For three years, Phano has been almost completely blind. He developed Thyroid Eye Disease, which caused his eyes to swell and bulge. Because his eyelids could not fully close, both of his corneas dried out and turned white. His vision was so poor that he had to hold his head at an angle to catch a small, blurry glimpse of the world around him. Once a successful and independent businessman, he has been humbled greatly. Not being able to see left him unable to work. His frail mother, who is over 70 years old, has been looking after him, but she is so poor that she relies on others for a little rice and fish every day. Both Phano and his mom are about as poor as it gets. His house is the size of an average American bathroom, with palm branches for his roof and walls. When it rains, he gets wet.

We first met Phano when he came to our house more than a year ago. We went to a free hospital three and a half hours away, and the doctors determined that he needed dual cornea transplants. They told us that in about eight months, foreign doctors would arrive to do free cornea transplant surgeries if they could obtain the corneas. Hope sprang up in Phano when he heard the news, but when I took him there eight months later, we learned that they were no longer offering that service.

Getting corneas, or any body organ or tissue, can be very difficult. The Khmer believe that if you remove a body part from a dead person, they will be missing that part in the afterlife. Also, there aren’t any established laws about organ donation. We visited another eye hospital that imports corneas from Sri Lanka, but they charged $2,000 per eye for the surgery.

We prayed about what God would have us to do, and together with our partners, the Clay family, we decided to move forward with Phano’s surgery, even though we didn’t have all the money. We felt God leading us to help this helpless man. The hospital was kind enough to allow us to pay for one eye up front, and the other eye when we could get the money. After the surgery, God made a way for us to pay it off through our project’s medical outreach funds. Thank you, donors.

Phano and many others had felt that God caused his eye disease. He had a past of running from God and tasting what the world had to offer. We have encouraged Phano that God loves and cares for him just as much as He ever has, and we are happy to have a part in helping.

While Phano recovered from the transplant surgery, we wanted to make sure that our friend had good nutrition and care, so we invited him to live with us for a few weeks. During that time he went to church with us and seemed to enjoy the services. After he returned home, we weren’t sure he would continue to come to church, but he kept coming faithfully. We loved having him come, but we told him that we didn’t help with the surgery in order to pressure him to come. We helped because we love him, and Jesus loves him. He assured us that he comes because he really enjoys it.

Phano has been faithful in worshiping nearly every Sabbath with us, and he has been inviting many of his friends. His understanding of who Jesus is continues to expand. Also, eight other people are coming because of his witness. We praise God for His great love and ability to bless doctors with wisdom and skill. We also thank God for making the body able to heal from disease and for changing hearts that are open to Him.

A few days ago, someone drove a motorbike up to our house. To our amazement, it was Phano! It is such a blessing to see him regaining independence, especially as he is trusting more and more in God. Please continue to pray for Phano. He needs a job, a house, and most importantly to know and trust Jesus fully.

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