2. 2
Elizabeth Weisenburger, MA
4440 Vieja Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Tel: 805.403.4289 | E-mail: eweisenburger@mac.com
October 10, 2011
¡Saludos La Montaña Team!
It has been such a pleasure to have been brought into the conversation and planning
process of your new internship program.
This is a revision of what I’d call the beginning of starting an internship packet, an
“internship 101” packet as Joe said, so to speak. By all means, there is much more to be
thought through and added to this packet, including cross-cultural orientation
information, budget information, etc., and other content that you, as youth ministers and
pastors will be able to inform and shape this important program you are beginning.
My hope is that this will help you, as we discussed Friday, to really think through what
your goals and purposes are for the program and begin shaping its design around those.
Please feel free to contact me, should you have any questions! I am sure we will be in
communication as you begin these first steps into what God is furthering for His kingdom
in Costa Rica and throughout Latin America.
Con much cariño y agradicimiento por
tomar parte de este mision increible,
Liz Weisenburger
3. 3
Table of Contents
Background Information on La Montaña Christian Camps 4
General Introduction to Internships Abroad 6
Benefits of Internships Abroad 7
First Steps in Internship Program Design 8
Identifying Mission, Purpose, Goals, & Objectives of Program
Mission, Purpose, Goals, & Objective Worksheet 10
Thinking Through Program Design Worksheet 12
Suggestions: Duration, Non-credit bearing Program
Best Practices in Providing Internship Opportunities 15
Short Term Program Suggestions 16
Employing Experiential Learning Theory in Internship in Delivery 17
Learning Contracts, Field Journals, Portfolios, etc.
Note on Staff Supervision 20
Future Development of a For-Credit Internship in 20
Partnership with Christian Colleges & Universities
Anticipated Recruitment 22
5. 5
By late 1990, LAMA, in fulfillment of a vision of many years, shifted its focus to a
camping ministry and founded La Montana Christian Camps. With the same desire to
evangelize and disciple youth, LAMA began to develop a premier Christian camp that
would endeavor to work through the local church in reaching Costa Rica for Christ. Since
its inauguration in 2001, La Montana Christian Camps has reached over 50,000 young
people, and as a result, thousands have committed their lives to Jesus Christ as personal
Savior and Lord.
Our vision is to help develop similar camping venues throughout Central America and
the Caribbean.
Current Internship Program
Since the inauguration of La Montaña Christian Camps, God has supernaturally blessed
this ministry to teenagers. Growth began from the beginning as LMCC formatted its
ministry to the Hume Lake Christian Camps model of working through the local church
and ministries. (http://www.humelake.org) Since 2001, La Montaña has reached close to
70,000 young people with the message of the gospel, and now has a yearly attendance of
over 12,000 people. With this growth, the need to expand our staff has also grown,
making it plain that one of the ways to creatively staff the camp was to open the doors to
our allies to the North. Thus, the birth of its intern program. For years, the need and
desire has been growing to begin a program that would invite key qualified young people
with a heart for missions and young people to come and serve the Lord in Costa Rica.
These qualified individuals will be able to serve the Lord while also learning valuable
personal and spiritual lessons that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Our desire
is that out of this experience, God would call many of these young people into full-time
vocational ministry.
The Program is still in its embryonic/development stage, with Chris and Missy
Smolchuck coming from Chino Hills to begin this ministry, which is set to launch in
Summer 2012 with 8 participants.
6. 6
General Introduction to Internships Abroad
The wonderful news about living in the 21st
century, is that with increased globalization,
technology, and the ease of travel, colleges and universities recognize the importance of
and are seeking to inculcate in their students global competency. There still remains
confusion over what precise skills and attitudes are needed in order to become “globally
competent,” but many accept the definition held by Richard Lambert2
which is a mix of
internationally oriented substantive knowledge, empathy and appreciation of other
culture, foreign language proficiency, and a practical ability to function in other cultures.
For Christian colleges and universities, “global competence” carries different significance
as they help students seek to understand God’s world, their place in it, and His heart for
all nations and peoples. Programs developed by schools like Azusa Pacific are academic,
experiential, and missional, seeking to engage students on all these levels as they pursue
their degrees and vocational callings.
