Kim Spraggon
I had grown up in the church, but it seemed I was always searching for something. In my teen years I started “looking for love in all the wrong places” as the song goes. I thought that if I had someone to love that that would fill that need inside of me. So, even though I knew he was the wrong one, I married the first guy who asked me and because I was pregnant. He was in the Air Force and I thought I had it made. Needless to say things turned bad very quickly... <<click here to read more>>

Jim Spraggon
A few years ago I came to the realization that my life had no meaning. I was raised in church as a child but it had no fulfillment to me.  Everything that I did was going to send me to hell, so I had to find something to give me a sense of purpose or worth in my life so in my teens I found that in alcohol and drugs. As I fell farther from God, I fell farther into my addictions. Then my life was shaken... <<click here to read more>>

Rodney Kreier
There was a time in my life when life seemed meaningless.  I felt like there was no purpose to my life and much of the time I was bothered by an empty feeling inside.  It was like something was missing in my life but I didn't know what it was.  I had a good childhood and good parents.  I didn't feel the emptiness in my life until my teenage years.  That's when I started trying to fill the emptiness with different friends and experimenting with drugs and alcohol.  My substance abuse continued into adulthood when it became a real problem...  <<click here to read more>>

Chuck and Sharon Giacinto
After the birth of their son, Sharon began to experience muscle weakness and extreme fatigue.  It was discovered that her pituitary had stopped functioning properly.  Sharon would spend weeks at a time at Loyola Medical Center where they put her on massive doses of steroids to sustain her organs.  When Sharon became ill in her late twenties, Chuck was a barber.  The doctors made it clear that the steroids could only be taken for seven years and after that her organs would begin to shut down and death would follow... <<click here to read more>>

Kevin McGuire
I have always thought of myself as a “good” person. I have never killed anyone, never gotten in fights, and never been a drunk. Yet I had always felt that there was something missing in my life. I grew up in a fairly religious family, my parents made sure that we went to church and attended classes provided for young people, but I was never personally committed to anything that was taught there. After I graduated from High School, I pretty much left all of that religious stuff behind. As a student, and then young adult, working for a living, I did pretty much as I pleased, but there was always something missing... <<click here to read more>>

Vonna McGuire
It wasn’t very long ago that I would have told you that all my life I had been searching for something or someone to make me feel truly loved. When I was a baby my family started going to church and when I was very young I decided I wanted to go to heaven. However, since I didn’t feel very loved by my family, by the time I graduated High School, I had begun to look for love in all the wrong places. I tried alcohol, minor drug usage, boyfriends, sex, and a disastrous first marriage to fulfill my inner need for love and acceptance... <<click here to read more>>

Brenda Onasch
I was born in Chicago.  My mother was a churchgoer but my Dad was not.  I have 3 older sisters.  I grew up in the church doing all the things that were required of me.  I found church to be very boring and something I did only because I had to. I received many things growing up, but one thing I didn't receive was the emotional love that I needed.  This resulted in me making wrong choices when it came to men and sex. I became pregnant at an early age, was married and divorced in a short period of time.  I was remarried at 19.  By now I had 2 children.  Even then I was not living right.  My church upbringing had little impact on the way I lived my life.  I pretty much did as I pleased having no regard for God, the Bible or His Church... <<click here to read more>>

Richard Huckins
Before I gave my life to Christ, I was satisfied for the most part until our son Patrick was born. I was working for my Dad in Sales.  One of our best customers was the Super Dairy across from High School.  One day when I entered the Establishment there was a beautiful young woman working there.  I said to myself "that's for me." We were married 3 months later.  That was 49 years ago.  Our first were twin boys.  I felt like I was sitting on top of the world.  The oldest boy Patrick was injured at birth.  The doctor said he would only live a year.  He is still living at 47 years old.  Because of the injury he is severely mentally retarded. When all this happened I did not know Jesus.  I became angry with God and I would shake my fist at Him, blaming Him...  <<click here to read more>>

Ruth Huckins
Before I received Christ as my Savior I lived a life of fear -- a paralyzing fear.  I walked in a lot of confusion about life.  I would ask the question, "What is life all about?  Do we live 70 some years, die, go to the grave, leave our families and possessions and that's all there is?"  I was extremely nervous and took several nerve pills a day. My life revolved around my husband and children.  The only way I found any peace was when my husband was around.  I had put all my trust in him.  I felt secure as long as he was there. My life was unfulfilling in the fact that I was always troubled.  I had these deep fears almost more than I could bear at times.  I felt there was no end to living this way -- I felt hopeless and alone... <<click here to read more>>

