Wu Wen-hsiung, a Presbyterian minister in Kuantu, points out that Mackay spent months or even years at a time away from home. Few missionaries were as enamored of travel as he.
關渡教會牧師吳文雄指出，馬偕幾乎經年累月的在外面繞，其他宣教士很少採用這種「遠心宣教」方式。