Another missionary biography: William Carrey,

We just finished yet another missionary biography for school as we study India this month (I love Sonlight curriculum!). This time it was on William Carrey. I have been looking forward to reading it ever since I got it last August. Truth be told, I couldn't have told you a single thing about William beside that fact that he was in India and said, "Expect great things for God, attempt great things for God." My nephew is named after him so it is high time I learnt a little more about his life. It was a pretty incredible book, he sure was a dedicated missionary and had his fair share of trials and tribulations (and then some!). 

Interesting facts about William's life:

~From the time he went to India at the age of 31 until he died at the age of 72, he never returned to his homeland of England (wow!)

 ~First "official" missionary to India

~Married three times as he outlived his first two wives (he waited a whole 6 months to remarry after his 26 marriage to his first wife, all I can say is Jake had better wait longer than that if anything happens to me!)

~His five-year-old son died on the mission field, plus another son when he was a young man

~Took seven years to see his first Christian convert

~Had to rebuild his mission from the ground up numerous times due to fire and floods

~Is responsible for making sati (the burning of the widow with her dead husband) and infanticide illegal in India (William Wilberforce assisted him with this back in England)

~Loved flowers and being in the garden (a kindred spirit!)

~Two of his children were also missionaries to India

When I read these missionary bios, I always wonder at their extreme dedication.  For example,  his first wife went a little batty after the death of their child. Then she completely lost it after many sicknesses and disappointments (she never wanted to go to India in the first place). She was confined to a room and died in that state years later. In that same situation I think I would want Jake to take me home. Of course it wasn't so simple to get back in those, but I kinda doubt Carrey would have left India even if it was easy. He had a goal and stuck to it. Williams mind was on things above, not on things of this earth. He family did suffer because of that though. I think he did need to have a little more balance in his family life.

One thing that did make an impression on me is that the same struggles he faced 200+ years ago, missionaries still face today (Ok, maybe not so extreme); sickness, lack of funds, disunity in his team, lack of help with the workload, depression, lack of support from home country, loneliness, visa issues, craving news from family, disappointment, lack of response from the nationals, opposition from the government. Now I'm not saying I experience all of these but the spiritual battle on the mission field really hasn't changed all that much. Praise God air travel, emails, etc. allow missionaries to be a lot more connected to family and friends nowadays. 

We still have two more bios to read before the end of the school year, Mary Slessor (no idea!) and David Livingstone, so be prepared of another missionary bio post in the not too distant future.