But Amy’s work was no mere watered down  social gospel  designed to  meet only temporal  needs. Rather, her chief desire was to see these dear children transformed by the power of the Gospel so that they might serve the Savior and others with a whole heart.

This captivating new (2015) biography by Iain Murray is one of those books I couldn’t put down. Patricia MacArthur aptly states in her Forward:

“The truly moving biographies of Christians are surely encouraging, while also being convicting. They tear at the fabric of our complacency and selfishness. The lifelong sacrificial usefulness of Amy Carmichael fits that pattern.”

Amy Carmichael was born at Millisle, Northern Ireland in 1867 and spent over fifty years, mostly in Southern India,   serving as a missionary, mother, teacher, and nurse, to 1,850 girls and 670 boys of the lower caste system. She never returned home.

With the help of a missionary couple, Amy established a home for children at Dohnavur when a young girl showed up on her doorstep after fleeing the horrors of temple prostitution, so common among poor Hindu children. As God continued to bring babies and children to Amy,  she realized this was to be her life’s calling  and she affectionately  became known as “Ammai” meaning “true mother”.

But Amy’s work was no mere watered down social gospel designed to meet only temporal needs. Rather, her chief desire was to see these dear children transformed by the power of the Gospel so that they might serve the  Savior and others with a whole heart.

Before going to India, Amy had spent 15 months in Japan (1893-94) and learned some valuable lessons there about evangelism.

“Some of her experiences here would mark the rest of her life. She learned to reject some of the methods of winning the attention of unbelievers which some evangelicals were adopting. She was advised ‘that more girls would be drawn to meetings if she offered lessons in sewing or embroidery and administered only a mild dose of the gospel’. By that means, it was said, more would listen to her speak about Jesus. But she did not believe in such indirect dealing with people.

“I would rather have two who came in earnest than a hundred who  came to play.  We have no time to play with souls like this.  It is not by ceremonial tea making and flower arranging, not by wood chrysanthemum and foreign sewing learning,  but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.” “ 1

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on theologyforgirls.com – however, the original URL is no longer available.]