One of my favorite stories is about a missionary from Scotland to Africa. After a long time in Africa, he returned to his sending church in Scotland to report on his work and the ministry and to call more laborers to go to Africa.
He arrived at the church; it was winter, cold, and raining. There were not many people who came, and he was a little disappointed.
Many of the people present were elderly. It was great that they were there, but they were not suitable for the mission field. He still felt that he should give the same message, so he proceeded with the message.
He explained they needed more laborers and ended the talk. This is how he ended it:
“Who will go? Who will go? Who will go?”
He didn’t know that the organist had a little boy assistant. As the organ music played, the boy stood up and shouted, “I will go! I will go! I will go!” The name of that little boy was David Livingstone.
He then advised David, “If God has called you to Africa, I suggest you become a medical doctor, and you can go to Africa as a medical missionary.” David grew up, went to medical school, and became a doctor. He then went to Africa as a medical missionary and labored tirelessly.
There was one particular tribe they were trying to reach, and it was very difficult. The chief sent him a message saying, “We are going to come tonight, and we are going to murder you and everyone in your compound.”
Now, the reason we know every detail of this story is that I’ve researched it. David Livingstone kept diaries, and all of this is written in them. In his diary, he wrote, “Lord, we’ve labored so faithfully. Please, please protect us. Please help us.” He was fearful of what might happen, concerned that their ministry would be obliterated and everyone would die. But they didn’t kill them. A couple of years later, they eventually introduced the chief of the tribe to Jesus, and the entire community converted and followed Him.
David Livingstone later said to the chief, “You sent me a message that you were going to come and kill me and everyone in the compound.” The chief replied, “Yes, we came.” David asked, “Why did you not kill us?”
The chief said, “When we came to the compound, we saw 39 giants surrounding the compound. We counted them — they were big warriors, and there were 39 of them surrounding the compound.”
A couple of years later, David Livingstone returned to his sending church in Scotland and told that story. At the end of the meeting, the church secretary approached him and said, “Doctor Livingstone, do you remember the date when the chief was going to come and kill you?”
He replied, “Of course I know the date.” She gave him the date. The secretary of the church opened the church diary and showed him that on that date, there were 39 people in the church in Scotland praying for him — and there were 39 warriors surrounding the compound.
“Do not say that’s a coincidence.”
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