I have been blessed and encouraged to hear from our different interns about how the Lord is working in their lives and has drawn them to Himself.\u00a0 This blog concludes our series introducing our current group of interns.\u00a0 Kayla is the final intern to introduce. Kayla began her internship in July and has jumped into observing counseling and encouraging residents with her joyful spirit.<\/p>\n
Hi All!\u00a0 My name is Kayla.\u00a0 I am from Columbus, Ohio.\u00a0 I already know your next questions\u2026 I am kind of short-of (not really) a Buckeye fan.\u00a0 Honestly, I don\u2019t care about sports and just say that I am so I don\u2019t get in trouble with the masses of people I know who are.\u00a0 However, when it comes to my relationship with Jesus, I am not a fan, but by God\u2019s grace, a completely committed follower. My greatest passion is Jesus Christ, with Philippians 3:8 being one of my life verses.\u00a0 I desire to know Christ and to be like Him.\u00a0 <\/strong>I LOVE to invest in others and help them to do the same.\u00a0 Place me in a coffee shop with a young girl who wants to grow in her relationship with Christ, and I am in my happy place! \u00a0If you want to get to know me, you probably need to get to know my family a little, too. I am the oldest of six kids (I promise you, there is never a dull moment).\u00a0 My youngest sibling is 5.\u00a0 With 14 years between us, I am 19.\u00a0 We are a family who loves to run.\u00a0 Both my parents ran track in cross-country in high school and college.\u00a0 I guess you could say running is in my blood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I love to tell people about how God got a hold of my heart!\u00a0 He is such a gracious and merciful Father and I am so thankful for His redeeming work in my life!\u00a0 Growing us as a pastor\u2019s Kid, I thought I was a pretty good person.\u00a0 I assumed because I knew all the Sunday School answers and my life revolved around church, I was a Christian.\u00a0 But surprise, surprise, I wasn\u2019t<\/strong>.\u00a0 At nine years old, God took my family through a hard season as my dad was hurtfully excused from his pastoral position.\u00a0 One week, life was fine and then next week we moved, never to return to that church, my friends and everything I knew and loved.\u00a0 My perfect, peaceful world was ripped from me.\u00a0 So I blamed God.\u00a0 He\u2019s in control of everything, right?\u00a0 If He truly loved me, He wouldn\u2019t have allowed this to happen!\u00a0 Three years of bitterness, unforgiveness, and anger were what God used to reveal my heart (Titus 3:3-5).<\/strong>\u00a0 I tried to be \u201cgood\u201d on my own.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 I tried to forgive the people who had hurt me.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 At age 12, God finally used my brokenness to bring me to the cross.\u00a0 I now saw my need for Jesus.\u00a0 I realized my need for the gospel and that there was nothing I could do to be good enough or earn my salvation.\u00a0 Two years later, at age 14, God intersected my life with another transformative truth.\u00a0 Not only was Jesus my Savior, but if Jesus was my Savior, He also had to be my Lord<\/strong>.\u00a0 To follow Jesus, I needed to daily surrender to Him, submit to His authority, conform my life to His Word and allow Him to use me however He wished.\u00a0 And so I can confidently say, \u201cI have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 (Galatians 2:20).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How did you hear about the VOH internship? Why were you interested in coming here to serve for a year?<\/p>\n Two years ago, I attended the Biblical Counseling Training Conference.\u00a0 This is where I heard about Vision of Hope.\u00a0 I thought it sounded like a neat opportunity: working with girls, exposure to biblical counseling, getting involved in the Faith community, growing in relationships with other interns.\u00a0 However, I had other plans for my future, until God changed them and brought me here!\u00a0 And I am so glad He did!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What are you excited to learn and grow in at VOH?<\/p>\n Primarily, I want to grow in my relationship with Jesus.\u00a0 Moving away from home, my church family, and friends has been a challenge.\u00a0 Everything here is new: new relationships, new church family, new ministry, new living space.\u00a0 And new isn\u2019t easy for people like me who HATE change and unpredictability.\u00a0 So, this is a perfect opportunity for me to cling to Jesus!\u00a0 Also, there is a daily awareness that I can\u2019t be the intern God wants me to be without His help.\u00a0 These girls don\u2019t need me.\u00a0 What I say or do will never produce change in their lives unless the Lord is at work!\u00a0 To be effective, I have no choice but to be dependent on Him.\u00a0 The Lord has already been drawing me closer to Himself and I am excited to see how this will continue in the months to come.\u00a0 Also, I want to gain wisdom through experience.\u00a0 Part way through my ACBC certification, I have knowledge about Biblical Counseling.\u00a0 However, as I sit in on counseling sessions and learn from staff and other interns, I want to grow in my understanding of how to apply that knowledge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you would like to learn and minister at Vision of Hope, please contact us for more information on the different ways you could be a part serving the Lord at our ministry. We have both needs and opportunities for volunteers <\/a>and interns <\/a>to serve with us as we share the hope of the gospel with hurting women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"