For years, Mariano prayed for the woman who would become his wife. Each time he met a girl, he asked God if she was his future spouse and every time God said no. If he had to wait until the age of 30 to have his first girlfriend, he would wait. In the meantime, he spent his days learning English at an institute after teaching himself the language from a textbook. When people told him he was crazy because he spent hours and hours studying, he worked even harder.
While Mariano was learning English, I was not searching for a husband and was avoiding men altogether. With singleness came comfort and precious solitude. I did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. If I wanted a sweatshirt for my dog, I bought it. I didn’t have to worry about anyone else, and I wasn’t prepared to give that up. There was no room in my busy schedule for a man, nor was there space in my life for one.
But obviously I had time to go to my favorite place in the world. A few months before the scheduled trip, I happened to read a post from my church about going to the Dominican Republic in January 2020. Every bit of my soul wanted to go, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right time, so I went to the first meeting “just to get information.” I don’t think the question was ever, “Will I go?” Instead it was, “Will I come back?”
Around this time, by chance or because of God, Mariano met a man who spoke English at the gym. He worked for a Christian organization who needed translators, the same organization I was planning on traveling with. Mariano eagerly accepted the job where he would be able to practice speaking English a couple days a week.
However, a hotel also called and offered him substantially better compensation. He didn’t know what to do. He needed the job at the hotel and he needed the money. But something didn’t feel right, and he wanted to be certain it was what God wanted.
I wasn’t sure if I should go on the mission trip, either. There were so many reasons not to go. I didn’t have enough money, my school district announced their financial crisis the day I requested time off for the trip, my school told me they would fire me if I went, and the list continued on and on. I knew in my heart that God told me to go, but I didn’t want to get fired for doing what I thought was the right thing to do.
Then Mariano’s mother fell and broke her leg the morning he should have started working at the hotel, and his older brother pleaded against the well-paying job which should have thrilled him. “This is not a good time for you to go to the hotel,” he said. There was something in the tone of his voice which made Mariano listen. Instead of going to work, he accompanied his mother to the hospital.
Meanwhile, God pushed me to go on the trip no matter what might happen when I returned. I had to go on THAT trip, even though I couldn’t explain why. I couldn’t go another time. I had no idea there would be a pandemic two months later, I just knew I was supposed to go.
About a month later, in the middle of January, Mariano left the hospital where his mother was staying and hopped on a bus to be a translator for a group of doctors, medical professionals, and a teacher. And for some unknown reason, this teacher caught his attention. They chatted for a moment and went their separate ways, but Mariano remembered her and she remembered him.
Upon returning to the United States a week later, I wasn’t fired, only disappointed. If they let me go, I planned on teaching in the Dominican. I had applied to a Christian school as a back-up plan, which was my dream job in my dream location. So I planned to finish the school year and accept a position as a 6th grade teacher, anyway. I would finally move to the Dominican Republic after talking about it for nearly ten years.
A few weeks later, Mariano added me on Facebook. Of course I accepted his request because there was no way he would ever like me, he’s 5 years younger than me, and nothing was going to happen other than a possible friendship. Besides, I had many questions about the Dominican and I wanted to practice speaking Spanish.
It surprised me to find how funny he was, and our conversations were always interesting. He loved God more than anything else, and this love was encouraging. I never heard him complain about anything, and he was continually grateful for what God had given him.
Ten days after we started talking, Mariano had something very important to tell me.
He waited ten days to tell me he liked me as more than a friend. In fact, he admitted he possibly loved me but told me to pray about it and think about it first. There was no pressure at all for me to say anything, which I didn’t. Then he ended the video call.
Frozen, all I could do was stare at my phone screen and nod my head in response to his “important information.” I thought maybe he was dying or moving to another country or something. The last thing I expected to hear was that he liked me. I didn’t know what to think. Actually, I didn’t believe him. He didn't even know me, so how could he possibly love me?
The next day, I told him I didn’t believe him, but he insisted he meant it. Certainly he would change his mind after I told him everything about me, including my mistakes and my flaws. Surely he would change his mind about loving me once he knew who I really was. I was wrong.
I didn't want a boyfriend or a husband, but Mariano possessed every characteristic of a Godly companion on my theoretical list. The more I talked to God about it, the more I realized my reasons for not wanting a man were selfish and rooted in fear. So we began our long-distance relationship.
For six months, we called and video chatted nearly every day. We couldn’t go anywhere or do anything during quarantine times, so we talked and talked and talked. When he needed Wi-Fi, his neighbor would share theirs. When he needed money for data on his phone, it appeared. The internet signal was terrible, especially at the hospital, but we somehow found a way to spend time together. Sometimes we only talked for a few minutes before we lost the connection, but we were grateful for those moments because God was with us, strengthening our relationship.
On the day of my arrival in the Dominican Republic, Mariano and I planned to officially meet each other for the second time. I had just traveled for many hours, and sweat was still pouring down my face from dragging my bags through the airport after failing to find a luggage cart. I had exactly 30 minutes to see Mariano, really see him for the first time.
I set out down the street so focused on not getting lost that I completely missed the figure race across the road in my direction. Before I knew what hit me, a man wrapped his arms around me and spun me around. I could only assume it was Mariano.
The moment Mariano saw me walking down the street, he ran as fast as possible in the sweltering heat so we could be together. He didn’t care that it was over 100 degrees outside. He didn’t care what anyone on the street thought about him.
I don’t deserve this man. A man who was so excited we were finally together, he completely forgot to kiss me until the next day. A man who loves God more than comfort and money. A man who couldn't wait any longer than twenty-four hours to ask me to marry him.
(Of course, I said yes.)
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