“Betsey Stockton (c. 1798 – 1865) was a freed African-American slave who left domestic service to travel as America’s first single female missionary to Hawaii, then known as the Sandwich Islands. In fact, she went partly as a missionary and partly as a servant to one of the couples on the mission, the Reverend and Mrs. Stewart.
After being asked by the son of the Hawaiian king to teach him English, Stockton started up a school in… West Maui for the… fishermen, farmers and craftsmen who lived off the land …which continued after she left.
Stockton’s diary: Stockton kept a detailed written record of the mission, which conveys her somewhat turbulent, occasionally agonized, inner spiritual life; her interest in the natural world — including the kinds of fish caught from the ship, the color of the waves, and various bird life; and her spirit of adventure. Like others on board she was frightened at her first sight of the Hawaiian men who come out in canoes to greet the ship:
‘half man and half beast—naked—except a narrow strip of tapa round their loins…’” ¹
As we pray today, let us be strengthened by Betsey’s authentic faith in Christ. It was not ‘holier than thou’ but rather it was genuine, real, with ups and downs, fears, and joys. Have you ever experienced turbulence and even agony? I most assuredly have as did Jesus and His disciples. Good news! You and I are not alone.
“For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “’Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’” (Isaiah 41:13 ESV)
Sat, Sep 9, 2017
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