Satan may have thought he had Carol as a young girl, but through the grace of God and surprising wisdom, she was able to move away from the occult behaviors she had been engaging in. As an adult, Jesus Christ led her through the fires of cancer as she watched her husband succumb to the disease.

We hear many stories of adults who played with Ouija boards, tarot cards or practiced séances when they were children. However, dabbling in these activities often opens the door to paranormal activity.

This is exactly what happened to Carol Nadeau-Riley, 53.

Carol’s father was dating a woman who professed to be a witch and brought several books on witchcraft into their home in Duluth, Minn. These books had a young Carol and her girlfriends completely enthralled.

One of the girls’ favorite activities was predicting the color of a card from a deck of 25.

“I would put my hand over the card and see the color on top of my hand,” Carol said. “I would practice hourly.”

In addition to the cards, the girls would practice spells out of the books and play with the Ouija board — all things they thought were harmless parlor tricks. When Carol was able to predict 24 cards out of 25, she quit.

“It struck me that the power was real, and I didn’t know where it came from, so I stopped,” she said. “If it didn’t come from a good place, I did not want to be a part of it.”

Satan uses the same tools today that he used yesterday. Kids today read and watch the “Harry Potter” stories; we watched “Bewitched.” The Ouija board and card games are still sold in stores. His tactics don’t change with the generations.

“Don’t go there. Don’t let your children play with this stuff,” Carol cautions parents. “Preadolescents do not have the ability to discern what is true or not. If you read the books about “Harry Potter” or “Twilight” with your kids, then you can discuss it from a position of authority.”

While Carol’s venture into the occult was short-lived, it did have consequences. Coming to know the Lord as her Savior was a bit frightening, as she was leery of the supernatural stuff with God and shut herself off from the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When she found she understood what people were saying while they were praying in tongues (a Biblical gift of the Holy Spirit), it really scared her. But through studying God’s word, Carol was convinced God was in it, that it was safe and she would not be opening the door to Satan.

In 2004, Carol became of a follower of Jesus Christ through Alpha, a program that introduces the basics of Christianity, at the Duluth Gospel Tabernacle. She wasn’t actually attending the course, though; her friend Heidi Melde had asked her to help with the cooking. Melde felt the Alpha meetings would be a good place for her.

“It was a safe place for Carol to ask questions and learn about God,” Melde said. “She needed a group of women she could trust and learn with.”

After a few weeks of listening, Carol opened up to Jesus Christ.

“I realized His love is so overwhelming for me, and I came to the understanding of grace,” she said. “Even though I didn’t deserve it, God was offering a gift, and He didn’t expect anything in return.”

Carol thought she would have to give up everything she had done before, such as watching TV, and then maybe sit around and pray all day. It was as she grew and matured in Christ that she wished she could sit around and pray all day!

“I was never bored,” she said. “It was a very gradual, comfortable process where I realized I was in a personal relationship with our Savior. It was so personal, and I knew I did not deserve it.”

Carol continued with Alpha through the rest of the summer.

“Attending the Alpha program served as a natural springboard to attending church,” Melde said.

In the fall when the course ended, Carol and her husband, Tim Riley, attended church regularly. Tim had known the Lord, but he did not attend church until his wife became a believer. He then stepped into the role of spiritual leader with ease. There were many mornings when Carol would find a Bible verse by the coffee pot. Her newfound faith became a source of joy and strength.

The following May, Tim passed out at work. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital and was diagnosed with an astrocytoma — inoperable brain tumor. With a voice heavy with emotion, Carol recounted how through the summer Tim had radiation treatments: “But all healing comes from God; it is how He designed our bodies.” When the radiation treatments were over, they were blessed with remission.

The remission continued through four years, but testing in June 2009 revealed the tumor once more. This time traditional surgery was scheduled. Desiring to understand as much about the surgical procedure as possible, Carol called doctors’ offices asking about the risks, possible complications and how long it would be.

With each phone call, the scenarios grew worse. Satan descended upon Carol, and he brought about fear and confusion to the point where all she could do was weep. But the prayers of a good friend, Rebecca Haapanen, and the rest of the attendees of the Alpha course brought her peace.

“For those who say that spiritual warfare isn’t real, well, they have never been there,” Carol said.

Tim underwent the surgery and continued chemotherapy through October, but nothing was working. By God’s grace, another chemo drug was found that worked. From October 2009 through December 2010, Tim was able to do all of the things he usually did — cutting wood, mowing the grass, etc. But on Dec. 3, 2010, he suffered a stroke, which was a potential side effect of his chemo drug.

Tim was in a wheelchair, couldn’t speak very well and was told there was nothing else medical science had to offer. Still, he had no fear of death.

