Summer Sunshine

When I first moved to Auburn, I was searching for a church home. When Church of the Highlands opened in February of my freshman year, I knew I had found one. The first person that I met was Summer Kempfer. She was the children's director and I got involved in the nursery. She became a friend and eventually became a spiritual mentor to me. We would meet every week and she would pour into me and pray for me. I grew so much closer to the Lord because of my relationship with her.I babysat her kiddos, spent time with their family, and knew she would be an important person in my life forever.


Last December, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer. Heartbreaking. It was a long, tiring battle going through chemo and all that goes along with it. But in the midst of it all, Summer never took her focus off of the Lord. She lived by the phrase "I Win!" Whether that be that she defeated cancer and got to be with her family or whether the Lord took her home and she got to be with Him forever. Either way, she wins. You can visit her CaringBridge to read more of her journey. 

Last Saturday night, Summer lost her battle with cancer. She got to go home to worship at the feet of Jesus. Tuesday, we had a service to celebrate her life. And that is exactly how it should be. She is HEALED! She is with Jesus forever! Of course we miss her here and we would rather have her with us but she wouldn't trade this life for eternity. Not for one second. At the service there was a letter that Summer wrote and this is a part of it.

"The most exciting part about having cancer is that it has given me a platform from which to speak. See, it's not about me having cancer, and honestly its not really about ME at all. Having a relationship with Jesus has changed my life. His love for me has changed my life. And it is my purpose in life to share that with others, so others can be pulled out of the darkness which saturates this world and into His marvelous light, where there is freedom and hope and love."- Summer Kempfer.

Summer Sunshine Kempfer touched my life and the lives of so many others. She will never be forgotten. She definitely leaves one heck of a legacy!

Please continue to pray for her husband, Jeremy, and their 4 kids Taylor (12), Savannah (9), Jaylen (5), and Sarah Kate (1).