Destiny served as a Foundation Casa de Luz intern during the winter and spring of 2015-2016.  “During my time as an intern God taught me so much more than I can put into words. A theme of what He was teaching me during the first half of my internship was relying on Him….in all areas of my life; for fulfillment, energy, for the ability to serve Him and the people He has placed in my life, for communication, and love. I learned a lot about how God is fully sufficient and that, in Him, I lack nothing.  During the second half of my internship one thing I learned was that we are to inquire of the Lord always...in every situation, no matter how small. We are always to do the right thing but we are not always the right person to do the right thing. We need to, as followers of Christ, obey Him in every area of our life and be seeking what God has for us in each moment."  Destiny learned that God often leads us out of our comfort zone and into places that require greater dependence on Him.  “While serving in Honduras I taught English as a second language to three high school girls and a few moms from the community of Zambrano. I would NEVER have chosen to do that,” said Destiny, “but God had other plans and I could not be more thankful for that because through the classes I was able to build relationships and love on these ladies. It was challenging and humbling.”

Corey Stensberg served the people of Honduras and Casa de Luz through an Internship which took place September 2013 to May 2014.  Corey was the first male Casa de Luz intern, and set the pace for the 3 male interns that followed soon after. Corey is also the younger brother of the very first Casa de Luz intern, Sarah (Stensberg) McIlhaney. Corey recounts how, “God worked in my life in many ways during my time in Honduras through the Schubert family and other people who poured into and invested in me.  God taught me to see lost people as souls who need Jesus and how to have compassion for them. I learned what it meant to have a genuine love for people and care about their eternity, and at the same time my relationship with the Lord grew immensely.”  Corey’s favorite part about his internship in Honduras was, and still is, the people that he worked with and served next to every day. “The Lord taught me so much through them”, said Corey.  He is currently attending Montana Bible College studying towards a Bachelor degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Pastoral Ministry. About his next phase of life, Corey stated emphatically, “I believe that the Lord is calling me to full time vocational ministry in Honduras with Foundation Casa de Luz and this is the next step on that journey.”

Rachel Watson served Casa de Luz during a Summer Internship between her junior and senior years of high school.  During her time in Honduras God taught her what it means to live a life of ministry with a Kingdom perspective. “While learning from, and working with, Ed and Valerie I learned so much about being on ‘mission’ and showing Christ’s love to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers”, shared Rachel.  Speaking of how she was led to her current field of study, Rachel explained, “God used my time in Honduras to direct me to what I will be doing for a career. Through participating in a Casa de Luz Women’s Retreat and through hearing the stories about some of the kids that I worked with, God confirmed His leading for me to work with survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking.”  Rachel continued, “During my time in Honduras God gave me a deep love and appreciation for Latino culture and the Spanish language. It was because of my time in Honduras that I decided to learn Spanish.  Knowing Spanish opens the door to conversation with so many more people”, exclaimed Rachel.  Rachel is currently working at a “safe house” in Los Angeles, California as part of the completion of her degree. She is studying Ministry to Victims of Sexual Exploitation at Moody Bible Institute.

Cirse Cruz was Casa de Luz's first Honduran Intern!  Cirse served the children and families of her home nation for ten weeks in 2017.  Cirse is in her final year of study with a not-for-profit organization called "The Leadership Center", directed and founded by Joseph and Hailey Rahm.  "The Leadership Center" is designed to provide a college level education and advanced English as a Second Language to young Honduran women with financial challenges that would otherwise prevent them from earning a college degree.  At The Leadership Center, Cirse learned English, gained an extensive understanding of small business management, and was instructed in ethical practices within the work place, the community and the home.  Cirse was raised in a Christian home, with her father, mother, two brothers and two sisters.   She has the dream of opening her own Pre-school and Day Care facility in her hometown of Puerto Cortez which is the reason she desired to intern with Foundation Casa de Luz.  Through her internship, Cirse gained valuable information about how to operate a childcare facility, what type of equipment and curriculum to use for pre-school aged children, and the fine art of building community relations in order to have a successful connection with the surrounding community.

