"The officer was about to send me back"

"Free to fulfill the purpose of our lives in the United States of America"

The Tennessean published this story by Maria Pervatt, a new U.S. citizen from Costa Rica, in which she describes her immigration back to Gallatin and subsequent citizenship process. A harrowing close call is tucked in there:

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."
...
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.
...
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.

Photo by Daniel Lobo. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: costa rica, immigrants