JuJo

We knew that moving to Houston was God's calling on our life and of course we wanted to obey, but it wasn't easy and it wasn't what we wanted to do.  Now, after living here more than a year, we are starting to see why God placed us here and little glimpses of His plan.   After finding our church home, and getting plugged into a Sunday School (ABF) class, we started meeting couples and trying to find friends.  At the Christmas party (Dec 2014) we sat next to a couple for dinner and had a great time talking and laughing with each other.  We knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about each other previous to that night and God orchestrated everything just the way He wanted.  As time went on, we started to get to know this couple more and more as we began to see them every Sunday.  Their son, was in the same class as R on Sunday mornings so when our class had socials, they already knew each other.  We had an Emmaus family picnic in May, and our families played soccer and kickball together. Julian and Johany also lived in Alief so we connected on that level as well.  Throughout the 2015 year, we began getting closer to Johany and Julian through Sunday mornings and in September when she had her second baby, Jenevieve.  I visited them in the hospital, brought over dinner, and even visited with Johany during the day while Julian was at work and Jeffrey was at school.  That's when I found out that they had to move out of their apartment with very short notice, and didn't have a place to stay.  I don't even know if I asked B before I offered our house, but the Holy Spirit was tugging on me very strongly and I knew it was the Lord's plan all along.  We'd bought this nice house in Richmond, with more than enough room for our family, and even had an spare bedroom, plus the study.  We also had a dog, so their dog, Jasper, could have a playmate.  I've felt the Spirit move in me a couple of times, this being one of the strongest.  So I told Johany that they could stay with us while in transition and it wouldn't be a problem.  B, agreed, and knew it was the right thing to do also, so we didn't have any hesitations about it. 

Our families were a bit concerned because we didn't know much about this couple, but I had to remind them, that back in 2006, when we didn't have a place to live, a sweet lady from my school offered us her house while we worked out the details and we lived with her for several weeks (thanks Lauria). I even rode with her to work and B drove to Wakefield and it was after labor day when we finally moved into our house.  But it was settled.  They moved into our house October 14th, which was a Wednesday, but it was late, and our kids were already in bed by the time they got there.  Jeffrey slept in the front room on his mattress and Jo, Ju, Jen, and Jasper all slept in the guest room.  I don't think we even saw them the first day or so, because they were still getting all things wrapped up with their old apartment.  Our first weekend together was really fun and they were great roommates.  Jo even cooked a few Hispanic dishes for us and B loved that part of it.  We watched football together and Jeffrey introduced Slugterra to the kids.

 I know Jeffrey enjoyed being around the kids, because usually he's alone.  One Saturday night after the kids went to sleep, the four adults stayed awake past midnight talking and that's when we finally got the history of JuJo from them and realized that God purposely made our path cross so we could each learn something from the other.  They've gone through so much in their marriage and I can't imagine the strength needed to carry on.  The adversity and conflict that they have overcome is very inspiring, hearing their story has made us grateful for our marriage and God's blessings that we take for granted.  I wish I could publish their story, but Jo hasn't even shared it yet, with our ABF class, so it's not my story to share but one day she will.  Tears were shed while talking, mostly by me and Jo, but it was a very tender moment that bonded the four of us.  I consider them friends, and they are a precious family.

They lived with us for a total of  24 days and moved out November 7th.  During that time, we had zero problems or conflicts. 4 adults, 6 kids, and 2 dogs.  Every week at ABF, we kept updating everyone and were pleasantly surprised at how well everything was going.  They became a part of our family.  JuJo will say that they can never repay us for what we did to them, but I think the reverse is actually true.  Having them stay with us only enriched our lives and we are grateful that God planned this for us.