Sandra Summaya, photo
altered for security reasons.
Photo: Morning Star News
A young woman in eastern Uganda, who put her faith in Christ at a Christmas service held in December, was coerced by militant Muslim relatives into taking poison at a New Year's celebration earlier this year. Sandra Summaya, 24, of Bugayi village in Pallisa District, acknowledges that she converted to Christianity at a worship service on Christmas Day.
"I had great peace when the pastor prayed for me to take Jesus as my Saviour," she explains. "I later shared my testimony with my brother who outright accused me of being an infidel and an outcast from the family and Muslim community. I felt great pain inside me because of the insults."
On January 1st, Summaya's immediate family and a few other relatives gathered in a village within Kamuge County to celebrate the New Year with a meal. At the high point of the gathering, a paternal uncle read to her a Bible verse and suggested it meant God would protect her from harm, including illness from ingesting poison. "Immediately, I was forced to take the poison to confirm my faith in the Bible."
Soon the young woman became seriously ill. "I was taken away from the homestead to a nearby bush...tied with a rope to a tree and left to die." Her loud cries woke a Christian neighbour who rushed to the site. "I found Summaya unconscious," recalls the neighbour. "We rushed her to a Kamuge nursing home where the doctor saved her life."
An attending nurse announced the good news that Summaya's condition has been stabilized but that the medical team wanted to ensure their patient's well-being prior to releasing her from the hospital. For other reports on persecution in Uganda, visit this page.
While we can praise God for His intervention in Summaya's life through the immediate response of the concerned Christian neighbour and the doctor who administered treatment, the young woman's life is possibly still in danger. Please join us in praying that this new believer will not only experience improved health and physical strength but also protection from any impending threats or harm. May she instead be surrounded by caring community members who will reach out to her with God's compassion as she grows in her relationship and understanding of His Son Jesus who expresses such great love, mercy and grace toward her -- and all others who earnestly seek Him as their Saviour and Lord.
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