George Trosse and His Mental Struggles
The vulnerable honesty of some Puritan diaries can be startling at a time when we tend to guard our words. Yet it is through this honesty that we understand the…
Simonetta Carr
Michael Wigglesworth and His Struggle With Same-Sex Desires
Editorial Note: by Simonetta Carr There are a number of reasons why Wigglesworth’s diary is a help to those who struggle with same-sex attraction in our day. First, as Carr…
Catherine Ferguson and Her Work Among New York’s Children
by Simonetta Carr A few years ago, I wrote about Isabella Graham[1]. the Scottish educator who founded one of the first women’s societies to be legally registered as a charity,…
Paulinus of Pella – A Thankful Heart After Formidable Losses
Paulinus of Pella – A Thankful Heart After Formidable Losses Paulinus of Pella is mostly known by historians of Ancient Rome, as his poetic account of his life during the…
Hannah Allen – Rescued from Serious Mental Struggles
Hannah Allen – Rescued from Serious Mental Struggles One of the most moving, honest, and encouraging stories of a battle with mental disturbances comes from a 17th-century English Puritan,…
Marianna Slocum – Bringing the Good Seed to Mexican Tribes.
Marianna Slocum – Bringing the Good Seed to Mexican Tribes. Marianna Slocum was excited about her upcoming wedding to Bill Bentley, a missionary she had met two years earlier. The…
George Schmidt, Magdalena, and the Bible Beneath the Pear Tree
George Schmidt, Magdalena, and the Bible Beneath the Pear Tree When the Moravian missionary George Schmidt left South Africa in 1744, he left behind a few converts, a copy…
Jean de Léry and the First Reformed Mission
On March 7, 1557, a French ship landed into Guanabara Bay, near modern-day Rio de Janeiro, carrying fourteen French Protestant men ready to bring the gospel to this new continent.…
Queen Ranavalona II of Madagascar
Queen Ranavalona II of Madagascar Missionaries to Madagascar trembled when they heard the name of the new queen – Ranavalona II. They remembered a previous queen by the same…
Mathieu Majal Désubas – A Young Huguenot Martyr
Mathieu Majal Désubas – A Young Huguenot Martyr Huguenots in 18th-century France were well-aware of the dangers they faced by attending Protestant services. Many had been Protestants since birth,…
Christiana Tsai and Her Persistence in Trials
Christiana Tsai and Her Persistence in Trials One day, Christiana Tsai woke up to find the room spinning around her. Her body grew stiff while the light stabbed her…
Paulus Orosius – A Forgotten Augustinian Historian
Paulus Orosius – A Forgotten Augustinian Historian “In the next little light smiles that pleader of Christian times, of whose Latin work Augustine availed himself.”[1] This is how Dante described…