AMERICA - God Shed His Grace on Thee!

It's Official!   Sione is a Naturalized CITIZEN of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!  He laughingly said, "Now I'm Americonga!"  We have a new birthdate in our family!  A new birth of freedom and responsibility on this March 18th, 2009 for our Dad!  Freedom to Vote!  Freedom to apply for a United States Passport!  Responsibility to bare arms when asked!  Responsibility to Vote!  Responsibility to participate on jury duty and the like!  Oh, the BLESSINGS we have!

WHAT A GREAT DAY!  There is nothing like the wonderful feeling of patriotism that comes while being with those who RAISE THEIR RIGHT HAND and are taking and have just taken the Oath of Citizenship in this great country!  Sione was sitting only 4 rows in front of us.  He had on his dark blue suit with a white shirt and red tie.  He looked the part!  As he stood, he looked TALLER! (He says that is because all the people around him were so SHORT!)  From where I was sitting I could see his HUGE hand perfectly!  He raised it LOUD and PROUD!  He has been very respectful, but has WAITED PATIENTLY to say the Pledge of Allegiance for the FIRST TIME - TODAY!  (A personal choice.)  TEARS were glistening from all of us!  We listened to a lovely rendition of The Star Spangled Banner and heard two short essays by two 5th Grade boys.  

The Honorable Judge was himself a naturalized citizen of America.  At age 14 he was working along side his father as a migrant farm worker.  They landed on a farm in Franklin Idaho.  When the farmer found out his age, he told him that he was welcome to work on weekends and after school, but he was not welcome to work when school was in session.  That was the turning point for this Federal Judge.  His schooling took him to Utah State, then on to the University of Arizona and while at Law School realized that he could not take the Bar Exam unless he was a citizen.  So, he went to work to fix that.  Now he is a Federal Court Judge and loves to participate to help others as he was once helped.  He respectfully told his story in short detail, and then left the time for those who had just taken the Oath of Citizenship to tell a bit about what they were feeling.

Americans Old and Young (in more ways than one) turned on their tears for what we heard!  A young Chinese girl was thankful that she would now have an American passport and travel home to help her father get out of jail for something that he didn't do.  Without the American Passport, she would never have the chance to help him, or a chance to leave there after trying.  An elderly Bosnian woman who was thankful for America a place of PEACE!  (Wow!  I would love to hear more of her story!)  A middle aged Cuban man that was thankful for the opportunity to TOUCH a Bible at age 30 upon arriving in America - something he was NOT allowed to do before coming here.  An Elderly Pakistani Woman that was thankful for the Rule of Law of America!  The opportunity to live with people that treated each other with kindness and respect.  Even the great chance to speak in a public setting - even invited to - when she was just as regular as the next person.  A young Argentine woman who was thankful her daughter would have a chance to grow up and go to great schools and have a chance like the judge.  A Bolivian Grandmother that had finally fulfilled her father's dream to come to The Land of Promise and  become a citizen here.  She has been taught all her life that America will be Great as long as She is GOOD.  That America will cease to be GREAT when she ceases to be GOOD!  An Australian born Asian was a fun speaker that joked about his culture, but the delight of being an American Citizen since his son was born in America.  A New Zealand lady that had her Dream come true after a visit to Disneyland when she was 11.  From that moment, she realized that she wanted to have what America has to offer.  

Yes!  198 people from 60 countries were made citizens today in Salt Lake City.  

As we entered the theatre, a hispanic teenager became the unofficial door holder.  I quickly figured out that he hadn't intended to stand by the door holding it open for the throngs of people entering the building, and so I let him know that we would take our turn.  He said, "Oh no worries!  I can get back in line with my family easier than you can, so I'd be happy to do it." For just under an hour I wrangled Seneti while we were waiting to enter the Theatre.  We were lined up numerically next to a sweet hispanic family.  They were watching the different needs of people around them and helping out in any way they could.  It was genuine brotherhood at its best!  As I spoke a little more to them, they told me that it was their Mother that was receiving her citizenship.  They were just acting as she had taught them.  Seneti was very worked up by the time we settled into our seats.  This same family helped entertain her during the ceremony.  

What the World Needs Now is an Attitude of Gratitude and an eye for all the good that is going on in this old world around us!  We have some very grateful people going to bed tonight!

Thank you America for being so generous!  Thank you America for allowing these huddled masses yearning to be free to find a freedom that was not their birthright!  There is much that is right about America!