As I mentioned in a previous entry, Children’s Heart Project staff members continue to provide follow up for up to one year after a child receives surgery in the U.S. These visits are designed to check on the child’s physical health and to see how the family is doing spiritually.

Visiting a family in the Mongolian countryside is a unique experience. About half of the population lives in round, felt tents called “gers.” Three to seven people can live together in this one-room dwelling with no indoor plumbing or running water.


The colorful inside of a ger.
Gers are usually very colorful and everything inside serves dual purposes. For example, a stove is used as an oven and an indoor heating system during the country’s long, cold winters.

It is so humbling to spend time with these rural Mongolian families. They don’t have much, but they are always eager to offer food, drink, and the best seat in the house.

Their hospitality reminds me of the story Jesus told in Luke 21:1-2: As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘I tell you the truth,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’

The generosity of these families always surprises and challenges me to examine how I can live more selflessly.

Most of these follow-up visits are wonderful times of fellowship. Staff members lead Bible studies or show the Jesus film. There is often little opportunity for Christian interaction in the small villages where these families live.

The Mongolian church is very young, and Christians are small in number. Discipleship is one of Mongolia’s greatest needs. Please continue to pray for our Children’s Heart Project staff as we continue to minister to Mongolian parents and their children.