roma area of the town, Leskovac, where most are from a Muslim background. Last year, three OM EAST team members visited him there. They were joined by a young man who interpreted into English. One OM guest asked their host to tell them about someone whose life he has seen God at work in. “Instead of relating Goran’s reply, the young man turned to me and said with a smile, ‘I am the first’,” the OM worker recalled. “This was so special to find our interpreter had come to faith through Goran passing on the hope he has received.”

Praise God that He is the God of Hope. Praise God for His authority to forgive sins and His power to transform lives. Praise God for the faith He has given Goran. Please pray for wisdom as Goran translates. Please pray the Gurbet Roma would respond to Jesus, the only Saviour. 

*Full name not included for security

OM EAST’s literature and media ministry produces high quality print and digital media in over 25 languages. Always working with partners, they seek to share the gospel, strengthen churches and bring hope to people groups throughout Eurasia.

Read more: First Gurbet-Serbian-English picture dictionary.

Debora first served as a volunteer in OM’s tea tent in the refugee camp near Šid, Serbia in March 2017. God then brought her back two more times in 2017 to volunteer, and in January 2018 Debora will serve with OM in Serbia for another six months. What is this place and who are the people that have impacted a young woman from Mexico so deeply?

The refugee camp near Šid, Serbia is on a highway close to the border with Croatia. This place used to be just a resting spot for the refugees as they journeyed north, but since Croatia and Hungary closed their borders, a thousand-plus refugees are living in a rundown hotel, hoping to yet be granted asylum in Germany or some other Western country. OM’s ministry is to make and serve tea to these refugees in a tent that also is the only common room they have in the camp. The work in the tent is part of Safe Passage, the ministry that was created to help refugees during their trip through Europe, by giving them food, clothing, basic need items and showing them God’s love during this difficult time. Over six million Syrians have fled their country in the past few years due to violence. People from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq have also fled the region, creating what has been called the worst refugee crisis since WWII.

Later on that first day back in March, Debora met Samia*, a five-year-old Afghani girl. “She asked me to be her friend,” recalled Debora. “Everyday she would pick me up at the tent and walk with me around the camp, telling stories about her family and how they arrived here. She told me that she wanted to be a doctor and go back to Afghanistan. All the children with whom I spoke, shared that their greatest desire is to study and go back home.”

Although most people in the camp come from somewhere between the Middle East and Central Asia, Debora also met someone with a Latino background. “Ramon* is an 11 year old boy from Cuba. He has been with his family for seven months in the camp, waiting to go to Spain. He misses the warm weather, food and being able to speak in Spanish,” she added. It was a pleasure for her to be able to speak Spanish with him for a while.

Each day is the same for the refugees in the camp, she noticed. “They drink tea, walk, and wait -  wait for the moment that they are told they are next on the list. That moment that means that soon they will be able to leave to begin anew. They do not lose hope, but eagerly wait for that moment.”

Debora shared what God taught her during her time as a volunteer in Serbia. “At the end of my time in the camp, I realised that we should never underestimate what the Lord is doing in our lives. What we say, how we treat others and the way we handle adversity are the tools that God uses to reveal himself to the world.”

It does not matter how we help, she said. “We can be praying, giving and going. No action or step is too small, not even a cup of tea.”

Please pray for the OM team working in Serbia as they continue to show God’s love to the world, one cup of tea at a time. Pray for Debora as she prepares to leave Mexico for six months of service in Serbia, and ask God if He wants you to volunteer too…

Goran speaks a dialect called Gurbet, spoken by a predominately Muslim Roma group in Serbia and other parts of Europe. The author lives in a Roma area of a town named Leskovac, where he builds relationships and reaches out to the community. His vision for this multi-lingual dictionary is to promote literacy among his people, and to help Serbian or foreign believers learn Gurbet so they can tell Roma about Jesus in the dialect closest to their hearts.  

“I want to see Roma reading more in their language!” declared Goran. “Maybe this generation is not reading so much but I hope the next generation will.” In his hometown, a school teacher has already been using the dictionary’s grammar sections to educate students that have chosen to study Gurbet.

“Goran has such a heart for his people,” said Simon,* OM EAST’s production coordinator. “This publication is a tool to help those who will join him in sharing the gospel among Gurbet speaking Roma, and lays the foundation for future Christian materials.”

After fifteen years of serving as a pastor, Goran is now translating the Bible into Gurbet, working together with other OM EAST partners. With great enthusiasm, he voiced plans to translate an illustrated children’s Bible storybook and an evangelistic comic book.

“We need Christian books in our Roma language,” stated the former pastor. “There are few available and we still need the Bible!”   

Praise God for the helpful new resource and the significant step it represents in providing further literature for the Gurbet Roma. Please pray Roma will gain a greater desire to read so they can discover God’s truth for themselves.   

*Full name not included for security

Inger R. loves to give people a voice by sharing their stories as she writes for OM EAST. OM EAST’s literature and media ministry produces high quality print and digital media in over 25 languages. Always working with local partners, they seek to share the gospel, strengthen churches and bring hope to people groups throughout Eurasia.

