Amy Carmichael knew she was called to be a missionary after she heard Hudson Taylor, the missionary to China, speak. The only problem was that she had a chronic illness that made her tired and feverish. Amy served in Japan for a while until she became too ill to continue her work. Finally, she went to a South Asian nation for her health. That is where she found her true calling.

There she met a little girl named Preena. Preena had been given by her mother to the local religious temple in exchange for favor from the gods. Girls who worked at the temples eventually became temple prostitutes. This little girl had run away many times, but she did not have a place to go. Because of her, Amy founded a place called the Dohnavur Fellowship where young girls could find refuge. A few years later, they opened a hospital and a home for boys, so that everyone could get the help they needed. Amy spent over 53 years in that nation, never taking a break from her ministry.

In Psalms, it says that God is a “father to the fatherless.” Following God’s example, Amy became a mother to children who had been rejected by their families. They even began calling her “Amma,” which means “mother.” As Amma Amy did, we should be looking for those in our lives, like Preena, who need to know God’s love and protection.    

This is Luis Palau.