Brother "Yusef"

Matt continues to go down to the Oasis refugee center once a week. It is always a huge blessing to talk to the young men who come about life and about the gospel. A few weeks ago Matt met a young man named "Yusef" who is from Central Asia and claims to believe in Jesus. "Yusef" doesn’t speak much English, but he and Matt still do their best to communicate. He and Matt talk on the phone during the week and Matt continues to encourage him in his faith and in his struggle through the asylum process. Matt is especially excited about "Yusef"’s hunger for the Bible. "Yusef" is really hoping to get a white card soon so he can go to Vienna. When the refugees are first processed in the camp, which is in the small town of Traiskirchen-20 kilometers from Vienna,  they are given a green identity card. This restricts them to the refugee camp and the surrounding area only. They are not allowed to travel on any public transportation. In the next, less restrictive step in the process they are given a white card which allows them some limited travel. "Yusef" is hoping to get a white card so he can go to Vienna and attend church.  Pray that "Yusef" would continue to grow in his new faith and be protected from others from his home country that might not be too excited about his faith.

Update: "Yusef" has been transferred to another facility in Austria which means his process is moving forward. Matt texts with him regularly. "Yusef" is glad that he has been transferred but lonely because he has no friends with him in this new place. Please pray for encouragement and that Yusef would continue to grow in his faith during this time.

African Believers

One of Matt’s Nigerian students has had some trouble lately with his residency. He is an asylum seeker and had received a negative judgment on his case. The judge wants him to go back to Nigeria, but his lawyer says that he still has a chance to stay. If you think about it please be in prayer for ND. African immigrants are not very welcome here and there are many negative stereotypes about them, but there are many who come here who are evangelical Christians. Sunday mornings, without fail, we see Africans on the subway, dressed up with Bibles in their hands. God just may bring the gospel back to Europe, through Africans who received the gospel initially from European missionaries generations before. Pray that, if it is God’s will, good men like ND would be allowed to stay here and help spread God’s word.

What Can I Do?

Refugees at "The Oasis"

It was close to 10:30 pm as Matt's cell phone rang.  Since he was out of the room brushing his teeth or something, I picked up the phone from his bedside table and answered it.  "Hello?"  "Hi, how are you?  You doing good?" answered the male, non-native English speaker on the other end.  "Who's this?" I asked, a little leery.  "You don't know me.  I am in Italy.  I have phone number for Austria."  Click.  I hung up without saying anything else, annoyed and convinced it was a prank call.  As Matt walked into the room the phone started ringing again.  "I'll let you answer that," I said, "A crazy person is calling you."  Matt answered the phone, his brow furrowed as he listened to the person on the other end.  Walking out of the room, I heard Matt say, "Yes, I remember you."  "Oh, it's someone Matt knows," I thought, "Now I'm pretty embarrassed about rudely hanging up."

A few minutes later, Matt returned to tell me about the conversation.  It was a man he had met a few weeks before at the Oasis refugee ministry.  At the time, the two of them had had a long conversation about God and Matt had given this man his business card.  Amazingly, through the broken English, Matt was able to understand that this man had not received asylum status in Austria, so had taken the chance to travel to Italy to look for work.  There were no jobs to be found for an illegal immigrant in Italy, so he had pulled out Matt's card, got a hold of a calling card to call internationally, and used the English that he knew to ask Matt if he was aware of anyone in Austria that would hire him (illegally).  Matt had to tell him no, he didn't know of any jobs, and that we would pray for him.

As I sat there processing what I was hearing, I began to weep.  What a desperate situation this man was in!  It seemed like he was reaching out to Matt as a last-ditch effort before possibly getting sent back to his home country which he was fleeing.  And I was touched that God had used Matt to make an impact in this man's life in just one conversation.  I wanted so badly to help this man, to be able to do something, but felt powerless.  "I wish we could do something," I finally said aloud.  "But all we can do is pray," I added, hopelessly.  As I heard my own words verbalized, the light bulb went on.  The first and best thing we can and should do for people is pray!  God doesn't lack the power, creativity and resources to change a hopeless situation.  We've got to trust Him, to run to Him first with all of our worries, problems, and questions--in our lives and in the lives of others.  Ultimately, everyone's biggest need, to be rescued from eternal separation from God, has been provided in Jesus for everyone who believes.  That gift of belief, or faith, requires the power of God to change human hearts.  We can trust the God who changes hearts to be able to provide all of the lesser things in this life as well.

So I rejoice that even when I can't see how things could possibly work out, that I can do something.  I can go straight to the One who can help in all situations.  Thank YOU for laboring with us in prayer!

