Mother to many
15 DecemberI was privileged to write an article for Shining Stars Magazine, and it will actually be published in this next issue! I decided it to publish it here, too, for those of you who aren't subscribed to SSM. It's about a missionary named Amy Carmichael, and well, you can read the article yourself. :)
Mother to many
Amy
Carmichael was an Irish girl born on December 16, 1876. She was raised
in a devout Christian home by her wealthy parents and never had a clue
that one day God would send her to India. She had a passion for helping
people, and she was soon preparing meals for the poor and needy and
talking to people about the gospel. Amy rented a building and opened it
up to all women who wanted encouragement and meals. It was a place that
the poorest women, called shawlies, could meet other Christian women and
hear encouragement and learn about the gospel message. The doors were
open to all women, young and old. Soon after, Amy felt God's call to go
to India to help the people there.
Many people never understood Amy's decision, but she didn't care. She
was sure that God had called her to India, and she was determined to
follow His call. She arrived in the middle of the night in a rain storm,
and chances of her ever finding somebody who spoke English seemed slim.
At last she found someone who welcomed her into his home and made her
as comfortable as possible. It wasn't long after that Amy began to live
like the Indians, wearing the clothes they wore and living like they
lived. The English missionaries already there thought that she was
crazy, but Amy did it any way, choosing to live by the verse in Samuel
that says, "....Man looks at the outward appearance, but YHVH
looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7) She felt that the Indian people
would accept her more if she lived like them and spoke their language,
and indeed, many of them did. She was able to speak to them in their
language and answer their questions and tell them the good news without
messing around with finding a good translator.
Amy hadn't lived there for very long before a baby girl was left on her
doorstep. She kept her, and soon another baby was left on her doorstep,
and then one more, until Amy's house was packed so tightly with girls
that Amy was going to have to either build on to her hut or find a new
home. And of course, Amy couldn't bear the thought of sending the girls
away. She loved all of them, each and every one of them. She had adopted
them, making them part of her family.
Amy visited many different villages, and interestingly enough it was the children who mostly flocked to Amy. They loved the stories she told them of a kind king who loved them and wanted them to love him. Sadly, many of their parents despised this God that Amy had brought with her and punished their children severely for listening to her. Some were locked up in rooms and starved, others had hot peppers ground into their eyes. One girl was beaten so severely that she suffered brain damage for the rest of her life.
Amy visited many different villages, and interestingly enough it was the children who mostly flocked to Amy. They loved the stories she told them of a kind king who loved them and wanted them to love him. Sadly, many of their parents despised this God that Amy had brought with her and punished their children severely for listening to her. Some were locked up in rooms and starved, others had hot peppers ground into their eyes. One girl was beaten so severely that she suffered brain damage for the rest of her life.
When their parents forbade them to see Amy any more, some of them ran
away to Amy for protection. She fought bravely for them, striving not to
let them go back to the cruel life they had been born into. There was
also the caste system that Amy tried very hard to get rid of, with
minimum success. Certain families were of a certain caste, and that
caste could either be of higher or lower stature. A person from a higher
caste could not eat food prepared by a person from a lower caste or
even eat in the presence of a lower caste person. It forbade a higher
caste person to marry somebody from a different caste or go to a doctor
from a different caste. The whole system was complicated and difficult
to deal with, and Amy tried hard to get rid of it. But the people held
on tightly to their traditions, and many people died because of it.
Eventually, Amy's house was so full of children who had come to her for
refuge that she had a larger house built and began adopting more and
more children. She called it the Dohnavur Community. She never turned
anybody away, her heart only full of love and compassion. She soon
became known as 'the child stealing Amma' all over India. Amma was the
Tamil word for mother, and Amy certainly treated the children who came
to her like they were her own flesh and blood. Soon boys were coming to
her, and Amy welcomed them with open arms into her large family. Amy
saved over 1000 children, and she loved and knew all of them.
Even as Amy's health began to decline, children still ran to her for
safety and people still took their children there if they were unable to
care for them. Amy spent the last years of her life in her room, which
she called the 'Room of Peace,' leaving the windows open to let in
light and fresh air. Her children came and visited her, telling her of
what they had been learning. Amy listened eagerly and never turned them
away.
On the morning of January 18, 1951, Amy never woke up. She had died peacefully in her sleep, only a few weeks after her eighty-third birthday. The children she had saved tiptoed into her room for one last glimpse of their beloved Amma. Amy's funeral was simple and dignified, just the way she had wanted it. Above her grave, the children placed a stone bird bath with only one word engraved on it: Amma.
Amy gave most of her life for the people of India, living there for
over half her life. She loved them all dearly, and she even said in her
own words, "He said....'Love as I loved.' We cannot love too much."On the morning of January 18, 1951, Amy never woke up. She had died peacefully in her sleep, only a few weeks after her eighty-third birthday. The children she had saved tiptoed into her room for one last glimpse of their beloved Amma. Amy's funeral was simple and dignified, just the way she had wanted it. Above her grave, the children placed a stone bird bath with only one word engraved on it: Amma.
Amy has been a great inspiration to many women and to me because of her love and kindness to the people of India. She was a very brave woman and, as I said in the article, saved over 1000 children! I was completely amazed.
Anyways, there's a ton of snow outside still and we've been having a great time sledding! It's gradually been getting warmer (thank God it's not seventeen degrees below zero like it was) so the snow is starting to melt in places, but not on the sledding track! Chanukah was a lot of fun and I was going to post some pictures of our Chanukah party but unfortunately, the pictures didn't get put onto the computer on time. I hope to still do a post about our fist snow and how deep it was, but you know, when I have time.
We've seen a couple different herds of elk FINALLY! It took them a lot longer than we expected to come down from the mountains, but they're here.
Thank you so much for reading today and please comment and tell us what you're favorite missionary and how he/she has inspired you. Shalom!
Emma
2 Posted by Emma comments
I think that my favorite missionary is probably Gladys Alyward. She went to China and also saved the lives of many children! She was a very brave woman. I hope that I can be like her.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's so cool that you're going to be published in that magazine! I really like that missionary a lot. I'm going to get a couple books and read about her.
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