Since the very beginning of Josiah Venture, we have been praying for a movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe. We love witnessing young people come alive as God makes himself known to them and brings them into his family.

The good news of Christ’s kingdom transforms young people in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Lord is meeting our very own JV Kids (JVK) in their questions and everyday joys and challenges too. He transforms them daily. With over one hundred JVK spread across the countries Josiah Venture missionaries serve in, we are seeing God do a mighty work when he invites these kids to love and follow him.  

We wish you could sit down over ice-cream with these JVK and hear their stories and all that they are learning in person. Since you can’t, here is one window into how God is meeting Tahlia, a 15-year-old JVK, as she processes the meaning of the word “home” in this season of life.

Are You Glad to Be Back?

Recently I returned from America where I was for the entire summer. It was only the second time back since I left six years ago.

“Are you glad to be back home?”

“What’s it like being here?”

“Do you want to stay in the States or go back to Slovenia?”

I realized that people were just asking me because they were curious, but those questions didn’t really make sense to me. I didn’t know how to answer them. Being back in America was fun and it was great to see family, but it just isn’t home to me anymore. Slovenia is! America was almost as foreign to me as Slovenia was when we first moved. I had no idea how anything really worked there anymore. I don’t relate to Americans or America as much as in the past.

The Definition of Home

Home; that one little word can mean so much. Is it where you were born? Is it where you live now? Or is it simply a structure you live in? For me, home means somewhere where I’m surrounded by people I love, in a place where I feel comfortable and accepted. Somewhere where I can find rest and be comforted and encouraged after a hard day. Somewhere where there is joy and laughter. Somewhere where I’m greeted with a warm welcome and where I can have good conversations over a meal.

I lived in America for eight of my almost 15 years of life. The remainder of those years I’ve spent in Slovenia as a missionary kid with my parents and three other siblings. Slovenia is the most gorgeous place in the world to me. Its breathtaking Alps, rivers, and lakes are just amazing. The culture has somewhat become my culture, seeing that I’m in it almost 24/7. And the people have become my people. The people of Slovenia are why my family and I moved to this beautiful country. Their souls desperately need Jesus. Our home is now among them.

Life Transitions

But the next step in life for my family is moving out of the only home that we’ve known in Slovenia. The house we’ve been renting for the past six years has been sold and my family is going to need to move out of it and find a new home. It makes me think about the meaning of a permanent home. It seems that I’m always moving or going back somewhere and having to say goodbye to somebody. I’ve been reminded as it says in Ephesians 2:19 that we are no longer strangers and aliens on earth but that we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. That’s really comforting, knowing that I have a forever home and that it’s in heaven with Jesus. I look forward to that day when I will get to meet my savior face-to-face and spend the rest of eternity in heaven, our true home, with him.

As I mentioned before, we are moving out of the house that we are currently living in. It’s so easy to become stressed and full of anxiety, but the Lord has graciously given my family and me a huge peace about the situation. We are thankful to him for that and we continue to faithfully ask him for wisdom and clarity on what to do next as we have faith that he will provide exactly what we need. In Scripture, it says to walk by faith and not by sight and to give thanks in all circumstances, which is what I have been reminded to keep doing in this next stage of life.

As Tahlia and her family move into a new home, you can pray for them and other JV missionaries in the midst of transition by signing up for an hour in our online Prayer Room. Pray also for the young people in Central and Eastern Europe who have yet to find their true home.