2 different encounters

Wednesday night we were invited to attend a BS that some colleagues from another mission hold with Arabic-speaking refugees. We arrived right on time and found several gathered already. Others slowly arrived  during the first 30 minutes. They are going through a series called "Al Massira" which simply means The Journey. The series starts out with Adam & Eve and shows how all the prophets were flawed, sinful men until the perfect one came onto the scene in the person of Jesus Christ. There are videos to go along with each lesson. We watched the video of Abraham and then the plan was to break up into small groups to discuss the story and answer questions. There was a big ruckus as some resisted the idea of small groups and wanted to stay in one large group. Ok, solved. We stayed in one large group. The leader does not speak Arabic but relies on members who speak poor English to translate. Before long, things were going from bad to worse with the translation so I jumped in and helped. That was a mistake as I then became the translator for the rest of the evening. The discussion went on for 3 hours, sometimes getting quite heated!! There was a young man present who at one time in his life, wore an explosive belt and fought to be in the front of the line to blow himself and others up in jihad. He now realizes that his religion has led him to a dead end and he is searching for truth. Another is a professor of history, full of questions and also searching for real meaning in life. He left his wife & children in search of the God of the Bible. He doesn't sleep at night and is tormented by what he has seen in his life. There were others present but these 2 men were the most vocal. They have suffered greatly and are desperate to find peace.
Last night we were invited to go and visit a young man that we've met several times. He lives on the far side of the city, one train and 2 buses away. We arrived at his "apartment" around 9PM. He lives in a huge building that has small apartments with 4 people living in each one. He and his roommates all gathered on the beds and we sat on chairs to visit for over an hour. Some of the guys were dentists in Syria. Others were engineers. Their days now are taken up with trying to learn German and find a job here in Berlin. Their life stinks. They're far from their families and feel trapped. Every one of them had such a great personality and winsome smile. They are all from different religious backgrounds but close friends and just wanting to have peace and meaning in their lives. We can't wait to invite them all over for dinner some night. It seems like it will be so easy to gather these guys together for a BS. God is up to something here and when it breaks open, we hope to be on the front lines watching it all happen!