Every once in a while I hear a song that is so beautiful I can’t help but listen to it over and over. This is one those songs: “Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting,” sung by Alisa Dishong. Here is a 45-second sample in MP3 format:

[audio:surrender-04-Jesus-I-Am-Resting-Resting.mp3]

It is a really amazing arrangement of an old hymn. And Alisa’s voice is full of feeling and conviction. It sounds like she really believes what she is singing.

You can preview or purchase the track in iTunes here. I also liked two other songs on the same album, “How Could I Ask for More” and “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”

(Sometimes e-mail applications and RSS clients strip out the MP3 player. If you do not see the button for playing the sample, visit my website.)

It was great having them join my adult lesson study class on Sabbath as well. They made some great contributions to the discussion. And turns out that at least one member of the family, Billy, knows my brother Eugene as well. Small world….

You can find some videos on MySpace and YouTube. They were also taped while here at 3ABN, so you can look for them on 3ABN’s broadcasts sooner or later. They are on the second broadcast of the new “Where Are All His Miracles?” series that is currently being taped at 3ABN.

Through an unfortunate string of circumstances, William and his family were left nearly destitute when they arrived in India from England. They had to abandon their original English home in Calcutta for a much humbler abode. Later they moved far from Calcutta and set up residence with a new acquaintance.

One of the pivotal moments in William’s life was witnessing sati. The prohibition of sati became one of his three personal goals for his mission in India.

William being restrained from rescuring a woman compelled to commit sati:

Relocating upriver with his family:

Because the British East India Company wanted the best possible relations with the natives, missionary work was forbidden. William and his fellow missionaries were harassed by the British government, and to some extent had to work in secret, until they came under protection of the Dutch colony at Serampore.

One of the great tragedies in William’s story is the emotional breakdown and eventual insanity of his wife, after the loss of their youngest son to sickness. However, William believed commiting his wife to an asylum would be a violation of his marriage vows, and despite an attempt by her to kill him, he refused to leave her. Eventually she died, which must have come as a bittersweet relief.

William’s wife Dorothy in one of her insane fits:

Despite the hardships at home, William pressed on. He was greatly encouraged when a new batch of missionaries arrived and invited him to join with them.

William baptizing a Hindu convert:

William’s missionary partners established schools for both boys and girls:

A year after his first wife’s death, William married Charlotte, who turned out to be a much more suitable partner:

Undoubtedly the pinacle of William’s achievements was the translation of the Bible into Bengali and other languages, and the printing of it in the local languages and dialects:

This is a video I’d freely recommend. It’s about 1 hour and 30 minutes in length, so would make a nice evening vespers movie. I cannot vouch for its historical accuracy in detail, but it seems to align well with some other accounts I’ve heard and read.

My favorite songs on these albums are “Chorus of Faith,” “Ready for the Storm,” “Remember Me,” “Were It Not for Grace” (awesome!), “The Strength of the Lord,” “Raining on the Inside,” and “Too Many Times.”

You can hear samples and purchase her latest album from Westney Productions.

I highly recommend it. There is some violence, mainly natives and foreigners being impaled by spears. But the gore is very minimal. I did not find the movie visually disturbing, but if you are sensitive you might need to exercise discretion.

Incidentally, two of the missionaries were Jim and Elisabeth Elliott (Elisabeth is a well-known author in Christian circles, whose books include “Passion and Purity” and “The Mark of a Man”).

You can find the DVD on Amazon.com, among other places. The music was very beautiful, too (I don’t own the audio CD, but it’s probably quite good).