Over the past 25 years, God has used our Children’s Heart Project to heal hearts and draw children and their families, like Amarzaya’s, close to Him.
Amarzaya assumed she would die young and not live to see her 20th birthday. Her days were filled with exhaustion and pain. She often had sleepless nights as she tried to regulate her struggled breathing.
Amarzaya was paired to make the journey to Grand Cayman with a then 5-year-old boy named Batkhuslen, who also needed heart surgery.
She didn’t feel symptoms of a heart defect in her early years. But by age 16, the Mongolian girl could hardly muster the energy to walk across a room without becoming severely out of breath. Her doctor sent her to a cardiologist, who referred her to our Children’s Heart Project.
Amarzaya had heart surgery in 2019, a couple of months before she turned 18. One of our interpreters, Duma, shared the Gospel with her. A few days before her surgery Amarzaya asked Jesus to be Lord of her life. During her stay with her host family and church, she was baptized.
“It was a life-changing trip. I gave my life to Jesus,” Amarzaya said. Because of that, “I have great hope in my future.”
Her aunt, who accompanied her on the trip, also gave her heart to the Lord.
Growing as a Disciple of Christ
Returning to Mongolia with a new lease on life and a passion to pursue her newfound faith, Amarzaya attended a discipleship training school before pursuing her dream of studying to be a physician.
Amarzaya reads the Bible for encouragement and comfort before her surgery.
“I came to know God more,” she said. “As a new, baby believer, I found the right way to live with God. I realized what a great blessing it is to live by faith and know God personally.”
Filled with energy she hadn’t had for years, she said that she is not only transformed physically, but also feels like a different person emotionally. She’s able to be expressive and active without facing exhaustion and having to withdraw to rest. When she’s visiting home from medical school, Amarzaya helps her mother plant vegetables in their garden and take care of her siblings.
Most of all, she’s grateful for the spiritual transformation she’s had since deciding to follow Jesus, depending on Him to guide her steps in service to Him.
Amarzaya is in her second year of medical school in Mongolia.
Members of our in-country Children’s Heart Project team have periodically visited the family to check on Amarzaya’s continued progress and to encourage her and her family by sharing the Word of God and praying with them.
After hearing Amarzaya praying, one of the team members said, “It’s really obvious that she has a deep excitement to know Jesus more and to walk with Him. She prayed, ‘I’m grateful for what you have done in my life. I want to know You more and walk with You ‘til I meet You.’”
Last year, she celebrated a cherished milestone—her 20th birthday. During a visit home from medical school this past fall, Amarzaya shared the Gospel with her younger sister and led her to Christ.
25 Years of Hearts and Lives Transformed
Since 1997, Samaritan’s Purse has arranged for critical cardiac surgery for more than 1,430 children from more than a dozen countries where such operations are not readily available.
We match children with life-threatening heart disease with hospitals and Christian host families in North America and Grand Cayman. Samaritan’s Purse covers the cost of airfare and related expenses for the child, a parent/guardian, and a translator. As the children prepare for and undergo surgery—and then recover, our staff and host families are consistent, daily witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.
We give God the glory that, over the past 25 years, thousands of heart patients, family members, and friends have decided to follow Jesus Christ.
A few months after they returned to Mongolia, Amarzaya visited Batkhuslen, who looked to have grown by leaps and bounds since his surgery.
