Resting in faith: Update 23 from Prague

Dear family and friends,

Times of uncertainty seem to loom not only in the world around us, but in our lives as well. It has now been two years since the Russia-Ukraine war began, and the death of Navalny struck a chord with many here in Prague. Anna continues to minister to Ukrainian families and individuals that are making the hard decision of whether to settle here or go back to Ukraine. Josh has a Ukrainian student in his class right now who expressed her gratitude recently that we invited her over for dinner right when the war started and so much was uncertain for her. She has been through quite a journey since then and it has been a joy to see her growth through it all. Anna was really encouraged recently while sharing joint uncertainties about the transition to the US with a close Ukrainian friend who is returning to Ukraine this summer. It seems the call for faith in the midst of uncertainty is all around us; we couldn’t ignore it if we tried!

Anna has been continuing her dance ministry to the Ukrainian community. Her students are well into the semester and have just started working on their pieces for their end of the year performance. The community of women who meet during the classes continue to have Bible study and robust discussions about real life (they recently talked about the story of Joseph and Job and where God is when bad things happen). Did you know that over 384,00 Ukrainian refugees currently call the Czech Republic home? While initial support for refugees was high at 75%, it has declined to about 56% according to a recent news article. This reminded us how important it is to be a welcoming and loving place for families who may not feel as welcomed anymore. Planning is also underway to offer the ‘Ballet and Bible’ camp again this summer. It is a highlight of Anna’s to be able to offer this camp to these beautiful Ukrainian girls.

Anna is really enjoying a unit she is teaching in her Bible class at CISP on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and parables in Matthew.  It has been a good reminder of the upside-down value system of the Kingdom of God.  Lastly, Anna and Abigail are doing a ballet piece together at CISP’s talent show in April. Working on the choreography together has been a huge source of joy for them both!

Josh kicked off the year teaching his Decision Making class. The intensive winter term is special because he sees the students everyday and really gets to know them well quickly. The topic is also naturally conducive to students sharing the deeper challenges and uncertainties of their choices in the near future. This time the students really gelled and Josh made a quick connection with each of them. One wrote in a thank you email right after class, saying that it had been “one of the most interesting and useful courses I have had at AAU.” After the last meeting, Josh took the class out to a restaurant where they had deep conversations that night.  Josh felt it was one of the most meaningful times he has had connecting with a class here. 

Collier and Caleb both attended their middle school dance recently and both Anna and Josh got a glimpse of it from the inside. Though he claims not to be interested in girls, Collier worked really hard to learn some swing dance moves ahead of the dance so girls would dance with him. He did pretty well, confirming that his dance moves are from his mom, definitely not his dad!  BOTH Collier and Caleb danced with Anna, which made her year.  Abigail performed as a snowflake in her January performance of the ballet, The Snow Queen. She worked hard in her role and loved every minute of it; so much like her mom! Joseph loves Pokemon, soccer with friends, using the phrase ‘bruh,’ and is a great companion with Abigail. 

Ministry at the university continues to flourish and Josh is enjoying favor with the administration. His contract just got rearranged so that he would spend more time teaching, researching and working with faculty at the university. Two exciting things recently happened that are a product of Josh’s work since we moved here.  The first was a Tedx talk he gave called “The Three Hidden Schools of Leadership” where he discussed purpose, solidarity and adversity’s role in building leaders. It was filmed and we can send you the link when we get it, if you are interested.

Monument to Milada Horakova, courageous follower of Christ

The second was a new tour Josh developed called the “Prague Cloud of Witnesses Tour”, which highlighted sites that represented Czech followers of Jesus whose faith animated their actions and struggles, many under Nazism and/or communism. In a country that claims to be ‘athiest’ or ‘agnostic,’ there have been so many men and women here who have brought light of the Gospel into dark and uncertain times. It's time people heard that story. Josh had 8 people on his first tour of this kind but hopes to offer more in the near future.

We will return to the U.S. in mid-July and need your prayers for that transitional time. We need prayer for our kids schooling in which there have been complications with the lottery for Metro Nashville schools. We are also praying about a car, what to do about where to live, and work opportunities for both of us. Spiritually, the Lord has provided a peace and grace as we’ve prayed and talked to friends and family about our return.  The theme of a sabbatical, or a period of time for rest and discernment after 5 years of overseas ministry, has continued to surface. We also hope to do some family counseling before and during the transition.  We will send out more specifics about our needs in the coming weeks.   

Blessings and peace,

Josh, Anna, Abigail, Joseph, Caleb and Collier

Dress up like your favorite teacher!