Birth: 1862
Home Calling: 1942
Native Place Armow
Country: Canada
Place of Vision: Bolivia
Archibald Reekie was a Canadian pioneer missionary known for his ministry in Bolivia. Born in a poor family, Archibald worked as an agricultural laborer in his childhood. He was physically fragile and almost succumbed to fever in his youth. Yet, our God who perfects His strength in weakness used Archibald for his service in some of the toughest environmental conditions.
During a funeral ceremony of his Church’s pastor, Archibald felt the call for missionary service. He went to McMaster University in Toronto for theological studies and there he heard about the need for missionary work in Bolivia. Although he had no funds, he decided to visit Bolivia during the summer recess. In 1896, he traveled through the oceans, faced the terrible heat of Panama, crossed the snow-capped mountains in Peru, and finally reached La Paz. He didn’t know Spanish, yet he distributed the tracts and sold Bibles. Surviving this journey alone was a miracle, and Archibald needed no other sign to confirm his call to missionary work in Bolivia.
Soon, his short experience in La Paz became an inspiration for many other students at McMaster University. After an intense persuasion, in 1897 the Baptist Convention of Ontario pledged its support to Archibald for his Bolivia mission.
In 1898, Archibald arrived in Oruro and set up the mission station. He began working among the immigrant construction workers and also organized a school. Soon he could earn few souls for Christ, and his brave story compelled many more Baptist missionaries to arrive in Bolivia. The ministry flourished!
Archibald did his ministry on faith lines. Despite the success of the mission and inflow of funds, he preferred to stay in a humble earthen-floored cottage. During the ministry, he lost his first child to diphtheria, and he along with his wife became sick several times due to the harsh weather, yet he persevered. He had to return to Canada in 1916 due to severe sickness. There he continued to pastor several village churches in Ontario till his death in 1942.
