One Muslim teenage boy had other things on his mind when he followed his crush to her Christian summer camp but rather than being kicked out, the camp teachers led him to Christ.
The captivating story of the young Muslim man's conversion is told by Open Doors USA, who were running a summer camp recently in a former Soviet country in Central Asia where there are restrictions on sharing the Gospel with children and teenagers.
Despite these restrictions, the organization was able to hold a Christian camp and it's lucky for teenager Damir - real name changed for security reasons - that they did as it changed the course of his life forever.
Actually he didn't go there to meet Jesus. Damir, the 16-year-old son of a high ranking Muslim official, went there chasing after a girl he was infatuated with, Kamila, whose name has also been changed for protection.
Remarkably, Kamila's parents are Muslim but they still permitted her to attend the Open Doors Christian summer camp.
Damir was less interested in the camp and more interested in getting intimate with Kamila. He even went to the trouble of booking a hotel room close to the camp so they could meet.
But God was about to make a startling intervention. When Kamila disappeared from the camp, her meeting with Damir came to light and the camp director Sharifa, whose name has also been changed, went to Damir's hotel room where they were found together.
Kamila was taken back to the camp by a teacher, but the camp director 'felt a prompting from God' to speak with Damir one-on-one.
Sharifa didn't immediately throw out an invitation to Damir to accept Jesus. Instead, Damir was asked what he thought would happen if Kamila were to become pregnant, particularly as he admitted to having no desire to marry her or raise a child with her.
Sharifa's words struck a chord with Damir and he made a promise not to be alone with Kamila. But more startling was when he asked Sharifa if he could take part in the camp. Of course, the answer was yes and from that time on, he attended the camp every day, joining the teaching sessions and Bible lessons.
One particularly meaningful session for him was a teaching lesson on what the Bible has to say about relationships between boys and girls.
Convinced by all he had heard in this and other teaching sessions, Damir accepted Christ and he and Kamila have since made the decision to be friends while they seek God's will for their lives.
'I came to this camp with only one goal,' Damir shared. 'That was to have intimacy with Kamila, something new for me and new for her. I wanted this not because of my love, but because I wanted status and popularity. I didn't care about the consequences. Now, I realize that I need close relationship and intimacy with Christ. My relationships with girls must be pure. I am responsible for controlling myself and not giving room for sin.'
Now he and Kamila are both praying that their parents will also come to know and accept Jesus as their personal Savior. At least for the timebeing, Damir has some hesitations about sharing his newfound faith with his parents.
'I want my parents and sisters to meet Christ, to learn about his love. But I am afraid of their opposition. Pray that God will give me courage to share with them,' he said.
