Be Christ to the Blind

This is Remi. She is 62 years old, and she has been blind for 16 years—her story is sad, yet inspiring. We first met her when we visited a friend from another town. They told us about a blind woman who lived with her husband and needed help. When we visited her, she was sitting outside their home waiting for her husband to come home from work. When we approached her, she happily welcomed us into her home. We told her that we are Catholic missionaries and we want to share the love of Christ with her. She then told us about her life story.

16 years ago, Remi had a good life. They had a rice field farm and a small store business. In her village, she was considered a middle-class citizen. She had so many friends, and they came to her to lend money—whenever there was a need in the village, she was always there to help others.

One day, she woke up with an intense toothache. Instead of going to the dentist, she went to a quack doctor, believing that the quack doctor could heal her. The quack doctor decided to pull out her teeth with just a small amount of anesthesia, and because he is not a licensed doctor, the medical tools he used for the procedure were not safe.

A week later, she experienced many complications. Her face swelled, and her vision started to become blurry. Some of her friends told her that she should go to see a real doctor, but because of her superstitious beliefs, she did not go to the hospital. She spent a lot of her money trying to look for a different quack doctor, but still, there was no cure.

As the months went by, she slowly lost her vision. She stopped leaving her house. Her husband, Mario, did his best to support her, but even he struggled to understand what she was going through. Her store business closed, and she eventually sold some of their rice fields. They spent their savings on her treatment to see a quack doctor. She said that when her friends found out all that she had lost, they slowly stopped visiting her.

Even though her life changed forever, Remi still had a smile on her face, hoping that someday she would be able to see again. For 16 years, she got used to living as a blind woman—she loves when people come to visit her. Eventually, we started visiting Remi more often and even prayed with her and brought some groceries for their family.

We are so inspired by Remi’s life story, and we are so blessed and grateful to be able to witness the hope and perseverance that she has. By the grace of our Lord, we will continue to pray and support their family. Please pray for Remi and her husband Mario. Please pray for our family as we continue to do what Christ commanded us to do:

“Preach the Gospel, serve the poor, and make disciples of all nations.”

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all!