“But … whether I spend my days in India or America, I desire to spend them in the service of God, and be prepared to spend an eternity in his presence.” —Ann Judson
At Esther Press, we empower and equip women to courageously stand strong in the truth of who God made them to be. Let us do that for you today by sharing the story of Ann Hasseltine Judson.
Have you ever been asked to do something for the Lord that felt unexpected? Whether leading a Bible study or going on a foreign mission trip, sometimes God asks us to step outside our comfort zone.
In the early nineteenth century, Adoniram Judson and his wife, Ann, were part of a group of Christians who became the first American missionaries to travel overseas to bring the gospel to the unreached.
The Making of a Missionary’s Wife
Ann Hasseltine was born on December 22, 1789, in Bradford, Massachusetts. The Hasseltine family regularly attended the Congregational church, but their faith was more social than spiritual. Ann had been taught if she was an obedient little girl, she would go to heaven when she died. But, like many who lived through the Second Great Awakening, Ann and her family’s understanding of the gospel and of God’s grace were about to change.
In May of 1805, Bradford Academy gained a new teacher who taught his students about heaven and hell, and that without true conversion there is no hope of heaven. By the following year, many students at Bradford Academy and families, including the Hasseltines, had professed their conversion.
The Call on Her Life
Prior to her conversion, Ann rarely thought about anything beyond what she could see and the fun that could be had. But when she truly believed in Jesus, she focused on God and His glory, desiring to see people all over the world come to know Jesus. A few years later, she met a man named Adoniram Judson.
Adoniram was part of a small group who led the charge in establishing a Congregationalist mission agency. One month after they met, Adoniram wrote Ann’s father a letter asking for permission to court her. He noted in his letter that the Hasseltines were unlikely to see Ann again on this side of heaven, since Adoniram had heard the call to overseas missions and intended to answer. In 1812, Ann, Adoniram, and six of their friends fit weddings, ordinations, fund raising, packing, and goodbyes into just two weeks.
After a dangerous journey across the ocean, Ann and Adoniram finally established a mission in Burma (modern-day Myanmar). It took two years for them to master the language enough to write the first tract in Burmese, as well as begin work on a Burmese translation of the New Testament. After six years of work in Burma, they had a small church of ten believers who joined their efforts to evangelize the Burmese people.
Faithful through the Ups and Downs
Ann’s health suffered in the Burmese climate, so she traveled back to America to recover. When she returned to Burma in 1824, war between Burma and England was imminent, and Adoniram and a fellow missionary were imprisoned under suspicion of espionage. Every day, she carried her baby daughter four miles round trip to minister to Adoniram and petition for his freedom.
Eventually, Adoniram was released, but sadly Ann had become too ill. They had two weeks together before she passed from this life into the next. Ann’s faithfulness inspired many to take up mission work and bring the gospel to the lost.
Learn more about Ann Judson here: https://equip.sbts.edu/publications/journals/journal-of-missions/sbjme-12-fall/the-life-and-significance-of-ann-hasseltine-judson-1789-1826/
