Czechia
Christians give ‘three times the widow’s mite’ to heal Albania
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Burned-out missionaries plant a garden of refuge
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OLOMOUC, CZECH REPUBLIC — Mitch Anderson needed a break.
For 13 years, the Arkansas native had served as a missionary in the Czech Republic, once part of the communist bloc nation of Czechoslovakia.
While most of the landlocked Central European country’s neighbors have strong Catholic or Orthodox ties, nearly three-fourths of Czechs do not identify with any religious group, according to the Pew Research Center. Only 29 percent say they believe in God at all.
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Anderson was part of a seven-person church- planting team that formed at the University of Arkansas and committed to five years abroad. He had stayed nearly a decade past that, even as the last of his teammates returned to the U.S. two years earlier. A few other families had visited, potentially to take over the work, but none had stayed long-term.
The Church of Christ that the team formed had about a dozen worshipers left. By 2019, the burden of guiding a young church through the influences of its highly secular society had become painful, said Anderson’s wife, Monika.
Mitch and Monika Anderson
“I was like, ‘I’m done,’” Monika said. While not ready to leave Olomouc, she said, “I was close. But Mitch is very faithful.”
Mitch met and married Monika, a native of neighboring Slovakia, during his time in Olomouc. They had two children and a house. They loved the community.
“The idea was to go into it open to whatever God may show us, whether it was to keep doing what we’re doing and just make some changes, or whether it was time to go to another place or go another direction.”
They took a sabbatical, focusing on reflection, planning and lots of prayer.
“The idea was to go into it open to whatever God may show us,” Mitch said, “whether it was to keep doing what we’re doing and just make some changes, or whether it was time to go to another place or go another direction.”
Much-needed Barnabas moments
Gary and Frances Green served as their sabbatical coaches. The former veterinarian and his wife planted churches in Venezuela for eight years before moving to Texas. There, Gary established the WorldWide Witness program at Abilene Christian University and prepared more than 700 students for cross-cultural work. Now based in Colorado, the Greens specialize in missionary care. They work with Barnabas International, a nonprofit that takes its name from the first-century Christian who was called “Son of Encouragement.”
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which put extra stress on the Andersons and their young children, the couple received encouragement from the Greens via online sessions. They also participated in a “debrief,” Mitch said, “to lay our story out, share all the struggles and all the difficulties.”
Gary and Frances Green
When the couple first reached out to the Greens, “they were running on empty — emotionally and spiritually,” Gary Green said. “Unfortunately, this is far too common among global workers.”
In non-pandemic times, the Greens use their home in Colorado to host debriefings. The Andersons worked with another debriefer who housed guests at a facility on the island of Cyprus — the birthplace of Barnabas himself. The setting contributed to the sense of restoration, the couple said.
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Later in their sabbatical, the Andersons spent time with Monika’s parents in Slovakia. One evening, as they walked with their son, Sam, in a stroller in hopes that he’d fall asleep, they began “dreaming and talking,” Mitch said.
Monika said, “We have a house that we love. I love to host. Mitch, you like to listen.”
“It would allow us to be here, to use what we have already and to still be connected with the people here, even if we didn’t feel like we would keep leading them, keep having that on our shoulders.”
Why not start a ministry to serve other burned-out international workers the same way they’d been served?
“It would allow us to be here, to use what we have already,” Mitch said, “and to still be connected with the people here, even if we didn’t feel like we would keep leading them, keep having that on our shoulders.”
Building an oasis
The burnout began to fade, replaced by new energy.
As the pandemic dragged on, the Andersons remodeled an apartment adjoining their home into guest quarters. They dubbed it “Garden Refuge: A Place of Rest and Renewal for Global Workers.” Mitch earned certifications in mission care and counseling and trained in assessment, coaching and leadership.
Olomouc’s Caesar Fountain depicts the Roman emperor astride his horse above river gods Morava and Danubia.
The end result: Caretakers, a ministry that offers debriefing, transition support, stress assessment and spiritual formation retreats. Monika, who has degrees in physical education and social work, offers fitness and nutrition training for their clients.
Their home, Olomouc (pronounced “Oh-loh-moats”), is a city of about 102,000 in the Czech Republic’s eastern Moravian region. Highly walkable, the historic Old Town brims with arches, architecture and art, including a town hall with an astronomical clock. At noon, a parade of characters — miners, bakers, auto workers and even a volleyball player — parade across the clock for seven minutes as a rooster announces the time.
Nearby stands the Holy Trinity Column, an 18th century Moravian baroque creation of Václav Render, encrusted with ornate sculptures meant to celebrate the church and faith.
Since the summer of 2022, international workers have traveled from across Europe, Asia and the Middle East to Olomouc to stay at the Garden Refuge. In the months before launching the Caretakers ministry, the couple housed refugees from Ukraine in the apartment.
The backyard garden at the Andersons’ Garden Refuge brims with lavender, mint, mother’s breath, black currant, raspberries, blackberries, cloves and strawberries. Tomatoes grow in an area behind the swing set.
“Garden Refuge” is more than a name. In their backyard the Andersons have planted an expansive garden with tomatoes, basil, lavender, carrots and berries from blue to goose. There’s also a playground. The couple encourages their guests to spend time gardening — a restorative act.
It’s also an apt analogy for the Caretakers ministry, said Joshua Beall, a member of the Robinson & Center Church of Christ in Conway, Ark.
At a breakfast gathering, Sam Anderson points to tomatoes grown in his family’s garden.
“Anyone involved in full-time ministry for a lengthy period of time knows how easy it is to overlook your own needs and the needs of those in your home in order to try to meet the needs of others in your ministry,” said Beall, who served with his wife, Sarah, on the Olomouc team from 2006 to 2017. “You have to feed and water yourself sometimes so that you might be able to feed and water others.
“What Mitch and Monika are doing is inviting people to an oasis, providing them a refreshing drink and showing them how to stay near the water source while making trips away to serve others.”
‘We got our joy back’
Albert “Bubba” Cook, a longtime missionary in Romania, began a three-month sabbatical with coaching and debriefing by the Caretakers ministry.
At Garden Refuge, “I felt the Lord saying with grace, over and over, ‘I see you,’” Cook said in his review of the ministry. “Mitch and Monika provided authentic and meaningful guidance pointing me to Christ again. …
“Your care and guidance are the sweet smell of God’s grace in the plum blossoms in Hejcin Meadows,” he told the couple, referring to a walking path near the apartment.
Albert and Lavinia Cook
The Andersons are renovating another part of their home, formerly a rental unit, to accommodate more guests and provide rooms for debriefings and exercise. Last fall, Cook and his wife, Lavinia, took part in the Caretakers ministry’s seven-week fitness and nutrition challenge.
The Andersons host occasional gatherings for the Christians they’ve served during their time in the Czech Republic. The fellowship is sweet, and the burdens seem lighter, the couple said.
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Reflecting on the Andersons’ sabbatical, Gary Green said, “It was a joy to walk with them until they once again heard a sense of call from the Father. Now, instead of serving from emptiness, they graciously overflow with life to others.”
Or, as Monika put it, “We got our joy back. It helped us so much.”
Garden Refuge includes a common area for reading, reflection and prayer.
She prays that, through Caretakers, they can help other missionaries stay committed to planting and cultivating their small gardens — even for just a bit longer — when they’re ready to say “I’m done.”
“Or,” her husband added, “to help them not get to that point in the first place.”
Website: caretakers.cz
ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact [email protected], and follow him on X @eriktryggestad.
