Amy Carmichael

I’ve been on a bit of an Amy Carmichael ‘binge’ recently! Having read her story in the Trailblazers ‘Rescuer By Night’ and ‘Ten Girls Who Changed The World’, when I bought them at Girls’ Camp many moons ago, my interest was rekindled after visiting India in 2017 & 2018. At Girls’ Discovery Camp 2018 our bedtime story each evening followed Amy’s adventures (using CEF material), and I think, or at least hope, that the campers enjoyed it as much as I did! I bought her biography, ‘A Chance To Die’ by Elisabeth Elliot between my India trips but only got around to reading it this year. Soon after finishing it, a friend lent me the most recent biography by Ian Murray, ‘Amy Carmichael - Beauty For Ashes’. This only fuelled my interest further and so the original biography by Frank Houghton, ‘Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur’ is now on my ’To Read’ list! Currently I’m enjoying ‘Amy’s Tin Tabernacle’ by Victor Maxwell; this outlines the work of Amy’s ‘Welcome Hall’ in West Belfast, both during her time there and the years following until its transition into the Welcome Evangelical Church as it is today. Only the other day, mum found two compilations of Amy’s own writings (‘Edges of His Ways’ and ‘Thou Givest...They Gather’) and wondered if I’d like them - I don’t think she was expecting the exuberant response she received!

So why am I soaking up everything I can about this woman? Beyond sharing her name, Northern Irish roots and an interest in India, what makes her so intriguing to me?

I highly recommend all the biographies above for details and anecdotes; but briefly, Amy Beatrice Carmichael was born 16th December 1867, the oldest of 7 children. She grew up in Millisle, County Down, then attended boarding school in Harrogate for several years before the family moved to Belfast, shortly after which her father died. One of the most admirable things about Amy’s life is her intense service for the Lord even from a young age. Along with teaching her younger siblings, Amy was active in serving the poor; bringing children to her home to teach them the Bible and leading weekly prayer meetings and Bible Studies for young people. She established a work for the ‘shawlies’, or mill girls at ‘The Welcome Hall’ on Cambrai Street in Belfast, where I was excited to discover there are some photographs of Amy on display.

The Keswick Convention played an important role in Amy’s life. It was here that she heard the call to missionary service and met many who would support her through the years, in prayer and financially. Initially it was China which piqued Amy’s interest, having met Hudson Taylor (another biography I highly recommend!); however, after being turned down for service with the China Inland Mission, Amy ended up spending several years in Japan instead. A period of illness then paved the way for Amy’s move to India where she would spend the remainder of her time on earth.

Amy initially worked alongside another established missionary, Thomas Walker, of whom she herself wrote a biography (‘Walker of Tinevelly’). This work was intensely evangelistic, taking the Gospel to local villages and challenging the nominalism which had become an issue in local churches. Her heart was increasingly burdened for the plight of the ‘temple children’ and so her work became defined by her role as ‘Amma’ (Tamil for ‘Mother’) at Dohnavur in Tamil Nadu, South India. Her legacy continues to be her rescue of countless children from captivity in service to Hindu idols. The details of this dark religion and the evil practices to which these children were subject could be a whole article series itself.

For the last 20 years of her life, Amy was mostly confined to bed-rest, a rather inaccurate term, because she remained as active as ever in her leadership of the ‘family’ at the Dohnavur Fellowship which she had established. During this time, she mainly penned between 40 and 50 books, as well as writing daily notes of encouragement to Dohnavur family members.

Amy Carmichael gives an exceptional example of the set-apart life. From the time of her conversion to her going home, she poured out her life in service to the Lord and had little-to-no regard of human opinion. Every decision and action was soaked in prayerfulness and a dependence on the promises of the Lord and His faithfulness. The comforts and distractions of this world truly were ‘dung’ to her (Philippians 3v7- 8). No doubt she was called ‘extreme’ and ‘deluded’, yet aren’t we called to be foolish in the world’s eyes for the sake of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 4vs10-13)? Every time I read about Amy Carmichael, I am convicted and reminded of that truth. The intimate relationship she enjoyed with her Lord is evident, not only in her writings, but in the testimony of love which emanated from her to everyone she encountered.

Amy’s legacy remains in the ongoing work of the Dohnavur Fellowship where the light of Christ continues to shine; but largely, India remains in darkness. It holds 10th place on Open Doors’ World Watch List for persecution, and as Hindu extremism increases, churches are being burned regularly with many believers laying down their lives for the sake of the Gospel. While certain temple practices are now illegal, they have not ceased and many children continue to be at risk of traffiking and prostitution etc. Pray for this country, that the Lord might raise up many more ‘Amy Carmichaels’ who will be willing to pour out their lives for the work of His Kingdom. May we all be able to follow her example in
praying:

Make us Thy labourers,
Let us not dream of ever looking back,
Let not our knees be feeble, hands be slack,
O make us strong to labour, strong to bear,
From the rising of the morning till the stars appear.

Make us Thy warriors,
On whom Thou canst depend to stand the brunt
Of any perilous charge on any front,
Give to us skill to handle sword and spear
From the rising of the morning till the stars appear