We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Proverbs 16:9
It’s winter in Croatia and it’s very cold. For Karthees, just arrived from India in the hope of a new life for himself, it’s a far cry from his homeland, but he knows he has come here for a reason. However, living in a house with 45 other people – and 8 people to a bedroom – on a low salary, Karthees begins to wonder why he is here and where this hope has gone.
Karthees is a Christian and is desperate to worship God alongside other believers. Eventually he finds Emmanuel Church in Varaždin – it’s a 7km walk each way, but it’s worth it. Hope begins to rise once again as he receives the love and support of his fellow believers, but his circumstances are still the same. Karthees considers going to Zagreb, the Croatian capital, where there is the promise of new, better paid work, but feels sure he has been called to Varaždin for a reason. The day before he has to decide whether to stay or leave, he hears this verse at church: “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” James 4:13-14
This verse encourages Karthees to stay – he knows he has been called here for a reason.
Soon after, he meets Danielja, the House of Opportunity manager in Varaždin and is offered a place on the programme. Karthees is delighted. Here the opportunities unfold: Karthees learns Croatian, he learns how to cook like a Croatian, he finds better paid work with a good employer and, he starts to discover why he has been called to Varaždin. Everyone has a purpose, a calling, no matter what external circumstances may look like.
Karthees has a burden to share his faith with his fellow residents and to accompany them as they explore their own faith journey, to support them in their highs and lows and to be a source of encouragement and love for them. Karthees gets alongside Antonia, who has her own mental health battle founded in deep childhood trauma. He holds her in God’s love and is overjoyed when she decides to get baptised. He is also thrilled to be a part of housemate Drazen’s journey as he begins to discover faith and why the Christians around him are so full of peace and joy.
Karthees has made a journey of thousands of miles to find himself in Croatia and now he is walking alongside others as they make their own journeys of faith, from head to heart. He knows that ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’ (Romans 8:28) and he longs that others would know God’s love and His purpose for their lives too. House of Opportunity has given Karthees the opportunity to put down healthy roots in his new country, financially, practically, emotionally and spiritually. He has only been part of the programme for six months and can’t wait to see what God does through and with him next.