260 – Sept. 17 – This Day in Baptist History Past

 

 

It’s not the length but the depth that counts

Henrietta Hall Shuck, raised in a godly home, sailed on Sept. 17, 1835, with her husband Lewis for missionary service in China, along with twenty-two other missionaries. She was but a teen bride, the daughter of Col. Addison Hall of Merry Point, Virginia. Henrietta was saved in a Baptist camp meeting and baptized at thirteen years of age. At sixteen she moved to Richmond Virginia where she met Lewis Shuck who was studying theology and later married. After leaving Boston their ship stopped at Calcutta, India and then on to Amherst in Burma where the Shuck’s were able to visit the grave of Ann Judson, whose life had provided great inspiration for Henrietta. Finally they reached Singapore where they would study the Malay language, and then it was on to Canton, China, and to Hong Kong to minister, after it was ceded to the British in 1841. Within four months, two chapels had been built and dedicated and before long there was a third.  By Sept. of 1844 there were thirty-two boarding students. On Nov. 26, Henrietta became very ill. The doctors could not save her, and in the early hours of the following morning, she fell asleep in Jesus.  Only ten years after she had begun her work for her Lord whom she loved, her work on earth was over. It’s not the length, but the depth of our work that really counts for Christ. “Her life was like a glorious meteor, and her light still shineth.”[Majorie Dawes, Great Baptist Women (London: Carey Kingsgate Press Limited, 1955), p, 75.  Dr. Greg J. Dixon: From: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins/Thompson, pp. 509-11.

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50 – Feb. 19 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY

February 19, 1814 – Baptists organized for world missions in America. This came about primarily because of the influence of Adoniram and Ann Judson who had gone out to India in 1812. In 1808 while still unsaved Judson had entered Andover Theological Seminary but was happily saved in the month of September and consecrated himself to the work of the Christian ministry. Before the end of his first year he had read a sermon entitled “The Star in the East,” and in Feb. of 1809 he resolved to be a missionary. In June of 1809 he met Ann Hasseltine, who was to become his wife. In Sept. 1811 he was commissioned as a missionary; on Feb. 5, 1812, he and Ann were married; on Feb. 6 he was ordained as a Congregational minister and on the 19^th, the couple embarked on the brig Caravan for Calcutta, India. Their honeymoon was spent on the long voyage that ended on June 17 when they arrived after a very pleasant journey. Knowing that he would be working in the vicinity of the Baptist William Carey, Judson began thinking of the answer that he would give if the issue of baptism would be raised. In that he had been sprinkled as a baby he decided to study the issue anew from the scriptures. After a long struggle he became convinced after honest inquiry that the Baptist position of believer’s immersion was correct and that he would have to write to his Congregationalist mission and so inform them, which he did. He and Ann were baptized in the Baptist Chapel in Calcutta on September 6, 1812. Later Ann wrote a friend saying, “Thus, my dear Nancy, we are confirmed Baptists, not because we wished to be, but because truth compelled us to be…We feel that we are alone in the world, with no real friend but each other, no one on whom we can depend but God.”

Dr. Greg J. Dixon from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I: Cummins Thompson /, pp. 69-70.

 

39 – Feb. 08 – THIS DAY IN BAPTIST HISTORY PAST

Missionary to the Outcasts
We are familiar with many of our great forefathers.  Frequently, however, we are unaware of some of those who assisted and worked alongside those better-known men. George Bana Boardman is such a person.  He was born in Livermore, Maine, on February 8, 1801, the son of a Baptist pastor.  He was ordained at North Yarmouth, Maine, on February 16, 1825.  With his wife, he sailed on July 16 of that same year for Calcutta, India.  There they remained until March 20, 1827, when they embarked for Amherst, Burma, to assist the well – known Adoniram Judson.  They arrived in Burma only days after the burial of Mrs. Ann Judson.
It was decided that the Boardmans should move to the province of Tavoy and establish a mission at its principal town, which was also called Tavoy.  In April 1828, they began their missionary work in that place.  The Karens, who had long been oppressed by the Burmese, held a tradition that at some time messengers from the West would bring to them a revelation from God.  They were prepared to receive our missionaries and their message.  Two converts were soon won, one of whom was Ko Thah-byu, who served as an evangelist to his own people.
Just days before George Boardmans death, he was carried by a cot on the shoulders of the Karens for a three day journey to a zayat built by faithful disciples. More than a hundred were already assembled, nearly half of whom were candidates for baptism.   At the close of the day, his cot was placed at the riverside as they gathered to witness the first baptism ever held in that region.  The Boardmans left the next day to return to Tavoy, while on the second day of the journey, February 11, 1831, George Boardman went to his eternal rest.
Dr. Dale R. Hart, adapted from:  This Day in Baptist History III (David L. Cummins), pp. 79-80.