‘except a corn of
wheat fall into the ground and die it abides alone….’
One of my claims to fame is to be Welsh by Marriage.
Had I not married Joel it is unlikely I would have come to
settle here in the land of Our Fathers, and I might never have heard of this
brave Welshman who is so greatly honoured by the Christians in Korea.
I had heard of a
group from Korea who felt it their
responsibility, year after year, to travel to Wales, always coming via
Jerusalem, to seek to bless the church here in thanksgiving for this, their
first missionary, Robert Jermain Thomas, who, now 150 years ago, gave his life
in seeking to bring them the Gospel. But had it not been for the Koreans
themselves I doubt if any of us in the UK would even have heard of this brave
Welshman. But in the land of Korea they
know that, though this brave young man had been martyred on arrival, it was he
who had brought them these Bibles, written in their own language, which
had so miraculously survived.
I have heard several versions of how it happened, but part
of the story is indisputable, and that is that Thomas had taken ship to Korea,
with crates of Bibles. Herein is the first miracle. Does anyone know who first
was burdened to translate God’s Word
into Korean? Who was the first contact who had taken on this mammoth
task of translating the whole of the bible in this strange tongue, and with
such a strange alphabet? This was no small task.
Many years ago Connie had been asked to help a tribe in
Congo to have God’s word in their own mother tongue. Thirty years later, what a
celebration as at last the task is completed! Those who translated the bible into Korean may not
be remembered, or even the stranger from Korea who possibly had been brought to
our shores, that helped them in this task. But we do remember Thomas, because
he was willing to live or die that Christ be known, and God’s word heard.
I know how I have pictured the story as it
was first told to me :- the sighting of this land of Korea, from the ship which
had already carried him so far, but not the welcome Robert had hoped for.
Seeing the angry mob on the sea shore the captain has the guns manned, and so,
in order to avoid any loss of life this brave young man orders the sailors to
throw his crates of bibles onto the beach, leaping over with them while the
captain, no longer responsible, sails away from their danger zone.
How long was it before the sad news of his death reached
his family? Was there a sweetheart who had been waiting to hear that it
was safe for her to travel out to join
him? I have no idea. And how long was it
before other Christian missionaries had
ventured to that previously closed land? Maybe not until the Welsh revival? But
we have heard from the now vibrant church in Korea that eventually other
Christian missionaries had arrived to find these previously warlike people now
already with hearts softened and changed, and worshipping Jesus Christ, as Lord
and Saviour.
Here was another miracle. Robert Jermain Thomas had
expected to explain to them the gospel, for ‘how shall they hear without a
preacher?’ And how could they understand the purpose of these heavy loads? But
God had not allowed them to destroy Thomas’s cargo.
Instead of destroying the books, someone had thought to
line their walls with the precious paper, helping to keep out wind and weather,
and as others then followed suit, somehow they came to realise the significance
of the words written thereon, now plastered all around them. And today, through
the precious life of one young man, the Word of God has been sown into the
hearts of the people of Korea, and this year, 150 years later, some of them have
again visited the little county of Wales, not only in thanksgiving, but to pray
for us that again we may know the flame of revival that first ignited one to
translate the word, Thomas to willingly give his life and then later those so
filled with the Holy Spirit to come as teachers among them that as a nation
they all might run with the Word .
