

Standing at the top of Nerudova Street, peering down at the rain-soaked cobblestones and pastel storefronts as the street lights danced like a watercolor painting come to life, I never felt more certain that travel and faith were the most perfect of companions. It was March of 2017, and I was experiencing one of the most difficult times of my life. After six years of fighting to bring home our family’s fourth daughter through adoption from Vietnam, it had finally happened.
She had been with us for three months then, and by everyone’s standards, I should have been experiencing the most glorious and celebrative time thus far. It was truly a miracle that she was finally there to make our family complete, and I was very much aware and happy, but the years of stress and struggle to get me to that day had taken their toll. Emotionally and spiritually, I was in a very bad place. I needed to regroup. I needed to care for myself and find the space to take long deep breaths and endless wandering walks. I needed to re-center. This is how I ended up in Prague on my first solo adventure to Europe.
I found myself on that rain-soaked, most perfect street out of pure intuition … and with fingers crossed in hope of rescue. Following a series of unlikely conversations and memories, I had woken up in the middle of a dark February night with a very clear understanding that I needed Prague. Prague would somehow save me. So I bought tickets immediately, and set off toward something for which I felt my heart longed. What I found was way more than I ever expected.
Now I know this may sound quite strange. How can a city save someone? And if a city really does have that miraculous ability, wouldn’t the more likely location be Jerusalem or Mecca—or on historically faith-filled pilgrimages that pass through cities along the Camino de Santiago in Spain or the Pilgrim’s Way in England? Could it be that profound faith experiences might actually happen in the most unlikely places, too? Might they even occur in the most faithless cities in the world? Come to find out, if you open your eyes and heart to what is deep within, Faith happily reminds over and over again that you can never travel a single step in which she’s not right there, wrapped up in the middle of the journey.