The famous English missionary C. T. Studd saw himself quickly growing frail while he ministered in the heart of Africa. This former champion cricket player gave his fortune to the Lord and now he was giving his health. But that was not what mattered most. According to a biography of him, he wrote the following words to his mother in 1920:
"I have been having an awful time, with terrible irritation of the arms and legs, and many bad ulcers on the feet and ankles; the irritation is sometimes maddening; but really we ought to have something, considering how little we have suffered.
"I think disappointments are the greatest sufferings. As Paul said, 'We live is ye [our converts] stand fast in the Lord.' (1Thessalonians 3:8) and the disappointment of a backsliding Christian seem to rob one of all vitality."
