Children’s Corner: Have You Counted the Cost?

Ann Hasseltine was so excited she nearly dropped a plate and the big dish of potatoes when she set the family dinner table on a special day in 1810. A certain young man whom she heard was so handsome, so eloquent, and so just-right in all ways, was coming for dinner with three other college men. Her Christian father had invited them, especially as it was generally known that all these visitors intended to go abroad soon as America’s first foreign missionaries.

The name uppermost in Ann’s pretty brown head that day was Adoniram Judson. When he arrived he appeared to be as distinctive as he had been verbally pictured. But she did not expect him to be so timid! Although she served at the table, during the entire meal he did not say a word to her. Nearly all the time he looked intently at his plate. Of course, she could not read his thoughts, or she would have known at that time he was composing a poem about her!

About a month later he wrote her a long letter in which he told about his call to be a missionary. And not the least exciting part of that letter was a proposal of marriage. Ann’s heart said ” yes” , immediately, but her mind said, ” Don’t be so hasty.”

Not having received an immediate reply, young Judson pressed his case with verbal visits. Yet he was honest enough to tell Ann how difficult being the first American woman in foreign mission fields would be.

She knew she loved Adoniram, but she prayed earnestly to find God’s will for her life. Then she was subjected to many pressures from family and friends to stay at home. ” It’s out of the question… Absurd… Judson should have his head examined,” she was told.

Even Ann’s father said, ” I would tie my daughter to a bedpost before I would let her go to Burma.” But finally he gave in and gave the young couple his blessing. Their love for God and for each other triumphed. On February 5, 1812, they were married, and two weeks later, with Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Newell, they sailed from Salem, Massachusetts, in the Caravan, for Calcutta, India.

In addition to these pioneer missionaries – experiencing extremely primitive living conditions and severe diseases, local governmental forces frequently opposed them.

The Judson’s worked, prayed, and studied languages for nearly seven years before Adoniram preached the first sermon in Rangoon. About three months later the first convert, Maung Nau, was baptized. Soon two more people were won to the Lord, and finally the church was built to a membership of ten – nine men and one woman.

A tropical fever affected Ann’s health to a point where she was forced to return to America. She remained in her homeland for about two years, speaking in churches often about missions, and longing for the day when she could return to her husband. By the time she did return, in 1823, the church in Rangoon had grown to eighteen members.

Soon the Judson’s left this church in charge of another missionary and went with Dr. Price to Ava, and the capital of Burma, to start another mission.
By that time a new viceroy had acquired power in Burma. He was extremely unfriendly toward Americans, especially as they reminded him so much of Englishmen, who were then at war with Burma. Any white person was closely watched by government officials.

One day twelve uninvited guests barged into the Judson’s dining room at Ava. A man with a spotted face was one of the intruders. His face was hideously spot-painted. He was frequently called ” son of prison,” and was commonly known to be the ruler’s executioner.
” You are called by the king!” shouted the commanding officer, who held the black book of doom in his hand.

The Judson’s quickly assured them that they were not English spies, that they were not interested in war or politics, only religion.
” You are called by the king. Bind them both,” commanded the officer.
Adoniram pleaded for his wife to be spared, so finally they bound him only, with ropes, and dragged him from the house, despite Anne’s offer of silver for his freedom.

The missionary was taken to a dungeon that served as a prison. There he was bound with heavy chains, and his hands were fastened to a bamboo pole that could be suspended. Other prisoners were also shackled to poles. Often the vicious prison guard would suspend the bamboo poles until the prisoners’ toes would barely touch the ground. They would be forced to remain in this strained position for hours. They were fed only enough to keep them alive.

Immediately Ann went to see the governor. She pleaded for Adoniram’s release, but he sent her to see another official. That crafty man demanded money and cloth before he would even permit Ann to see her husband.

The first visit was heart-rending. He was shackled so heavily he could only crawl, and there seemed to be little hope for his release. They had talked for only a few moments when the guard forced her to leave.

Ann did everything within her power to secure her husband’s release, but it seemed impossible. Occasionally she was permitted to visit him and bring food. Once she brought him an old rag pillow, which the guard let her pass. Within that pillow were the sheets from a manuscript, material for translating the Bible into Burmese. Judson had been working on that project just before his imprisonment. Now he could continue translating.

For months the missionary was in one prison or another. War between England and Burma became fiercer, and apparently England would win. But shortly before the war ended, Adoniram Judson was released to become an interpreter for the Burmese government. Six weeks later he was permitted to go home.

When he left prison he was not permitted to take anything with him, not even the ragged pillow. What would become of the priceless Bible translation? The pillow, considered worthless, was tossed onto a junk pile, where a convert found it and returned it to Judson.
So in December, 1825, husband and wife were together again with their little Maria whose health was poor.

They returned to America so that Adoniram could recuperate from his imprisonment. Once his health had been restored, Adoniram was eager to start another mission. He left America with the intention of bringing his wife and daughter in a few months time to join him, once he had settled and organized a place for them to live. However, not long after he had left, he received a letter from home, edged in black. He knew it was a death message, and when he opened the letter he fully expected to read about Maria’s death. Imagine his dismay and shock when he discovered Ann had died. Heartbroken he rushed home to be with Maria. Ann had lived only thirty-six years, but those years were filled with faithful service to, and devotion for, her God and her husband.

Less than a year later little Maria went to her rest, and Adoniram Judson was apart from the people he loved most. But still he loved God and needy souls. And resolutely he continued serving them.

When Ann decided to marry Adoniram, many people were encouraging her to ” count the cost.” Marrying Adoniram meant joining him in his missionary work in foreign and dangerous lands. Ann, however, was not deterred. She decided to follow the leading of the Lord in her life, leave the comforts of home, and travel with her husband to bring the message of salvation to souls living in darkness. Ann had counted the cost. I am sure she had no regrets at the end of her life for the decision she had made; the decision to follow the Lord and marry Adoniram Judson and join him in his missionary work.

May God help each one of you to seek the Lord, asking Him the direction you should take in your life. Count the cost of the direction you have already chosen and ask yourself if this direction will lead you closer to God or further away? Is your course in life according to God’s will? ” For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” Luke 14:28 ” For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36