Women of various denominations joined together for an evening of worship and to hear stories from two local women and a mother/daughter duo.
The event, What’s Your Story? Every Story is a God Story was held at the Drayton Reformed Church on April 16.
The evening began with worship lead by Tricia Klapwyk and Lisa Krnac. Mother and daughter Kim and Halle Detweiler took the platform first.
“Things that have happened in my life, some would consider coincidence, good luck or not important to God. But I know different,” Detweiler said.
Fifteen weeks into her pregnancy, an ultrasound confirmed the baby Detweiler was carrying was normal. The easiest pregnancy she had up to that point.
“Weeks later doctors suspected the baby was breech. McMaster Hospital confirmed the diagnosis. In my 32nd week, my mom retired and moved within minutes of my house. God was at work,” Detweiler said.
Detweiler’s in-laws already lived in the area. Having both sets of grandparents close by was a great help to the family.
“Halle, my daughter was born with Caudle Regression Syndrome. The doctors said it was a fluke. God set everything up for us throughout the pregnancy and He is still at work today,” Detweiler said.
Halle, an 11-year-old Grade 6 student, leads a busy, active life at school and is a competitive dancer despite being confined to a wheelchair. One year ago she experienced pain in her stomach that didn’t seem to go away.
“My mom researched kidney stones and she was right. An ultrasound confirmed her diagnosis. After an ambulance ride to Hamilton, where my doctor is, he agreed that it was kidney stones and scheduled surgery for me once I was feeling better, “ Halle said.
Halle knew that many people were praying for her healing and once she began to feel better, doctor’s scheduled one final set of tests to determine the exact location of the kidney stones.
“I went to hospital school that morning but I really didn’t feel like doing school work. I prayed instead. My mom came into my classroom and told me that the crystals and stones in my kidney were gone … I wasn’t on any medications for kidney stones. God is real,” Halle said.
Pivotal moment
Another speaker, Dale Franklin, introduced herself as a wife, mother, florist, fundraiser and a Christian.
“The pivotal moment in my life was at Conestoga Bible Camp when I accepted Jesus into my life at the age of eight. I’m nervous about sharing my testimony. I usually share when I’m creating flower arrangements with other people. I don’t do change well and if it was up to me I wouldn’t change anything,” Franklin said.
While working in the insurance industry, Franklin developed many new skills, found fulfillment in the job and enjoyed the flexibility it offered. Driving to work one morning she heard over the radio that the company she worked for, Mutual Life, was being bought out by Sun Life.
Her position in the company was not made redundant but over the next two weeks she discovered that the positive part of her day, the drive to work, became something she detested. Franklin turned the drive time into prayer time, thinking maybe God was trying to tell her something.
“I got an inkling that something was about to change. My husband had started his own business one and a half years earlier so now wasn’t a good time for me to be changing jobs. My manager at Sun Life then revealed that my position could go. I was listening to God but not really hearing Him. Remember I am the one who doesn’t like change,” Franklin said.
With a previous florist shop in Drayton permanently closed, Franklin missed the convenience of buying flowers locally.
“I was always taught, if you find a need, fill it. My husband laughed at me when I mentioned that I should open a flower shop. I knew nothing about running a flower shop and he was right. But I knew God was on board with me,” Franklin said.
She attended a retraining program in downtown Toronto while in negotiations to buy a shop. Blooming Dale’s came into being in Drayton shortly after. A co-op student from Woodland Christian High School, Amanda Scholten, continued working part-time in the shop after completing her placement. Eventually she decided to travel and gave Franklin six months notice of her intention to leave.
“Hiring was not one of my strengths but God had other plans. He kept putting a person in my path even though we had completely different lifestyles. I put an ad in the paper hoping that she would apply but she didn’t,” Franklin explained.
Years ago, florists used to trade equipment back and forth. Franklin needed to return a borrowed piece to a shop in Waterloo. Maureen Ten Hoopen, the person Franklin says God kept putting in her path, was employed by the same shop. The two connected when Franklin stopped at Ten Hoopen’s home to drop off the borrowed equipment.
Ten Hoopen, a single mother, needed full-time work and Franklin could only offer part-time hours. Both women prayed, stepped out in faith and Ten Hoopen accepted the position.
One month later, a part-time position became available with the Palmerston Hospital Foundation where Franklin volunteered. Franklin applied for the position and was hired, allowing Ten Hoopen to work full time.
“I had asked God to triple my sales but He had another plan. God put all the pieces together,” Franklin said.
The final speaker of the evening was Freita DeKoning, a mother, grandmother and nurse. DeKoning and her husband volunteered with Wycliffe Bible Translators, USA. Shortly after the birth of their first child Sarah, co-worker Donna Wagner gave DeKoning words of advice in parenting children.
“She said to pray daily for your children, their salvation and their personal relationship with Jesus. Which my husband and I did, “ DeKoning said.
With the children grown up and having families of their own the DeKoning’s continued to pray. Daughter- in- law Sera was experiencing blood pressure issues during her pregnancy which could affect the unborn baby’s life.
“I was thrilled when my son, Mark, said that he knew how to pray for his unborn child because of the example his parents had shown him while he was growing up,” DeKoning said.
“Our prayers were answered when a healthy baby boy named Grayson joined the family.”
DeKoning hadn’t been in touch with Donna Wagner for over 25 years but decided to send an email announcing the birth of her new grandson.
“I didn’t know if Donna would get the email because it was an old email address.
“She did and in her reply she told me something that I did not know about her. Her maiden name was Grayson,” DeKoning explained.
In DeKoning’s closing remarks she made one simple observation.
“If you don’t pray, God can’t answer,” she said.
