Robert Moffat (1795-1883) was a Scottish Congregationalist missionary to Africa. He was born to a poor family and spent his early years working as an estate gardener. In 1814 he sought a commission from the London Missionary Society and was sent within a year to South Africa. He settled in Cape Town and in 1819 married Mary Smith (1795-1870), the daughter of a former employer. In 1820 the couple left Cape Town and settled among the tribes west of the Vaal River. Here he translated the entire Bible and Pilgrim’s Progress into the native language. He was a great influence on his son-in-law, David Livingstone, and encouraged him in his desire to take the Gospel deeper into uncharted Africa. He retired to England after the death of his wife and spent the rest of his life writing and preaching. He laid the foundation for the success of subsequent mission work in southern and central Africa and persevered in his work despite many setbacks.
Moffat
Livingstone, David
David Livingstone (1813-1873) was a renowned missionary and explorer. He grew up in Glasgow, Scotland in a poor family. He studied on his own and was able to enter the University of Glasgow in 1830 where he earned degrees in theology and medicine. His desire was to become a missionary to China; however, due to the dangerous conditions in that country at the time, the London Missionary Society sent him to Africa in 1840. He began at the missionary station of Robert Moffat in South Africa, whose daughter he later married, and began pushing steadily northward, building stations along the way. Believing that exploration and missions went hand in hand, he became a renowned explorer, discovering Lake N’gami in 1849 and Victoria Falls in 1853. He sent his family home to England and continued his trek deeper into uncharted territory, traveling nearly 1,400 miles on foot and by boat and preaching the Gospel along the way. He went to England in 1856 where he was hailed as a national hero. When he returned to Africa a year later he had resigned from the Mission Society and worked directly for the British government. His goals were national, ethical, and spiritual: to find the source of the Nile, to end the slave trade, and to share the message of Christ. He was lost for a time from the world, which led to a search in 1870 by journalist Henry Stanley, whose line upon discovering him “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” has become famous. He died three years later, found on his knees in the position of prayer by his native guides. He opened the African frontier to missions and his diligent efforts to end the slave trade were largely successful.