Emmanuel.

I am a last minute packer. I often forget important things like my toothbrush... or once, when I forgot to pack any tee-shirts at all for my oldest son on a three-week trip to visit family. I throw things into the bag, and hope for the best.

On Tuesday morning, I ran into school for an hour or so to leave everything in order. I'd be leaving for a week, gone during the pay period for students and payroll time for employees. I left all of the food and payments and said goodbye to the kids and teachers. The plan was to get things ready at home and finish my day teaching at the university. When I got home, I would pack my bags, snuggle my kids and get a good night's rest before heading to Florida on Wednesday morning.

You know what they say about the best laid plans, right? Well, I got home and my daughter had been throwing up since I left. She needed to go to the doctors to make sure it was nothing serious. Her dad came home from work to take her, and I organized my class plans and got ready for work. He called and told me that they were now in the emergency room where she was getting rehydrated and having a blood panel and other tests run.

The test results said she had not one, but two lovely parasites - each of which was resistant to one of the two anti-parasite meds, which meant she'd need to get both. Intravenously. Overnight. In the hospital.

On a normal day, this wouldn't be an concern - parasites are fairly common on the island and we are lucky to have good medical insurance. But, I still hadn't packed or prepared anything for my trip. I shot off an email to my mission partner letting him know what was up. He wrote back quickly, saying he's praying for our daughter. It then said Emmanuel.

My mission partner is Korean. He uses at least two names when he signs - I call him by his last name, but Dominicans and Haitians call him Santiago, but never Emmanuel. I was confused. Did he change his name again?

I rushed home after my last class and threw all of my things in a suitcase, grabbed some sheets and a pillow and called a taxi to take me to the airport. I ran into our neighbor's house and kissed my youngest son goodbye while he slept. I arrived at the hospital and had to convince the security guard to let me in since it was well past visiting hours, and my husband and oldest son left for home.

In the morning, my stomach began to hurt. I knew what was happening - I had the parasite! And needed to get on a plane in a few short hours. The pediatrician graciously wrote me a prescription with instructions to drink plenty of fluids. I opened my email before I left the hospital to check in for my flight and saw the email from my partner again - signed Emmanuel.

You can probably imagine my anxiety - using the airplane bathroom is not fun in ordinary circumstances. You have to climb over your seat mates, wait in line and then feel bad that people are waiting for you to finish. It's not ideal. When I got on the plane though, it wasn't even half full! I had no seat mates to climb over and no lines to wait in for the bathroom. It seems like a small thing, but it was a real gift.

I made it to Florida without a hitch. I rented a car and headed to see my grandfather in central Florida. I then traveled on to the coast for a weekend full of meeting and organizing and planning and more. I was able to meet with people who are interested in supporting Futuro, people who are coming to partner with us, and people who are helping us become a legal foundation in the US. Through it all, my parasite did its thing, but I didn't feel terrible.

On Friday, we filed articles of incorporation in the state of Florida for Futuro, and it was thrilling. I opened my email to check for the receipt and saw the email from my partner again - Emmanuel. I realized he wasn't signing his name. He was telling me God is with us. It was tacked onto an email about praying for my daughter and for my trip. God is with us - Emmanuel.

I believe that God is with us. God is with us through the good and the bad, through the parasitic infections that threaten to derail our plans and through the healthy times as well. There are big things in store for our community, I can feel it and I choose to continue to believe in Emmanuel - God is with us.

"These kids made the experience a lot better and manageable throughout the heat."

In July 2018, Futuro Lleno de Esperanza welcomed four international interns to live and work with and in our community. They've been asked to share their experience in the form of a blogpost.

If you are interested in experiencing the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2019, we will be launching our intern applications in the coming weeks. We strive to offer low cost international experiences for teenagers that benefit both our community and the interns development and growth.

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I am Changmin Yu, but everyone calls me Alex because it is a lot simpler. I am currently 17 turning 18 very soon. I am attending Rowan University located in New Jersey. Last year, I was approached by the Head Pastor of my church, Pastor Doh, right after I came back from my fourth one week mission, this time from Mexico. He told me that I should think about going on missions for an extended period of time. At first, I did not think it was for me. I loved kids, and I loved doing God’s work, but I did not think I would ever be able to go on missions for more than a week. One week was tiring itself, how would I hold up for a month? So, at the time, I shook it off and played it as if he was joking around. However, I always kept it in the back of my mind. After college apps were done, Pastor Doh approached me again. This time I agreed to go to… Mexico?!!! I needed someone to go along with me to keep my sanity in tact, and luckily Chris agreed to go with me. We planned for months trying to figure out what we can do, and how we can do it. However, the biggest blessing was probably when we found out that the place in Mexico we were planning on staying was not ready. Our plans changed to going to the Dominican Republic. This change was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me.

