When H.M. Stanley went to Africa in 1871 to find and report on David Livingstone, he spent several months in the missionary’s company, carefully observing the man and his work. Livingstone never spoke to Stanley about spiritual matters, but Livingstone’s loving and patient compassion for the African people was beyond Stanley’s comprehension. He could not understand how the missionary could have such love for and patience with the backward, pagan people among whom he had so long ministered. Livingstone literally spent himself in untiring service for those whom he had no reason to love except for Christ’s sake. Stanley wrote in his journal, “When I saw that unwearied patience, that unflagging zeal, and those enlightened sons of Africa, I became a Christian at his side, though he never spoke to me one word.”


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A missionary returning home after many years of service was asked, “Tell me what you found when you arrived in New Guinea.”
“Found, I found something that looked more hopeless than if I had been sent into a jungle of tigers.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why, the people seemed utterly devoid of moral sense. If a mother were carrying her little baby and the baby began to cry, she would throw it into the ditch and let it die. If a man saw his father break his leg, he would leave him by the roadside to suffer by himself. They had no compassion whatever. They didn’t even know what the word meant.”
“Well, what did you do for them?”
“I thought it best to show them my faith by my works! When I saw a baby crying, I picked it up and consoled it. When I saw a man with a broken leg, I sought to mend it. When I found people distressed and hungry, I took them in, comforted them, and fed them. Finally they inquired, ‘What does this mean? Why are you doing this for us?’ Then I had my chance, and I preached the gospel!”
“Did you succeed?”
“My friend,” said the missionary, “when I returned home on furlough, I left a church!”


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Missionary Susie Hobert believes that one of her main responsibilities as a mother is to instill in her children a burden for their lost fiends. And she has done a good job.

Ten-year-old Ryan was driving imaginary race cars with his friends. Several minutes later he came bounding into the house and yelled, “Mom, you’ve got to come quick. Isabelle wants to accept Jesus into her heart.”

Skeptical of the child’s sudden interest in spiritual things, Susie asked, “Ryan, I thought you were playing race cars?”

“We were, Mom, but our cars wrecked. The accident was real bad so I asked Isabelle if she would go to heaven if she dies. She said she didn’t know. I told her how she could know and she wants to ask Jesus into her heart.”

 


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“A missionary is one who never gets used to the sound of heathen footbeats on their way to a Christless eternity.”

-Author Unknown


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