Two-year-old twins, Assan and Alusan, had never seen their mother's smile.
Born with cataracts in both eyes, the boys could detect light and dark, but little else.
When the Mercy Ship visited their country of Liberia, the boys' mother, Ellen, brought them to see the doctors who provide medical care and surgeries free to those in need.
Although they came with no appointment, Mercy Ships staff examined the boys and scheduled them for surgery the following week.
The next Wednesday, Ellen came with the twins to the ship. The next day, eye surgeon Dr. Glenn Strauss removed cataracts from both eyes of each boy. They wore eye patches for 24 hours to stop them scratching their eyes and, on Friday, the patches were removed.
The obvious improvement delighted Ellen and the ship's crewmembers alike. Where once their eyes had been sunken and unresponsive, now Assan and Alusan opened their eyes wide and carefully followed the movements of hands and balloons.
"It will take a few weeks for their vision system to develop," explained Dr. Strauss, "but it's wonderful to see their eyes so bright and straight."
Assan and Alusan can now see the world with new eyes and learn to smile.
Mercy Ships seeks to bring hope and healing to people living in poverty. Countless people in West Africa cannot access the medical care they desperately need, and the Mercy Ship offers free specialized surgeries in nations like the twins' Liberia.