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laladventures

Service

I’m Leaving Today!

Posted on December 25, 2018
serve in a refugee camp, lesbos, greece, adventure, social service, raising funds

I’m leaving today!

First of all, thanks to all of you who have supported me during this time. I’ve raised all the funds I need to stay in Lesbos for the next two months! I’m getting ready to go serve in a refugee camp as I write. I wouldn’t have been able to get here without your help! Raising $4 thousand dollars in just one month was an enormous challenge, but it was amazing relying on God and waiting for him to do his thing. Now, I’m one day away from this life changing adventure.

This will be a trip of many firsts: it’s the first time I’m travelling alone for over a month and will be my first winter outside of Colombia… ok, it’ll be my first winter, period.

Something I keep on hearing is that the only thing that doesn’t change in this refugee camp is that everything is always changing. I have no idea what to expect from the next couple of months. I know they need a lot of help and work, but, at this moment, I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be doing. I don’t speak the local language, I don’t know where I’m going to stay and I haven’t met the people with whom I’ll be serving. There are so many things I won’t know until I set foot in the refugee camp. It’s pretty crazy… I love it!

Right now, I’m nervous, excited and open to anything that may happen and the people I’ll be running into. But I’m also very calm and full of a peace I hope I can share with all these people.

I’ll certainly be updating you on how all these “unknowns” unfold. So pray for me, wish me luck, send me good vibes, or whatever you want to call it. I appreciate you all! Merry Christmas and until next time!

Read my previous post!

Service

My Need to Help the Needy

Posted on November 18, 2018
need to help the needy, volunteering with refugees from the middle east, challenging, growth

My Need to Help the Needy

I love traveling; it’s one of my greatest passions. And so is serving and helping others. I have a need to help the needy. About six months ago I decided I would leave and focus on serving people in need. I came across a team that travels to volunteer with refugees from the Middle East every year. They just so happen to go around the time I want to leave. So it’s happening! I’m going to get out there and serve these refugees who need it so badly.

This refuge camp is in Lesbos, Greece. Right now there are about 8,000 refugees in the camp, which is only suited for 3,000 people. Their situation is precarious at best. There are also less volunteers in the winter, so there’s going to be a lot of work and not many hands.

You know, usually when you volunteer there’s a reward, like free lodging, free food, traveling; but that’s not the case here. Since resources are so scarce, I have to raise funds for all my expenses: from my airfare to my toilet paper. A lot of people have told me this doesn’t make sense. Spending my savings and asking friends and family for financial support to go suffer in a camp where life is extremely difficult is crazy.

So… why?

I precisely want to do this because of the fact that there are so many people going through rough times. I just can’t afford to sit around and not do anything for them. I need to get up and out of my comfort zone to accompany these people in their suffering and do my best to make their environment a little more humane.

During this time, my team and I will mainly serve at the camp by helping out with housing refugees and setting up tents for the new and most vulnerable. We will pretty much be doing everything we can to help.

I realize that this time volunteering won’t be all rainbows and butterflies. It’s going to be a challenging and humbling experience for me. I know it will give me and my team countless opportunities to grow; but most importantly, the refugees will receive the help they desperately need.

I still need to raise $2,615 USD to pay for my expenses. If you want to partner with me and join me in this mission, you can help by donating through this PayPal link: https://paypal.me/laladventures.

If you have any questions or concerns, e-mail me at lala.quinones@outlook.com.

Thanks for taking the time to read! I’ll be updating you on my need to help the needy every week!

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