PERSONAL LABORS AMONG THE HEATHEN.
My dear children--You have, perhaps, often seen Campbell's missionary
map of the world. If not, I want you very carefully to look at it. I
want you to look at the red spots on it, and think how many millions of
people embrace the religion both of the Greek and Roman Catholic
churches--a religion which is nothing more nor less than paganism, with
a few Christian doctrines added to it. After this, I want you to look at
the green spots, and think of the hundred and twenty millions of
Mohammedans, who spurn the name of Jesus as a Saviour, and who have set
up Mahomet as their prophet. I want you also to look at all the dark
spots, where, with comparatively a few exceptions, the people are in
pagan darkness, without any knowledge of God and the only Saviour of
sinners Jesus Christ. And in view of all this darkness--in view of the
need of more than half a million of ministers of the Gospel to preach
the news of salvation to them, I want you, my dear boys, to ask
yourselves whether it may not be your duty, after you grow up, to
become ministers, and go and preach the Gospel to them. You know that
you are bound to do all the good to others which you can; and even if
you do not love the Saviour, you are not released from your obligations
to do good. I would by no means have you become ministers without giving
your hearts to Christ; but this you are as much bound to do, as you are
bound to do all the good you can to others. If you are not Christians, I
want you, through grace, to become such, and I want many of you to
become ministers and missionaries. Two of my sons are now missionaries
in India, and four others, I hope, are preparing to come. And why should
not you also come here, or go to other heathen lands? If you can be
excused from coming or going, why may not all who are now little boys
also be excused? In such a case, there will be no missionaries at all.
And you know that this would be very wrong. But I do not merely want
many of you, my dear boys, to become missionaries, I want many of you,
my dear girls, to become missionaries also. Many little girls and boys
have expressed a desire to become missionaries. Several little boys who
wrote to Mr. Hutchings, one of my missionary brethren, and several
little boys and girls who have written to me, have said that they would
like to be missionaries.
One writes, "I should like to go and be a missionary, and instruct the
poor heathen children to love God."
A second says, "I have been selling matches that I made. I got five
dollars--just as many dollars as I am years old. I think I shall become
a missionary, and come and help you. I hope I shall see you again when I
come to Ceylon. Tell the heathen children they must love God, and be
good children. They must not give the children to the crocodiles, nor
throw them into the water; and they must not worship wooden and brass
gods. They must worship the true God, and keep his commandments."
A third says, "I like to send money to help the poor heathen to learn to
read the Bible, and other good books. I think it will be pleasant to
sail across the ocean, and teach them to turn from their idols. I would
teach them not to lay themselves down before the car of Juggernaut, and
be crushed to death; and I would teach them not to burn themselves to
death on the funeral pile."
A fourth says, "I mean to save something to send to you, to help support
one school. Should my life be spared, and the way be opened at some
future day, I think I should be willing to leave my native home, to go to
some distant land to tell the heathen of a Saviour, whom I hope I have
found."
A fifth says, "If you are ever in want of money, just please to send on
to me, and I will endeavor to raise all that you want. If I live to be a
man, I hope be a missionary to Ceylon or China."
One little boy wrote to me as follows: "I have for a long time been
saving three shillings, for the purpose of buying a little racoon, which
I intended to do on Monday. On Sunday I heard you preach, and thought I
would give it to you to save some poor heathen soul; and I hope you will
pray for me, that I may become a minister, and go to India, and preach
to the heathen."
Another writes, "This is to certify that I, Charles D.H. Frederick,
pledge myself, if God spares my life, when I get to be a man, and he
pardons me through Christ Jesus, I will go and preach to the heathen."
A little girl wrote me as follows: "According to my present feelings, I
should like to engage in so glorious a cause," as the missionary cause,
"and I hope, when I arrive at an age to be of use to God, and the poor
heathen, to embrace so glorious a cause."
Another little girl writes, "I felt very bad when I heard you tell about
the poor heathen who worship the idols. I could not keep from weeping,
when you told us about the man who came so far to get a teacher to come
and tell the Gospel to his friends, and was disappointed. I felt very
bad Sunday evening; and on Monday evening I felt that the Lord had given
me a new heart. I felt happy, and sang some beautiful verses that I
learned in one of mother's little books. I have read the Day-springs,
and thought a great deal about the heathen for two years.
"I used to think a great deal about having nice clothes, before I
thought so much about the heathen. My mother told me some time ago, that
she thought she would get me a white dress when I was ten years old. I
am now ten years old, and this evening mother gave me two dollars to
get the dress, or dispose of it in any way I thought best; and I wish
you would take it to have the poor heathen taught about the Saviour. If
I live, and it is the Lord's will, I hope I shall come and help you
teach the poor heathen about the Saviour."
There is a little boy in the city of New York, who formerly used to tell
his mother, that he meant to be a cab-driver, and all she could say to
him was of no avail in making him think differently. This little boy
came with his mother to hear me preach about the heathen.
After he had left the church, as he was going home, he burst into tears,
and exclaimed, "Mother, I mean to be a missionary to the heathen;" and
so far as I know, he has never talked about being any thing else since.
And I hope that many of you will never talk about being any thing else
than missionaries to the heathen.
I am acquainted with a little girl in Ohio, who has resolved to become a
missionary. She is a niece of Mr. Campbell, late missionary to Africa.
