If you're like me, talking about your problems, issues and fears comes about as naturally as shaking hands with your left hand (surprisingly difficult and almost always awkward). I'm the type of guy who likes to work things out on my own. If there's a problem at work, I'm going to figure out how to fix it. If there's a weight on my shoulders, I'm going to bear it without complaint. I don't know why—I think it's one of those guy things about not wanting to seem weak in front of others. Regardless, it's just the way I've always been.

My wife, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. If something bad happened at work, we're going to talk about it. If she's got a worry on her heart, we're going to talk about it. If there's even an issue that might be coming up months down the road, we're...

Twenty-three humanitarian workers from a church in South Korea were kidnapped in 2007 in Afghanistan. Two of them, including a pastor, were killed by their Taliban captors. After wrenching negotiations, the remaining workers were freed. They came home—but not to accolades. They were castigated for bringing "shame" on their nation.

In Kenya, 10 short-term mission workers from an affluent Presbyterian church in Dallas were ambushed in the jungle and robbed at gunpoint in 2007. They finally escaped after a terror-filled hour during which their fate was debated by the gunmen.

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