Let Freedom Ring

When I was young, my father accepted, what turned into a four-year assignment with USAID, to do agricultural studies abroad.  So, he and my mother, packed up their growing family, and began an unforgettable adventure.  After this experience, my father was asked by the church, to set aside his regular employment for three years, and serve as a mission president in that same country.  It was life altering for me to be part of another culture and view my own country from afar.  We witnessed primitive living conditions and came to know humble people.  During the first few years, my father arranged for us to travel on many trips to multiple countries, and this filled my mind with extraordinary images and thoughts.  I developed a great appreciation for other lands and beautiful places.

However, lingering throughout all these experiences, were deep and unforgettable thoughts and feelings about my homeland.  I longed to be home, in my own country.  I recognized the precious gift the United States of America is to the whole world.  I witnessed it's beacon of freedom and light, and the hand of strength and protection it offers to anyone who will accept it.  I knew my heart would never be at rest until I returned.

Because of these experiences, I have, planted in my heart, a penetrating and immovable love for my country, and a desire to do what I can to protect God's handiwork here.  I feel that the freedoms born here are sacred, and are intended to bless the whole world.  The blood of martyrs has sanctified this ground, and their blood is found in many other lands, all for the cause of freedom.  Although some will argue about the intent of various battles that have been waged, the overriding theme of liberty and justice for all, continues to ring, in the heart and blood of this American citizen.