We may be able to blend into an Irish crowd without too much trouble, but once we open our mouths there’s no doubt about where we’re from!
One lady heard me (Seth) talk and said: “where did you come from?” When I answered “America”, she said “I knew that – what state?”
I also recently met some teens who’d been drinking and it wasn’t long before they said “hey – you’re from America!” which was quickly followed by: “are you a gangster?”
Usually, it’s hard to tell exactly what people are thinking when they see (or hear) that we are American. Most folks are curious and tell us about relatives they have there or times they have visited. Others seem wary of us. The danger is that people could think that the message we present is American – something new and foreign – when in reality it came to Ireland first! Please pray for wisdom for us to be able to clearly communicate the good news without cultural differences becoming a barrier.
We pray you will be shining lights in Ireland. Sad for the reputation the U.S. has now! We are all missionaries whether here or abroad!
Darleen Creath (Church of Wildwood)
I love it!!!–“What state?” I totally get that you don’t ever want to assume you can just say “Virginia” . . . you never know!!!! I experienced that plenty in Korea!!!
Hey–there’s this girl over here–you might know her–she’s convinced she’s coming to visit you–TOMORROW 🙂
Take care and have fun being tourists!