Calista H. Vinton (19 April 1807 – 18 December 1864) was an American Baptist missionary who labored for 30 years in Burma (now known as Myanmar) preaching, teaching and caring amongst the Karen people. Both Calista and her husband Justus Vinton were eminently successful in making conversions. Early life Calista Vinton was born on to Thomas and Lavinia Holman in Union, Connecticut. When she was sixteen years old she had a severe illness. After two years, her family and doctors had given up hope. Being a pious girl, she requested baptism as her dying wish and was carried on a chair and helped by the pastor and a deacon into a brook and baptized in March, 1822. She was received into the West Woodstock Baptist Church, and pastor Elder Grow, while administering the Lord's Supper to her, said "This is our sister's first communion, and it will probably be her last." However, she recovered her health and began to think her life was given to her for a special purpose. She completed her education by alternately teaching and studying. She met Justus Vinton, who was studying at the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institute (now Colgate University). They chose Burma as their field of their future work and spent a year together at Hamilton studying the Karen language from Ko Chet Thaing, one of two native disciples brought along by Rev. Jonathan Wade on his furlough. Calista and Justus were married on April 9, 1834, and they sailed in July 1834 for Burma with other missionaries, including Rev. and Mrs. Wade and Ko Chet Thaing. Working in the jungles around Moulmein Since Justus and Calista were sufficiently familiar with the Karen language, they immediately commenced their mission work to the Karens in the jungles around Moulmein (now known as Mawlamyine. They traveled in native canoes, on horseback, on elephants, on buffalo carts and on foot. At first they went together from village to village preaching. Afterward, they went separately because they received so many invitations from distant villages. The work of preaching was combined with the ministering to the sick. Calista held prayer meetings in villages. Jungle traveling was extremely dangerous because tigers and other wild animals were abundant, and she narrowly escaped them on many occasion. Calista established many schools in mission stations and staffed them with native scholars she had trained. The British government offered "grant in aid", a