Many years ago on a mission trip to Central America, I experienced for the first time a culture that was very different from my own. Our team landed at the airport, went through customs, and discovered that our host had not yet arrived to pick us up. In the unfamiliar surroundings we felt alone and anxious. None of us spoke Spanish or knew where we were supposed to go. I remember pacing back and forth in the airport with one of our team members, praying and talking out what we should do if no one came to meet us. Eventually Steve, our missionary host, showed up—to our great relief!

That experience reminds me that there is always a measure of anxiety and uncertainty when we step across cultural and ethnic boundaries, whether it’s in our neighborhood or in a neighboring country or overseas. We become vulnerable—and for many of us that can feel uncomfortable. Yet, as I also learned on that first mission trip, when we take that step, we open ourselves to new relationships, learning opportunities, and experiences that can change our lives for good in many ways.

Most of all, we discover that when we embrace Jesus’ Great Commission to us in Matthew 28, his words also become more real to us than we might imagine: “Surely I am with you always. . . .”