
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.