Calling Has No Borders

Written by Justin — Serving in Berlin & Prague

I used to believe that following Christ required being loud and high-energy. I believed there wasn’t a place in God’s kingdom for my reserved personality and love of curling up with a book instead of spending each day at social events. I saw the mountaintop highs of faith being celebrated around me, but felt a tugging in my heart for the so often overlooked steady faithfulness in the valleys. During my time at Crossroads Center in Prague, God reaffirmed my desire to serve through “mundane” means and shown me that my gifts and skills have a place in the work he is doing in Europe.

I spent many of my days at the library in an office processing book donations: evaluating their suitability for the collection, entering information into databases, copy-cataloguing, editing online records, etc. I loved learning from Laurie Barnes’ library science knowledge, especially regarding the challenges of running an international library in a multilingual community. Seeing my work not only allow the long-term missionaries more time to connect with patrons, but serve the library and create more opportunities for community engagement felt amazing.

While I love the technical side of library work, my favorite moments this summer came from exploring how a library’s physical space can be used and how the Gospel can be proclaimed by bringing the community into the library. In a culture with a literacy rate of almost 100%, books (especially English books) provide a unique opportunity for building relationships in Prague. I remember one day talking with Laurie and another intern about how a patron walking into the library creates Gospel sharing opportunities. Two minutes later, a young woman walked in and we found ourselves in a conversation on religion and searching for meaning in a higher power. Even though many Czechs claim to be atheist (I only met three or so adult Czech Christians during a month in Prague), their God-sized hole longs for Christ.

Though the church in Prague is small, meeting believers and hearing their stories was a huge highlight of my summer. I attended a young professionals’ Bible study in English as the only native English speaker. Seeing people from 5+ countries discuss issues facing Christians today in their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th language was a surreal experience. One evening, I went for a hike with a German guy in student ministry. We spoke German for three hours, and the questions he asked will probably stick with me for years even if I never see him again.

Aside from working with the missionaries, the most impactful connection was with a sweet Czech-Slovak couple who ran the English camp I volunteered with during my last week. God brought them to the library by a crazy coincidence right as they were starting their ministry in Prague a year ago. God connected me to them via two boys who came to faith through their ministry and will attend my university as freshmen in the fall. Seeing God bring them, the library, and an American team together for their first English camp in Prague was so special. That’s what Crossroads is all about: being a place where God connects people.