My Faith Journey and a Message of Thanks! - Wes Huntington

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My name is Wes Huntington, and most of you know me as the student resident at Crossroads. First off, I want to say thank you for your support of this ministry in everything you do.  Your kindness and generosity have allowed numerous things to happen within Crossroads. That is not why I’m writing this, however. I’m writing this because I would like to share with you my faith journey, which can best be described as climbing a mountain and knowing God is with me every step of the way. 


For as long as I can remember, I can associate my earliest memories of being church like Homer Simpson does in every episode of The Simpsons where the family’s in church and he’s on the verge of boring himself to sleep or is sleeping in church already.


I was in that same boat for the first 18 years of my life, even though I did some things for my local church, such as helping out children in a Wednesday night version of Sunday school or helping out with the local food shelf on the church’s behalf.  I don’t know why I was so bored, maybe it was because I wasn’t excited about what God was doing in my life.  When I was three years old, I was diagnosed with autism.

 When I first got to college at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota, I really wasn’t excited about God then either.  Then I discovered a ministry called Shine On, which was a ministry like Crossroads. There would be singing contemporary Christian songs, and a lot of other things as well, including a bible study with free lunch on Fridays. 

I met some God-loving people then too, including two of my friends, Ann Kopitzke and Kelsey Plummer. Plummer herself is who drew me into re-accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior, because I knew I had strayed from the flock. 
I have been a part of Crossroads since the fall of 2014, but I was no stranger to be in a Lutheran Campus Ministry. I was a part of one during my last year at SMSU as well. I actually met Pastor Tammy through a mutual friend of ours who ran the one back there, and we’ve been close friends ever since.  Since I’ve been here, I’ve climbed the mountain of success knowing God is by my side no matter what.  I was told at the age of 14 I couldn’t go to college.  At 15, I was told I couldn’t learn another language. I’ve accomplished all of those things, including graduating from MSU-Mankato this upcoming summer with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications with a minor in political science to go along with my Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Literature from SMSU.  Philippians 4:4 says “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say ‘rejoice’.”
Rejoicing the Lord is what I’ve been doing and will continue to do long after I have left MSU. One time, I heard that you can be at the right place at the right time. Being the resident of Crossroads has clearly shown that I am in the right place at the right time. Revelation 3:8 says “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”
 That’s exactly what I’ve been doing as the only resident. I know I’m in the right place, and I know that I’ve been serving the Lord in making sure the building is ready for people to do extraordinary things, like our Lunch for a Buck on Tuesdays, and the Campus Cupboard, which is our student food shelf. I wish everyone had the chance to live ​in a church for a week, a month, or even a year and see a change in how you act. I have been given the extraordinary gift of a voice for broadcasting, and I feel it’s God telling me that he will not leave my side and he will provide me with the opportunity for it. He certainly did so a year ago when I joined KMSU-FM doing the student show Radio a La Carte and this semester doing broadcast news as well.
I know I have climbed the mountain, knowing that God was by my side no matter what had happened to me in any aspect of my life. I know that autism isn’t a weakness of mine but a strength. I know I was made in God’s image ​and that it is my calling ​to speak to massive amounts of people through a microphone.   Thank you​ for giving me the opportunity to help others experience Jesus' love through enabling me to communicate that love through my work at Crossroads​.
Finally, thanks for supporting Crossroads in our Winter Picnic last Sunday at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Mankato. We raised over $3000, which will go towards the ministry we provide.





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