We are church people (hopefully that’s obviously by now). Each Sunday we track down a local congregation to attend where we spend the day as visitors. Normal LDS culture involves attending church in an assigned time and place with the same people every week. However, being a visitor is actually really easy. The LDS congregations around the world are structured in similar ways, with consistent curriculum and Sunday School Lesson schedules. When visiting a different congregation (ward, in mormon-speak), it is common for visitors to introduce themselves, usually with your name and why you happen to be visiting. In most larger cities, there will be one or two visitors, while most smaller towns there will almost never be one.

We’ve explained ourselves enough times to have figured out that some people want the long explanation and some just want the short. We usually tell people that we are visiting, and are on a long-term road trip with our family. Those that are curious will often ask more and we share more with them, while those not very interested can then move along, happy with our answer. Occasionally we will show up WITH the Airstream and then that generates a whole new slew of questions all by itself.

Our kids have a similar situation each week. In the children’s Sunday school classes (or Primary), visitors are almost always greeted with a short song to make them feel welcome. Most children will experience this once a year or so while visiting family that lives further away. OUR kids get it every week, and they’ve gotten used to it. Even if it’s common for us, it’s a nice way to feel welcome and included. So welcome, in fact, that when I check in on them during class my kids are typically up front singing the loudest.

I really don’t mind talking about our travels, but having an easy answer has definitely helped us introduce ourselves and alleviate confusion. Explaining our situation week after week can get tedious, but we’ve learned to spot those that really would like to hear the whole story. Several times, we’ve been asked lots of questions by a curious family, often planning something similar. We do love to share what we’ve learned and hear about the dreams and plans of others.