wfn.org | Couple's crisis in Russia spurs worldwide help from United

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Methodists

Sept. 16, 1998        Contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
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NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.  

JACKSON, Tenn. (UMNS) - What began as a vacation trip to Russia nearly
turned into tragedy for a United Methodist couple, but church members at
home and in Europe pulled together and showed how connectionalism can
make a difference.

Leroy and Barbara Roberts of Jackson were cruising down the Volga River
in early August when Leroy suffered an intestinal blockage. He became
critically ill and was placed in the intensive care unit at Zil Hospital
in Moscow. Plagued by pneumonia and renal failure, he was given a 1
percent chance of survival. 

On Aug. 5, the couple's pastor in Jackson, the Rev. John Bonson of
Aldersgate United Methodist Church, received a call that Leroy was in
emergency surgery.

Barbara, alone in a strange country, was unable to speak the language
and "was truly at a loss," Bonson wrote later in the Memphis Conference
edition of The United Methodist Reporter.

In Jackson, Bonson tried to form a plan to help Barbara half a world
away. Searching the Internet, he found two United Methodist missionaries
in Russia. One, Bill Lovelace, graduated from Emory University with the
Rev. Sky Lowe-McCracken, pastor at East Trinity in Jackson. Bonson sent
both an immediate e-mail.

Then Bonson's office called the 800 number for the United Methodist
Board of Global Ministries in New York. "That one phone call set in
motion a remarkable series of events," the pastor wrote.

Alicia Patterson in New York contacted a staff member of the Board of
Global Ministries Russia Initiative who was in Moscow. That staff member
contacted Barbara and also an organization known as PeaceWorks, an
Advance Special supported by United Methodist Women through their
undesignated giving. Ula Reeves, with PeaceWorks in Virginia, became the
connecting point between Barbara, her family and the agencies capable of
giving help.

During this process, Barbara had to return to Jackson because her visa
had expired, and arrangements had to be made to bring Leroy home.

Meanwhile, PeaceWorks helped secure a private duty nurse to care for
Leroy. The organization continued to keep Barbara informed of Leroy's
medical status and faxed materials to update her visa for her return to
Moscow. After a down-to-the-wire rush to get her paperwork and visa
approved through the Russian Embassy in Washington, Barbara returned to
Moscow with her son, Ed, on Aug 12. PeaceWorks had made arrangements for
them to stay with an English-speaking family in Moscow, and had also
lined up a driver and translator for them.

When Barbara arrived in Moscow, her new Russian friends sent an e-mail
to her home congregation in Jackson: "Arrived in Moscow and went to see
Leroy. Things still do not look very good. Leroy is getting some better
according to the doctor, but is still in critical condition."

The United Methodist network continued working on the couple's behalf.
Methodist Central Hospital in Memphis contacted three physicians in
Moscow who had trained in their facility. The three offered their
assistance to Leroy's doctors.

In Moscow, Alexander "Sasha" Tsoutserov, a former KGB agent who was
trained in clinical pastoral education at Methodist Hospital in Memphis,
stayed with Leroy at Zil. Using the Internet, he kept family and friends
updated on Leroy's condition. 

By Aug. 14, a medical evaluation team made arrangements to airlift the
patient to Helsinki, Finland. Leroy was coherent for the first time in
days and understood that plans were being made to move him. Nancy
Heisley, the Robertses' daughter, sent this message: "At this point,
there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. We all hope and pray
that progress continues and the journey is a safe one."

Those prayers were answered when the Robertses arrived at Helsinki
University Hospital. Barbara was asked if she would like to call a
minister. The hospital staff furnished her with the name of the pastor
at First United Methodist Church of Helsinki. The Rev. Timo (Tom)
Karvonen, who speaks English, described his downtown church as one with
"big facilities and a small congregation."

Finally, Leroy was stable enough to return to the United States. A
commercial flight wasn't an option because of an inadequate oxygen
supply should he have an emergency during the flight. A medical
ambulance jet, owned by Fox Air Ambulance Service of Toronto, was hired.

On Sept. 5, the Robertses and an international medical team departed
from Helsinki. After a smooth 16-hour flight and four stops - in Norway,
Iceland, Greenland and Detroit -- the plane landed at Jackson's
McKellar-Sipes Airfield.

When the plane touched down at 5:45 a.m., Barbara looked out to see a
crowd of 30 church friends and family waiting in the pre-dawn darkness
to welcome the travelers home. As Leroy was transferred to a waiting
ambulance, Bonson led the sunrise group in singing the doxology. 

As the group sang "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," the
ambulance attendants, pilots, a doctor from Czechoslovakia and a nurse
from Barbados joined in. Tears ran freely down the cheeks of the
impromptu choir as Leroy smiled from his gurney.

Leroy is still in intensive care at Jackson-Madison County General
Hospital, but he is able to talk. 

Throughout the ordeal, Barbara said she has drawn strength from the many
people who have helped.

"Through it all, we felt the strength of the connectional church," she
said. "I was alone, but I was not despondent because I felt the prayers
of friends, pastors and churches all over the world. Because of my
lifelong experience in the United Methodist Church, I knew of our
connection. Now I have seen the connection, and it shines all around the
world."

# # #

*This story was compiled from two articles that appeared in the Memphis
Conference edition of The United Methodist Reporter.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/