Ann Judson, part 8: “No Resting Place on Earth”
Seventeen months without a home.
The travels of the Judsons, February 1812 to July 1813.
(6 minutes)
A door slammed in their faces
As a child, Ann had always been in motion. At 23, she was still going, having spent her first months of marriage rolling about on the ocean. When she stepped onto Indian soil, she must have been glad to feel the ground under her feet, even as she thought about a future that was very much up in the air. The society had instructed them to move on to Burma, so she'd never anticipated that India would be her permanent home. But the time in India would be much shorter than expected.
They spent a night in Calcutta before travelling upriver to Serampore, home of William Carey, the pioneering English missionary. She was grieved to see the idol worship, as well as the brutal way that Europeans treated the Indians – like animals, she said. Ten days after arriving in Serampore, Adoniram and Samuel Newell were recalled to Calcutta, where the authorities told them to take their families back to America. Carey may have given them a warm welcome, but most people wanted them gone. It seems India had no room for more missionaries.
When all the doors are closed
This news shocked them, but also required a decision. Where would they go? They considered their options. Burma wasn’t promising. The government was oppressive and previous attempts to establish a mission had failed. They considered several options before getting permission to go to the Isle of France (Mauritius), a tiny island 600 miles east of Madagascar, and over 2,000 miles from Calcutta. The Newells sailed at the beginning of August, leaving the Judsons to wait until room could be found on another ship. As Ann said goodbye to Harriet, she couldn’t know it would be their last farewell.
Risking ruin for conscience’s sake
Two months passed before the Judsons found a ship. During this time, they experienced a life-changing event. They were baptized. Adoniram had left America convinced of infant baptism, but he had donse so knowing that his time Asia would be among Baptists. In preparation, he had been studying the Bible's teaching on baptism.
He’d initially done this so he could better explain his position. But in the process, he became a Baptist himself. This might seem minor to us today, but he knew it would probably cost them the support of their mission board.
Ann was overwhelmed by the fear of being far from home, with no solid plans, few friends, and the likelihood of losing financial support. This is clear from the uncharacteristic way she responded to her husband’s doctrinal shift. Though she studied the same verses and books on baptism that he did, she refused to change her mind, even when she began having doubts. She said later, “I tried to have him give it up, and rest satisfied in his old views, and frequently told him, if he became a Baptist, I would not.”
In the end, her mind changed too. Even if it meant they would lose everything, they determined to follow their new conviction. In the end, they lost their supporters, but the crisis caused the Baptists of America to organize and stand with them.
Loss of an only friend
On January 17, 1813, the Judsons arrived in Mauritius. Ann was anxious to see Harriet, only to be shaken by the news that her friend had died six weeks before.
The ship carrying the Newells had faced several setbacks, culminating in a storm which left Harriet and her newborn drenched and cold. The baby died after only five days of life, but Harriet lingered for a time. She died with confidence, making it clear that she had no regrets about her decision to leave America for this early grave.
Ann was stunned, and wrote, “O Death, you destroyer! Could you not have found victims elsewhere in the world to satisfy your cravings? We were so few and needed each other so much.”
“No resting place on earth”
Mauritius quickly proved no more a home than India had been. After less than a week, Ann wrote, “It seems as if there was no resting place for me on earth. When shall I find some little spot, that I can call my home, while in this world?”
Discouraged yet again, they set their sights on Penang, in Malaysia. That would mean reversing course. Again. By June they’d reached Madras, in India, but could not find a ship for Penang. The situation was urgent. England and America were now at war, and the Judsons feared if they stayed in India they would be sent (unwillingly) to England.
Every door was shut. What was left, but Burma? Seventeen months after leaving Massachusetts, they arrived in Rangoon. Such as it was, they were home.