“The hospital chaplain came to speak to us and said he had heard we received some very hard news,” Carol said. “Tim replied, ‘Well, no, it really isn’t that hard for me, I know where I am going and what is going to happen.’ He looked at the chaplain and said, ‘And you can know, too.’”

Tim, 59, went home to the Lord on Feb. 27 after a six-year battle with cancer.

Tim and Carol had been married 28 years. Tim grew up in North St. Paul, Minn., and moved to Duluth as a young man. Carol, 53, grew up in Duluth. They lived in Saginaw, Minn., for 19 years. They had no children.

“If it was this hard when you know the fate of your loved one and that you’ll meet again, I think of all those who aren’t saved; they need to hear the truth,” Carol said.

The truth that Tim was with the Lord and that she would see him again filled Carol with gratitude, yet it was still hard. She asked, “If He who is in me is so strong, why can’t I stand up? A friend said, ‘Because the position of strength is on your knees.’ That is where my strength comes from. Tim’s funeral service didn’t mark an end, but a beginning.”

After the first diagnosis, Carol asked, “Why us? Why me?” God answer to her was, “Why not you? Our world is a fallen world and bad things will happen. We are all destined to die. Being a Christian does not protect you from the bad things in the world, but it protects you from the eternal suffering that the bad things of this world are just a prelude to.”

God’s faithfulness helps Kathy Jarve achieve her educational goals and serve at Minnesota Teen Challenge’s Northland Campus in Duluth, Minn.

Kathy Jarve knows the meaning of perseverance. The path that led her to becoming outpatient treatment director at Minnesota Teen Challenge’s Northland Campus in Duluth, Minn., was a very long road.

Jarve, 53, was raised in a Christian home in Superior, Wis., the middle of five children, and her family attended Darrow Road Wesleyan Methodist Church. As a teenager growing up in the ’70s, she saw firsthand how drugs and alcohol were destroying people she loved.

“I lost a lot of friends during that time,” she said./p>

As God often does during those dark times, He showed her what His will was for her life, gifting her with empathy and a passion for reaching out and helping those caught in the web of addiction. That gift would drive her toward a career in helping others.

Jarve married at age 23 and started her family of two daughters and one son. After all her children had begun school, she hit the books, too -- one class at a time.

“The two-year program took me nine years to complete; being a mom was No. 1 with me,” she said.

Her husband and family were very supportive, but even with that and a very clear understanding that she was on God’s path for her life, her education was, at times, very long and discouraging. She often prayed for strength and courage.

Her first job in the field was with The Salvation Army, and she adopted its motto as her own: “To meet people at their level of need whatever that need may be.”

Her education continued and her employment changed as time went on, including working at Lake Superior Treatment Center and learning that addictions have no boundaries and involve people from all backgrounds. She also worked at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Moose Lake and developed a chemical dependency program that was provided to offenders in the system.

In January 2007 Jarve started her graduate program and worked with the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ CARE program (Community Addiction Recovery Enterprises). At one point, she found herself working full time, going to school and completing her internship.

“It was difficult, but I knew I was going in the right direction, and my family was also very supportive,” she said.

Jarve’s position at the Human Development Center led her to work with people who fell between the cracks -- those suffering with both mental disorders and addiction issues. Her degree as a psychotherapist and experience with co-occurring disorders allowed her to treat both issues with her clients.

“I believe that everybody has the opportunity to heal and have hope,” she said.

Along the long road of education and several different jobs, Jarve has kept her steadfast faith and her Christian values. At one point, her values were truly challenged. Given the choice at one of her positions to practice unethically or be released, she chose to be released.

Following God’s prompting again, Jarve began working for Teen Challenge-Duluth.

“There was where I needed to be,” said a thankful Jarve, who feels her job is a gift from God.

Teen Challenge’s mission is to assist teens and adults in gaining freedom from chemical addictions and other life-controlling problems by addressing their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Paul Harkness, center director for Teen Challenge-Duluth, said Jarve serves as treatment director over the short-term program for men and women.

“She teaches, counsels and mentors the counseling staff and interns,” Harkness said. “She assures compliance with the State of Minnesota for the program and directs vision for the growth and expansion of the new outpatient program.

“Kathy has a wealth of experience and is dual licensed in both chemical dependency and mental health. So many of our clients are coming to us with the need for help in both of these areas, and we are glad to have the opportunity to strengthen our program with her expertise in both areas. Kathy has worked for the Department of Corrections, The Salvation Army and Human Development Center, so she brings a wide scope of experience to the table. She is highly respected in the region, and the comments from clients have been outstanding.”

Taking 18 years to complete her education was difficult, but looking at her job now at Teen Challenge, she said with a smile, “I see miracles every day. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Breaking through 30 years of alcohol and drug addiction, Mark Brostrom found Jesus, a family and a ministry to the children of Kilimanjaro.

