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Real Cool History for Kids
Amy Carmichael, the Girl Who Said Yes to God (a special episode for Olivia Rikard)
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Foreign. This is Angela Odell, and you are listening to Real Cool History for Kids, a podcast show featuring history told from a distinctly biblical worldview perspective. Welcome to an adventure. Foreign welcome to episode 174 of Real Cool History for Kids. This episode is for Olivia Ricard, who wanted to hear the story of Amy Carmichael, the missionary. Hey, Olivia, this one's for you. Today, you guys, I'm going to tell you the story of an amazing servant of God, a woman who spent more than 50 years in India rescuing children and teaching them about Jesus. I cannot tell you how much I admire this woman's tenacity and faith. Now, there's a word you probably don't hear every day, right? Tenacity means unswerving persistence. You can think of this as a type of determination. When someone has this character quality, we say they have grit. Well, Amy Carmichael was a super gritty woman. She was so determined to serve God by rescuing children. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself, you guys. Let's start at the beginning, but before we do, let's find the location of where our story is going to unfold. So pause me for a moment and go grab your globe or world map if you can. Okay? Okay. Do you have it? Great. Now let's find Ireland first. Ireland is a small island in Europe. It's just off the coast of England. We've found it before in our previous episode about St. Patrick, for one. Well, Ireland is a beautiful green island country, and it is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Okay, now keep your finger on Ireland. Okay, now let's go find India. India is in Asia, and it sits just below China and stretches far down into the Indian Ocean. So move your finger to the right on your map or globe until you find China. And then move your finger down until you can see India. Okay, so as you can see, India is much, much, much, much bigger than Ireland, isn't it? Look closely at the distance between Ireland and India. That is a long way, isn't it? That is thousands of miles. And that's even a long journey for today. Okay, Those are the two places where our story unfolds. So here we go. Amy Beatrice Carmichael was born in 1867 in Northern Ireland. Oh, you guys, I almost forgot to tell you something. Just hold on for a minute. We'll get right back to Amy Carmichael. Okay, But I wanted to tell you something super fun. I am actually going to Ireland this June. I've never been there before, and I'm so excited. And although I won't be going to Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Right now, I will be going to the same island where Amy Carmichael was born. So the northern part of Ireland belongs to the United Kingdom. And the southern part of it, the bottom part of it, is actually Ireland. I'm going to Ireland, but I will be on the same island where Amy Carmichael was born. Isn't that cool? When I go, I'm going to take lots of pictures and maybe even some videos, and I'll create something special so you can see the places that I visited. Okay? I promise. Okay, back to Amy's story. Okay, are you ready? Okay, here we go. Amy was the oldest of seven children, and she had a really loving Christian home from the time she was very young. She loved God, and she wanted her life's work to really matter for Him. When Amy was a little girl, she prayed something very specific. Do you want to hear what she prayed? She wanted blue eyes. You see, Amy had brown eyes, but she thought blue eyes were prettier. And she prayed and prayed that God would change her eyes from being brown to blue. And every morning, she ran to the mirror to check to see if her eyes had turned blue, but they were still brown. Years later, Amy would understand something that she didn't know as a child. God had made her exactly the way she needed to be to do the work he had planned for her. As a young woman, Amy became deeply involved in Christian ministry. She believed she should surrender every part of her life to God. Amy believed that if God called her, she would go wherever he told her to go. She would go first. She traveled to Japan as a missionary, but her health really struggled there. So eventually, in 1895, she decided to go to South India, the very southern part of that large country you just found on your map. That is where she was going to spend the rest of her life. But she didn't know that yet. But that's where she decided to go. Hey, guys, we're going to take a quick break right here in the middle of our story about Amy Carmichael to give a shout out to a recent podcast reviewer. His name is Logan, who said this about Real cool history for kids. Hello, Mrs. O'. Dell. My name is Logan. I'm 11 years old and I love this podcast. It is positive with a Christian outlook on history. I love listening to World War II stories and especially enjoyed your episodes on Abandoned Places. Please continue to make these episodes available. Well, thank you, Logan, for your awesome feedback. I am so happy to hear that you're enjoying the show, and I definitely don't Plan to stop making them. Okay. Hey guys, before I get back to our story in this episode, I wanted to tell you about a couple of new projects that I'm working on. I am currently working on a middle school American geography, state study and civics course that will be available at my website by the end of March. It has history stories woven throughout all kinds of cool activities. It's just going to be so much fun. Also coming by the end of March is the first book in the Chronicles of Liberty. These are amazing history stories told by Ms. Liberty the Mouse. So those are going to be a lot of