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James Chalmers was born in Scotland, the land which gave the world such romantic names
as Robert Moffat, David Livingstone, John G. Paton, Sir Walter Scott and
Robert Louis Stevenson. His father was a stone mason. It was while he and his
wife were living at Ardrishaig, a fishing village on Loch Fyne, twenty-three
miles south of Inverary, that James Chalmers was born, August 4,
1841 It was in this
neighborhood that Chalmers spent the early years of his life. "My first
school," he states, "was on the south side of the canal, and I can
well remember my mother leading me to the master and giving him strict
instructions not to spare the rod."
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James lived near one of the great lochs of Scotland and he came to love the sea with a passionate love.
He was supremely happy when in a boat, or floating on a log or plank, or
paddling a raft. In such escapades he had many narrow escapes. He says:
"Three times I was carried home supposed to be dead by drowning, and my
father used to say, 'You will never die by drowning.'" The remark proved
to be prophetic but in a very different sense from anything he then imagined.
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James was a great favourite with the Loch Fyne fishermen and he spent
much time with them. Being very eager to go out fishing by himself and not
having a boat, he improvised one out of a herring box and sallied forth. He
was speedily carried out to sea by the strong current and was rescued only
with difficulty. He loved danger and did not hesitate on several occasions to
plunge into the water, at the risk of his life, in order to rescue a playmate
from drowning. These experiences were a foreshadowing of many an adventure in
his later life, when he steered a boatful of New Guinea natives through the raging surf or when he
navigated the little mission schooner through the tempestuous storms that
swept over the great Gulf
of Papua.
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In November, 1859, two preachers came from the North of Ireland to
Inverary to hold a series of evangelistic meetings. Chalmers, now eighteen
years of age, was the leader of a group of wild, reckless fellows who
determined to break up the meetings. Although it was raining hard, he found a
large company of people gathered on the first night. He was much impressed by
the enthusiasm and joyfulness with which the people sang. The evangelist who
preached that night took as his text, Revelation 22:17 -- "And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." The words glowed
with fire and burned deep into James' soul. He went home that night
overwhelmed with a conviction of sin and a vision of the loveliness of Christ.
A few days later, Mr. Meikle, pastor of the United Presbyterian Church, came
to the assistance of the groping boy. As he told of the wonders of divine
love and explained the meaning of the words, "The blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanseth us from all sin," young Chalmers came to the Fountain
of Life. He says: "I felt that this salvation was for me. I felt that
God was speaking to me in His Word and I believed unto salvation."
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"Come!" said the
sweet accents of the Great Invitation.
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"I was thirsty and I came," said James Chalmers.
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From:
Giants of the Missionary Trail
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James
Chalmers
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1841 -
1901
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The
Greatheart of New
Guinea
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by Eugene
Myers Harrison
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James Chalmers (1841-1901) was a Scottish missionary-explorer who
served in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands for ten years, and in New Guinea from 1877 until his brutal murder by cannibal
tribesmen on April 4, 1901, during a missionary trip to Goaribari Island.
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From: http://www.wholesomewords.org/
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