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Jelenszky is firm about his contentment. "I am not in denial. I am heartbroken over the pain that this has brought to my wife and our precious children. And I know that the worst times are probably on their way healthwise. But I have never felt closer than I feel to God now. People may think I'm crazy, but I have never been happier."

He is quick to give glory to God for this strength. "I'm actually a bit of a hypochondriac," he says. "The only thing that explains my peace is the Holy Spirit."

The doctors do not expect him to live out the year. How does Jelenszky want to be remembered?

"For most of my life I have had the chance to handle the most beautiful jewelry in the world—I love helping people pick out the right gift for that special someone," he says. "But telling people about Jesus is more precious than any amount of diamonds or gold. And it is what I want people to remember about Carli Jelenszky."

James A. Beverley is the associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, and a professor at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. Information about his forthcoming Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions (Nelson) is available at www.religionwatch.ca.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Other testimonies include:

R.C. Sproul's Testimony | The theologian and author of Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow talks about how he met Jesus and why playing the violin is like reading the Bible. (Dec. 31, 2002)

A Testimony in Reverse | I have discovered how inconvenient it can be when God actually does speak. (Feb. 5, 2001)

The Making of an Original | Coloring in the lines other Christians drew for me was much easier than the hard, divine work of becoming the person God wants me to be. (Dec. 27, 2000)

Ruth Graham's Sweet Offering of a Long Life | Ruth Bell Graham just turned 80 and as a young girl she asked the Lord to let her die a martyr's death, preferably as an old-maid missionary in Tibet. (June 9, 2000)

Rediscovering Jesus in, of All Places, Church | After three decades of spiritual quest, I found myself being drawn to the kind of church I most disliked. (Aug. 9, 1999)

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February 2004, Vol. 48, No. 2