Calista Holman was born on this day in 1807, and she was born again as a teenager. Throughout her life she was often sick, and during one of those illnesses, when it was feared that she would die, she insisted on being baptized. On a cold day in March she was carried by sleigh to the edge of a Connecticut stream where she was immersed as a testimony of her faith in Christ. Her friends considered it a part of her funeral. But Miss Holman’s health immediately began to improve. And on this day, her birthday in 1834, Calista married Justus Vinton. Shortly after their union, the couple sailed for Burma to work as missionaries among the Karen tribe.
Due to the tropical climate, Mrs. Vinton’s health was in constant jeopardy. The couple were forced to interrupt their mission work to return to the States several times. But then after a few months, and the restoration of health, they returned to their field of service. Wherever they went, whether at home or abroad, the Lord blessed their faithfulness with the salvation of souls, the strengthening of established churches and the starting of new churches in Burma. During their last years on the field, during a twenty month period, Brother Vinton baptized 441 converts, but then in 1858 he contracted a jungle fever and died. Calista continued to minister to the women of Burma until her health was broken once again, so she returned to America. But again the Lord blessed with restored health, and she returned to her foreign home, where she served for another two years before passing away on December 18, 1864 at the age of fifty-seven.
The Vintons left this world enriched with new believers in Christ and with a son and daughter who both went on to serve the Lord just as their parents had done.