Across the Ocean

Heyoo!

Today I'm going to talk about a country that means a lot to me, and that is the Dominican Republic.

Three years ago, in February 2010, my church sent a group of 20 young adults/adults, including myself, on a Missions Trip to the DR. We would be working in a village called Esperanza (Hope, in Spanish), building houses and playing with the children.

Here's a bit of geography. Esperanza Village is in Puerto Plata, so probably the closest to Canada.

Alright, now that that's over with (I hate geography), let's move on with the story.

So in Esperanza, I met a little 7-year-old girl named Isabella on the very first day we were there. She was really sweet, and immediately took a liking to me. As the days went on, Isabella and I grew very close, to the point where she would constantly be around me, holding my hand or wanting me to hold her, all the while teaching me some Spanish and Creole while I taught her some English. I loved that girl. When it was time to leave, we were both crying, and I promised to pray for her and think about her every day. Three years later, I still do.

When I got home, I went into a depression from missing it so much. I'm sure people who have gone on Mission Trips know what I mean by this. I would literally cry myself to sleep every night. I vowed that if I ever had kids, my first daughter would be named Isabella.

Now, our trip was the last to go for a while, so I didn't hear about Isabella for a very long time. But this year, my Pastor and friend, Mike, and his family went to live in the DR for 4 months. I secretly hoped, every day, that I would hear something about Isabella, even just a little note saying she was fine. And that's exactly what happened today.

I was facebook chatting with my mom, and she sent me the link to Mike's DR Trip blog, saying that he had met Isabella's mom, and he had seen her again. I quickly read the blog post, and I found out that she's 10 now, and she lives with her mom and brother, and she is healthy. I almost started crying because I was so happy! There was a picture, and she looks so beautiful and grown up! Here it is:

I miss her so much, and I hope to one day go back and see her. And I hope she remembers me!

That's all for now!

Cheerio!
xoxo Sophie