Adoniram Judson was born in Massachusetts in 1788. He and his wife Ann arrived in Rangoon, Burma in July 1812. As the first English-speaking missionaries in Burma, their ministry was marked by death, disease, and suffering.

After 5 years Judson had learned the language, translated the gospel of Matthew, and written a few gospel tracts. He had also buried two infant children and faced excruciating and unexplainable headaches.

After 7 years Judson saw his first Burmese convert and by his tenth year he had led 18 people to Christ. Two years later, in 1824, the situation went from bad to worse. War broke out in the region and he was arrested under suspicion that he was a spy. He spent 21 months in prison nearly dying several times because the conditions were so awful.

Meanwhile his wife Ann suffered just as much. She gave birth to a daughter shortly after he was arrested. The two girls suffered disease and malnutrition before both died shortly after Adoniram was released from prison.

Despite their suffering, God used this couple to bring good news to Burma. Their work resulted in the first Burmese Bible and led to hundreds of thousands of new believers.

The death, disease, and suffering that marked their lives were no surprise to God. In fact, He used all of it to bring salvation to hopelessly-lost people in a remote part of the world.

The truth remains today: God often uses our suffering to bring salvation to others. So remember to look for opportunities to share Christ in the midst of your pain, disease, death, or suffering. For your bad news might be a catalyst for God’s good news in another person’s life.

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To read much more about Adoniram’s life order a copy of his biography, To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson by Courtney Anderson.