Dateline NBC Comes to First Assembly

An Act of Amazing Love and Obedience

When the cameras of NBC News came to First Assembly of God in Lyndhurst, everyone knew that something unusual and newsworthy was happening in our midst.  But until the Dateline NBC story, entitled "Amazing Grace," aired to it's national audience November 23, 1998, few could fully appreciate the magnitude of the remarkable miracle that had taken place between two special lives in our church.

The miracle began with a need. For over five years, Toni Whatley, a 46 year old wife and mother of two, had endured the rigors of weekly kidney dialysis. The ordeal began in 1993 when Toni's kidney's experienced an infection and irreversible failure, and regular dialysis became necessary to sustain her life, filtering out bodily toxins normally performed by the kidneys.

Since the life expectancy for dialysis patients is limited, perhaps up to twenty-years or so, Toni had already survived over a quarter of her life expectancy, and needed to find a transplant alternative. However, eligible patients number in the thousands, and compatible donors are scarce.

This is when the makings of a miracle began to emerge. The congregation of First Assembly had recently undergone a period of special prayer and fasting, and upon hearing about Toni's plight, one person in particular, Diana Harrill, was drawn to pray especially for Toni. Although both women sang in the church choir, neither was well acquainted with the other...  however Diana's love and burden for Toni increased... and one day, Diana heard the Lord ask her an amazing question. "Are you willing to be a part of Toni's answer?" He asked. Diana was agreeable, but how? As she prayed, one surprising thought continued to come back to her... to donate one of her own kidneys to Toni.

It was an almost unbelievable notion. A woman in excellent health, willing to donate a kidney to a person whom she hardly knew... not even a family member or of the same ethnic origin. However, this was what she felt the Lord was asking her to do. When she brought the idea to Toni and her husband Tom, they were stunned... as was, Diana's husband, Ivan. But they came to accept Diana's sincere love for Toni, and her willingness to obey the Lord's leading.

Of course, such a gesture was much easier said than done, and even to be medically possible, would have to overcome a barrage of tests, exams and compatibility factors. The odds that a  random donor's blood type and other criteria would match a particular organ recipient, would be highly unusual... but amazingly, Diana was indeed found to be a match to Toni's blood type and every other detail.

After months of tests and preparations, and mixed emotions from family members, the date of the transplant operation was set. A team of Doctors of the Cleveland University Hospital performed the delicate procedure, as friends and well-wishers from Diana and Toni's church filled the waiting room with anticipation and prayers.

But even if the operation itself was successful, there were still critical benchmarks to be passed. Would Toni's body reject Diana's organ? This is one of the greatest complicating factors for such transplants. And if not rejected initially, there would be the possibility that rejection could occur eventually.

The happy ending to this story is, not only was the operation flawless and successful, this year marks the sixth year since that remarkable surgery in 1998. There has been no organ rejection, and today, both Toni and Diana, live happy, healthy lives. They and their families have grown close in friendship over the years, and they continue to serve the Lord together in their local church. 

Not only were the lives of the Harrill's and Whatley's changed through this incredible act of love and obedience, but the entire congregation of First Assembly of God, as well as millions across the nation who viewed the story on Dateline NBC, or who read the account in local newspapers, have been dramatically touched and inspired.

As stated later in an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Toni summed up her feelings about the matter, "It has not only been a blessing for me as far as how my life has changed, it's been a special blessing experiencing the love of Christ to that magnitude." Diana added, "I have learned a degree of trust in the Lord that I never knew before."

Finally, we all learn something very precious about God's love from from Toni and Diana. From their example we see a metaphor of God's love that is also sacrificial and unconditional, not based on what favor or merit we have earned... and that His love transcends all boundaries that often limits man. As Jesus said, "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)

Written by Dale A. Robbins