US Missionary Chau Was Obsessed With The Sentinelese, Say Friends

Chau even avoided “romantic attachments because of his planned mission” to the Sentinel island.

John Chau, the American national who had visited the Andaman islands with the purpose of preaching Christianity to the indigenous Sentinelese tribe, was killed by them.

(Photo courtesy: Facebook/@Ebenezer Thyagaraj)

The Missionary organization John Allen Chau belonged to, knew that he came to India without a proper missionary visa as those “aren’t easy to come by,” according to a report by The Washington Post.

Christian missionary Chau was allegedly killed by the Sentinelese tribe in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on November 21. Indian authorities have halted efforts to retrieve his body from the island.

In the report, Mary Ho, the international executive leader of All Nations, a missionary group based in Kansas City, that sends Christian missionaries to 40 countries, refers to Chau as a “soft-spoken, very gentle young man,” who had a very “radical call” to find “unreached groups”.

She goes on to insist that Chau did not violate any law by contacting the tribe, even though Indian authorities says he clearly did.

His friend, John Middleton Ramsey, who is interviewed in the report, claims Chau was so obsessed with the island that he even avoided “romantic attachments because of his planned mission.”

“He knew of the dangers of this place. He didn’t want any hearts to get broken should something go wrong. He was very much aware of what he was doing. He also knew it wasn’t exactly legal.”

John Middleton Ramsey

Others interviewed in the report also admit that Chau spent years researching and planning his mission to convert the Sentinelese tribe to Christianity. The entries in his journals, quoted in the report, also indicate that he considered himself as a messiah of sorts, chosen to spread the message of Jesus among the residents of the tribe.