John Williams, Messenger of Peace by Janet Benge & Geoff Benge

Author:Janet Benge & Geoff Benge [Benge, Janet & Benge, Geoff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography
ISBN: 9781576582565
Google: OZurAAAACAAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 1004636
Publisher: YWAM Publishing
Published: 2002-03-01T11:44:42+00:00

Chapter 10

Questions

The Messenger of Peace arrived back in Raiatea on April 27, 1828. The caulking on her sides was hanging off in long strips, and her sails had several holes. Even so, the ship was an instant sensation. Everyone poured onto the beach at Va’oara to welcome the Williams family back and to meet Chief Makea and the Rarotongan crew. A great round of feasting and speechmaking followed over the next several days.

Once things settled down, John’s first job was to sort out the problems that had developed in the church while he was away. This did not prove to be too difficult. So much excitement had been generated among the people over the return of their missionary and the many stories he had to tell that those in the church were soon ready to work together again in getting the gospel out to other islands.

When the baby Mary was expecting was stillborn, John decided to stay put for a while in Raiatea and help his wife. He was glad, however, when the Messenger of Peace was pressed into service without him on board. After new cloth sails had been fitted and the caulking reapplied, a crew was selected, and two missionaries and several Raiatean Christians journeyed to the Marquesas Islands to set up a mission station.

While they were gone, John set about making a smaller boat to send home Chief Makea and the Rarotongan men who had crewed the Messenger of Peace to Raiatea. With them John also sent one of the deacons from the church to help the missionaries in Rarotonga.

As John worked, he dreamed about spreading the gospel to the islands that were thousands of miles to the west of Raiatea. A voyage to these islands would be long and dangerous, and he knew that in the past Mary had objected to the idea of his being away for such long periods of time. Recently, however, she’d had a change of heart. John recalled with great joy her exact words to him. “From this time your desire has my full concurrence; and when you go, I shall follow you every day with my prayers, that God may preserve you from danger, crown your attempt with success, and bring you back in safety.”

Now that Mary supported his dream completely, John was free to plan his most ambitious mission trip yet. When the Messenger of Peace returned from the Marquesas, he and fellow missionary Charles Barff would take eight Raiatean volunteers and head for the Fiji islands and other islands still farther west.

Finally, on February 25, 1830, the Messenger of Peace lay anchored in the bay at Va’oara. John had planned to leave on his voyage as soon as the annual May missionary festival was finished. The festival proved to be an exciting event. Large numbers of Christians from other islands in the Society group, including Borabora, Taha’a, and Huahine, sailed or paddled to Raiatea. Then, two days before the festival was due to begin, the HMS Seringapatam dropped anchor off Va’oara.

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