After three months, the local commander called OM and asked if they would return and resume their work, as the number of refugees seeking shelter there was rising  once again. Nearly all the other NGOs had left the camp, and the local government were in desperate need of help. From an initial influx of 400 people, numbers quickly climbed to 400 children and 1,100 adults - from Syria, Afghanistan, and other conflict zones. Of course the small OM Serbia team wanted to help, but as rumours of crime, abuse, and fighting in the camp began to circulate through the area, they sought God’s wisdom through prayer.

Since their number of men is small, the local OMers felt it wise to only take on daytime working, providing tea and conversation in the OM tent, and to decline the request to monitor the sleeping tents overnight. The hope is to be able to host more events inside the tent, particularly special things for the children.

Please join the OM team in prayer: for additional support, and continued favour with the local authorities, for open doors to minister to the deeper needs of the refugees, and for God’s presence to bring peace and protection in the camp.

Please contact your local OM office if you would like to come and serve as a volunteer alongside the OM Serbia team.

From December 2015 to summer 2016, the OM tent was in continual use. Then the local authority closed the camp down, as refugee numbers fell. But with the numbers climbing again this autumn, the camp was reopened, and OM was invited back mid-October.

Soon the camp had become home to 1300 adults and children. Volker* from OM Montenegro has been the project coordinator for the past year. In his latest bulletin he observes, “in general the people seem very depressed, as you can imagine, so we hope our tent can be a place of joy and encouragement”.

It’s a relief when the weather is fine; some of the OM team have been able to play football and table tennis outdoors with the kids and youth, meaning the youngsters can burn off some energy. “Our small group of OM Serbia guys are doing a great job, in shifts of eight hours a day, and we’ve got a fun mix of volunteers too”, comments Volker. The seven current volunteers come from Italy, Holland, America, Brazil and France.

As well as the practical mix of tea and sports, there are spiritual moments, like when the two French volunteers met some refugees from the Cameroon, who are believers, and the two groups could pray and praise God in their shared language. Another highlight Volker recalls was how a little Afghan girl reacted to being given an OM comic in her language, Farsi: “She was so happy that she ran away to read it, hiding it from the other kids so she could keep it for herself!”, Volker recalls.

Will you pray:

• That the refugees will experience God’s love and hope in the atmosphere of the OM tent.
• For joy and energy for the OM staff.
• For the team members who coordinate on-site, dealing with the logistics of meeting big demands – for strength and health to bear their responsibilities.
• As the Balkan winter begins, for the best use of the facility when the refugees will be crowding inside it in cold weather.

Will you give, or go?

• More volunteers are needed, to help for a week, or two.
• Financial resources are needed to heat the tent, and brewing those 600 litres of tea daily takes a lot of bottled gas, cups, tea and sugar.

*Surname not included for security reasons

In a nearby town where some refugees now live, OM Serbia’s coordinator Ana and OM volunteer David from Northern Ireland, have been meeting four young refugee guys for English lessons, and playing football too. After two refugees visited the Baptist church one Sunday, liking worship the best, Ana asked if she and David could host the English lessons in the church building rather than in a café, and whether the young men in the church would like to join in with the football.

This led to two special events one Saturday in May. Firstly a football match: church guys versus OM Serbia and the refugees! Then, a special youth meeting in the evening to develop friendships: an ‘International Night’ where Serbians sang Christian songs and the refugees sang folk songs from Syria and Morocco, followed by their national dances. OM provided refreshments and after this special cultural exchange, everyone played cards and games. “It really was a fun evening!” said Ana of OM Serbia.

As OM Serbia and the local church spend time with these young men, please pray for friendships to develop across the cultural divide, and that the love and truth of Jesus is very real to them.

 “Can you imagine? Bread with jam at midnight; Psalm 23 being translated out loud into Farsi; prayer for a Kurdish Christian; an Iraqi girl singing "Father Jacob" in Arabic; parents dancing for us; volunteers worshiping in front of Afghans and Iraqis, who were getting very excited. If you can picture this, then you know that there is hope in the worst situation—at a dark border in Serbia while just a few volunteers feed hundreds of people. In moments like this you feel and see God’s peace come over suffering people.

It’s amazing to see the difference in the crowd because of the worship music. People are visibly uplifted. For a few minutes it becomes more of a festival than a horror journey. The worship music has had a big impact on other volunteers working here too.”

Mahmood was struck by the atmosphere, and carried the memory of this place with him to The Netherlands. Now, fast-forward to a blog post last month, by Robert Strong* from OM Netherlands:

"We have a walk-in for refugees in our church here in Holland. Every Tuesday my wife and I go there, talking with refugees from mostly Syria but also other places. Earlier this year, a man from Darfur (Sudan) walked in. His name was Mahmood. We had a very good conversation and gave him a Bible. Today Mahmood attended church for the first time. After church, he accepted an invitation to our home.

I asked Mahmood about his journey to the Netherlands, and he described the route he’d taken. A few months ago he had travelled through Šid in Serbia. When I heard that, I showed him a photo of the tent OM is running. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I know that place, here is where the Christians served us coffee and tea and where they sang beautiful songs with us, that was a happy place!’”

