Our excitement is building as we near the date to begin training for our launch as missionaries to Croatia. As I write these words, the nerves creep in slowly. I now look at everything around me in light of beginning our mission — how my children interact with others, how well they adapt to change and how quickly they let their guard down with strangers.

At our last prayer meeting, held in a beautiful, grassy park, I watched as my five-year-old son, Levi, set about to make friends in a crowd of strangers enjoying their evening. He is quick to make friends by going up to others and talking to them like he has known them his whole life. He has no fear of rejection or embarrassment; he simply wants to make friends and play.

After a while, he came to me because he was having trouble communicating with a little boy who only spoke Spanish. Levi understands Spanish but doesn’t speak it very well. He quickly asked me how to say, “Do you want to play with me?” I tell him and, without hesitation, he repeated the phrase to the boy and ran off to play with his new friend. I can’t help but think this is what God calls us all to do. Matthew 18:3 says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” As we reach the unreached, we must have a heart like a child. We must have a heart that is not scared of rejection or not being accepted, that only wants to connect and love, make friends without prejudgment, forgive quickly and without holding grudges, and is not scared to look silly while speaking another language.

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