Welcome to Canada! - Ramona Heikel

This month our Canada Day celebrations put us in the spotlight, so we look out to the world and say “Welcome to Canada!” And each year, many new Canadians who do feel welcome take part in the citizenship ceremony on Canada Day, which excites me, because I believe each one enriches a community in this country.

I feel fortunate to be surrounded at work by men and women who have come from all over the world to live here. It is interesting to learn about their native lands, and the customs, religion and foods, which they frequently share with us. I also am happy to meet newcomers in my neighbourhood, but am sad to see that many are not finding life as easy as my co-workers. Many struggle to learn English so they can find work and help their children adjust to school and a new home.

But even though it isn’t much, I have been able to help neighbours, coworkers and friends to learn English as their second language. It has been a joy to practice English as we share our lives, review grammar or spelling for an email or resume, work on homework, discuss Canadian laws and culture, and even write letters to government agencies. I thank God for bringing us together because they give so much to my life.

As an avid reader and educator, literacy is important to me, and I applaud the many volunteers and organizations that assist newcomers to Canada. Thank you, Calgary Public Library, for your free literacy programs. Thank you, too, Calgary READS, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, YMCA LINC Program, and ESL Cooperative Ministries. As a writer, one way I have attempted to support new citizens and organizations like these is by writing articles or blog posts, but I’d like to do more. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

As a Christian, I am also aware that God is at work in the lives of Canada’s newest citizens, delivering many from difficult circumstances. My prayer is that through all of us, He will draw each one to himself, and help them thrive, not only culturally, socially, economically, but most importantly spiritually.

Being Canadian - Karen Toews

My daughter, her husband, and three children recently moved back to Canada after living in the U.S. for 11 years. Work and adventure took them there, and in part, those same reasons have brought them home. They're living with us for the summer so I have a day-by-day view of their initial transition back to our land of "the strong and free". Observing their adjustments, revisiting my history of over 50 years in Alberta and four in Nova Scotia, considering present day world events, and looking ahead to Canada Day are all timely prompts for me to ponder some points on Being Canadian.

- traveling through the U.S. – Canada border, stopping at the Canadian immigration. With their documents in hand, my daughter and son-in-law answer questions regarding citizenship and the value of their household and other worldly goods. No vehicle search, no stress, no “fight or flight” stomach flutters. Pixel the cat sleeps through the whole procedure.

- driving from Alberta to Nova Scotia - we made this trek two times in one year. Provincial boundaries are marked by welcoming information centres, not security checkpoints.

- disputing labour struggles are managed by discussions, strikes and maybe government intervention – citizens don’t (usually) act out their frustration by drawing a gun.

- finding a new church family – our choice and privilege. No government dictation or registration required.

- researching online Canadian shopping - time consuming but cheaper than U.S. shipping costs.

- declaring Canadian residency and citizenship entitles you to health care.

- shopping in superstores, independent shops, outdoor markets. Abundance abounds.

- hiking, cycling, running, kayaking, boating, back-pack camping – all of these family activities can be enjoyed without fear of buried landmines and guerilla terrorists.

- having the wherewithal and desire to do so is all that’s required to live most anywhere in Canada. Deportation is not an issue. We are citizens, we belong.

- writing personal stories, or kudos and criticisms, expressing controversy, opinions about religion, politics, current affairs – we have freedom to speak without fear of late night footsteps and a knock on the door.

- working, learning, progressing, or "chilling" - we have choices, we have opportunities.

- enjoying favor from other nations is what we reap from our forefathers, our war veterans, and our "conservative" nature.

- being thankful and living responsibly - that's how I want to Be Canadian.

Crossing the Border - Ramona

“What papers do you have to show us that we should let you back into Canada?”

I was so surprised at the question, I could only stare at the Customs and Immigration officer.

For twenty years I’d been traveling back and forth from Calgary to the States to visit family, and never once had anyone asked me that question. My United States passport had always allowed me to cross borders before. Now things were changing, she explained, and I should become a Canadian citizen.

In 1985 when I moved to Calgary, dual citizenship was not allowed by the U.S. Apparently, though, this was no longer the case. Never one to take someone else’s word for it, I wrote a letter to the U.S. Consulate in Calgary. He assured me that as long as I had no intention of disloyalty, I would retain my American citizenship if I became Canadian.

The scriptures mention spiritual citizens: all who trust in the payment for our sins by the innocent son of God have a heavenly citizenship. It is a good exercise for me to think about issues of nationality from both political and spiritual perspectives:

• The personalized letter from the U.S. Consulate mentioned loyalty. Whose laws do I obey, and of what kingdom am I a servant? I can be governed by my family’s and friends’ moral philosophies or the teachings of the “experts”. But I do well to daily remind myself of the timeless, reliable principles of my spiritual country as found in the Bible, which include daily personalized communication with the king.

• More than a year before the citizenship exam I was given a study booklet, but it sat unopened until a month before the test. My Bible is a study guide for living my life, and I would be better off to learn from it consistently, rather than only reach for it during a crisis.

• Part of the application process for citizenship involves having a guarantor who has known me for many years, who will testify that what I wrote was true and my photo is actually me. I wonder, when I am standing before him, if God will ask the people I know to vouch for me, and guarantee that I am the kind of person I claimed to be, and that I lived the faith I wrote about.

• What “passport” will I present to enter my spiritual country? Teaching Sunday school, leading Bible studies and serving food to the homeless will not be enough, and I’ll be asked about my birth. I’ll explain that I was physically born in Colorado, but fifteen years later, I was spiritually born at a Campus Life meeting as I prayed a prayer of faith in Jesus, and by that I was adopted into God’s family.

In January 2008, I became a Canadian citizen (and just got my passport a week ago!). So maybe I can say that I am not just a dual-citizen, but a triple-citizen!

Posted by Ramona Heikel

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