fun. Also through these projects, I'm going to introduce you to my friend and co writer, Sonya. She is a treasure and I know that you guys are going to absolutely love her and what she brings to these projects. Okay, let's get back to our story about Amy Carmichael. We left her just as she was about to go to India. Well, back in the late 1800s, Amy couldn't just hop on an airplane. Travel meant long sea voyages that took weeks. When Amy left Ireland, she knew she might never return home. Home, Amy found that India was very different from Ireland. For one, the climate was hot and humid and the language was extremely unfamiliar. The culture was ancient and complex. But Amy set about learning that language and working alongside Indian Christian women, traveling from village to village to share the gospel. Then she learned about something that changed her life forever. In parts of South India at that time, some young girls were dedicated to Hindu temples in what was called the Devadasi system. These children were often placed in situations where they were vulnerable and could be harmed very badly. Minnie had no way to escape. One day, a frightened little girl ran to Amy for help. The child had fled from temple life and was terrified of being sent back. Amy's heart broke. She knew if she returned that girl, she was facing serious danger. So Amy made a very brave decision. She decided to protect that little girl. That decision was right, but it was not simple because some adults accused Amy of interfering where she didn't belong. In one well known situation involving a young girl, Amy arranged for the girl to be taken somewhere safe. When people demanded she be returned, well, Amy risked legal consequences. She was doing things that was illegal according to their that law of India at that time. And even the possibility of being put into prison was something that she had to think about. To many people, what she did looked like breaking the law. But Amy knew that these were bad laws that served a false God and that she was rescuing children who had no one else to defend. Them she was doing it in the name of Jesus. And over time more children came. In 1901, Amy and her co workers established a safe community in Dohnavur, South India. It became known as the Dohnavur Fellowship. There, rescued children were raised in family styled homes. They were cared for and educated and most importantly they were taught about Jesus. These children called her Amma, which means mother. Isn't that wonderful? Amy never married, but she had many, many children who called her Amma. Amy served in India for more than 50 years. She refused to ask for money for the ministry, choosing instead to pray and trust God to provide. Her work was not easy and she faced so much opposition. Amy also suffered physically. She suffered from neuralgia, a painful nerve condition that often left her weak and exhausted. In 1931, she suffered a serious fall that injured her back and left her mostly confined to bed for the last 20 years of her life. But even that did not stop Amy from serving from her room. She wrote dozens of books and letters that encouraged Christians all over the world. She continued guiding her fellowship through prayer and leadership. She did an amazing job of keeping her ministry going. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 16, seven people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. And this was so true for Amy. Who would have thought that a little woman could be such a spiritual giant? Amy had once thought blue eyes would make her happy, but. But she learned that when God didn't answer her prayer, it was because she was already exactly what she needed to be for the work he led her to in India. Another verse that reminds me of Amy is Isaiah 6, 8, here I am. Send me. You know, you guys, this is how she lived her life. When God called her to India, she went. When God asked her to risk her safety for the children, she obeyed. When God allowed suffering in her own body, she trusted him and leaned on his strength. Amy Carmichael died in India in 1951. And she was buried there among the people that she loved so much. The Dohnavur Fellowship continues to this day. Amy's life teaches us so many important lessons, doesn't it? Sometimes obedience is costly. Sometimes courage is misunderstood. Sometimes doing what is right brings personal risk. This is so true. But it also teaches us that one life, fully surrendered to God can be used in such a powerful way. And you guys, this June when I'm standing in Ireland and I see those green hills on the same island where Amy once lived, I'll be thinking about a brown eyed little girl who said yes to God. And this week I want you to remember how Amy Carmichael's story reminds us that God sees what we cannot see. He prepares us in ways that we may not understand. But when we say yes to him, he can use us to bring a light into the very dark places. And now it's time for this episode's birthday shout outs. Happy birthday to Emma medi, who turned 10 on February 20th. Happy birthday to Benjamin Anderson, who turned 4 on February 21st. Happy birthday to Morgan Cooper, who is turning 9 on February 24th. Happy birthday to Jacob Heaney, who is turning 9 on February 25th. Happy birthday to Megan Miller, who is turning 9 on February 27th. And happy birthday to Wyatt Weaver, who is turning 10 on February 29th. Happy birthday to all of you from the Real Cool History for Kids family. I hope you all have enjoyed this adventure in history today. Remember to keep exploring, to keep asking questions. And always remember, history is full of real adventures and really cool stories. I'll meet you here soon for our next episode of Real Cool History for Kids. Until then, with the help and grace of Jesus our Savior, be the best you ever.