Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen was born in 1834 in Schleswig-Holstein (a district long disputed between Denmark and Germany, and at that time Danish). 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1857 he began training for missionary work, and in 1862 he went as a Lutheran missionary to Sumatra, where he worked in the interior among the Bataks, a people previously untouched by either Islam or Christianity. (Note that Islam is widespread in Indonesia and has outposts as far east as the Philippines.) 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest part of Indonesia. ... Batak designates two distinct peoples, one living in Indonesia, the other in the Philippines. ... Islam (Arabic al-islām الإسلام,  listen) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ...

After some initial troubles, the mission began to succeed, with the conversion of several tribal chiefs and their followers. By 1876 there were 2000 Batak Christians. Nommensen translated the New Testament into Batak by 1878. He undertook to preach the Gospel without replacing the native culture by a European one, and to develop native Church leaders and a native order of worship. 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Scriptures, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... 1878 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Nommensen died on 23 May 1918. The Christian community he had planted grew and prospered. With the coming of World War II, the missionaries were driven out or imprisoned, and the Batak people took over completely the management of their own church, which now the largest Christian Congregation in Indonesia. May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

External link

• Ludwig Nommensen Missionary to Sumatra (http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/163.html)