Missionary Stories
The Karen tribe was the lowest class in Burma. Called the “wild men of the jungle,” they were oppressed and despised but were not without hope. They had a cultural legend that a messenger from across the sea would bring them the lost book written by the Creator-God.
George Dana Boardman was born in Livermore, Maine, in February 1801, and was the son of a Baptist pastor. Sarah Hall was born in November 1803, and converted as a teenager. Both George and Sarah were burdened for the lost, especially those in Burma; this common interest brought them together. They were married on July 3, 1825, and thirteen days later sailed to Calcutta, India, where they served for nearly two years. In March 1827, they moved to Amherst, Burma, to assist missionary Adoniram Judson. God was about to send them to the Karen.
Ko Tha Byu, of the Karen tribe, was born c. 1778. He became an outcast of the outcasts, a leader of criminals. By his admission he killed or assisted in the murders of at least thirty people. Ko Tha Byu was sold into slavery because of a debt he couldn’t pay, was purchased by a Baptist preacher who wanted to help him, and (under the ministry of Judson) was finally redeemed by the blood of Jesus. The Creator-God was preparing him to reach his people.
When the Boardmans relocated to Tavoy, Burma, Ko Tha Byu accompanied them. This principal city and Buddhist stronghold had 9,000 residents and nearly 1,000 pagodas. Among the Burmese they saw only a few come to Christ, but the nearby Karen group seemed anxious to hear the gospel. They saw the messengers as a fulfillment of their legend, and soon many were coming to faith in Christ.
In February 1831, Boardman was asked to take part in a baptismal service in a distant Karen village. Though very sick, he and Sarah agreed to make the three-day trip. Too weak to walk, the believers carried him in a litter on their shoulders. Upon arrival, he found about one hundred believers; nearly half were candidates for baptism. The day following, they began the long trip back to Tavoy, but he never arrived. Near the end of the second day, he passed into eternity. Upon hearing of his death, Judson wrote in his journal, “Dear Brother Boardman has gone to his eternal rest. He fell gloriously at the head of his troops, in the arms of victory. . . ”
George Boardman lived barely thirty years. His missionary service lasted only six years. But he was greatly used as a messenger from over the sea to bring the lost book of the Creator-God to the Karen people. In 1910 there were 774 Karen churches with 50,000 members.
Source: This Day in Baptist History, by David L. Cummin, Vol. 2, 3
On April 18, 1942, Corp. Jacob DeShazer of Col. Doolittle’s raiders was the B-25 bombardier on the last plane to leave the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. They were on a bombing mission to avenge the attack on Pearl Harbor. The plan was to hinder the advance of the Japanese army and show them that blind faith in the emperor-god Hirohito and his guarantee of success was unfounded.
Jacob grew up in a devout Christian home but didn’t think the Bible was for him. He had volunteered for this mission, but as they neared Japan he wondered about his possible death and eternal destiny.
Prior to take-off, his plane, the Bat Out of Hell, was damaged. A hole in the fusalage slowed the plane, causing increased fuel consumption. Their target was Nagoya, south of Tokyo. They successfully bombed an oil refinery, a gasoline storage facility, and a large factory. They then headed for the safety of Choo Chow Lishui, China, but ran out of fuel and were forced to parachute from the plane. (Incidentally, at the exact time Jacob was descending into a Japanese occupied area of China, his mother awoke and earnestly prayed for her son!) For the next forty months, he and his crew were prisoners of the Japanese. Nothing in this world could be worse than the horrors of Japanese prison life. Thirty-five percent of POWs died of disease, torture, starvation, or forced labor. Many were decapitated or killed by bayonet; some simply gave up and died.
Not surprisingly, Jacob was full of hatred. Most guards were sadistic and extremely cruel, but there were rare exceptions. In May 1944, while in solitary confinement, Jacob was given a Bible by a guard. He was allowed to keep it three weeks, and he read it constantly. A fellow prisoner, Lt. Robert Meder died in captivity, but he had been a good testimony before DeShazer. Now the Bible was working on him! On June 8, 1944, he trusted Christ.