'A happy place.' Please pray for Mahmood that his spiritual journey will lead him to Jesus; and for the OM personnel still serving refugees at Šid and other Balkan borders – in a very difficult situation. May God sustain them and use them to touch many lives with His unforgettable presence.

An OM project, called ‘Safe Passage’, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

In the warmth of the tent, and with a cup of hot tea, one meets some special people. Abdul is one of them.

Here, in the refugee camp in Šid, Serbia, we introduce ourselves. Abdul is like an open book; a man that has been hurt but doesn’t hesitate to share what his eyes have seen. It's incredible how it is possible to develop such a trusting relationship with a complete stranger. He is very polite, educated, calm and very tired. Because he worked in Spain for some years, we are able to communicate in Spanish.

‘Bride of the Desert’

Abdul tells me about his home city of Palmyra, 240 kilometres northeast of the Syrian capital, Damascus. It was a thriving city in the ancient times, also known as the 'Bride of the Desert', being a vital centre for travellers and traders. Abdul proudly shares about the city’s historical ruins, its places of importance and power, and its archaeological wonders. All of it has been torn down. Palmyra is demolished, fallen, destroyed by the bombings of ISIS.

The sounds of the bombs still go off in Abdul’s head, just like in his children's heads and anyone’s who has escaped from the horror of the war.

“We couldn’t do anything,” he says. “From one day to the next we lost our government and were invaded by strangers. One morning we woke up to see these unknown and terrifying faces. They are men with long beards, always carrying a Kalashnikov weapon with them. They get angry at anyone who does not do what they command."

One day Abdul was sitting outside his house with a glass of water in his left hand. For Muslims, the left hand is considered unclean. "One of them passed by and broke out in anger,” he remembers. “He approached me, threatening me and asking why I didn’t have a beard like his. If I hadn’t changed the glass to my right hand, I don’t know what he would have done.”

Abdul goes on to tell about the situation of the women. Women cannot go out, unless they are accompanied by a man or their son. Everything is black outside of the houses, as Palmyra has been covered by the flags of ISIS, and coated with the smoke from the bombs and the dust from the debris of destroyed buildings.

Deep impact

Abdul talks about his children, looking at them with tears in his eyes. He wants to start over for his children’s sake; to give them a new life and an education - something that's become impossible in Palmyra. Since ISIS took over, the militants from the regime prevent the children from going to school and being civilized. Instead, they want to dominate, manipulate and keep the children from developing a conscious, a sense of gratefulness and compassion.

They have demolished the schools and all sport grounds. “They have stolen everything from us and oppressed every right,” says Abdul. I squeeze his hand and promise to pray for him, as tears well up in my eyes.

I ask him if he’s afraid. The answer is 'yes'. I ask about his journey. He describes how they escaped his city illegally in a car at night. Within a week they had reached the desert where they waited three days. From there the journey took them to Damascus. In the capital, a relative took them in for a few days hosting all of his family, 23 people. They were 40 people in the apartment all together.

From Damascus, Abdul and his family moved toward the sea, where they paid to cross the sea over to Greece. From there they continued on the path through the Balkans, together with thousands of other refugees, where I met them in Šid, Serbia.

Meeting Abdul has made a deep impact on my life and has changed who I am as a person. I pray that wherever Abdul and his family end up, that they will find the peace they so desperately seek.

An OM project, called ‘Safe Passage’, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

A group of us sat chatting around a circular table after a simple meal together. We had few things in common with each other, representing nations spread all across the globe. The two things we did have in common were loving Jesus, and having spent time cleaning up rubbish at the nearby refugee camp in Šid, Serbia.

The leader of our group shared how a few weeks prior he'd spent the day cleaning up disgusting filth, only to be invited to preach at a nearby church the following morning. From a position of lowliness to a place of reverence in a matter of hours! As he was preparing to preach, the thought came to his mind that very few people are in this position, gaining powerful lessons from the humility of cleaning another person's filth.

I've found it interesting that when I'm serving tea and soup in the tent or playing with children, people from other organisations or the refugees approach me and are interested in conversing. I'm from the United States, I've studied at a university, I've worked various jobs, travelled, and I have a family they'd like to hear more about. But when I don the gloves, grab the dustpan and broom, it is like I become an entirely different person. Most people don't acknowledge me, eye contact is avoided, and few words are spoken. I have become the lowest of the low at the camp in that moment.

At times my pride is insulted, and I am angry that I'm treated differently. But most of the time I like to try to redeem the humanity of a person of lowly stature. I greet them, I smile, I am funny, and I watch how their demeanour changes. The porta-potty cleaners have become my friends and I'm always excited to see them. Most people don't acknowledge them or even look their way. It's almost like we are afraid of what is unclean, as if it will contaminate us or our reputation.

When I think about Christ, I think the picture of becoming a trash cleaner in a refugee camp fits His leaving heaven quite well. The things I've seen and had to do are unmentionable in most circles. Christ in all His glory, perfection, and holiness came to our vile, sin-ridden planet to live among us in suffering, need, and brokenness. He chose humility not just at the cross, but with His entire 33 years among humanity.

