Who Wants To Be A Missionary?
• “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in
and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where
thieves do not break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt.6:19-21)
Dr. David Livingstone,
Missionary Explorer to Africa
Robert Moffat,
famous African missionary
• Inspired David
Livingstone to
become a missionary
to Africa.
• “I have sometimes
seen, in the morning
sun, the smoke of a
thousand villages,
where no missionary
had ever been.”
Dr. Livingstone preaching the
Gospel in Africa
• Dr. David Livingstone
joined the London
Missionary Society.
• He sailed to Africa as
a medical missionary
in 1840.
• He arrived at
Kuruman, a mission
station in South Africa
started by Robert
Moffat.
• Lion attack at Mobotsa !
• Lion mauled Livingstone’s left arm.
• Being the only medical doctor available, Dr. Livingstone
set his own arm with no pain medicine.
• Recovery took over three months. His left arm was still
weak.
David Livingstone’s Family - 1857
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Married to Mary Moffat (Robert Moffat’s daughter) in 1845.
They had six children. One daughter, Elizabeth, died as an infant.
After 8 years in Africa, Mary and the children went to live in England.
Pictured above: (left to right) Oswell, Dr. Livingstone, Thomas,
Agnes, Mary Livingstone, and Robert. Anna Mary (not pictured) was
born one year later.
Dr. Livingstone Explores Africa
• Livingstone believed
his calling was to
open Africa to
Christian missions
through exploration.
• He believed the
Zambesi River was
“God’s highway into
the interior”.
“The Smoke that Thunders”
• Livingstone was the first
white man to see
magnificent “Victoria
Falls” (350 ft. high), the
world’s greatest waterfall,
on the Zambesi River.
• Due to the constant cloud
of mist and the
thunderous roar heard for
miles, natives called it
“Mosi-oa-tunya” (“the
smoke that thunders”).
• Livingstone named the
falls for Queen Victoria,
the reigning queen of
England.
Exploration: the Key to Reaching
Africa with the Gospel
• Travel in Africa was
difficult due to
swamps, deserts, and
hostile tribes.
• Livingstone was
convinced that
charting Africa would
allow missionaries to
easily travel and
settle within Africa.
Exploration: the Key to Reaching
Africa with the Gospel
• Livingstone spent
nearly 33 years
leading “expeditions”
through harsh territory
in Africa.
• In one four year
period, he traveled
over 4,000 miles
through unexplored
parts of Africa.
Dr. Livingstone’s Medical Tools
• This is an actual
picture of medical
tools taken to Dr.
Livingstone in Africa
by Stanley in 1872.
• Tropical diseases
were a big problem in
Africa, and Dr.
Livingstone suffered
with malaria and other
tropical diseases.
Dr. Livingstone’s Return to England
• He returned to
England in 1856 and
stayed one year.
• While there, he wrote
a book: Missionary
Travels and
Researches in South
Africa, which became
an instant best-seller
and made Livingstone
famous.
Dr. Livingstone’s Return to England
• His book and his
inspiring messages
resulted in the
formation of many
missionary societies
for Africa.
• He challenged
students at
Cambridge University
to join the missionary
movement to Africa.
Dr. Livingstone’s “Disappearance”
• Livingstone sent reports
back to England and
Europe for many years.
He especially wrote about
the evils of the slave
trade in Africa.
• He disappeared into the
heart of Africa and did not
see another European for
seven years.
• Rumors spread that Dr.
Livingstone had died.
Dr. Livingstone’s “Disappearance”
• A famous American
newspaper, the New
York Herald, sent a
reporter named Henry
Morton Stanley to
“find” Dr. Livingstone.
• After traveling many
miles for eight months
through southern
Africa, they finally
met.
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Stanley spoke the famous words,
“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
Stanley brought with him a big caravan and lots of supplies!
Livingstone knew it was a miracle and a sign of God’s favor!
They met at Ujiji.
Dr. Livingstone’s Memorial
• Dr. David Livingstone
continued his work in
Africa until his death
in 1873.
• His African helpers
found him dead,
kneeling beside his
bed in a posture of
prayer.
Dr. Livingstone’s Memorial
• At Livingstone’s
request, his heart was
removed and buried
in Africa.
• His body was
prepared by African
helpers and sent back
to England for a
hero’s burial in
Westminster Abby, a
large cathedral in
London.
“I am a missionary, heart and soul.”
• Dr. David Livingstone
is still remembered
today for his great
contributions to world
missions and his
explorations, which
opened the continent
of Africa to the
Gospel.
Dr. David Livingstone
(1813 – 1873)
• “I am a missionary,
heart and soul. God
Himself had an only
Son, and He was a
missionary and a
physician. A poor,
poor imitation I am…
but in this service I
hope to live.”