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July 27, 2026

Discovering Your Calling

Have you seen God answer a prayer in a way that surprised you? Although my path to serving with Josiah Venture (JV) in Estonia this summer was not what I expected, the process made it very clear to me that the Lord wanted me here. My lovely landlord, who is now a dear friend named Walt, went on a short-term mission trip with Edge Sports, playing football. He was a huge light to that team, and that team had such a huge impact on him as well. He expressed to me how God was telling him to bring it up to me and how he saw that it was right up my alley. Then, randomly, I found myself eating chili with Ranno and Indrek, two Estonian Josiah Venture missionaries, and talking about the internship. Little things just kept pointing me to Estonia, and, before I knew it, I was going to Estonia as a JV summer intern. The way the Lord showed up and showed me I needed to go is so awesome to look back on. As I pursued ministry in Estonia, it also became clear that I have a calling to serve young people.

Oh boy! JV knows what they are doing. I truly loved my time in Malenovice, Czech Republic, at their JV Intern training, where I got to experience the love they have for each other, but even more so for Jesus. My experience at intern training was so needed, and it met me in ways I didn’t even know I needed to be met. I recently graduated from college and have been in the awkward phase of “What now?” while truly putting it in God’s hands. My beloved JV Estonia intern director, Brittney Haas, told me to leave my hands open, but softly open, and ready for whatever the Lord has for me.

I had heard so many awesome stories about JV, and getting to see it firsthand was truly unforgettable. The Amazing Race was such a blast and was a perfect way to kick off bonding with the team in all the right ways! The intern training sessions were what stood out to me personally. Rachael Davison led an evening session on our Beloved Charter and how to apply Scripture to our own affirmations, and it was really lovely. We sat with the Lord, chose scripture close to our hearts, and wrote a letter from the Lord to ourselves about how much he loves us. That night, after I wrote my Beloved Charter, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion. I had an amazing prayer answered that I didn’t even realize I had needed.

Throughout intern training, I became more aware of the Holy Spirit by simply sitting with the Lord, and letting him move. In the past, I often tried to avoid my emotions and thoughts because I told myself I couldn’t trust my own opinions after I spiraled. But becoming aware of the Holy Spirit and practicing discernment really did wonders for me. Every day, we dug deeper into the Lord’s calling, while preparing for summer ministry, and each session felt like every speaker was talking directly to me.

Each session was so beautiful. Julia Budd taught on Psalm 23, focusing on rest and what the Lord offers. It was such a beautiful reminder as we prepared for camp to learn the importance of spiritual rest and how refreshing it is that our Father lets us rest in green meadows and leads us beside peaceful streams. This and other training sessions focusing on reaching people who do not yet know Jesus encouraged me to focus on the importance and beauty of reaching the youth of our generation. While at intern training, these verses stood out to me:

“Oh my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in parables. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors have passed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his powers and mighty wonders” (Psalm 78:1-4).

To me, these verses highlighted the calling I have to serve youth. It has been so evident that the Lord is speaking to me in parables, emphasizing the importance of teaching the next generation and spreading his goodness. The Lord wants me to use the gifts he has given me and be bold in my faith.

I am still so giddy to know where the Lord is taking me and what he will teach me through this experience. My heart has been broken and touched in all the right ways during my time now in Estonia. It has highlighted strengths I didn’t know I had while also stretching me in healthy ways. Parts of me have been healed by the heart of Estonia. I am one camp down and truly in awe of the movement the Lord is doing here.

I ask that you pray for the hearts of the youth in Estonia this summer, and that the Lord would show me where he wants to lead my own heart as well!

Thank you, Josiah Venture, and thank you, Jesus!

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This year, I had the privilege of going to two camps in Slovenia, one in Koper and one in Domžale. This is my second internship with Josiah Venture and my fourth year helping at camp, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. With English camps, there is a lot of planning involved, such as figuring out the evening, preparing themed parties, practicing the camp dance, organizing the games, and readying the overall camp program. What I did not expect was how my whole summer would be focused on trusting God outside the boxes I had put him in. Before the summer started, I prayed for the kids at camp to have open hearts and minds to think about Jesus in a different way. I wanted them to see Jesus the right way and not just because of what they had heard from others. What I didn’t realize is that the Lord was doing the same with my heart. Before I left for the summer, I really had a hard time trusting the Lord and his timing. Every rejection or “no” had felt like a slap in the face, not protection. I was trying to figure out what God was doing within the waiting. During camp, I realized God was calling me to step outside of the box and to trust him in the waiting, no matter the outcome or what my feelings told me. God’s character never changes, and none of the trials we go through are without purpose. One of the talks I heard this year at camp was about being willing to step outside of our box in faith. It takes faith to trust God when our situations or feelings tell us otherwise. Before, my feelings had told me that God was not kind because of all the rejection and the times I had felt left out in my life—that God did not see me. He forgot about me, because how is he kind by making me wait? That God must be mad, and now I’m struggling to wait and be patient for him. At camp, I realized that God doesn’t feel that way. God cares deeply about me, and there’s always a good reason that we have to wait. My mom always says that God is never early or late but always on time. We can trust that he knows what is good for us, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. Sometimes life hurts, and we can’t understand what God is doing within the hurt and chaos. Sometimes pain and hurt can give us a better perspective on a situation, or something we thought we wanted. This summer gave me a more realistic view of what ministry looks like in Slovenia: lonely, hard, discouraging at times, but so worth it. This internship showed me that sometimes thinking outside the box also means not being afraid to admit that missions aren’t for everyone, and it’s okay if that’s true for me. Not everyone is called to missions, and you don’t have to feel guilty that you aren’t. You just have to be faithful where God has placed you. Don’t let others make you feel guilty about your feelings or how you experience things; instead, take your feelings and experiences to God. One of my friends told me the most loving thing I could do for the church was to realize that God isn’t calling me to missions for longer than these four trips. Some opportunities are only for a season. There are people who keep serving in areas because they think they have to, but not because God has called them to, and they can hurt people. God has a purpose and a place for everyone. I’m so grateful I’ve had four summers to pour into students and to be used by God in Slovenia. I’m sad that this season has come to an end, but God has done so much not only in my heart but also in the hearts of Slovenes. So, how are you taking your experiences and feelings to God? Are you letting your feelings dictate God’s character, or are you telling your feelings who God is?
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Blessing Upon Blessing: My Summer With JV

