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Verse:A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. —Proverbs 31:10–12, NIV
We are deeply touched by the example of commitment and sacrifice of brave missionaries such as William Carey, who went to India in 1793; Robert Moffat, who was sent to South Africa in 1816; and David Livingstone, who sailed to Africa in 1841.
But what about their wives and children? Many missionary wives paid a very high price —perhaps even higher than their missionary husbands— to serve the Lord in faraway mission fields. Living in pagan cultures and coping with long periods of loneliness, some wives suffered from serious emotional breakdowns.
Mary Moffat (1821–1862), daughter of the renowned Scottish missionary Robert Moffat, was born in Griquatown, South Africa, while her parents were serving there as missionaries. On January 2, 1845, Mary married another missionary named David Livingstone. Later, she was torn between joining her husband on his mission trips through the African continent and taking care of their children’s education for several years in Britain. While with her husband in the camp of Shupanga, Zambezi, Mary fell ill and died on April 27, 1862. The inscription on her gravestone there reads: “Here repose the mortal remains of Mary Moffat, the beloved wife of Doctor Livingstone, in humble hope of a joyful resurrection by our saviour Jesus Christ.” Mary sacrificed her life for the African mission field as much as her husband. Ellen White says, “The mother’s work often seems to her an unimportant service. It is a work that is rarely appreciated. Others know little of her many cares and burdens. Her days are occupied with a round of little duties, all calling for patient effort, for self-control, for tact, wisdom, and self-sacrificing love; yet she cannot boast of what she has done as any great achievement... She feels that she has accomplished nothing... Her name may not have been heard in the world, but it is written in the Lamb’s book of life”.
We should all value and support the women who have worked and who are still working behind the scenes to support their missionary husbands!