At this institution in southern Russia, she became active in a Christian fellowship group of largely foreign students. They were often welcomed into Russian homes to teach the Bible and form prayer groups. On one occasion she was detained by authorities invoking the official state policy of atheism, a confrontation that provoked further governmental interference that prompted the revocation of her student visa and temporarily prevented her from completing her studies.

In 1989, Chris came to the United States at the invitation of Dr. John Johanaber whom she had met as the chaplain of the American Protestant Church in Moscow. She attended Emory University and earned a masters degree in public health. She applied for missionary service through the General Board of Global Ministries as the Board contemplated the renewal of Methodist ministry in Russia following the break up of the former Soviet Union. She completed orientation and training but several attempts to obtain a visa from Russian authorities were denied. Finally the influence of the former KGB waned and in 1991 she became the first United Methodist missionary to serve the church full time in Russia in more than seventy years.

Her return to Russia resulted in the post facto granting of her medical degree by the Kuban Medical College and the recognition of the Russian government. Dr. Hena serves the emerging United Methodist Church in Russia as its Director of Medicine. She has been instrumental in helping many of the 60 United Methodist congregations establish health care programs and / or clinics to serve their communities. She also is a practicing physician at a Moscow hospital. Her primary devotion is the promotion of community based health care in remote rural areas of Russia and the Ukraine. Traveling long hours by rail and car, she joins some of her friends from medical college who are serving these economically depressed regions through the Russian feldshers (health care providers) program. She has assisted with the training and equipping of these local workers, often sponsoring workshops and clinics with the assistance of medical volunteers from United Methodist related hospitals and churches from the U.S..

Central to her healing ministry is the sharing of the power of the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of the centers she has established in rural villages has become a place for persons to find regular Bible study, prayer fellowship and sharing of the faith. Chris is adept at establishing communities of faith to sustain the spirit of her Russian friends who have been led to the Christian faith by her loving and contagious evangelical spirit. She is the founder of the United Methodist Church of Love and Salvation in city of Sunseve near Moscow where she resides.

For her sacrificial response to the call to Christian discipleship, her compassionate service of human need, her persistent and creative dedication to extending the profession of the healing arts in Russia, her love of the Gospel and gifts in its proclamation, and for her pioneering spirit in returning the ministry of the people called Methodist to Russia, the Anna Eklund Award for Distinguished Mission Service is presented to Dr. Christiana Koisey Hena.