The Next Steps...

Vulnerability.

Admittedly, that doesn't always sound like a fun concept. No matter how much we care about someone, or are convinced they care for us, the thought of dropping our shields can be a little daunting.

So often, though, it's that very vulnerabilty--the confession of hard truths and difficult struggles--which brings us together.

As a team, we on the Czech trip seem to be entering a new stage in our joint journey. This past week, we shared several sobering prayer requests with one another. These included job concerns, health concerns, ministry concerns, emotional concerns, finanical concerns...yeah, well, just a lot of concerns.

Lest you think our meeting was full of wailing and mourning, it should be noted that one of Taylor's esteemed TESOL professors and several of the Lighthouse leaders visited our team and shared their hearts with us. We celebrated an engagement, learned more about teaching English, and shared a lot of laughs. We also stuffed ourselves silly with brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Yum....

But what was more beautiful still was the fact that we were able to fellowship in our sorrows as well as our joys. We shared brokenly with one another and lifted up one anothers concerns in group prayer. During the next months and our stay in the Czech Republic, we will doubtlessly face more challenges. Life is full of them. But the love, compassion, and yes, that scary word vulnerability, that we're sharing now will bring us through. I'm happy, and so grateful to God, that we're already fellowshiping in a John 13:35 kind of way:

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Now that's a witness we can take world-wide.