Perhaps the greatest thing that can be said of Mary Slessor is that she was a born missionary. From her earliest days, her dream was to be a missionary and Calabar (Nigeria) was her mission field. The death of David Livingstone was the catalyst for her missionary call, and in 1876, she went to the African mission field.

"Anywhere, provided it be forward," was one of her most famous sayings and summed up her life. She toiled for forty years in the heart of Nigeria, constantly seeking new tribes and new people to reach with the gospel of Christ. She rescued hundreds of orphans from certain death, prevented wars between tribes, helped to heal the sick, and spoke ceaselessly of the great love of God in sending Jesus Christ.