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 Meet Ana and Josip Dobutovic serving in Croatia!

Ana's story

I was born in a little town called Varazdin in the north-west Croatia.  Croatia is in Central Europe, just north-east of Italy. After I came to study law in the capital city of Zagreb, I met some friends working with Campus Crusade for Christ. We talked a lot about God and soon I trusted Christ.

God has continued drawing me closer to Himself and changing my life, and He filled my heart with the desire to share with others what I was learning. I realized that the college years are crucial time in the lives of young people. After graduation in 2001, I joined full time ministry with Campus Crusade, serving among college students in Zagreb, in my own country.

After ten years, I joined a new position, to help caring for and building up my fellow workers in Udruga Fokus, which is how we call Campus Crusade in Croatia. I have been taking care that our mission workers are encouraged in their personal and spiritual growth and equipped to fulfill their calling. My special passions are coaching and soul care. One of the things I particularly enjoy in my position is serving alongside my colleagues through taking part in different ministry activities, like Soaring - evangelistic life coaching program for women. Between 2020 and 2024 together with Josip, we have been serving in churches in eastern Croatia. Since 2024 we are back in Zagreb, continuing to expand our vision and scope.

Josip's story

I was born into a Christian family, in the city of Vinkovci, in the east of Croatia. Difficult birth, where both my mother and I almost lost our lives, was a major factor that later in life led me to surrender my life to Christ. We survived, but I ended up with a permanently damaged shoulder and a bad eyesight, which prevented me to pursue my dream of working with either cars or computers.

After I finished high school, my pastor started serving with a Christian camp ministry over the summer. He challenged me to assist him by serving in our community during His absence. Through this I experienced a personal encounter with Jesus and a growing desire to serve my church. I started preaching, and God gave me the opportunity to attend the Faculty of Theology. During student years, I realized that the condition with my shoulder led me further from what I wanted, but closer to what God wanted. For the past ten years I have been serving full-time in three different communities.

God put on my heart a desire to reach my part of the country of Croatia for Christ and start discipleship groups. That eventually led me to serve with Udruga Fokus (Campus Crusade Croatia) together with my wife Ana. I am looking forward to see individuals, families, and the whole society moved to action by the Gospel.

We are honored to be able to serve this way.

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