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A video, and a few stories about ministry to refugees...
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Click on the above picture to watch a video tour of The Oasis. It is the next best thing to getting to see the place in person! But you will need 11 minutes, so it is not meant to be watched at work! ;) 

The Christmas Season and refugees

Seeing as most of the refugees here are coming from Muslim nations like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria, most of them have not celebrated Christmas before. So, this month we have been trying to explain the TRUE meaning of Christmas to them: the birth of Jesus the Messiah, the Light of the world, the Savior that we all need. I got to preach all about His birth, death, and resurrection last Wednesday night, and while it was a smaller crowd, there were some open hearts there, especially Hafshin, Thomas, and Ali & Zara (a married couple). Pray for Hafshin to take that big step to personally invite Jesus into his heart. He lives in Vienna now, attends a Farsi-speaking church (he is from Iran), and also visits us often at The Oasis. He told me, "I always feel so joyful after church, and after visiting The Oasis. When I was in Turkey, I always went to the mosque, and prayed for help and for answers. But there was nothing. no answer. So I stopped going." He is living with two other Iranian Christians, and is even now in a weekly Bible class at his church. Pray that the Lord will bring about a breakthrough in Hafshin's heart, that he would personally know Jesus instead of just knowing about Jesus. Also please pray for the family I shared all about in my last update (the widow and four children). They were transferred somewhere else in Austria, and sadly they have not replied to any of our efforts to contact them. But the Lord knows where they are, and we pray He will keep moving in their hearts. 

Preaching & painting last week at The Oasis, about the birth of Jesus.
Present at my teaching last week, and again last night too, was "Thomas" from Iran, who visits The Oasis and the church nearby VERY faithfully. His brother is in England, and became a Christian (his wife did too, praise the Lord!). They talk on the phone daily, and we know that the Lord must be very much at work in Thomas' heart, but as far as I know, he has yet to place his trust in Jesus alone. He asks us good questions and clearly enjoys the fellowship with us, but it seems like something has not quite "clicked" for him in regards to the Truth. ALSO pray for my friend from Somalia, "Burhaan." His English is very good, but he wants to improve it by reading good books. So far he has borrowed seven books from us. He is now reading Spurgeon, Tozer, and Max Lucado. And last week my colleague Jeremy spotted him inconspicuously taking a Gospel tract in Somali from our tract collection. This is a guy who months ago told me very matter-of-factly, "Somalis do not change religion. It is impossible." Pray that Burhaan will keep reading those books, and that the Lord will keep drawing Burhaan to Himself, and that "the impossible" will happen. 
Evelyn & Oliver, in September. They are doing well and bring us great joy (even if they do tire us out).
"Ali" and "Zara," from Afghanistan, came into The Oasis four weeks ago trodden down and sad. Looking at the floor, they seemed dejected and rather hopeless. But it was clothing day, and some of our team members spoke to them and told them all about Jesus, and gave them some new clothes. They returned that Wednesday evening looking upbeat and cheerful. Something had changed. They listened to the message, came the next day too, and spoke with our Farsi translator about repenting. They attended the nearby church as well, and have been coming to The Oasis ever since. At some point in there, they prayed to invite the Lord into their lives, and their countenance and disposition is altogether different than that first day when they arrived. Praise the Lord for drawing them to Him, and do pray for Zara's health as she had to go to the hospital this week for some reason. Pray too for their discipleship and growth in the Lord. Amen! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!     -Ken & Michi    
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