An American Dream Come True

For Noel Centeno of Waxahachie becoming a United States citizen has been a dream of his since he was a child living in Mexico. On June 10 that dream became a reality after a semester of classes. Centeno was presented with 10 questions, and he had to answer at least six of those correctly in order to become a citizen of the U.S. He answered the first six without any hesitancy or problem and was deemed a bona fide citizen.

Centeno said the road to obtaining this goal was long and hard, and wouldn’t have been possible without the English as a Second Language ministry at Waxahachie Bible Church and his family.

“Life in Mexico was very hard when I was growing up,” Centeno said. “As I grew older, I realized that it was going to be difficult finding work to provide for my family. I had heard stories of people coming over here, getting jobs and sending money back to their families in Mexico. I thought it would be a good start for me.”

Making his first trip to the U.S. At the age of 17, Kenton said he was given an inside look at what life could be like if he were to become a citizen. After choosing to get married at 19, he knew relocating to America was going to be the best thing for him and his family.

He found work and began providing a good living for his wife and children, but that still wasn’t going to satisfy him. He chose to apply for residency. Even though he was considered a resident of the U.S., Centeno said he constantly felt like a visitor and knew something needed to be done about that.

After attending the citywide giveaway that WBC held in December, Centeno was provided information about the ESL and citizenship classes. He said it really interested him, because he saw it as a chance to capitalize on an opportunity.

“When they told me about the classes, I didn’t think twice,” he said. “I knew it was something I needed to do.”

He said the classes were challenging and trying to learn English at the age of 50 was very difficult, but he was determined to see it through. Centeno was given a list of 100 questions, which required him to not only study English, but U.S. History and civics. He said his children and grandchildren grilled him over and over until he knew the answers forward and backward.

“I knew going in that there would only be 10 questions,” he said. “But you must study all 100, because you don’t know which ones will be on the test.”

Obtaining citizenship to the country wasn’t the only reason Centeno felt impressed to learn English. He said to maintain employment, English is a must. And although he works as the maintenance coordinator for Vista Hills Mobile Home Park in Waxahachie, which is a predominantly Hispanic community, he said knowing the English language will go a long way.

He said he and his wife have made their home in Waxahachie surrounded by their four children and grandchildren.

WBC Citizenship Instructor Eddie Martinez said he is very proud of everything Centeno has accomplished. He said seeing Centeno achieve his goal was proof that their ministry efforts are bearing fruit.

“Noel became our first student to become a naturalized citizen,” he said. “He came back to our citizenship training class to give encouragement to those in attendance. He gave God all the glory for his success.”

He added that becoming a citizen is no easy feat.

“Obtaining citizenship to this country is a four part process,” Martinez said. “You must be able to speak basic English. You must answer at least six questions on the test correctly. You must be able to write a sentence in English, which they dictate to you. And you must be able to read a sentence in English.”

He said as a volunteer with the ministry, nothing gave him more gratification than to see Centeno receive his citizenship.

“This is a great ministry,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to help people realize their dreams and make them come true. I’m very happy for Centeno and for all of the others who are involved in these classes.”

Martinez added that the classes aren’t just for Hispanics, but for anyone seeking to become a U.S. citizen.

“We’ve had people from Jordan and Albania take these classes,” he said. “And we encourage anyone in the community wanting to pursue U.S. citizenship to be a part of our program.”

The idea to offer the classes stemmed from a mission trip to Honduras that Martinez, his wife and Pastor Bruce Zimmerman took. On the return trip, Martinez discussed how sad it is that there are people right here in this community who struggle with the English language and it keeps them from reaching their goals. He said at that point Zimmerman said they should start an ESL program at the church.

“The goal of this ministry is to help people to become citizens, while sharing Christ’s love with them,” Martinez said. “Initially, we had approximately 50 or so students enrolled, all of whom were Hispanic. This past September we had more than 60 enrolled. We followed up with citizenship training and helped with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) application.”

Martinez said what made this class particularly exciting is the fact that Centeno gained citizenship in the U.S. and God’s kingdom, because he recently gave his life to Christ. He said this news was too big not to share with the community.


For more information about the ESL and Citizenship classes or to become a volunteer, contact Eddie Martinez at 469-831-8486.