Citizenship Celebration
July 16th
Sam Ath Theth from Hope UMC
was one of 400 people who took their citizenship oath at Bethel University.
Her husband Choeng took his oath just a few months earlier. Both came to America
from Cambodia during the 70s
and the “killing fields” era of Cambodia’s
history. They’ve three girls, one boy
and one girl died during their escape from the Khmer Rouge’s reign of death and
terror. An amazing sense of hope filled
the auditorium at Bethel
University. Bethel
literally means house of God, or place where God
resides. And a sense of God’s holy
presence did reside in the midst of all these people with stories and a huge
dream in their lives coming true. One
Japanese man—now American, was waving a small American flag and had on an
American tie. Following the ceremony the
new American Citizens lined up to have their photos taken with the judge who
presided over the proceedings as if he were a great celebrity—and to them he
was, the man who allowed a grand dream in their lives to be fulfilled.
Approximately 100 countries were named as
birth places for the new citizens. Sam Ath is now talking about the privilege of voting for the
first time in the Fall 2008 election and the unusual
feeling of giving up her green card, which had always been proof she could stay
in America. On the journey up to the ceremony she sharing
all she had studied to become a citizen--talking about Abraham Lincoln and the
civil war, the revolutionary war and the 13 colonies, Thomas Jefferson and the
constitution, the dates states were admitted into the union, the purchase of
the Alaska. The pride in her newfound status as citizen
was clear. Plus, I think we who
witnessed the event felt a newfound sense of how fortunate we are. Hope UMC did assist the Theth’s
with studying for the citizenship test and with the nearly $500/person to take
the test.
Pictured above is Sam Ath, her daughter and son-in-law, Joan
Schreiber who with her late husband Lyle sponsored the Theth’s when they
arrived in America and Mel Sanborn who drove Sam Ath
to her citizenship exams and to the July 16th swearing in
ceremony.
