Without our interns, Vision of Hope would look drastically different than it does today. We rely on our interns to supervise residents through the normal activities of their day and to act as a liaison between residents and Senior Staff. Interns are responsible for overseeing meal prep, study halls, recreation time, house and lawn chores, free time and so much more. Additionally, they are generally the ones to intervene in minor crisis situations. Interns are often the first responders to any sort of problem that may come up during the day, from residents feeling ill to missing a key ingredient for that day’s lunch to evacuating residents from the building when burnt toast sets off the fire alarm.
Interns start their year-long internship program either in January or July. If you are interested in joining our internship team, please contact Annie Martin, our Intern Coordinator, at amartin@faithlafayette.org.
Over the next several weeks, we want our readers to hear from our current group of interns. Our intern team is doing a fantastic job at showing the love of Christ to our residents while also pointing them to the blessings of submitting to His Word in their lives. Today, meet Laura, who joined our intern team in July, 2019.
Hi! My name is Laura Trubenstein (troo-ben-stine). I am from San Angelo, Texas and was studying as a Biblical Counseling major at Boyce College before coming to the internship.
My testimony is a crazy one, but the Lord has been faithful throughout it all. I often tell the residents that I could have been in the Vision of Hope program a year and a half ago and that is so true. Growing up in Texas, I just kind of “knew” I was a Christian (although I was not). I had confessed with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, but I did not believe in my heart (Romans 10:9-10). I was heavily involved with my church in Texas and ended up going to a Bible college for pete’s sake: however, my motives were selfish. I wanted the attention from others that I should have been pointing to the Lord.
Through my classes in Bible College, my church in Jeffersonville, a very special man in my life, and the Lord’s conviction, I realized my need for Jesus Christ. I could not save myself, and my life was falling apart because I thought I could. The Lord graciously saved me during April of 2018, and I wish I could say I was on fire for the Lord from that point on . . . but I would be lying. Learning to give my sins to the Lord was difficult. I had to completely change the way I had been thinking for the past 19 years of my life. It was hard, but it resulted, and, I pray, will always result in the Lord’s glory (Romans 8:18).
How did you hear about the VOH internship? Why were you interested in coming to VOH to serve for a year?
I heard about Vision of Hope through my boyfriend, Matthew. He and his family had been to Faith’s Biblical Counseling Training Conference and they love what Faith Church does for the community in Lafayette. Matthew and I visited Faith Church and he showed me around the campuses. As I was looking for summer internships, I looked on Faith’s website. I was only looking for a counseling internship, but I found my way on Vision of Hope’s website!
I soon realized that the Vision of Hope internship was for a year rather than a summer. This was a BIG commitment, since I was still in school and hopeful for a big life change soon. However, the Lord worked in my heart and I realized that this year would be full of growth and opportunities that I would not be able to find anywhere else!
What are you excited to learn and grow in the rest of this internship?
I am 1) excited to be given the opportunity to receive my ACBC certification and 2) learn to trust in the Lord and His timing/work in my life. It is great to see how the Lord is working in the lives of the other interns and the residents, and it helps me see that although I may feel like the Lord is not near, He is, He cares, and I can rest in that.
What has been a favorite memory at VOH so far?
My favorite memory at Vision of Hope consists of a late night, very tired interns, and whipped cream. I have a “whipped cream trick” where I put whipped cream on my hand, hit it up in the air, and catch the flying whipped cream in my mouth. I somehow convinced all of the interns in the apartment to try the trick. The night was full of laughter, screams, and whipped cream on the walls and floor.
If you were to plan a fun activity for the residents, what would you plan and why?
If I were to plan an activity for the residents, it would involve paint. I would fill balloons/paper bags/plastic bags/etc with paint. I would pin the bags of paint to a canvas board (or something of that sort) and allow the girls to throw things at the bags of paint in order to pop them! There would obviously be tarps everywhere in order to keep things “clean”, but the activity would be based on MESS!