Since the 1970s there has been a steady expansion of study abroad program development
in colleges and universities across the US. With that expansion, there has been a similar
increase in work and internships abroad being offered as well, and most dramatic growth
since the 1990s. In addition, given that three-quarters of the world population lives in
Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, programs that operate in these non-
traditional destinations of education abroad are increasingly offering internships and
service learning as an integral part of their curriculum, and as a result, are one of the
fastest growing sectors in education abroad. 3
2
Lambert, Richard Educational Exhange and Global Competence. 2004.
3
The term “education abroad” includes both classroom instruction and experiential, beyond-the-classroom
education.
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Benefits of Internships Abroad
Research demonstrates that the many benefits to participants of work/intern abroad
programs are very similar to the benefits of study abroad, only more pronounced! Tens of
thousands of students participate annually in work, volunteer, and internship programs.
Non-for-credit programs were estimated in 2004 by William Nolting to approach 35,000,
about one-quarter of the total number of students studying abroad for credit. Of the many
benefits, several of them include:
Cultural Immersion
Personal & Spiritual Development
Cross-Cultural Learning and Understanding
Language Learning
Career Development
Opportunity to Explore and Answer Vocational Calling
8. 8
First Steps in Internship Program Design
Identifying Mission, Purpose, Goals, & Objectives of Program
Anyone proposing a new internship/exchange program, should be prepared to do two
things at once. First, develop and articulate a sound rationale or mission, with purpose,
goals, and objectives of the program being offered. Second, and this is addressed later,
lay a good foundation for the smooth administration of the program.
Internships, by definition, should provide experience in a particular profession. La
Montaña Christian Camp internship program provides an intern program that would
invite qualified young people with a heart for missions and young people to come and
serve the Lord in Costa Rica, furthering their exploration of and/or commitment to
vocation full-time ministry. This is provided through hands-on work with Costa Rican
youth, mission training, staff led-prayer and reflection, etc.-all in a premier Christian
Camp ministry, formed after the Hume Lake Christian Camp model of working through
the local church and ministries, and serving 12,000 youth annually.
For example, given La Montaña’s website, this could look like the following:
Mission
La Montaña Christian Camp’s mission is to reach the vast number of youth throughout
the Spanish-speaking world with the transforming message of Jesus Christ.
9. 9
Purpose, Goals, & Objectives
Purpose
The purpose of La Montaña Christian Camp internship program is to provide an intern
program that would invite qualified young people with a heart for missions and young
people to come and serve the Lord in Costa Rica. This is provided through hands-on
work with Costa Rican youth, mission training, staff led-prayer and reflection, etc.-all in
a premier Christian Camp ministry, formed after the Hume Lake Christian Camp model
of working through the local church and ministries, and serving 12,000 youth annually.
Goals
We seek to fulfill our purpose through the following goals:
To offer participants specific learning about how to administer premier camping
experiences for youth.
To offer hands-on opportunities to work with and learn directly from Costa Rican
youth and their experiences.
To provide an opportunity to learn about Costa Rica, it’s environs, and more
specifically about youth mission in Latin America.
To provide participants with language and cross-cultural learning opportunites.
To provide worship, spiritual guidance, mentoring, and fellowship in community.
Objectives
At the end of the internship program, participants will be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of the Christian Camp Model in writing a term
reflection paper.
Have an awareness of general cultural customs, traditions, norms, etc of Costa
Rica and establish cultural literacy, knowledge, and sensitivity.
Communicate in basic conversational Spanish
Demonstrate a basic understanding of Missions and The Great Mandate
Produce a substantial field journal, portfolio, term paper
of course work taken, cultural learning moments, vocational inquiries, etc.
10. 10
Purpose, Goals, & Objectives Worksheet
Mission/Rationale of Program
What is the Mission of La Montaña Christian Camps?
Why Costa Rica?
What is the value of an internship at La Montaña Christian Camps?
Purpose, Goals, & Objectives
I. Purpose
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
II. Goals
We seek to fulfill our purpose through the following goals:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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III. Objectives
At the end of the internship program, participants will be able to:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Notes:
12. 12
Thinking Through Program Design Worksheet
________________________________________________________________________
After thinking well through the purpose, goals, and objectives of a program, it is essential
to then lay a good foundation for the smooth administration of the program. This includes
thinking about the duration of the program and how that relates to the goals and
objectives. The learning methods that will be employed to aid and assist in your program
objectives, etc.
