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June 16, 2025

Full Circle

Dear Friends,

Small decisions can change the course of your entire life.

When Szabi was a junior in his high school in the center of Hungary, his best friend kept pestering him with the same question: “Why don’t you come visit our youth group?” Szabi was an expert at finding excuses. “My parents won’t let me” (not true). “I have a lot of homework” (partially true). Finally, he got tired of saying “no,” and one time just said “yes.” To his surprise, the youth group was interesting, especially when Rob, the leader, paid special attention to him in a way he had never experienced before. He decided to go back, and then accepted the invitation to a JV summer English camp.

After camp, Rob invited him to McDonald’s. “Do you believe the things we were talking about at camp?” he asked. Szabi nodded yes. Have you ever given your life to Jesus? “No.” “Would you like to?” “Yes.” Simple questions. Life-changing answers.

 

 

The next summer, Rob invited Szabi to do an internship with JV, and then to study the Bible in our three-year bachelor’s program. At one of the camps, he met a cute girl from Wisconsin named Maggie. They began a long-distance relationship, and, several years later, Szabi asked her a really big question: “Will you marry me?” Gratefully, for both of them, the answer was “yes.”

Just a few days ago, I sat with Szabi and Maggie in a room full of interns at our training center in Malenovice, Czech Republic. They both recently joined JV staff, and Maggie is now taking responsibility for summer interns in Hungary.

Sitting at the table with us was Myla, from Louisville, Kentucky, who will be serving under Maggie’s leadership. She is studying sports management at her university, but is giving up her summer to be a light for Jesus in a faraway place.

When I asked Maggie what she had learned in her first summer internship, she said, “God ignited a flame in my heart during those short months. He gave me a heart for the young people of Hungary and a passion for them to know Jesus.”

 

 

Szabi looked over at her and smiled. He has a life partner because of the decision that she made. But even more than that, he has eternal life because his best friend, Rob, and other college students made small decisions that changed the course of his life.

This summer, over 40 interns will be serving with us for three months, sharing the gospel with thousands of young people across Central and Eastern Europe. I wonder what will happen because Myla and 39 others said “yes” to God’s call.

Thank you for making this possible through your support and prayers.

Dave Patty President

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“I dance in the freedom you have given.” These are the words that describe this summer internship most clearly and deeply for me. Before summer began, I had heard many stories from past interns about how life-changing this season had been for them–a time when faith, hope, and love grew. Of course, I believed it could happen to me too, but experiencing it myself was so much more powerful and personal than I ever imagined. God gave me joy, a free spirit, and a longing heart to serve the youth of Estonia. When I was younger, I was pretty convinced that youth ministry was not the area where I saw myself serving in the future. But today, I carry a desire and longing in my heart to possibly continue in youth ministry even after this summer, because I’ve seen how deeply needed it really is. That longing was placed in my heart by God, through the JV (Josiah Venture) summer internship. So how did I even end up serving with JV this summer? When someone asks me that, I usually say, “God called me.” And that’s the truth. I joined my church last fall when I moved to Tallinn to begin university. About halfway through the year, I met a lovely woman named Brittney at a Sunday service. We talked, prayed together, and got to know each other a bit. A couple of days later, she sent me a voice message telling me about the JV internship and the opportunity to be a summer intern. It was all so new to me that I honestly didn’t know how to respond at first; I had basically never heard of JV before. Eventually, I replied that I wanted to learn more, so we arranged a time to have lunch. Our conversation helped bring clarity, but I still had doubts. We agreed that I would give her my final answer in a week. One night, I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, but I just couldn’t. I kept waking up, reading, and praying–nothing helped. 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