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 The missionary Robert Moffat inspired Livingstone with a vision of “…the vast plain to the north of Kuruman, in southern Africa, where he had seen ‘the smoke of a thousand villages, where no missionary had ever been.”
Livingstone was initially sent to Africa by the London Missionary Society. He spent the first six months cut off from all European society in order to learn the language, laws, and habits of the natives. He attached himself to the friendly Bakuena tribe whose chief, Sechele, became his convert. From this base, Livingstone reached out to other tribes, attending to people’s medical needs and holding gospel meetings.
Livingstone’s three journeys into Central Africa opened the way for further outreach into such areas as Uganda and Zaire.
What moved him more than anything else was what he called “this open sore of the world”– the devastating slave trade of central Africa. Livingstone saw men, women, and children seized and cruelly sold as slaves. He realized that the slave trade could not continue apart from the African’s own participation in it. Slave-raiding was the way to wealth and thus many tribes were tempted to engage in raids on weaker neighboring tribes. He knew if he could promote the legitimate sale of European articles in the slave-market area, then slave trading would cease.
His aim was to open a path for commerce and Christianity and he called for volunteers to carry out the work. With an indomitable will, he drove his body, often racked with fever and dysentery, to incredible exploits.
Livingstone’s last mission left from Zanzibar, the center of the East African slave trade. Today, the Anglican Cathedral’s altar stands on the old slave whipping post. Around the altar are figures of the twelve apos¬tles in copper – mined from Zambia where Livingstone had spread the gospel. There is a small cross next to pulpit made from the tree under which they buried Livingstone’s heart in Malawi. There is a commemorative plaque on the wall saying “To the glory of God and in memory of Livingstone and other explorers. Men good and brave who, to advance knowledge, set free the slave, and to hasten Christ’s Kingdom in Africa, loved not their lives even unto death.”
Among the last words that Livingstone wrote were, “All I can add in my solitude is ‘May Heaven's rich blessing come down on everyone, American, English, or Turk, who will help to heal this open sore of the world.’”
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