John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brotherPaton, John Gibson
Religion
John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brother
Paton, John Gibson
Missionaries -- Vanuatu -- Biography; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
“Truly, Missi, they have done well. If the people of Erromanga are
severely punished for this by the Man-of-war, we will all hear of it;
and our people will then fear to kill you and the other Missionaries, so
as to destroy the Worship of Jehovah. Now, they say, the Erromangans
killed Missi Williams and the Samoan, Rarotongan, and Aneityumese
Teachers, besides other white men, and no Man-of-war has punished either
them or us. If they are not punished for what has been done on
Erromanga, nothing else can keep them here from killing you and me and
all who worship at the Mission House!”
I answered,—“Nowar, let us all be strong to love and serve Jehovah
Jesus. If it be for our good and His glory, He will protect us; if not,
He will take us to be with Himself. We will not be killed by their bad
talk. Besides, what avails it to us, when dead and gone, if even a
Man-of-war should come and punish our murderers?”
He shrugged his shoulders, answering,—“Missi, by-and-by you will see.
Mind, I tell you the truth. I know our Tannese people. How is it that
Jehovah did not protect the Gordons and the Erromangan worshippers? If
the Erromangans are not punished, neither will our Tannese be punished,
though they murder all Jehovah’s people!”
I felt for Nowar’s struggling faith, just trembling on the verge of
cannibalism yet, and knowing so little of the true Jehovah.
Groups of Natives assembled suspiciously near us and sat whispering
together. They urged old Abraham to return to Aneityum by the very first
opportunity, as our lives were certain to be taken, but he replied,—
“I will not leave Missi.”
Abraham and I were thrown much into each other’s company, and he stood
by me in every danger. We conducted family prayers alternately; and that
evening he said during the prayer in Tannese, in which language alone we
understood each other,—
“O Lord, our Heavenly Father, they have murdered Thy servants on
Erromanga. They have banished the Aneityumese from dark Tanna. And now
they want to kill Missi Paton and me! Our great King, protect us, and
make their hearts soft and sweet to Thy Worship. Or, if they are
permitted to kill us, do not Thou hate us, but wash us in the blood of
Thy dear Son Jesus Christ. He came down to Earth and shed His blood for
sinners; through Him forgive us our sins and take us to Heaven—that good
place where Missi Gordon the man and Missi Gordon the woman and all Thy
dear servants now are singing Thy praise and seeing Thy face. Our Lord,
our hearts are pained just now, and we weep over the death of Thy dear
servants; but make our hearts good and strong for Thy cause, and take
Thou away all our fears. Make us two and all Thy servants strong for
Thee and for Thy Worship; and if they kill us two, let us die together
in Thy good work, like Thy servants Missi Gordon the man and Missi
Gordon the woman.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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