After three months in Calcutta, Ann had recovered enough to return to Rangoon. Regrettably, the voyage back was not nearly as pleasant as the trip to Calcutta had been. The ship was infested with scorpions, and it ran into the worst lightning storms Adoniram had ever experienced. It was six grueling weeks before the ship was piloted up the Rangoon River. Adoniram and Ann stood on deck and held hands as the golden spires of the Shwe Dagon pagoda once again loomed above them. For better or worse, they were home.
All of the Judson’s Burmese converts were there to meet them, including Maung Shway-gnong. After the couple had cleared customs, everyone went back to the mission house, where Adoniram and Ann caught up on all the news. The most important piece was that Mya-day-men, the old viceroy of Rangoon, was back, and holding the same position. It was wonderful news, especially for Ann, who had been a good friend of the vicereine. Adoniram and Ann thanked God that once again they had a sympathetic ear in government circles. Indeed, this favor had already proved helpful. News of Maung Shway-gnong’s conversion had been brought to the viceroy’s attention by informants who had hoped the traitor would be put to death as a warning to others who might want to convert to Christianity. Instead of reacting, the viceroy had just shrugged and told the informants he was not interested in hearing any more about the matter. As a result, Maung Shway-gnong was alive and well and more enthusiastic than ever about the new faith he had embraced.
Some news, though, was not so good. King Bagyidaw had decided to declare war on neighboring Siam. Over thirty thousand troops had marched through Rangoon on their way to the border. No one could predict when or how the war would end. Everyone would just have to wait patiently to see what the final outcome would be.
Despite a border war, there was more to do than ever for Adoniram and Ann. With ten church members, there were Bible studies to hold, reading and writing classes to conduct for women and girls, and the ongoing task of translating the Bible into the Burmese language.
Not long after his return from Calcutta, Adoniram received more encouragement. It came in the form of Maung Yah, the first Burmese man he had ever heard speak about the existence of an eternal God. Soon after Maung Yah had visited the mission house, he had been transferred to a government post hundreds of miles away. Now he was back in Rangoon, and he wasted no time in visiting Adoniram. He explained that he had read all the printed material Adoniram had given him until he knew it by heart—and believed it. Now he too wanted to become a part of the church.
Adoniram was overjoyed. The seeds of the gospel he had planted in the hearts of Burmese people were beginning to sprout. It was more important than ever that he carry on with the Bible translation work. In July 1821, he completed translating the four Gospels and the letters from John. He moved on to the Book of Acts, but sickness held him up time after time. First it was a bout of cholera, then a series of other tropical diseases. And Ann, too, was very sick again. So sick, in fact, that Adoniram feared for her life. It was clear she needed to get back to the United States for proper medical help. Adoniram’s younger brother Elnathan was now a surgeon in Boston, and Adoniram wanted Ann to go there so that he could treat her.
Ann agreed this time, and arrangements were made. She caught the first ship out of Rangoon bound for Calcutta, where she transferred to another ship for the voyage to Boston. It broke Adoniram’s heart to see his wife leave. In a letter he described the feeling as being as painful and crippling as having his right arm amputated. He would not see Ann for at least two years, if she was well enough to come back at all.
Adoniram toiled on alone until December 1821, when another missionary family—Jonathan and Hope Price—sent out by the American Baptist mission joined him in Rangoon. Jonathan Price was a doctor, and Adoniram welcomed him with open arms. Dr. Price was a tall, skinny man with a shock of white-blond hair. The Burmese flocked around the mission house for a glimpse of him. Dr. Price was not one bit shy, and he laughed as the local people poked him and tugged at his hair to see whether it was a wig. Within weeks, he was a popular figure in Rangoon, trying to talk Burmese as he tended to the medical needs of people. He was especially fond of cutting out cataracts, the milky white growth that sometimes covers the eyes of older people. No one else in all Burma knew how to remove cataracts, and soon people were coming hundreds of miles to have their eyes operated on by Dr. Price.
Although Jonathan Price flourished in Rangoon, his wife did not. Despite all her husband’s best medical treatment, Hope Price died of dysentery six weeks after arriving in Burma. A second grave was dug under the mango tree in the mission house yard beside the grave of little Roger Judson.
About the same time, the Houghs returned to Rangoon with the printing press. They had met Ann in Calcutta on her way to the United States and as a result had decided to move back to Rangoon to support Adoniram, who was delighted to see them.
Six months later, Dr. Price received a summons to appear before King Bagyidaw in Ava. Adoniram hated to leave Rangoon, but he could see no other option but to go along with him. Jonathan Price did not know enough Burmese to appear alone before the king. One slip of his tongue and his head could be ordered cut off.
In early October the two missionaries finally made it to Ava and found themselves bowing before King Bagyidaw. All went well. The king wanted to know all about Jonathan Price’s cataract operations. Adoniram served as interpreter. When the king had finally exhausted all his questions, he ordered, “Stay in Ava. I might require your services.”
Adoniram’s heart sank. There was no way they could return to Rangoon against a direct order from the king. Who knew how long they might be in Ava? The only thing Adoniram could be thankful for was that the Houghs were in Rangoon looking after the band of new Christians.
