Sunny Days

Ephesians 3:16-21
¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
 ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ever since college, this passage has been one of my go-to passages when I am struggling. When I feel like there is no way I can endure what I am going through and when I feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, I read this passage and am struck with how much God loves me and I desire afresh to be filled with the fullness of his power.

God has certainly showed me this week that He really can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. This week has brought nothing but good news. On Monday, I found out that one of my sister's prayer requests had been answered in a big way and I also found out that a scholarship reccomendation that I had written for one of the girls at our church was approved. On Tuesday, I received a large cash bonus from my place of employment. Though we were instructed not to share the exact amount of the bonus, I can assure you that it is definitely more than I could have asked or imagined! Bonuses are definitely not routine at Trinity, so this was a great reminder that my finances are under God's control, not mine.

Needless to say, my spirits have been pretty upbeat this week, not to mention that I have LESS THAN ONE WEEK until I see my husband! I will be leaving for the airport at 3:00 a.m. next Wednesday. Raul will actually get in to Puerto Varllarta the day before I do, so he will be able to meet me at the airport when I arrive. Our friend's brother was able to find us a very affordable hotel in downtown Puerto Vallarta to stay in, so all of the details seem to be taken care of. I have quite an extensive list of things to bring to Raul, so packing could be a challenge. Among the things on the list are fishing poles, a basketball, and baking supplies. He is a well rounded individual! :)

Raul is feeling a lot more at home in Santa Monica now. He has gotten to know many of the people there and has his usual group of friends that he plays basketball with. He's been attending a church there. He doesn't agree with some of its teachings, but it has at least given him a place to meet people and it is forcing him to search the Scriptures to see why he believes what he believes. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Raul ends up staying in Santa Monica for most if not all of his time in Mexico.

Speaking of his time in Mexico...we are still waiting to find out the date for his first consular interview. Apparently, they are restructuring the way applications are being processed and this has created a longer wait time for applicants. Though the first month apart has gone somewhat quickly, I get a little freaked out at the thought that we have many more months to go. It's a daily struggle for me to give up the timing of everything to God. I find that I am in much more of a hurry than He is most of the time. :)

All of your prayers are still very much appreciated. Though this week has been a good week, last week was a pretty rough one for me. I find myself thinking of my Dad more often these days  and I could use prayers for comfort for me and my family as we continue to grieve the loss of my precious father. Please also pray for safety for Raul and me as we travel to and from Puerto Vallarta. Also, I know it will be very hard for me to say good-bye to him when our vacation is over, so prayers of encouragement for both of us would also be greatly appreciated.

Blessed beyond belief

The countdown has begun and I officially have less than three weeks until I will be soaking in the sun with my hubby in Puerto Vallarta. I'm sure time will fly as I try to get ahead on homework so that I can unplug from everything and enjoy quality time with Raul. What a blessing it is to have a day on the calendar to look forward to. I am also extremely thankful that we chose to save our wedding gift money so that we can enjoy the time together without stressing about how we're going to pay for it!

Raul has sounded much more upbeat the last few times I have spoken with him. He has created projects for himself so he is busy most every day and time doesn't seem to drag as much for him now as it did when he first arrived in Santa Monica. His day begins with breakfast and coffee with his grandpa and then he travels to his grandma's house to check in on her and Lupita. While there, he enjoys some lunch and helps out wherever he is needed. He has also started feeding and watering Lupita's pigs and he slips some food scraps to her dogs as well. Those of you who know Raul, know that he has a soft spot when it comes to dogs so it's hard for him to see her scrawny dogs without doing something to fatten them up.  In the past week, he painted his grandpa's doors and replaced a gate for Lupita. He also has plans to help his uncle pick pumpkins from his pumpkin patch. So, at least he's feeling a little more productive now and he enjoys helping out his family.

Raul is also learning that news (good or bad, truth or lies) travels fast in a small town. While he was working on Lupita's gate, he accidently struck a water line. Since it was nothing more than a rubber hose a few feet beneath the surface, the water started spurting out. Before he could travel home to get supplies to fix it, everyone in the whole town knew about it! There were also rumors about him being so drunk that he had to be carried home to his father's house. However, I'm pretty sure that whoever started that rumor was mistaken since I talked to him the same day that was supposed to have happened and he sounded just fine to me! Ahhh, it reminds me a bit of growing up in Iowa. :)

We still continue to count our many blessing and are increasingly thankful for our family and friends who support us in more ways than we can count. While the future is still pretty uncertain for us, I can't help but be a little excited about what God is us preparing for. There are so many things in my life that I can look back on and see how God was working out all of the details. I know that someday down the road, this adventure will be no different.