Before his release on August 20, 1945, he felt an overwhelming love and sympathy for the Japanese people and a great desire to tell them of Christ. After the war, General Douglas McArthur, seeing the Japanese’s disillusionment in their emperor-god, issued a plea for one thousand Christian missionaries to teach them about the true God. DeShazer was already planning to return to Japan to do just that!
Jacob was much in demand as a public speaker. People wanted to hear of his POW experience and his conversion. He married Florence Matheny who would serve thirty years beside him in Japan. On December 8, 1948, six years and eight months after boarding the USS Hornet to bomb Japan, DeShazer boarded the USS General Meigs to deliver Bibles. More amazing than DeShazer’s conversion is that of Mitsuo Fuchida who was saved after reading a tract of the DeShazer story. Fuchida had led the 353 plane attack on Pearl Harbor. He and Jacob became dear friends and traveled together preaching the gospel.
Envision yourself living in a tiny room, furnished with one stool. The only heat you can obtain is by burning animal waste in an iron stove. You have ample funds in the bank to sustain your hungry family, but you can’t access the money. You are friendless and stuck in a foreign country with little hope of getting home. As a child of God, what would your attitude be?
Arthur and Wilda Matthews were serving in China with the China Inland Mission when the Communists began forcing Westerners to leave the country in 1950. However, a church in Northern China invited the Matthews to work with them. Believing it to be God’s will, Arthur and Wilda stayed. They soon discovered that the situation was not as it had seemed. The Chinese were afraid to associate with them, and the government forbade them to preach or go out among the people. Since their presence was only endangering the Chinese church, the Matthews requested exit permits.
In the meantime, these missionaries found themselves in the situation previously described. What was their attitude? At first, they were determined to steadfastly endure their afflictions, knowing that God was in control. But gradually, the Matthews realized that trials are not sent to simply be endured, but to demonstrate in us the joy of complete obedience. Arthur Matthews wrote four things that encouraged his family during their time of testing: 1) God brought me here. It is by his will I am in this difficult place, and in that fact I will rest. 2) He will keep me here in his love, and give me grace to behave as I should. 3) He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons he intends for me to learn. 4) In his good time he can bring me out again—how and when, he knows.
God did bring them out. After two years, Wilda and their daughter, Lilah, were permitted to leave. They sailed to America where they waited until Arthur was finally released. Truly God was faithful to His own.
The Matthews’ trials were far from pointless; a loving heavenly Father planned that their very lives preach the message they were forbidden to speak. “The message above all others which the Chinese church needed was to see the truth lived out under circumstances equally harrowing with their own.”1 Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Read the entire story in Green Leaf in Drought-time, by Isobel Kuhn.
“And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).
I wonder if the two evangelists from North Ireland ever learned of the full effects of the meeting they held in Inverary, Scotland, in November of 1859. For in their audience sat a wild young man of eighteen who came to break up the meeting but found himself compelled to accept their offer of Living Water. Because of hearing the call to come, this young man, James Chalmers, was saved a few days later.
Born in a small fishing village in Scotland in 1841, young James loved adventure and welcomed danger. In this we see God preparing Chalmers for the pioneer missionary work awaiting him. After his salvation, he knew he must tell others of the Living Water that had quenched his thirst. James and his wife, Jane, set sail for the South Sea Island of Rarotonga on January 4, 1866. The Chalmers worked there for ten years, but James’ heart was set on preaching Christ in unreached regions. So, in September of 1877, James reached his permanent field of service—Papua New Guinea.
His work was slow, but not unfruitful. Many natives, after hearing the preaching of the Gospel, laid aside their pagan beliefs and the gory rites of cannibalism to drink of the Living Water that Jesus gave. However, danger was predominant in this savage land. On one occasion, while traveling with a native teacher, Chalmers was followed all day by two bands of cannibals. Chalmers asked the teacher what they were saying. “They are saying they intend to kill us. Let us kneel and pray!”
“No, no!” James answered. “Let us walk and pray.” One cannibal followed directly behind James, his club ready to fall, but God protected his missionary, and the native never struck.
Chalmers served our Lord faithfully until he was killed and eaten on April 8, 1901, while working to quench the thirst of the cannibals he loved. Thousands of souls today are still thirsting. Let us follow the footsteps of James Chalmers, and give our all to take the Water of Life to the uttermost parts of the earth!
