“Sally Agallo had reached the end of her tether,” said an article in Drum, an East African weekly magazine. “So one day she boarded a ferry from Mombasa and travelled far into the ocean, where she leapt overboard.”

“Amazingly,” Sally told Drum, “instead of sinking, I floated. I could hear clearly as people screamed that someone had thrown herself in the ocean. Desperate to sink, I forced myself under the water, but something held me up—very surprising, as I am a non-swimmer. It was during this time that God spoke to me and informed me that He had plans for me. He would not allow me to drown myself.”

Sally had wanted to end a life that had become unbearable. Instead, through the miracle-working power of God, she was transformed into a new woman. God had other plans.

I had met Sally two years earlier, in 1998, when she was working as a secretary for an insurance firm. We became friends, and I visited her at her office regularly. She loved the Activated magazines and Get Activated booklets from the start, and also subscribed to the daily reading program that is offered on the Activated Web site. The Activated material was always and inspiration, she said. Even so, she wasn’t prepared for the troubles that were about to befall her.

She lost her first baby four days after giving birth, and a short while later she and her husband both tested positive for HIV. “All I could see was death staring me in the face,” Sally said. When she and her husband came to our house with the sad news, my co-workers and I prayed with them and encouraged them to look to the Lord and His Word for the faith, courage, and strength they needed to beat the odds.

They did well for a while, but eventually Sally became very ill with TB, herpes in her eyes and on her face, and other ailments. Her weight plummeted, and she was forced to quit her job. That was when she tried to take her own life.

When we heard about it, we prayed even harder for her, and the Lord answered. She had stopped reading the Word as she slipped into the depression that led to her suicide attempt, but afterwards it came to life again for her and gave her the will and strength to recover.

The Lord has since led Sally to encourage AIDS patients in Nairobi, where she now lives. “All that I had learned through the Word helped me to pull out of the downward spiral that was about to kill me,” she said recently. “The faith that I found there turned the tide. The Lord helped me realize that I could lead a happy, meaningful life despite being HIV-positive, and I knew that He could do the same for others—even those with full-blown AIDS.”

Sally had such an impact on desperate and dying patients in the AIDS ward of Nairobi’s Mbagathi Hospital, praying with them, reading to them from the Word, and giving personal words of encouragement, that an international NGO has employed her as a community worker.

Sally was tested recently for HIV, and no virus was detected. Because she has been taking antiretroviral drugs, the virus could be hiding. But if the next test in six months is also negative, Sally can stop taking the drugs. She will have been healed of HIV infection! The day of miracles is not past!

When former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Nairobi to offer help through his foundation, Sally was chosen to speak on behalf of the 1.2 million Kenyans who suffer from HIV-AIDS. Her speech was aired internationally on CNN, as well as on news channels countrywide. Her message: Don’t give up! God may have other plans.

Iris Richard is a full-time volunteer and Sally Agallo is an Active member of the Family International in Kenya.