She was not quite four years old when I saw her. When she was eighteen
months of age, she saw the picture of a heathen mother throwing her
child into the mouth of a crocodile She was deeply impressed with the
sight. When she was two and a half years old, she resolved to be a
missionary, and follow her uncle to Africa. From this resolution she has
never drawn hack. When I was at her father's house, she was asked if she
would not go to India. She replied, that she would not go to India, but
to Africa. She was asked why she wished to go to Africa. "To teach the
heathen," was her answer. "Why should you teach the heathen?" "Because
they worship idols." Her mother told me, that ever since she began to
get money, she has contributed to the missionary cause; and this money
has generally, if not always, been earned by some act of self-denial on
her part. I hope that many of you will feel just as this little girl
felt, and do just as she did.
When I was in America, I used continually, when preaching, to ask the
dear children whether they would not become missionaries. I used also to
beg them to write down what I had asked them. Many complied with my
request. While I was at the Avon Springs, one of the daughters of a
physician there, not only wrote it down, but gave me what she had
written. The following is a copy of what she wrote,
_August 18, 1844._
_Dr. Scudder requested me to come to India to help him when I am
grown._
S. P. S.
_Avon Springs_
Could I raise my voice loud enough to reach America, I would beg of
_you_ to write down the following sentence: Dr. Scudder asks me, to-day,
whether I will not hereafter become a missionary to the heathen. Perhaps
you will write it down _immediately_.
Now, my dear boys, if you will come out to India, or go to Burmah or
China, to tell the heathen of the Saviour, you may, with the blessing of
God, do as much good as Swartz and Carey, and others have done. And if
you, my dear girls, will do the same, you also may do much good. This
will appear from what I am going to tell you about a little girl in
Ceylon. This little girl belonged to the boarding-school at Oodooville.
She early gave her heart to the Saviour, and joined the church when she
was thirteen years old. I should like to know if there are any of you
who have not followed her example. If so, this is not right. My dear
children, it is not right. Shall this little girl, in a heathen land, a
land filled with idols, give her heart to Christ; and you, in a
Christian land, a land of Sabbaths, and Sabbath-schools, and Bibles, not
give your hearts to him? This is not right. You know that it is not
right.
But let me go on with my account of the little girl. After she had
joined the church, she wanted to go and see her mother, who was a
heathen, for the purpose of conversing with her about her soul's
concerns. Now, in this country, when children who have been absent from
their parents for any length of time go home, the mother spreads a mat
down on the floor, and tells them to sit down upon it, adding that she
will go and cook rice for them. They have no seats to sit on, as you
have in America. Well, this little girl went home. When her mother saw
her, she was very glad; and after she had spread a mat for her, and told
her to sit down, she said that she would go and cook rice for her. The
little girl told her that she was not hungry, and did not wish to eat,
but wanted to talk with her. "You cannot talk with me," said her mother,
"until I have cooked rice for you." "Mother," said the little girl, "you
worship idols, and I am afraid that you will lose your soul, and I want
to talk with you about Jesus Christ." The mother became quite angry with
her, and rebuked her. But still the little girl continued to talk with
her about her soul. The mother then became so angry, that she told her
to be silent, or she would punish her. The little girl replied, "Mother,
though you do whip me, I must talk to you about Jesus Christ," and she
burst into tears. The mother's heart was broken. She sat down on the
mat, and her little daughter talked with her, and prayed with her. After
this the little girl was so troubled, fearing that her mother's soul
might be lost, that she was heard praying for her during all parts of
the night. And God heard her prayers. Her mother forsook her idols, and
became a Christian, and her conversion was followed by the conversion of
one or two others. Now, my dear little girls, if you will give your
hearts to the Saviour, and in due time come here, or go to other heathen
lands, and tell the people of a Saviour, you may, with the help of the
Holy Spirit, be as useful as this little girl was.
Female missionaries have done much good among the heathen. I mentioned
an instance on page 88, to prove this. Let me mention another instance
more.
In the year 1838, an English lady, Miss Aldersey, went to the East, at
her own expense to promote female education among the Chinese. At that
time, she could not go to China, as that country was not open to
missionaries She therefore went to Java, where there was a colony of
Chinese. Here she hired a house, and collected about twenty-five girls,
whom she clothed, and boarded, and taught. The Lord blessed her labors,
and several of these girls were hopefully converted. When their parents
saw that they would no longer worship idols, they became much opposed to
the school, and some of them took their daughters from it. In the year
1842, God opened the door for the entrance of the Gospel into China.
This missionary then broke up her school in Java, went to that country,
and resided in the city of Ningpo. Of the girls who had become
Christians while under her care, two were much persecuted by their
parents. They were whipped and beaten, with the hope that they would
again return to their idols; but all the efforts which were made to
induce them to forsake the Saviour were in vain. They declared that they
would sooner die than forsake him. When their parents saw that stripes
and blows were of no avail, they determined to marry them to men who
were much devoted to their idols. This stratagem, they thought, might
succeed in destroying all their interest in their new religion. Here,
however, they were again foiled. The girls became alarmed, and fled from
their parents. An English gentleman, but who was not a professor of
religion, felt deeply interested for them, and assisted them to get on
board a ship going to Batavia. Here they were pursued but escaped from
the pursuers by going on board of a ship which sailed for Singapore.
From Singapore they sailed for China, where they were permitted to join
the old friend who had been the means of their conversion. This lady
collected a school at Ningpo of more than thirty girls. Thus you see how
much good female missionaries have done by going to heathen lands. And
are none of you willing to follow their example? Are none of you willing
to say, Here am I, Lord, send me?