Internship Program Design
What are the academic / experiential Goals of the Internship Program?
What is the degree of cultural immersion?
Who are the participants?
Duration of the Program
What is the duration of the program?
How does the duration relate to your goals and objectives?
Location
Why is La Montaña a suitable location?
Internship Curriculum
What courses or other learning methods are employed?
How many courses or other elements are offered?
Taught by whom? Meeting Where?
13. 13
Credit
If offered, who grants it, methods of student assessment, transcripts, etc?
Accommodations
How will participants be housed, fed, etc?
Travel Arrangements
How will travel be handled: both internationally and nationally?
Diplomatic and Health Documentation
Passports, work visas, inoculations, etc…
Staff
Who accompanies the group, who is responsible on site, etc?
Is there stateside and country staff?
Orientation
Is pre-departure, on-site, and re-entry orientation delivered?
Does this orientation provide relevant cross-cultural information, opportunities for
reflection, and relevant country information?
Safety Issues
How are emergencies handled?
Is there a hospital close by and/or physician that is available?
14. 14
Budget
How is the general budget figured out?
Promotion and Recruitment
How is the program to be made known to potential participants?
Will La Montaña recruit/partner with churches, colleges, and/or universities?
Admissions
What are the requirements for admission to the program? (See intern application)
Do these requirements include: spiritual, personal, and academic standards?
Excursions
Are there on-site excursions that are part of the program?
Program Assessment
How will the program be assessed by participants, staff, and La Montaña?
15. 15
Best Practices in Providing Internship Opportunities
Maintain a Strong Working Relationships with Colleges and/or Church Partners /
Youth Pastors
Developing relationships with career counselors, and in this case with Youth Pastors,
faculty at colleges and universities who teach youth pasturing, study abroad offices
and/or missions offices at various colleges who will help to promote your internship
program as well as helping to find out what college students are looking for in an
internship experience.
Develop an Orientation Program for New Interns
Provide an on-site orientation to acclimate students to the organization, its policies
and practices.
Provide Training, Supervision, and Mentoring
Provide adequate staff to train and supervise students as well as assigning a mentor to
guide students through the internship experience.
Provide Opportunities for Students to Learn
Create quality and meaningful work assignments designed to help students learn and
gain knowledge in Youth Pastoring, Administrating Camp Experiences, etc.
Provide Students with Ongoing Feedback
Offer consistent feedback throughout the internship and provide students ample
opportunity to provide feedback to immediate supervisors.
16. 16
Short Term Program Suggestions
The following suggestions came as a result of a meeting with Joe Sr., Clara, Chris, and
Missy, and myself on Friday, October 7th
’s at Fess Parker Hotel in Santa Barbara:
Duration:
My current suggestion would be that La Montaña seek to lay out it’s program goals and
whether they can be accomplished in 2 month summer or winter internship for younger
students and/or 2 semester (5-6 month long) internship programs for the purposes of
being able to accomplish it’s internship goals.
There could be, for the sake of brainstorming:
• 2 months: December through January – Summer Camp season
• 6 months: February through June – Private and Public Schools season
• 2 months: July through August – Winter Camp season
3 months: September through November use to break, reassess, and prep?
Making the Program a Non-Credit Bearing Program & Taking Advantage of Participant
Gap Years
Though certainly an option for future development, it takes considerable time,
coordination, and buy-in from faculty and university/college administrators to approve
and grant credit for an internship program. Credit bearing programs are programs that
have an academic component and thus issue credits that can be transferred to
participant’s college/university. Non-credit bearing programs are program that offers the
value of experiential education but does not issue credits and or a transcript.
A ‘gap year” is most commonly taken after high school and before starting university but
more recently reflected in the increase of 21-23 year olds taking time out after completing
their degree to take a period of time abroad.
17. 17
Employing Learning Theory in Internship in Delivery
Internships as Experiential Learning4
“Tell me, and I will forget; show me, and I may remember; involve me, and I will understand.” ~
Confuscious
Field experience, internships, and service-learning, what can also be known as
“experiential education.” One of the core values of experiential learning is that
learning is not isolated in a classroom, but involves a total experience. It starts from
the premise that learning is multidimensional, fostering intellectual growth, language
and communication skills, as well as cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal
growth. In internship placements, students have direct encounters with a different
culture, social attitudes, gender relationships, organizational structures, legal
arrangements, moral norms and many other unfamiliar patterns of behavior,
communication, and organization.
