Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a few months since we last sent you news of our lives and work here in the Czech Republic.  Thank you for your patience in waiting to hear from us. 

Attached you'll find our latest newsletter.  We decided to change the newsletter to a new format.  We hope that with the new format you'll still be well informed, enjoy reading the news, and come away with a good idea for what you can pray.  The new name we borrowed from the English translation of the name of our ministry group here in Olomouc; seeing as we had a hand in helping form the group, we hope we can take a little poetic license and use it for our newsletter title.  The name "Krizovatka" means "intersection."  Our ministry team thinks it describes well one of our main goals here- connecting people with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and an eternal, redemptive life, as well as with other people and the rest of God's amazing creation.  In this city, we tread and cross many "paths."  It is our prayer to follow the path God lays out for us- the path Jesus takes- and by the power of the Holy Spirit to be instrumental in helping guide others through many "intersections" to the final one where God stands with open arms.

We pray you've all enjoyed a wonderful winter.  Sarah, Jakub and I are doing well, except for the occasional winter illness we seem to get from and pass onto family and friends here in town.

The last several months have been filled with many things to do and several big transitions in mine and Sarah's life.  Those of you who are parents understand the huge adjustments one has to make at home, at work, and in every aspect of life once a "little one" comes along.  Sarah and I have been doing just that since November, and we know it will likely never stop while he grows.  But what a joy it has been for us to have him in our lives!  Each moment with him is one of God's special blessings.

We've not only been transitioning recently into a new "family" but also a new home (please note our new address in the newsletter).  Just four days before Jakub was born we moved into a different apartment, and in the weeks to follow his birth we finally completed the several-months-long process to find a home and to sign all the paperwork to buy this apartment as foreigners.  It has been quite an educating and extensive experience, and not without its fair share of "hiccups," but we've been happy living here so far and now only need to finish unpacking and making some home repairs.

Our work life has experienced a lot of changes, as well.  With added responsibilities at home, we've had, in some cases, to temporarily reduce our workload in certain areas, and, in all cases, to seek better to make the most of every moment with a person or responsibility because time is even more elusive and precious.  I'm so proud of Sarah for how she seeks a healthy balance in her life.  We are both grateful to our teammates and friends for being understanding of our situation!  Thank you God for strength we never knew we could have!

Through all the chaos, God has faithfully loved, guided and cared for us.  To Him we are very thankful!

We hope you'll be able to read and catch up on what God is doing here, and we thank you so very much for your encouragement and prayers!

God bless,

Joshua, Sarah and Jakub