Birth: 07-04-1840
Home Calling : 05-10-1909
Native Place : Crosby
Country: Canada
Place of Vision : Canada
There are myriad challenges and hardships in missionary work, and intense climatic conditions are one of them. Northern Canada is a difficult place to survive with weather extremities and challenging geography. Yet, the native Canadians deserved to know the true God, and Egerton Ryerson Young was the medium for it. He was a Canadian pioneer missionary who braved all extremities and led countless natives to the Lord.
Egerton was brought up in a strong evangelical environment and had a burden for the lost souls from the beginning. He was a teacher by profession and could teach almost every subject in the school. After being ordained by the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1867, he was sent as a missionary to serve among the natives of Rupert’s Land. Leaving home comforts, Egerton, along with his wife, Elizabeth Bingham, and few other missionaries, set off to the northern parts of Canada. It was a terrible journey that required them to cross several rivers, hills, and dangerous jungles, all on foot.
Egerton finally reached his destination after two and a half months of an arduous journey. He traveled from village to village to meet the natives in their homes and taught them the Way of Life. During his travels, he braved many untold dangers and difficulties to preach the Gospel. He used to sleep in holes dug up in the ground to save himself from -600 C cold weather. Often the dazzling sunlight on the snow that could cause blindness made it impossible to travel during the daytime. Hence he traveled only during the nights. Sometimes, the harsh weather cut his skin, causing his face and feet to bleed. Despite all these, the missionary never stopped progressing in missionary journey to reach the natives.
Because of Egerton’s ministry, many natives accepted Christ. The wild savages among them became gentle, and their horrid idols were put away. He spent his final years traveling to America, Great Britain, and Australia encouraging the believers to choose the glorious path of missionary work.