As we wrapped up our discussion at the table that evening, the leader shared that rubbish cleaning has been one of the most powerful times of worship for him. In fact, the song: "Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down..." plays on repeat in his head. What a picture of worship: bowing down to clean the filth of another... a sweet picture of Christ! May we all have chances to be more like Him in His humility.

An OM project, called ‘Safe Passage’, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

The trip from Syria to Germany is a difficult and dangerous one, so I am always surprised when I see someone with a disability or ailment coming through the camp. One small boy in particular caught my eye. He was young, but likely older than he looked. His head was misshapen and very large. A first glance revealed that his legs didn't work properly, and his body was smaller than was typical for his age.

He was seated in the middle of the table with his father sitting next to him. People openly stared, but no one wanted to be seated at the table with them. I eagerly walked over and began to engage the little boy by trying to get him to throw a mandarin orange to me like a baseball. No words came out of his mouth, just clicks of the tongue and motions with his eyes that expressed his thoughts. The father spoke no English, but through hand motions and mutual words (family, doctor, Syria) I pieced their story together. 

The man’s wife was still in Syria with the other seven of their eight children. This was his youngest son. The doctor in Syria could do nothing to help this little guy and recommended they go to Germany to get medical help. There was a new tumour growing on the back of the boy's head, and fear shone in the father's eyes as he showed it to me.

There is a thought expressed by many volunteers at the camp that a lot of the refugees don't take proper care of their children. Babies get left behind in the beds when the buses to Germany leave in the middle of the night. Small children play with us for hours in the tent, and we never once see a parent checking in on them. But as I looked at the relationship between this father and son, tears sprung into my eyes.

This little boy had nothing of physical value to offer his dad. He couldn't even talk with him or fully know what was going on. But just like the Good Shepherd leaving the 99 to search for the 1 sheep, this father left his family, risked his life, and spent all his finances on the hope of some medical help. The love I saw shining in their eyes when they looked at each other took my breath away. I don't know what the outcome will be, but my earnest hope and prayer is that Love will win.

I've remarked that if I was a refugee I'd be dead by now. Upon arriving here I fell severely ill with what I’ve witnessed is a common sickness among the refugees. Words can't describe how awful I felt! I can't imagine walking in the snow with little clothing on while being so sick. I can't fathom caring for children when I have no way to provide even their basic needs. I can't picture how I'd keep going when I've not had a bed or shower in over a month.

However, I've never once heard any of them complain. As they share their stories, they don’t highlight the difficulties or seek sympathy. They even try to give to me out of their nothingness. They struggle to communicate thankfulness in their broken English. And every day I walk away humbled. If the tables were turned, I can only imagine I'd be barely making it, completely self-absorbed. But these people, the thousands of faces burned into my memory, are beautiful, and truly I wish I could be more like them.

An OM project, called ‘Safe Passage’, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

When things are not too crazy in the tent and there are not too many people, we like to give out paper and crayons to the kids to give them something to do and be creative. We try to keep the kids at the tables with their families while they colour, in case they need to leave or we can’t watch them the whole time.

One evening I was handing out the supplies and a sweet little girl tugged gently on my jacket to ask for some. She was about 4 years old, all big brown eyes, soft curls, and not a word of English. I tried to ask her where her family was but could not understand her answer, barely above a whisper. An older man standing nearby bent down to try and help translate.

“Where’s your family? Your Mama?” I asked, pointing around the tent.

A long pause.

“Dead.” she whispered, shaking her head slowly.

“Oh. Um, I mean, your family- your Papa?”

Another pause.

“Dead.” she whispered the same word again.

My heart was broken. I was just trying to give her paper and crayons to have some fun, not make her re-live what happened to her family!

With trepidation, I tried asking once again- “Who are you with? Where do you sit?”

This time she took my hand and led me to a back corner of the tent.

I saw as she was walking that her shirt was on inside out. Her scarf dragged on the ground and her unzipped jacket was too big and slipping off her shoulders. But, she was warm and dry and clean; a pink hat with little flowers snug on her head and her boots carefully tied.

The young man she led me to was a much different story. He had an old cap, no scarf, only a thick hoodie (in -4C!). His jeans were brown with dirt at the hem and his sneakers were falling apart. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a month.

I introduced myself and set the little girl up with some colouring while trying to talk to them. Mahoub* looked about 17 years old with eyes much, much older. Between languages, I understood eventually that Riza* is his cousin. Their parents were killed and they were separated from most of their family. He has a brother somewhere in Germany. They have been travelling for weeks.

The words and conversation ran out, so I turned my attention to Riza and drew some flowers for her to fill in. I looked back up and Mahoub was already asleep next to her. As I sat there for the next two hours and watched Riza colour and eat cookies, my heart just filled with love for this pair.

For this little girl who has already seen so much in her four years, who does not have any idea what is going on- only that, right now, Mahoub is her whole world. And this teenager who is so much more than his years. Who is doing everything he can to do right by his family and take care of his cousin- even at the cost of his own welfare. This young man who is so exhausted learning how to take care of a little girl that he falls asleep in his chair the minute he knows she is safe and someone he can trust is watching her.

