Each year, our Children’s Heart Project touches the lives of dozens of young patients and their families from the far corners of the world. This spring, two children, accompanied by their mothers and a translator, traveled from Mongolia to Missouri for life-giving surgery at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Tuvshin, a 20-month-old boy, and Khanda, a 16-month-old girl, were born with heart defects that stunted their growth and limited their physical activity. Because this complicated surgery was not available in their own country, these children had little hope of survival into adulthood—until they received treatment in the United States.

When the boy’s mother, Moogie, and the girl’s mother, Ochgerel, arrived in the U.S., they had heart problems of a different kind. Moogie had been abandoned by her husband, and both women had experienced the grief of losing a child several years ago.

During daily Bible studies at the host family’s home, the translator shared about the Creator who loves each of us unconditionally and who offers us new life through Jesus Christ. One evening, Moogie and Ochgerel told the translator they would like to receive Christ. She led the women in a prayer of repentance and salvation.

“Both moms said they have a peace and a joy they have never experienced before,” the translator said. “Since then, they have been going to church and are eager to learn more from God’s Word.”

Return to the May 2010 Newsletter