Natalya Goncharova, Spanaway, WA

I’d like to share my story with Heartfelt readers to illustrate for them the enormous difference CHM can make in their lives.

I was attracted to CHM because I’m a small business owner who was looking for an affordable healthcare cost solution. My husband, Richard, and I joined the ministry in Feb. 2015.

Several years earlier I started undergoing monitoring by an otolaryngologist because of a lump on the left side of my neck. At first it remained small, but it started growing in the second half of 2015. My doctor and I agreed it should be removed. He thought it was a lipoma requiring a simple procedure at a surgery center. I underwent the procedure that December at a cost of about $20,000.

After I awoke from anesthesia I learned that the surgery didn’t go well. The doctor discovered the lump was actually a carotid body tumor, which could be life-threatening if not treated quickly. He referred me to an oncology clinic.

The new doctor said proper treatment would require two more surgeries. He wanted to begin right away, but I was still trying to recover from sticker shock. The cost estimate was $177,000. That’s almost as much as our house! I thought.

Uncertain, I called CHM. I learned that even though my condition was pre-existing, my medical bills could still be shared through the Prayer Page, which appears in the monthly newsletter and is one of CHM’s programs for conditions that began prior to joining the ministry.

At first I was in disbelief, but the ministry staff assured me by explaining that hundreds of folks just like me had had their medical expenses met through the Prayer Page. They coached me to ask for discounts and set up payment plans with my healthcare providers.

Thanks to the advice we received from the knowledgeable and caring CHM staff, we submitted all of our paperwork and soon began receiving monthly checks.

After discounts and financial assistance of over $150,000, over the course of a year CHM members shared nearly $46,000 through Prayer Page giving. What a blessing!

As important as those checks were, much to my surprise I started receiving something equally wonderful: lists of names of those who contributed to sharing my bills. I also received many charming cards and notes wishing me a speedy recovery. They came from all over the country and I was so touched that I wrote back to each person.

During my long days of recovery, I had a lot of time to think about my good fortune—or perhaps I should say providential provision—of being in the United States at the time of my medical crisis. Though there are many excellent doctors where I was born in Siberia, Russia, I don’t believe I would have survived such surgeries there. I thank God for His timing, which is always perfect.

From the bottom of my heart I thank everyone in the CHM offices for your patience and attention to my many questions. I also thank my family and every member of the CHM community of believers for your support and generosity. Richard and I pray that God blesses you who have been such a blessing to us!