My heart was moved, and although I didn't give them anything that evening, not a blanket, not a meal, not even a full conversation- perhaps I could help them both with something else. A reprieve. A short break from the realities that they face on this journey. A moment to forget what they left behind or what they face in the unknown tomorrows. A window of peace.

Then suddenly, the busses were honking and the police were yelling. Everyone was packing up and rushing to board because the busses were leaving and Germany was waiting.

So I waved goodbye to this little family and watched them get on a bus to a hopefully better future. And I turned around and started cleaning the tent again, preparing it for the next group of refugees, the next Riza and Mahoub.

*Names changed

An OM project, called ‘Safe Passage’, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

One sunny day in late November, my colleague Jelena* and I started some art activities with the refugee children while they were waiting near the Serbian border.

One child drew a beautiful picture of Aleppo. Nothing was destroyed—it was a beautifully developed city with nice houses and traffic, etc. Another girl created a padlock and chain with modelling clay. The most touching picture was drawn by a young Syrian boy named Moataz (maybe 8 years old).  

It was drawn like a story written in Arabic—you had to look at it from the bottom right to the top left. In this picture story, Moataz had left a very dark black door, and he needed to walk a very, very long way. But there was hope showing through the rainbow in the middle of the picture. Moataz hopes that he will reach the country his parents talked to him about…with mountains and the rising sun.

This picture reminded me of Psalm 13…out of hopelessness into hope. At the end he wrote OM on the picture.

*Name changed

Information. It will seem strange, but this is the first word that comes to my mind when I think about the week spent in Šid, Serbia, helping refugees on their way as they travelled to Europe, passing through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia. The information that we receive is often filtered by newspapers and news reporters who speak of numbers, of countries with un-pronounceable names, and of the risks that we as the West run.  

I collected a different kind of information during the sunny and strangely warm November days in Serbia. Information obtained through speaking with team members, volunteers, people of various NGOs, journalists, with the Serbian prisoners who cleaned the camp, with locals and with the refugees.

So many refugees...I saw thousands in the few days in Šid. I saw them arrive in hundreds on buses at the service station that had been turned into a temporary camp. I saw them lying on the grass, sitting on pieces of cardboard, washing themselves with water from the fire hydrant, making a queue in front of the shops, being scolded by the local authorities and boarding the train that would take them to Croatia.

I saw them joking, laughing, and crying with blank stares in their eyes. I saw them proud, discouraged and hopeful. People coming from far-off and exotic countries: mainly Syria and Afghanistan, but also Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Eritrea, Sudan and Palestine. I saw, perceived and understood things that I had never imagined or considered.

Our small team composed of four Italian Christians coming from four different churches, was able to help. We cleaned the service station, collecting diapers, paper, leftover food and abandoned socks. We helped Doctors Without Borders set up a large tent that will host the refugees when it starts to rain and snow and when the temperatures drop.

We listened to the stories, incredible stories of people on the move, with a confusing present and an uncertain future. Like the story of Hessa*, an Afghani woman, only 19 years old, on the run, with the hope of reaching Switzerland. We explained to them why we had come from Italy to help them and could only smile when the language barrier was too much. We made sure we prayed for them constantly throughout the week.

Even though our contribution was like a drop in the ocean, I remembered that our contribution, as believers, cannot be missed. In the face of this tragedy, we cannot pretend nothing has happened. We can intervene in prayer, support humanitarian projects, go first-hand to help, and prepare our churches and homes to receive, with love and mercy, these needy people.

A developing OM project, called ‘Safe Passage’, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

In his third update, Volker reports that his team assists refugees in increasingly difficult conditions, yet they can sense God's peace and see that it touches the local Serbian people.

19 October: We arrived in Šid in the morning, and after a few hours of sleep we went to the border crossing at Bersovo/Bapska. Big tension at the frontline, mud, rain and not enough shelters. Our tent was destroyed, and the material was used as a shelter by families from Syria.

Predrag*, our volunteer from Sweden, was called over by the Croatian police. He is fluent in Arabic after living for 28 years in Lebanon. They gave him a megaphone to speak to the people, to calm them down. After several hours he was very exhausted, so the police gave him a chair to sit on. However the plastic broke and he fell off and ended up covered in mud. Later he was so happy that God had used him in this very difficult situation.

20 October: We went to the border in different shifts. We didn't know in advance what we'd be doing, so we just wanted to be led by God. Our nurse, Aimee*, and our translator, are doing night shifts, looking after the children and families who are huddled together, sleeping on the asphalt. The border is closed—everybody has to wait. Around five thousand people have to sleep there overnight. Babies, children, parents, singles—Afghans, Syrians, Kurds—all in one place. We and some others are going around with flashlights, giving out diapers, clothing and fruit. OM worker Yan*, from Ukraine, spent many hours in the rain, building a good shelter for a few families to sleep in overnight.

While I was walking through the sleeping people, a young Syrian touched my shoulder and pointed to a family sleeping on the ground. Their daughter, age 4 or 5, was lying on her stomach and had been bumping her head constantly against the asphalt for the past hour, although she was asleep. With a broken heart, I picked her up and held her in my arms like a baby. Her trousers were soaked with urine, right down to her shoes. I called Aimee to help, Yan to bring diapers and Steven* to look for clothing. I prayed, “Jesus, where are you?” Aimee took the child to the only doctor in the camp, but he couldn't do anything. With a heavy heart Aimee brought her back to the girl’s mother.

