Over six months ago I moved to Prague, Czech Republic, to begin the process of starting a hostel ministry. That’s twice as long as I spent in Israel last year and nearly half the time I spent in Amsterdam in ministry. By the six-month mark at the Shelter in Amsterdam I could call a few people close friends, and leaving Israel after only three months was one of the harder decisions I’ve ever had to make.
I felt like I belonged to something in both Amsterdam and Israel, that I had a place in a community, a ministry. After six months in Prague I still feel like an outsider.
Does that mean I’m not supposed to be here? No, it doesn’t. God has made His will known for this time of my life in many ways. He wants me here. In Prague.
But I do wish I was having an easier time integrating into this very different life here.
What’s up with Prague?
One of the questions I’ve asked myself concerns why I’m struggling here, and part of the answer lays in the work I’m doing at the moment, which is as reception manager at a hostel. Another part of the answer is a lack of easy ministry outlets. The hostel is owned by Godly men, but it’s not a ministry.
The Mosaic House—the hostel ministry my friends and I are starting—is still at least a year away from opening, and I’m having a difficult time working a full-time job and finding other ministry to get involved in. The Czech Republic is considered one of the least religious or spiritual nations in Europe, and there aren’t many English-speaking evangelical churches in Prague, either.
I’m single, male, Christian, over the age of 30, and living in a country where the natives keep you at arms length. As a whole, Czechs are not a warm people, although I’ve also seen amazing examples of generosity.
What’s up with me?
So what’s my problem? I could keep going with why Prague is hard to live in. I can even give examples of the great things I’ve seen in Czech people. Confusing, aren’t I? Culture shock is the easy answer, in one of its many forms.
Another answer is that God wants me to struggle here. A knife is sharpened on stone. An iron blade is pounded into shape on an anvil. Pottery is finished in a super-heated kiln.
Two weeks ago I visited Israel again for a short holiday. I saw friends. I worshipped God with strangers. I sat in the sun. It was the most relaxing time I’ve had in a long while, and I didn’t want to leave.
But I wasn’t challenged, at least not in the way I am here. If I was lazy in Amsterdam or Israel, I could still lead Bible studies and minister to guests and fellow staff members. People would seek me out.
If I get lazy here, there’s no ministry to fall back on. Ministry may not even happen, seeds may not get planted. I have a very different responsibility here, and I’m just starting to learn what that is.
I think I know how that piece of pottery feels in the kiln.
Please pray
You may still have questions as to what kind of ministry the Mosaic House will be, and I will try to send an e-mail soon specifically describing just that. But I will say that it will be a self-supporting business that ministers to guests from all over the world. We want to tell these people about Jesus. We also want to be a light for Christ to the people in Prague. There’s always a need for more Godly business owners.
Please pray for me, Dan, Dave, and Sarah as we work out exactly what the Mosaic House will look like, and pray for them as they make plans to move here at the beginning of 2008. They have a lot to do, and I look forward to having a team here.
And please pray for me as I try to stop waiting for ministry to come to me. I’m not in America anymore where there are churches or ministries on every street corner, and I’m afraid I’ve been hiding my own light under a basket. Please pray that I find the energy and resources to be a part of ministry outside my work time.
As always, thank you for your prayers and support. Forgive me for not keeping in better touch over the last few months.
Your partner in ministry,
Jason McFarland
“...and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