“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. At one point, God reminded me that I still hadn’t said my “yes” or “no.” Without thinking too much, I picked up my phone and messaged Brittney: “I want to be a summer intern.” Immediately after sending the message, I fell asleep. God gave me complete peace. That was my first confirmation that God was truly calling me into this summer of service and that he had something very special planned. To me, the summer and this calling felt like a door leading into the unknown. But, at the same time, I had the assurance that Jesus would be with me there. Because I knew that he holds everything in his hands and my faith rests entirely in him, nothing would be too scary. After saying “yes,” I experienced blessing upon blessing. Even before the summer began, God took care of my living situation after the internship. The whole fundraising process was completely in God’s hands. The whole summer–every camp, every moment—was full of situations where God’s hand and power were greater than anything else. We started our bigger summer adventure in the Czech Republic with the Amazing Race. I honestly had no idea what to expect from the competition at first. I still remember the anticipation as we stood there at the airport with our little Estonian flags, waiting for our summer teammates to arrive. A few minutes after the first brave arrivals, the race began, and we started laying the foundation for our team. Building this “house” wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. From the very first moment, these people already felt like family. One of my favorite sayings is that a team is only as strong as its weakest link. In our case, though, I would say that we didn’t have a weak link. Even during the Amazing Race, it became clear that each of us had our own strengths, and we complemented each other perfectly with them. I have learned so much from these four amazing young people. I can fully trust them and know that they stand firmly behind me, and vice versa. I’m grateful that I got to work alongside them this summer, serving the youth of Estonia. I wouldn’t trade them for anyone else. I thank God for these four every day. After the Amazing Race and intern training, it was time to truly start our summer mission. Two weeks after we returned to Estonia, the first youth camp began. Sports have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but the moment I found myself on the football field in that yellow camp t-shirt, I suddenly doubted all of my athletic strengths. On the first morning of the soccer camp, Katre (my fellow intern) shared a story where Jesus fed 5,000 men with just two fish and five loaves of bread. Katre shared that this camp could be a place where, in our weakness, God might grow and use us the most. I tucked that thought firmly into my heart and trusted that if God called me here, then he must have a plan! It was such a blessing to see the small things God was doing in these young boys’ lives during the camp. We had so many special conversations and heard beautiful stories. We taught the boys the camp dance, and on the last day of camp, they performed it for us. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time!” Katre shouted across the room as we laughed and watched them dance. At that camp, God started something, and I can trust him to continue the work he began in those boys’ hearts. After the soccer camp, I got to be part of and serve at the Edge Disc Golf camp. This is truly the ideal ministry sport. Walking through the beautiful forests of Estonia, God gave me several great opportunities for conversations, and I got to see how he continued to work in the hearts of the young boys from the soccer camp. The camp was filled with life-changing moments and new commitments. A few young people received their first Bible, and some took several big steps closer to God. Those moments were so special, and I feel so deeply grateful that God called me to this summer, using our team to bring these young people closer to himself. “If there were a way for this camp and this environment to last all year, I’d be so happy!” and “This was the best camp of my life” were just some of the comments we heard from the boys after the camp. But as our camp leader said, their comments weren’t because we put together a cool camp; they were because God was there, living and moving among us. The last camp of the summer was TAFT English Camp. We organized the camp together with two churches–Tallinna Kogukonnad (TaKo) and the youth of Risttee, also known as Lift. (The name comes from: TaKo + Lift = TAFT.) That camp definitely secured a special place in my heart. We spent a week surrounded by the stunning nature of Estonia–misty morning runs, breathtaking sunsets, and the only truly beautiful camp weather we had all summer. In English environments, we built towers and attractions from whatever the Estonian forest provided, played Masterchef, and gave the youth a chance to test their commercial filming skills. Together with two members from some American mission teams, I also had my first experience leading a small group during this camp. Our conversations always ran longer than planned, and I learned so much from them myself. God spoke to me deeply through that group, and those times together later led to even deeper conversations–something I’m incredibly thankful for. We wrapped up our summer adventure with an intern debrief on a beautiful Estonian island called Saaremaa. We shared stories, looked back on the summer, and took a moment to dream and listen. We imagined what might be ahead and heard what God still wanted to bring to light. It was truly a time that words can’t fully describe. After the debrief, it was time for everyone to step back into their “real life.” For me, an exciting year lies ahead. I carry with me a wealth of experience and knowledge from the summer, ready to step into a new season. We’re also hoping to gradually grow and develop our church’s youth ministry. We have many ideas and dreams, and I’m excited to see which ones come to life and how this year will take shape. My heart is full of gratitude for being part of JV’s summer internship, for working with such special and diverse people, and for all that God has done. Thank you for walking alongside me through this short reflection and reading to the end. Please keep this new season in prayer–for the year ahead, for the youth in Estonia, and for the Good News of Jesus to reach even more hearts.