In the case of La Montaña, students have the interpersonal growth opportunity to
experience life and customs of Costa Rica, delve into the life experiences of youth whose
socio-economic, cultural, and language backgrounds, forms of communicating are
different. Spiritual, cognitive and intellectual learning comes from learning about
missions, God’s work and his heart for his worship amongst the nations, learning about
the history, geography, peoples, and environment of Costa Rica.
Methods that Help Foster & Assess Learning in Internship Programs
In the best experiential programs, learning is always taking place. Learning methods
designed to reinforce students’ learning should be implemented in the form of:
1. Learning contracts
2. Active and reflective participation in group talks
3. Field Journals
4. Portfolios
5. Term Projects
6. Self-Evaluation
4
Steinberg, Michael :”Involve Me and I Will Understand": Academic Quality in Experiential
Programs Abroad. Frontiers, Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad. Institute for the
International Education of Students
18. 18
Learning Contracts
A learning contract is a key element in experiential learning. In the learning contract, the
student defines objectives and strategies—i.e., what and how he or she seeks to learn at
La Montaña and in activities related to the placement. Learning contracts, ideally, are
flexible and modifiable along the way by the student in interaction with the field
placement. As students adjust to a situation, responsibilities and tasks can change and
increase.
Field Journals
A frequent assignment for interns is the diary, or journal. The journal gives the student an
opportunity to record his or her experience and, ideally, to reflect upon it. It is essential
that the journal go well beyond recording events. It offers a medium through which the
student can find patterns and give shape to the experience. Students need to be
encouraged to identify “deeper meanings.”
In the case of La Montaña, the journal can start with an introduction, similar to their
internship application, about their desire to be part of the program, what their hopes and
expectations are, and their first impressions. Staff can provide guidance through weekly
journal assignments that touch on a variety of learning goals and experiences.
Staff can review the students’ journals on a continuing basis as well as at the end of the
term. The best journals will reflect backwards as they go forward, altering and deepening
their perception of experience. The staff member will observe and positively evaluate a
student’s growth over the semester.
Portfolios
Another useful assignment is the personal portfolio. The portfolio offers students the
opportunity to reflect on their placement in creative ways. Photographs, videos, collages,
newspaper and magazine clippings, short stories, poems, essays, and tapes are some of
the media that can be assembled in the portfolio.
19. 19
Similarly, the evaluation of the staff supervisor is commonly used as an assessment tool
and contributes to a student grade. While this is also not, strictly speaking, an academic
measurement, it is a means of enforcing discipline on the student at the placement and
making sure that he or she makes a positive contribution. If the staff supervisor is aware
of and preferably involved in the student’s learning contract, he or she is also in a
position to comment on the student’s growth.
Term Paper
Most internship and field placement programs require students to complete a term paper
or other scholarly exercise. These assignments arise from the placement, but involve
student research that may take place entirely outside of the placement. Ideally, they help
the student understand and analyze the context of his or her placement. Assignments like
this anchor the experiential program in traditional academic work and certainly facilitate
the acceptance of credit to the home institution. The supervisory staff member will make
sure that the student begins the project early on in the program and assists the student in
developing research approaches and locating appropriate materials.
Self- Assessment / Evaluation Exercises
Self-evaluation, where students are asked to assess themselves and then are judged on
their ability to set objectives, use their analytical skills, demonstrate self-awareness, and
show initiative. Self-evaluation skills, in fact, are a common objective of experiential
learning. The self-evaluation borrows a method from the employment sphere and
measures personal abilities and attributes as well as academic learning.
Just as employees draw up objectives and goals in some cultural settings, experiential
learners develop learning contracts. The self-evaluation gives the student the opportunity
to self-assess how well he or she has fulfilled the learning contract. The instructor’s
responsibility is to analyze the self-assessment. Peer assessment is also useful, especially
in situations where students are working closely together. Students who have to assess
their peers are better equipped to assess themselves.
20. 20
Staff Supervision
Effective supervision will assist the students to understand what he or she is learning
within a broader context of the internship experience. The key is to have an organizer
who challenges students to reflect on their experience on a continuing basis, and who
enables the students to link experience with context, thus achieving “deeper learning.”
