“Strength of my heart, I need not fail,
Not mine to fear but to obey,
With such a Leader, who could quail?
Thou art as Thou wert yesterday.
Strength of my heart, I rest in Thee,
Fulfill Thy purposes through me.”
                                       Amy Carmichael


One of the truly great, faithful missionaries of recent times was Amy Carmichael. Amy was born in the small village of Millisle in Northern Ireland, December 16, 1867, to devout Presbyterian parents, David and Catherine Carmichael. She was the oldest of seven children. In many ways she was an unlikely candidate for missionary work. She suffered neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her whole body weak and achy and often put her in bed for many weeks at a time. Her friends thought that she was foolish for wanting to go on the mission field. They didn’t think she would be able to take the strain for very long, but Amy was certain that God was calling her to go overseas.

Her own personality prepared her for the challenges that she would face. When she was a girl, she was a bit rebellious. Whenever the Carmichael children were up to something mischievous, you could be sure that Amy was probably behind it. She played pranks on a governess that did not seem to like the children. They wanted to make life unbearable for her so that she would quit, and so they put bugs in her tea and toads in her bed. She did quit, but seeing her mother’s sadness over this, Amy ran to her and begged for her forgiveness. She was a strong-headed girl, but really tender hearted. She loved the Lord even at an early age.

When she turned thirteen she attended a boarding school. But, after a few years her father died and the family was in poor circumstances. Her mother took a job in England. While there, Amy worked with the female mill workers, teaching them about Christ. At one time she had over 300 students. She lived in a cockroach-infested apartment near the mill. Unfortunately, her neuralgia began to really bother her and she grew very sick. She had to give up her work among the mill women.

At this point, Robert Wilson, the founder of the Keswick Convention, invited her to come and stay with him and his grown children. He became like a second father to her. During her stay there, the desire to be a foreign missionary grew so strong that she finally talked to Mr. Wilson about it. She prayed about it and wrote down reasons why God might not be calling her. At the top of the list of course, was her illness.

One night after praying with Robert Wilson, she went back to her room, and she clearly heard the Lord speaking to her as if He was in the room with her. He said, “Go ye.” Amy replied, “Surely, Lord, You don’t mean it.” The voice again said, “Go ye.” Amy decided to follow that voice. She told Mr. Wilson, and wrote to her mother. Her mother agreed that Amy must follow the Lord’s lead and go.

But where? Amy searched for a year, and finally took an opportunity to go to Japan where there were some missionaries who would welcome and train her. She became the first missionary sponsored by Keswick ministries.

Amy learned much in Japan. She found that she could depend on God for all of her needs. She learned how to humble herself, and dress and behave in such a way as to fit in with the Japanese people. This lesson would help her when she went to India. She loved the Japanese people very much, and won a few souls to Christ in the fifteen months that she was there. Soon, she became sick with the neuralgia again. She learned how to spend the time in her bed wisely, praying earnestly for those around her. But a doctor would tell her that she really needed to be in a different climate because of her disease and she would have to leave Japan.

She returned to England in 1894. Mr. Wilson suggested that she work in India, where the sunny weather would be better for her health. At first she rejected the idea, but soon was convinced that she could serve God better if she was in good health. She searched for a place to go, and finally sailed for warm, sunny Bangalore in October of 1895.

Amy went with the help of the Church of England, Zenana Missionary Society. When she arrived in India, she heard about the temple children. These children had been dedicated to the gods. They were forced into prostitution to make money for the temple priests. Amy desperately wanted to rescue these young girls. She tried to find a way to get into the temples. She put on a sari and stained her skin brown so that she could pass as a Hindu. This was a bold move, but definitely in line with her stubborn and adventurous personality. God had made her this way, and she was up to the task.

Amy knew that the Lord was in charge of her life. She nearly went to prison for the rescue, considered a “kidnapping” in India, of one young girl. Amazingly, the case was dismissed. God was protecting and working through this faithful woman.

After thirty years of work among her beloved adopted people, she went on to found a place of safety for the young children in India. The organization she founded was known as the Dohnavur Fellowship. Dohnavur is situated in Tamil Nadu, just thirty miles from the southern tip of India. She rescued more than one thousand children who would otherwise have faced an uncertain, but probably dismal future. She desired to build a hospital as well. The hospital she founded is still there today and works with the aged people in India. There is also a school for the mentally and physically disabled.

In 1931, Amy was badly injured in a fall, which left her bedridden much of the time until her death. Even when she became old and infirm, she would praise God for her circumstances, because it would give her a chance to pray and write books and poetry. Prayer was the center of her life, and she became a great spiritual witness for thousands of others.

Amy Carmichael died in India in 1951 at the age of 83, after twenty years of being bedridden. Many people in such trials might complain to God about their illnesses. But Amy had learned to trust God in whatever circumstance He put in her life. Though she longed to be working among her people, she allowed God to use her where He put her. She did not waste time feeling sorry for herself. Many people were inspired by her cheerfulness and kind words. She used the time to write over thirty books, and now many people can be blessed by her work, thanks to her faithfulness and love for Christ.

“He hath never failed thee yet.
Never will His love forget.
O fret not thyself nor let Thy heart be troubled,
Neither let it be afraid.”
                                        Amy Carmichael