Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Missionary Travel and Family Names

On the previous post, Dan introduced us to how ECI has raised awareness about global warming amongst Evangelicals in the US and how we could respond to these 21st century challenges. Picking up on this traveling subject, let me share our most recent traveling experience.


As of today, the Bonilla-Giovanetti family can travel outside of Chile again. Why so? Need some history and background. Today we got new passports and ID cards for our youngest, DJ, with the correct family names. Even more confused?

You see, when I was born in Puerto Rico I was named Miss Mayra Rebeca Giovanetti Garcia (1st name, middle name, father’s name, mother’s name). Twenty-four years later when Carlos and I got married, I became Mrs. Mayra Rebeca Giovanetti Garcia. Yep, all four names the same, only a change of title. It worked just fine while in Puerto Rico, until we begun our joined missionary traveling adventures…

Our first overseas stop was Israel. After three years of marriage, we had to prove to the Israeli local authorities how was it that we were married and carrying different family names. Hence when God moved us out of Israel and into the United States, I had my mind set to switching my family names to Carlos’ to ease processes for us and our future children. It was the right thing to do for those living in the States and Israel.

By our fifth wedding anniversary I had become Mrs. Mayra R. Bonilla. It felt odd, and Carlos was not comfortable with my decision. My mom warned me I would regret it like she had, but her reasons were those related to her divorce. I was not worried about an upcoming divorce and truly felt this was the right thing to do, so I slowly got used to being called Mrs. Bonilla instead.

Funny, my oldest brother was often called Mr. Ithier after his wife, when visiting her working site; and, my mom once again was called Mrs. Giovanetti while caring for that oldest brother while in the hospital in the States.

Years went by and children came along. Fortunately, the way the system works in the States, our son (born in PA) and daughter (born in FL) were registered as Bonilla-Giovanetti, hence carrying both our family names, father and mother as it is our Hispanic tradition. It was a done deal. Having changed my family name did not affect our offspring. That is until we moved to Chile. Little did we know what was ahead of us when we accepted to be missionaries to Chile and when the Lord blessed us with another child…

Five years after our daughter, and with two miscarriages in between, we were blessed with another daughter, a Chilean (by birth) daughter. Since all my US paperwork has Bonilla, all my Chilean paperwork also has Bonilla. My husband is Bonilla there and here. We went to register our newborn baby girl and our ID cards are requested. You are getting the picture, right? Dad’s ID number and last name—Bonilla. Mom’s ID number and last name—Bonilla. The baby was then registered as Bonilla Bonilla. It did not matter how we explained the situation, to how many officials, what arguments were used; the girl had to be Bonilla Bonilla because the computer assigned the family names based on the information on those ID cards. That was 2004.

We spent our US/PR assignment year with the sadness that our DJ had incorrect family names. You see, for Hispanics, having the same family name twice is equal to being an illegitimate child. She had a different family name than her older siblings. That was unacceptable. But we needed to return to Chile to fix it. Fortunately, we were assigned back to Chile and in May 2006 we begun the process to correct her registration information. For that we had to hire a lawyer. We chose the one with the weirdest family names so he would know what it is like to have foreign influence in your family tree.

Document after document, paperwork after paperwork, weeks and months after weeks and months, we had to provide new documentation. We had to request legalized documentation from Puerto Rico and even registered our Puerto Rican celebrated marriage here in Chile which documents my birth family names. We had to continue to wait until at last the judge declared our daughter, already two-and-a-half years old, is to be named Bonilla Giovanetti. Then came our requests of new and corrected registration certificate, birth certificate, and new pictures for a new passport and ID…

Today we have in our hands all these new and corrected documents that say she is Bonilla Giovanetti. End of the story? No… Now we have to correct her US passport and Social Security to match it for we had to use one Bonilla alone, as recommended by the Embassy. As for me, this has taught me a lesson: no matter where I am or my legal status, I am the same person that was born Mayra Rebeca Giovanetti Garcia. Steps to correct my paperwork need to wait until after our deputation trip to the States this fall because tickets already show Bonilla on them. I am still legally Bonilla but for practical purposes have resumed using my birth family names.

But we can now travel again. Since May 2006 until today we did not have a passport or an ID for DJ to travel with. Now we do. The details ahead seem nothing compared to what we have already been through. It will take time for all to get used to the correct names, but now our three children are Bonilla-Giovanetti, born of the same parents. DJ will not have to give explanations about any differences anymore.

Hopefully there is a lesson or two our children can catch from their old folks; and particularly our daughters will pay more attention to our voice and their husbands than I did to my mom and my husband when they warned me about this. So far, one dear couple has avoided these same difficulties for having an open hear to our advice. Hopefully by sharing our experience now, others will have more criteria to decide what is best in their own particular situation. This may be irrelevant to those in countries and cultures where the tradition is simply to switch family names, but for a family with Hispanic roots like ours, regardless of the country we live in, it is important to keep our tradition of two names and two last names in our legal documents, with both father and mother included and that is how we want to enjoy it.

It is interesting that our son’s literature materials include a book entitled “Children’s Missionary Library” that among others shares the story of Ann Hasseltine, one of the first female American foreign missionaries, a.k.a. Ann Judson—friend of Burma. It is always refreshing to read stories of our forefathers and foremothers in mission and to see how the storyteller emphasizes more on her birth family name than her being a Judson by marriage.

As for me, thankfully, my Shepherd knows me by name and I recognize His voice when He calls me. I rejoice in the assurance that my name is written in Heaven in the book of life… That is also our prayer for our children as they embark in their many own missionary traveling adventures.

Now, how will your family names change your travel plans, or how will your travel plans change your family names? You will only know when you experience it yourself!


Blessed journeys...

Mayra Giovanetti

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