All for God's glory
(Left) James and his family outside Tamworth Salvation Army. (Right) James Suttor in Papua New Guinea. (Photo supplied by James Suttor)
Brain damage acquired at the age of 17 has not stopped Tamworth Salvation Army soldier James Suttor from passionately sharing his faith and serving God. In fact, he believes his motorcycle accident and subsequent life experiences have brought him closer to God and to others in need.
Now in his early 40s, James explains that at the age of 17 he was an apprentice fitter and machinist, a dirt bike enthusiast and living a “very wild” lifestyle.
“One night”, he says, “three of us went for a ride on motorbikes. My friends collided and … I went to go around them but slid along the gravel road on my head."
He spent three months in a coma, and then suffered amnesia. He remained in hospital for nine more months having physio, speech and occupational therapy, and then endured three days a week of therapy for the next six years.
Today he speaks with a slight slur, and he uses his mobile phone diary as his memory can lapse. He walks with a limp and has little control of his right arm.
This adds extra challenges to his life, but he truly believes “it was God who was there to catch me and teach me to do His work”.
When James finally left hospital, he completed his School Certificate for second time, self-trained as a computer programmer, and found a job working on hospital computers. While there, he was invited to help take kids from the special school swimming in the hydrotherapy pool. “This blew me away and I realised helping people was what I wanted to do,” he says.
James then spent years as a volunteer in the area of disability support.
Meeting his wife Debbie, he says, that made him the” luckiest man alive”, but he continued partying and using alcohol and drugs until the birth of the couple’s first son, when the family decided to attend a local church.
Then James says he one day he drove straight past his normal church and walked into Tamworth Salvation Army Corps.
“The moment I stepped into the church, a lot of weight just lifted off my shoulders and was placed at foot of the cross,” he says. In 2007, he and Debbie became Salvation Army soldiers.
Today, James supervises work and development orders through Tamworth Corps. These allow eligible clients, such as those who are homeless or have an intellectual disability, reduce any fines they have through volunteer work, courses or treatment.
James also works at the Salvos Store, volunteers, and speaks at the Tamworth Base Hospital and the Young Drivers Expos in Tamworth, Inverell and Narrabri.
He gives speeches to drug and alcohol victims in Tamworth and Gunnedah and says: “Hopefully I’m getting stuck in their heads about driving responsibly!”
James is also currently working to raise $20,000 for Salvation Army work through Investa Treks in Papua New Guinea, after recently helping on a school building project in the country.
He passionately believes that God can and will use everything in life to His glory. He says: “Learning how to communicate with God has been one of the best things that has happened to me, if not the best.
“I am so lucky I had my accident, because if I didn’t, God might not have been in my life. God has a reason why he put us on the earth and it’s up to us to follow His judgement.”
James is available as a speaker and can be contacted by email on jdsuttor1@bigpond.com
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