Mrs. Mo is headed to Mexico!

If you are one of my friends on facebook, you are probably more than aware that I booked my ticket to Puerto Vallarta for October 26! Only one month away! I was originally going to wait until November to visit my hubby, but since my passport came early and I was already itching to hop on a plane, all signs pointed to "Just Book It!" I have emailed our contact in Puerto Vallarta and he is going to see if he can find us an affordable deal on a hotel, so the vacation plans are well under way. While we're in Puerto Vallarta, we hope to scope out the scene to see if it's an option for Raul to live and work.

Other than that exciting news, there is not really much new to report. Raul continues to check in on his grandmother and Lupita daily. He has also had the opportunity to meet most of his aunts, uncles, and cousins there. Raul has been enjoying the very authentic Mexican food, for the most part. He is getting his fill of homemade tortillas and enjoyed some very good turkey mole that his aunt made today. The sanitation methods there aren't quite what he was used to, but he says if he doesn't let himself think about it, he's okay. :)

One of the perks of living in Santa Monica is that its residents are qualified for free medical care. Apparently, Raul just has to fill out and file some paperwork and then he's ready to go. Just before he left Waukegan, his dentist suggested that he get his wisdom teeth out, so maybe we'll be able to get a good deal on that procedure south of the border!

I am in the process of adjusting as much as possible to the married-single life. I really need to kick my study habits into high gear now. I am hoping to finish a paper before I go to visit Raul.  We'll see if that happens... I am really thankful for my good roommie, my sister and her family, and my Journey Church family. They are all making sure that I do not have too many lonely nights at home.

And that's...about it for now!

A taste of Mexico

http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/thegizzos/Mexico1/

Raul went to the nearest town with Internet today to upload his pictures. Since the connection was slow, he was only able to upload a few. Hopefully, he will be able to upload more soon. I'm not sure where all of these were taken (other than Mexico, of course).

The way it is...

I was able to briefly talk to Raul yesterday and today. It's almost like we're dating again because I get so giddy when I pick up the phone and hear his voice on the other end of the line. Unfortunately, we don't have unlimited minutes to chat about nothing important this time around, though. I have found a couple of inexpensive options to call him, but he still has to pay for air time even if he's on the receiving end of the call. So, we're trying to scale back the length of our conversations for now. Hopefully, when he goes elsewhere, he'll have Internet access so we can Skye instead. Right now, I'm just happy that I get to hear his voice daily, so I can adjust to a shorter conversation if I have to. I'll just speak twice as quickly! :)

Raul's grandparents seem to be really taking him under their wings. His family made arrangements for Raul to eat with his grandma and Lupita daily and I believe the ladies really look forward to this time. Raul was going to be cooking for them tonight, so I'm looking forward to hearing how that went. Raul's grandpa has informed him that he needs to check in with him before he goes anywhere and that he won't be going to sleep until he knows that Raul is safe at home every night. It is a little bit of an adjustment for Raul since he hasn't had to check in with anyone (other than me of course!) in a while, but he appreciates the fact that everyone is caring for him.

As I mentioned before, we are soon finding out that everything in Santa Monica is much more expensive than we anticipated. Raul thinks the reason is because Santa Monica is so far out in the boonies (my wording) that it's like they have to import everything. For this reason  (and a few others), I'm a fan of him striking out to find a new place to live as soon as he is able to, but Raul really wants to make sure that he does everything he can for his family there before he leaves. His grandmother fell last night and hit her head hard enough for her to start bleeding. Fortunately, Raul's uncle lives next door so he was able to come over. She seems to be okay today, but I know Raul is still concerned and he mentioned that he wants to be sure that his grandma will be okay before he leaves. Please keep the timing of Raul's departure from Santa Monica in your prayers. We want him to leave when God says it's time and not a day before.

