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leave that ship very soon I never would. Then I would live a life of compromise and defeat. I think this was my last call regardless of how much time the world has.”
“You do know that you are leaving this luxury and comfort for great hardship, don’t you?” I asked.
“Yes, I do know that. It may be more difficult than I think, but I have been reading the classics, the great messengers of the Lord in history. They all lived a very different life than we were living on that ship. The more I read about the lives of the great saints the more I questioned everything we were doing and teaching. I could not bear it any longer. The captain was right. I would have caused discord if I had stayed. I have to make this journey or I will never be at peace,” the young officer confided.
“You have done the right thing,” I said, “but it will hard. How about the people who followed you, do they know what they are getting themselves into?”
“They were all part of a group we started called ‘The Society of Bonhoeffer,’” the young officer said.
“I guess that says enough,” I replied as we entered the wilderness. I noticed that he did not even look back at the ship.
    The young officer and I had not gone very far before it became too dark to proceed. We found a stream of the living water nearby, refreshed ourselves, and went to sleep. When we woke we drank from the stream, prayed, and then started down the path at a quick pace. It took us much longer than I expected to catch up to the group from the cruise ship that had gone before us.
    The group had not only pressed ahead with resolve, but they had not drifted from the path. None had wandered off alone and gotten lost. I had not done that well when I was alone and was impressed with them. I was relieved that this seemed to be a group that would not need micromanaging.
    When we got to the group, they were exhausted but cheerful. I asked if they had found water or food. A smart looking middle-aged man with a designer haircut said they had not. They were thirsty, maybe more thirsty than they had ever been. I knew this would be good for them. Now they would really appreciate the living water.
    I asked the man who had answered me for his name. He only gave his first name, William. I then asked if he had a wife. He said that he was no longer married, and volunteered that his wife had left him. I expressed my condolences, and then asked if that was why he came on this journey. His reply was illuminating.
“I would not say that her leaving me had nothing to do with it,” he answered, “but I think she left me more because I had lost my vision, my purpose, more than just for another man. My life had become empty, and I was becoming bitter. I don’t blame her for leaving me. I did not even like myself until I found this group.”
“So how did you learn about this path?” I inquired.
“Some of these here saw how empty and alone I was and asked me to come to their little fellowship. I was so desperate at the time that I would have tried anything, so I went. They talked about the dreams some had of a mountain that was like the mountain of the Lord. They believed we were called to that mountain. I thought it was all foolishness at first, but there was more life in their foolishness than I had experienced in a long time, so I kept coming to the meetings. Finally, I decided that it would be better to die seeking that mountain than to live the way that I had been living. I got caught up in their vision. It may be foolishness, but I have hope again like I have not had for many years. I know now that the greatest treasure I could ever find is purpose, and now that I have it again I would rather die than lose it.”
    I surveyed the group and could tell that William was very different from the rest. He was obviously not just a professional, but likely a high achiever. Feeling that he had more to say I asked him to continue, so he did:
“I have also come to love these people like my own