Leaving on a Jet Plane

Here we are on the big 'ol plane to Spain! There are 8 people in each row and what seems like 50 rows. A friend traded with me so I could sit with Ashley. I found out right before we boarded that my Mom's surgery went swimmingly. Praise God! It was the perfect news before I turned off my phone. We also met a group of Texans from Victoria and observed a loud pack of Puerto Ricans sing some culture chant in the airport. "This doesn't sound like Jesus music," Ashley said. They are all on the plane with us. There are at least 8 priests on the plane, so we felt safe.

We took off close to an hour late. I dozed while we waited, woke up for take off and then dozed again before the food came.

We both picked "beef" and got a delicious meal! Cold mixed veggies with tuna, stew meat cooked in a Marsala sauce with mushrooms, peas, carrots and potatoes, and bread, butter and a hunk of cheese. We devoured it. Ashley doesn't even like tomatoes or mushrooms, but happily ate them. She said it's true when your parents say, "if you're hungry, you'll eat anything."

Dessert was a yummy square of cherry cheesecake with coffee. (Ashley had tea.) So full! Now it's bed time. While it's 6:45 pm in Austin, it's past our bedtime in Spain -- 1:41 am.
Goodnight! See you in Spain.

fbt&<3
Sabrina

A gentle rain

Hello from Miami!

We were able to use our layover time to have a tour of Miami, mass at St. Michael the Archangel parish, and had lunch. When we got on the bus they had little gift bags for us with a cookie and a little Cuban ham sandwich. It was amazing and evident that God provides and loves us. He tour of Miami was nice. We saw the rich rich areas like Fischer Island and the poor areas like Little Haiti and other Latin neighborhoods. We even saw Versace's mansion where he was shot! We got to the church and Ashley and I had enough time to pray a rosary for our special intentions. The Holy Spirit was with us in the grotto. As we began he Glorious Mysteries, a cool breeze was blowing on us and swirling around the tree needles. The garden around Mary was lovely and the fountain was bubbling holy water. The breeze picked up as we prayed and it began to rain. At first they were little drops -- quite refreshing. It's been so long since we've seen, heard, smelled and felt rain. It was peaceful and lovely. It started to rain harder and by the fufu mystery, it was steady. I could tell that Ashley didn't want to stop either and we finished the rosary in the glorious rain. It was just amazing. We stood in the back of mass since we were all wet. Just a little taste of the glory of Our Lord. It was a special moment.

We are going back to MIA for our flight soon. We'll be on our way to Madrid tonight, and once we arrive Thursday morning, we get on yet another bus to Malaga. Longest travel of my life! We are going on 2-3 hours of plane sleep since I got up on Tuesday morning.

Prayers ascending for you all.

Sent from my awesome ipod

On the road...

Well, the trip has began. I am writing this from the floor of the Houston airport at 3:30am. Ashley and I are making Texas bracelets while we wait for our time to check in. We left San Antonio around 10pm and got to Houston at 2am after a pit stop at Buckee's. (I got coffee) We found out that whilst in Miami we are going to be picked up and taken on a small tour of the city, attend a noon mass and have lunch at a neighboring Diocese where a friend of one of our priest companions (maybe Bishop Cantu?) lives. Much better than a boring old 7 hour layover!

They are playing the Black Eyed Peas... I gotta feeling... That this trip's gonna be the best trip...

So far Ashley and I have been catching up in life on the bus. It's neat to already see how parallel our lives are right now, even with different lives. I'm looking forward to see how God is going to use this trip to get us closer to Him and to each other.

I've been up for almost 20 hours now and fading fast. Must stay awake... See y'all in Miami!

Sabrina
fbt&<3

We Are More

TODAY!

Hooray! Today Today Today!

I realized my entry last night was a bunch of random thoughts. Before I apologize to a WYSIWYG, I have to mention that if you know me at all, you'll know that I'm a bit random in nature. I'm going a million miles an hour and in a million directions.

Yesterday and today I feel like a wrapped up a lot of things. I got things set up for the 20-Somethings (emails, who's helping me out when I'm gone, etc.) and gave people a million and one hugs last night at Adoration. Anna visted me this morning at 6:30 AM and brought me tacos! I was sleepy and surprised. It was good to see her before she begins her next book in life. I cried over some Rudy's tacos with her and went back to bed for a little while longer.

After running some last minute errands, I went to crank out work at the office and set up everything to function while I'm gone. I put up my away message for the work email and sent all of my almost finished projects to awesome people who can see them through. After lots of hugs and a hectic last-minute-everything, I ran out the door to do a couple of additional last minute errands and to come home to repack and clean as much as I can. Don't you like to come home to a clean apartment?