NOTE: Chalmers was born in 1841, and died in 1901. He served on the field from 1886 until 1901.
Watching a missionary’s slide presentation, eleven-year old Mary Baker knew she would be a missionary. The first person she told responded, “Oh, Mary, did those pictures of the Africans bother you? They almost bothered me, too. But you’ll forget about them. ” Though she needed years of preparation, Mary forgot neither the pictures, nor the burden God had placed on her heart. He had called her to Africa, and nothing would dissuade her.
Mary’s first year in Africa, 1948, was filled with teaching literacy, Bible stories, and, most importantly, the Gospel. After a year of teaching at various mission stations, the field council sent Mary to Chad, where she would spend the next three decades of her life.
Though a single lady, Mary never lacked children to care for—or a ministry to occupy her. Eventually, Mary raised five boys as her own sons. She taught hundreds of young people in Bible classes and her home became a Bible study center where eager young Africans gladly received the literature she gave her visitors. On one occasion, Mary shared dinner with one of the highest-ranking generals in the Chadian army. Afterwards, the general and his staff listened as the local pastor taught a Bible study. Many of her students eventually held government office or became leaders in the African church.
In 1973, rumblings of unrest grew into a cultural revolution that ripped through Chad as animistic tribal rites regained prominence. Mary and the other missionaries were uneasy about the situation, but it came as a shock when they were served with deportation papers. Back in the States, Mary could only grieve from a distance at being forced from her Chadian home, until sudden news came that a coup had killed the president and the country was open to missionaries. Eagerly, she purchased an airline ticket to Chad.
A royal greeting awaited her at the airport. Mary restrained tears for those martyred during the revolution, and smiled at the Chadians who rejoiced to have “our pretty mother” back again. She was happy, but it was harder and harder to keep up with the demands of the work. The Chadians wholeheartedly welcomed her brother and sister-in-law as replacements. Mary returned from foreign missions, but didn’t retire. She presented the need for missions in churches around the United States and remained active in various ministries until poor health forced her to slow down in 2006. On September 7, 2007, Mary Baker passed into the presence of the Lord. She hadn’t forgotten.
Pastor Brent Coley took his sermon idea from Mark 14:8 speaking of Mary of Bethany, “She hath done what she could.” He applied those words to the life of his grandfather, Jesse Coley, as he preached his funeral. Jesse will probably not be mentioned in any church history book, but he did what he could. He was not a great preacher, but he did what he could, and he made a difference. Thousands of people around the world have read God’s Word because Jesse did what he could.
Jesse lived eighty-nine years. The first fifty-four, he lived without God. He was an Illinois farmer and truck driver. But when he climbed off the tractor and began serving God, he never looked back. He did what he could in his church. When he had opportunity to help smuggle Bibles behind the Iron Curtain, he went. He met Dr. Don Fraser, founder of the Bearing Precious Seed ministry, and Brother Fraser’s burden became Jesse’s. He spent the rest of his life doing what he could to get God’s Word to the mission field.
Jesse met Maggie Brown in El Paso, Texas, and they fell in love and were married. From then on it was Jesse and Maggie, Bearing Precious Seed missionaries. Together they did what they could. They worked in the Philippines and traveled to Russia. For the most part, however, they worked with Don Fraser in Bowie, Texas. When Brother Fraser was no longer able to actively work, Jesse took over the ministry. He was not a printer, but he did what he could. He made covers for John-Romans booklets on a copy machine. Maggie stapled them, and he trimmed them. They recruited local volunteers, and together they all did what they could. When the Coley’s health began to fail, they moved the ministry to their grandson’s church in Kentucky and traveled there to help until age and bad health precluded it. But they continued to do what they could; they could still pray and give. During the early morning hours of February 10, 2012, Jesse asked Maggie and Wanda, his daughter-in-law, “Who is that guy over there by the door? [They didn’t see anyone.] The guy dressed in white; what does he want?” Then Jesse Coley simply departed and by the grace of God went to Heaven!
What is there that I can do? God requires nothing more from me than that. What more could I ask at the end of my life than for people to say of me, “He did what he could,” and arrive in Heaven and hear my Saviour say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
“ I have made my boast of God amongst the people, and told them that I had unshaken trust in God…”
At just forty-three years old he was financially ruined, ostracized by many of his fellow missionaries, and teetering on the brink of insanity; John Thomas was a failure. But that is only half the story.