For two weeks out of the four we were there, Chris and I joined the Futuro Lleno de Esperanza team as interns. Here we met such great people. Lee, Anni, Hayes, Chris, and I spent most of the two weeks together even when we weren’t working with the kids. Together we became “#yo_soy_team”, and together we attacked every obstacle in front of us head on. And the person who made this all possible for us, Melanie. Before arriving, Chris and I only knew Melanie by her voice and her profile picture on WhatsApp. However, when we got there, she totally passed my expectations of who she was. She welcomed us with open arms and treated us like adults. She is the cool principal that every wants running their high school. The one who talks to the kids in a loving fashion, yet can discipline when a kid goes out of line. Melanie was the biggest help from the team, and she was the motherly figure for all of us to look up to.

I can never forget about the kids. They have been on mind the whole time ever since coming back from the Dominican Republic. I wish I was able to communicate with them more. However, with my broken Spanish and hand signals, I was able to get my points across. From playing basketball with the older guys to just sitting down and watching kids, I will treasure every moment I was able to share with them.

           Since this was the third time coming to the Dominican Republic, I was already used to the names they called me because I know that’s just a way to get closer to people. I miss the kids constantly calling me “gordo” (fatty) or “chino” (used as a reference to all Asian people). These kids have hearts of gold. They just need attention that they may not get from their parents. These kids made the experience a lot better and manageable throughout the heat.

Finally, I would like to thank anyone I wasn’t able to mention. Everyone I met at the Dominican Republic will hold a special part in my heart. I really encourage potential interns to just really enjoy every moment when you’re there, especially those with the kids. And if you are on the fence on whether you want to apply or not, I hope this really helps you decide. So, to the Futuro Lleno de Esperanza team I wish you good luck! Also, I hope that the future is bright for the program. Thank you for the moments we shared and thank you for reading.

"We don't want to be a fortress"

I arrived at the school at 9am. I was stopped by our intern, Lee, who was trying to communicate something crazy to me. Something about popcorn and the kitchen and I don't even know what else. Then, Raquel, our vice principal, comes around the corner.

"They didn't steal anything."

I'm still confused and wondering what is going on. I have a Korean-English-Spanish story in one ear, and Raquel's simple words in the other.

"Stop. What?"

Apparently, during our long weekend break, a group of people decided that the schoolyard was theirs and jumped the fence to enter. Not only did they jump the fence, they broke the locks on the kitchen door and helped themselves to our facilities. They burnt all of the popcorn, consumed all of the ketchup, and then disconnected the hose from the gas tank and filled the kitchen with the sooty black oil of propane gas. As if they wanted to waste everything, they then opened the spigots and let the water flow freely until the water tank was left empty.

Beyond the popcorn and ketchup, nothing was technically stolen. The gas and water were "used" but not taken from us. The police weren't willing or able to do much to help us.

It might seem simple - some "kids" jumped a fence and vandalized our space. But it's not simple, and it has been eating at me all week. We have tried so hard to create a space that is safe and welcoming to the community. We've tried not to cover our walls with broken glass (a common defense mechanism for cinderblock walls) or line the periphery with barbed wire. Last year, we had cameras and an alarm installed, but these do nothing to the aesthetic of the school. We didn't want the safe space to have to look like a prison to be... well, safe.

Since the beginning of the summer, our neighbor has been siphoning water from our holding tank. Water is expensive, and it's necessary for the school. Numerous times kids have jumped our fences and spread our trash all over - probably looking for "treasures," but creating chaos in the schoolyard for our staff to clean up the next day: time spent away from the true job of teaching and loving our students. One of the cameras got pulled out of its socket, and there's just been a mess of things going on.

Luckily, these occurrences have all been inconvenient, but not terrible. Annoying, but not life threatening. Budget bending, but not breaking. Even still, the popcorn party has bothered me a lot. I haven't been able to get out of my own head because this violation - the breaking of locks and sheer waste of resources - to me, has been worse than if they perpetrators actually stole something.

I've looked to friends for support - but I try not to talk too much about the undesirable parts of our community for fear that our visitors won't feel safe. It's also hard to understand my frustration without understanding the community and our role in it. I've searched in the Bible for wisdom, and everything I've found doesn't seem to apply in this situation.

We do not want to be a fortress. But it seems like, in order to protect our resources, we will have to build higher walls and buy stronger locks. Proverbs tells us that we have to trust wisdom and she will never let us down - and so wisdom is saying we need to protect the safe space so that we can continue to provide a refuge to those who come to us. It means we will have to work harder to be more welcoming, to open our doors more frequently, and to be the light we have always desired to be.

It is hard to find a balance, a balance between being welcoming and protecting ourselves and those we love. Open hearts lead to open hands, but - I'm learning - just because I open my hands doesn't mean I should not protect what I hold for those who most need it, and to protect it from those who would damage it.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." -- 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9