She called herself one of the “happiest creatures on earth.” Ann, the youngest of five children, was born in 1789 in Bradford, New England to John and Rebecca Hasseltine. At the age of thirteen, she searched for happiness in the clothing she wore, the parties she attended, and the “wild and volatile” friends she indulged. Though she had no concern for her own soul, God did, and He was about to turn her world upside down to not only save her and grant her true happiness, but to reach across the seas and bring the gospel to the far away land of Burma.
The Holy Spirit began to work in Ann’s heart and a desire to grow in her knowledge of God blossomed. Although Ann still struggled to understand the Bible, the Word of God became dear to her and one day she would translate it into the language of a people she did not know. In time, she experienced the peace of knowing she belonged to Christ and that she was forgiven of her sins based on Christ’s merit alone.
“Felt a willingness to give myself away to Christ, to be disposed of as he pleases. Here I find safety and comfort. Jesus is my only refuge…” Sharon James, Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma, p. 33
In the summer of 1810, the Hasseltine family hosted a lunch for missionaries, including a young man named Adoniram Judson. Upon meeting Ann, Adoniram immediately noticed her beauty, personality, and winsome ways. On February 5th, 1812, Ann and Adoniram were married and a farewell service followed. They intended to leave immediately with their friends before the war between Britain and America would restrict them from sea travel.
After arriving in Calcutta, finding a place to set up a mission proved challenging. Many countries were closed to the spread of the gospel and political conditions were uncertain. The British East India Company opposed all foreign missionaries. One of the locations that was open to them was the Isle of France. Fellow missionaries, Samuel and Harriet Newell, left on the first ship to Isle of France as the Judsons would join them on a later ship. When the Judsons arrived, Ann received the devastating news that her friend, Harriet, had died on ship after giving birth to her daughter, who died shortly after. Through many difficult attempts at settling into a mission work on the Isle of France, they realized that their work would not be permitted among the slave population, and that the slave owners had such control over the island that they would have to look elsewhere to begin their work. As they looked toward Burma, the land of the Golden Shore, they saw an immense opportunity for translation work and evangelism. Through all this, Ann was beginning to face the realities of the life she had been called to for the cause of Christ. And yet her hope was firmly planted in the sovereignty of God and his step-by-step direction.
In Burma, where Buddhism was the main religion, seventeen million people had no Bible and no hope. Ann and Adoniram longed to see these people come to know the redeeming love of God. Their mission was to go and make disciples; this land of pagodas would become their mission field. Over the next several years, Ann learned both the languages of Burmese and Siamese. She began discipling women, started a school for girls, and wrote and translated a catechism for children into Burmese.
In September 1815, Ann gave birth to a son, Roger Williams. Their joy was immense as they watched their baby grow healthy and strong until at nearly eight months of age, fever and violent coughing fits overtook his health and he passed away silently in the night. Their grief came in waves like the current of the Arah-wah-tee. The ebb and flow of bereavement and hope wound its way to the sea of God’s unfailing love. Returning to study and work was their source of distraction, and trusting in God’s will was their source of comfort.
Ann’s health continued to suffer and she had to leave Burma for cooler climates in England, and then America. When she finally returned two and a half years later, not only was she reunited with her husband, but a small Christian church was growing its roots deeper into the Burman soil and her husband had completed the first translation of the New Testament. The long awaited harvest had begun, and they began to see the fruit of all their labors.
A week after her return, Adoniram and Ann traveled by boat up the Arah-wah-tee to move to the capital city of Ava, on invitation from the King. They felt it necessary to secure a mission post there. As they traveled, passing war boats and soldiers, they could not help but put their trust in God’s care. Ann wrote in her journal: “Not a hair of our head can be injured, but with the permission of Him whose precious name we would make known…” Sharon James, Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma, p.172
Several months went by and the Judsons received news that Rangoon had been captured by the British. All foreigners were now suspected as spies. It wasn’t long before Adoniram and a friend were thrown into prison. His faithful wife spent the next year and a half advocating for his release, his comfort and for better prison conditions. She kept him alive by bringing food almost daily and mats to sleep on. At one point, she brought him a pillow and secretly tucked inside was the only copy of the translated New Testament. There inside the destitute prison, a light was shining into the darkness. It was a light that would never be extinguished. It was the light for which they had sacrificed and suffered so much.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5
During Adoniram’s prison stay, Ann gave birth to a baby girl named Maria. She brought her everywhere including into the prison for Adoniram to meet their little girl. Soon, Adoniram was transferred to another prison. To this place of wretchedness, Ann followed. Meanwhile, the conditions in which she lived further exacerbated her own health, including an outbreak of small pox, a trip to Ava to retrieve her medicine chest, and the onset of a fatal illness. It was a miracle she survived any of these trials.
News finally came that Burma had ceded to the English. When Adoniram was finally allowed to return to his family, he could barely recognize his dear wife, sick as she was. In February 1826, the Judsons were freed to find refuge at the English camp where they were nurtured back to health.
After the war, the Judsons moved to Tennasserim where they could enjoy religious freedom. Ann was content with their new surroundings, their large and spacious home provided much comfort, and she looked forward to a happy existence continuing their work for the foreseeable future. You might say that she thought herself one of the “happiest creatures on earth” and truly she was, because her happiness was not dependent on her outside circumstances, but on the sovereign and secure love of God. While Adoniram was away to the capital, Ann came down with a violent fever. Her body worn from years of illness, she passed away into that eternal happiness that was purchased for her at the cross.
Ann Judson accomplished much in her short life of thirty-seven years. With a courage that can only come from God, she followed His call to go and make disciples. All the while, she and her husband knew that they were working to lay a foundation that would benefit future missionaries to Burma. Two hundred years after the Judsons began their work, in 2017, the Jesus Storybook Bible has been translated and published into the Burmese language by modern missionaries to Burma whom I had the privilege of meeting in person. The light of God’s Word continues to shine in Burma with the unfailing love of Christ. You can follow current gospel work of missionaries, Jim and Breanna Randall, in Burma through their blog here: https://burmachronicle.com/
“…a little sacrifice for the cause of Christ is not worth naming; and I feel it a privilege, of which I am entirely undeserving, to have had it in my power to sacrifice my all for him who hesitated not to lay down his life for sinners.” Sharon James, Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma, p.120
This biographical essay was originally written for and published by Wildflowers Girls Magazine for the Fall 2018 issue. Researching and writing about Ann was an encouragement to me as our family had moved several times through the years. In 2018, my husband graduated from seminary, and at this time we were waiting on the Lord for direction of where to plant a church while also accepting a two year church planting residency to prepare to plant the church. Something fun about all of this was that I got to briefly connect with the author of the original English edition of the Jesus Storybook Bible, Sally Lloyd Jones, on Instagram many years ago while walking through a grocery store to get the weekly groceries for my family. So many fun connections! Praise to Jesus!