Patrick Tan

Reflection Paper on William Carey Video

This is a reflection paper on the William Carey video our class in Leadership in Mission watched last two Tuesdays. Before seeing this video, I have hardly any idea who William Carey is. From our reading, he pioneered one of the three most influential missionary efforts in modern history. Watching this video helped me understand his life and learned a couple of lessons from his life along the way.

Born in 1761 England, William Carey is today the "father of modern missions" in pioneering missions to coastal lands in India in 1792. He is a Baptist minister, and then a professor in the latter part of his life in India. Though portrayed to have two children in the video, Carey had four children and was married Dorothy. His decision to go to the east was an unpopular decision to his family. He also encountered several obstacles along the way including government and cultic hindrances. But I think the greatest challenge he faced was living with the familial apathy for his work and subduing his later insane wife. His wife died and he remarried twice after that. His active ministry yielded few converts. However, his greatest contribution to modern missions and even to Christian faith itself was his translation of the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit and 44 other local Indian dialects which still exists until today.

What struck me most is the amount of focus and dedication of William Carey had for his work. I began to question my dedication for the Lord's work. "How far will I go for God?" Carey went on to follow the voice of God in spite of opposition from his family, authorities, the people he tried to evangelized and even his own self (when he struggled on his calling). Carey had to give up a good life in England, and even the privilege to provide for his family. By this I remember the prophet Jeremiah, who also had to give up a whole lot of him (including his Jewish right to marry) to reach out to people who seemed not to care. Today I am experiencing the same challenge of obeying the Lord while obeying my parents. Though my parents are committed Christians, I feel I am letting them down and I giving up my responsibility to provide for my family by pursuing my calling and not an architectural profession. Through this video, somehow I am encouraged because no matter how bleak, the words of our Lord "will not return to [Him] empty." Therefore I pray that God will hone my vision and focus as I run toward the goal He has set before me.

Reflection Paper on Hudson Taylor Video

James Hudson Taylor is the founder of China Inland Missions (now Overseas Missions Fellowship or OMF) and like William Carey became one of the pillars of modern missions as the second wave of missionary efforts took Hudson to inland China. He is notably known for his extreme commitment to cultural sensitivity by wearing Chinese clothing and living their ways which was rare among missionaries at that time. Taylor video isn't that good perhaps because of acting and scriptwriting but enough to be understood Taylor's missionary work and his great contribution to modern missions.

Converted at the age of 17, Hudson decided to become a missionary to China December of 1849. About this time he began to study Mandarin and also began studying medicine in 1852. His first and second mission to China (1854) was that of abrupt. His return to England allowed him to marry and equip himself respectively. His wife is named Maria. They had more children than Carey, though the video included only their first two children, Grace and Herbert. More children were born to them during his times both in England and China. Later, Maria died in the field and Taylor remarried again and had more children. Taylor began to look for volunteers prior to his third trip and with 24 volunteers, he founded China Inland Mission. Conflicts within the team hindered their success but later resolved with the death of Taylor's first child, Grace.

Hudson's life, like Carey, speaks to me in terms of his dedication and persistence to finish the work God started in him. Hudson dedicated his life for a people not his own. I am challenged by Taylor's (and Carey's) initiative and commitment and would strive to do the same if given the chance - meaning, I am still in search of my missionary calling. I hear that when missionaries are called to go, God puts everything in place. This is a challenge to me, because I believe that it would also take an effort on the part of the missionary to choose to obey God. I feel that if God totally pave the way for the Christian to go to the field, it would be an easy choice for him, therefore a choice of less passion and cost. But perhaps this is not so, for God calls in various ways. I pray that when God sends me, I would be ready, my commitment tested, to answer to His call even in face of greatest adversity - a vessel yielded for His use. "O Lord, I wait for your breaking..."