April 17 – Missionaries from America
Now, this is a love story. Adoniram and Ann Judson met after he had already committed himself to a life of mission work. From the moment that he became a Christian and began reading about Asian lands, God put the call on his heart to teach the Gospel.
He received a commission from the Congregational Church in Boston, but couldn’t raise funds. At that point, he traveled to London to try to get money from the London Missionary Society, but was captured by the French, who were at war with England while sailing there. He finally was released and made it back to Boston. By the time he was there, the money had been raised and he was ready to go.
Ann and he met and he promised her a life filled with adventure, but it would be difficult. She was ready to go. During their trip across the Pacific, the two of them spent time discussing and arguing points of scripture – including baptism. By the time they reached, Calcutta, both Ann and Adoniram knew that they were better prepared to be Baptist missionaries than Congregationalist missionaries, so sent a letter of resignation home to one and a plea to begin a Baptist mission society in America in order to raise financial support.
It worked! They were the first American missionaries on foreign soil and the next years would prove to be exhausting, frustrating, and difficult to say the least. Ann had to return to America to deal with some health issues. After she returned to Burma, Adoniram was arrested during the Anglo-Burmese war and imprisoned for two years. Her health continued to decline and when the British liberated him, she soon died. Adoniram stayed for twenty-four more years, establishing sixty-three churches in Burma and Siam and in essence creating two separate mission societies in the United States.
Ann’s work in the Burmese language produced a translation of the New Testament, a catechism and Scripture translations into Siamese. They began the work of Christian missions in Southeast Asia, bringing the Gospel to hundreds of thousands of people.
Now, this is a love story. Adoniram and Ann Judson met after he had already committed himself to a life of mission work. From the moment that he became a Christian and began reading about Asian lands, God put the call on his heart to teach the Gospel.
He received a commission from the Congregational Church in Boston, but couldn’t raise funds. At that point, he traveled to London to try to get money from the London Missionary Society, but was captured by the French, who were at war with England while sailing there. He finally was released and made it back to Boston. By the time he was there, the money had been raised and he was ready to go.
Ann and he met and he promised her a life filled with adventure, but it would be difficult. She was ready to go. During their trip across the Pacific, the two of them spent time discussing and arguing points of scripture – including baptism. By the time they reached, Calcutta, both Ann and Adoniram knew that they were better prepared to be Baptist missionaries than Congregationalist missionaries, so sent a letter of resignation home to one and a plea to begin a Baptist mission society in America in order to raise financial support.
It worked! They were the first American missionaries on foreign soil and the next years would prove to be exhausting, frustrating, and difficult to say the least. Ann had to return to America to deal with some health issues. After she returned to Burma, Adoniram was arrested during the Anglo-Burmese war and imprisoned for two years. Her health continued to decline and when the British liberated him, she soon died. Adoniram stayed for twenty-four more years, establishing sixty-three churches in Burma and Siam and in essence creating two separate mission societies in the United States.
Ann’s work in the Burmese language produced a translation of the New Testament, a catechism and Scripture translations into Siamese. They began the work of Christian missions in Southeast Asia, bringing the Gospel to hundreds of thousands of people.
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