Opening the Eyes of the Heart

Sao had witnessed many hardships in his 74 years—war, famine, and poverty—but, through it all, he continued to cherish his beloved wife, Mau, above all else. He loved being able to see her beautiful face.

That was until, in recent years, cataracts began to cloud his vision. Sao dreaded the thought of going blind—and never seeing his wife again.

Sao and Mau always assumed surgery would be unavailable to him in their home country of Cambodia.

This was just the latest in a series of trials for the couple, who have lived in crippling poverty ever since Sao lost his leg in war three decades earlier. It rendered him unable to work, and often it meant that Mau had to spend her days searching the fields for food or taking on low-paying jobs just to make ends meet.

Cataracts have robbed countless Cambodians of their sight, and, for most of them, specialised eye care is unattainable. The cost of the surgery, plus transportation and food costs, often have forced many to forgo the chance to see clearly again.

But on a recent sunny morning, Mau carried Sao on her back to a nearby clinic. She’d heard that a Samaritan’s Purse cataract surgical team was providing sight-restoring procedures for people like her husband. It seemed like a miracle had arrived in their remote corner of the world.

And it was a miracle indeed. After just one quick procedure and a short time of recovery, Sao was peeling the bandages off his eyes. He beheld his beautiful wife and the beautiful world once again.

“I can see my wife clearly,” he said with joy. Within just a few minutes of precision work, the team had opened up a chapter of hope for the couple’s decades-long story of suffering. Sao’s restored sight provided the couple a significant step forward. It seemed they could dream again of one day escaping poverty.

“Our dream is to save enough money to buy our own house and land,” Sao said. With renewed vision, he has hope that it will become a reality.

Providing New Vision

In early September 2024, in the rural Pailin province near the border with Thailand, a Samaritan’s Purse team of ophthalmologists and nurses provided Sao and more than 200 others from 93 villages in Cambodia with the life-changing gift of restored sight.

The Samaritan’s Purse Cataract and Cleft Lip Palate ministry has long been a beacon of hope and healing for those who cannot access these simple yet transformative surgeries in the far reaches of the world. Often cast aside by their society and ostracised by their community, people with cataracts endure long, painful, and desperate journeys.

Through our teams serving as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, and using their skill and experience to help hurting people in His Name, eyes are healed and spiritual eyes begin to open.

In addition to surgeries, Samaritan’s Purse provided each patient with food, essential post-operative care, and a place to stay at a local church to recover. Patients left with a care package that included eyedrops, ointment, an eye shield, sunglasses, informational materials, along with groceries and an electric rice cooker.

“I got three meals a day, a place to sleep, and surgery—all for free,” said Hem, another patient helped during our campaign. “I am overwhelmed and really grateful.”

Perhaps the most profound gift to the patients was a renewed sense of hope and purpose in their hearts.

Hearts Opened

As his eyes continued to adjust, Sao listened closely to the worship music being played and to the voices of Samaritan’s Purse staff as they shared their testimonies of faith. A Bible lay before him.

The elderly couple had been Buddhists for many years, like most of their Khmer neighbours, living in pagodas—traditional Buddhist temples—at one time.

That very night, though, guided by Samaritan’s Purse staff and a local church pastor, Sao and Mau prayed to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour.

We praise God that 51 of our Cambodian patients, each with a unique story, embraced Jesus in their hearts. We pray that the many others who heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ would also come to know Him as Saviour and Lord.

“We are praying that the Holy Spirit would continue to work on the hearts of those that heard the Gospel but didn’t accept it. We pray that they would be drawn to Christ,” said Bethany Densham, a registered nurse and manager of the cataract surgical teams. “The Samaritan’s Purse Cambodia office came alongside our team and were the hands and feet of Jesus, serving with joy and showing God’s love.”

Please pray for the local church in Cambodia, who supported our team while we served there, as they follow up with new believers. Pray that the Gospel would permeate the culture in Cambodia and that many more would find true healing from the Great Physician.

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