21 October: We reorganised our shifts. The team is amazing. My colleague Biljana* and I went out in the morning to Belgrade to pick up three volunteers. On the way back the car broke down—the cooling system broke and we got a flat tire. Breakdown services brought us to a guesthouse and the car to a garage. In the evening we went to our shift, but the police stopped us. New rules: Only registered NGOs can go to the border. So, we gave out our supplies at the bus stop where the refugees get off before a two kilometre walk to the border.

22 October: Surprisingly, they let the car through this morning. We went to a meeting with the other NGOs and the local commissioner, where we discussed how to get permission to enter the camp. Finally he said, “Everyone receives the pass needed to enter except Operation Mobilisation”.

Everyone asked: Why not OM? They’ve been here the past month working day and night. The commissioner didn’t know the answer and left the meeting. Later, Biljana and I stopped him again to ask. Somehow we found favour and he gave us the necessary pass. Praise God!

The weather got better. We found a new, better gazebo for our food distribution. Predrag spoke with the people in Arabic. Many received the Gospel of Luke, kissing it and promising to read it. We noticed that hardly any of these booklets got left on the ground after the people moved on to Croatia.

23 October: At our team meeting we shared our experiences at the border. During our prayer time most of us cried. It is a difficult job, but all of us are thankful that God allowed us to serve Him in this way (Matthew 25).

The situation at the border became quite organised. Now the Serbian police is present and helping. Predrag shared the Gospel with a Serbian policeman and others. Everyone seems open. For example, the hotel worker who sees us praying every day is amazed by the peace we have.

24 October: I've become the best customer in the local supermarkets! They seem to trust me. I'm purchasing bananas, apples, water and hygiene materials every day in huge amounts. Shop workers shake hands with me even when we meet by chance on the streets in Šid.

A newly arrived doctor from Slovakia asks me what we distribute. The first thing that came to my mind was love. I told him so and he looked at me and smiled.

25 October: Three of us went to the local Baptist church. They allowed us to share about our ministry. One of the church members decided to help us for the next two months. What a blessing it is to have one more Serbian speaker in the team.

26 October: We got a big tent today, donated by a church in Germany. This will allow us to store supplies directly at the border. I’m thankful also for the six new helpers who arrived today.

Predrag went to a bakery and gave a New Testament to the lady who works there. He’d been speaking to her about the Lord the last couple of days. She cried with happiness.

27 October: Biljana and I went home this morning. Happy to be home again, with a heavy heart but ready to go again in a few days. It’s good to know that the team is stable and the work is going on around the clock—for God’s glory.

More updates will follow as more OM volunteers provide relief at the border. Please pray for the suffering people in transit across Europe. Pray that in their desperation they will find God. Pray that not only their stomachs will be filled, but also their hearts.  

A developing OM project, called Safe Passage, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

*Surname not included to protect identity

OM: How did you get involved with the relief work in Serbia?

Gian Walser: On 11 October I was offered to accompany OM’s European leader to this border to bridge a shortage. The whole refugee subject, and what that means for us as OM Germany, has been on my heart since the beginning of this year.

And even though there were 101 reasons not to go, I spontaneously accepted the invitation to practically help the refugees. There is a need and I can help. My presence was a help for the refugees and the team. At the same time, having experienced their journey enlarges my perspective of the work amongst refugees.

OM: What was your first impression when you arrived?

Gian: I was surprised that Croatia had chosen a place in the middle of nowhere for the refugee-transfer site. There so many people and not enough space. The ground is paved but still muddy. It’s dirty, wet and cold. It’s really not a nice place, but it’s important that we are there with other NGOs to help.

OM: What does OM’s relief work look like?

Gian: Sometimes every 10 to 15 minutes a bus with refugees would arrive; sometimes no bus would arrive for two hours. Sometimes processing the refugees does quickly; at other times thousands of people are waiting because they are not able to cross the border.

We were between the buses and the border, where we offered water, bread and Christian literature. That’s where we came in contact with the people. Sometimes we helped by carrying bags or holding children. At other times we brought the people something to eat, made balloon animals or played music.

Different NGOs, Christian and non-Christian, are working together to give out food, water, clothes and rain jackets, as well as helping practically in logistics and by organising the people. Another NGO is there to offer medical aid; OM is simply part of it.

Most of the NGOs work during the day, and at night nearly no one is there. But often busses arrive at night. So we asked ourselves: Where is the gap? Where is the need? The OM team, along with a group from the Czech Republic and Doctors Without Borders, worked during the night. We had around three to five OM workers doing shifts for six hours.

OM: How did the refugees respond to you?

Gian: Very differently. Some came out of the bus and wanted to move on to the border as quick as possible. They didn’t look to the right or the left. Others were thirsty and hungry and looked for something to eat. Some stopped to have a short conversation. Most people did notice us, and many thanked us for our help and for being there.

It seems like one out of every 10 refugees spoke English. There was at least one in every family or group that we could talk to. But it would be great to have someone there who could speak Arabic and or Farsi!

