Birth : 1844 Home Calling: 1878 Native Place : Bedford Country : England Place of Vision: Zululand, South Africa
Annie Margaret Green was the wife of Edward Wilkinson, who served as a missionary in Zululand of South Africa. She was born in a wealthy merchant family in England but gave up all comforts when God asked her to accompany her husband in the missionary work. In 1870, the Wilkinson family sailed to South Africa and arrived in Natal after three months of arduous ship journey. From there, they moved into the heart of Zululand and established a mission station at Kwamagwaza. The people of the Zulu tribe were fierce savages and worshipped their ancestor spirits.
The initial days in Zululand for Annie were challenging and disappointing. It was hard to communicate with the locals and bring them to Christ. But Annie, a woman of many virtues, worked with all her might to change their lives. She used to walk miles together with her husband to visit Zulu kraals (villages) to preach the Gospel. Sometimes, when Edward was away on long tours, Annie entirely managed the mission station. After finishing her household duties, she used to teach in the school till afternoon and then gathered women to teach them the Word of God till night. She provided medical assistance to the locals and also patiently trained several Zulu handmaidens to become nurses. When the church was being constructed, she worked hard to make mud bricks to speed up the work. She was earnest and full of practical common sense in direct mission work.
Although the ministry was flourishing, Annie had to constantly fear rude and ignorant savages, especially when Edward was away. Cettewayo, the Zulu chief, was intolerant and set himself fiercely against the missionaries. He killed several Christians accusing them of witchcraft, and publicly molested several women. Even then, this brave lady visited his sister, Ubatonyile, and earned her for Christ. Despite several hardships, Annie did not count her life dear, just so that the Zulu women taste the forbearing love of Christ.
