Good morning. Glad to have you back for the Word for Life Radio Ministry of Brookside Baptist Church. I'm Pastor Greg Huffman, the Counseling Pastor, Senior Citizens Pastor, and it's always a joy to have folks in the studio with me, and this morning we're just thrilled to have Gary and Bonnie Pergandy with us. Welcome, you guys. Thank you. And whenever we have guests in the studio, many times they have some just amazing stories to share of things that have taken place in their lives. And many of you have let us know through your letters and phone calls that often these stories are so parallel to the situations that you have faced as well. And of course, it's our hope and prayer that as you hear the experiences that these folks have gone through, you're able to hear who God is. Because that's why we're here, isn't it? Just to be able to share who God is and what He's done in our lives, what we've learned about Him. And I often say that when we go through the toughest times of our lives, We need to learn who God is, learn who other people are, and then learn a lot about ourselves. And that's called life, isn't it? Somebody described life as the thing that takes place when that which you planned didn't take place. Does that sound like a normal description? Well, Gary, we just kind of would like for you guys to share your testimonies, and so, shall we let ladies go first, or? Yeah. That's a good plan. All right, Bonnie, share with us, if you will, a bit about your life. Well, I met Gary when I was 18 years old, and at that point in my life, spiritually, the Catholic Church, which I belonged to, was going through some changes. And Gary was a strong Lutheran, and so he invited me to his church, and I went, and I really couldn't see that much difference. But they didn't have all the rules. And so I started going to that church, and eventually Gary asked me to marry him, and we got married. And then things started to change. So we were married two years, and I started swelling up in my ankles. And I went to see my doctor, and he gave me a prescription, went back a week later, gave me another prescription, and then asked me to see a kidney specialist. And so I saw this kidney specialist because at that time, at least in this area that we live in, there were no nephrologists. And so they did a biopsy and they came back from three different laboratories that I had membrane lamarial nephritis, which is the deterioration of the kidneys, the membranes in the kidneys. And they gave me five years to live. You were how old? I was 22. Yeah, five years to live. Yeah. Five years. Maybe. Maybe. Yeah. But, you know, doctors do their best, don't they? And they just kind of go by what they've seen in the past. You're a little bit older than 27 right now, aren't you, Bonnie? Lots of them. And so, Gary, what were your thoughts? Here you've just been married a couple years, and all of a sudden you find out, man, this is just not the flu. Yes, it was kind of earth-shaking, I guess. Yeah, I guess so. For just a young couple. I was playing softball five nights a week and some of the doctors, one of the doctors especially that we went and talked to said, you don't have much time. You're going to have to spend a lot of time with your wife to get to know her a little bit more, to be with her, to encourage her more. And so that was something that, you know, we were married and, you know, it was, early seventies and just young. I had never had anything like this, any thought that this would ever happen. Had you ever had any health issues yourself? No. My mom had heart problems and I would run her to the hospital every once in a while when I was older. But nothing like, you got five years to live, nothing like that. Now, Bonnie, were you working at the time? I was working. I was a hairdresser. And of course when this happened, I stopped working for a few weeks. I was put on prednisone, 16 pills a day, 5 milligrams a piece. And we went to the doctor every Friday. And in February 1973, a girlfriend of mine from work invited me to a Bible fellowship. I didn't really know what it was at the time. And she had gotten saved, and I didn't know what that was. No, of course. That's not a term you'd be familiar with. Right. But anyways, I went to that Tuesday night fellowship, and I heard the Gospel for the first time. And I was really excited, but being brought up a Catholic, I didn't know if I should really believe what they're saying. So I came home that night, and right away we had some friends over to the house that came to visit. And I said hi to them, but I went right over to Gary. And I said, Gary, if you die tonight, would you go to heaven or hell? And this is exactly what he did. He lifted up both of his hands, and he balanced them. And he said, yes, I think I'll go to heaven. I'm pretty good. God will let me into heaven. And I said, that's not what these people said. They said that Jesus died for your sins, and you couldn't do anything, that he did it all. And so our friends left, and we went to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned. And before I had left that night, the young man who spoke gave an invitation for people to accept Jesus. But like I told you, I didn't. But he asked the people who were there, who he felt that God was speaking to, to go home and read the book of John and read especially John chapter 3. And so after we went to bed, I woke up and I went and found Gary's Bible. He had a Bible from being confirmed in the Lutheran Church, but we never used it. And so I finally found the book