“My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:19

 For several years, my husband and I had the privilege of doing marriage weekends with the Navigator ministry, and teaching adult Sunday school.  We always stressed that when God called the husband to a ministry, He called the wife also.  They were a team, serving the Lord together.  Sometimes, this is lost in the nitty gritty of the “work” of the Lord and the wife feels left out and not needed.  We hear about all the wonderful ways God answered George Muller’s prayers, but what about his wife, his “helper” in the ministry?  It piqued my interest, so I looked up some information on her part in the work with the orphans of Bristol, England.

Mary Barnes was born into a middle-class family in England in 1798.  She lived the typical middle-class life:  church on Sunday, lessons on how to be a good wife, drawing, sewing and playing the piano.  Her father was ruined by a series of failed business ventures, leaving the children, Mary and her brother and sister to fend for themselves.  Mary showed initiative when she set up a school with a friend when she was only 16.  After the death of her mother, Mary moved in with her brother and through him, she became a committed Christian.  She was determined to live her life whole-heartedly for Christ.  About that time, she met George Muller, an unlikely husband for Mary.  He was German, an itinerant preacher who preached with heavily accented English, and younger than Mary.  However, both were determined to live by faith daily, never revealing their needs, but relying entirely on God’s provision.  They married and moved to Bristol where George became the pastor of two churches.

Following a cholera epidemic in Bristol, thousands of orphans where left homeless, living on the city streets.  Mary fed sixty to eighty children on her doorstep each day while George told them Bible stories.   This was the beginning of a ministry to orphans, starting as a call on Mary’s life.  Soon, a more permanent solution was needed; three homes were added to their home to house up to 100 orphans.  Eventually, a building was built where over 2000 orphans were cared for.  Every physical need was brought before the Lord in prayer and every need was met!  “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:19.

Mary was the heart and soul of the children’s homes.  She was in charge of the daily necessities of running the homes, the chief accountant and administrator – even when she wasn’t sure when or how the funds would appear!  She ordered quality fabrics for bedding and uniforms and made sure the children ate nutritious meals.  She managed the sickrooms, school rooms and dormitories.  She genuinely loved the children!  They later remembered her kindness and gentleness in making the orphanage feel like a home.  She sat with the sick, greeted the children with a cheerful attitude and prayed with and for them.  George was a great man of faith, but it was by Mary’s loving care that many came to trust in her Lord and Savior!  She never had great possessions or money, her health was poor and she lost three out of four children, but she learned God was trustworthy and could be depended upon in every situation.  She was not a particularly remarkable woman, but she trusted in a powerful God and so did remarkable things!

“If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried, and therefore, through trial, be strengthened.”  George Muller.

Your friend,  Jean