Book Reports and Biographical Sketches

        A Biographical Sketch of the Life of Amy Carmichael

        Born Dec. 16, 1867, Millisle, Northern Ireland
   Died January 18, 1951, Dohnavur, India

       Amy Beatrice Carmichael grew up as the eldest child in a strict home in Northern Ireland. She was raised in the Presbyterian Church. Her father was a mill owner. Whenever she or one of her seven siblings were caught doing something disobedient, they were made to take Gregory powder (made from rhubarb), which made their stomachs hurt. Amy was a persistent, poetic tomboy, and roamed the seashore and fields about her home consistently. Along with her brothers, she attempted many daring things, such as climbing on the roof of her home.

In 1885 her Father died. That same year, as she helped an elderly woman on the street by carrying her bundle, she heard a voice say “Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble - every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be declared by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide-” (1 Cor. 3: 12, 13, 14), as clearly as though a human had spoken it. This experience changed her life for eternity. From then on, her hope was to obtain Gold and Silver, rather than wood, hay or stubble. From then she was satisfied with nothing but the best and the highest, nothing but what would please her Savior.

In 1887 she attended the Keswick convention, and heard Hudson Taylor speak about missionary life. She was then convinced of her calling to the mission field. For fifteen months she worked in Japan as the “Keswick missionary”, but soon realized that Japan was not her calling. After a time she heard God calling her to India. She arrived there in 1885. In 1886 she met the Rev. Thomas Walker. She was encouraged and strengthened by this man until his death in 1912, and they often held evangelistic meetings together. In 1900 she moved to Dohnavur, and one year later she rescued her first temple child. Often temple men would give her trouble, and try to force her to give back the girls she had rescued.

Amy and one of her children

       Over a course of approximately 50 years, many children (the Fellowship began taking boys in 1918) were rescued from a bleak future of temple life and raised by the members of the Dohnavur Fellowship. Amy was extremely careful in choosing teachers and caretakers for the children. After all, nothing would do in God’s sight but the very best, the Gold, and those who she allowed to help were shaping the children’s lives for eternity. In 1929, a hospital for the local people was added to the Dohnavur compound.

       In 1931, Amy suffered a fall and was crippled from then on. However, she continued to direct the affairs of Dohnavur. In 1935, her health worsened, and she became bedridden. She wrote many articles during this period, mostly by dictating to those who took care of her, and had several books published. In 1948 she fell again while attempting to walk a few steps, and was completely immobilized. For the next few years Amy was in great pain. She died a peaceful death on January 18, 1951, at the age of 83, in Dohnavur. She was buried under a tree in “God’s Garden”, where a bird table marks her grave.

       During her whole life, Amy’s one hope was to glorify her Maker. She did her best to follow in His footsteps, to follow the “pattern shewn in the mount”, no matter what popular opinion was or how much opposition she faced. Amma, as her children called her, was very dedicated to the work God had given her. She lived in India without a furlough for 56 years. This world was not her home, and she knew it. May we also strive for the highest and glorify our Father in our day to day lives.

Mighty Mary

Mary Slessor, born December 2, 1848, was a red haired Scott. She was bold, and not afraid of bullies. However, she was extremely terrified of cows. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Her father was a drunkard, and was laid in a drunkard’s grave while she was still quite young. Because of this she lived in constant poverty as a child, and after his death she had to work long hours in a factory to help support the family.

Even at a young age, Mary read with great interest reports about and from Scottish missionaries; particularly Mr. Anderson in Calabar (which is now part of Nigeria). She longed to go as a missionary to Africa. Though her Mother desired that one of her two sons should become a missionary, she objected to her daughter pursuing such a thing. When both of her sons died of Tuberculosis at an early age, however, she consented.

After much opposition, Mary finally found a society that would accept her. She was going to Calabar (which is now part of Nigeria). Friends and neighbors were upset. They could not understand how Mrs. Slessor could allow her daughter to leave. Africa was a dangerous place! Wild animals, hostile natives, diseases…They could all think of plenty of reasons why young Mary Slessor should not go to Africa. Despite the odds, Mary and her Mother knew that they were in God’s will, and stood firm.

During her first months in Calabar, Mary lived with none other than Mr. Anderson himself. Mamma Anderson was very strong willed, and ruled over her household liked a queen. Mary was once sent to bed without supper because she was late for the meal, but Daddy Anderson slipped her a banana before she went to sleep.

Though she enjoyed her activities in the city, Mary strongly desired to go into the interior, or at least into the jungle surrounding Duke Town! Mamma Anderson would hear of no such thing as a young lady starting a mission, in the interior, alone. Despite Mamma, Mary got permission from the mission board. With great rejoicing she went out into the jungle and had a hut and school built in a local village, Old Town. Having no calendar, she sometimes forgot which day of the week it was, and accidentally held church on Monday instead of Sunday.

     The chief respected her from the start, and soon almost the whole village loved her. They called her Ma. The government official of Calabar often relied on her to represent him to the Africans, because they respected her so much. She abhorred the heathen practice of killing twins and banishing their mothers, and whenever she heard that twins had been born she saved the babies, taking them as her own. Soon she had quite a large family of native children. If she heard of two tribes going to war she would hurry to the place, sometimes hiking all night in the rain while she was fighting an attack of malaria. She always insisted that they make peace, and whatever Ma insisted almost always happened. Mary also hated the practice of drinking poison to see who was guilty of a crime, but she had a more difficult battle with this custom. The people were not so ready to let this white woman have that kind of control. She also had frequent “battles” with chiefs about killing people they had taken captive in war. She was adamant that these practices and more, such as pouring boiling oil on transgressors, be abolished, especially in her village. She had her friends, but she also had her enemies, the Witch Doctor included. Many natives did not appreciate her trying to change the old customs. She was bold and of a strong will, however, and by God’s strength, she put her enemies to flight. In the end, she was Ma the Beloved.

A few times she was forced to go back to Scotland for a time because of ill health, but she always wanted to be in Africa. Some times she took one of her little African children with her. She was distraught when she became too old to keep pushing on into the interior, and would not be satisfied unless she did. Eka Kpukpru owo (the Mother of all People), died at the age of 66, in Nigeria on January 13, 1915. The hard lifestyle she lived in Africa’s interior had taken its toll.