Step by step, day by day the stresses get lifted. I trust that everything is being left in good hands. I know I'm going to be missed and I likewise will be missing a lot of people! There are some people that I see and talk to everyday that will be on my mind a lot. I laugh sometimes to myself because I feel like I'm being so dramatic, but leaving a lot of things that you're responsible for for 2.5 weeks without much communication is a big deal to me. I skipped out of the office light as a feather and full of hope and joy.

Life is full of little things that make you smile. I feel loved by God so much! I joke that Jesus is taking me on a getaway vacation. (Isn't He the best?) And I know that he loves me through all of my friends and family -- and I hope they feel His love from me too. It's neat to feel so connected to everyone through this great Mystery of life. It's just a peaceful feeling.

It's hard to let go of worries, but if you can, it's amazing. It's honestly like flying. Maybe that's why we like driving fast, roller coasters and water park slides. We almost lose control for a bit and just think about the fun ride we're on. We don't dwell on the "what ifs" and just go for it. We still take precautions and stay on track. But when God is driving, you know you're going somewhere good, so you should sit back and relax.

It begins in 45 minutes.

fbt&<3

Tomorrow...or Today

Yup. I leave tomorrow. I can't believe it's finally here.

It's 1:30 AM in Austin, Texas and I just now am done with packing. I still have to toss a few things in and out tomorrow, but I think I have most of it done. I always think I'm packing light until I throw everything into the bag. Oh well. It'll work out.

I got a watch to wear and I set it to go back and forth between Spain time and Texas time. It's 8:35 now in Spain. They are probably getting up and preparing for the day. I hope the jetlag isn't too bad. I know when I get there I am going to be super pumped.

We found out a couple of last minute things this past week. First off, I'm happy to announce that we get to stay in host families in Malaga! I'm looking forward to meeting some people who are kind enough to welcome us into their homes.

Second, my friend and coworker in Dallas, McKenna is going too! We're going to hand out cards about Heroic Media to people we meet in hopes they can spread the good news of our work with others. She struck gold and will get to be on stage for the closing mass...with...the...POPE. I can't wait to hear about her trip when we get back.

On August 17th, Wednesday, Ashley and I will be attending the World Youth Day Pro-Life conference! I'm stoked. There will be speakers, events, concerts and more. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Prolife movement from the other parts of the world. I believe this event is actually put on by the Irish. Sounds great to me! :)

Tomorrow I leave for San Antonio at 7 PM. We get on a bus to Houston and head out at 9:45 PM. We'll get to the Houston airport around 1 AM and check in for our international flight. We head to Miami at 6 AM and endure a 7 hour layover before we flight out at 5:00 PM, Miami Time. We'll get to Madrid at what is their 7:30 AM and then head south to Malaga. What a trip. I wonder how much sleep I am going to get!

This past weekend we had a retreat with the Catholic 20-Somethings Ministry that I am a part of. We got to dig deep into the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father. It was such a good time with good friends and really relaxed me. I had an anxious 2 weeks before this trip and I think I'm finally calming down from being stressed to getting really excited about the trip. I don't mean to be dramatic, but I feel that this trip is going to really change my life. I'm not sure how, but I know it's going to be good.

fbt&<3

One week and counting

That's right. I've been counting down for over a year and it's finally down to one week left. I guess technically by now in one week my trip will have begun, and we will be pulling into Houston Inter Continental Airport to prepare for a flight to Miami...

One week. I will do my best not to be dramatic, but I truly feel like God wants me to really earn this escape. Not a vacation, and not a break, but more of an escape. I will be traveling nonstop, sleeping on a floor somewhere, eating whatever I am fed and walking a lot in the sun. Sounds incredible, right? Pretty much like my time in Drum Corps -- everything is taken care of, so just focus on the main idea.

My main idea is going to be living out each day for God, His plan and His purpose. Shouldn't we be living like that now? Oh yes, but with our crazed maxed out and stressful lives, it's hard to focus on what God is telling us.

The reasons that I am calling my pilgrimage an escape is based on the list of major responsibilities that I have to focus on in this last week. In no particular order: we are transitioning our entire website and all social networks over this week and Monday, we are leading a retreat for fellow young adult Catholics all weekend, I have 2 freelance graphic design jobs with Monday deadlines, and some family health issues. I have no free evenings left between the retreat and ministry commitments and I can't seem to sleep at night. Whew! All of these things are good (except for the sleeping part) and I am luckily not spiritually stressed. I might be in denial, but he symptoms show that my body is stressed! Because of all of this, I am looking forward to my escape, and the accompanying challenge of returning with God as the center of my universe and keeping Him there as I adjust back to my work overflowing with responsibilities. I think it will be hard, but nothing is impossible with God.

I have an extra massage scheduled already.

Sabrina
fbt&<3