Mission Society missionaries Charlie and Miki Chastain and their three children serve in Estonia. While they were making plans to attend a meeting in Albania, news of the refugee crisis in Europe began to make headlines. “Miki and I felt very strongly that we needed to try to do something to help. We decided, instead of flying, to drive from Estonia to Albania, because that route basically goes straight through the heart of all of the refugee migration heading toward Western Europe,” said Charlie. The Chastains loaded their mini-van and drove the roughly 3,700 miles to Albania and back. Donations from individuals and churches from eight countries provided the funds for Charlie and Miki to purchase blankets, clothes, food, and heaters to distribute.
“We stopped in Belgrade, Serbia, near the main train station. A lot of refugees were in the parks there. One German organization was set up to assist refugees, so we just asked, ‘How can we help?’ They were in need of bread, so my daughter and I walked from bakery to bakery and bought as much bread as we could,” said Charlie. “We traveled on to Preshevo, near the Macedonian border, where there were 8,000 refugees waiting for a bus to take them to Croatia. Ten thousand more refugees were expected to arrive that same night.”
Because buses are not allowed to transport refugees across international borders, refugees are let out at the Serbian-Macedonian border. They then have to walk seven kilometers to a camp. Once they have been registered at the camp, they walk 15 kilometers to another bus stop. The children are either being carried or having to walk with their parents, who are also carrying all their supplies. “When we were in Preshevo,” remembered the Chastains, “It was cold and pouring rain. When everyone got off of the bus, they had to walk through the mud and rain to get to the camp. We saw children without shoes, families sleeping under storefronts, and everyone was soaking wet.”
Charlie said, “One of the volunteer coordinators in Belgrade asked me, ‘Why are you doing this?’ I looked at him and said, ‘Well, why are you doing this?’ He said, ‘Because I believe that God is alive.’ I said, ‘That’s my answer, too, my friend.’”
“A lot of talk in mission circles is the importance of trying to reach least-reached peoples. Most of the time that means trying to reach those who live in Asian or Muslim contexts. But for those of us who are working in Europe, the least reached are coming to us. We would love nothing more than the opportunity to show Christ’s love to them.” Edited excerpts reprinted with permission from Unfinished No. 61(Winter 2015), 30.
Missionaries Charlie and Miki Chastain serve in Estonia with The Mission Society, Norcross, Georgia.