Speaking of God's timing, I have really be praying and thinking about what to do about my schooling. I am nearing the end of my masters program in counseling psychology and still have a practicum and internship left to do. I was originally supposed to complete my practicum this Spring and start my internship in Fall 2012. However, both of those require a great deal of time, 10 hours a week for the practicum and 20 hours a week for the internship, and I wasn't sure how I would complete those while working full time. In addition, I would have to start applying for internship sites by this November and the thought of planning that far ahead really freaks me out right now since everything is so up in the air. Long story short, I met with my advisor today and she assured me that it's okay and even wise to wait until the summer to do my practicum and then wait until Fall 2013 to do my internship. By then, hopefully Raul will be back and things will be a bit more stable. It is hard to describe how relieved I felt after talking to her. I had been stressing for quite some time about how my school was going to fit in with "real life".  My advisor, Dr. Parent, has been a source of encouragement to me ever since I started the program in 2007. In fact, she is the person I went to when I was struggling with being single and wanting to be married after Raul and I broke up so many years ago. Oh how things do change!

In small group last night, we were discussing God's faithfulness and mercy and I was struck again with how faithful, merciful, and gracious our God really is. After years of praying for a husband and even crying over this particular man, God brought us together and I am blessed to call Raul my husband. Absence has definitely made this heart grow even fonder!

One week down ? more to go...

Raul successfully checked in with immigration today, so he can check that off of his list. He spent the night in Mexico City last night and was able to walk around a little bit and get a "real coffee" complete with cream and sugar. It sounded like enjoyed his time there. He should be back "home" in Santa Monica by now. He called me earlier this evening from the town where he gets off of the bus and catches a taxi for the rest of his trip home.

Raul has a couple of projects planned for this week, so hopefully that will make time pass a little more quickly. He is planning on fixing a fence and making a gate for his paternal grandmother and her caretaker, an elderly cousin named Lupita. I can tell that he already has a soft spot in his heart for these ladies.  He's planning on spending most of his time at their home, though he will still sleep at his maternal grandfather's. Raul will also be helping his grandfather paint some doors on his home.

One thing that has surprised me is the cost of living in Santa Monica. Though some things like dining out are relatively inexpensive, other things cost as much as they do here. For example, a bottle of drinking water is about $1 and a coke costs even more than that.

I'm starting to get back into the swing of school and work and I have a somewhat regular nightly routine going now. Most of my belongings are unpacked, though I am still behind in doing laundry. I have yet to start on the many thank yous that I want to write, but I'm sure I will get started on those pretty soon as well. I still miss eating dinner with my hubby and having him just text away during the day, but I am thankful that we have been able to maintain regular contact.

Without a doubt, your prayers are making a difference to us. We are thankful for Raul's safe travels and the sense of peace that we have in the midst of this storm. I am reminded of the line of a song that goes, "Sometimes he calms the storm and other times he calms his child." Various storms in my life have been raging in the past year, yet God has definitely been calming this child.

The first Friday

I'm not gonna lie, part of me is looking forward to the end of the weekend already. Crazy, I know! Weekends are when Raul and I had time to just be with each other and I always looked forward to our Friday night dates and our after church lunches. Even when we were just "special friends" we had most every Sunday lunch together, so I'm sure it will take me a while to adjust to the new pace of weekends. The good news is that I'm already so behind in homework and unpacking that I'll have plenty of things to keep my time occupied. :)

I was able to talk to Raul for a half hour this evening, the longest I've been able to talk to him thus far. For now, the plan is that I'll call him around 7:00 p.m. every evening on his grandpa's landline, so at least now I have that to count on and look forward to.

There are really no new developments to report. Raul is still meeting more and more new relatives and he is convinced that he's related to almost everyone in the town in some way. He really hasn't met anyone of his own age that he can hang out with, though. Raul has many close friends in Waukegan, so it's going to be really hard for him to adjust to not having someone to call up and hang out with whenever he has free time. He is also trying to adjust to having a lot of time on his hands since he has no job there and he's used to going to work every day and having other projects to complete around the house on the weekends.  He said that the days are really dragging for him already.

Raul's dad has been with him this week, but he is leaving from Mexico City on Sunday to fly back to the U.S. Raul will be traveling to Mexico City with him on Sunday and then stay overnight there so he can check in with immigration on Monday. Hopefully, the office is open this time and he can get that checked off of his immigration to-do list. While in Mexico City, Raul is going to try to find an Internet cafe somewhere so he can upload pictures to his facebook.

I guess that's all of the news from the Gizzos for now. Thank you again to all of you who have been upholding us in prayer. I am asking for you to specifically pray for Raul to find one or two people his own age that he can connect with down there. There is also really no church in his area that he can attend, so that is a concern as well. It is obvious that God has something in the works for Raul to do while he's in Mexico, please pray that he will give Raul the wisdom and strength to follow him in whatever he asks him to do in the days ahead.