Katya of Tula

Is anyone following -- or interested in -- the story of Katya from Tula, the blind orphan I have been trying to pry out of Russia, which is similar to the story of Shura, the spina bifida boy from Siberia whose story is chronicled throughout Part I of Best Atheist. I began the story of Katya in Part II of Blest Atheist, but the book came out before Katya's story was finished. We left Katya in the process of getting a visa from the US Embassy in Russia, no easy task but one that had seemed to be facilitated by my trip to Russia last August.

Today I learned two very heartwarming facts. First, the lady who adopted Katya's younger brothers has completed all the paperwork for sponsoring Katya to live with her in the United States. Second, all the medical records have been assembled and reviewed. We had hoped that once Katya got to the USA she could receive excellent palliative care, her care being hit and miss at the moment in Russia although she has a wonderful nurse/caretaker there who really cares about her. Then, looking at old records, the doctors at Tufts, who would be the ones to care for Katya, thought that perhaps the terminal diagnosis, particularly the 5-year timeframe, was not the inevitable outcome. Today, with all the medical records updated and available, it was determined that all of Katya's tumors are benign.

Bottom line: Katya will be coming to the USA to live, not to die!

- e mahlou

About "The Book"

I suppose I should have started this blog with information about "the book" that began it all, Blest Atheist. I suppose that was so much commonsense that I simply did not think about it. Since most things are better late than never, I am including information on the book now for those who have not read it (although I imagine the majority of followers of this blog are those who found the URL on the back cover of the book). I will update it with reviews (for now, in the comments below) and other information, such as booksignings (in the updates on the right) and an occasional excerpt (at Mahlou Musings), in the days and weeks ahead. If you have read the book, I invite you to include your comments.

Here, for starters, is the publisher's description of the book:

As a young child, outraged by the hypocrisy she finds in a church that does nothing to alleviate the physical and sexual abuse she experiences on a regular basis, Beth delivers an accusatory youth sermon and gets her family expelled from the church. Having locked the door on God, Beth goes on to raise a family of seven children, learn 17 languages, and enjoy a career that takes her to NASA, Washington, and 24 countries. All the time, however, God keeps knocking at the door, protecting and blessing her—which she realizes only decades later. Ultimately, Beth finds God in a very simple yet most unusual way. A very human story, Blest Atheist encompasses the greatest literary themes of all time – alienation, redemption, and even the miraculous. The author’s life experiences, both tragic and tremendous, result in a spiritual journey containing significant ups and downs that ultimately yield great joy and humility.

- e mahlou

Conversion Journey

For many years, my youngest son, who is severely retarded but full of faith, hoped and prayed that his parents would give up their atheism and adopt his belief in a personal God. When God reached out to me about three years ago, that happened. I was shocked by the contact, but I could not deny what all my senses were telling me -- and not only me but also a friend who was with me. (The full story is in the book, Blest Atheist, and is the purpose and message of the book.)

The book ends with the start of the journey. Conversion is not a one-time happening, but, as I have since discovered, a long journey with some interesting twists and turns. I love reading Jennifer Fulwiler's Conversion Diary website (www.conversiondiary.com). She began the journey about two years before I did, and her experiences frequently parallel and occasionally foreshadow mine. I wonder how she is managing this experience with her family, and I look forward to the book she is writing about herself.

With my family, I worked hard to raise atheists. I sent my children to a parochial school because the education was better but insisted that they not be required to go to the chapel and that they be exempted from catechism of any sort. (How ironic! I am now a catechist!) Nonetheless, two of my children--the retarded youngest son and the daughter with spina bifida--both became strong believers. They were apparently experiencing the presence of God all those years that I was trying to dissuade them from believing what they were experiencing. My son, who is pretty much incapable of deception, given an IQ of 52, has all his life talked about talking to God and, more important, listening to God.

It should not have been surprising then that he was so concerned that his parents meet this very special entity in his life. I was quite amused (his father less so), when he said grace one morning after I had had my conversion experience: "Thank you, God, for bringing Mommy to church, but You forgot about Daddy!" Out of the mouths of babes!

I think God has not forgotten about his father, however, for his atheism has slowly turned to agnosticism and from agnosticism to curiosity. Perhaps the next step will come sooner rather than later.

I would be very interested in hearing from believers who are married to non-believers. How are you handling your relationship, given this significant difference?