Kirsten Bender
My name is Kirsten Bender and I was born with congenital dislocated hips.  I was in casts and braces as a young child and the doctors thought they had corrected the problems with my hips.  However at the age of 13, I began experiencing more pain and difficulty with my hips.  I was sent to Children's Memorial in Chicago and was told I would be unable to walk after the age of 20 if they did not intervene.  I had 6 surgeries over the next two years.  I was 14 and 15 years old. The following years were good but I was on and off crutches at least at some point in time almost every year... <<click here to read more>> 

Gil Petre
As a child I was broken from Christ when an adult took it upon himself to use me sexually.  At that time secrets and lies became a part of my life. Growing up the abuse continued.  I could not make it stop.  I also felt God didn't not love me, that I was bad, because if He loved me, He would have answered my prayers to make it stop.  Such a liar is Satan to be able to make a child think that God does not love Him. I grew up confused and always feeling like 2 people.  The one I showed the world.  And the one I felt inside of me.  I did not like either one of them... <<click here to read more>>

Shaun Dondelinger
When I was growing up my parents dragged my brother and me to church every week. I thought I was a pretty good kid. One day, my little brother went forward during the invitation. Well, this was something. I soon learned that he accepted Jesus Christ into his heart. I saw that I needed salvation too. Several agonizing invitations came and went. Finally one Sunday, Jesus was knocking on my heart and about the seventeenth chorus of “Just as I am” I went forward to kneel before God and everyone. The pastor led me in a prayer of repentance from sin and I accepted God's gift of salvation, Jesus Christ. I knew then that Jesus was in my heart and that He would always be there. My life has had many ups and downs, trials, setbacks, frustrations, broken relationships and broken dreams. Basically, things haven’t gone MY way... <<click here to read more>>

Jane Gillum
I knew very little of my father.  My Mom had divorced him.  Mom worked hard to keep the family together.  These were years of hardship and moving around a lot.  I went to Church as I believed in God.  My Mom put me in a boarding School.  She was no longer able to keep all of us together.  When I was out of High School, she signed me up in the US Navy.  It was there I met my husband.  He seemed to be the answer to my loneliness. For awhile our marriage was good.  Then he was discharged.  We went to live with his family.  It didn't work out.  We moved seven times, once across the country to California, and back to Illinois.  He had a hard time keeping jobs.  He began drinking a lot.  My life became desperate.  One day my kids wanted to go to Vacation Bible School at a nearby Church...  <<click here to read more>>

Raymond Berry
When I was a sophomore in High School I didn't feel I needed to attend church anymore because I knew the whole story of Jesus (I thought).  I began to hang around a different crowd.  Some of my closest friends grew up unchurched so they had a different concept of God.  But that didn't matter to me because when you see other people who come from a good family and they wear nice clothes and their parents have an active part in their life you start to wonder "why me?"  I started to think that because I didn't have any nice things.  My father died when I was very young and I grew up poor and I lived on Illinois Street in the hotel or what they called it was the Coonrad Hilton or the Nigger Hotel.  My thought patterns started to change... <<click here to read more>>

Hannah Wilken
I grew up in a Christian home all my life and have gone to church all my life. I first heard about Christ from my family and my church. The struggles I did have were giving my whole self to Him. When I finally received Jesus Christ, I realized that I am a new person and I need to give Jesus my all. After I received Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, I knew god had awesome plans for me. I got involved in a human video drama team. I went on a mission trip to Mexico, and Panama City Beach... <<click here to read more>>

Deborah White
My testimony has a couple different parts to it.  I first accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was a teenage.  I had an aunt and uncle who came to me one day sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  I said the sinners' prayer asking forgiveness for all my sins.  I can remember feeling totally overwhelmed by such peace and love.  But soon after that my aunt and uncle were gone because they lived out-of-state.  I didn't really know where to go from there so I was soon back living a worldly lifestyle again of being carefree and partying... <<click here to read more>>

Nancy Broedlow
Hi, my name is Nancy Broedlow.  I was born into a strong Catholic family and was educated in a Catholic grade school where I became very close to a teacher (a Daughter of Charity).  I spent a lot of time helping out in the convent and in class.  I spent as much time with her as I did with my friends.  I thought at one time I would become a nun;  UNTIL I became a cheerleader (the outfits were better!). I attended LaSalle-Peru Public High School.  I had a lot of girlfriends but no boyfriends or dating.  I then attended Creighton University, a Jesuit school (where I majored in boys my freshman year).  Really, I began the nursing program... <<click here to read more>>

Eric Elder
Before I put my faith in Christ, I was self-focused.  I believed I could do anything and tried many things.  My life revolved around my friends, my job and keeping busy with all kinds of things that I wanted to do, including some things God didn't want me to do.  But in all of this, I lacked a real purpose for my life.  I didn't have any direction.  I was going from one thing to another without any overall plan for my life. <<click here to read more>>

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