I grew up in Christian home, where we went to church every Sunday. I enjoyed going to Sunday school and confirmation, but I never fully understood why I was going, I just knew I was supposed to be there. Once I entered high school, I went on several mission trips, and got my first glimpse of what a personal relationship with God is, but still didn’t understand how to pursue that personal relationship. Once I started college at UW-Madison I wasn’t necessarily looking for a Christian organization to join, but two friends who lived in the same dorm as me, Katie Milligan and Erin Bretzman, convinced me to join a freshman Bible study with them through Badger Cru. Our Bible study leader, Elizabeth Chapman, taught me so much about God’s love, went out of her way to talk with me one-on-one, and helped me learn more about what it was like to have a personal relationship with God. I continued going to Cru throughout my freshman year, but at that time in my life I didn’t feel like I was ready or good enough to dedicate my life to God. Throughout my sophomore and junior year of college I started going to Cru less and less consistently and eventually convinced myself that it was too late for me to give my life to Christ, and basically stopped going to Cru all together. During those two years I knew there was something missing in my life, but I didn’t know what it was. My senior year came and I decided to start going to Cru again. I wasn’t sure why, I just felt like I should go. At that point I knew practically no one in Cru, and as someone who goes to events only when I know people, it was a big step for me to starting going again. I started seeing the promos for Fall Getaway, and again, I had no idea why, but I felt like I should go. I ran into the same problem of not really knowing anyone who was going, so I started asking anyone I knew who I thought would go to come with me, but wasn’t able to find anyone. Normally I would have decided not to go at that point, but for some reason I still chose to go. My experience at Fall Getaway was unforgettable. I experienced so much love from the Cru community on the retreat that I never expected. Particularly, when it came to the senior men and women’s appreciation, I wanted to opt out of it considering I didn’t know a single senior guy, but was convinced by the other senior ladies to still participate. I wasn’t expecting anything, but when Kyle Watter, someone whom I only had one brief 5 min ice breaker conversation with a couple hours earlier, showed so much kindness and chose me to write his appreciation letter to, the girl no one knew, was the moment I realized I was still, and always was, worth it when it came to pursuing a relationship with God. That night, after hearing from the speakers about how it’s never too late to give your life to Christ and how a real relationship with God is determined not as much by what I do, but how I do it, I gave my life to Christ. This choice has proven to be the best decision I’ve ever made. My life was changed and I found a completely new kind of happiness by living my life for Christ. After that weekend I realized it was God who called me to start going to Cru again and to go to Fall Getaway. God has surrounded me with an amazing community and continually shows me how much I am loved, particularly when I had a conversation with Jacquie Tanner, and she told me she could see God’s love and the work He was doing through me. That moment showed me just how powerful God’s love is.