I have long known that the story of missionaries wives, largely unknown or unheard, is one of huge personal sacrifice, often unto to death in far away places. The romantic tales of derring-do (however that is meant to be spelled) of Dr Livingstone, Mr Carey and others overshadow the often tragic reality faced by the wives they took with them and the children they fathered.
This morning, digging a little deeper into the story of the first BMS missionary to Sri Lanka, James Chater, whose wife, Anne gets passing mention in BMS's necessarily brief history on their website, I came across two obituaries to her. She ran a school on Sri Lanka and had already given birth to ten children and was again pregnant at the time physicians ordered her to return to the UK for the sake of her health. Two of her sons had already died on their journey to the UK to be educated at boarding school, and seven children travelled with her towards the UK (I don't know what happened to the tenth child). During the journey it became clear she would give birith imminently, so she was landed, with her two youngest children, gave birth to twins and died a dew days later. Her surviving children ranged from nine years old downwards - the poor woman must have permanently pregant, no wonder she died from exhaustion.
I haven't found an obituary for Rev Chalmers, all I know is that when he left Sri Lanka to return to the UK a few years alter, he too died en route. Of their children I know nothing.
In 2013 there is an established Baptist work in Sri Lanka, and the one remaining Baptist school appears to be highly regarded - this is the 'good treasure' handed on to our generation by those who went to take the Good news to Sri Lanka.
I am glad that there are extended obituaries for Anne Chater (here and here) which give us just the tiniest glimspe into the reality of what it meant to be a missionary wife. Having just last week remidned ourselves of the call to sacrificial living, there stories are epseically challenging to our lives of middle class ease.