James Chalmers was born in Scotland in 1841, in the fishing village of Loch Fyne. Being raised here, he came to love the sea. He had many adventures, coming close to death by drowning three times while a child. His father told him, "You will never die by drowning."
In 1859, two preachers came to hold meetings near his town. The rough 18 year old thought that he and his buddies would break up the meeting. They came on a night that there was a storm. The singing seemed so wonderful to him that he listened to the preaching. He came under conviction and left without making a tumult.
A few days later, James talked with a pastor about what he was feeling. The pastor preached Christ and salvation, and James came to know the Lord as his Savior.
It took no time for James to jump into this new life. He became a Sunday School teacher and would tell anyone who would listen about the Lord.
One Sunday, the pastor read a letter written by a missionary to the Fiji Islands. The letter was filled with tales of savages. The pastor asked if there was anyone who was willing to go tell the cannibals of God's salvation. James told the Lord that he would be willing to go. He began talking to Mr. Turner, a missionary to Samoa.
He worked in the slums of Glasgow, went to college for two years, and then took another year for special studies that would help him on the field.
He married his first wife in 1865, and left for Rarotonga in the South Seas in 1866. It was a treacherous journey. They lost all their belongings due to a ship wreck. They were saved from the stranded islands by a pirate named Bully Hayes, who took them to their final destination. Hayes even allowed them to hold services on the ship for any of the crew who wanted to hear the plan of salvation.
Almost a year and a half later, they arrived at Rarotonga. The natives called him "Tamate". This is the name that he was known by in Rarotonga and New Guinea.
John Williams had already paved the way in Rarotonga. He went there as a missionary in 1822 when the island was full of cannibals. By the time James and his wife arrived most of the inhabitants were professing Christians. James preached and printed and translated on Rarotonga for a while, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to go somewhere where people had never heard of Christ.
In 1877, after 10 years, he and his wife sailed for New Guinea. New Guinea was a land full of cannibals and savages. There was only one missionary there, W. G. Laws, who wasn't seeing much fruit for his labor. Not only were the people very wicked, but there were many different languages on the island. James said that "The tower of Babel must have been located in or near New Guinea."
In each village there was a temple filled with bones of humans, crocodiles, and wild boars. The idols had the bodies of fish and the mouths of frogs. War, murder, and disease were also common place in each village.
Their first home was on Suau. They were surrounded by cannibals. When they moved into their home, they were visited by many of the natives- some to steal their things and some out of curiosity. Some of the natives even invited them to their cannibalistic feasts. James was even offered the hand of one of the chief's daughters. James visited over 100 different villages in a small boat. He always went unarmed. Many of the people of the villages had never seen a white man before.
In 1879, Mrs. Chalmers died. This was a great grief to James, but it drove him to want to witness more.
James won many different natives to the Lord, each with their own story to tell. One native asked James to teach him a prayer. When war broke out, this native gave his life to protect his friend. As he lay in his friend's arms dying, he recited the prayer that James taught him.
Pirates heard the plan of salvation. God's light was brought to those who had lived in savage darkness. Cannibal ovens went unused. Around 200 natives gave their lives to take the gospel to others.
In 1901, James was killed by one of the savage tribes that he was so desperate to help. The cannibals had their way with his body, but his soul went to be with his Savior in heaven to forever be with all the saints who he had helped to light to that eternal home.