Future Development of a For-Credit Internship in
Partnership with Christian Colleges & Universities
The route of offering a 6 month period internship via the Study Abroad office as a credit
or non-credit bearing program through Christian Colleges and Universities, is another
option that La Montaña could look at as the internship program is developing and Chris
and Missy are well established in Costa Rica.
As an alternative to academic programs and missions trips, which tend to be short in
duration, many students now seek opportunities abroad for work, internships and
volunteering, in part because of their belief in the intrinsic educational value of such
experiences, in part because of the advantages they provide in for career preparation and
vocational calling, which is what La Montaña internships provide. We had many students
do this at Azusa, and they would take a semester off their degree program and return back
to APU to resume their studies.
The phrase “academic component” is somewhat of a misnomer. Experiential education
abroad lies at the intersection of multidisciplinary learning and when well structured,
reinforces a student’s learning at least as much as any other aspect of an academic
program.
The amount of credit that students can earn varies from institution to institution, and even
within institutions. Some colleges permit only two semester credits; others allow students
21. 21
to register for up to eight or nine in a semester. The usual permitted amount is 3 to 6
semester credits.
Credit for experiential study is often not automatic. Credit, according to IES5
survey
respondents, must be “determined by supervising faculty”; “must be approved prior by
academic advisor”; must demonstrate “close supervision on site and significant academic
component”; must have “prior approval”; “must have an additional sponsor on our
campus”; “must petition for credit in advance”; or “usually [require] approval of our own
related department(s).” These qualifications demonstrate that experiential components of
programs are subject to greater scrutiny than traditional course components and that they
are not readily viewed as having the equivalent rigor and academic content. Study
abroad coordinators. however, are generally positive about internships. They report
“students have found them rigorous and valuable” and “attractive components of study
abroad programs.” However, they also express concern about the rigor of academic
components.
Faculties are resistant to experiential programs for credit for a variety of reasons. Critics’
central concern is that experiential learning is rooted in perception rather than theory. In
this light, if students are challenged, in their experiential programs, “to articulate and
argue {their] position in the light of conflicting theories, facts and firsthand encounters,”
then the experience is effectively assimilated with academic goals. Since internships are
often justified for non-educational reasons, the “academic component” of the internship
program becomes the major justification for credit and is frequently the focus of
assessment.
5
IES is an independent, not-for-profit, educational corporation chartered in the State of Illinois. Our
mission is “to provide premier study abroad programs for U.S. students that deliver the highest quality
education while simultaneously promoting development of intercultural competence.”
22. 22
Anticipated Participants & Recruitment
Currently, the maximum amount of interns stands at 8, ages 18-25. Is there a hope/desire
for this internship program to be expanded? Age-wise, participants could include youth
who have just graduated from high school, who may be in college/university and want to
take a “gap year,” may just be graduating from an undergraduate degree program, or
currently in the workforce.
Though I have seen the intern application, I am unaware of how La Montaña seeks to
recruit participants and how it currently partners with North American churches in the
local Southern California area, but imagine that churches whom LM has long-term
relationships, like Calvary in Santa Barbara, and Bible Fellowship/Encounter in Ventura,
offer great grounds for recruiting interested youth.
Due to the specific evangelical and Christ-centric mission of the La Montaña intern
program to see the gospel proclaimed and the Kingdom of God expand amongst Latin
youth, the La Montaña program partnerships would be appropriate for Christian colleges
and universities and those colleges and universities that are part of the CCCU or The
Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. The CCCU is an international association
of intentionally Christian colleges and universities 6
whose mission is to advance the
cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help their institutions transform lives by
faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth. A sampling of West Coast
Christian colleges with Christian Ministry and/or Youth Ministry Majors/Minors include:
1. Azusa Pacific University : Youth Ministry Major
http://www.apu.edu/theology/undergraduate/practical/youth/careers/
2. Biola University: Christian Ministry
http://undergrad.biola.edu/academics/majors/christian-ministries/
3. Point Loma Nazarene University: Christian Ministry with Youth Ministry Minor
6
Founded in 1976 with 38 members, the Council has grown to 113 members in North America
and 72 affiliate institutions in 25 countries. The CCCU is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization headquartered in the Historic Capitol Hill district of Washington, D.C.