Adoniram tried to make the most of his extended visit to Ava. He found it a little unnerving being right under King Bagyidaw’s nose, but he spoke privately with many Burmese people, including the king’s brother, Prince Mong, about Christianity. The prince had somehow survived the slaughter that occurred when his brother ascended to the throne. To Adoniram’s surprise, some members of the royal family encouraged him in his missionary work. Princess Sarawady, the king’s youngest sister, even hinted that King Bagyidaw was considering giving him land on which to build a kyoung, the Burmese word for a holy house.
All of this was cause for excitement. Ava was an important city with 700,000 people living in and around it. If the king finally recognized him as a holy man, Adoniram would have free access to preach and teach in Ava and anywhere else in the country.
In the meantime, Dr. Price was furthering his reputation as an excellent surgeon. Cataract surgery could be risky, however, and on one particular occasion, his knife slipped during an operation, causing his female patient to become blind. Dr. Price felt so sorry for her that he married her on the spot so that he could take care of her.
Adoniram was horrified. His missionary partner had just married a Buddhist woman without so much as discussing the matter with him. To make things worse, Adoniram had just learned that James Colman, who had left Rangoon to work among the Burmese living in Chittagong, had died of disease. And if that weren’t enough, he hadn’t heard anything from Ann in over eight months.
Adoniram longed to get back to the little church in Rangoon, but he could not leave Ava without royal permission. He just hoped that permission wasn’t too long in coming.
Chapter 15
Called by the King
It was January 25, 1823, before Adoniram was issued a permit to return to Rangoon, where he had also been given permission to build a kyoung. He started making plans. He would return to Rangoon and check up on the state of the new church and build the kyoung while he waited for Ann to return from the United States. The two of them would then move to Ava. By now, Adoniram had made many friends in Ava and had a good grasp on the inner workings of the government. Both of these things convinced him that one day he would have the opportunity to openly preach the gospel in the royal city. Jonathan Price would stay on in Ava while Adoniram was away.
When he finally got back to Rangoon, Adoniram found some things to be encouraged about and other things that were disheartening. Mah Men-lay, the first woman convert, had died. Many of the homes of other converts had been burned down, or the people had been driven out of their neighborhoods in retaliation for becoming Christians. Adoniram did what he could to help these new believers. He also continued his translation work and made plans to build the kyoung. All the while he waited for news of Ann.
Finally, much to his relief, Adoniram received word that Ann was sailing back to Rangoon and he could expect her to arrive sometime in December. Accompanying her on the voyage were two new missionaries, Jonathan and Deborah Wade. Adoniram could hardly wait. He had missed his wife so much, and he looked forward to having her at his side again. He was also delighted that the Wades were coming. The timing was perfect. Since he had decided to move to Ava with Ann, the Wades would be able to work alongside the Houghs in Rangoon.
Sure enough, right on schedule, Ann and the Wades arrived safely in Rangoon. After giving Jonathan and Deborah Wade several days of orientation to the work of the mission and life in Burma, Adoniram and Ann set out for Ava.
The trip upriver against the current was particularly slow, but that did not matter to Adoniram and Ann. They had so much to catch up on. Ann had news from his family. Adoniram’s father had resigned his position as a Congregational Church pastor and had become a Baptist. His younger brother Elnathan was a prominent government surgeon and he had insisted that Ann return to Burma with the small table and rocking chair he had bought for her.
Ann also showed her husband a copy of a book called An Account of the American Baptist Mission to the Burman Empire. Ann had written it herself, and the book had been published in the United States. Adoniram was greatly impressed; his wife had done a masterful job with the writing. Ann also had a letter for Adoniram from Brown University, where he had gone to college. The letter stated that Adoniram had been given an honorary Doctorate of Divinity, which meant that he could use the title of doctor and call himself Doctor Judson.
Six weeks after setting out, their boat finally arrived on the outskirts of Ava. Adoniram spotted Jonathan Price paddling a small boat towards them. When he got nearer, Jonathan explained that the conflict between the Burmese and the British was getting worse every day. Things had reached the point where any foreigner in Ava, whether British or American, was looked on with suspicion. Undeterred, Adoniram decided to stay. As far as he was concerned, it was too late to turn back now. Besides, what happened in Ava would most likely happen in other places in the kingdom, including Rangoon.
The Judsons moved into a small hut while Adoniram set about building a more permanent mission house next door. The house was made of brick to try to keep out some of the stifling heat of Ava. It had three rooms and a large veranda that ran the length of the house.
Adoniram went to visit his old friends at the royal court, but he soon found out that many of them had left and those who were still there did not want to see him. It would have been a very lonely time for him if Ann had not been with him. Ann kept herself busy taking care of three small girls whose mother had gone insane and abandoned them.
Several European visitors living in Ava kept Adoniram informed on what was happening in the city. One of these visitors was Henry Gouger, whose company Adoniram enjoyed very much. Although Henry Gouger was only in his mid-twenties, he had a knack for making money. He had brought a shipload of goods from Europe and sold them at a huge profit in Burma. This had made him a very rich man. He soon found out, however, that Burmese law forbade any gold or jewels from leaving the country, and since they were the currency used to pay for things in Burma, Henry had no way of getting his new fortune home. Still, Henry Gouger was an optimistic man who believed that sooner or later he would find a way to get his money out of the country.