OM: What are the main needs?

Gian: To be honest, if the countries would coordinate it well, so that the Serbians would bring the people and the Croatians would be ready to receive the people, then you simply would need someone to give water and food to the people. But the logistics is not functioning well, and the developed gap is filled by us.

If 2,000 people are sleeping under open skies, and it rains, then the people need more help. Then you need the UNHCR to give out blankets and other NGOs like us to give out rain jackets and to take care of the refugees. You simply need more people who are there for the incoming refugees.

People value us being there. They are not alone and abandoned on this field. These people have questions and they need someone to answer them. I explained a hundred times what is happening and how it works. That provides them some security.

OM: Was there anything that encouraged you?

Gian: The thankfulness of the people was impressive. Simply them saying: “Thanks for your help”, “Thanks that you’re here!”, “Thanks for the water!”, “Thanks for the bread!” We don’t do a lot, but still there is a thankfulness.

It was also impressive to me how quickly I came in contact with the people. They are in a vulnerable situation: They fled, are on a journey and do not really know what the future might bring.

To be on the journey with them, to feel with them and to sense how it is for them, impacted me.

OM: What do you take personally from this time?

Gian: A thankfulness for the place where I live: A peaceful country, a roof over my head, a perspective for the future. Many things that are evident for us, aren’t for these people.

I have a deeper understanding and care for the refugees that live near me in Germany. When they arrive here in Germany, they are not just people stopping here, but they are people who have gone through a lot. It is the right thing to welcome these people with love and care.

OM: How can we help?

Gian: Very simple: Pray, give, go.

Pray: We are so thankful for all the support in prayer for the teams, for strength and energy and love. Let’s pray as well for the whole refugee situation. For wisdom. For those making the decisions, the politicians, that they find solutions for the upcoming winter.

Give: Everything we do costs money. We are thankful for all financial support. I took clothes with me to give away. If someone goes by car to the border, he can take clothes or stuffed animals with him. Also, bags, small backpacks or light travel bags are needed urgently.

Go: People can come for one, two or three weeks and simply help out. It’s not a five-star mission trip, but a good mission trip.

I was at the Serbian/Croatian border, but the needs apply to the whole refugee situation. We have teams in Greece, Macedonia and Serbia. And of course there are many places in Germany where help is needed.

A developing OM project, called Safe Passage, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

In this second micro-blog update from Volker, he records the plight of those suffering hunger and cold, and describes moments of God’s peace that transforms people in a dire situation. For the first update in this series from 13 October, read the story here.

7 October: We arrived in Šid, Serbia, after an 11-hour drive from Montenegro. The situation at the border was organised. We got permissions and set up our tent.

8 October: Now we are giving out food, water and hygiene materials around the clock. We had very good encounters with refugees but also with other volunteers. One young woman from our team prayed for a Czech volunteer who was overwhelmed with the situation. A young Korean from our team, who speaks Arabic, had good opportunities to talk to a young man from Syria.

Rumours circulated that Croatian bus drivers were on strike for more money. People are arriving constantly. After 19:00 almost every organisation was gone, so at night it was just us and a team from the Czech Republic giving out food. A group came from India. We gave out 300 kilograms of bananas.

It became stormy and our tent broke. Buses from the Macedonian border arrived constantly. Thousands of people over the whole night, arriving after an eight- or nine-hour bus ride, starving and exhausted. We gave them hot soup.

This morning we had received 2,000 extracts from a children's book in Arabic about the life of Christ. The people received it well. We got help from a group of local Christians. Our team started to play worship songs and we observed how fearful faces changed into smiling faces. A few Iraqis said, "We are Christians too."

We hope our tent won’t break again, and that the night shift will have enough food to give away until the morning.

9 October: It’s amazing to see what a difference balloons can make. Now we hear that the transit point might be changed again, which may mean we will need to relocate. So we need to be extra-proactive through the night as we think of how to respond.

10 October: Can you imagine? Bread with jam at midnight; Psalm 23 being translated out loud into Farsi; prayer for a Kurdish Christian; an Iraqi girl singing "Father Jacob" in Arabic; parents dancing for us; volunteers worshiping in front of Afghans and Iraqis, who are getting very excited. If you can picture this, then you know that there is hope in the worst situation—at a dark border in Serbia while just a few volunteers feed hundreds of people. In moments like this you feel and see God’s peace come over suffering people.

It’s amazing to see the difference in the crowd because of the worship music. People are visibly uplifted. For a few minutes it becomes more of a festival than a horror journey. The worship music has had a big impact on other volunteers working here too.

11 October: The weather changed today. Rain made it almost impossible to operate. Around 6,000 people are arriving daily. For a few hours the buses in Croatia weren't driving. There’s a lot of tension. It was hard to keep the people calm while standing in the rain. Our two tents became a shelter for women and children.

12 October: A group of Christians came all the way from Romania to help for one day. They brought sandwiches and eggs, each in a plastic bag with a Bible verse in Arabic, but they didn't get permission to distribute them. They came to our tent because they heard the guitar playing, asking: "Are you Christians?" We offered to give their sandwiches out at night. One hour ago, a volunteer asked if we had any food left for some refugees who’d waited five hours at the border. They loved the boiled eggs and the sandwiches! Thanks to the Romanians who weren't there anymore, and praise to God for provision.