of John, and I don't know how to say this, Pastor, but it made sense to me when I got to chapter three. And I closed that Bible, and I said, God, I know that you created everything. I know that you're God, but I don't think I've done this. I don't think I've been born again. And so I tried to remember the prayer that the young man said at that meeting, and I said it as best as I could. And I accepted Jesus as my Savior on a Tuesday night in February 1973. When I went to the doctor on Friday, now this was like three months after I'd started the amount of medicine that I was taking, the doctor said, I don't know what's going on, but your kidneys are starting to come around. And so I should backtrack and tell you that kidneys can go into remission and get worse, but they can't get better. And so, eventually, through the next few months, a couple things were going on. I was praying for my husband's salvation, for my family's salvation, and if God chose to heal me, that he would. And so, the next thing that happened was in August of 1973. Yes, this was part of the things that our doctors told us to spend time, extra time, as much as possible, because of the situation. And so she was going to these Bible studies meetings, which kind of made sense to me, because church was important in our lives, even in my life when I was growing up. So when some things happen, that are not explainable, you try to find some explanation somewhere, some kind of answers to different things. And so we would go a couple nights a week to these meetings and Bible studies, and people would give their testimonies. And they were drug addicts, young drug addicts and alcoholics and people running around on their husbands and wives or that had been. And I go, well, I don't even think of some of this stuff. I don't even know. you know, yeah, these people really do need to dislike my wife. They really do need something closer than just going to church on Sunday and saying prayers every once in a while. They needed something more. Well, then at one of these meetings, there was a young man who gave a testimony that really spoke to my heart, because he wasn't a bad person. And he did listen to his parents. And he did want to do the right thing all the time and make the best decisions. And that just so spoke to my heart and my pridefulness that I was a sinner and I really needed a Savior. And I really needed to realize that Jesus died for me as well, even though my scale was against me and it wasn't for me. And Jesus was the one that saved me. And it was nothing that I could do on my own or by being good or listening to parents or things like that. It was just, I needed a savior. That night I accepted Jesus as my Savior, asked Him to come into my heart, and to see what the future holds. Right. This was August of the same year that you got saved in, in February. Correct. Okay. Did you know that Bonnie was praying for you in your salvation? Absolutely. Every time I come home from church, every time I call her on the phone, she'd say, Jesus died for you. Hello. A little direct, wasn't she? Yeah, but she would do that to everybody because at that time, it was the old days where you didn't know who was calling. Right, right. So you had to pick up the phone. No ID on the phone, right? No, no ID. No, you had to pick up the phone. Okay, so now you're both believers. Yes. All right. And so what's happening then with your kidney functioning? Well, he's tapering down the Pretna zone, and Gary decided to buy a house. And so we left our little apartment and we bought a house in Muskego. And we had to switch churches because going back to the old church that we got married in was a little bit too far. And so we were going to this church, and I was working as a hairdresser again at another salon, and a girl told me about special meetings that this free church was having. And so, I don't remember if we went to that function, but they did have Sunday night services. And so, we started to go to the Sunday night service, and we'd go to the Sunday morning service at the Lutheran Church. And so it was getting a little confusing, and we decided, my brilliant idea, to have both pastors over on the same night, but not together. And so, I don't even remember which pastor came first, Gary, the Free Church pastor? Yeah, Free Church pastor. He came over and encouraged us to come to his church, and then we had the Lutheran pastor over. And because Gary was from a strong Lutheran family, I think God really used this pastor in a really mighty way, because he said to us, okay, I've been to that church. If I could preach that way, I would, but I can't. So you guys just go there, and I have too many people to preach to anyways. Now you talk about a God thing. That kind of settled me down to give me that piece. You know, I was wondering about my parents and stuff, what they would think. And so, yeah, we went there and it was no problem. Learned a lot, made a lot of good friends, good witnesses, good adult leaders that taught me in my early walk. Right. And we'll have to stop there and pick up our story next time. But it's really neat the way the Lord used that pastor to direct you to the Word. Well, folks, be sure to join us in a couple of days here and continue to hear how God used an illness to begin to draw this couple to Christ. And whatever God is using in your life, my friend, listen to Him, get into the Word of God. If you need Christ as your Savior, yes, John 3 is a chapter to read. Until the next time, we trust God will bless you in a fantastic way.