David Willie Gardner

At 19 years old, I attended "Explo "72," a Campus Crusade for Christ event held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. There were 100,000 young people at this event from all over the USA. This week long crusade was on the cover of Life Magazine. In the crowd of 100,000 young people my eyes caught a beautiful woman about 30 yards away. I reminded the Father that I was there to learn some things and to captain a group of five high school boys. However, in a miracle shot of 100,000 kids trying to find their bus of transportation, this woman and I bumped shoulder to shoulder in an exit tunnel. I met Marlene Redder from Grand Rapids Michigan. California and Michigan; how would that possibly work?

In a night of restless sleep, I agreed with the Father that if this is the one for me then put us together the next day. He did in another miraculous meeting (no cell phones in those days). From there we wrote 128 letters over the next three months. We were married within 6 months of our meeting.