Our story
One of the common passions we have in our marriage is impacting college students' lives. While Josh has worked directly on four different college campuses now, God has given us both long-term relationships and impact on people we first met while they were in college. We’ve been in weddings, had countless meals, traveled, and walked with these friends since their college days. For Josh, many of the relationships that were first built in the classroom ten years ago carry on this day. Josh met one of his best friends, Rusty Goodsell, while he was a student over 20 years ago. Anna has taught ballet at Vanderbilt University and developed significant relationships that continue today.
Imagine that same influence and impact in a country where only 29% of people say they believe in God (as opposed to 80% in the U.S.) (Pew Research Center, 2016). That is the Czech Republic. Other research suggests that the metaphysical outlook developed in the college years has a long-term impact on whether someone embraces faith. Universities can be even darker places spiritually than the general public. We believe we are called to be light in the dark place of a university setting of one of the most atheistic countries in Europe.
We love the C.S. Lewis question through one of his characters in Til We Have Faces, “Why must dark places be holy places?” Dark places are holy places, they are where God works, and we know this in countless ways. We are going to join God in what He is already doing in Prague. We have been connected to many followers of Christ in Prague since we started exploring this move. We believe in Christ’s presence in the community of believers and know that whatever work we do while there needs to be grounded in community.
As we were considering this vision, we encountered the work of Global Scholars. We read the vision, “that one day every student, colleague, university, and discipline will have Christian professors who communicate the truth, goodness, and beauty of Christ in the power of the Spirit for the flourishing (shalom) of society as they serve Christ in global higher education.” Wow, that's our vision too! So we applied and were appointed in the fall of 2018. Since then, Global Scholars has helped and encouraged us in making contacts and preparing to answer God’s call overseas.
We also believe that in this calling God has a special plan not only for us, but for our children. We want our kids to know the Jesus who is global and loves people of all cultures and tribes. We want to see transformation in the life of our family so that we, together, can express the love of Christ to others in our community. It might be one of our greatest challenges while we are in Prague to co-labor with Jesus in nurturing growth in grace and love.
