Amy Carmichael was born in Northern Ireland in 1867. She had brown eyes, which she often prayed for God to make blue. She was sincerely disappointed when God didn't answer her prayer request. It wasn't until much later that she learned that God's ways are always best.
She was able to meet Mr. Moody when she was a teenager. That event was never forgotten! He had just preached on the prodigal son where the father had said to the older son "Son, thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine." Mr. Moody said, "I never saw it before. Oh, the love of God's love. Oh, the love. God's love." She realized that God always knew her need before she asked him.
She helped to raise her brothers and sisters after the death of her father, and in doing so was learning the basics for the job that God had in mind for her.
At 24 she went to Japan, but after 15 months realized that was not where God wanted her. After helping her friend in England for a year, she went to India and contracted Dengue Fever. She was sick in body, but also disgusted by the attitude of the ladies there. She wrote the following poem:
Onward Christian soldiers,
Sitting on the mats;
Nice and warm and cozy
Like little pussycats.
Onward Christian soldiers,
Oh, how brave are we,
Don't we do our fighting
Very comfortably?
In 1901, Amy realized what God wanted her to do. An Indian woman brought her a 5 year old child that had been sold to the local temple for a prostitute. She had run away and been caught twice. The third time she escaped, this Indian woman brought her to Amy. This set Amy on her path to save the children who were sold into this horrible practice.
Over the years she saved thousands of boys and girls. She was often taken to court for kidnapping by the local priests. Her brown eyes, for which she prayed to be changed, became a blessing as she could dye her skin with coffee and blend into the Indian population when searching for children to help.
She was influenced by George Muller and followed his example to never ask for financial help from people and only to God. She was able to build hospitals, schools, and even started a printing ministry.
In 1931, she fell and lived the rest of her life in a wheelchair. This didn't break her spirits, or slow her in her mission. She wrote over 35 books, most of them after she was considered an invalid.
Toward the end of her life, she saw the banning of temple prostitution. The Dohnavur Fellowship, which Amy started in 1901, is still helping children in India. It is run by the children she rescued. Amy was buried somewhere on the grounds without a marker. She served in India for 55 years, and her mind set was "You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving".
Oh, that I leave a legacy of children serving God and winning souls long after I am gone!