Thomas’s work is virtually obscured by the dazzling ministry of his much more famous partner, William Carey, yet Thomas was the very agent that brought Carey to India. Not only did John Thomas play a pivotal role in the establishment of modern missions, but he was also the first European to preach in Bengali, the first to undertake a translation of the Scriptures into Bengali, and one of the earliest Europeans to actively evangelize the native population.
Thomas, a former Royal Navy surgeon, spent five arduous years in India, pioneering a ministry among the Bengalis before returning to England for a brief period in 1792. In the course of his travels through England, Thomas brought his burden for India before the newly formed Baptist Missionary Society. The timing was perfect: Thomas and the Society united for the cause of the Gospel. John Thomas and William Carey were sent out that same year as the first two missionaries of the Baptist Missionary Society.
Unfortunately, Thomas was overtaken in the later years of his life by debts he had incurred, mostly through his well intentioned, though poorly planned efforts to aid the Bengalis. Younger missionaries, misinterpreting his plain speech as evidence of bitterness, avoided him, and the greatest hopes and dreams he had built came tumbling down around him. Only a year before his death, Thomas suffered a mental breakdown. He recovered, however, by the grace of God, and shortly before he died saw the first printing of the complete Bengali Bible.
Overlooked and forgotten, his life might almost seem a waste, until we see the great door of missions that opened when John Thomas, trusting God to guide him aright, took his first step into the pathway of faith.
Story from John Thomas : first Baptist missionary to Bengal, Arthur C. Chute
“And shall I now draw back? Shall I withhold anything from Jesus?” —Eliza Grew Jones, March 24, 1830
February 17, 1831: The brig Bucephalus unloaded its cargo on the banks at Moulmein, Burma. Among the disembarking passengers was newlywed couple John and Eliza Taylor Jones. In a land just beginning to experience Western influence, the Jones were part of a great influx of foreigners: merchants, diplomats, and teachers. The Jones, however, were not seeking to fulfill any personal interest.
John and Eliza Jones were among the earliest missionaries to respond to the cry of the Far East. The American Baptist Missionary Union originally sent the linguistically talented couple to Burma, where they studied Burmese and Taling simultaneously. Within a year, John preached his first Burmese sermon. Soon, however, the Jones were called to Siam (present day Thailand) by the request of another missionary, Karl Gutzloff. There they remained for the rest of their lives, the first permanent Protestant missionaries in Siam.
Here in Siam the Jones’ linguistic skills became more apparent. Eliza produced a Siamese–English dictionary. Continuing her work, she created a Romanized script for Siamese and recorded various Biblical stories in Siamese. John also succeeded in learning Siamese and in 1843 finished a translation of the New Testament into that language. In fact, he applied himself so diligently to the language that he was more eloquent in Siamese than in English, often surpassing the native teachers in knowledge of their own tongue.
The price of living in countries with abysmal sanitation was high: two of Eliza’s children died before she herself succumbed to cholera after seven years of service in Burma and Siam. Such dedication greatly moved the Siamese people, and Jones touched both rich and poor with his ministry. He became an indispensable asset to the king of Siam, who often called upon him to translate in various diplomatic affairs. When he died in 1851, there was no question as to where he should be buried; Siam was his home, the Chinese and Siamese believers his brethren.
Today, all that marks John and Eliza Jones’ graves is two modest headstones in the Bangkok Protestant Cemetery. Perhaps this is because no monument could capture the spirit with which they gave their lives to God’s service.
Most of us have at least heard the name of Hudson Taylor. Perhaps many of us know something about his life’s work, his beautiful relationship with Maria, and his establishment of the China Inland Mission. However, it seems that well known missionaries are often viewed as super-spiritual giants of faith who seldom, if ever, struggle with the “common” battles of “ordinary” Christians.
This is certainly far from the truth. Though the circumstances in which a missionary is engaged in battle may be more dramatic than those faced at home, victory is achieved in the same way in both locations – and it has little to do with the supposed spiritual invincibility of the missionary soldier. Hudson and Maria Taylor were people just like you and me, with the same flesh, the same weapons, and the same God.
