Amy Carmichael :: Nor Scrip—27. To Be Servants of All

On December 1, 1920, two of our children were set apart to be, the Lord opening the way, medical missionaries, servants of all. They had prayed over the matter, and were clear in their desire, and we wanted the hour to be a marked one in their lives, so all the family gathered in the Room of Praise, and standing before the two hundred and fifty, their older and younger sisters and brothers, with those of us to whom they are own dear children, standing round about them, they gave themselves and we gave them to be verily servants of all.

Then we read the passage from the Gospel 'Servant of all.' 'For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.'

On a low table beside us facing the company of children, stood, looking round with puzzled but approving eyes, the two-year-old boy whose name means Great Joy. The Indian sign of service is to touch the feet, and we are very Indian here. So the two girls touched the little feet, in sign that these words were indeed their life's motto. And then we prayed for the grace of the Lord to bring them into effect. That afternoon they began to learn Latin.

A few days passed and several others, half fearing, half hoping, asked to be allowed to join the class, and in a while we shall know to what kind of service they are called. But the reason I have told of this (which otherwise could have hardly had place in a book of this book's purpose) is that the future cost of this class is in part already met.

All the girls, teaching sisters, nursing sisters, and children, learn the kind of basket work known as American Indian, but our Dohnavur work is gradually growing into something distinctive. This work is done in those odd half-hours which even the busiest life must have, and which so often slip off unregarded. Intervals of convalescence are used too, and indeed any spare time, or 'own time' the girls have, as it is their gift to the work. And now they want to use the proceeds to help in the medical education of any who are to be medicals. It seems a happy plan. Each then will have a share in the service of healing so much needed in this land. It will be the gift of them all to India, and to India's Lord. [There were delays, and finally the girls working on the medical side were trained here. So the gathered money of the years, over £1,000, has been used to build the children's wards in the Place of Heavenly Healing. See Gold Cord (Chapters xl.-xlii.) for story of the development of the medical work.]