An All American (hopefully!) Love Story

 One year ago today, Raul and I stood before God, our family, and our friends and pledged to love, honor, and cherish each other for the rest of our lives. I cannot believe that a year has already flown by. So much has happened between then and now, but I am more happy than ever that I am Mrs. Mozo (or Mrs. Modigidii as some may know me).

Though many of you who are reading probably already know "our story", I thought I would fill the rest of you in in honor of our one year anniversary. Our love story is much like everyone else' and much different than everyone else' at the same time. Looking back, we can see how God's hand was on us each step of the way and how he brought us to the place where we are now.

Raul and I met at a meeting for those who were interested in being part of a church plant called Journey Church. I was intrigued by this Christian bad-boy who had grown up in such a different world. Raul grew up in Waukegan and had been exposed to a lot different "life experiences" than I had in my sheltered farm community in Iowa. Though Raul caught my attention immediately, it wasn't until I started tutoring him in math for his GED that we really got to know each other. Pretty soon one tutoring session a week turned into two. And then, tutoring turned into lets just watch a movie instead.

 Many of our Journey Church friends can probably recall the camping trip where it was obvious that we were interested in each other. It rained the entire trip, so we were forced to spend most of the evening and night in our tents. Raul's was next to mine and we carried on a conversation into the wee hours of the morning. The problem was that we didn't realize that everyone else heard our conversation since we both had to yell over the noise of the rain. Soon after this trip, Raul finally asked me out on our first date and we became "official".

However, something just didn't feel right and we broke up. But, we remained good friends and spoke on the phone frequently. We did eventually get back together and we dated for a couple of years. Then we were to the point where we either needed to make some wedding plans or go our separate ways. There were some things in our relationship that needed work and after praying about it, we both came to the conclusion that we should go our separate ways. I was heart broken, but I still had a peace from God that we had done the right thing. Raul did his thing and I did mine, yet we remained friends and saw each other at church.

During our time apart, Raul was working through some things in his own life and I decided that I needed to assess where I was headed. I had planned on marrying him and living happily ever after, but that wasn't looking like it would ever happen. I decided to go back to school and started really enjoying my life as a student. People kept trying to set me up with guys and I really longed to find someone and to be married, but part of me just didn't want anyone but Raul. I went back and forth between being content with being single and then freaking out that I would never get married since I was nearing my late twenties with no prospects.

Raul went to Las Vegas for a little while and I was sure that I would never hear from him again. Yet, I was one of the first people he called when he got back. He began getting more and more involved with leading the Youth Group at church and little by little, he was turning into the guy that I had always wanted him to be. We started talking more and more on the phone and then we would look for excuses to hang out with each other. Yet, something was holding me back from wanting to commit to a relationship. Raul was still in the midst of his immigration battle and the last thing I wanted to do was to put myself in a position where I would have to move to Mexico!

So, for a long while, we were "just friends" who talked on the phone everyday and occasionally hung out. Then came the fateful day in November, 2009. Raul was supposed to lead small group that evening, but he failed to show up. He didn't answer his phone and no one knew where he was. Later that night, I got a phone call. When I picked up the phone, I heard "will you accept a phone call from inmate number something at the Lake County Jail." Immediately, I knew it was him. Raul had been pulled over for a traffic violation and before releasing him, they ran his name in the immigration database. He had been flagged and they were holding him. I didn't get to talk that long with him and I was a mess for the next two days until I heard from him.  At that point, I feared that he would be deported on the spot and I would never see him again.To spare a you any more details, Raul was released a couple of days later, but the ball was rolling with immigration and he would soon have a court appearance.

From that point on, we were pretty much dating, yet I was really struggling with making it "official" again. I still didn't know if I could leave my country and family for this guy even though I loved him. One night, I had a heart to heart talk with God. I told him that if he wanted us together, he would have to make me so in love with Raul that I would be willing to follow him anywhere. And...that's exactly what happened. We soon became official and our relationship this time was much different than it had looked before. God was the center and we connected with each other on a much deeper level.

On December 11, 2010, Raul told me to sit down because he had something to tell me. I immediately said no because I thought he was going to tell me something bad. He kept asking to hold my hand and I said no because I thought he had done something wrong and he was just trying to soften the blow. Over and over he said, "I have something to tell you can I hold your hand?" Finally, I told him to "just spit it out!" The rest was a blur but somewhere during that time he had gotten on his knee and pulled out a ring. I said, "Are you for real?!" And, that was that! After 7 years of dating off and on, we were finally engaged!

Raul's first immigration court date was at the end of January, and we found out that there was a slight possibility that if it didn't go well, he could be detained and then deported. We made a quick decision to get married prior to that date since I was bound and determined that we would be married in the U.S. I would have preferred to have a ceremony in a church, but my dad had just been diagnosed with lung cancer and was to receive his first chemo treatment, so he couldn't travel. Since my dad wouldn't be able to give me away, we decided that a civil service in the court house would do and then we would have a church wedding if Raul's court date went okay. So, only a month after we got engaged, we were married!

I had originally planned to have our church wedding in June but we decided to move it to April since my dad wasn't doing well. It turns out that my dad wasn't able to give me away anyway since he passed away in March. Though the civil wedding was not in my original plans, it turned out to be a blessing since Dad knew before he died that Raul and I were married and that Raul would take care of me.

On April 23rd, 2011, three hundred of our friends and family celebrated our marriage with us in Waukegan. That day is a bit of a blur to me, but I remember being happy that our marriage ceremony truly was a celebration of God bringing us together. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that we actually ended up together. What a relief to know that I will get to do life with my best friend by my side. We make a good team and I cannot wait until we get to live together again. Thank you, Lord, for my husband Mr. Modigidii. He is truly a gift from you.