David Livingstone Brought the Gospel to My Country
By Confex Makhalira, TGC (Editor’s note: Remembering David Livingstone on the 150th anniversary of his death)
David Livingstone (1813–73) is known as a missionary, explorer, and abolitionist. He was the first missionary to bring the gospel to my beloved country, Malawi, in 1859. He also explored routes that would open Africa for trade with the rest of the world. Inspired by a British member of Parliament, Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Livingstone was committed to abolishing the Arab and Swahili slave trade and bringing “three Cs” to Africa: Christianity, commerce, and civilization.
A lot could be said about the man, but on this day—the 150th anniversary of his death—I want to reflect on his work as a missionary.
Livingstone was born on March 19, 1813, in Blantyre, Scotland. He grew up Presbyterian in the Church of Scotland until he became a Congregationalist at age 15. Coming from a poor background, he worked hard in a cotton factory to save money for medical school. After completing his medical studies at Anderson’s University in Glasgow, he joined the London Missionary Society with the intention of going to China as a medical missionary. But the Opium Wars of 1839–42 and a persuasive interaction with another renowned British missionary, Robert Moffat, changed Livingstone’s plans and sent him to Africa instead.
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