Tyler Hauger

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come!"

--- II Corinthians 5:17

When I was in 5th grade, I spent a week at Camp of the Cross on beautiful Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota. One night, my counselor took my cabin out on top a butte and read us the creation story from Genesis. The spirit was among us that night, and I remember looking up at the heavens and truly feeling God's loving presence. It was at that point that I knew that God had a plan for me and would be with me forever. This summer, I was given the opportunity, much thanks to the Lilly Foundation, to work as a counselor at this same camp that moved me to Christ.

I told a group of campers the story of how my experience at camp through the love of Christ changed my life. I described to them that I wanted God to use me and if I could help one kid realize the love of God, I had done my job. During a prayer later that day, I overheard something that touched me forever. Sarah, a sweet, blonde 5 th grader, timidly spoke to God: “Dear God, I think Tyler has done his job and more. Thank you.”

Sarah's incredible prayer melted my heart and made me fully realize the power of God's love. I spent each day of the summer worshiping a God of love and playing with kids who love every moment of life. No words can describe my feelings but awe. It's always a funny feeling when you actually feel something change your life, and each new morning, you continue to see change within you.  I thank God for the gift of this camp and the kids Ive served with this summer. I expected to be ministering to kids, but I was not expecting the kids to also be ministering to me.

To have faith like a child is to have open arms to the love of Christ and an unending stream of joy. The kids I worked with this summer describe this in perfect detail. They allowed me to realize that the most rewarding thing I can do is to serve God's people, God's children. They allowed me to be God's hands and feet in a broken world. If we are in Christ, we are new. Since this summer, I've finally thrown out the fear inside me and decided that I am going to seminary after I graduate. I want to continue serving Christ and God's people. Although I don't really know what to expect, I know that I want to spend every moment of my life fully glorifying God's name and being a part of the faith in the world that is like a child's.