His Story in History for Young People, sponsored by the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide

Today’s is the Story of Mary Slessor of Calabar

But first

Let us Pray:

Most gracious Heavenly Father, we thank thee for such courageous men and women of the Christian faith who have stood valiantly in the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – even at the peril of their very lives. Help us, O Lord, to have that same courage and perseverance in the sharing of your Word to all peoples on earth, for we ask it in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Many of you may never have heard of Mary Slessor, but to multitudes of people in Africa, Mary Slessor was like a true mother to them.

 

Mary Slessor was born in 1848 in Aberdeen Scotland. She was not born into a well-to-do family, but she nevertheless made donations of her pennies to the mission field.

Mary Slessor had a godly mother who taught her about Calabar on the deadly coast of Nigeria. It was known as the White Man’s Grave. Many missionaries had traveled there only to die of disease or by the hand of hostile tribes of the region. It is blessing to have such godly mothers whose influence can alter the lives of their children in such a good way.

Mary heard much about Dr. David Livingston and his missionary efforts in Africa. She had two brothers – one of whom (the elder) planned to go as a missionary to Africa – the younger one was studying medicine. 

The elder brother was tragically killed in an accident. His younger brother than decided to go to Africa as a missionary in his deceased brother’s place. But this brother, too, became ill and died leaving only Mary.

Her mother and father now deceased, Mary became a street girl. But there was an old widow who invited Mary and her friends to Bible study, and Mary became committed to be a missionary in Africa,

When Dr. Livingston died in 1874, Mary’s fervor grew, and she dedicated all her effort to go to Calabar as a missionary. That was such a dangerous place for men, and even more threatening for a young woman to visit.

But Mary did go and served briefly as a nurse in the British hospital near Calabar. But that profession did not satisfy Mary. She left the hospital and went into the darkest parts of the Ivory coast – inland where no man had ventured and come out alive.

When she arrived at her first village, the native people were enamored by her red hair. They had never seen such before. She was allowed to live among the people of the village, learned the language, dressed as they dressed, and ate as they ate. These people accepted this young lady from Scotland as one of their tribe. 

Mary finally converted the village chief to Christianity, and soon most of the village followed suit.

After many months of evangelizing, Mary noticed that whenever twins were born to a woman, the native tribesmen would take those babies out into the jungle and leave them to die from deprivation or to be eaten by wild animals. Twins were considered to be taboo by these superstitious people. But Mary began to follow whenever twins were taken away and abandoned. She rescued those twins and raised them as her own children.

By the grace of God, these young Africans became Mary’s helpers in spreading the gospel over all that part of darkest Africa. When she grew too old to travel, they carried her on a sedan chair to distant villages. Mary finally died in Africa in 1915. The hearts of her African people were cut to the bone. They mourned her passing many days. On the day of her death, the tom-tom drums sounded from one village to the next all over that region with the message, “Come, Come to the big village. Everybody’s mother is dead.

According to her stated wishes, Mary is buried in in her beloved Africa. 

Perhaps God is calling you, too, to be courageous in bringing souls to Christ as did Mary Slessor. Perhaps you are young and feel inadequate to the task; however, whomever God calls you to a task, He will enable you to perform it. 

May we all respond to the Gospel call as did Mary Slessor of Calabar without hesitation or doubt owing to our youthful ages or any other presumed impediment.

God bless you and good bye for now.

 

NOTE: My video states that Mary was buried in Westminster Abbey, but I have discovered that she was buried in Africa at Calabar.