This is a fun presentation by Gavin Mart on Dr David Livingstone which can also be accompanied by a detailed essay concerning the life and times of the missionary explorer. ---- David Livingstone was born on March 19th 1813 in Blantyre, Scotland. In his childhood he followed his father door to door who giving out evangelical tracts; Livingstone would also use this opportunity to sell tea showing early his signs of enterprise. In 1823 Livingstone started work in cotton mill. Again, he would use the tedium of the labour to teach himself Latin by mounting a book he had bought on one of the factory’s giant machines and reading single lines of it between shuttle runs beneath the machines. Although he strove to be a doctor his father was adamant that he would only work for the church and in 1838 he was accepted by London Missionary Society (LMS) for work in China. However in 1839 the start of Opium War (which lasts until 1842) makes China missions impracticable. In 1840 a chance meeting with Robert Moffat in London persuades Livingstone to work in Africa. Livingstone qualifies as doctor, and is ordained as minister. He is enchanted by Moffat’s tales of Kuruman, a missionary outpost in South Africa, where Moffat speaks of “... the smoke of a thousand villages...” Livingstone sets sail for Kuruman in 1841. However on his arrival he becomes disillusioned with what he finds at the Kuruman outpost, and describes it as little more than an imitation of an English countryside villages with little for than fifty converts, most of whom are ‘backsliders’... ----- ...In summary; I feel Livingstone was a man of his time, who fought against the traditional idea and structures of the role of the African missionary. He was operating in front of a background of multiple civil wars in the West, and a scramble for land, power, gold, exploration and discovery, within which he found himself in a position that demanded that he possessed a little knowledge of each of those ingredients in order for him to be successful in his time. I think he fell in love with the continent of Africa and did whatever he could to fund his occupation; to be in and develop and explore the place he would ultimately die for. I wonder if he became a little disillusioned with his traditional missional commission, and found his faith tested throughout the pain of losing his first born and his wife to fever and his oldest son to overseas war. In which case I can only sympathise with his vocation and what is really a sad story of failed ambition and endeavour. This is perhaps why David Livingstone lives on in the hearts

2. KER
RBL
!! AMM
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David Livingstone
The mission - The man - The Myth…
…This message will self destruct in five seconds…

3. "Fear God and work hard."
-Born 1813 Blantyre Scotland
- Worked in cotton mills aged 10
-Taught himself Latin
- Graduated as Doctor
-Ordained as missionary 1939
-Supposed to go to china but
-cancelled due to Opium war

4. "I am a missionary, heart and soul. God had
an only Son, and He was a missionary and a
physician. I am a poor, poor imitation of
Him, or wish to be. In this service I hope to
live; in it I wish to die!"
-gets a break with a trip on behalf
of Robert Moffat to ‘Kuruman’ –
South Africa – 1940
- Is sold a dream of a thousand
villages…
- Marries Mary Moffat - 1945
-Becomes disillusioned with
sedentary missionary role
- Begins his ‘first exploratory
journeys’ ‘47-’52

5. "I am immortal till my work is accomplished," he wrote.
"And although I see few results, future missionaries
will see conversions following every sermon. May they
not forget the pioneers who worked in the thick gloom
with few rays to cheer, except such as flow from faith
in the precious promises of God's Word."
- Begins first Journeys - Travelled by Oxen
Cart up through the country
- Began to talk of a mission to open up the
heart of Africa
-Set up mission at Kolobeng
-Recorded his only ‘convert’ chief Sechele
-Suggest Sechele give up polygamy
-Severe drought
-Sechele refused to make rain
-Tribes reject Christianity
-First Child dies

6. "Anywhere, provided it be forward."

7. "Cannot the love of Christ carry the missionary
where the slave-trade carries the trader? I
shall open up a path to the interior or perish."
-Crosses Africa from Coast to
Coast
-On discovering the Victoria
Falls return to England to Hero’s
welcome
-Uses fame to part fund future
exploratory trips
-Zambezi expedition fails after
Mary dies
-Begins final journey to search
for ‘source of the Nile’ and goes
missing
-Is found by Stanley

8. "Death alone will put a stop to my effort!"
-Dies searching for source
of The Nile in Zambia
-Body is carried to coast
by his lifelong companions
Chuma and Susi
-Is buried at Westminster
Abbey
-Hailed as a national hero

9. Livingstone’s Impact on the Church / Society
"If we wait till we run no risk, the gospel will
never be introduced into the interior,"
-Opened up Central Africa to
Mission
-Helped to expose the terrible
reality of the slave trade
-Helped to expose the injustices
of ‘colonial thinking’ of the
time
-Created a much needed hero for
the Western World
-Questioned the marriage of
church and state

10. Livingstone’s Impact on contemporary church
"The end of the [geographical] exploration is the
beginning of the [missionary] enterprise."
-Profound effect on the way his
missions were supported and
funded
-A blurring of the lines between
missionary and explorer
-What was behind the desire for
the UK to hold the colonies in
S.A?

11. Livingstone’s Impact on my thinking
"All I can say in my solitude is, May Heaven's rich
blessing come down on every one — American,
English, Turk — who will help to heal this open
sore of the world."
-It easy to imagine the mission
field a an idyllic place to be
-Livingstone did not fit in
-There is a huge lesson to be
learnt about not being afraid of
tribal interpretations of faith

12. Dr D. Livingstone – Missionary Status…
- Sensitivity to the natives...10/10
- Preacher of the good word.....2/10
- Conversion of the heathen...0.1/10
- Healing skills...............10/10
- Jolly good chap...............7/10
(if he likes you)
- Chalk and talk?...............5/10
- Visionary insight............10/10
- Humility/teachable............1/10
Scottish Male born 19.03.1813 - Soldiering plod-a-bility.....10/10
Doctor – Explorer - Missionary
6ft - brown hair – shabby
appearance
- Made of good stuff?...........5/10
Moustache = fake
Overall Missionary status.... 60.1/100
Approach:
- Treat as hostile
- may have been turned
- is deep undercover (may not know true - identity anymore…)
- location: Unknown