Missionaries died in New Hebrides. A land with cannibals and suspicion.
But through persistence, prayer and hard work, a people were changed and So the land was won for the Lord.
A people changed.
John Paton often had narrow escapes from the war-faring people of New Hebrides, were the the women did all the work and the mend spent their time fighting. Climbing trees, being rescued by ships, surviving through God's intervention. So was like for the missionaries to New Hebrides.
At one point, John Paton built a well for a tribe so that they would no longer have to buy clean water from the witch doctor. He wanted the hold of the witch doctor broken in their lives, and so he dug and dug and dug until finally fresh water. Water from the Ground!!! The people were amazed and so changed for the Lord. This was a miracle indeed. Where John Paton dug the well was the only place on the Island of Aniwa where fresh water could be found.
John Paton learned the language, wrote it down, built orphanages, taught women how to sew, trained natives to preach God's word and generally made himself useful to the people of Aniwa. And so the whole island was converted.
John Paton fought on the behalf of the native peoples until he died. He fought for their freedom, their education and for the end of the slave trade. He kept the native people on the consciences of the white folk in the area.
Resouces:
You will be eaten by Cannibals.
Christian Biography Resources.
Wikipedia.
Australian Dictionary of Biography.