I usually read a chapter or two of an easy-read sort of book at night to shut my brain off and try to get sleepy. Lately I've been reading an abridged version of the biography of Adoniram Judson, the first American missionary. His story is pretty incredible, wild, crazy and unbelievable. One section that really struck me was how Judson asked for his wife Ann's hand in marriage. This is what he said to Ann's father:
I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter, whether you can consent to her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life? Whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India, to every kind of want and distress, to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death!
Pretty romantic huh! =) Although, the missionary part of me thinks it's pretty cool. Her father left the decision up to her. She said yes, and twelve days after they were married they sailed for India, got redirected, and spent the rest of their lives ministering in Burma. Judson spent a lot of time learning the Burmese language and then translating the Bible into Burmese. At the time there was no one who had put the Burmese language into print. The Bible the Burmese still use today is the same version Judson finally completed after twenty years of work. Amazing.
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