Being the Face of Jesus in Hospice Care

During Enkhee Manalsuren’s two-year residency for internal medicine, she met an American surgeon whose invitation to a house church changed the trajectory of her life radically.

“I was very against Christianity because I saw it as a foreign religion,” Enkhee said. “My grandfather was a lama, so I was a very strong Buddhist.”

Today, Enkhee is leading Mongolia’s LeaderImpact medical ministry. God called her to reach the 45,000 medical professionals in Mongolia eight years ago.

She believes her involvement in ministry is because of Dr. Buck Rusher’s impact in her life.

“He was completely different from any other doctor that I had ever met before in my life,” Enkhee said. “I watched him as he worked and related to people, even how he treated his family. I thought that if Jesus really did exist, he would be like him.”

Enkhee became a follower of Christ after a year of going to Dr. Rusher’s house church every Sunday and participating in a weekly Bible study. God soon started to change her dreams and aspirations from wanting money and prestige to wanting to influence others for Christ.

At the time, she was working at the largest hospital in Mongolia and hospice care was a new concept. She was intrigued by the hospice care model that blended pain management with emotional and spiritual support for the terminally ill patients and their family. The importance of hospice care, or end-of-life care, was obvious to her and she felt it could be infused with the hope of the gospel.

“With hospice care, there are lots of opportunities to share the gospel, not only with the patient but with family and friends,” Enkhee remarked.  

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

The Bible became alive to Enkhee as she worked in hospice care. She found opportunities to share the hope of Jesus as she visited the sick and listened to the concerns of friends and family members, just like the surgeon had modeled to her years before.

“Whether performing surgery, or riding in a taxi, he never missed an opportunity to share about Jesus,” Enkhee said.

Currently, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and even professors are attending a regular Bible study at the main hospital in the capital city of Ulaan Baatar. Leader Impact’s medical ministry is trying to reach medical professionals through spiritual and professional training. They also have an outreach ministry where they see patients for free all over Mongolia – in schools, on military bases and in the countryside. So far they have treated 30,000 patients.

Today, Enkhee is seeking to focus more on doctors by helping them understand the concept of hospice and building them up in their faith. She has trained 20 young doctors in the type of holistic hospice care she is passionate about providing. She says it is difficult to reach a doctor’s heart and understands she is only responsible for planting the seed and letting God take care of the growth.

Next Steps:

• Question: How are you doing at integrating your faith in your workplace?
• Question: When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone?

To read more about professionals in the workplace see LeaderImpact's Testimonies

To grow in incorporating your faith at work, read How to Incorporate Your Faith at Work