RESCUING CHILDREN FROM TEMPLE PROSTITUTION.
Amy Carmichael realized what was her life’s work: rescuing children from the “secret” Hindu practice of temple prostitution.
She discovered that young girls throughout India were sold and groomed for temple prostitution to provide pleasure for the Hindu priests and the village men. The Hindu temples were secretly trafficking the bodies and souls of these girls, a fact that was continuously denied by both the Indian government and the people. Even other missionaries in India refused to believe that the horrific rumors were true. But after Amy’s undercover work, the mission world was at last forced to face the dark truth concerning the young girls of India.
Kneeling in the Garden with Jesus
Little girls were dedicated by their families to the temple for one or more of several reasons: their families had made a vow to the gods, it was a family tradition, or their parents were poor and had other family members to provide for. The sale of a child was considered illegal, but the money passed hands in secret just the same. Often, girls were released to prostitution while still very young, and they died painful deaths from mutilation to their bodies.
After learning the truth, Amy searched relentlessly for ways to rescue more temple girls. But the web of secrecy was so entangled that she couldn’t break through it. After she met with several devious men who controlled the human trafficking of the little girls, her heartbreak became unendurable.
“At last, a day came when the burden grew too heavy for me. It was unbearable. [I pictured] Jesus; he was under the olive tree, and He knelt alone. And then I knew that it was His burden and not mine. It was He who was asking me to share it with Him, not I who was asking Him to share it with me....And there was only one thing to do...go into the garden and kneel down beside Him under the olive tree.”
That is what Amy did. She “knelt in the garden” and prayed that God would give her the children to love; it was three years before the next temple child was rescued. However, in years to come, the saved temple children would number in the hundreds. In the meantime, other neglected babies and young children were also brought to Amy for care, and the Dohnavur ministry began.
“Children Tie the Mother’s Feet”
In the Tamil language, there is the saying “Children tie the mother’s feet.” This means that poor mothers often had no freedom to go where they wanted to go. Amy Carmichael could see some truth in this Indian proverb.
Could it be right to turn from so much that might be of profit [evangelism] and just become nursemaids? Amy wondered as the babies began filling up the bungalow in Dohnavur. Then she was reminded of how the Lord had girded Himself with a towel to wash the feet of His disciples. “Is it the bondservant’s business to say which work is large and which is small? It was a foolish question, for the Master never wastes the servant’s time.”
After much prayer, Amy’s decision was made—God had called her to the children. Her feet would be tied “for the sake of Him whose feet once were nailed.” She would rescue and love all whom God brought to her. She had no idea that, in her lifetime alone, that would number over a thousand children, and that her work would be flourishing in the next century!
- God’s Generals ( The Missionaries)
Amy Carmichael realized what was her life’s work: rescuing children from the “secret” Hindu practice of temple prostitution.
She discovered that young girls throughout India were sold and groomed for temple prostitution to provide pleasure for the Hindu priests and the village men. The Hindu temples were secretly trafficking the bodies and souls of these girls, a fact that was continuously denied by both the Indian government and the people. Even other missionaries in India refused to believe that the horrific rumors were true. But after Amy’s undercover work, the mission world was at last forced to face the dark truth concerning the young girls of India.
Kneeling in the Garden with Jesus
Little girls were dedicated by their families to the temple for one or more of several reasons: their families had made a vow to the gods, it was a family tradition, or their parents were poor and had other family members to provide for. The sale of a child was considered illegal, but the money passed hands in secret just the same. Often, girls were released to prostitution while still very young, and they died painful deaths from mutilation to their bodies.
After learning the truth, Amy searched relentlessly for ways to rescue more temple girls. But the web of secrecy was so entangled that she couldn’t break through it. After she met with several devious men who controlled the human trafficking of the little girls, her heartbreak became unendurable.
“At last, a day came when the burden grew too heavy for me. It was unbearable. [I pictured] Jesus; he was under the olive tree, and He knelt alone. And then I knew that it was His burden and not mine. It was He who was asking me to share it with Him, not I who was asking Him to share it with me....And there was only one thing to do...go into the garden and kneel down beside Him under the olive tree.”
