“Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that Christianity is of divine origin?” John translated Captain Waldegrave’s words into Tahitian.
Once the Polynesian Christians understood what was being asked, they looked at each other with puzzlement on their faces. John knew that the captain might think it was because the question was too difficult for them, but in fact, he knew that it was a question they had never asked themselves before. No Polynesian he had ever spoken to doubted that the Bible was the Word of God.
After a long pause, one of the men replied, “We most certainly do. We look at the power that has caused the overthrow of idolatry among us, and we believe that no human could make us abandon our idols, our gods.”
There was a round of head nodding, and then another person spoke up. “I believe the Scriptures to be of divine origin on account of the system of salvation they reveal. We had a religion before, transmitted to us by our ancestors, whom we considered the wisest of men; but how dark and black that system was, compared with the bright scheme of salvation presented in the Bible. Here we learn that we are sinners; that God gave His own Son Jesus Christ to die for us; and that through believing, the salvation He earned became ours. Now, what but the wisdom of God could have devised such a system as this?”
Then an old man who had once been a priest of the god Oro and was now a devout Christian stood. He looked at the captain and the chaplain and then held his hands up high and moved the joints of his wrists and fingers. Then without saying a word he opened and shut his mouth several times. Then he stood on one wobbly leg and raised the other as high as he could and moved it around. Then he spoke. “See, I have hinges all over me; if the thought grows in my heart that I want to carry anything, the hinges in my hands enable me to do so; if I want to utter anything, the hinges of my jaws enable me to say it; and if I desire to go anywhere, there are hinges to my legs to enable me to walk. Now, I perceive great wisdom in the adaptation of my body to the various wants of my mind; and when I look into the Bible and see there proofs of wisdom, which correspond exactly with those that appear in my frame, I conclude that the Maker of my body is the Author of that book.”
“Well answered,” Captain Waldegrave said as the old man sat back down on the woven mat. “Now I have another question for you. What are the prophets in the Bible?”
Several people jumped up to answer this question. The first person to his feet replied, “They are persons inspired by God to foretell events ages before they occurred.”
“Can you name any of them?” the captain asked.
“Yes,” came the reply. “There is Samuel, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Jonah, and many others.”
“You have mentioned Isaiah. Can you tell me any of his prophecies?” the captain continued.
“Of course. He was the prophet who wrote so much about our Lord and Savior and who said that He should be numbered with the transgressors, and we know that Christ was crucified between two thieves. There was the prophecy and its fulfillment.”
The questioning continued, and the Polynesians answered questions on Moses, Jesus, and Christian doctrine. They never faltered in their answers. Finally Captain Waldegrave handed a Tahitian New Testament to one person and asked him to open it at random and read a verse aloud. Then he asked the person a question about the meaning of the verse. Around the veranda the New Testament was passed until every person, even the shyest ones, had read a verse and answered questions on it.
When the two men were finally finished with their questioning, John looked at his watch. Three hours had passed!
As the captain left, he shook John’s hand heartily. “Much of the sincerity and piety of the church members in this island has been doubted, but from all that I have observed, I am led to the fervent prayer that I myself might be at last equally worthy with many of these to take my place in heaven.”
“Quite right!” the Reverend Watson agreed. “What we have seen here is truly remarkable. You can be sure we will not be silent about it when we return to England.”
On May 24, 1830, ten days after the Seringapatam had left, John and Charles Barff, along with several Raiatean teachers, set out on the Messenger of Peace. Their first port of call was Moorea, to drop off Mary and Samuel. In the hope that her health would improve, Mary had decided to stay with friends in Moorea while John was gone. As well, John Jr. was still on the island, attending the Royal South Seas Academy, as the school on Moorea was now called.
From Moorea John and the others headed westward to Mangaia, where John had sent two single Polynesian missionaries to work several years before. As John and Charles came ashore on Mangaia, about five hundred of the local people were waiting to greet them. “We welcome you as God’s men!” they shouted from the beach. “Do you carry the Word of God on chips for us?”
Nothing could have pleased John more than to hear these words from the people. It represented a remarkable change from the previous time he had come to the island. Then the locals had tried to kill the missionary men and assault their wives when they came ashore. John and Charles and the Raiatean teachers stayed safely on the island for a week. During that time they were able to explain to the Christians some of the finer points of the gospel. Given the people’s limited understanding of some areas of doctrine, John was not surprised to learn that the first wave of Christian conversions on the island had led to conflict. The Mangaians who continued to practice idol worship had become very angry with those who had given it up, and fighting had broken out. The Christians had won the fight, but not with very Christian conduct! Even though the idol worshipers had begged for mercy, the Christians had hacked them to pieces. By the time John arrived, the fighting had ceased, but the hatred between the two groups ran deep.
To help bridge this gap, John and several of the Raiatean Christians took the step of visiting the idol worshipers and listening to their grievances. By doing this, they were able to convince both sides to make a fresh start, and by the end of their stay on the island, several more converts had joined the church.
