A reflection of Amy's

Tonight I was proud to be a youth leader. Tonight, all the hassles of all the stuff I do were all worth while. Tonight I was proud of the work I do. Some times you wonder if you do good work or you say the right thing or if you are getting the message across to your youth. Tonight... vindication.

It was the second week of December and I had all my big Christmas presents bought for everyone that mattered in my life... for everyone except Amanda. Amanda is a student of mine and a member of my youth group. She is more though. She has become an adopted daughter. We have traversed through the world as Christ-followers together and we learn so much from each other. So why was I blank on what to give her?

Then one night at Grace University this woman started giving a speech on a spiritual leader for our Spiritual Formation class. She spoke on Amy Carmichael, someone I knew nothing about. I was plastered by the Holy Spirit like a bug hitting your windshield. I couldn't breath. I was hot.. I was gasping for air. I knew that Amanda's Christmas present HAD to be connected with this lady missionary. After the speech I approached the student and asked her for a suggested book for a sixteen year old girl. She pointed me in the right direction and low and behold, I was rapping a 350 page book a few days later.
The following is Amanda's Lenten testimonial, shared with our congregation earlier tonight. She delivered this message with such earnest passion and clarity. It was awesome. I ask you, friends, to read it, reflect on it... And you too think of how the Lord is calling you to serve.

A Reflection of Amy’s

by Amanda Robertson

"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

-Romans 4:7-8

Ever since I was a little girl I had this dream of attending the Univ. of Iowa to become a doctor. I grew up watching ER, loving every minute of it. That stuff fascinated me so I thought why not! I will become a doctor when I grow up. The one thing that drew me in was the connection they had with their patients. Helping people is one of my passions. I wanted to be able to fix people, to let them live longer.

One morning I chose a Bible verse to carry with me in my pocket and read periodically throughout the day. I pulled it out in Chemistry class that day and was reading it to myself. One girl in my class asked what I was doing and I just told her that I was reading a Bible verse. She looked at me and said,”You should become a Pastor.” I looked at her like she was insane. Me a Pastor, Yeah right I thought. I just carried on with my day but for some reason that little phrase stuck in the back of my mind.

Months later, I attended a college visit to the Univ. of Iowa and signed up to talk to the Biology dept. Driving around campus, my eyes were lead to a certain building, this building was the Lutheran Campus Ministry. At first of course I didn’t think anything of it. As we toured the Biology dept., the whole entire time I knew it didn’t feel right. I was honestly bummed. I thought I knew what I was going to do with my life but all that went down the drain in just that instance. Riding around on the cambus, I knew this college was the place for me, it felt right. But there was this hollow feeling in my stomach. That feeling was doubt. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. As we were driving home I kept getting that building pictured in my mind. Why did that one building stick out so much?

Then a month or so passed and I receive this book, for Christmas from Mr. Bollman. My first thought was why in the world did he give me this? It has so many pages. I look at the cover and it is called A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael. Who was Amy Carmichael…. Why was this book given to me…. I started reading and found this out:
Amy Carmichael was born on Dec. 16, 1867, in Northern Ireland. She grew up in a strong Christian home. One day God showed her a little glimpse of what she would be doing in the future.

One Sunday morning returning home from Church, Amy and her brothers saw an elderly homeless woman struggling with a group of bags. They ran over to help her knowing they would have to come back and face the respectable people who thought it was wrong to do that kind of stuff. They didn’t care, they wanted to help.

After her father died when she was only 18, Amy moved to England where she attended a religious conference in Keswick. There she heard a calling from the Lord to give her life to Him and His purpose. She signed up to travel to Japan as a missionary.
Preparing to leave, she wrote:
He who hath led will lead
All through the wilderness,
He who hath fed will surely feed….
He who hath heard thy cry
Will never close His hear,
He who hath marked thy faintest sigh
Will not forget thy tear.
He loveth always, faileth never,
So rest on Him today—forever.


Severe illness almost ended her mission and her life only weeks after she arrived in Japan. She was sent back to England where she was slowly nursed back to health.

Still the Lord was calling her to serve. This time she found herself on the way to India. At first she didn’t want to go there. Why India….it wasn’t tough enough. But she decided to go because it’s God’s will not hers. She would do most of her work in Dohnavur, India. In the Hindu religion, pre-teen girls were used as temple prostitutes. With help from converted Indian women, things were uncovered for Amy helping her to free them. In the Indian language, Amy is “Amma” which means mother. Her organization became known as the Dohnavur Fellowship.

Amy Carmichael rescued thousands of young girls during her years of ministry. She taught them the message of tonight reading. If we go it alone, we are sinful people. We are selfish and we only care about our own needs. But if we confess our sins, and turn control of our lives over to the Lord, our lives become something more. Our lives aren’t just ok…. They aren’t just good. Our lives our blessed!

Amy was a tiny little woman. On her own she had little power. But she gave everything to the Lord and followed Him to the ends of the earth and did His work. She became the mother for so many, freed them from slavery, taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her life was truly blessed.

Now I realize that the whole time I wanted to be a doctor it was because I wanted to fix people and save them from terrible illnesses. But now I want to save them in a different way. A doctor might extend someone’s life for a year… or two years… maybe ten. But give someone the Gospel and you offer them eternal life.

May my life be some kind of reflection of Amy’s…. AMEN.