Though TJ succesfully transitioned into young adulthood, he didn’t feel a sense of fulfillment when he got there. As he prayed through this season, he found a CEM business card on the floor of his car. Though TJ had visited CEM a couple of years prior, he resisted God’s invitation to internship. This time around, still disillusioned with life, TJ prayed that only if someone was to reach out to him regarding internship would he come. Two people contacted him in the same day.

Despite his initial resistance to God’s call, TJ is leaving CEM more impacted from the past eight months than he could have anticipated from such a short window of time.

“I’ve allowed God to use me in ways I wouldn’t have expected God to use me. I wasn’t just brought here to be a body; I was brought here to be a part of the body. I’ve been privileged to live with the people here.

​​I love the students. I love the interns. I love the staff. There hasn’t been a day here where I haven’t seen God move in some way. There hasn’t been a day when I’ve thought the sacrifice of my time was not worth it.” ​

“Before [my internship] I had to seclude myself to hear God...I would set aside an hour or two for quiet time. It was hard to get alone time with God in the structure of Ranch life...[But] day to day, He would reveal things through daily interactions...He’s always with me. Before I needed to make an appointment. [Now] I’m often praying in the moment during the day, drawing as close as I can… “
​- David Hernandez, 3-month intern

“Something I observed in the dorm that I was hesitant to address at first was the negativity surrounding body image. When the girls were getting ready in the morning, they would be poking at different parts of their bodies, asking, “Why can’t I change this?” My first response was to tell them, “You’re beautiful.” I quickly realized my words were being deflected... but I wanted them to see that their health is so much more than physical health. I would ask them, “What do you love about yourself? What do you like about your roommate?” We made daily goals to better our physical health, but I really strived to help them look internally, too. There were nights when we were rolling on the floor laughing while doing an ab workout. I realized it is the small things of daily life that we can speak into.”
​- Vanessa Harris, 3-month intern

After completing her internship in August, Vanessa returned to William Jessup University to complete her last semester of studies in Psychology. ​