Bible Text: Romans 1:16, 20 | Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | Once in awhile you meet someone who inspires you in a special way. Nadia Panchenko was such a person.

A doctor of biology, Nadia was the director of the Medico-Ecological Center in Ukraine, which researched health problems that developed from the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. One of the first to go to help victims after the meltdown, Dr. Nadia refused to stop her mission in order to protect herself, and as a result of incurring high doses of radiation, her own life was shortened by cancer.

But in the intervening years, Dr. Nadia operated a clinic in Kiev to treat the people relocated there from the radiation area, caring for them for free since they had no money to pay. Children especially touched her heart, because she knew they would suffer ever-increasing problems during their lifetimes.

Dr. Nadia authored more than 90 scientific publications and held patents for ten discoveries relating to the blood. She developed a new direction in the diagnosis of disease from a single drop of a person’s blood. If she had elected to seek status, she could have become world famous—but instead, she stayed with those who needed her most.

Growing up in the former U.S.S.R., Dr. Nadia had learned only atheistic evolution. But when she began to study blood cells, she became amazed at the precision, order and interdependence of processes in the cells. “The blood cell ‘witnessed’ to me about the Creator,” she said, which ultimately led her to faith in Christ.

Along with the apostle Paul, Dr. Nadia could say: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities…have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. (Romans 1:16, 20).

God revealed Himself to Dr. Nadia, and with faith in her heart, she in turn reached out to those who so desperately needed help. Yes, Dr. Nadia, your life truly is an inspiration!