From Mangaia it was two days’ sailing to Atiu, where a large group had gathered to celebrate the marriage of their chief Roma-Tane to the daughter of a chief from the nearby island of Mauke. The crew of the Messenger of Peace joined in the great feast and made many friends among the visitors from Mauke.
That night John and Charles stayed on the island instead of returning to the ship, though they had to take turns sleeping. Throughout the night islanders came to visit them, asking questions about Christianity and begging the missionaries to teach them more hymns.
On the second day at Atiu, the wives of the two Polynesian missionaries serving there pulled John aside. “We are in much distress,” they said. “Our husbands have to work very hard fishing all week, and especially on Saturdays so that we can have fish to eat on Sunday. So we are left alone in the village many times. We write on our slates everything that we can remember from the preaching our husbands do, but it not enough to satisfy our neighbors. They come to us every day asking us for God’s words, and we have run out of words to tell them!”
“I understand,” John replied. “The people here are very eager to learn, aren’t they?”
“Yes, but it is easy for you to teach them,” one of the women said. “You are like a spring from which knowledge is continually bubbling up. You have nothing to do but open your mouth and out it flows.”
John had never thought of himself as a bubbling spring before, but he could see the women’s point. They were being asked to assume the role of Christian teachers with no materials to help them. “I will write out some Bible studies for you before I leave,” he promised. “And when I get back to Raiatea, I will print some Christian teaching pamphlets and see that they are brought back for you to use.”
From Atiu the group traveled on to Mauke and Mitiaro. John was impressed with the work of the two Polynesian missionaries on these islands. For twelve years Laavi on Mauke and Taua on Mitiaro had worked to teach the gospel and establish a church and school. On both islands John found the people living simple, joyful Christian lives.
From Mitiaro the Messenger of Peace set sail for Rarotonga. John had told Charles many exciting stories about his stay on Rarotonga, and both men waited expectantly for the island to appear on the horizon. When two and a half days later the Messenger of Peace squeezed through the narrow opening in the reef and dropped anchor in the small harbor at Avarua on Rarotonga, John was surprised that there was no welcome for them. A few children were waiting at the water’s edge with Aaron Buzacott, his face long and drawn from worry. John wondered what possibly could have gone wrong. Where were the adults, and why weren’t they there to meet him?
Chapter 11
A Change in Plans
Aaron warmly greeted John as he stepped ashore, but he had tears in his eyes.
“What is it?” John asked.
“An epidemic,” Aaron replied. “Several months ago a whaling ship stopped in at the island, and soon afterward people began getting sick and dying. The disease has ravaged the island.”
The condition of the Rarotongans saddened John. Some of the people looked like walking skeletons. John talked to the people and prayed with them. And all too often when he inquired about a person who had been a friend on his previous stay, the answer was the same: “He is dead.”
Sarah Buzacott was finding the situation hard to bear and broke down in tears when John arrived. John tried to comfort her and her husband as best he could. They had seen too many good people die, and the emotional toll of these deaths weighed heavy on them.
While John traveled on to the other side of the island to visit the Pitmans, Charles Barff returned to the Messenger of Peace to fetch some medicine. Back on the island he distributed it to those who were ailing. There was not enough of the medicine for everyone who was sick, but he hoped and prayed that the concoction would help those who did receive it.
With heavy hearts, John and Charles set sail again. Leaving the troubles of Rarotonga behind, they hoped for better news in Aitutaki.
John was relieved to find that the epidemic had not reached Aitutaki. Everyone there was healthy and excited at the arrival of the Messenger of Peace. A special meeting of the church was called to welcome John and the other missionaries, and after several hymns had been sung, one of the deacons stood up and made an announcement. “We still remember your words to us many years ago, and we have something to give you.” With that he held out a small woven bag. “You told us to set aside a pig to sell and raise money for the work of God. Each year the families of the church have clipped the ear of one of their pigs and set it aside. And each year the money raised for the work of God grows. Not long ago a ship called here, and we asked the captain to buy our pigs. He consented. This is the money our pigs bought.” With that the deacon walked proudly over to John and handed him the bag.
John thanked him and looked inside.
“Count it,” the deacon said. “We are happy to dedicate it to Christ.”
John stood up and pulled out an assortment of bills. His astonishment grew as he reached 50, then 100, and finally 103 pounds! As he finished counting the money, the entire group, numbering about two thousand, burst into clapping and singing.
It was a wonderful moment for John, who wished that members of the LMS board could have been there to see it. Perhaps then they would understand his passion for ships to aid in spreading the gospel to the other islands of the Pacific.
The next day the Aitutakians were eager to show off their Bible knowledge. Over four hundred children presented themselves to John and Charles for an exam on what they knew. John was amazed at how much they had learned, especially since the only parts of the Bible that they had access to were the Book of Acts and several of the apostle Paul’s letters. Even these were not complete, as the Christians had torn the binding off them so that they could share the single pages with one another. Most of what they learned had been recited to them by their Raiatean teachers. But as impressive as their knowledge was, it highlighted the desperate need to print more of the Bible in the various Polynesian dialects.
