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David Allen, a missionary in Thailand, experienced a life-threatening illness. Due to a worldwide offering up of prayer on his behalf, he has received a miraculous healing from the Lord. Here is an email sent from him...
November 1997
Dear Christian Friends,
I would like to answer personally each email, each piece of correspondence,
and each phone call that has come from many of you who have requested an
update on my health. But, because of the large number of inquiries, this
response will be a general update on my current health and status. Please
feel free to forward this on to other Christians that you know have been
praying for my healing. God has been working in some marvelous ways - which
is evident in my life as well as is witnessed through prayer by many around
the world.
Part 1 - Brief History
Part 2 - World-wide Prayer Blanket
Part 3 - Current Status
Part 4 - Prayer Requests
Brief History
=============
On March 5 1997, my family returned to the States for our regularly
scheduled furlough. Before boarding the plane, I was experiencing some
stomach pain. What I thought was a simple case of the stomach flu or an
adverse reaction to medication taken for a bad cold the previous week, was
actually the beginning of a serious parasite infection. The pain increased
to such severity during the flight that I sincerely doubted that I would
make it alive to the LA airport.
The ER doctors in LA could not determine the cause of the pain and diarrhea,
and in a few days I flew on to Dallas, Texas. Here began a long 2 month
ordeal of intestinal pain, numerous dashes to the ER, a wide variety of
medications, and an extensive medical workup to try to determine the cause
of my illness. I could take in little more than Gatorade, crackers, and
vegetable broth, and my weight eventually dropped from 172 to 139 lb.. A few
tests found the existence of two different microscopic intestinal parasites.
Yet, despite 5-6 doctors examining the parasites, positive identification
could not be made. Finally, I was admitted into the hospital in early May
and started on IV feeding in an attempt to stop the weight loss. It was at
this point that an amazing thing happened.
World-wide Prayer Blanket
=========================
Approximately a week before entering the hospital, I wrote an email to the
team of missionaries in Thailand with whom I work. In this note, I described
my physical deterioration and bared my soul in revealing deep despair and
spiritual famine. I confessed that I was not ready to die, even though I had
confidence in my salvation. The thought of leaving my wife, new baby, and
the new church in Thailand was devastating. When my teammates read the
email, they responded in immediate prayer and called on close friends to
join them. And then God began to move among His people in an amazing way. I
cannot exactly explain how it happened, but somehow that email spread to
Christians in every corner of the globe.
Within days, hundreds of people began to write, call, and pray. Different
groups of believers decided to fast, dedicating the period to lift me up
before the Lord. For some reason that I still do not understand, my cry for
spiritual support struck a responsive cord throughout the body of Christ,
even though they had no idea who I was. Some Christians prayed so earnestly
that they cried, some laid down prostrate to beseech the Lordís mercy.
Again and again, Christians stated that they were praying for my healing
with a deep burden they had rarely felt before.
Altogether, more than 7,000 emails of encouragement and prayer were sent to
me from 70-80 different countries. From what I gather, this was only the tip
of the iceberg. About half of these emails represented whole congregations
or Christian organizations which were corporately in prayer for Godís
intervention. My family received phone calls of encouragement and prayer
from morning to evening for months. The family of Christ ministered to us
with such love and concern that I was simply overwhelmed.
Offers to help came from all over. Many doors which were once closed were
not cracked open, but thrown wide open. Dr. Wright, the chaplain to the US
senate wrote and said that each morning in Washington some of the Christian
senators get together to pray. They were lifting me up and wanted to know if
they could help. A representative from Kay Granger's office, who is the
Fort Worth representative to congress, called to say they could help get
special medication to me from Thailand. Several representatives from the
Center of Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta called and offered their
immediate assistance. Parasitologists from the Army's top lab at Walter
Reed, doctors from England, Canada, Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand and
other countries called to offer their assistance and advice.
However, the doctors were no longer needed to help get rid of the parasites.
From the time the prayer blanket began to cover the world, every test taken
to find parasites came back negative.
I want to urge every one of you who were a part in praying for my healing to
continue steadfastly in the awesome work of prayer. How wonderful and
powerful it is when the body of Christ unites together in one mind and heart
over a single purpose. One church called to say that they had been arguing
and bickering before they received news of my illness. After reading the
call to pray, they decided that they needed to change their focus from
bickering over meaningless issues and be about the important works of prayer
and service. So they quit arguing and united together in one mind and body.
Current Status
==============
The parasites destroyed much of the lining of my intestines, causing
mal-absorption of food. In many cases, the lining can grow back. Currently,
I am about 70% of normal health and eating habits. I had planned to return
to Thailand on November 3, but my doctors and elders felt that I had not
gained enough weight and was not yet strong enough to return. So I continue
to remain in Dallas under the care of my doctors, working part time with the
church as my strength allows. The new target date to return to Thailand is
in January of 1998.
Prayer Request
==============
I believe that God has called me to preach the gospel and plant new churches
in Thailand. My heart is still there and it is my desire to return. Please
pray that God will restore my intestinal lining so that I may return to the
people and work I love. Yet, I want to be content and serve the Lord with
all my energy where ever I may be. May I rest in the knowledge that God will
direct my feet and make my paths straight.
The loving response of the church to my illness is something rarely seen in
our harsh world today. May the Lord continue to use you to make a difference
and bring light to dark places.
In His Grip,
David Allen
[email protected]
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