Burma bound
Having just returned from Myanmar (Burma), I have begun reading the story of Adoniram Judson, one of the first American missionaries, who took the gospel to Burma. His vision and passion are a rebuke to our small-minded and comfort-loving times. Here is what he wrote to John Heseltine, seeking permission to marry his daughter Nancy:
“I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left his heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of the perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened with the acclamation of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?”
Her godly parents, despite their own wishes, left the decision to her. The couple married, and Judson’s words proved correct: she did die in Burma … and souls were saved.