
Once upon a time, there was a child from Millisle, County Down in North Ireland. Her name was Amy Carmichael who was born on December 16,1867. She had brown eyes but she prayed to God to change it to blue. She was rather disappointed that it never happened. but little did she know what plans God had in store for her.
Her father died in 1885 and she was adopted by Robert Wilson. Mr. Wilson was a co founder of the Keswick Convention, where Amy began to become involved more in ministry. In 1887, she heard an inspiring message by Hudson Taylor, at the Keswick Convention, which sparked her call to missions. Although Carmichael suffered from neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her whole body weak and achy and often put her in bed for weeks on end, she continued her endeavor in missions.
Carmichael’s first missionary work began in Japan in 1883, where she discovered sheer disappointment. The Japanese missionaries whom she was working with were not living a pure life honorable before God. As a missionary, Carmichael wanted to associate with others who were truly after God’s own heart, so after fifteen months, she left Japan and returned home to care for a sick friend. Because of Carmichael’s drive to do God’s work, she left home less than a year later and returned to missions work. Commissioned by the Church of England Zezana Mission, she made her way to India.
In India, Carmichael was truly able to get to work for God. Her main focus was rescuing the temple children, girls who were being sold as prostitutes to raise money for priests. Carmichael developed a shelter or orphanage for all of the children she rescued, which became known as the Dohnavur Fellowship. Dohnavur is situated in Tamil Nadu, thirty miles from the southern tip of India. To stay in custom, members of Dohnavur Fellowship wore Indian dress and were given Indian names. Another great sacrifice which Carmichael made to better associate herself with the Indian children was the coloring of her skin with coffee.
While serving in India, Amy received a letter from a young lady who was considering life as a missionary. She asked Amy, "What is missionary life like?" Amy wrote back saying simply,
"Missionary life is simply a chance to die."
On June 23, 1931, Carmichael slipped and fell, breaking a right arm, fracturing a thigh bone, and sustaining other damage to her hip. Still fighting strong, she spent most of her time in bed, but died at the age of eighty-three on January 18, 1951. After she began missions in India, she remained there her whole life, until her death. She asked that no stone be put over her grave; instead, the children she had cared for put a bird bath over it with the single inscription "Amma", which means mother in the Tamil.
Her biography quotes her as saying:
"One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving."
Tikai: Amy selamatkan bebudak yang dijual untuk tujuan pelacuran. Di Malaysia, bayi banyak pulak dibuang. Untuk membantah keras tindakan mendera kanak-kanak dan pembuangan bayi..teruskan memakai baju hitam dan blue ribbon hari khamis ini.
Kids need someone like us to rescue and defend them!
Be their voice!
Be their voice!
No comments:
Post a Comment