New citizen receives July 4 gift, a U.S. passport
By MARIA PERVATT • Reader Submitted • July 1, 2008


Just two years ago, on July the 4th, I was happy living in my native land, Costa Rica with my children.

At the time I was convinced that my American dream had come to an end and that going back home with my children was a step to take towards my destiny. I was finally reaching out to a dream that I had held onto for decades.


By now you are wondering why didn't I go back sooner . Well, in life you go on creating circumstances that become roots and before you know you are so rooted in a place that leaving seems almost impossible.

That year two years ago, when the 4th of July rolled around my girls and I were taking a trip to Costa Rica's rain forest. As we traveled, we found many Americans wearing outfits that showed that even though they were far away, they could still celebrate the especial holiday.

My girls and I felt just like they did, we began to remember the 4th activities, the Gallatin Civic Center celebration, the fun, the music and the joy of a colorful day when everyone celebrates the independence of their country.

That day we all had tears in our eyes that were dried up by the wind as we tried to focus on enjoying the beauty of the mountains, the waterfalls and the flowers. They too were colorful.

For me, even though I was happy settling back home, I had to realized my girls and I were missing our America the beautiful.

A month later we were at the Costa Rican International Airport ready to fly north, a two-week vacation was another step to take towards happiness. We had closed our home door in Costa Rica taking a carry-on bag and told everyone, we will be right back. To our surprise we were about to find out that we were taking another step towards our destiny. And this one was for the girls to return home and for me to become a new citizen of a country where I had spent more than half of my life.

As we landed at Miami's International Airport we had to make the one stop that would begin to change my life. The Immigration officer began to take a look at our papers, two American passports, one Costa Rican, a green card with a picture taken right before I landed in the States the first time back in l983.

The officer was about to send me back to Costa Rica, but was moved by my children's words 'saying we are Americans, and she is our mother."

I was allowed back in the country with the condition of getting a new green card. I began to work on the changes hoping to fix things before our return plane ticket expired. But that did not happen. It would take months to replace the card just like it would take months to become a new citizen.

At the time I realized that I must catch my next dream and also thank God for allowing me to make my dream come true of going back to Costa Rica were Aliana, Angelica and I had spent one of the most beautiful seasons of our lives. I also prayed for the strength to start all over again considering the fact that we had as much as many immigrants have when they arrive into a new land.

It's been two years since our destiny brought us back North, giving us the opportunity to catch our next dream, start a new season of our lives, the children went back to public school and did great catching up, they had built up and had plenty of stories to share with their friends. I worked hard studying for the tests to obtain my citizenship, got a job that allowed me to have plenty of time to study and to work on finishing projects that I had left behind here in the U.S.A.

Months later I got to return to my home sweet home in Gallatin, a place where I lived for years and had sold before I went back to Costa Rica. From here I continue working with my nephew's ministry, arranging meetings for him to spread the gospel worldwide and whose testimony is impacting today's youth.

I could not travel out of the country during the U. S. citizenship process, but was blessed to see the world through the eyes of a young man - my nephew - who is out there making a difference touching the hearts of people.

This fourth of July, I got my own personal gift, freedom to travel as I finally received my own beautiful American passport.

Now the next time my girls and I will make that one stop at any immigration office, we all will be proud to say we are citizens of a nation under God and proud to be free to fulfill the purpose of our lives in the United States of America.

We also will continue looking up and thanking God for all he has done in our lives including the hardships and drastic changes.

Today we all believe that our tomorrows can be better then our yesterdays. I personally welcome the joy, responsibility and freedom given by the American citizenship. I am now a new citizen that embraces her own country's ideals, with rights to participate fully in our democracy.

I also appreciate the blessing of being able to belong to a country that has never been united by blood, birth or soil, we are bound by principals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our own interests and teach us what it truly means to be citizens.

I have promised to serve my country beginning with my neighbor, work towards to the building of my community, pray that whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America.

May each one of us enjoy the spirit of citizenship, freedom and liberty for the rest of our lives.


http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... -1/UPDATES