David+Livingstone


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 * [[image:christianheritage/Livingstone Pic.jpg width="298" height="202" align="left"]] || **1813-1873**

On March 19, 1813, David Livingstone was born in Blantyre, Scotland, to Neil and Agnes Livingstone. As the second oldest son, Livingstone worked in a cotton mill during the day and received only two hours of education in the evenings. He and his brother became literate due to the efforts of their father to teach them how to read and write. The patriarch of the family was known for his faithfulness as a Sunday School teacher and as a witness who passed out tracts as a door-to-door tea salesman.

Livingstone continued to higher education after reading "Appeal to the Churches of Britain and America on Behalf of China," by Karl Gutzlaff, which influenced Livingstone to become a medical missionary. After saving money, the future missionary would receive degrees in medicine and theology from Anderson's College and from the University of Glasgow.

Although he hoped to reach the mission field in China, Livingstone's missionary journey was prevented by the outbreak of the Opium Wars. Robert Moffat, a missionary to southern Africa, communicated to Livingstone the need of more missionaries in Africa who could help end the slave trade and who could preach the gospel where "the smoke of a thousand village" existed without the knowledge of Christ.

In 1840, Livingstone relocated to Africa, near the Kalahari Desert, where he would marry Moffat's daughter, Mary. The newlyweds would follow the Zambezi River into the interior of Africa, where the Lord was calling them. They would work together to medically treat the natives and to offer spiritual healing as they presented the gospel.

Dr. Livingstone would become a hero to many of the people in Great Britain and would even be commissioned by the British government to explore the interior of Africa. After six years of no communication, a young reporter named Henry Stanley began a search for the missionary. The dedicated reporter explored much of the area and is well known for the statement, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" after finally locating the doctor.

After thirty years of service in Africa, David Livingstone died on May 1, 1873. He was preceded in death by his wife and a child. Although his body is buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England, his heart was buried in Africa, where most people believed it belonged. Livingstone lived by one of his most famous quotes, " I will go anywhere, provided it is forward." || [] [] [] []
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