This year marked the fifth summer of the Montreal Mission Internship (MMI), a program that invites young adults aged 18 to 25 into a season of service, spiritual formation, and vocational discernment.

Over the past five years, 58 young adults have participated in the program, serving in community organisations across Montreal while engaging in theological reflection, mentorship, and vocational discernment.

As the program reaches this milestone, it is worth asking: what remains after five years? The answer is found not only in placements completed or hours served, but also in the lives of those who have passed through the program. At the Annual General Meeting in September, one such participant, Seraphine Yo, was invited to reflect on her summer experience. A Montrealer and psychology student entering her final semester at McGill University, she had begun the internship much like many young adults: searching for direction.

“I was looking for discernment because I didn’t know where to go next,” she told AGM attendees. “I serve in leadership at my church, but I wanted to understand what it means to serve beyond the church and discover where God might be leading me after graduation.”

By the end of the summer, she had not found all the answers about her future. Instead, she had discovered a different and perhaps more important question.

“MMI helped me discern something much more important: Where is God right now?”

That shift lies at the heart of what remains after five years of the program. MMI is not simply a career exploration initiative, nor is it only a volunteer placement program. Through weekly theological reflection groups, workshops, guest speakers, and community placements, participants are challenged to pay attention to God’s presence in the ordinary moments of daily life.

For Seraphine, this meant learning to look for God not only in prayer or worship, but also in office work, routine tasks, relationships, and even moments of uncertainty.

“When I serve, am I the one doing it, or is God working through me?” she reflected.

The internship encouraged participants to move beyond abstract ideas about faith and into lived experience. Growing up in church, Seraphine had often heard words such as trust, surrender, and faith. Through MMI, those concepts became tangible.

One of the most memorable lessons came during orientation week when the interns met a blind Paralympic judoka who led them through an exercise navigating the city while relying entirely on a partner for guidance.

“You have to trust that your partner won’t lead you into a pothole or a tree branch,” Seraphine recalled. “In that moment I realized how difficult it is for me to actually trust the Lord.”

The experience challenged her to think differently about faith and dependence on God. “I’m realizing more and more how much I need God to be my eyes in this world for every step that I take.”

Alongside these spiritual discoveries came practical learning. During the summer, Seraphine was placed at Le Pont, a nonprofit organization supporting refugee claimants with housing and settlement services.

There she accompanied families to appointments, helped with documentation, and supported children and parents navigating the challenges of beginning a new life in Canada. The experience introduced her to forms of social intervention that complemented her academic studies in psychology.

“My interactions with the staff and residents were such a gift,” she said.

More importantly, the placement helped clarify her vocational interests. Before the internship, she had been considering a future in academic research. Through her work at Le Pont, she discovered a passion for working directly with families and children.

“I learned that I love working with families and children in social services,” she reflected, describing the realization as a significant shift in her plans.

Yet perhaps the most lasting lesson was also the simplest. During one early exercise, interns were asked to walk through the city and pay attention to what they noticed around them.

“I realized how much I live in my head,” Seraphine said. “I’m always thinking. But if I’m not paying attention to what’s around me, how can I recognize God’s presence around me?”

Learning to notice, to listen, and to be present became part of her formation throughout the summer.

Stories like Seraphine’s offer one answer to the question of what remains after five years. What remains are not only successful internships or completed placements. What remains are young people who have learned to recognize God’s presence in the world, who have discovered gifts they did not know they possessed, and who carry a deeper sense of vocation into the next chapter of their lives.

Reflecting on the summer, Seraphine summed it up simply: “MMI didn’t just give me experiences. It enriched my daily walk with the Lord and changed the way I see God’s presence in the world.”