Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems – Janet & Geoff Benge

Janet & Geoff Benge have written scores of condensed biographies on Christians that have impacted our world. I first saw these at MBC’s Bookstore. Wanting to save money for silly things like eating and paying rent, I decided to look for these at the library (this is where the inspiration came from that lead to my post about libraries). There were about 15 of these books on the library’s website. However, after 4 weeks of waiting, I’ve concluded-either someone is hoarding them all or this one is the only one they have.

After reading the first chapter of Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems, I had a strange feeling I was reading a book geared towards children. Oh, what do you know…the “J” on the DDC confirmed my suspicions. The book was only 200 short pages, so I decided it was decent enough to keep reading.

The book follows Amy from a young age through her death, highlighting her many ministries. It is written fairly simply, so you have to imagine most of the details such as emotion. One thing that impressed me was Amy’s view of financing ministries. She resolved to never ask anyone for money. She would pray and when God showed her the timing was right, she would begin. And the money would come. The book also talked about how many (if not most) of the missionaries would separate themselves from the people they were ministering too. They would move into the country and establish life as they would have lived in their own country, continuing to dress and eat and socialize in ways they were accustomed to. I was glad to read that wherever Amy went (China, Japan, and India), she fought against this and would “go native” even though other missionaries looked down on her for it. Her ministry was most effective when she would embrace as much of the surrounding culture as she could.

The stories of her work with the children in India were the most touching. It felt like the authors left out a lot of detail, but you at least got an idea of what was accomplished. God protected and provided and Amy walked in faith. The Christian converts were constantly risking their lives by breaking the caste system in India. They would rescue and nurture outcasts and baby girls and eventually baby boys. They even built and ran a hospital.

If you are looking for an overview of Amy’s life and ministry, then this book would be a good choice. It made for a quick and easy read. I intend to read the others, should I ever get my hands on them. That way I can determine if I’m interested before beginning a 400 page in-depth biography.