In the middle of what? Dezar\u00e9e Case is an intern who has seen the middle of many things.\u00a0 Many of you with any connection with Vision of Hope may be thinking Dezar\u00e9e? Who is Dezar\u00e9e? Let me introduce you to the newest member of our intern team, Dezar\u00e9e Case from northern New York state. On the day I am writing this, she has been at the house for exactly one week!\u00a0 While the rest of us are busy going on about our already established schedules and duties, Dezar\u00e9e finds herself in the middle of a steep learning curve.<\/p>\n
Dezar\u00e9e was on schedule to come join our team in July, but for reasons I will discuss shortly, she was not able to come at that time. Though it seemed like it would be best to assign her to the new team in January, 2014, God had other plans. Though our God doesn\u2019t change, our situations sure do! So, Dezar\u00e9e joined our team in the middle of the internship season and is a willing learner, hopping into her shifts and learning in the middle of the VoH milieu.<\/p>\n
Last summer\u2019s change of plans came as quite a shock to Dezar\u00e9e. One day before she was scheduled to depart for Indiana, she got a call from her doctor saying she could not go. Although Dezar\u00e9e readily admits her disappointment and many tears, she could see that, \u201cthis was totally God!\u201d While working through some medical issues, she learned a very valuable life lesson. \u201cI have no control over my life whatsoever. I may as well get used to that now.\u201d This was not a lesson she begrudgingly accepted but one she embraced with patience and trust in a good and sovereign God. Being at home, she had her family for support and was cared for by a gifted medical team who, \u201cwere incredible to me.\u201d Because of the grace of her Savior, Dezar\u00e9e was able to have peace in the middle of an unexpected and sudden hardship.<\/p>\n
When it became clear that she could not join our team in July, the immediate question became, when should she come? It was deemed best to move her to the January rotation. This was the plan until circumstances changed in Indiana, and the intern coordinator called her up. Much to Dezar\u00e9e\u2019s surprise, an invitation was offered for her to come very soon.\u00a0 Her first reaction to the invitation was that she didn\u2019t want to come before the rest of her team in January. She knew she would be at the bottom of the knowledge chain. Since Dezar\u00e9e was used to being a leader and a teacher, she knew this would take much humility. But, Dezar\u00e9e accepted the challenge.\u00a0 And, just as she suspected, she is already learning much since her arrival. \u201cI\u2019m just here to love [the girls]. I\u2019m just here to represent Christ.\u201d\u00a0 Dezar\u00e9e can already see areas where she needs to grow. Here at VoH, she is in the middle of fertile soil for spiritual growth.<\/p>\n
Even from the moment Dezar\u00e9e learned of her delay in coming to VoH, the Lord has been comforting her. The Sunday following her decision not to come in July her pastor preached about life not going the way we want.\u00a0 \u201cBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God\u201d<\/strong> (2 Cor. 1:3-4).<\/strong> It sure seems like God has Dezar\u00e9e in the middle of both being comforted by her Lord Jesus Christ as well as learning to comfort those to whom she ministers.<\/p>\n So, why did the VoH internship sound appealing to Dezar\u00e9e in the first place? Dezar\u00e9e, like a few of the other interns that have come through VoH\u2019s doors, has a home church with a similar vision and ministry to help hurting women. Her church has renovated a house and is ready to accept three girls for residency. Her future will include applying what she learns here to help streamline the systems back home to maximize her church\u2019s ministry to those hurting around them. Someday she hopes to be able to serve in a counseling capacity as well.\u00a0 Dezar\u00e9e sees VoH as the perfect place for \u201cgetting trained\u201d so she can jump back into the middle of the Kingdom work going on back at home.<\/p>\n Welcome to the middle of the team Dezar\u00e9e Case!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n