Angel of Hope
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Angel of Hope is the sequel to Lurlene McDaniel's young adult novel Angel of Mercy.
Heather Barlow, the main character in Angel of Mercy, has returned home from her missionary trip in Africa. And while she has changed a great deal, her family has not. Her younger sister, Amber, is as immature and self-possessed as ever, and her parents are far too busy these days with their own jobs as professional plastic surgeons.
Heather feels an overpowering need to return to Africa, and she persuades her mother to come with her to help a defective baby that she rescued on her previous mission trip. But then Heather is suddenly stricken with a grievous illness, and she cannot undertake the journey. So Amber decides to go in her older sister's place.
Amber has been experiencing an overwhelming sense of loneliness and boredom lately. Everything that had once been of the utmost importance to her--her boyfriend, her friends, her school, her whole life--seems to have lost its luster. She feels invisible in her own household, like her feelings don't count for anything with her parents. She decides that going to Africa will prove to others that she can make a difference just like Heather, and at the same time, it will give her dull life an upward boost.
Once in Africa, Amber is completely taken aback by how much the country differs from her own country. She meets up with some of Heather's old friends from her mission, and meets up with a few strangers as well. While all her new friends are totally focused on serving God in addition to their own fellow men, Amber feels small and petty in comparison. She doesn't share the same faith in God as her friends do, and it begins to trouble her conscience.
During her stay in Africa, she learns more and more about the lifestyles of the people, as well as the mysteries of God. Then Amber's faith and trust in God is put to the ultimate test when she and her friends attend a wedding ceremony and a small band of terrorists attack, forcing Amber and her companions to flee for their lives. For the next several days, they travel across the great African landscape, trying to survive while at the same time remaining hidden from the terrorists.
Eventually a group of African soldiers find them and bring them to safety. There Amber meets up with her mother, who takes her home at once, informing her that Heather has taken a turn for the worst and is now at the point of death.
At first Amber refuses to accept the fact that her sister is dying, but as Heather's condition becomes worse and worse with each day, Amber can no longer deny the truth. While she is in this state of turmoil, one of her friends from Africa pays her a visit and helps her put her trust in God and gives her courage to face the future. The very next day, Heather slips into a coma and dies.
A year later, Amber is a whole new person. She returns to Africa to serve a mission of her very own, to find her own path, to fulfill her own destiny.
