The missionary task remains essentially the same from century to century. Fire & Ice traces common threads in tales of missionary adventure from the 1800s. Glimpse the lives of pioneer missionaries and local Christians in locations ranging from the Arctic Circle to just beyond the southern tip of Patagonia, from the coral islands of Fiji to the Himalayan plateau of Tibet.

The diversity of people God called and equipped to carry out His worldwide mission in the 19th century is just as staggering as the variety of places He sent them. Kapi'olani, a Hawaiian chief, climbed a volcano to prove the power of her God. George Mackay, a Canadian, pulled teeth in Taiwan to prove the exact same thing. Coley Patteson, grandnephew of the poet Coleridge, and Allen Gardiner, a former navy captain, died on two beaches 7,500 miles apart for exactly the same reason: they believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for every person on earth.

Fire & Ice condenses and updates John C. Lambert’s 1907 text for modern readers. You won’t find any perfect models to emulate in this book, but you might find faith that convicts, courage that inspires and adventures that excite you to strike out on a similar path of missionary intention. If you do, you’ll find yourself in good-if unusual-company. The unity of purpose and faith among God’s people across the centuries stands out all the more for the diversity of our backgrounds and circumstances.