Wounded Soldiers (Katya's story - Part One)

(NOTE: I began writing this post as it is dated, back in February of 2013. I struggled with how to write and express all that happened as my husband and I fought for months to help this dear lady, Katya, receive medical care she so desperately needed, as well as, help her family cope with the reality of her illness. This post is the beginning of the wonderful story of Katya's salvation and the precious few months she lived as a Christian.)


This past week was a blur to us.

Almost like a nightmare that we would really like to forget.

As you pass through these halls it is almost like you are walking through a war zone;

walking past wounded soldiers weary from the fight.

In reality, it is the local cancer hospital where people should be able to come to find rest and seek treatment.

Being one of two cancer hospitals in the entire region rest and relaxation is a far cry from what you see

on the faces of those who have found themselves here.

Instead you see people, many of whom have traveled for miles just to have their diagnostic tests done and

hopefully be "lucky" enough or "sick enough" to be admitted the day they arrive.

They are exhausted from standing in lines

for endless hours only to be told they must come back later,

or even that there is no room for them at all, unless they can pay for their medical care.

You see, the situation here in Russia with cancer is critical.

The numbers of patients is growing.

I just heard a statistic that 5,000 children in Russia are diagnosed with cancer each year.

Less than half of them will actually receive care.

The best hospitals are not in the small towns but in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other large cities.

Then there is the older generation which comprises most of the patients here in our area.

We currently have two cancer hospitals in Krasnoyarsk.

They are overflowing with needy patients.

Take Katya, for example, the mother of one of our most faithful ladies.

This week was spent just doing our best just trying to get her admitted to the cancer hospital.

You see, she started telling me sometime last month (January 2013) that she was having trouble swallowing.

I told her she should see a doctor.

Fast forward a few weeks later and we find out she is in the hospital because of fluid building up in her abdominal cavity so much that she could hardly stand up. We understood what this more than likely meant - CANCER.

Katya was released from the hospital after they kept her for almost a week (if I remember correctly). The doctors told her she needed to be seen by a doctor in the city because they did not deal with these type of situations like hers. They really told her very little and eventually a doctor there agreed to drain some of the fluid off of her abdomen to ease the discomfort. While she was in the hospital a lady in her room kept telling her not to worry or be afraid that she would be okay. This Orthodox lady showed her prayers from her book of prayers and told Katya that she needed to buy a cross from the Orthodox church and "pray" those prayers. Katya returned home on a Wednesday so just after the service, I took her daughter, Sveta, and grandkids home from the service to try to talk more with Katya about her medical and spiritual needs. The Lord chose the perfect time for us to talk this time, as I had tried before to sit down with Katya and share God's plan of salvation with her but was unable to. This time, we talked a bit about her medical problems. Then she began sharing with me about what her roommate had told her and about her fears as she lay in that hospital bed. The conversation led right into sharing the gospel! I was able to reassure Katya that SHE can't handle what is in store and can't know the future but God does and wants to use this to draw her to HIM! After talking a little, Katya agreed to let me read some Scriptures to her while her daughter and granddaughters sat across the room. Katya soon expressed her desire to come to Christ and place her faith and trust in Him to save her. I prayed for Katya and then offered for her to pray and accept Christ and she cried out to God verbally and asked Him into her heart begging Him to save her! What a precious prayer Katya prayed to a loving heavenly father! She said "Amen," and she hugged me. Relief was audible in her voice. Her daughter hugged her while I sat with her teen granddaughter and noticed tears streaming down her face as well. We all rejoiced in that moment as we had all prayed for years for Katya to come to Christ!

From that point on, we strongly desired that God would be glorified in Katya's life no matter what the outcome! That evening I told Katya that whatever news she may hear as she goes into the cancer hospital for further testing, it will be God's will for her life and she can safely trust in His promises. That very evening she became visibly at peace even through her pain and suffering, now that her eternity was settled!

(to be continued...)