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A Child of God

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Ready to SERVE

Ready to SERVE

A Child of God

By Luke Kaemingk

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My first week of SERVE is one I will never forget. Growing up in small-town South Dakota, I was used to the lie that attending church and doing right will get you into Heaven. I attended the local youth group and always earned a good grade in my Bible class. Jesus surrounded my life, but Jesus was not in my life. That course forever changed in 2016 at Platte, SD SERVE. I think a positive attitude can make any situation manageable, but I’ll admit I did not start my week of SERVE with a positive attitude. Previously a very quiet person, I served on the host team for the Platte site, which meant I had to help welcome everyone to the community, assist them and, ultimately, talk to them. It was a situation I did not enjoy. However, while talking to other teenagers on that first day of SERVE, I realized people had not come to Platte for the sights. They came to serve, which made me want to serve, too.

At our first night of praise and worship, we met our speaker, Pastor Zantesah Ingalls. As he was introducing himself, he decided to have us recite a small poem of his. I will always remember the specific line, “I am a child of God.” As I heard everyone say that line on the first night, I finally realized that God, who is the King of the universe, is my Father. This still blows my mind today. During that night, I decided I did not want to just live on earth – I wanted to live for God on earth.

Throughout our serving, I made some great connections with amazing people. My group leader, Linda Werkhoven from Sunnyside, Washington was one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She was easy to talk to and gave some of the best hugs ever. Later in the week, I met Linda’s two daughters who would go on to become like sisters to me. Cameron Mensonides (also from Sunnyside ) and I were able to connect based on our shared interest in cars, construction and dangerous playground toys. My SERVE group was awesome to be around during the week, and we grew closer to each other throughout the devotions and daily sessions.

I owe the transformation of my spiritual life to Zantesah Ingalls and will forever remember that week in 2016 as the week that changed the course of my life. The theme for SERVE that year was Make Change, Be Changed, which resonates in my own life. God worked in my life through Zantesah, Linda and my SERVE group. Each one of them showed me what a life of following God can lead to and looks like.

My attitude towards life changed during SERVE. Today, I know I am a child of a God who is working in my life and cares about me.

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