Ganbold was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2005. At that time, the doctor told him, “There is no cure. You must prepare to die.”
Even by that time, Ganbold had faced serious illness for more than a decade. His liver was compromised. He suffered from asthma and osteoporosis. During that time, he had consulted with numerous doctors, fortune tellers, shamans, and Buddhist lamas. No one could heal him.
By the time Ganbold was finally diagnosed with chronic tuberculosis, he weighed barely forty kilograms. He could not even stand, let alone walk. His brother would carry him from doctor to doctor, looking for someone to treat him. But it was not easy. “I was treated like a sick and contagious criminal,” said Ganbold. “No one wanted anything to do with me.”
Then, Ganbold ran into an old friend who began to tell him about Jesus. “I tell you the truth,” the friend told him, “this God is alive.”
Ganbold was skeptical. He did not believe his friend’s Good News about Jesus. “For me, there was never any good news, only bad,” said Ganbold, shaking his head.
However, Ganbold’s health continued to deteriorate, and doctors told him that he did not have long to live. Ironically, he met a woman at this time, and they fell in love. They chose to be together, even though the time was short. Though there seemed to be no future for them, hope began to stir in Ganbold’s heart.
“I remembered what my friend had said about Jesus,” Ganbold recalled. “Something in me wanted to believe this, so I decided to pray. If God was really alive, then he could heal me.”
He decided to contact his friend again, who introduced him to a pastor at a local church. The pastor shared the Gospel with Ganbold and gave him a Bible. As he began reading, Ganbold felt an overwhelming joy welling up inside him. “I read from the beginning of Genesis,” he shared, “where God first created earth and sky. Such a God could surely heal me!”
Ganbold was eager to know more about this God. In the days to come, he would often read his Bible through the night without sleeping. He also invited his wife to pray with him. Together, they trusted God for healing.
Amazingly, his symptoms began to abate. Weeks passed, then months, then years. Ganbold and his wife had children together, grew in their faith, and became active in their church. In 2011, the church sent them as missionaries to preach the Gospel in the far north of Mongolia, in the province of Selenge, in a town called Altanbulag. While there, he was told that about a well-known physician. Ganbold decided to consult with him, to confirm his healing.
After thorough testing, the doctor said to Ganbold, “Never have I seen a liver so healthy as yours!”
Ganbold and his wife began to pastor a church in Altanbulag. With five children, it was both emotionally and financially stretching for them both. There never seemed to be enough money, or enough time to study, pray, and prepare sermons.
Then, in 2022, Ganbold met Robert and Marlene Baerg, Multiply workers in the neighboring town of Sukhbaatar. As the Directors of Trees of Life Restoration, the Baergs are overseeing an agricultural project nearby that provides discipleship and vocational training in permaculture for people in the region.
“We heard Ganbold’s story and sensed that God had arranged for us to meet,” said Robert. “At the time, we were looking for another manache, a watchman for our property, who could work five days on, five days off. The employment would give Ganbold not just more financial resources to care for his family, but time to devote to the demands of being a busy pastor, husband, and father.”
Today, Ganbold serves as the watchman on the ten-hectare property of Trees of Life Restoration. “As I walk this land, I have space to pray, meditate, read, and write,” he said. “It is such a gift. God has done so many miracles in my life. Healing is only the beginning.”
