He wanted to know how to pray to Jesus...

A few weeks ago, on a Wednesday night, a young man named Charles (name changed for protection) walked into The Oasis, asking about prayer. He wanted to pray to invite Jesus into his life, but having grown up a Muslim, he simply did not know how. He listened to the Bible teaching, I (Ken) shared some more about Jesus with him, and then he eagerly prayed with me to place his trust in Jesus. He was so thankful and joyful about it! He shared with me that he had already tried to do so at a local Catholic church, but understood nothing because it was all in German. One Sunday later, he went to Vienna and visited some random church there, trying to learn how to pray to Jesus, but again understood nothing. So, he was VERY thankful to find The Oasis that week and learn (in English) about prayer and more about the Bible. He came to The Oasis again the following night and said that he slept well for the first time in many weeks. He kept telling me, "I feel so free! I feel so free!" It was a great evening together, and we watched the Jesus film together too. And all this in the first week of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting by day (and feasting by night). He said that he was honest with the other refugees at the camp, telling them about his decision to become a Christian and not observe Ramadan, which some of them were not happy about, but he simply told them, "I live my life, and make my own decisions, and you live your life, and you make your own decisions." It was encouraging to hear about his boldness. That Sunday, he went to a Bible teaching church near The Oasis, where English translation is offered, which is great because later that week he was sent back to Italy. He is African, and made it all the way to Austria, but his fingerprints were first taken in Italy. Which, by the laws of the EU, means that his refugee case needs to be processed there. At this point we are only in touch via WhatsApp, but he does have an audio Bible. His mom passed away when he was young, and once his dad fell ill, he had to help on the farm instead of going to school. His reading level is low, and sadly his dad did not make it, and that left Charles to look after the farm with his three younger siblings. They are with other family members now. Unfortunately for Charles, Italy has not yet provided shelter for him, and he is sleeping in a train station. So, life is now once again quite difficult for him. But he is praising God and is still so thankful for the time we had together. Please pray for Charles to find a good church there, that he might grow in Christ (an Italian friend of mine found one online, which I recommended to Charles, so hopefully it is a good one). Pray too that the Lord will help him find shelter and meet his other practical needs.    Thanks for reading and praying! -Ken