By: Chris V One of my favorite missionaries is Amy Carmichael. For fifty-five years, Amy Carmichael served faithfully in India where she rescued sex workers and children from being trafficked in Hindu temples. Amy, even with health problems, served God faithfully till the end of her life, which still impacts the people of India even today. Let's take a look at this amazing woman's life: Amy's Childhood Amy Carmichael was born on December 16th, 1867 in Millisle in Northern Ireland. When she was 15, Amy went to Harrogate Ladies' College in Harrogate, Yorkshire, where she realized she needed to place her faith in Christ. Years later, she wrote: "My mother had often talked to me about the Lord Jesus and, as I sat on her knee, she had sung hymns to me. I had felt the love of the Lord Jesus and nestled in his love just as I had nestled in her arms. But I had not understood that there was something more to do, something that may be called coming to him, or opening the door to him, or giving oneself to him." After singing "Jesus Loves Me", Amy finally realized who Jesus was and what He did on the cross for her, which lead to her trusting in Christ. Afterward, the Carmichael family moved Belfast, Ireland because of financial difficulties. Amy's father died two years later, which resulted in Amy spending the next decade helping her mom take care of and tutor her younger siblings. Called to serve One Sunday, as Amy and her siblings were walking home from church, they stopped to help an elderly beggar woman down a street. As she did this, Amy felt embarrassed to be helping the woman and tried to hide her face in shame. As she walked with the woman, Amy noticed a fountain in the center of the road and heard a voice say "Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw–the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If the foundation survives, he will receive the reward." Immediately, Amy realized that God was telling her that she may look good and kind on the outside, but her motives for helping the woman were wrong. When she got home, Amy searched her Bible to find the words she had heard as she looked at the fountain: "Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward" - 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, KJV. After she read this, Amy promised God that she would only do things to please Him, not others or herself. This wasn't the only promise Amy made to God. While Amy was having tea with her mom in a tea shop, she saw a beggar girl pressing her nose up against the window, watching people eat. This lead to Amy making another promise to God: she would give her money to the poor. God used these two encounters in Amy's life to set her on the track He planned for her life: serving those who were less fortunate. Amy's Ministry Work Amy started off by visiting a slum in Belfast with a local pastor to help hand out tracts and food; this is where she met the "shawlies". Shawlies were local girls who worked at nearby mills for fourteen hours and had very little pay; they got their name because they wore shawls to protect them from the cold. As Amy shared the gospel with them, she noticed they were eager to learn more about what God has done for them. She then started a Bible study at a nearby church for them and brought them to church services. (The shawlies were unfortunately not welcomed by the church's congregation.) As this group of young women grew, Amy was able to purchase a tin building- the "Tin Tabernacle"- with money that was donated in order to do so. The building was called the Welcome Hall and became the new meeting place for the shawlies (and is still there today as the Welcome Evangelical Church). The Carmichael family was facing bankruptcy in 1888, which lead to the family moving to Manchester, England where Amy continued to faithfully work with the poor. Because of the terrible living conditions, Amy became ill and suffered from neuralgia. Even though the cost was detrimental to Amy's heath, she knew that it was way more important to obey God's will for her, saying "Nothing is too precious for Jesus". As her health continued to deteriorate, Amy moved into a Robert Wilson's, who was a family friend, estate for two years. During this time, Amy heard missionary Hudson Taylor speak, which lead her to believe that is was God's will for her life to become a missionary. After praying about it, Amy submitted to God's plan for her to become a missionary. Even though Amy struggled with her health, she was accepted as the first Keswick missionary to the Church Missionary Society (CMS); her first assignment being to go to Japan with three other missionary women. Due to worsening health, doctors told Amy to leave Japan and go back to a more suitable climate, and Amy returned to England after being in Japan for fifteen months. In 1894, Amy was invited to join the Church of England Zenana Mission, where she served in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) for a little while. Afterwards, Amy went to serve in India because the climate was easier on her health. She went to live with a missionary for the CMS named Thomas Walker and his wife, who helped teach her the Tamil language. Before Amy even finished learning the language, she started a group of women she called the Starry Cluster: this was a group of women that were converted to Christianity from Hinduism. This group of women traveled the countryside telling anyone who would listen about Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Some women in the Starry Cluster were trying to seek sanctuary from Hindu temples where they served as prostitutes. One day, Amy met a little girl named Preena, whose widowed mother had sold her into temple slavery and was to become a temple prostitute. Preena had run away from the temple after hearing one of Amy's messages about Christ's love and how it was the same for everyone while she was getting water from a nearby well. Amy didn't send Preena back to the temple because she knew that the girl would be beaten or even killed if she went back. Amy took Preena in even though she knew she could be charged with kidnapping; it was a risk she was willing to take. As she studied the Hindu caste system more closely, Amy learned that Hinduism encouraged temple slavery of children. This resulted in Amy devoting the rest of her life to fighting against child prostitution. As the Starry Cluster grew, more children started to show up on Amy's doorstep as word of her rescue mission in the temples started to spread. In 1901, Amy and the Walkers moved to Dohnavur, India, where Amy founded the Dohnavur Fellowship, which became home to former child prostitutes. Over time, Amy became known as Amma, or mother in Tamil, to the children and community. Amy was also in constant prayer with God about the medical supplies they needed at the center, and in 1912, Queen Mary helped fund a hospital at the Dohnavur Fellowship. Not only that, but in 1918, Amy added a home for boys in the Dohnavur Fellowship, most of who were former temple prostitutes. In the last twenty years of her life, Amy was bedridden after an accident that broke her leg and ankle. Amy continued to direct the Dohnavur Fellowship from her bedroom, passed on the duty of rescuing children, and began to write books and poems about her love for Jesus and her relationship with God. (You can find her books and poems here.) On January 18th, 1951, Amy Carmichael passed away at Dohnavur after serving for fifty-five years in India. Amy's Ministry Impact (She Left A Legacy) Even after Amy passed away, her ministry still continued to impact India, even up to today. The Dohnavur Fellowship still continues to care for kids that are rescued from dangerous and harmful situations; they support around five hundred people. Also, in 2016, Welcome Evangelical Church opened up the Amy Carmichael Center with the intent of keeping Amy's desire to care for the whole person, like Christ does (Proverbs 21:13, John 13:34-35, 1 John 3:17-18). Amy even inspired Jim and Elisabeth Elliot to become missionaries! Years later, Amy Carmichael's faith and trust in His plan for her life continues to impact people around the world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ " If I am afraid to speak the truth lest I lose affection, or lest the one concerned should say, "You do not understand", or because I fear to lose my reputation for kindness; if I put my own good name before the other's highest good, then I know nothing of Calvary love." -Amy Carmichael. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ REflection Questions
You can find out more about Amy Carmichael by checking out the links below:
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