The founding of the China Inland Mission marked the beginning of a new conquest: the advancement of the glory of God into the interior of China. The Taylors’ policy of identifying with the Chinese by adopting their dress, language, and culture was changing the image of Christianity from a Western religion to a universal religion. As the soldiers of God advance, however, it is certain that the enemy’s attack will intensify.
The first wave of trouble for the Taylors was dissension and disloyalty among certain members of the mission stationed in another town. Pride swelled hearts and caused some to rebel against the mission’s principles. They returned to dressing and eating as Westerners, which caused confusion and mistrust among the Chinese toward the Christians. The result was a riot, the beating of a Chinese Christian, and the forcible expulsion of the estranged missionaries from the town. Yet, the personal attack against the Taylors continued, including letters written to smear their reputation in their home country.
Though they were hurt deeply, Hudson and Maria chose forgiveness and love over anger and bitterness. Victory was not found by striving in their own power, but by relying on God’s. Abiding in God’s grace allowed them to overcome their natural response and live the love of Christ, which would faithfully sustain them through every trial to come.
The early years of the China Inland Mission (CIM) brought tremendous struggles to Hudson and Maria Taylor. During this time of tempest and tragedy, though, the mission did not lose focus on their purpose: they pressed inland to pioneer new stations and carried on with the work at the home base. In August of 1867, the Taylors’ oldest daughter became ill. Hudson had to leave her side for a day, but he hoped to find little Gracie well when he returned. However, an urgent message that a missionary at another station was sick took him further away from his daughter. Discovering it was a false alarm, he rushed home, only to find Gracie languishing. Hudson diagnosed her condition, but it was too late. She died, leaving her father wondering if an earlier return could have saved her.
June of 1868 found the Taylors and several other missionaries moving to the city of Yangchow to begin a new work. During this time, the feelings of the Chinese toward missionaries were changing. The situation, inflamed by suspicion and rumors, came to a head on August 16th. A mob attacked the station with a lust for loot and blood. The missionaries escaped from a second story window, and one man of their number suffered a serious injury. The Taylors demanded and desired no restitution, but they soon found themselves in the middle of a political storm. The English government stepped into the situation, and soon the missionaries were being accused of inciting riots, demanding redress, and preaching the gospel with English guns.
Attacked from all sides, Hudson also began to feel the weight of his own failures. Like every Christian who desires Christ’s life, he longed for freedom from self and sin and intensely struggled to find it. The answer he discovered was a profoundly simple truth that continues to hold power for those who realize it today.
“Not a striving to have faith, or to increase our faith, but a looking at the faithful One seems all we need. A resting in the loved One entirely, for time, for eternity. It does not appear to me as anything new, only formerly misunderstood. To let my loving Savior work in me His will…abiding, not striving or struggling.” (179)
Pollock, J. C. Hudson Taylor and Maria.
The year was 1914. William Christie had called China and Tibet home for twenty-two years when the outlaw band led by Bai Lang (also known as “White Wolf”) swept through Central China, ruthlessly pillaging and slaughtering. Through God’s protection, the missionaries of Min Chow were spared the physical harm that ravished their city and many others.
After escaping through an unguarded city gate, Christie led his wife, young daughter, and two single lady missionaries 110 miles to refuge across the Tibetan border at the Lupa mission station. From there they could make plans for relieving and rebuilding Min Chow after the decimation White Wolf had left.
Days after the missionaries’ arrival at Lupa, two loyal Tibetan believers made a furtive nighttime visit to them with a somber warning. One hundred seventy armed Tebbu tribesmen were en route to attack the station. After two hours of armed vigil, William discovered a few Tebbu who had scaled the wall and were preparing to burn the mission buildings. While sounding an alarm, William directed the women to hide and pray as the Tebbu rushed to open the gate for the waiting warriors outside. The missionary men took positions and fired their rifles into the air. Twenty minutes of chaos later, the confused Tebbu fled out the same gate through which they had stormed in.
A Tibetan friend later told Brother Christie, “Your Jesus gave you the victory!” Those words aptly sum up not only the harrowing experiences William Christie faced in 1914, but also the other sixty-three years of unreserved service he rendered to his King. In a time when Tibet was considered to be a land forbidden to outsiders, Christie devoted himself to evangelizing its people. He carried God’s Word on horseback through mountains and valleys, in driving rainstorms, and under the sun’s relentless heat.
