If I could be two places at once I’d be a) exactly where I am now (Chicago) and b) the Dominican Republic (surprised I didn’t answer Texas?). It’s been almost two years since I went to the DR for the first time on a mission trip. The experience left me so changed, I quit my insurance job exactly one month later just so I could move to the DR on a more permanent basis. My acceptance into grad school cut my time there short, but I can’t help but think that I would be there now if I hadn’t decided to pursue journalism and a higher education.

My good friend Cara (and DR roomie) just recently started a DR blog (carajanewelch.wordpress.com), which is the reason I’ve decided to drift down memory lane. Since her last blog post, I’ve been reflecting on my life here in the states, half wishing that I could be back in the DR with all those people who need help. I love where I am at right now, but it’s hard to see the good that I’m producing in a real, tangible way.

When I was working with Makarios, I got to see the faces of the children I worked with every day. I watched them get an education. I got to feed them. I got to love them. Those were tangible things. Here, I write a story, but I don’t know who reads it. I don’t know how it affects them. It’s hard for me to see the fruits of my labor. I want that instant gratification like I had in the DR.

However, I am blessed to be right where I am. And I know I’ve been called to this place. Life in the DR was extremely hard. No water. No AC. But more importantly, no family. It’s also extremely stressful and disheartening to witness such extreme poverty every day. Reading Cara’s blog about a young girl at our school who is now pregnant reminds me of that.

It’s tough to want to be in two places at once. But that’s life. The best I can do is recognize that life is full of cycles. Things can never last, or we’d never grow.