atiana, of the ethnic group called the "Kalmyks," has experienced a lifetime of disappointments. At a very young age, both of her parents died. As an adult, her husband went through a botched leg surgery that left him unable to walk or work. Then as their finances were falling apart, Tatiana received more heartbreaking news from her doctor: she would never be able to have children.

A life time of disappointment
Tatiana was a devoted Buddhist but this did nothing to bring her peace. Tatiana says, "I became depressed but had no one to turn to."

Out of desperation, Tatiana found herself pouring out her problems and disappointments to a new friend at her workplace. This new friend listened intently. "You should put your cares into the hands of God," her Christian friend explained.

"How can God help me?" Tatiana asked. "Can God give me a bag of money?" She was not mocking her friend but she truly did not understand how God—if He really did exist—could possibly help her.

Then the realisation hit her. "If God is present in this church, then I am in the presence of God!" It was at that moment she knew in her soul that God was real and personal.

The pastor's message taught Tatiana that the Bible is the Word of God—the same God she had just come to recognise. She accepted the truth she was hearing from this Bible.

Tatiana felt welcomed by the kind Christians at the church and she was compelled to return. The third time she did, she came to the service feeling crushed by the weight of her problems. It was at that time she heard from the God’s Word, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)

"The words of Jesus gripped my heart," says Tatiana. "It was as if He had spoken directly to me because He knew about how weary and burdened I was over my problems." She decided to accept Jesus' invitation and let Him bring her the rest she so desperately wanted.

"I really cannot explain it but in those moments of hearing and thinking about the words of Jesus I, a Buddhist, came to believe that Jesus had spoken to me and I needed to go to Him. Faith was born in me. My eyes filled with tears at the reality of it all."

She accepted Jesus that day. Tatiana explains, "I cried out to Jesus to take away my heavy burden of troubles and to give me rest. What joy flooded my inner being as I actually experienced the Lord Jesus lift away from me my burden and then gently place on me His peace. I was no longer a believer in Buddha but a believer in Christ."

God heals—the whole person
Tatiana went home and destroyed the relics of her former religion. "I only wanted room in my life for Christ and the Bible," she says. She was baptised and, upon completing a Bible study, received her very own Bible. Shortly after that, her husband accepted Jesus, too.

God miraculously blessed Tatiana and her husband. His leg was healed, so that he was able to walk and work again. Also, they now have 2 children, a son and a daughter!

Yet, now that she is a Christian, Tatiana's life has a new hardship. "The anger of my Buddhist relatives is sometimes expressed in ways to humiliate me. They have cut me off from family activities and I am no longer included in relatives' events," she explains. "For comfort I turn to reading the Word of God and hold His promises tightly in my heart."

*Statistics come from Joshua Project (Sept 2006)

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