In the days when war was fought by line upon line of men marching to the drummer boy's beat, the ranks would be thinned by shellfire or musketry from the enemy. The sergeants would hustle men up into the gap in the line with the call "Close up the ranks."
If you were to search the internet for Pastor David Day, you may not find much. It is a rather common name for an uncommon man. That is just indicative of the vast number of basically unknown men and women who served overseas to reach out. Even though Day labored in Liberia from 1874-1897, he is for all intents and purposes unknown "on earth."
Morris Officer was the founder of the Lutheran Church in Liberia. His wife was too fragile to accompany him to Africa, where he suffered the normal bouts with malaria. The General Synod of Lutherans had doubts they had the "authority or means" to establish an African mission. This is a sad commentary on their grasp of Scripture and His powerful Gospel. To begin the work, Officer turned to an organization that was founded to work among Africans. Once the mission was established the General Synod took over, although the support of hundreds of thousands of dollars was raised through Officer's tireless efforts.
The mission began through the capture of slave ships off the coast. The young boys off the ships from Congo became the beginning of the orphanage work which enlarged to a national church.
Posted onto a page in Officer's journal is a poem that reminds us to take up our cross and follow Him.
Let me not die before I've done for Thee
My earthly work whatever it may be;
Call, me not hence with mission unfulfilled
Let me not leave my space of ground untilled.
Yet most I want a spirit of content
To work where'er thou'lt wish my labors spent
Whether at home, or in a stranger clime
In days of joy, or sorrow's sterner time. |
