USA Passport
Monday, May 28, 2012 at 1:22 AM May 28, 2012
Awaken ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greetings!
In 1975, our mission-sending board provided 14 weeks of orientation/training for nearly 100 missionaries who would scatter to numerous parts of the world. This training was extremely profitable for me. I was 30 years old and had never set foot outside the boundaries of the United States. One of our classes was devoted to precautions to take while traveling overseas, and we were encouraged to have our American Passports "on our person" at all times. The ladies were instructed to keep purses close to the body. If ever someone tried to snatch the purse, the thief would be deterred in some way from sliding it off the arm easily. There was also an emphasis on the value of an American passport when sold on the black market. That discussion made such an impression on me that occasionally I am awakened from restless sleep because I had dreamed I lost my purse! Although our ultimate destination was French-speaking Togo, West Africa, we were required to spend one year in France for language study. When we arrived at the Charles DeGualle Airport in Paris in late 1975, my French vocabulary was so limited, I hardly knew how to get to the restroom for ladies. Even after language school commenced, when I would try to say an appropriate French word to a French person, they rarely understood me because of hearing French mixed with my American accent. As time went by, we began to make friends. I was surprised to see the absence of dishwashers in French homes as well as many other luxuries we took for granted in the States. Though I had been trained not to be perceived as "the ugly American", I still made judgments and decided about the only things better in France than my homeland was its boulangeries (bread shops) and pastisseries (bakeries). Several months after our arrival in France, my mother and my Aunt came for a visit. These 2 women never dreamed they would ever actually set foot on European soil. They savored every minute of exploring this land they had read about in books or had seen in movies. They had also lived through the days of World War II, longing and praying that peace would be restored to the world. During their visit. we made a trip to the Normandy beaches. Rex and I were awestruck by the sight of the acres and acres of this immaculate American Cemetery situated on French soil and by the uniform rows of white crosses and Stars of David. However, there is no way of describing how the sight of this famous cemetery affected my Mother and my Aunt. They recalled how during the war, they had religiously kept in touch (as much as was possible) with what was going on in Europe by radio and were personally affected by many whose lives were lost not only in Europe but also in the Pacific. Our French landlady was of the same generation as my Aunt and my Mother. She had lived in Nazi-occupied France and her husband sustained fatal wounds during the war. She loved to tell us about standing along side the street with her fellow countrymen, cheering the American soldiers as they arrived in her beloved France. I knew a little bit how she felt as I solemnly stood trying to grasp what I was seeing in Normandy. It made me want to cheer for those whose remains had been laid in those endless rows of white crosses and Stars of David.. It was impossible to comprehend the extensive loss of lives there on the day of June 6, 1944. To our nation's shame, my generation experienced seeing deeply unappreciated men and women return from the war in Vietnam. Our children are seeing men and women serving multiple deployments and loss of life in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today I was deeply moved to see an Uncle struggling to hold back the tears as he told about his nephew, a truly outstanding young man, who paid the ultimate price in Iraq in late January, 2007. I can't describe how I felt when I heard the story of Eduardo Saverin. He is the co-founder of Facebook, and chose to renounce his citizenship rather than pay taxes on Facebook's estimated $96 billion value. I also read that even after long term taxes, he would retain an estimated 85% of his part in this sale. Learning the background made it even harder to understand.The wealthy Saverin family migrated to Miami from Sao Paulo, Brazil, after learning of kidnapping threats on their young son Eduardo. The family was spared the kidnapping and possible loss of his life. This son went on to be educated here and studied at Harvard, ultimately gaining great wealth in America. I related to others when they commented, "It's ungrateful!" or "It's indecent!" The things that I consider to make me truly rich are the heritage of the Christian faith passed on to me by my parents, my good husband, John, Anne, Sarah, Rebekah, Nick and 5 grandbabies, extended family and friends who are like family. I would add that when I hold my American passport, it represents another aspect of life that makes me rich. I pity a man or woman who would trade their American citizenship for "a bowl of pottage". My Memorial Day prayer is that wars and all the suffering related to it cease and peace reign on the earth, Sherry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, June 3, 2012 10:30 am Unstoppable stepping into the book of Acts Pastor Kirk (Meets at Newbury Park Academy Chapel 180 Academy Drive Newbury Park, CA 91320 (Wendy exit off 101, Near Target & Home Depot - Behind Starbucks) www.conejochurch.com kirk@conejochurch.com|rex@conejochurch.com | william@conejochurch.com
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