Visiting My Colombian and Dominican Sponsored Children- Trip Three: My Visit with Sonia :)

Thursday was a special day because this was the day that I planned to meet a child that I use to sponsor who lives in Cartagena. I sponsored Sonia when she was five or six years old and I was her sponsor for about five years. I was able to meet her in 2011 but she unexpectedly left the program about a month later. I was able to send a final letter and receive a final letter from her but I always wondered how she was doing. I was able to locate her aunt on Facebook and through her aunt (that I met on the 2011 trip), I was able to connect with Sonia's mother on Facebook. We communicated on Facebook although it was not easy because she does not speak English and I know very little Spanish. My friend, Emily, helped us to communicate because she knows Spanish and she lives in Barranquilla. We agreed to meet Thurs. under the clock tower in the Old City at 10:00 am and I was very excited :)

I decided to spend Wed. night in a hotel that was located closer to the center of the Old City because I wanted a nice hot shower and a larger bed to rest in. The hotel that I selected was a nice hotel that was not far from the clock tower, so after a nice restful night, I hiked it up to to the clock tower. It was a busy little hike and by the time I arrived I was a little tired and soaked from the hot sun. As I waited under the clock tower, I found a few small gifts for Sonia that I wanted to give her along with the T shirt and necklace that I found in Ft. Lauderdale. After waiting for awhile I began to worry that something had come up and they might not have been able to make it. But just as I was thinking this, I turned around and there they were! I was very happy to see Sonia and her mom. Sonia has grown into a beautiful young lady!

After Sonia received her gifts, we decided to eat at a nearby Subway restaurant. And when I say that it was difficult to communicate, it was difficult to communicate! I had been using an online translator while I was in the DR and Colombia, so I asked one of the employees if they had WiFi. At first he said that they did not have it, but later he permitted me to connect to the store's WiFi when he saw that we were having a very hard time communicating :) After that, things went a little smoother and I was able to find out that Sonia was doing well, liked school, and wanted to become a skater. She looked very happy and that made me happy. I think that I am still in shock that I found her again and that we actually met, that it actually went very smoothly. I was very thankful that I was able to see her again and I hope that we can stay in touch :) I wish her and her family the best.