2019 marks 225th anniversary of missionary’s birth
By Joanne Sloan
Allen Francis Gardiner (1794–1851) was a faithful missionary who endured numerous difficulties and failures.
This year is the 225th anniversary of his birth.
A mother’s prayers
From 1810 to 1826, Gardiner served in the Royal Navy. While in Malaysia in 1820 he received a letter about his mother’s death. After reading about her prayers for him he accepted Christ.
Gardiner married Julia Reade in 1823. They had five children. Julia died May 23, 1834.
He volunteered to serve in South America with a missions organization. He was not ordained, however, and was rejected.
He then went to Tahiti, but the island was not receptive to the gospel. He then set out to evangelize the Zulus in South Africa. He was unsuccessful there as well.
When he returned to England he married Elizabeth Marsh, who became a faithful partner and mother to his children.
He journeyed again to South Africa to evangelize the Zulus. His oldest daughter ended up dying and was buried there. He also unsuccessfully tried to witness to the Mapuches in Rio de Janeiro and New Guinea.
His next missionary effort was in Patagonia. Since he couldn’t persuade any missions societies in England to help him he started his own — the Patagonian Missionary Society. He and another missionary went to Patagonia in 1844. The natives were hostile. Fortunately, a passing British ship rescued them.
Back in England, Gardiner raised enough money to buy two sailboats to go to Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago off the tip of South America.
On Dec. 17, 1850, Gardiner and his companions landed at Tierra del Fuego to evangelize the Yagan Indians. It wasn’t long before scurvy broke out among them.
‘God is here’
Gardiner recorded in his journal: “Poor and weak as we are … we feel and know that God is here.”
The temperature was 20 degrees below zero when the men began dying in 1851. “Whether I live or die,” Gardiner wrote, “may it be in Him. I commend my body and soul into His care and keeping.” He was the last to die.
In 1856, Allen W. Gardiner, the missionary’s only son, went to Patagonia as a missionary.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Joanne Sloan, a member of First Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, has been a published writer of articles and books for 30 years. She has a bachelor’s degree double majoring in history and English from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M–Commerce) and a master’s degree specializing in English from the University of Arkansas (1978).
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