Croatia: Sara’s Return
Everyone left Knin. That is just what happened in a war-town with broken families and broken futures. Sara had gotten out and attended university in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. And now, strangely, she wanted to return.
Everybody thought she was crazy. Nobody ever returned to a place like Knin. But in her second year of university, Sara heard a voice telling her to go back. She questioned what she was hearing. After all, she had a great photography job, amazing friends, and was serving God by organizing events for students. Still, she couldn’t ignore the voice, so she started to pray.
“I knew if that was His will, I would need to leave everything, even university, to go and follow His voice… I knew that step would keep my inner peace. So, I decided to trust Him. I graduated, left my university, friends, job, everything I had, and I moved back.”
Once she did, things weren’t easy. Sara was lost, totally unsure of what she should do in Knin. But when she attended the Revive Europe conference, things got a little clearer.
At Revive, Sara joined thousands of other students for worship, prayer, and teaching. Though she was a university student, Sara attended one seminar for teenagers so that she could better understand them. There a vision for a teenage ministry took shape in her mind. Over the rest of the conference, Sara heard God repeating the words “small things.”
“He wanted me to do the small things for “big people”. He reminded me how he brought me from having nothing my first year of university to many opening doors… He showed me a new beginning and new start.”
Sara returned to Knin after the conference and converted a room in her church into a “hang out” place where teenagers from the community could have a listening ear and be themselves. She planned games and even offered a free photography class. Soon, the teenagers felt like a small family.
Sara said that she had always imagined herself going to Africa to work with children exploited as warriors. But as she looked around at her teen club one morning, God told her,
“These are kids you need to fight for. Kids that survive in broken families, kids with unsafe homes, kids that lost themselves. These are your warrior kids.”
Since COVID-19, things have been difficult for the group. The church has sold their building and Sara has struggled to find funds for the group’s activities. Sara still believes that God has a plan for the teenagers.
“I am still fighting for them in my prayers until God provides a new, better way. The Revive conference reminded me of how great our God is. I also met a lot of amazing Christians who fight with me for those children. I could not ask for more! …I can’t wait for the next Revive and for revival in my small town of Knin! Revival in hearts of many.”
Pray with Sara for revival in Knin and Croatia.
- Pray for Sara’s group, that she would have the resources to continue. Pray that the teenagers she mentors will come into a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
- Pray for other students like Sara who attended Revive in 2019. This conference has inspired many students to create outreach projects in their communities and campuses. Pray for those who have stepped out in faith to do what God is calling them to do.
- Pray for revival in Europe.