Merry Christmas USA

On December 10th the United States received an early Christmas present when Glen and 205 others became citizens of this lovely country!



As we left our home Wednesday morning we were greeted by flags and signs in celebration. The Bishopric or our ward borrowed the flags and put the signs declaring the citizenship change on our fence. We have some of the greatest neighbors around!



These sweet girls (with the help of their mother) brought over a congratulatory cake. We received many calls and visits to wish Glen best wishes and congratulations. He told me he was surprised by all the attention this has brought him. I tried to remind him of the great honor it is to be admitted to this amazing country (I'm not biased at all! Ha, Ha!).

We arrived in Salt Lake City at 8:30am for the ceremony we were told would begin at 9:00. However they wanted to give one final reminder of the waiting involved in this long process by starting at 10:00am. It began by opening the session of court, followed by a flag ceremony, some patriotic songs, and then the official swearing in of the 206 new citizens. The participants (from 55 countries) all sat together with friends and family sitting separately in the balcony or back of the theater.

After the swearing in a microphone was passed to allow the new citizen to express their thoughts and feelings. Ten men and women shared with us the events that led to their arrival here and their immense gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of this great country. Many of them thanked a Heavenly Father for the opportunities and direction that brought them here. One women shared a brief part of her experience surviving and escaping from Ruanda where she watched 13 members of her family killed, leaving only her and her sister which were separated and found years later. One young man was excited to enlist in the military and defend this country he loved and believed in. A woman from Iran expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to be educated and live with equality. A woman from Brazil shared that her husband, an American, could not be there to witness her great joy because he was serving in his third tour of duty in Iraq. Although she missed him her pride for him and the country he defends far out weighed her grief.

Following these "US testimonies" the judge gave his concluding remarks were he encouraged participation by voting, learning English, and being the best person you can be. The entire ceremony was very reverent and special. It made me wish every citizen born here could participate and be reminded of the great privileges we sometimes take for granted. I love the United States of America and I thank my lucky stars to be a citizen and live in the land of the free!