Laura's Story (l to r: Jackson,Chas, Alfa, Laura)

In 2003 we had been making weekly visits to T.B. hospital in Solnechnagorsk over a period of a couple of years, but we were asked not to come back because of the health risk. Then in the summer of 2006 one of the guys coming to the church Chas was admitted and so we had the opportunity to return to the hospital without any problem and began to have a weekly Bible study at the hospital. During the course of are visits Laura who is from Cameroon Africa, had been admitted with T.B. and began to attend the bible study. Felix, Chas, Jackson, and Laura were all French speakers from Cameroon, so Chas would translate into French. Laura was sick and her life was a mess, she had left Cameroon with a dream that she could come to Russia to transit and then move on to Europe, but as it has been the case with many Cameroonians that are desperate to find a better life, they fall prey to fellow countrymen that promise to get them to the promised land of Europe. They collect a sum of money which is a huge sacrifice for the person and their family to come up, take their passport and then make all the arrangements knowing full well that they will not get them any further than Moscow. Once they arrive in Moscow they find that they cannot move any further and their visa expiries and they end up in very difficult circumstances in a foreign land. To complicate Laura’s situation, as I would later find out that Laura had left two small boys behind to live with her relatives as she sought for a better life. The last contact that I had with Laura and the rest of the guys in the Bible study was late August of 2006 as I was returning back to America for a visit. The photo shown is the last Bible study we had at the hospital. Upon me returning to Russia Chas was very sick (his story is in an earlier blog) and was dying of T.B. of the lungs. He later would go on to be with the Lord. Laura left the hospital and I lost contact with her. Later Alfa and Felix (Felix not shown in the picture would both die of T.B. About 7 months ago I got a call from Laura in her broken English and she wanted to meet, she was living 3 hours away in a different city and so we met at the Leningradskiy train station. She began to tell of all the things the Lord was doing in her life, and how He had touched her life in a powerful way. It was obvious to me she was a different gal then when I had known her at the hospital. It was then that she told me about her children back in Cameroon and so I encouraged her to return as soon as possible and that we would help her make that step. To leave Russia when your visa is expired is not a quick and easy process but I was amazed how quickly it fell together and within 3 weeks Laura was at the airport on her way home. I believe God has a great plan for Laura who was very anxious to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all her family. She has quite a story to tell of God’s mercy and grace, that even though she had made many bad decisions, and was thousands of miles away from home away from her family, tricked by fellow countrymen, living in very difficult circumstances with no money, no job, improper documents and in a hospital where she could not speak the language, with tuberculosis. God knew exactly where she was at and got a hold of her life and changed it. It will be interesting to see how God uses Laura back in her native country of Cameroon.