NOTE: The following text is a lab sample of a multi-forwarded e-mail message. !!! DO NOT COPY OR FORWARD IT!!! At least a portion of this message is a hoax. A Correction from an authoritative source is listed after the sample. (webservant@prayertower.net)
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"My condition is quite serious now. The body is beginning to break down because I have no more fat or nutrient reserves. My diet consists mostly of vegetable broth, Gatorade, and saltine crackers. I tried homemade bread a few weeks ago, and ended up in the emergency room. I am in constant pain and have to take pain killers regularly. The severe diarrhea has continued for 7 weeks and I have been in the emergency room five times. In the last three days there have been sharp pains in both of my kidneys, so they are now running tests to see if my kidneys are infected. So far, eight doctors have not been able to diagnose the parasites.
One lab in Dallas thought they had a positive diagnosis (a rare parasite called cryptosporidium), but the Public Health Center of Disease Control in Houston said it was an incorrect diagnosis. They have found two foreign agents, but no one has ever seen them before or can identify them. One is a parasite, and the other looks more like an amoeba. One of the effects of the parasites is to prevent my GI tract from absorbing nutrition.
THE CDC IN ATLANTA IS 3-6 MONTHS BEHIND, SO THEY CANNOT HELP IN TIME. My doctors are trying everyone else. They are in contact with one of the top infectious disease doctors in Thailand and several of the experts here in the States. I believe that the pictures of the parasites are to be passed around until someone can identify them.
I am not doing well. I feel like I am in a very dark valley right now. I have been praying for so long for help with no response, that I have become discouraged in prayer. This is a first for me in my life. Michelle and my parents are being a tremendous support for me, but they are having a hard time seeing me suffer so much. My prayers now are very elemental: 'Father, save me!'
But the pain continues each day, and I continue to lose weight. Please pray not only for my body, but also for my spirit. I have not known fear like this before. I don't want to be fearful, and I don't need to be fearful because I am confident of my salvation. I think my fear is related more to the thought of not being with my wife and the new baby. This was the happiest time in my life before I became sick.' "
David Allen, International Mission Board, SBC (1); Southern Africa Regional Office P. O. Box A-614, Avondale; Harare, Zimbabwe
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----------------------------"Addition" Start (Author unknown with several variations)
Subject: Prayer need for Missionary David Allen
Please take some time to pray and email this to other Christians. It's important to pray for our dear Brothers and Sisters around the world. Ezekiel David Allen is a young missionary on the Chiang Mai, Thailand mission team. He is critically ill with an unknown parasite and apparently WILL DIE WITHIN TWO MONTHS unless there is an intervention by the Lord.
Please help create a global blanket of prayer for David, Michelle and their 4 month old daughter, Brianna.
----------------------------Addition End
----------------------------Validation Request
Mon 6/26/00 1:18 PM To International Mision Baord (imb) of the Southern Baptist Convention.
I received a request for prayer for David Allen this morning. Before I distribute it, I would like to validate its authenticity. I remember a previous false prayer request for David Allen not long ago. Could you direct me to the person who could help me? Thx, Prayertower WebServant
----------------------------Validation Request End
To Prayertower Webservant:
I can validate that the prayer request for David Allen is NOT authentic now. He has been long since healed. I am enclosing a 3rd hand message from David's mother, received about a year ago. Please check the website listed. It refers to a recent illness this way:
"Turns out it was a plain old stomach bug that would normally keep most of us near the bathroom for a day or two, but it was exacerbated by his Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a leftover problem from his illness in '97." So apparently the illness that has been making the rounds of the Internet happened at LEAST three years ago! David's mom wrote:
"David, his wife Michelle, and daughters Brianna and Brielle (ages 2 1/2 and 5 months) are in Chiangmai, Thailand. David is doing much better - though still has some flair-ups with his stomach and digestive track. We hope that over time he will be completely healed. This past summer David started working with the campus ministry along with another team member as well as American and Thai Interns.
The intern program was very successful and was able to make many contacts with the Thai students on campus. I believe a couple of the American interns are staying for a year which will be very helpful in making more contacts and teaching the Bible in English for those who are interested in improving their English as well as learning about Christianity.
"Thank you for your concern and for your prayers for David. We are so thankful to God that He has blessed David and his family and is using them to be a witness for Him. May the Lord bless you in your prayer ministry.
In Christian Fellowship, Jenetta Allen (David's mother) http://www.westover.org/chiangmai/may_99.html"
Thank you for checking with us about this request. Perhaps I shouldn't even mention this, but David Allen is not and never has been a Southern Baptist missionary with the IMB. Thank you for NOT passing the prayer request on any further.
Evidence of Hoax: This individual is not of the organization indictated. (PLS NOTE: The indication that David WAS a member of the imb, was added by someone else, either in ignorance or maliciously. The intention is unknown and irrelevant)