Christian Heart Surgery

One of the nurses that we met at Miami Children's Hospital during our extended stays is named Julissa. We met her when she noticed we had a Bible. What's cool about Julissa is that every so often she takes time off from work and goes to minister with an organization called Samaritan's Purse. She uses her skills as a pediatric cardiac nurse to assist cardiac babies all over the world. With her permission, here's an update of a recent trip of hers to Mongolia.

Samaritan's Purse rocks! So does Julie! Here's her email:


It has been an AMAZING week! Our mission to Mongolia was incredible. God was so present!!!

It started off in Beijing as we had a day to do some sightseeing before entering Mongolia. We saw the Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, The temple of Heaven and then did some shopping… for those of you who know and like to haggle the prices… you would have loved it!

We then flew to Ulann Bataar, Mongolia where we were greeted by a reception for us and the children and their families. It was precious to see that here were the little lives we would touch throughout the week. We all worked really hard! There were 5 nurses with 2 intensivists and we just all shared the work. The nurses divided up the days and we all took turns at doing night shift and worded over 60 hours each all week God blessed our hands and helped us with the resources we had. We had a great team and I was so encouraged by the willing spirit everyone on the team displayed.

We trust His sovereignty even when we did not have the outcomes we would have wanted… I was there with the team of doctors and the surgeon when they had to tell a couple of the really sick children that we would not be able to repair their heart defect. This brought tears to my eyes as these children and teenagers had to be curtailed for the next trip or to be brought to the US. The need is so great and it was unfortunate that even though we had the great team… we were still limited in being able to do very complex cases. This was heart breaking as many of these children and their families had been waiting for years to have these surgeries done. On the other hand… I was blessed and saw how my heart just fell in love with these adorable Mongolian munchkins!!! I was so blessed to have been a part of the team that served these children and their families!!!

I was telling my friend that each morning it was so precious because as a team, we would have a devotional time together where one of our leaders would give a message from the Bible and then we would pray together. It was beautiful to offer our hands and talents to God and know that He would use it for His glory!!! We made many friends during the trip and our group grew very close. I also had a special blessing as our flight out of Mongolia was cancelled which gave us an extra day in Beijing (I am sure I will feel the effect Tuesday when I get to work ;) We were able to visit one more place which was the temple of heaven which had beautiful gardens! We had a great time also just laughing and getting to know each other! I laughed so much on this trip for which I just thank God for!!!

We did a total of 25 cases, 11 surgeries and 14 cardiac catheterizations. The final day we were there, the hosting hospital physicians took us to the country side where we had sheep stew, rode horses, had a yak wagon ride, got warm in these little Gers (winter houses that the Mongolian people live in) and were blessed by a concert that night given by the Mongolian national symphony to express their gratitude.

I could go on with details and I have many pictures but I just wanted to say THANKS to all of you who were praying for us… GOD heard your prayers and blessed us as we gave to these precious families. Even through the difficult times we know GOD was there. I was blessed by this team and plan, (Lord willing) to come back and do it all over again!!!

I pray you all will continue to remember the Mongolian people and these children with cardiac conditions in your prayers. Please pray that God would provide for us to continue to grow this as He wills so that we can continue to bless these families. There is another part of the team that arrived as we left and this team is going into the countryside to search for children with cardiac conditions.

In His Mighty LOVE,

Julie