His kind eyes and gentle smile radiate joy and thankfulness. The very presence of God’s love and grace seems to emanate from him as words of humble gratitude pour out of his mouth. When you look at him, you see a reflection of the tender, merciful Heavenly Father who transformed his life.

Paul Walsh / Living Stones News Mark Brostrom (pictured with his wife, Neema, and daughter, Malikia) struggled with addictions for more than 30 years until experiencing the overpowering presence of God’s love while sitting in a jail cell. Now he is blessed with a family and a mission — to help children who are orphaned, sick or hungry in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania.

Mark Brostrom, of Duluth, Minn., started drinking and using drugs at the age of 12. He never dreamed that the unexplainable darkness he felt as a child would consume him for almost 30 more years and nearly destroy his life.

While Brostrom, 44, lived a reasonably happy childhood, he says he always felt down. His father was a hard-to-please military man, and he felt as though he always fell short of his dad’s expectations.

“It seemed like nothing I ever did was good enough for him. Even before I started drinking, I would make up lies to make myself feel better and to protect myself,” Brostrom said. “He was really the only one I wanted to please.”

When the lying proved to be insufficient in satisfying Brostrom’s deep hunger for affirmation, he found comfort in alcohol, marijuana and, eventually, whatever substance he could find.

By the age of 15 he was a “full-blown addict.”

Eventually Brostrom faced three DUI charges and found himself in and out of jail countless times. Because he could not remember a majority of events from 1992 through 1994, he had to rely on police records and various work stubs to piece together that three-year span of his life. He went through five or six treatments, according to his recollection; he lost all of his friends and was unable to hold a job.

“Like a hurricane, I just destroyed everything in my way,” Brostrom said. “I had lost just about everybody; nobody could trust me or believe me. There was nothing left.”

One night in 1997, Jesus Christ brought hope into Brostrom’s life at Itasca County Jail. He met a pastor who prayed over him and, after returning to his bunk, he experienced a divine outpouring of God’s love. Strange words and sounds that Brostrom could not decipher started flowing out of his mouth.

Brostrom had heard of speaking in tongues, but he did not necessarily understand what that meant. The experience simply pointed him to the Father who was relentlessly pursuing his heart.

“That night I knew I was loved. I felt it. It was like a shower, it was just like this big shower. God cradled me, and for the first time I felt like I was OK,” Brostrom said.

God took Brostrom in baby steps from there. He still stumbled and made mistakes; he was not completely free from the substance abuse.

“I think He knew I wasn’t ready for everything,” he said. “No matter what happened though, even when I would make mistakes, I would go immediately back to Him. I knew He was in my life.”

God unexpectedly restored Brostrom’s relationship with his mom and sister and continually brought people into his life to support and encourage him through his recovery process.

“It was amazing to see people start to love me and trust me again,” Brostrom said. “Even when I would slip and fall, I just felt this love, this thing of God. You know, to me, God is just nothing but love.”

In 2004, Brostrom was granted the opportunity to go to Tanzania for three months. He traveled with a group led by Immanueli and Beth Magomolla, of Duluth, Minn., on behalf of Mothers and Children of Central Tanzania (MCCT), a women’s micro-loan project founded by the Magomollas in 1998.

“Things just changed from there, forever,” Brostrom said.

Early in the trip, Brostrom met his future wife, Neema, while she was assisting women with HIV/AIDS. Mark became seriously ill with malaria and other parasites, and after Neema helped him contact his family and find a nearby hospital, she continued to care for him and they fell in love.

Neema tried unsuccessfully to obtain a U.S. visa for two years, so in 2007 the couple decided to get married in the village where she was raised.

While living in Tanzania, Mark and Neema started a safari company called Kili Culture Tours and Safaris in order to generate an income. During this time, God also instilled in them a desire to minister to orphaned children in the rural area outside of Kilimanjaro.

“I love it over there, and I love the people,” Brostrom said. “There are so many kids outside the city who are orphaned or have HIV or just don’t have food, and there’s nobody up there to help.”

The newly married couple waited another year and a half before Neema got a visa, and they moved to Duluth at the end of 2008.

Since then, God has presented the opportunity for the Brostroms to start a foundation for the children of Kilimanjaro. When Mark and Neema got married, her parents gave them a 5-acre plot of land on which to build an orphanage. Within the past few months, God has placed people in the Brostroms’ path to help them establish the nonprofit organization in Tanzania.

Neema said they would not be where they are now if it weren’t for her Savior, Jesus. 

“Since I met Mark and now, there have been a lot of changes. All of this is happening because of God’s faithfulness,” she said. “God is amazing!”

Mark and Neema have a 3-year-old daughter named Malikia and a baby boy on the way. Mark’s eyes light up at the mention of his family.

