I wasn’t supposed to make it.
On May 5, 2023, I was in Medora, North Dakota, preparing to lead music for the Dakota Conference Men’s Retreat. That morning I felt something I’d never felt before—an ache in my chest, a heaviness, a wave of unease I couldn’t shake. Deep down, I knew something was wrong.
I walked down to the hotel lobby and told the front desk, “Please call an ambulance—I think I’m having a heart attack.” And then, even in the middle of the chaos, I made another call, one that would shape everything that followed: I called Randy Rubbert, the men’s ministry director, and asked him to come pray with me.
Randy and his wife Mary came quickly. They stayed by my side, praying, while the EMTs arrived. I was still conscious when the paramedics laid me down on the floor of the hotel lobby.
And then—I flatlined.
My heart stopped. I was clinically dead for at least five minutes. The EMTs performed CPR and used a defibrillator to shock my heart back into rhythm.
By all accounts, I shouldn’t have survived. But God wasn’t done with me yet.
They rushed me to Dickinson Hospital, then life-flighted me to Bismarck. There, doctors confirmed I had suffered a widow-maker heart attack—the kind few people survive.
Former Dakota Conference president Mark Weir and ministerial director (now current Dakota Conference president) Vernon Herholdt came to my room in Bismarck. They anointed me with oil and prayed, placing my life entirely in God’s hands.
I was unconscious, completely unresponsive—but prayer was moving where medicine couldn’t.
By Sunday night, the medical team told my wife, Roberta, that there wasn’t much hope, but she refused to accept that as the final word. She asked the attending physician, “Is there anything else you can do to save his life?”
He mentioned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota—though it was a long shot.
An emergency team flew me to Mayo on May 8, with my son Michael by my side.
Days later, I woke up.
They told me I had survived not only the heart attack and cardiac arrest, but multiple transfers in critical condition. They also said to me that I would not survive much longer without a heart transplant. I had been outfitted with an Impella—a small pump that kept my heart functioning until a donor heart could be found.
I was placed on the transplant list in critical condition, and for the next month, we waited.
But I want to be clear—this wasn’t a story of my faith. At that point, I was just holding on. The real story was the faith of my wife, the love of my family, and the prayers of thousands of people lifting me up when I couldn’t lift myself.
Next steps
On June 7, 2023, the call came. A heart was available. That day was sobering. I was anxious. There was no guarantee I’d make it through surgery, but I surrendered my will to my Creator, and they wheeled me to the surgery theater.
The heart transplant surgery lasted 7–8 hours.
I survived.
But survival was only the beginning. I had to relearn how to walk. I had to fight to regain my independence. It was painful and slow but through it all, one thing became unmistakably clear: I had been saved by the grace of God.
Multiple doctors told me they weren’t sure I’d live. One by one, they admitted how critical I was, but day after day, I kept recovering. One called me “Miracle Man.” But that miracle doesn’t belong to me—it belongs to God alone.
Please hear me
If you’re going through something right now that feels hopeless—whether it’s physical, emotional or spiritual, please hear me:
- God is faithful.
- Prayer still moves mountains.
- Nothing is impossible for Him.
Let the people around you carry you when you’re too weak to stand. Surround yourself with prayer. Surrender the outcome to God, because even when you may count yourself out, He’s not finished writing your story.
I was supposed to die. I lived. Every heartbeat now is a testimony.
To God be the glory.
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Elder Mike and Roberta Temple have been married for 40 years and have three adult children: Taylor (Albert), Maddie and Michael. The couple resides in northeastern North Dakota and spent 21 years pastoring church districts around the Dakotas. Pastor Mike is an author and writes the Open Word Daily e-Devotional. To subscribe for FREE, visit openwordjourney.com