Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Josiah Venture's 20-year Anniversary


Spring Conference 2014
20 years for Josiah Venture

What a celebration with our Josiah Venture family!  We just returned home from our annual JV Spring Conference held each year in the Czech Republic.  Here we are among the JV 2nd and 3rd Culture group.  Second culture is the term used for those of us choosing to serve in a culture different than the one in which we were raised (Ed and I, for example).  Third culture refers to the children of those parents (the ones who are being raised in a different culture by choice of their parents).  First culture, then, are those national workers, living and serving in their own culture, who are also a HUGE part of Josiah Venture.  The Slovak members of our JV Slovakia team are an example of 1st culture.  This group pictured below of the 2nd and 3rd culture JV members (mostly Americans) is quite a bit smaller than the entire JV family, as the 1st culture group adds over 100 more members.





And THIS photo is of all of the 3rd Culture JV kiddos…over 90 of them, from what I can remember hearing!  They are spread out in 12 different Central and Eastern European countries, but when they all come together for a week…it is amazing!!!  Yes, chaotic at times, but as with all families, the chaos can also be so fun!  Our kids LOVE spending this time with these friends, and we are blessed beyond measure to be a part of this group of families.  (Sorry, Grandma, I don't even know where all our kids are in this picture!)




And one more photo of the group…this was the day we were welcoming the new babies into the JV family…7 of them, with the rest of us standing behind these new babies and their parents.  We absolutely love to be part of this growing JV family, where we have sweet fellowship, deep connections and great friendships.



The last night of the conference we ended with an amazing fireworks display, to celebrate our 20-year Anniversary!  Happy Birthday Josiah Venture!!