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Adventism On The Move3: The Pacific Islands
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Nov. 7 - Adventism On The Move3: The Pacific Islands

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And how can men preach unless they are sent? Rom. 10:15, RSV.

But some went without being sent. One of that group was John Tay, a ship's carpenter who had long dreamed of visiting tiny Pitcairn Island, where the infamous mutineers of the Bounty had finally settled in 1790. Working his way on some six ships, Tay finally arrived on Pitcairn in 1886.

Ten years earlier James White and John Loughborough had heard of the island and had sent a box of Adventist literature in the hope that its inhabitants would read it. But they didn't. For 10 years the box sat in storage. Finally some of the younger people rediscovered it. To their surprise, they learned that Saturday was the true Sabbath. But even though they were impressed with the Bible evidence, they hesitated to make a change.

It was at that point that Tay arrived, requesting permission to remain on Pitcairn until the next ship arrived. Asked to speak at church on the first Sunday he was there, the selfsent "missionary" discussed the seventh-day Sabbath. Many were convicted, yet others remained doubtful. But Bible study by Tay convinced all. By the time he left the island five weeks later, all its adult inhabitants had accepted the spectrum of Seventh-day Adventist doctrines.

The exciting news of the conversion of the Pitcairn Islanders inspired the Adventists back in the United States. They took the event to be a sign from God that it was time to open up the Adventist work in the South Pacific.

But how? Part of the problem was that steamship connections in much of the region were at best irregular. Thus it was that the 1887 General Conference sessionauthorized
the spending of $20,000 to buy or build a ship as soon as possible. But such was not to be. Not yet anyway. Hoping to move with more speed, they sent Tay back to Pitcairn to strengthen his converts. But after attempting the task, he finally returned to San Francisco unable to locate a ship to take him to the isolated island. More disastrous was the experience of A. J. Chudney, who was also sent to Pitcairn. When he couldn't find a boat going his way, he bought one at a bargain price. But he, his crew, and the boat went down in the Pacific.

That sobering catastrophe brought the church leaders back to the idea of constructing their own missionary ship.


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He longs to have you expect great things from Him. He longs to give you understanding in temporal as well as in spiritual matters. He can sharpen the intellect. He can give tact and skill. Put your talents into the work, ask God for wisdom, and it will be given you(COL 146).
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