Erik and Lauren Listor - A Tusca-Romance
Tuscarora
Brianna Esposito
The summer youth camps hosted by Tuscarora each year are meant, first and foremost, to bring young people together in fellowship and worship and learning of the Lord. On that front, Junior Week accomplished its goal double-fold in the relationship it fostered between Erik and Lauren Listor, two life-long guests and volunteers of Tuscarora.
Lauren Adriance was just three years old when her family started a tradition of attending Leisure Week, and at eight years old, she made the natural step of becoming a Junior Week camper. At this time, her path began to overlap with Erik Listor. They wouldn't formally meet until it was time to sign up as counselors. Their decision to be involved with introducing other children to Christ would be even more life-changing than they could have foreseen.
“The fact that we met because we decided to go into a sort of ministry is very special. Our shared responsibility of counseling helped us bond in the beginning. It helped us see each other in the best light, and see each other’s passion for ministry and helping other people”
After their first summer counseling Junior Week campers, Erik and Lauren’s inevitable relationship began with a first date. They saw each other once a month the last two years of high school. They were connected through phone calls, letters, and the patient commitment that ensures a successful long distance relationship.
When college came around, Erik and Lauren knew that they could defy all of the statistics and make it work. Their long-distance communication continued to stretch from Messiah College and Liberty University with sporadic but romantic dates, until the fateful season of graduation when Erik decided it was time to propose to his high school sweetheart.
Both Erik and Lauren credit Tuscarora with the founding of their relationship, as it is where they met and found a shared faith and joy in service through counseling children. They were surrounded by their fellow Tuscarora friends and co-counselors in their wedding celebration, and those friends continue to be a part of their lives whenever the chance to reunite presents itself.
Tuscarora’s campus has continued to have a magnetic pull on them as well – enough so that the couple felt called to contribute to the Per Rune Larson Scholarship fund at their wedding.
“In lieu of wedding favors, we decided to give the money we received at our wedding to the fund because [. . .] we wanted to help other children go and be as positively impacted by this place as we were. [. . .] We shared a passion for Tuscarora’s ministry and we knew the money would go to a worthy cause.”
With such a strong connection and beautiful story attached, it is no wonder that Erik and Lauren have already planned to make Tuscarora a part of their eventual family. Their relationship which was kindled on the campus, as well as the friendships and memories made, is most certainly a legacy that is worth building on for many years to come.