By Rosie Smith
Picture Attributon – Aishwarya A, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What happened so far…
Amy Carmichael grew up in Ireland and learned an important lesson about having a heart that truly pleased God. After helping a poor old woman, God spoke to her in a powerful way that changed her life forever. When her father died, Amy helped care for her family and began sharing God’s love with children and poor factory girls called the “Shawlies.” She started a special church called the Welcome Hall where everyone was welcome. Even through sickness and hard times, Amy chose to obey God. When she heard Him say “Go ye,” she knew she was called to be a missionary. After trying to serve in China and Japan but becoming unwell, Amy trusted God’s plan and finally set sail for India…
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Amy was different from most other missionaries. She dressed like the native people and lived among the Indian women who had converted to Christianity. Sadly, many women and children were badly persecuted for becoming Christians. Amy and the Indian Christians called themselves the ‘Starry Cluster’ and travelled around the hot, dusty countryside telling others about Jesus. They were often mocked, and sometimes violently opposed, but the women encouraged one another to keep on sharing, even if just to save one person.
One day, while Amy was preaching, a little girl named Preena overheard her. She was filling up buckets from the village well when she heard Amy talk about God’s love for all people. Knowing she would get into trouble for listening, Preena quickly returned to the temple where she lived, but she kept those words ever close to her heart.
Preena hated living at the temple. After her father had passed away, her mother had left her at the temple as a sacrifice to please the Hindu gods they believed in. Preena became a slave and was treated as no child should ever be treated. She had tried to escape once but was caught and severely punished. She desired more than ever to run away and find the lady who spoke about the God of love.
Preena was watched very closely all the time, but one day as she was walking through the temple, she noticed the big doors wide open. Preena glanced around her to see if anyone was looking, then ran as fast as she could without another look back.
Preena did not stop. Through the coconut groves she ran, until she collided with a woman walking the other way.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said, gasping for air. She turned to run again, but the woman put out her hand to stop her.
“Wait little girl! Are you ok, do you need help?” the woman said kindly.
Preena looked at her nervously, then burst into tears. “I need to find the foreign lady, the one who talks about Jesus!” she said.
The woman knew straight away who Preena was talking about. “Come and stay with me tonight”, she said, wrapping her arm around Preena’s skinny shoulders, “and I will take you to her tomorrow”.
Preena let out a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Amy was travelling home on a horse cart. She had decided to return home from their preaching trip sooner than expected. She wasn’t sure why, but had learnt in the past to trust God’s plans above her own. The following morning, as usual, she drank her cup of tea, enjoying the morning sunshine on her face as she prayed. Suddenly she opened her eyes as she felt the touch of a little hand on hers.
“I’m Preena”, said a small voice, “and I want to live with you always.”
Amy didn’t know what to say, then looking into her deep brown eyes, full of sorrow beyond her years, she motioned for Preena to sit by her side.
Preena told Amy everything that had happened to her…how she was given to the temple as a slave, and how she tried to escape. Amy was shocked! “How many more children must be suffering like this?” she thought to herself. She resolved from that point on to help as many children as she could, and that is exactly what she did. Preena would be the first of hundreds of unwanted children who found a refuge with Amy and the Starry Cluster.
As more and more children came to Amy, the more danger she faced. Many times, she was threatened to be thrown into jail if she did not give the children back. But Amy stood her ground, knowing that God was greater than any enemy she faced.
With so many children in her care, their needs were very great, so Amy brought every need to God in prayer. Many of the children became very sick, with no money or medicines to help them get well. Amy prayed desperately that they wouldn’t lose any more children to sickness. Over time, God provided the funds they needed to build a hospital and even a school for their orphaned children.
Although Amy never married or had children of her own, she became a mother to hundreds of children in India. They even called her “Amma” which means mother in their native language. Many years later, when the children were asked why they were drawn to Amy, they replied, “It was love…we knew Amma loved us”.
Amy gave her life to serve God, through helping the poor and needy. Eventually all her hard work and persistent prayers led to a changing of the law in India, which would put an end to temple slavery and protect children from such abuse.
At the age of 83, Amy was laid to rest under a bird bath with the simple word ‘Amma’ inscribed on it. The Dohnavur Fellowship, which had become a home to so many homeless children in her time, still operates today, over 60 years later.
In the final decades of her life, Amy wrote many books, which continue to inspire thousands of people around the world. With over 50 years spent serving as a missionary in India, her life was one of sacrifice. Yet she did it all because of her love for Jesus. In her own words she wrote, “When I consider the cross of Christ, how can anything that I do be called sacrifice?”
