Sometimes the blind can see better than the sighted

Jerwin is a 19 year old junior in High School. I meet him under Manalo Bridge where he and his five siblings live with their mother. His father died 5 years ago from a heart condition. His mom is supporting the family by selling skewers of barbequed meat at an out door market. Two of her six children live many hours away with their Lola (grandmother). I suspect that they live apart from their mom and the rest of the siblings because their mom simply can’t afford to take care of them all.

When I first met Jerwin I noticed that he is blind in one eye one. He appears to have no retina at all as his right eye is solid white. I suspect that it is just covered by a film. He is a quite young man and my oldest son Kian started a friendship when he discovered that Jerwin plays the guitar.

Today I'm writing this blog at the East Avenue Medical Center with Jerwin. I brought him to the hospital to see if they there can do anything for him. After the initial consultation with the doctor we learned that his damaged eye cannot be saved.

With my limited Tagalog and Jerwin's limited English I learned that when he was about three months old, he somehow cut or scratched his eye. Then he got some kind of infection that virtually killed his eye. The doctor told me that Jerwin’s left eye is good, but he can't even detect light with his right eye.

The doctor went on to tell me that they would do a painful procedure (she said that in English so I hope he didn't understand that part) to remove his damaged eye, perhaps just the top layers of it, and then install a prosthetic one. Most of the cost is covered through a ministry called Resources for the Blind, and a few other organizations. Jessica and I will just cover the cost of the medicines and travel expanses.

Jerwin has been floating in and out of the bible study at the bridge or listening from a distance. I'm praying that between the Lord meeting this need, the teaching of the Word, and an up coming youth camp that he is planning on attending, that God will touch his heart and that he will receive Jesus as both Lord and savior. This situation reminds of Bartimaeus. He is a man in the bible who serves as a good example that sometimes the blind can see better than the sighted.

In Mark 10:47 we can see that although he was physically blind, he had 20/20 spiritual sight. It says that:

"When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Without function eyes he was able to see what most men and women in the world miss; That Jesus is the Son of David, the promised messiah, the savior that God had promised to send into the world. He also knew that his only hope was to cry out to God for mercy. I hope that Jerwing will SEE this as well. Pray that even though he is blind in one eye, that he would not be blind in any way to the gospel. Also pray with me that God will not only work in Jerwins's heart, but also in the hearts of his family as He uses me to minister to them.