The group has just returned from a gorgeous camp called Porto Astro - which is located on a bay of the Aegean Sea, and tucked into some mountains. Porto Astro is a project of Hellenic Ministries - basically a Christian summer camp for Greek and other European children.
After a 4 hour bus ride on Tuesday morning, we arrived on a rocky beach and took a raft across the bay to the remote and beautiful campsite. There were sheep romping around within yards of us, a man spear-hunting fish off the coast, and several other things which reminded us we were not in Atlanta. After lunch and a powernap, we were delegated to several different responsibilities - preparing "the Blob" to be used in the summer, gathering firewood and burning wild brush, scrubbing and sanding and painting various structures, widening the existing sand volleyball court, and gathering stones off the mountainside for a future stone wall.
After a few hours of work, we headed in for dinner and then had some group bonding and reflection time by a bonfire. We sang and prayed together by the warmth of the bonfire and under a full moon. The students then had the chance to share some of the moments and people who have touched them the most this week.
We slept in camp-style bunks and trailers then woke up for a few more hours of work: the same tasks as yesterday, plus some fish-cleaning. We had a very quiet bus ride back to Athens - everyone was knocked out from the labor. It was a challenging but incredibly fulfilling experience for everyone.
Wednesday night, half the group headed to the Plaka for some shopping and cultural entertainment. The rest of the group went to The Samaritan, a center where refugees come for a free meal twice a week. The refugees were 80% Muslim, and many are homeless. The 10 people from the group who were there sang songs to them, gave a testimony, and then served them a meal. The half of the group that went to the Plaka for shopping will be trading off tomorrow - they will head to a sports facility while the ones who went to The Samaritan go to the Plaka.