On this day in 1951, the Church on earth said farewell to Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, tireless rescuer of children, and one of the most beloved devotional writers of the twentieth century. After more than five decades of sacrificial service, she entered the presence of the Saviour she had loved from childhood.
Born in County Down, Ireland, Amy sensed God’s call to mission early in life. In 1895 she sailed for India, where she would remain for the rest of her days. Disturbed by the plight of young girls dedicated to temple service, she began to shelter and educate them, eventually founding the Dohnavur Fellowship, a community that became a refuge for hundreds of children who would otherwise have had no future.
Much of Amy’s later ministry was carried out from a sickbed after an injury left her largely confined. Yet her pen became a pulpit. Books such as If and Gold by Moonlight continue to challenge believers toward a deeper, crucified walk with Christ. Her life message was simple and searching: love that costs is the love that resembles Calvary.
Amy Carmichael asked that no stone or memorial be raised over her grave, only the word “Amma” mother. It was the name given by the children she saved, and it speaks more eloquently than any monument. Today we remember a woman who poured herself out for “the least of these” and proved that a single yielded life, placed in God’s hands, can change generations.
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