Rachel Sutton, one of the missionaries that my family ministry has sent to Uganda, Africa is ill with a very serious case of Malaria.
Recently, after having lived in Uganda for three months now, Rachel and Andrew Sutton both fell sick with Malaria. It was what is known as type 1 Malaria and can be eradicated, unlike type 2, which is a virus that attaches itself to your blood. Thank God that it was the lesser of the two evils. But, after Rachel had assumedly gotten rid of the Malaria, it suddenly flared up again a few days ago and she was taken to the hospital. They ran some tests and discovered that she not only had Malaria, but also Typhoid. She has been miserable for the last week, and to make matters worse, it is Summer in Uganda currently and the heat is intense. It is not at all a pleasant situation, and the hospital care in a developing country is nowhere near that of our hospitals in the US.
On behalf of The Allen Family and Hope Missions International, I ask you to be in prayer for Rachel and the entire Sutton family. Being sick and having a wife who is sick has caused Andrew to have to halt progress on Hope Children’s Village and Rachel cannot teach currently. This isn’t exactly the life a missionary dreams of, and we are definitely seeing a difficult side of Uganda and mission work. However, in anything we do for the Lord we will face opposition, and the greater the work, the greater the opposition will be. This is simply an inconvenience to the Suttons and an impedance to the work in Uganda that serves as confirmation of our callings rather than discouragement.
And, I don’t mean to downplay the seriousness of the situation. Malaria and Typhoid are dangerous and prevalent this time of year in Africa, they can cause lasting problems if not cared for and treated properly and quickly. Rachel’s case has been largely undetected for a while and is very strong. We pray against any lasting effects of this illness from befalling her and that God would use this as a tool to bring others to Him. We pray that His power would be magnified in Rachel’s life and that He would remove this from her. We also pray that God would protect the Sutton girls and the Hope children from falling sick.
None of this scares me in the least about taking the trip to Uganda this July. If anything, it encourages me. What great things God must be doing if the devil is trying this hard to prevent them! I can’t wait to be a part of His work there. I know that He’ll protect me if I’m in His will. I will follow, I will follow; where He leads me I will follow. I will fear no death, or darkling shadows; only trusting, I will follow.
As always, thanks for reading.
–the anonymous novelist
the anonymous novelist 