The Grind and Grace of Reentry: Update 26 (from the US)

Josh teaching (taken by a sneaky student)

Coming back to the US and Nashville after our fullest year of ministry in Prague was a little like going from a sprint into an obstacle course. After visiting family, we moved back into our house in East Nashville (it needed/needs a good deal of work) and emptied our storage unit.  It felt like a time capsule considering when we moved we thought it was only for 2 years! After many challenges with the school system, we enrolled our kids in three schools: Hillsboro High for Collier, MLK Jr. Academic Magnet School for Caleb, and The Covenant School for Joseph and Abigail.

The Covenant School in particular has embraced them and welcomed us in such an amazing way.  We worked on health insurance coverage, unpacked boxes and gave away things we did not need. We reengaged with our church community, Josh reentered his men’s group, and Anna joined a spiritual direction group and our church’s Women’s Bible Study. Thus far, we’ve experienced the generous grace of God through so many dear friends and family.  We feel we are past the initial excitement and have moved into the liminal space of culture shock and discernment of next steps. 

In these six months in the US, our aim is to seek the Lord’s guidance about a return to Prague or a call to be in the U.S. (and the doors that may open here). One theme we have been discussing in our family is “struggling well.” We’ve struggled these five years to live as foreigners, to walk with Jesus in an atheist culture, and now we live in the space of “in-between”- resting in the Lord’s care in the midst of ambiguity. “Struggling well” in the midst of a culture of comfort, convenience, and certainty means, for us, staying open to the options or opportunities before us, paying attention to how God moves in our hearts, looking at the bigger picture, seeking a place our gifts can be used for others, and not running from discomfort.  This week we begin an intentional discernment group through our church.  This group is headed by our rector and made up of people who will ask questions and help us listen more closely to the Lord and where and how he is leading us. We will meet from September to mid-November with this group. Struggling well is about moving forward with the help of others.  

Our kids have been adjusting to life in the US, which has presented both challenges and welcome gifts. Collier and Caleb have had the biggest school adjustment and have been making friends at school, but it is a huge change for them. They went from grades of less than 20 kids to 300+ people in their grade! Not to mention the cultural shifts with individualism, cell phones and more aggressive behavior. We’ve been looking for and pointing them to the good things each day–new friends, good teachers, kind words– and the adjustment has been getting better. Joseph and Abigail jumped right into Covenant and this has been the easiest transition. This community was marked by a tragic shooting in 2023, and we have been amazed at the welcome this school community of parents, teachers, and staff has given us.

Our goal of sabbatical time as we discern next steps is slowly coming into focus. Right now, Anna spends her days getting kids to and from school, working on the house and other logistics, re-making ballet connections here, and spending time with friends. She is really encouraged by longtime friendships here and people that have reached out and provided meals. Josh has two writing projects, one on the impact of spiritual/ religious faith on handling adversity and the other on humor in leadership. He continues to advise students at AAU from afar, supervising theses, and is also one of the judges of a national essay contest about the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in (then) Czechoslovakia. His article on the “ethics of hope” comes out in Leadership this fall. He also is reconnecting and meeting with people to explore open doors here if that’s where the Lord leads.  

Our family is going to spend a week with Tributary Ministries in Arkansas October 3rd-9th for a debriefing. Tributary offers a space for prayer, retreat, debriefing, and coaching to those who serve cross-culturally.  As they put it, “Regular debriefing is not just for reentry but a healthy part of service on the [mission] field.” It will be a time for our family to regroup, process together, and rest. Please pray for us while we are there.  We are so very thankful to our church for enabling us to spend this time at Tributary. 

Prayer requests:

1. Keep praying for our kids, especially Collier and Caleb, to make friends and find some involvement in their schools

2. For our time at Tributary and with our discernment committee: that we would all listen to God’s voice, not the voices of our fears, anxieties, or culture.

3. For rest. Life in Prague was so full of opportunities but we left for the US exhausted and in need of rest. Our time here has been so full of responsibilities that rest has been hard to come by. 

4. For our marriage: good communication, understanding and moving together. 

We are thankful to all you friends and family that have welcomed us back here and look forward to connecting with more of you real soon. More updates to come!

Blessings and peace,

Josh and Anna