Anna was born and raised in a small town in northern Wisconsin. She is number 6 out of 9 children and she loves spending time with her family! She has twelve nieces and nephews and deeply loves every one of them! Anna is heavily involved in music and helps lead worship at her church almost every Sunday. She enjoys all kinds of sports and being active. Her family has always been supportive of overseas mission work and most of Anna’s family has been overseas in different countries serving with different organizations throughout the years.  Anna first came to know about Foundation Casa de Luz in 2013 when a group from her church took a trip to Honduras to serve with Ed & Valerie Schubert. Since that initial trip, Anna has returned to Honduras two additional times and each time God has broken her heart for the people of Honduras! Anna sensed God's leading toward an internship with Casa de Luz and she was excited to be able to serve the people of Honduras and to share the amazing story of Jesus’ love. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus told his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations”. Anna states she was blessed to be able to come alongside Him to fulfill that biblical mandate in Honduras!  On a personal heart level Anna shared, "My internship was a time of growth for me, recognizing my own sin in my life, confessing and dealing with it. Living a life outside the norm and being stretched with a different pace of life helped me pinpoint areas I needed to allow God to work on." Anna completed a Casa de Luz internship during August 2016 to May 2017.

Samantha had lived in Illinois all her life by the time she made her first trip to the Central American country of Honduras.  She has four brothers and one sister, and works in a small restaurant while attending college. Samantha first experienced the nation of Honduras and the children of Casa de Luz through a Volunteer PERSPECTIVE Team that served for a week with Casa de Luz in March of 2017.  After a week spent interacting with the families of Casa de Luz, Samantha had a strong desire to return to serve as an intern.  "I can't explain it fully, but when I left in March, I just knew in my heart that I would return and work as an intern for Casa de Luz", stated Samantha. Samantha's internship focused on Children's Ministry and Practical Helps for the Leadership of Casa de Luz. Samantha enjoys experiencing the differences of new cultures and living out the joy of sharing the Gospel with people near and far. ​Samantha served with Casa de Luz during August 2017.

Anna describes herself as a missionary kid (MK) who grew up in the nation of China. Anna is a graduate of Nicolet Bible Institute (NBI) in Northern Wisconsin.  Anna spent her time at NBI learning to love God's Word and solidifying her passion for the lost. Anna is now eager to live out what she has learned!  Anna loves people – especially children!  Anna shares that, "...the greatest thing in my life that I am learning, and hopefully will never stop learning, is that God is in control! The God that I know is one that I want all others to know!"  Anna served as a Casa de Luz intern from 2016-2017. "My Casa de Luz internship was a great opportunity to go deeper in my relationship with God.  I learned about how faithful God really is," says Anna.  "I was able to spend a lot of time with the Honduran children and simply love on them," she states with a smile. Anna says she also experienced how God answers prayers in "unique ways, sometimes in ways that challenged and stretched me!

Abigail Abbatacola was raised in the Chicago, IL area and is a graduate of Nicolet Bible Institute (NBI). In 2012, she traveled to San Pedro Sula, Honduras for a mission trip.  Abigail instantly fell in love with the people and the culture of Honduras, and she knew that she would be back. For the next three summers, she continued to travel back to San Pedro Sula from Chicago.  In 2015, Ed and Valerie Schubert came to Antigo Community Church and talked about Foundation Casa de Luz. During a ministry video they showed, Abigail cried the entire time and felt as if God was whispering to her,  “Abigail, that is where you are going.”  After the service, Abigail went up to Ed and Valerie and told them that she would love to be an intern for Casa de Luz.  Abigail recounts her goal during her internship, "One of my biggest prayers through my internship was to either confirm foreign missions as my calling or not. Through prayer and certain situations, God showed me that OVERSEAS missions is not my calling.  I have a passion and a love for children. I have a passion to fight for those who do not have a voice.  Being in Honduras taught me how to deal with hard and unthinkable circumstances and through my internship God revealed the fire and passion I need in order to now achieve my calling of being a social worker with a specialty in children and family services.  While in Honduras, God taught me that no matter if I am overseas or in my own home town, as a believer in Jesus Christ, I am a missionary."

James Sopata was an intern with Casa de Luz from 2014-2015. Although it was hard to be away from all his family and friends, James firmly states, “The internship was good for me. God taught me many things that I just couldn’t have learned otherwise. He opened my eyes to the very real world of poverty. He showed me that the people who you see in magazines struggling with hunger and looking for safety are very real people with wants and needs (some beyond the physical)”.  James learned a great deal about how to build a strong frame of mind through Christ, in order to deal with the many struggles and trails that will come. James recounted that God opened his eyes to his own complacency and impatience.  “I really can’t say enough about what this experience meant to me. It helped shape the way that I think and the person that I am. It opened my mind to the reality of the Worldwide Church”, James said.  ​Since returning to the U.S., James went back to school and earned his EMT licensing.  He currently works part-time as an EMT for a local rescue service and as a welder for a company in Green Bay. With great affection, James stated, “I will always remember my time in Honduras, and the people and friends I had the privilege to make there will always be close to my heart.”