That is what Amy did. She “knelt in the garden” and prayed that God would give her the children to love; it was three years before the next temple child was rescued. However, in years to come, the saved temple children would number in the hundreds. In the meantime, other neglected babies and young children were also brought to Amy for care, and the Dohnavur ministry began.
“Children Tie the Mother’s Feet”
In the Tamil language, there is the saying “Children tie the mother’s feet.” This means that poor mothers often had no freedom to go where they wanted to go. Amy Carmichael could see some truth in this Indian proverb.
Could it be right to turn from so much that might be of profit [evangelism] and just become nursemaids? Amy wondered as the babies began filling up the bungalow in Dohnavur. Then she was reminded of how the Lord had girded Himself with a towel to wash the feet of His disciples. “Is it the bondservant’s business to say which work is large and which is small? It was a foolish question, for the Master never wastes the servant’s time.”
After much prayer, Amy’s decision was made—God had called her to the children. Her feet would be tied “for the sake of Him whose feet once were nailed.” She would rescue and love all whom God brought to her. She had no idea that, in her lifetime alone, that would number over a thousand children, and that her work would be flourishing in the next century!
- God’s Generals ( The Missionaries)
RESCUING CHILDREN FROM TEMPLE PROSTITUTION.
Amy Carmichael realized what was her life’s work: rescuing children from the “secret” Hindu practice of temple prostitution.
She discovered that young girls throughout India were sold and groomed for temple prostitution to provide pleasure for the Hindu priests and the village men. The Hindu temples were secretly trafficking the bodies and souls of these girls, a fact that was continuously denied by both the Indian government and the people. Even other missionaries in India refused to believe that the horrific rumors were true. But after Amy’s undercover work, the mission world was at last forced to face the dark truth concerning the young girls of India.
Kneeling in the Garden with Jesus
Little girls were dedicated by their families to the temple for one or more of several reasons: their families had made a vow to the gods, it was a family tradition, or their parents were poor and had other family members to provide for. The sale of a child was considered illegal, but the money passed hands in secret just the same. Often, girls were released to prostitution while still very young, and they died painful deaths from mutilation to their bodies.
After learning the truth, Amy searched relentlessly for ways to rescue more temple girls. But the web of secrecy was so entangled that she couldn’t break through it. After she met with several devious men who controlled the human trafficking of the little girls, her heartbreak became unendurable.
“At last, a day came when the burden grew too heavy for me. It was unbearable. [I pictured] Jesus; he was under the olive tree, and He knelt alone. And then I knew that it was His burden and not mine. It was He who was asking me to share it with Him, not I who was asking Him to share it with me....And there was only one thing to do...go into the garden and kneel down beside Him under the olive tree.”
That is what Amy did. She “knelt in the garden” and prayed that God would give her the children to love; it was three years before the next temple child was rescued. However, in years to come, the saved temple children would number in the hundreds. In the meantime, other neglected babies and young children were also brought to Amy for care, and the Dohnavur ministry began.
“Children Tie the Mother’s Feet”
In the Tamil language, there is the saying “Children tie the mother’s feet.” This means that poor mothers often had no freedom to go where they wanted to go. Amy Carmichael could see some truth in this Indian proverb.
Could it be right to turn from so much that might be of profit [evangelism] and just become nursemaids? Amy wondered as the babies began filling up the bungalow in Dohnavur. Then she was reminded of how the Lord had girded Himself with a towel to wash the feet of His disciples. “Is it the bondservant’s business to say which work is large and which is small? It was a foolish question, for the Master never wastes the servant’s time.”
After much prayer, Amy’s decision was made—God had called her to the children. Her feet would be tied “for the sake of Him whose feet once were nailed.” She would rescue and love all whom God brought to her. She had no idea that, in her lifetime alone, that would number over a thousand children, and that her work would be flourishing in the next century!
- God’s Generals ( The Missionaries)
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