Pictures from the refugee ministry

We are discouraged from taking pictures of the refugees because of the sensitive nature of there situation, however I was able to snap a few pictures of the staff of the "Oasis." These are some of the folks who make the ministry to the refugees possible.

A Short Update on My Nigerian Friends

I wrote a few months ago about my Nigerian Friend Uche who was in danger of being deported back to Nigeria. I later found out that not only Uche was in danger but also his roommate Moses. You will remember that I had been helping teach Uche to read and Moses was a part of my Bible study. I wanted to let everyone know that Moses and Uche are doing fine now. Moses tells me that he had a close call with the police one day and has since moved out of the house he'd been living in. He also told me that he had the help of a lawer that does pro bono work for refugees and he and Uche are back in the process of getting their residence visas. Uche has since started taking a German class, which is even better for him than me trying to teach him to read in English. Moses has also joined my BTCL class which I started two weeks ago. Keep praying for these guys that they would continue to grow in their knowledge and love of the Lord and that they would be salt and light here in Austria.



A picture of part of my BTCL class with two of my Nigerian friends

The Loss of a Coworker

I was praying today and thinking about an article I read about the hardening immigration policies in Austria. We had to leave the country over a week ago because our application for a residence permit was dismissed. We found out on a Saturday and left in less than a week. It was and is stressful, but I am so thankful that we are able to leave voluntarily this way. I was thinking about those immigrants and asylum seekers that don’t leave voluntarily. Why don’t they leave? Some don't want to leave because they fear that they will not have work, or not be able to take care of their children, maybe even children they decided to have while in Austria. Some may even be going back to hostile situations, not even sure that they will be able to live or survive.

I was thinking about this not because we had to come back, but because I found out that a friend of mine is being deported. Uche and I have been meeting together every week for the last six months or so. He came from Nigeria over six years ago when he was only a teenager. Uche can't read. I met him when I went over to his friends house to lead a Bible study. He was the sweetest guy. He had a gentle and trusting way about him. I could tell he had a heart to serve. He loved the Lord.

Uche really wanted to participate in the Bible study. My friend and I who were co-leading did our best to help him, but Uche quietly stopped coming one day. My friend decided to teach him to read. When he left on furlough six months ago, I took over. Uche and I became friends. I enjoyed getting to know him. I enjoyed the challenge of teaching him to read. He is reading short words and sentences now but I wish we could have read the Bible together. That was his goal.

I don't know why Uche is being deported. He certainly is not the model immigrant. His German wasn't great. He sold newspapers to make money. "Schwartze Arbeit" is what they call it, "working black"-illegally. It is very common. He was a refugee. He was accepted into the system, but he either didn't take the systems help or the system just didn't' help him much. I'm not trying to blame anyone. I'm just sad for my friend and wish that he could have been better off for his six years spent in Austria.

I'm also sad that another believer will be leaving a country where the evangelical population is so low (some estimate as low as .5 %). In many ways I am losing a coworker in the gospel. Please pray for Uche. Pray that he will be able see God's hand in this and that he would use this time to grow in his faith. Pray also for more workers for Austria, weather they be nationals, missionaries sent by large congregations, or missionaries sent by persecution as the believers in Acts 8:4 who were scatterd and went everywhere preaching the word.

A picture of our Bible study. Uche is on the far left.

Guitar Lessons

Music has become a big part of our ministry. Aside from playing and singing at our church and the refugee center, we often get asked to teach people to play instruments. Most of the time the requests are not very serious, but recently a young man, we'll call him M., has been taking guitar lessons from Matt. They started only a few weeks ago but M. has endeared himself to our hearts.

We were surprised and very glad that M. showed up at our apartment for a guitar lesson Tuesday afternoon after not making it the week before. We were afraid he had gotten deported or sent to another part of Austria, but he explained to us that he got approved to receive a visa! He is very fortunate that he is 16. Nowadays it's getting more and more difficult to receive asylum, but those that are 16 or younger are almost automatically accepted because of their youth. Because he had no identification papers, M. explained to us in broken German how a doctor here had examined his teeth and hands to determine he was 16.

Before Matt and M. start the lesson, we sit down at the dining table together, Matt and I finishing our pleasantly interrupted lunch, and M. enjoying some tea and cookies. Looking at framed photos of our families on the wall above the table, M. comments that it is very good that we have family photos. Unfortunately he has no pictures of his family. M. then makes machine gun sounds and pantomimes someone shooting up his family's home, explaining that he was the only one to survive an attack made by the Taliban.

