A summer’s journey: NGU student interns at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
C.J. Eldridge, Editor-In-Chief
Carolina Busch’s experience at her summer 2024 internship culminated into a significant understanding: the kind of work exists where from clocking in to clocking out she could be helping spread the Gospel.
Starting from the beginning is key to seeing how she came to this conclusion.
One unexpected phone call later and Busch suddenly had the opportunity of a lifetime: The strategic communication major could be the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s next American Sign Language intern.
BGEA, according to their website, is “Continuing the lifelong work of Billy Graham . . . to support and extend the evangelistic calling and ministry of Franklin Graham by proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to all [they] can by every effective means available to [them] and by equipping the church and others to do the same.”
It was a position offered to her out of nowhere that Tuesday afternoon. Originally, she had applied to intern with Samaritan’s Purse for her summer, but was eventually turned down. The person she had spoken with, however, remembered her name and a small line of text on her application that read she could do ASL.
At that moment, Busch thought, “I have to sell myself right here, right now, because this is a golden ticket opportunity.”
“You have a few days to think it over,” the employee calling her said.
“I’m set. Just go ahead and sign me up,” she replied.
She was surprised, considering Samaritan’s Purse, BGEA’s sister organization, told her no in December, and it was February when the phone rang.
Summer rolled around, and Busch left. The Cracker Barrel, where she had met her parents for a final meal before they saw her off, disappeared in the rearview mirror as she drove her orange Ford Escape onto I-85, racing toward her new job and a new home – for a small while at least.
Ahead of her was a two-month stay in Fort Mill, South Carolina, with a host family she’d never met before. Pam and Brian Walrod welcomed Busch and her housemate Bella, another BGEA intern, into their home. This wasn’t the first time the family had let interns stay with them.
The Walrods, BGEA employees themselves, were accustomed to it, volunteering their spare bedrooms to interns since the summer of 2022.
It was a day of new experiences, with one source of comfort at the end of it all being Pepper the family’s Portuguese water dog and spaniel mix, who warmed up to Busch quite quickly.
And then her first day rolled around. May 20 wasn’t just special because she was starting a new job – but also because it was Busch’s 20th birthday.
Bright and early Monday morning, Busch made the drive to downtown Charlotte, where BGEA was headquartered. The 13 miles were quick on the way there, but the commutes back were filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic, ample road rage and plenty of games of chicken, with Busch hoping maybe one of those Charlotte drivers would be purchasing her a new car.
One of 19 total interns that summer, Busch received a warm welcome, a warmness that was ever-present at the Christian non-profit.
She soon realized this was no regular work environment. This was a place where Christianity flourished, where they truly lived out their Christian mission. Every day before work began, they held a prayer meeting and had a speaker who delved into some aspect of the faith.
On Tuesdays, they would all partake in worship to kick off the nine-hour shift.
Going back to that first day, the interns were served breakfast, went through an orientation explaining what their time there would look like and met their supervisors.
“It was really cool to hear about the department I was working in – internet evangelism – and how the department itself is made up of so many avenues,” she said. “And just hearing the backgrounds and stories of people in my row was really fascinating.”
Busch would be spending a lot of time with her supervisor Hahn Bielfeldt, a hard-of-hearing man who worked closely with BGEA’s deaf volunteers. Bielfeldt greatly expanded her knowledge of ASL, improving her ability to communicate effectively with the deaf and even lead deaf prayers.
She didn’t feel as if she was well prepared to be so involved with ASL after just three classes at North Greenville University, but she was determined to do a good job, because it was more than just a job.
Busch was acting as one piece of the backbone of deaf mission work. She was contributing to the Great Commission that Christ has bestowed upon Christians.
It was nerve-racking to approach these scenarios and conversations with the deaf, but she dealt with it, not letting it get the better of her.
Busch said, “I acknowledged my nerves, apologized when I messed up and kept on going.”
Most of her work was putting together a spreadsheet that held information on hundreds of churches across the nation, with her job being to figure out if they offered services and accommodations for the deaf.
Lots of time behind a gray cubicle had her looking forward to stretching her legs during her 15-minute break, where she took a leisurely stroll around the nature trail that circled the grounds.
Even better than that was lunch. A chicken, bacon, ranch quesadilla on a spinach wrap was her go to, prepared for her by the cooks employed by the organization. Its taste never let her down.
“It was so good,” she exclaimed, conjuring the image of that quesadilla in her mind. “I would eat it sometimes three times a week.”
And back to work she went, surrounded by coffee and dozens of sticky notes.
The information she gathered was used on a database that helped people find churches. For example, if a deaf person needed to find a church where there was an interpreter during the service or if there were services entirely dedicated to signing near them, they could with this application.
Busch knew she had to take this work seriously.
She came to the realization later on that this work was more than just adding or removing churches from a list; it was work that would far outlast her time at BGEA. What she was doing could help lead a deaf person to a community where they can live out their faith with Christians who understand them.
Not only was Busch working with deaf volunteers and researching churches, but she was even able to witness to a deaf man during a whirlwind trip to Texas to aid Samaritan’s Purse as they helped rebuild after tornadoes had hit the town of Temple.
Starting out signing to deaf people on Zoom calls led to full conversations with those who visited BGEA. It was a pleasant experience. The more she immersed herself intentionally in the language the better she understood it.
“I also used the time with the volunteers to get to know them and their personalities and connect with them as a hearing person to a deaf person,” she said.
Busch admired the work these deaf volunteers were doing. They were not paid for their time and yet they dedicated so much of it to reach one of the most unreached people groups when it comes to the Gospel.
These volunteers were just a small fraction of all of the wonderful people Busch encountered during her time with the organization. Friendly faces would commonly approach her at her desk, wanting to inquire about her life and get to know her better.
The intentionality and fellowship of her coworkers helped the time fly, and before she knew it, two months had passed. July 26 rolled around – her final day at BGEA. The interns’ goodbyes were accompanied by a stream of tears.
Busch knew this was a small chapter in her life. But it was a chapter that helped mold her into a better Christian, greatly improving her prayer life and helping her realize that her work could be bolstered by her faith.
