For more than two years, retired evangelist Dick Rentfro has written a weekly inspirational column for the “Daily Record” newspaper in Ellensburg, Wash.
The popularity of the column has brought many opportunities for him to witness personally to readers in the Kittitas Valley. One day, he says, “The Holy Spirit urged me to visit the Shannon Aronica family in Ellensburg, and after leading them to Christ, I invited Denise Aronica, a nurse in the OB ward in our hospital in Ellensburg, to enroll in the Voice of Prophecy Discovery Bible course.”
Aronica accepted at once, and, says Rentfro, “she seized each truth for what it is—the Breath of Life.”
Rentfro continued to visit the Aronica family, and invited her husband, Shannon, to be baptized.
He accepted, but before Bible studies could began, Shannon was hospitalized for surgery to help repair damage from a stroke. It was a delicate surgery and only one neurosurgeon in the entire Seattle area would attempt it. The procedure required taking a blood vessel from the side of Shannon’s head and transplanting it to his brain.
Through his column, Rentfro invited all Christians in the county to pray for surgical success, and their prayers were abundantly answered.
This summer, Rentfro was scheduled to baptize the entire Aronica family. But just a week before the baptism, he received a telephone call from another family: “Our daughter has just had her heart set on being baptized this Sabbath. Will you do it?”
So it was that Jessica Redburg, granddaughter of Harold and Bonita Redberg, joined the family in baptism.
“God is still in charge,” says Rentfro. •
The Redbergs—with their friend, Dick Rentfro at center.
Dick Rentfro, left, is shown with Shannon Aronica, Denise Aronica, Chad Aronica, and Jessica Redberg.