There are shivering, crying children in wet clothing, and impatient men are trying to cross the border into Croatia. For a few hours no buses are going onwards into Croatia, while at the same time, buses are arriving from southern Serbia.

The OM Transit Team cuts endless amounts of bread. The women, children and men love the bread with jam. Or is it just their hunger? Just a handful volunteers are trying to calm everyone down at night. A volunteer, Mark*, cut his finger while cutting bread. A couple of doctors from Germany had arrived in the evening, and they come to help. Another volunteer, Matthew*, helps at the frontline to calm the men down. They listen to him. The German doctor called him to translate for a pregnant woman.

More updates will follow as more OM volunteers provide relief at the border. Please pray for the suffering people in transit across Europe. Pray that in their desperation, they will find God. Pray that not only their stomachs will be filled, but also their hearts.  

A developing OM project, called Safe Passage, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

* Name changed

12 September: I’m in Belgrade. About 2,000 refugees are around the train station, waiting for relatives, buses or trains to go north. Not everyone has enough money to pay for tickets. Not many police are around, nor are any organisations here to help. I talked to people from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. There are kids everywhere. We can give one thing for free: our time. Time to talk, to play with the kids. Tomorrow I will visit one church, where the folks are ready to distribute clothing on Monday.

13 September: Today I went to the Church of God in Belgrade. The Sunday school kids collected clothes and small toys to give to the refugee children around the train station tomorrow. Had good talks with the church people about their response to the crises. I will go to Novi Sad tomorrow.

15 September: Went to the Hungarian border at Horgos this morning with two local pastors and my Serbian friend Dejan. We’d bought 600 loaves of bread, but we found already 2,000 to 3,000 people waiting at the border, so we broke the bread into 1,200 half-loaves to give away. Not many organisations are present. There is no water and no toilets. Bought two vans full of bottled water to distribute—just not enough. A local pastor had some Arabic Bibles in his hand. A young man from Iraq came up with a big smile to say they are Christians. What a joy on both sides.

16 September: Awful day. We gave out food and water again, other organisations too. Five thousand people were there. Then came that moment when someone shouted: “The border is open!” Many were running, and I was with them to see what was happening. When I arrived in front of the fence the Hungarians were deploying tear gas and water cannons. Everyone went back to their tents.

Later in the evening buses came but people were too scared to use them. My mother came to my mind. She was a refugee in 1944 fleeing from Kaliningrad over the frozen Baltic Sea with her family to Germany. She was six at this time. Many people died. Now looking at the children from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria—I see my mother. How could I not try to help?

21 September: Just arrived in Subotica near Hungarian border. I'm here to form a spontaneous “team” with four guys from OM Moldova. We had a planning meeting with Pastor Tibor. Tomorrow we start collecting some aid from a warehouse and bring it to a camp with mostly people from Afghanistan. We will see what else happens—Balkan style!

22 September: The Montenegro/Moldova team is working the whole day with two local churches in Subotica. We organised clothing for the families and brought food to a refugee camp in an old factory. We gave out the first anti-trafficking flyers in Farsi and Arabic; whole families were reading it together.

A highlight was a group of young Afghanis reading Matthew 5 with the pastor while sitting on the ground. One guy read the Bible in Farsi; he had tears in his eyes. Another young man said that he would like to believe in Jesus. After that, they got their stuff together and started walking to the Hungarian border. Now we are on our way to load the van with UNHCR tents to bring tomorrow to the Serbia/Croatia border.

23 September: Got some food from an Albanian bakery in Subotica this morning, then went to the Serbian/Croatian border crossing at Šid/Bapska—around 500 people were waiting for the border to open. We worked together with Samaritan’s Purse and other organisations. Constantly people arrived by bus. Before dusk we set up a big military tent for some volunteers who wanted to spend the night there.

My heart broke when I saw families arriving after sunset. It was totally dark and there were now about 5,000 confused people, asking “What now?” No one had a tent for the night. It's so hard not knowing how to help. Tomorrow we will go again.

24 September: The whole day we handed out food and hygiene materials; we had bought almost every rain poncho from local markets. At least one person in each family speaks very good English, which makes it easy to communicate. We gave out 500 kilograms of food and several other things. It is easy to connect with other organisations, but not easy to plan anything, because no one knows where to go the next day.

The pastor we partnered with got many great opportunities to share and give out literature and New Testaments in Farsi. I was impressed by how well the people from Afghanistan received and read this material while waiting at the border. Croatia was letting people slowly cross the border, but it is still a 5 kilometre walk to a camp. Buses are still coming from Belgrade, each with 100 people. Now the heavy rain starts and it’s getting muddy. It's hard not to go again tomorrow.

Please pray for God’s strength and direction as Volker Sachse and other OM workers helping refugees as they cross into Europe. Volker will lead two teams from OM Lifehope in the UK, following the refugee path, in order to provide practical help in partnership with churches and other organisations.

A developing OM project, called Safe Passage, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.