Wilfred Grenfell became a missionary right out of medical school, serving deep-sea fishermen. A voyage to Labrador, Canada left him appalled by the sickness and near-starvation of British workers there. He established the first hospital of the Labrador Medical Mission in 1893, as well as boarding schools, hospital ships, clothing thrift shops and, most famously, the Seamen’s Institute at St. John’s, Newfoundland. He was a disciple of the American evangelist Dwight Moody, and his books of spiritual observations about working life in the Maritime provinces sold well enough to finance his ministry’s expansions.
