Who

I've been meaning to write about an experience I had about a month ago and have never gotten around to it. So, for this post, I will update you on one of my favorite moments I've had since getting to Austria.

It was a Friday and I was spending the day alone exploring Vienna. Trying to discover new places and get lost, I would randomly jump on "Strassenbahns" (street trolleys) that I didn't recognize and go with wherever they took me. It was getting to be later at night and I was unsure of what to do next when an elderly man came up to me and asked for directions. In my broken German I tried to help him but at the same time was unsure of where he was asking about. I decided after that to go to a homeless banquet that was being put on at a church I knew about in Vienna. They decorated their sanctuary as if they would be hosting diplomats and politicians. It was such a lovely idea. As I walked in, I looked around and, to my slight dismay, didn't see any members of the church that I recognized. Unsure of what to do next I sat down in a chair in the back of the sanctuary. The next thing I know, I hear a voice, in German, saying "My friend! I didn't know you were coming here!" and looked over to see the elderly gentlemen who I had previously given directions to. This started the beginning of a lovely evening.

He invited me to be his date that night and sit with him at the dinner table. His name is Preni, and he's 67 years old. He speaks 9 different languages and thoroughly enjoyed displaying all of the different words he knew in these languages. The one language he did NOT know, was English. The church members that were running this dinner didn't recognize me and treated me like the rest of the homeless people. It was so much fun to hang out with Preni, speak in broken German, and be surrounded by these lovely people. I made a lot of friends that night who I'm unsure if I'll ever see or talk to again, but I'm always looking for them. It was an awesome experience and opened my eyes to possibly what I may be doing for ministry during my time here.

Please pray for me as I explore what options there are to work with the homeless of Vienna.

Auf wiedersehen!