Ten Shekels and a Shirt - Part 6 — Paris Reidhead

The Moravian Mission to the West Indies

Two young Moravians heard of an island in the West Indies where an atheist British owner had 2 ,000 to 3 ,000 slaves, and the owner had said, no preacher, no clergyman will ever stay on this island. If he's shipwrecked, we'll keep him in a separate house until he has to leave, but he's never going to talk to any of us about God.

Slaves Without the Gospel

I'm through with all that nonsense. Three thousand slaves from the jungles of Africa bought to an island in the Atlantic, and there to live and die without hearing of Christ. Two young Moravians heard about it.

Selling Themselves for the Sake of the Gospel

They sold themselves to the British planter and used the money they received from the sale, for he paid no more than he would for any slave, to pay their passage out to his island, for he wouldn't even transport them.

Lifetime Slavery as Christian Witness

And as the ship left the river at Hamburg, left its pier in the river at Hamburg and was going out into the North Sea, carried with the tide, the Moravians had come from Hornhoek to see these two lads off in the early twenties, never to return again, for this wasn't a four-year term.

They'd sold themselves into lifetime slavery, simply that, as slaves, they could be as Christians where these others were. The families were there weeping, for they knew they'd never see them again. They wondered why they were going and questioned the wisdom of it, and as the gap widened and the houses had been cast off and were being curled up there on the pier, and the young boys saw the widening gap, one lad with his arm linked to the arm of his fellow raised his hand and shouted across the gap the last words that were heard from them.

The Lamb Receiving the Reward of His Suffering

They were these, May the lamb that was slain receive the reward of his suffering. This became the quarrel of Moravian mission, and this is the only reason for being, that the lamb that was slain may receive the reward of his suffering.