A young woman born in Mexico but living in the United States since she was a baby is driving to trust in God.

I am a member of a church in Oregon. I want to share a little of my testimony with you today because, as King Nebuchadnezzar said in Daniel 4:2, “I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me.”

I was born in San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, in Mexico. My parents brought my oldest sister and me to the United States when I was just a baby; about 8 months old. My mother’s decision to return for her two babies, at a time when she was just a kid herself, about 18 years old, is one I admire to this day. She tells us she came first with Dad, worked for three months and couldn’t bear living without us one more day. I have to admit I have no memory of my first experience crossing the border. My funny sister, on the other hand, although only about 3 at the time, tells me time and time again how she clearly remembers the foul breath on the man carrying her across the river.

I first heard of my being undocumented through an argument my parents had when I was 8 years old. An uncle in Mexico had died, and my mother wanted me to go with her to the funeral. My father argued, “But you know she doesn’t have papers. How will we bring her back?” After this incident, I knew I didn’t have “papers,” but I didn’t comprehend exactly what this entailed or how detrimental this would be for me in the future.

I went to school in Santa Ana, Calif., up to the eighth grade. Middle school gave me such confidence in myself because I got the sense I could do anything. It was during those years that I played violin and cello in the advanced orchestra, was MVP of the school’s soccer team and was heading to high school with medals, honors and my first scholarship for being a straight-A student. I recall buying my first pair of Jordans with the scholarship. Up to the age of 14, it never crossed my mind that I was any different from my classmates, other than the fact that I couldn’t go to Mexico, and that wasn’t something that was in my dreams. My dream was to become my hometown high school’s valedictorian and later a successful pediatrician.

I was 14 when my parents decided that for the well-being of their soon-to-be teenagers, it would be best to move to Oregon. They were always worried we would become involved in the gangs that were rapidly growing in our hometown.

It took a while to recover from the shock of becoming the minority in high school. There are many more Hispanics in California than in Oregon, which I believe makes it friendlier. I did not witness racism growing up until we moved to Oregon.

As I continued to pursue my dreams, I was struck with the news that I needed health insurance to be involved in the school’s sports. It turned out I didn’t have any because I didn’t have a social security number; I wasn’t born here. Later, when speaking with my counselor about college, I learned I wouldn’t be eligible for any student loans or potential scholarships without a valid SSN. I came to realize the only thing I was sure I had was my faith in a living God. I convinced myself to believe that was all I needed.

I’ve also come to understand that my plans weren’t exactly aligned with God’s plans for my life. I didn’t end up being valedictorian. And while I did start out at a community college, I had to pause, as I like to call it, because it was too expensive without any help.

It was in God’s perfect plans, though, that I married a servant of God in whom the fear of the Lord was instilled from a young age. It wasn’t until the arrival of our son that I started asking God to allow us to fix our legal status, for the sake of our baby.

Our latest battle was against the management of the apartments we lived in from May 2007 to April 2011. They demanded we provide two valid SSNs in order to renew our lease. As we asked for the Lord’s guidance, God comforted us and gave us the strength to conquer this with courage. We provided our valid ITINs (Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers) and firmly told them the information we had given them was all they needed to make their decision. (It is legal to use an ITIN because it is issued by the Internal Revenue Service primarily to be able to declare taxes. It also serves as valid information to open a bank account, apply for loans, begin and build a credit history.)

Regardless of our spotless four-year rental history with them, they said, “Then we’re sorry to tell you we won’t accept your application.” This is when fear tried to make us stumble. We had 30 days to find a place to live, but now with the fear of being denied simply because of this. For a minute, I thought the devil had defeated us. I thought God’s miracle would have to be to supernaturally force them to accept us regardless of our status. Little did I know about the far-greater miracle God had in store for us. I forgot he has promised to fulfill the desires of my heart, according to his will.

God allowed us to rent a house with no hesitation from the manager. Moreover, God reassures us that he is our Lord Most High. He protects us and will complete the good works he started in us.

We have honored the writer’s wish to remain anonymous. This is based on a testimony she gave at a Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference annual meeting.