Heroes of the faith

A few weeks ago in the Manhattan Declaration Sunday School class we talked about heroes of the faith who have gone before us. Nearly every one of us could name one or more of our own personal heroes, many of whom were not familiar to all members of the class. One of those named was Amy Carmichael, and although I had heard her name before, I decided it was time to learn more about her.

Amy Carmichael was in in Northern Ireland in 1867 to a Presbyterian family. After successfully founding Welcome Evangelical Church in Belfast, which ministered primarily to young millworkers, she went to the mission field, eventually serving in India for fifty-one years. She founded the Dohnavur Fellowship, which rescued unwanted young girls who would have been forced into temple prostitution.

In her work in the orphanage she taught and nurtured hudnreds of souls in their faith, and over the course of her lifetime published thirty-seven books, primarily devotional in nature. The fruit of her work still remains in India (see here), and one of her most famous sayings was:

One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving." — - Amy Carmichael