In "Salvation" by Langston Hughes, why does Hughes not tell the story in present tense, and how would doing so change the story?

In “Salvation”, Langston Hughes is looking back to a defining moment in his life when he is confronted by his own beliefs and faith in religion.  He writes the story in past tense to show that he is now an adult but is still affected by the incident when he claims to see Jesus but actually doesn’t.  The pressure to be saved in church that day has a profound effect on him.  The disappointment he feels when he doesn’t see Jesus, like his Aunt and other parishioners expect, changes his religious beliefs as an adult.  He is naive as a child and doesn’t understand the concept of being born again, and the expectations for him are too extreme and hard for him to grasp.  So, as Hughes reminisces about this pivotal moment in his life, he is also understanding its lasting effects.  If he had written the story in present tense, as a child experiencing his failure at the moment, he may not have had the epiphany he does about his relationship with God and faith.  As an adult, he can sort out his feelings of guilt and disappointment as he looks back at the event and can come to grips with how it impacts him.