My Citizenship
Living in South America has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I thank God that my parents raised me and my siblings on the mission field in Brasil. The opportunity to live in different places and to learn from folks with different backgrounds has been important to my way of thinking and living. My folks had one way of thinking and doing things, those around me had a different way from my folks and inevitably I ended up with my own way of doing things – kind of a blend of the other two. By living in different parts of the world I’ve found that no one has a corner on “the right way” of doing things. Each person will have some good insight into things on one or two matters – and be completely clueless about something else.
Different cultures face the same issues in different ways. And they often look at other countries and their way of doing things as “weird” or at least “strange”. I’ve never understood why folks refuse to try something new, whether it’s a new food or a new way of doing things. Even just listening to folks and trying to understand “where they’re coming from” can open new insights to your own world.
Often folks ask me “Which country do you like best?” – hoping I’ll choose one or another. My pretty much stock answer is simple: “It depends for what.” Sometimes I like to eat an apple. Sometimes I’d rather have a banana or some grapes. And the same with the countries where I’ve lived and spent significant amounts of my life in. Each one has its own “flavor” and each one has certain elements to recommend it.
What I DO know is that I’m an “American” by birth, a Brazilian by raising and a Colombian by residence. But my TRUE citizenship is in Heaven – and that’s the only one that truly counts in the long run.
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