song came to my mind — “Fear Is a Liar.” I started to say
these words over and over in my mind and then softly
in a whisper. “Fear, you are a liar. Leave me alone. Fear
you are a liar.” Well, God heard me, and I suddenly had
a peace come over me, and all those feelings of fear just
left, and I sat there calmly waiting my turn.
Suddenly a man came through the door who had never
appeared previously and called my number! “Where did
he come from?” I thought.
Anyway, I followed him, apologized for hardly having
a voice at all, and went into his office. He was so kind.
He asked me a few questions about myself, took my
picture, etc., and then said, “Let’s do this little test. Who
is the president?” All right. President Trump. “Where is
the capital of Florida?” Tallahassee. “When do you have
to file income taxes?” April 15. Then he said. “Oh, you
know this stuff. You’re good.” I know I was shocked, and I
remember thinking: Lord, this is so easy! He then closed
my file and said, “You will be getting a notification for
your swearing-in ceremony in about a month.” He told
me how nice it was to meet me, shook my hand and
walked me out of the room to the entry.
I believe with all my heart that man was an angel. He
was not in the rotation of other immigration interviewers
that day while I waited from 1 p.m. until 4:20 p.m. In his
presence, all my symptoms of illness were gone, and the
ease and miracles of my interview were unparalleled.
I was sworn in as an American citizen Sept. 13, 2019.
All glory be to God.
Emily: Why did your church open a legal clinic?
Linda: There were so many people in our community
that needed help. People were having difficulty with
the forms, not knowing where to go, not knowing the
language. We felt that there was an opportunity to
minister to our community.
pg. 28 — lightandlifemagazine.com
Emily: What has helped you connect with immigrants?
Linda: Our experiences as immigrants have helped
us relate to other immigrants. Shortly after we moved to
the USA, my grandmother died. We were very close and
I wanted to go to her funeral, but I could not go because
our paperwork had not yet been finalized. We could not
cross the border. It was a very sad experience, yet it is
one that I often share with immigrants who are new to
America.
Emily: How has COVID-19 impacted immigrants in
your community?
Linda: Right now my three adult daughters are in
the process of getting citizenship. They have all used
the Community Bridge. Due to COVID-19, their LPRs
lawful permanent resident status expired before their
citizenship could be finalized. Therefore, they had to pay
to renew their LPRs in addition to paying for the process
for naturalization. Additionally, the limbo has created
stress. Not knowing when the next step will take place
is difficult.
Prayer + Practice
Linda’s story reminded me of two ways we can, right
now, support immigrants. Many immigrants are on
the cusp of citizenship; however, their process has
been paused, postponed and extended. If you know an
immigrant in this process, call them and pray with them.
Keep in touch with them and continue to pray for them.
Offer to help them practice the questions for their exam.
These are all things that you can do with as much social
distancing as is needed. Anyone can do this. You do not
have to be licensed, recognized or experienced.+
Emily Fontenot is the
communications director for the
Immigration Alliance of which
the Free Methodist Church – USA
is a founding member. She has a
balanced mixture of professional
experience in nonprofit management
and personal experience in church-based
multiethnic ministry. She
originally wrote this article for
the alliance’s blog from which it is
republished with permission.
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