We give our condolences, and after a brief period of sad silence, M. changes the subject. Mother's Day is coming up, and now he has three "Austrian mothers" for whom he wants to do something special. M. no longer lives in the refugee camp in Traiskirchen, just outside of Vienna, which is a good thing. M. tells us how bad the camp is and as he remembers, says, "ooooh!" as if he has just bitten into a hot pepper. "Everyone there-- deport, deport." He now lives in a refugee transition house sponsored by a Lutheran charity. His three mothers work in this home to look after M. and others and to help them integrate. M. also shows us the free museum pass given to him by the charity. Apparently he can get into any museum in Vienna for free. M. waves the pass in front of him as if to show it to a museum guard and says in English, "No money, no money."

M. has also been taking a German language course in the city. He complains about how difficult German is ("Ooooooh!"). He teaches some Farsi greetings to Matt, and praises Matt for his successful pronunciation, as he proves his point. "English--gut (good), Farsi-- gut, Deutsch--nein (no)," says M. in broken German. M. grabs the small amount of skin in front of his Adam's apple, repeats the difficult O-Umlaut sound several times in a row, then shakes his head as if to say, "Farsi doesn't have a ridiculous sound like this!"

Matt asks M. about the languages and culture of Afghanistan, and if the situation there is improving. M. shakes his heads and lets out another signature "oooooh!" He explains that each of the main tribes has its own leader, so there are four "chefs" (German for boss) working against each other. M. states that he would like to travel to America one day. But for now, it's time for guitar lesson. Today's lesson: rhythm and a review of the chords G, C, and D. In the future, M. hopes to play a Julio Iglesias song. Anyone know a good Julio Igesias tune in G?

Seriously he is a joy to us, but as you can see M. has been through a lot. Please pray that God would give us wisdom in how to best minister to this young man who has had to grow up way too fast. Please pray that through the music and the broken German we can let him know how much God loves him.

Traiskirchen Story: from Poland to Austria to Texas

Here's a story that was published in the Smithsonian, about a Polish family who came through the Traiskirchen refugee camp just outside of Vienna, to escape the Iron Curtain. Here's a picture of the front gate of the camp. The Oasis, the refugee ministry where we volunteer on Wednesday nights, is located in an old storefront not far from the camp. Please pray for Matt as he is preaching at the Oasis this Wednesday night.

Plans for new refugee camp to help Traiskirchen - General News - Austrian Times Online News - English Newspaper

Plans for new refugee camp to help Traiskirchen - General News - Austrian Times Online News - English Newspaper

Governor calls for immediate action on refugee camp - General News - Austrian Times Online News - English Newspaper

Governor calls for immediate action on refugee camp - General News - Austrian Times Online News - English Newspaper

The Oasis

We have started going to the Oasis (Christian-run Refugee Center) on Wednesday nights. This is when the Gospel talk happens, and there is basically a church service. Matt and I have recently taken on the responsibility of leading the worship music with guitar and piano. Matt is also preaching the message there one Wednesday per month. A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of taking along one of Matt’s classmates, Jenny, at her request. She is from Moscow, and was happy to help in translating the talk into Russian for the Georgians in the audience. She was also very curious about what goes on at the Oasis since she had heard Matt talk about it at language school.

It was a great experience for us and for Jenny. We got to deepen our friendship with Jenny, and she got to interact with refugees and Christian workers. Jenny talked a long time with a woman from Russia who was very well-educated and had owned her own business. Unfortunately, this woman had to flee Russia because of threats from the local government due to her political views. Jenny was surprised to find out that a woman like this could become a refugee. Jenny’s comment reveals the discovery that poverty and hardship doesn’t just come upon the uneducated or upon people to whom we can’t relate. As believers, we realize we must confess any pride of thinking we have provided for ourselves or that we are better than people in poverty and unstable situations.

Matt and I are continually challenged and blessed by our time at the Oasis. We are also excited about bringing other friends with us on Wednesdays. Jenny has since returned to Moscow. Pray that we would continue to keep in touch with her. Also, one of Liz’s American classmates at the language school has expressed interest in coming with us one evening. Pray that he would be able to come and that God would use us in his life to bring him closer to knowing Christ. Pray for Matt as he is preaching tomorrow night. Continue to pray for the refugees to find their hope in God during their unsettling time of waiting for the government to tell them whether they can stay or if they have to go. Pray for a Georgian family in particular, with two school-aged children, who have been here about 2 months in the refugee quarters. They are desperate to receive a “yes” from the government.