At a time when they were ready to settle back and enjoy their grandchildren, the world came to a stop for long-time Grace Brethren pastor Leland Friesen and his wife, Janelle.
It was 2007. He had resigned as pastor of the Grace Brethren Church in Brooksville, Fla., a place where he had ministered nearly 11 years. They were making plans to move north, to be near their children and the precious grandchildren. Before they could move, the couple received disappointing news. He was diagnosed with cancer.
The congregation prayed. It was not long before they were praising God for a healing. After surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the original cancer appeared to be gone, and Lee was being treated only for a malignancy in a lymph node in the neck.
But this story is not about Lee and how he is recovering from cancer. It’s an account of how a small congregation pulled together to support their former pastor and his wife, putting them all at center stage to witness God’s miracle.
Before the Friesens and the close-knit congregation could celebrate his news, another near devastating announcement came. Janelle, who was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, needed a kidney transplant.
“As this is a hereditary disease, members of the family could not be considered as acceptable donors,” reports Carol Johnson, a church member. The congregation began praying that an acceptable matched kidney would become available.
Almost immediately, at least three members of the congregation volunteered to be screened as potential donors. Through the testing, Cindy Vandiver, a young wife and mother with two small children, stood as the only acceptable donor, according to Carol. In fact, she was almost a perfect match.
“Cindy was very much aware of the transplant procedure and knew that removal of her healthy young kidney would be a strenuous operation,” notes Carol. “The recovery process would mean a term of bed rest and she would not be able to pick up her children (for an extended time). Yet, Cindy did not hesitate to follow through with the procedure.”
Early one morning in February 2009, Cindy and Janelle posed smiling at the camera just before surgery. Fellow church members joined them at the Tampa hospital, where the operation was performed, and prayed. Others prayed at home or at work – for the expertise of the surgeons, for strength for Janelle and Cindy, and for a successful outcome.
“Both came through the surgery well, and the donated kidney began working immediately upon transplant,” says Carol. “There is no sign of rejection, and both Janelle and Cindy are doing very well. Both are back at church and back at their normal busy lives.”
(Editor’s note: The Brooksville Grace Brethren Church is now pastored by Bill Smith. This story was submitted by Carol Ann Johnson, a member of the Brooksville Grace Brethren Church since 2005.)