“Life is so good now,” Brostrom said. “I can’t believe what my life has become, even just to be a husband and a father. I shouldn’t even be alive; otherwise I should be in prison. For God to pick me up out of that is a miracle. I am a miracle.

“There is nothing about my story that should even be about me. This is all about Jesus. It could have been anybody that night, but it wasn’t. He made himself known to me. I am such a blessed man.

“The greatest thing that could ever happen to me when I leave this earth is that my kids and wife say that I was a good father and husband. That I followed Jesus to the end, that I won the fight.”

Being born prematurely has not kept 7-year-old Gabrielle Johnson of Sioux Falls, S.D., from growing up as an example of God’s miraculous love.

Chad Phillips / Great Plains Photography (From left) Jeremiah, Gabrielle, Zoe and Rachel Johnson of Sioux Falls, S.D., give testimony to God’s faithfulness and generous healing seven years after Gabrielle was born prematurely.

But Gabrielle was born prematurely, which caused a lot of concern for her parents, Jeremiah and Rachel Johnson.

“Going through a premature birth showed me that I was the one who needed love and prayer,” said Jeremiah. “These are the things I would typically do for others as an Assembly of God pastor. Our lives were turned upside down.”

“Besides having our new premature baby, we had a 13-month-old,” Rachel said. “For many days we lived in The Rainbow House in Omaha, Neb. One child at home and one child in the hospital made life difficult. The whole process taught us again to trust in God.”

Baby Gabrielle came into the world on Dec. 27, 2003. She weighed only 3 pounds and 3 ounces.

Rachel had been feeling good with a normal pregnancy at 29 weeks. But while visiting relatives over Christmas, she got up one morning and noticed spotting. They called the doctor and headed to the St. Francis Memorial Hospital in West Point, Neb. They wanted to make sure everything was all right.

Shortly after the Johnsons arrived, Rachel’s water broke. The doctor decided they should transfer to an Omaha hospital that was better equipped to care for a premature child. They were flown to Omaha by Life Flight, and Rachel received a blood transfusion on the way. In Omaha, a Caesarean section was performed and Gabrielle was born.

The baby being born at only 29 weeks caused many questions for the Johnsons. Will Gabrielle be handicapped? Will she be OK? What is this going to cost? Will Jeremiah have to go back to California for his pastoral duties?

Gabrielle spent many days in the neonatal intensive care unit. Rachel and Jeremiah went back and forth between Gabrielle in the hospital and caring for 1-year-old Zoe. They wanted to be with both children. It was very difficult.

“At 3 weeks, Gabrielle could get off the ventilator. We called everyone to pray for her, including ‘The 700 Club’ on TV,” Rachel said. “A short time later, Gabrielle pulled out the ventilator herself and was able to breathe without it. She was 32 days old and knew what she liked even then.”

Fifty days after her birth, Gabrielle weighed 5 pounds and 8 ounces. After many struggles, she was released from the hospital on Feb. 16, 2004. Just to make sure everything was going OK, the family waited to go home to Susanville, Calif., until Feb. 20.
       

While on the plane to California, Gabrielle quit breathing. Medical personal who were on the plane came forward to begin CPR on the baby and helped her start breathing again.

Many roads have been traveled on the way to Gabrielle growing into a healthy 7-year-old. It was a big learning experience for the whole family.

For the past four years, Jeremiah has been the worship and young adult pastor at Assembly of God Church in Sioux Falls, S.D. Rachel is also an ordained Assembly of God pastor, but she chooses to homeschool the girls.

“We thank God each day for His goodness. Life could always be worse,” Jeremiah said. “Tragedies are some of the greatest ways to respond to God. Being a pastor, we see many people go through tragedies. But God will meet us and show Himself to us. We don’t deserve it, but His grace is
sufficient.”

As a child, Jeremiah grew up as a Catholic but did not really have a belief system. When he was in fourth grade, his parents divorced. He lived with his dad. He felt confused and angry, and his growing-up years were difficult. When he was a senior in high school, a friend invited him to an Assembly of God youth group.      

Rachel had just finished Bible college and was on staff at the church. She also talked to Jeremiah. He ended up attending North Central University (Minneapolis, Minn.). While there, God spoke to him and his life has never been the same. He graduated in 2001.

Rachel grew up in a Christian home in Omaha, Neb., and also graduated from North Central University. She and Jeremiah were married in 1999.

When Gabrielle was 1 year old, Rachel wrote a book, “Gabrielle’s Journey,” and “The 700 Club” featured her story on Dec. 24.  

“God gave us a story to minister to others,” Rachel said. “Years after her birth, God continues to use Gabrielle’s story to help others and bring them closer to Him.”          

The Johnson family is grateful for the miracle of Gabrielle’s life. She continues to grow without any medical problems. She does well in school and loves life.