Juarez and Beyond

James 1:2-3 "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." 

I must admit that sometimes the passage above is much easier said than done. When I look back on my life, or even the past couple of years, I can definitely see that the greatest times of growth in my life were a result of some of the greatest hardships and deepest hurts that I have ever experienced. While some of those memories are still painful, God has indeed proven himself faithful time and time again and this is the reason why I am able to face each day without having a total meltdown. However, I do have to confess to having some minor meltdowns on occasion...

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the wedding of two of our close friends. While I was excited for them to start their new life together, I had to fight back the tears as I remembered our wedding and wished that I had the luxury of living with my husband and inviting people over to our new home. It is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and every day I feel more and more blessed to call Raul my husband. But, I also find it harder and harder to live without him near me. Yet, I hear God's soft voice telling me, "One day at a time, child. One day at a time."

The time is quickly approaching for Raul to have his Consular interview in Juarez. He will fly from Mexico City to Juarez (we found it was the same price to fly as to ride the bus) on Tuesday, November 29. Wednesday, he will have his medical exam and Thursday he will get fingerprinted. On Friday, he will have the actual interview and then he flies "home" on Saturday. Prayers for everything to go smoothly would be much appreciated. 

We are expecting him to have his waiver interview about two months after this first appointment. However, there will still be a long period of waiting after this interview to see if his visa application was approved or denied. Immigration is changing the flow of everything to make it more efficient. Because of this, the wait time for processing has increased. Yes, I know... After his waiver interview, it may now take up to two months to get the letter that says if he's been approved for his visa or if his case has been sent for further review. If it is sent for further review, we may have to wait 8 or 9 more months to see if his visa was approved. Needless to say, after I did the math and figured out that we may have to wait almost a year after his waiver interview to see if he was approved, I did have another minor meltdown (it may have been slightly more than minor). In my head, I know that God is in control and that wait times mean nothing to him because his timing is perfect, but sometimes there's a lag time between head knowledge and believing things in my heart. I think this is definitely one of God's endurance building exercises for me.

Still, even in the midst of all of my worries and doubts, I can see God at work and there are many blessings to count. Raul and I are continually encouraged by support from friends and family. It meant so much to us that people were excited for us to be able to go to Puerto Vallarta. I also see God's hand at work in each of our lives, molding us and shaping us, and our marriage has only grown stronger during this time apart. In addition, God has been blessing us financially. Because of the generosity of friends and family and other unexpected sources of income, we will be able to pay off the rest of our legal fees by the end of the year. The list of things to be thankful for could go on and on. 

Yes, I have been having a lot of freak out moments lately, but God is still faithful and I am so thankful for that. I am looking forward to the day when I can look back on this difficult time and see how God's timing and ways were indeed perfect. Whether we Gizzos end up in Mexico or the U.S. one thing is for sure, God will be with us, and that is my strength for today.

Photos for the non-facebookers

 Please click the link below to view photos from our recent Puerto Vallarta trip.
http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/thegizzos/Puerto%20Vallarta/

The link below is for pics that Raul took in Puebla and Mexico City.
http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/thegizzos/Puebla/

Forward motion

We Gizzos very much enjoyed our Puerto Vallarta vacation. Thanks to our new friends, Helder and Sarahy, we were able to tour much of the area. A visit to the jungle where they taped the movie Predator, a visit to several breath taking beaches, and a hike up to a gorgeous waterfall were among our favorite activities. Since Helder and Sarahy have lived in PV for several years now and both work at resorts, they were expert tour guides and they gave up most of their free time this past week or so to make sure we had a good time.

Since our hotel was in downtown PV, Raul and I spent much of our time just walking around town. There were shops everywhere and we met some interesting characters who tried to sell us a variety of goods--from expired vanilla to handmade crafts to expensive leather goods. Selling timeshares in PV is also a booming business and everywhere we turned, someone was trying to talk us into listening to a 75 minute presentation in exchange for cash or vouchers for some kind of entertainment. We did end up going to one of these presentations at a beautiful resort called Garza Blance, but only because Raul ended up knowing one of the sales people. As we were walking in downtown PV, a guy motioned for Raul to come over there, and it turns out he and Raul went to high school together. Small world! The 75 minute presentation at the resort turned into two and a half hours, but we got a free dinner out of it, so we were happy. :)

As you can imagine, it was very hard for me to board the plane and leave my love behind, but I am thankful that the next time we will see each other is less than two months away. It is rough to be apart from my husband, but what a blessing it is to be able to travel to two beautiful destinations outside of the U.S. to spend time with him. I will do more traveling in the course of three months than I ever have in my lifetime!

I did have some good news awaiting for me when I arrived home. I finally got an email from immigration with the date for Raul's first Consular interview. Please be in prayer for Raul on December 2 at 11:15 a.m. as this is his interview time. He will be traveling to Juarez a couple of days in advance to complete his physical exam and to get finger printed in preparation for his interview. The purpose of this first interview is to establish that our marriage is legit and that he is indeed eligible for the waiver which we will be submitting.

Both of us are settling back into our "old routine". This weekend for me will be spent prepping for a test I must take next week and starting on a paper that is due a week before Thanksgiving. Raul picked corn yesterday morning and then went fishing in the afternoon. He also stopped by to visit his grandma and Lupita, both of whom were happy to see him. We are both trying to take it one day at a time and to find the joy in each moment. Some moments are easier than others, but rain or shine, God is still good and we are glad we are in his hands.