Intern Intros: Meet Kimberley!

Kimberley is in the middle in the photo above, surrounded by several of her fellow interns.

Sometimes interns are pursuing a career or ministry path of one type, when God redirects them to intern at Vision of Hope for a year. Kimberley’s background and job experience are in education, and while that may be a career she returns to in the future, for now God has her serving and learning at Vision of Hope. Hear how the Lord brought Kimberley to the VOH internship.

My name is Kimberley Hunt and I am from southern Ontario, Canada.  I grew up going to church every Sunday and praying before every meal.  When I was twelve years old, I spent a week at Awana Camp.  It was there that I realized that I was a sinner and in need of a Saviour.  I confessed my sin to Christ and decided to put my trust in Him.  After high school, I went to university to obtain a teaching degree.  During these five years, I was involved in Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.  For the first time, I had Christian friends my own age and had leaders discipling me one-on-one.  The time they spent investing in my life helped me grow in my relationship with Christ.  It was also during these five years that my love for First Nations people grew.  I decided that I wanted to teach in a First Nations community in Northern Ontario after graduation.  God opened the door for this to happen.  I spent the next three years teaching primary students.  During these three years, I saw so much brokenness.  In my third year, God allowed me to witness a tragedy.  Through this, I felt Him calling me to attend Word of Life Bible Institute (WOLBI) in Owen Sound, Ontario.  I spent that following year studying Scripture and being discipled.  It was a hard but freeing year.  

How did you hear about the VOH internship?  Why were you interested in coming to VOH to serve for a year?

During my time at WOLBI, my discipler, the dean of woman at the school, told me about Vision of Hope.  She thought I would be interested in doing the internship because she knew that the women who came to this residential treatment center faced some of the same struggles that I saw in the community in which I taught.  A reoccurring lesson that I learned throughout my time at WOLBI is the importance of being trained before going out on the mission field.  After learning more about VOH and the training I would receive, I thought this would be a great fit.  The training I receive here will better equip me to do ministry in the north (Lord willing).

What are you excited to learn and grow in the rest of this internship?

During the past few months, I have already learned so much.  God has been working in all areas of my life – from seeing and repenting of my own sin; sitting in on counseling sessions and seeing how the counselor directs the counselee back to Scripture; learning how to help the ladies apply what they learn in counseling; learning to wait on God’s timing; and having the opportunity to deepen my own faith, love and trust in Christ.  I am excited to continue learning all these things as well as so much more.  VOH is a great place to learn and is a safe place to make mistakes. 

What has been a favorite memory at VOH so far? 

One of my favorite memories is coming off shift to some of the other interns making gigantic bubbles outside.  We spent a good twenty minutes or so talking, laughing and making bubbles.  Afterwards, we all went inside and chilled in the living room.  It was a sweet time of fellowshipping with one another.  One of the interns had a whipping cream trick and the night ended with lots of laughter as we all tried to do the trick. 

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, I would want to take them on a hike.  During the hike, we would chat, pause to take photos and just enjoy being out in God’s creation.  I would also want to stop to have a picnic or a bonfire and sing praises to God.

Please visit our website for more information about VOH internships.

Jennifer Cantu
Jennifer Cantu works as a counselor and Shift Supervisor at Vision of Hope. She received her biblical counseling certification from ACBC in 2014. In addition to working at VOH, Jennifer counsels women through Faith Church’s counseling ministry. She is very thankful for ministry opportunities to help, teach and encourage women with God's Word.