The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:10-11
Harry Goehring (1966)
Poisoned for Christ
In 1963 Harry and his wife went to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as part of a missionary team which was to build a hospital, start a school and be involved in Bible translation and literature distribution. Harry’s contribution to the mission was as a translator and educator. He had been studying in Tennessee when the Lord spoke to him about mission through Ephesians 3:8: “Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.”
The school and translation work went well, and Harry led a tribal chief to commit his life to Christ.
In June 1966 he was reading Colossians and reflecting on Christ’s sufferings, and he was beginning to sense the powers of darkness more than ever before. One day his kidneys stopped working, and the doctors felt that he should go back to the USA. The next day he seemed better, but the following day his heart began to fail. The doctors tried to save him, but Harry gasped, “Let me go,” and died. A post-mortem revealed that his kidneys had stopped because of poisoning, though it was unclear how he had been poisoned. Many Bengalis attended his funeral.
Whom shall we trust but you, O God?
Where rest but on your faithful word?
None ever called on you in vain:
Give peace, O God, give peace again.
Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877)