Finding Sanctuary: Update 13 from Prague

Dear friends and family;

We hope you are having a meaningful Lent. We were very thankful for spring break here this past week. The past 5 weeks have been busy and heavy at the same time. One answer to prayer is that we’ve found a couple who has a silent retreat ministry and does spiritual direction (they go to our church). Anna took a weekend retreat in February and Josh in late March. It was a much needed time to focus on the Lord so that we can continue to serve out of that abundant relationship. Alongside family life, kids’ activities, and university life, caring for Ukrainian and Russian students and families is a consistent part of our weeks. Prague has taken in more than 100,000 refugees and there is a lot of need.

Recently, we hosted our first Ukrainian refugee family in our apartment. A mother and two of her children—Olga, Uliana (15), and Yurii (11)—drove from Kyiv to Prague arriving around 11:00pm on a Friday night. They were incredibly kind but spoke very little English. We stayed up until 2:00am talking with them via Google translate over tea and snacks. They shared with us about the war and what was happening in their home city, including a picture of a school that was bombed right around the corner from where they live. We learned that they also drove from Kyiv with Olga’s other daughter and two grandchildren who were staying elsewhere just outside of Prague, and that Olga’s parents had still not made it out of Kyiv. They taught us the greeting “Slava Ukrajine” to which the reply is “Heroyam Slava” (Glory to Ukraine, Glory to the Heroes). We were inspired by their steadfast hope that things would turn out alright for Ukraine.

Yurii playing Uno with Joseph and Caleb

On Saturday Caleb took the son, Yurii, out to the park to play basketball and introduced him to baseball. It beautiful to see our kids realize that even with a language barrier there are ways to relate, show kindness and find common interests. On Sunday we took them on a walk around Prague’s old town, just the twelve of us. Their family has now found a place outside of Munich and we continue to be in touch. When we said goodbye we realized how much on a heart level we connected.

Anna has volunteered several times at the food tent at the main train station. The area provides food and other services (housing, etc.) for refugees who come off the trains. She was struck by the amount of refugees, and all the volunteers felt they could hardly supply enough food for the number of people passing through. One young pregnant woman came up to get food, and it really hit home to Anna that she was now without permanent home or country. There are also about 10 Ukrainian refugees (women and children) who are attending our church. We are working with other church members to supply their needs as well.

At AAU, Josh was involved in organizing and emceeing an event to support Ukrainian, Russian and Belarussian students. Two things were striking at that event. One was a faculty member, not known for his warmth, that stood up and talked about the students in his classes with tears in his eyes. The other was two Ukrainian students’ (ones we’ve had over for dinner) presentation on Ukrainian history, culture and contribution. Josh couldn’t imagine being a teenager speaking about his homeland with such poise while it is being bombed. After the presentations (there was also faculty commentary) participants went to the campus café where Ukrainian food was served.

Josh with faculty colleagues at AAU's Stand for Peace Ukraine event

One of Josh’s leadership class students, Anna (Russian), has become a champion for helping Ukrainian students and families. She has worked with AAU to create a support website and raise money to help refugees. The kindness, goodwill and generosity of students has brought the whole campus community closer. Even in this terrible situation, we see God’s common grace everywhere.

We appreciate your prayers for the students and families here and for us as we take these opportunities to continue to host and assist students. As one student told Josh recently, “as we entered your home, we felt immediately calm.” Now that’s a miracle! The blessing is always a two-way street. Thank you for the many who have reached out in generosity and concern.

As we continue to journey towards Holy Week, we leave you with the chorus from the hymn we sang this morning: “Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”

The Haydens