In 1837 three young Methodist ministers, James Calvert, John Hunt, Thomas Jaggar, and their wives set out from England for the Fiji Islands. Theirs was a difficult assignment. The work there was only three years old, and the people were still cannibals. Hardly any fruit was seen during their first few years of service. Then in 1845 revival swept through the islands. Chief Thakombau, who had been the main opponent of the mission work, was converted to Christ. Within a few years a complete transformation of the islands had take place as the gospel took hold of the people there. The captain of the ship that took the three English couples from England tried to persuade them to change their minds about going to the islands. He told Calvert, “you will lose your lives and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages.” Calvert replied, “We died before we came here.”