Goodbye, Homeland; Hello, Destiny
As the Kron Princess Maria sailed out into the English Channel, William and Dolly turned to look at their homeland fading from view. Each would have been shocked to know that it was the last time they would ever see England.
Carey’s journal entry that night was full of praise: “Thursday, June 13, 1793, on board the Kron Princess Maria. This has been a day of gladness to my soul. I was returned that I might take all of my family with me and enjoy all the blessings which I had surrendered to God.”
As male British citizens, Carey and Thomas could not even set foot on India’s soil without permission from the British East India Company.
An Act of Parliament declared any subject of the king going to or from the East Indies without a licence was “guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour, and liable to fine and imprisonment.”
To bypass the law, Captain Christmas contacted a pilot boat to take the families off the ship and up the Hooghly River to a shore with no authorities. On November 7, 1793, William Carey and John Thomas stepped onto the soil of Bengal, India.
As soon as his family and their belongings were ashore, Thomas began to preach a Christian message in Bengali to the people at the marketplace. For three hours, they listened, and Carey rejoiced. The missionary work in India had finally begun.
A Stranger in a Strange Land
Within weeks, trouble loomed. Dr. Thomas had grossly underestimated the amount of money needed. Because of many debtors, he prioritised setting up a medical practice. Without consulting Carey, he used mission funds for this purpose.
Carey heard of land his family could move onto rent-free but needed start-up funds. In disbelief, he was told the mission money was gone. That night, he wrote: “I am in a strange land, alone, no Christian friend, a large family, and nothing to supply their wants. I blame Mr. T. for leading me into such expense and I blame myself for being so led.”
Guilty, Thomas borrowed more money and gave it to Carey. After two moves through alligator-infested rivers, they settled in the Sundarbans, a region plagued by tigers and swamps.
Carey’s diary read: “My wife and my sister, too, who do not see the importance of the mission as I do, are continually exclaiming against me…. If my family were but hearty in the work, I should find a great burden removed.”
Carey planted crops, worked with the natives, and provided for his family. His skin condition never returned; he had been miraculously healed. He began studying Bengali, convinced his first task was to translate the New Testament. Within months, his labour was rewarded with a remarkable offer.
To be continued…
Tale Tuesday 129
Date: 13th May, 2025
Title: : WILLIAM CAREY (Part 9)
Source: God’s generals- The Missionaries
Author: Roberts Liardon
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