Culture, Communism and Crossroads

Written by Erica S — Interning in the Czech Republic

We made it! The first week here in the Czech Republic has been very interesting. We have been able to learn a lot about the culture and the ministry that is happening here at Križovatka Centrum (Crossroads Center).

There is so much history all around, the buildings, museums, and people, all have incredible stories. Thanks to one of our host missionaries, Jim, we have been able to learn more about some of what has happened here in the past several hundred years.There are so many factors contributing to the current spiritual state of this country. This nation is one of the most atheistic in the world, part of that is due to the reign of communism. However, they are an extremely intellectual group of people. They have over a 99% literacy rate. Czechs are always seeking to learn and most of them either know or are in the process of learning English. This culture creates a great place for a ministry like the Križovatka Centrum. The current main function is the library. They have tons of Chrisitan resources in both English and Czech. It is a connection point for Czechs seeking English resources to come in contact with the Gospel. It has been incredible to hear some of the stories of people whose lives have been so deeply impacted by this ministry. We are constantly reminded of the faithfulness of the Father and how he has been moving here in Prague for so long. So far, our time at the library has consisted of cleaning and organizing to help prepare for the next phase of the expansion. We have also started to learn some of the more technical operations that go into running a library. Please pray for the Czech people, that they would have open hearts to the Gospel and that opportunities would arise for Jesus to be proclaimed. Please pray for Križovatka Centrum and the work they are doing here as well as their future plans for expansion.