Seeing the Invisible: Update #22 from Prague

Josh Hayden
Nov 28, 2023
3 min read

“I’m thankful we moved here,” Caleb said to Anna recently. Caleb went on that say how he’s grown from being exposed to people from all over the world and different cultural perspectives. Our kids have made a major transition here and oftentimes we aren’t sure how exactly it has impacted them individually. But then there are these glimpses that the Lord is doing an invisible work in our children and our family here in Prague.

As winter has arrived in Prague (we got snow today!), we look back on a very busy but beautiful fall. Anna’s ballet teaching and ministry with Ukrainians has been going well. The dancers are working on their Christmas showcase, where they will perform, the gospel will be shared by a team member, and then everyone will make Christmas cookies together. We are really excited about this upcoming event and pray the Lord does mighty things.

For the last three years Josh has led a tour of the Velvet Revolution on November 17th, a national holiday in the Czech Republic called the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy day. It is a really special holiday here: people crowd the streets to remember when 40 years of communism came to an end. This year 32 students and staff at the university attended the tour! Josh shared stories on the tour about how the groundwork was laid (much of it by people of faith) for students their age to take up the torch of freedom and challenge their government. He discussed with students the relationship between truth and hope, and how courage to live in truth comes from finding meaning in something (or someone) bigger than ourselves. A Czech journalist attended this tour as well and wrote an article here.

We have had a bunch of student dinners, including Thanksgiving, at our apartment recently. Students from Serbia, U.S.A., Russia, Italy, and Israel have joined us and we’ve really enjoyed the time with them. These times deepen relationships with students whom Josh often catches in the cafe on campus and after class. We’ve even expanded to hosting recently graduated AAU alumni that still live in Prague. At our most recent gathering one student told Anna how special of a connection she has with Josh as a professor. We have been constantly surprised at how powerful an effect simply opening up our home to students has.

The kids have had a fall full of extracurricular activities. All three boys finished their flag football season with a final tournament that they qualified for and played on the other side of the country. Playing a team sport plus doing it cross-culturally has been a good way for them to grow in learning how to connect and collaborate with kids from a range

of backgrounds. Czech coaching is much different than American coaching, and adapting to a different style has yielded many lessons as well. Abigail is enjoying ballet and taking after her mom in her dedication and passion for dance. On a special note, Anna and Abigail will take the stage together in January for the school’s winter performance of the fairytale “The Snow Queen.” They had their first rehearsal together the other day and it was pretty special for Anna!

Finally, we had some old friends visited from Nashville this fall, which was a huge encouragement to us. They reminded us of our fellowship gatherings, book discussion groups and Bible studies when we first came to Nashville in 2005. It was a wonderful reflection of all that God has given us through the years and how in many ways he has prepared us for where we are now. So many parts of our story have come back to us through friends who have visited Prague. And if you haven’t made it, we would love to see you here!

Many blessings and a meaningful Advent and Christmas season to you,

The Haydens