True believer: the short but remarkable life of Hudson Hayes

Most 11-year-olds don’t spend their days wrestling with existential questions regarding eternal salvation or traveling across the country living out the beliefs they espouse. But then again, most 11-yearolds aren’t Hudson Hayes.
 
The Dike-New Hartford sixth grader, who passed away after an automobile accident near Italy, Texas, on December 29, won’t soon be forgotten in his hometown, and while his younger brother Ian played coin hockey at the family’s home northwest of Dike last week, Dustin Hayes reflected on the moment that changed Hudson forever just 8 ½ months before his untimely death.
 
April 8, 2018
As fate would have it, Hudson opened his Bible to find a piece of paper a friend had placed in his Bible case. It read “1 Peter 2:24”, so he looked it up: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. That we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; By whose stripes ye were healed.
 
“Prior to that experience, Hudson was not a person of faith. He did not believe that the Lord Jesus, when he died on the cross, he died for his sins, and that was enough to take him to heaven,” Dustin said. “He may have believed it in a very academic sense, but he didn’t trust it… (But) right there, it was plain as day. That was the moment that God saved him.”
 
From there, Hudson became fascinated with God, what he could do to spread the word to others and what the Gospel had to say about it all. He called up all of his uncles and relatives to spread the news: he’d been born again. 
 
Hudson’s intrinsic curiosity led him to the Seed Sowers, a nonprofit religious group that distributes free Bibles across the United States and Canada. Members don’t proselytize, and they don’t ask for anything in return. They simply leave gospel verses and copies of the good book at doorsteps and hope that those who need the word find it. 
 
“There isn’t a sales pitch, so to speak. There isn’t evangelizing at the door. That’s not the goal. That’s not the intent,” Dustin said. “If they decide that they want to come and hear the gospel, they will then come out of their own accord. Nothing’s going to be forced down their throat.”
           
On the day that his life ended, Hudson was headed to the border town of Laredo, Texas, for a Seed Sowers event with his sister Emma, Dustin and a fellow member from the Guttenberg area when a vehicle struck their van along Interstate 35 East.
           
“You know not what a day may bring forth, and boy, did we find that out,” grandfather Sid Hayes said. “We might not know what all the reasons were, but we’re going to find out someday… I just couldn’t believe it.”
           
While some families may be driven to cynicism or outright denial of their faith in the face of such an inexplicable tragedy, the Hayeses aren’t one of them.
           
“Without God, there is no hope,” Dustin said. “We can definitely see God’s hand in this. At times, that can be difficult to say, but it’s true. He’s been good to us in many ways… This was Hudson’s time.”
           
A community mourns
Back home in Dike, Hudson was remembered as a friend, a student, a son, a grandson and an all-American kid from a family with deep roots in Wolverine country.
 
In a phone interview, sixth grade teacher Tad Brace quickly pointed out his infectious smile, his taste for dry humor and one-liners, and his close-knit group of friends.
 
“You look at that, and you just appreciate the time that he had with those friends,” Brace said. “He was pretty thoughtful. You could tell that he would think things through as much as he could, and when he needed guidance he would ask for it.”
 
When school resumed on January 2, all the usual feelings of excitement to reunite with classmates had been replaced by grief, but D-NH students followed the Hayes family’s lead: they talked about Hudson and shared their favorite memories rather than trying to erase or forget him.
 
“We wanted to let the kids know that it’s okay to feel different types of things (and) different emotions,” Brace said. “We wanted to be there to support them at that time.”
           
Hundreds of mourners paid their respects at the Dike-New Hartford High School on January 5 during a service that ran for over two and a half hours, and Dustin, Sid, uncles Joel and Ryan Hayes and Jeff Kramer, and great uncle Bruce spoke about the impact Hudson had on their lives, his love of dirt bikes and the special moments they shared between traditional Christian hymns.
           
“How can I ever convey how precious this boy was? I hope I can do that today, and I hope today that you appreciate the life that he had (and) the eternal life that he possessed,” Kramer said.
           
Dustin’s brother Joel, with whom he runs a drainage tile business based in Grundy County, remarked on his experiences working with Hudson and how much he had already learned for an 11-year-old.
           
“He was just getting going, and we could see… We could see what he was going to become. We could see the direction that he was headed, and it was in a good direction. There was a lot to look forward to,” Joel Hayes said. “(Hudson’s) body will turn to dust, but his soul will live forever.” 
           
Ryan excitedly recalled the day that Hudson called to share that he’d been saved and focused on the message of John 3:16, one of the most famous verses in the Bible.
           
Sid spoke of his own struggle to process the situation—noting that his showers are about 15 minutes longer, and he turns the heat up at home to keep from shaking. But he ended on an optimistic note as he described his grandson’s faith, his redemption and how much fun they had together—as he deemed it in a phone interview, he wanted to stress that “Hudson was Hudson.”
           
“How important is it today? How important was it Saturday morning when the call came that his life was over? There was nothing incidental about it then. It was all that meant anything,” Sid said.
           
And even as he battled a concussion resulting from the accident, Dustin spoke—powerfully, faithfully and emotionally—sharing his son’s story, quoting from the Bible and thanking his friend Clive Barber, who flew in all the way from New Zealand, for attending. Barber gave the final eulogy.
           
“I would give anything to have him back right here and right now. I love my son Hudson. I’m going to miss him, and it’s going to be hard,” Dustin said. “But I know so many out here in this audience in the multipurpose room and even beyond who will help us. You will be a comfort to us as we grieve for our boy.”
 
Curt Johnson of Dike, who lost a child of his own, even stopped by the Hayes house to offer his condolences. The family—Dustin, wife Kristal and their four remaining children: Ian, Logan, Emma and Evan—now must live without Hudson: for the time being, at least.
           
“He is in a wonderful place. I will see him again, and these few years that I will be without him, I hope to continue to talk about him every day, think about him, to look forward to seeing him and to spread the gospel,” Dustin said. 
           
A temporary separation
Until Dustin, Kristal, Emma, Logan and Evan meet Hudson again, they’ll do everything they can to honor his memory on Earth. As nearly a month has passed since the accident, the initial intensity of grief has subsided slightly, and now, they’re forced to stare down the hard part: day-to-day life without a brother and son.
           
But Hudson’s faith journey has inspired others across the western hemisphere, from fellow Seed Sowers in Canada to family, friends and congregation members at his home church, the Stout Gospel Hall. Heidi Biersner, a family friend from Dike, printed 1,500 cards with a picture of Hudson on a dirt bike and his favorite verse from 1 Peter over it, and as of last week, there were only 250 left.
           
“To me, that’s kind of like Hudson’s own little seed sower. He didn’t make it to Laredo, but through this, his story, the funeral and those cards, the message is going out,” Dustin said. “He’s already reached many people with the gospel.”
           
Had he lived longer, he would’ve been a reliable backhoe operator, a dirt biking champion and a relentless advocate for the teachings of Jesus Christ. But nonetheless, Hudson set an example for all of the people who were lucky enough to know him during his short tenure in this corner of the world, and his memory won’t fade away anytime soon.
           
“We’ve been thrown a little bit of a curve here. But we’re Hayeses, and we’re going to get through it,” Sid said. 
 
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