My first reaction to the hazards of missionary’s life relate to my direct family. My aunt and uncle were missionaries in India for 20 years. During their initial term, my aunt’s father (my grandfather) was diagnosed with terminal testicular cancer. When the news reached my aunt, she was devastated. She had already missed her mother’s demise shortly after they arrived in India in 1949. Now, this time, her return was more pressing.
My aunt tells me that she and her then-three children traveled on a complicated travel schedule with almost a dozen segments in multiple cities and countries. When they arrived in the U. S. my cousins were amazed that they could drink water directly from the tap without any purification. This was so bizarre to me when I listened to the story that I could hardly believe it!
This segues into my research into a missionary’s tribulations while traveling for the LORD’s work in third world countries or those with fewer basic services. My focus in this research is based on India and Papua New Guinea but can apply to multiple other countries and continents, especially Africa.
Let’s begin with malaria. By definition, malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. While preventable and curable, it remains a worldwide problem. In 2018, there were an estimated 228 million cases of malaria worldwide and deaths from it were estimated at 405,000. While most of the cases are African based (93%), they also occur in other areas of the world including southeast Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that if not treated within 24 hours, the disease can progress to severe illness often leading to death.
The riskier populations are infants, children, pregnant women, and those with immunocompromised conditions such as HIV/AIDS. Transmission of the disease is primarily related to “climatic conditions,” such as rainfall patterns, temperature, and humidity. The mosquito born larvae are water borne and thus are more prevalent in topical or subtropical areas of the world.
While the WHO has been vigilant in attempting to eradicate the conditions under which these mosquitos propagate the disease, the situation continues and more so in multiple areas where malaria is often “treatment resistant.” The WHO reports that 73 countries have reported resistance to at least one of the four commonly used insecticide classes and in 27 countries resistance was reported in “all” the main classes.
While this document is not designed to discuss treatment, it’s vital that our missionary teams are aware of the conditions under which they will be entering and how they can protect themselves (prevention) from the disease and its possible fatal consequences.
My research into Papua New Guinea (PNG) was very revealing as it relates to the various problems that the missionaries face. While malaria is very common, it is not the only natural consequence to their existence. Southeast Asia (particularly PNG and Australia) has multiple venomous species that are cause for alarm. Let me list a few.
| Venomous Cause | Result |
| Taipan, venomous snake | Causes paralysis, blood clots and death |
| Cassoway (bird) | Size of a man; 5-inch tooth that can pierce human skin |
| Crocodiles | Aggressive (7 meters/1,200 kg) |
| Tarantulas | Bites cause skin irritation and swelling |
| Cockroaches | Giant! |
| Banded sea krait (snake) | Fatal caused by extreme hypertension |
| Box jelly fish | a/k/a sea wasps causing death in minutes |
| Monitor lizards | bacterial causes wound infections |
| Poison birds | Caused by toxin that they ingest from beetles |
| Centipede (giant) | 7 inches long and venomous |
| Lionfish | causes nausea/vomiting; rarely fatal |
| Dingoes (wild dogs) | n/a |
| Papuan black snake | fatal within 2-21 hours if untreated. |
Well, then why would anyone go into the “unknown” knowing that the circumstances were overwhelming? It’s the love of God by the missionary and their desire to deliver the Good News of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
My personal review of the notes from Helen Marten and Velma Foreman revealed their “multiple” experiences with malaria. My reading of Otto Hintze’s book, From Ghosts to God in Enga Land, also revealed continued jungle murders and cannibalism. And my interview with Anita Trautmann and her revelations from their time in India also reveal not only bouts of malaria but other potentially harmful circumstances.
The next chapter will introduce us to two pastor missionaries who arrived in PNG shortly after WWII.