In the face of demonic opposition and physical persecution, he lived in God’s strength and looked to God for victory. Our God has not changed; He offers the same strength and victory to those who will passionately pursue Him today. May we live and serve rejoicing in our victory in Jesus!
See William Christie, Apostle to Tibet by Howard Van Dyck for the complete story.
After twenty-two years of serving the Lisu, John and Isobel Kuhn came to a brick wall. It was 1950, and the communists recklessly took over China. With an uncertain future, Isobel (Belle) decided to take six-year-old Daniel to America for schooling. John agreed with their mission agency to survey Thailand before joining her. He assured Belle he would make no promises until they had discussed together the possibility of serving in Thailand.
Back home, Belle chose not to set her heart on retirement; instead, she sought the Lord. God spoke to her as she read Amy Carmichael’s book, Climb or Die. It spoke of the decline of those who suddenly refuse spiritual exertion and instead seek ease. A picture of snow-covered mountains reminded Belle of her climb out of China. Her legs had been numb from the knee down, but if she had stopped, she would have died!
As she reflected on the possibility of Thailand as a new mission field, Belle realized that she would have some mountains to climb. Old age had arrived, a new language would have to be learned, and life in Thailand would include actual, rough mountain-climbing! What about retiring for her children’s sake? God answered, “Do you think your children would benefit by being with parents who made such a choice?” (Kuhn 18).
God confirmed to both John and Belle that they should continue their ministry by planting indigenous churches among the Lisu in Thailand. In Thailand, the “White Community” rallied for the Kuhns to join their social circle. The Kuhns, however, chose “the indigenous pattern,” spending times of relaxation with the nationals (36, 37). Belle found that the nationals loved their welcoming lifestyle, and in this way the Kuhns were able to make contacts with non-believers.
Because the Kuhns chose a lifestyle of identification with the people, the natives noticed their sacrifice. A Chinese neighbor once asked, “Just why are you here in this rough-living country?” Belle was able to honestly reply, “For the love of One who loves you” (274).
When our brick wall appears, may we seek God and not retreat.
Kuhn, Isobel. Ascent to the Tribes. Chicago: Moody Press, 1967.
John Hunt sailed for Fiji in the 1800’s and immediately began studying the language and spending quantity time with the natives. Knowing the people motivated him to preach and begin translating the Bible within six months. He would first read from the Greek and English New Testaments, research word definitions, and study Bible resources. He then consulted many natives to improve his use of the Fijian language.
Culture shock hit hard. Hunt’s firstborn died as natives mocked, an elderly woman was strangled at Hunt’s door, and eleven bodies were dissected by cannibals in front of his home. Worse yet, Hunt was asked by local chiefs to leave. However, God gave a supernatural love which grew in proportion to the mounting hate. He wrote, “I am determined to…be spent in trying to do them good, until God…shall remove me from them…” (The Life of John Hunt: Missionary to the Cannibals – George Stringer Rowe, pg. 106) He concluded, “We seem to labor in vain, but faith can never come to such a conclusion.” (pg. 111) Hunt pressed “onward,” as was his motto.
God soon sent encouragement. God rescued Hunt’s ship from attacking natives, and transformed a prominent chief into an effective missionary. Finally, God anointed the island with revival. Hunt wrote, “During the first week of the revival, nearly one hundred…[obtained]… forgiveness of sins through…Jesus Christ…Many who were careless…have become…devoted to God…Many never understood till now…” (pg. 184, 185) Hunt gave God the glory!
Those newly saved refused to renounce Christ although warriors gathered to feast on them one night. God moved again, and the warriors admitted, “We came to kill these people, and we cannot lift a hand.” (pg. 190) The retreating warriors were shocked when the Christians assisted them in carrying their weapons back to the canoes!
No missionary should expect to provide God’s Mighty Word to a spiritually-oppressed people without a struggle. John Hunt’s life proves that Satan’s attacks are powerless against God’s victory. Faith is the victory. Though John Hunt died at thirty-six, he had translated most of the New Testament! Let us also press “onward”!