The Story of John G. Paton; Or, Thirty Years Among South Sea CannibalsPaton, John Gibson
Religion
The Story of John G. Paton; Or, Thirty Years Among South Sea Cannibals
Paton, John Gibson
Missions -- Vanuatu; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
Feeling sure, however, that this was the place I sought, and knowing
that to await the daylight would be certain death, I prayed to my Lord
Jesus for help and protection, and resolved to let myself go. First, I
fastened all my clothes as tightly as I could, so as not to catch on
anything; then I lay down at the top on my back, feet foremost, holding
my head downwards on my breast to keep it from striking on the rock;
then, after one cry to my Saviour, having let myself down as far as
possible by a branch, I at last let go, throwing my arms forward and
trying to keep my feet well up. A giddy swirl, as if flying through the
air, took possession of me; a few moments seemed an age; I rushed
quickly down, and felt no obstruction till my feet struck into the sea
below. Adoring and praising my dear Lord Jesus, who had ordered it so, I
regained my feet; it was low tide, I had received no injury, I recovered
my umbrella, and, wading through, I found the shore path easier and
lighter than the bush had been. The vary darkness was my safety,
preventing the Natives from rambling about. I saw no person to speak to,
till I reached a village quite near to my own house, fifteen or twenty
miles from where I had started; I here left the sea path and promised
some young men a gift of fish-hooks to guide me the nearest way through
the bush to my Mission Station, which they gladly and heartily did. I
ran a narrow risk in approaching them; they thought me an enemy, and I
arrested their muskets only by a loud cry--
"I am Missi! Don't shoot; my love to you, my friends!"
Praising God for His preserving care, I reached home, and had a long
refreshing sleep. The natives, on hearing next day how I had come all
the way in the dark exclaimed--
"Surely any of us would have been killed! Your Jehovah God alone thus
protects you and brings you safely home."
With all my heart, I said, "Yes! and He will be your protector and
helper too, if only you will obey and trust in Him."
Certainly that night put my faith to the test. Had it not been the
assurance that I was engaged in His service, and that in every path of
duty He would carry me through or dispose of me therein for His glory I
could never have undertaken either journey. St. Paul's words are true
to-day and forever--"I can do all things through Christ which
strengthened me."
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE PLAGUE OF MEASLES.
ABOUT this time I had a never-to-be-forgotten illustration of the
infernal spirit that possessed some of the Traders towards these poor
Natives. One morning, three or four vessels entered our Harbor and cast
anchor in Port Resolution. The captains called on me, and one of them,
with manifest delight, exclaimed, "We know how to bring down your proud
Tannese now! We'll humble them before you!"
I answered, "Surely you don't mean to attack and destroy these poor
people?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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