Interview with Alicia Rosa Coverston by Samantha Gray

Narrative Summary Interview with Alicia Rosa Coverston by Samantha Gray

Alicia works as the Admission Specialist at the English Language Institute at Missouri

State University in Springfield. This means she is the first one to communicate with students from all over the world who want to improve their English skills and study at an American university. She is helpful to all the students but she is particularly invaluable to Spanish speakers because she herself speaks Spanish as a first language. She was born and raised on the Puerto

Rican island of Vasquez which has been a territory of the U.S. since 1898.

Although Alicia was christened as an infant, her parents expressed no interest in taking part in any religious affiliations. Her grandparents, however, had been searching for a church for a long time. When missionaries from the states started a Baptist church in her town, her grandparents began to take her there. Before the missionaries were able to buy land to build the church, services were held on a private terrace. Alicia was 8 years old when her Journey as a

Christian began. She recalls sitting in her dining room table reading the Bible and thinking that it made tremendous sense to her. When she was only 12 years old, she proclaimed to her pastor her acceptance of God and his word. With her parent’s permission, she was baptized in the

Caribbean Ocean.

As the oldest of four, Alicia was independent. She shone in the small mission church as a promising spiritual leader. She led the Choir at a young age while also teaching Sunday school for younger children and was elected as president of the youth club. She eventually met her future husband who played the piano with the Choir. Bob was there for an internship at a local radio station. They were married in the Church when Alicia was 19 years old. Together they left for Chicago where Bob was to finish his schooling. They continued to be very involved in the Christian life, looking for a church that felt like home, while also starting a family. A significant change in Alicia’s life was of course learned English with enough proficiency to understand church services. She discusses the trials of having to translate everything in her head to understand it. Friends in the church used to tell her that God understands all languages. Her

English is perfect now but she still sometimes studies her Bible in Spanish. She says it brings her the same kind of joy that she felt as a new Christian.

Alicia and her family traveled a bit in the United States for career purposes. Other than

Missouri and Puerto Rico, they have lived in Illinois, Nebraska, and Indiana. They also lived in

Ecuador as missionaries. She made many great connections with people there, especially other missionaries with whom she still communicates. Back in the U.S. she did not always attend

Baptist Churches. Today, for example, they attend an Evangelic Church called First Free

Evangelic Church. Alicia expressed that as long as the church doctrine matches her belief in what God’s word emphasizes, it suits her well. She notices a bit a difference between the churches here and the church she attended in Puerto Rico when she visits her mother. Her mother now attends the small church and worships through music with the rest of the congregation.

Alicia believes that Latinos express more emotion in their worship than the typical Christian here. Everyone in the church holds an instrument of some sort and sings along with the hymns.

Along with the doctrine, the spirit of the church is very important to Alicia. When her family moved to Springfield, they spent a lot of time looking for a church that felt like home.

Personal relationships with church members are very important to her. She lacked this in the

Mega Churches they attended. In her church today, Alicia helps out in the nursery and is a part of a Sunday school group that meets on Wednesdays to discuss the previous Sunday’s scripture.

Her daily practices include scripture study in Spanish and English, as well as prayer. Alicia’s devotion to her faith is apparent also in her children. Her son is a worship pastor in Wisconsin and she is very proud of him. Her daughter in married also to a worship pastor here in Springfield. Recently her daughter’s life has been upturned by the diagnosis of cancer. Alicia has been with her then entire time as she undertakes chemotherapy. When asked how her faith has been affecting during this trying time, she says without hesitation that it has become stronger. At first, she admits, there were many unanswered questions but she has learned that her faith is not always a shield from bad things happening and that they are a part of God’s plan.