intern spotlight: justin

​Justin Dillenback
5 month intern
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Age: 23
Hometown: Sandwich, IL

Future plans:
Apprenticeship in pottery, then teaching pottery

What has been a highlight of internship?
Going out with interns and having time around the table family style. Being able to sit around the table and laugh and pass food around - there’s something really special about that.

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What has been a challenge of internship? 
Giving consequences is extrememly difficult. What I want oftentimes is to give the students good things. I want to give them good things, but I feel like I’m seeing more how God feels. He has given us the gift of Christ on the cross, the promise that we’re no longer slaves to fear, to the law, to sin. He’s given us grace and forgiveness and freedom. Even though we‘ve been given those gifts, we punish ourselves; we continue living in sin as though we’re still slaves to sin. We take those gifts and trample on them. We want to do things our way because we think our way is better. I give students grace, but sometimes they don’t want my grace...

How have you grown from internship?
I realized how amazing it is that these students have recognized their brokenness and their need for restoration, their need for healing. How amazing it is that they’ve decided that “I do need help and I’m going to forget about pride and submit myself to a program.” In a sense these students are much braver than I ever was. I didn’t want people to know that I was broken or that I am broken. I wanted people to see this cookie cutter person. And to see students willing to give up an image for the sake of healing and growing in their relationship with God – it’s humbling. I want to be like that.

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Justin enjoys using pottery as an avenue of discipleship. “We are creators made in the image of a Creator. By being involved in the creating process we better understand what it may be like between the Creator and His creation. It helps us understand with visual images what our spiritual development may or could look like.” 

“Justin has had a big impact on my life, because he’s taught me to get back on the path of Christ...”

- Anthony, student

(Above: Justin works with CEM student Nate on the pottery wheel.)​

Sidenote: A kiln was donated shortly after Justin’s arrival, enabling students to fire pieces they’ve created. ​​