My Wonder Studio

Amy overcame many difficulties and obstacles during her years of missionary service. Here are just a few:

Obstacle: Mission work in India was hazardous. With each conversion of a high-caste¹ Hindu, a wave of persecution followed. The entire Hindu community would leave no stone unturned to make life difficult for the Christians. They would force some mission schools to close, burn other mission schools, vandalize churches, beat up missionaries, and file endless lawsuits.

Overcome: Amy traveled and preached in native Indian dress, even though this was considered disgraceful by most of the other missionaries at that time, who thought she should dress in the fashions of the West. Dressed in a sari with her skin stained, she could pass as a Hindu, and this played a large role in her success as a missionary.

Amy’s lesson on “becoming one”
The apostle Paul once said, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:22–23 NIV).

Amy also learned the value of Paul’s words. Once in Japan, even before she learned the language, Amy went out to tell others about Jesus. Her interpreter, Misaki-san, suggested Amy wear a kimono, but Amy preferred her Western dress and kept it on. The two visited a sick old woman who seemed interested in the gospel. Just as Amy was about to ask her if she would receive the Lord, the woman caught sight of her fur-lined gloves and asked what they were. The woman didn’t accept Christ as her savior.

Driving home, Amy wept bitter tears. Never again would she risk so much for so little, she promised. From then on, she wore native clothing when going out to meet people and tell them about Jesus.

Obstacle: Amy suffered neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her body weak and achy and often put her in bed for weeks on end.

Overcome: Often, when her sickness would keep her in bed for months at a time, Jesus would impress on her to pray for people in India to learn about the love of Jesus, and her prayers helped more people receive the good news.

Obstacle: Old customs in India caused children to be given to Hindu temples to work as slaves. Some families would also abandon female babies due to poverty and not being able to provide for them. (Male children were considered more valuable than female children, as boys could do some form of manual labor to earn money for their household. Parents also had to pay a dowry to their daughter’s husband’s family when they married, which was hard for poor families to pay.)

Overcome: A major part of Amy’s work was devoted to rescuing such children who had been dedicated to these temples. One time it seemed certain that Amy would be arrested and sent to an Indian prison on kidnapping charges; she faced a seven-year prison term. But Amy didn’t go to prison. A telegram arrived, saying, “Criminal case dismissed.” No explanation was ever forthcoming, but those who knew God suspected He had a hand in the decision.

More than a thousand children were rescued from neglect and abuse during Amy’s lifetime. To those she rescued, she was known as “Amma,” which means “mother” in Tamil. Her work was often dangerous and stressful, yet she never forgot God’s promise to protect her and those in her care.

Footnote:
¹ caste: a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank, profession, or wealth

Mary: “How will this be?”³

Angel Gabriel: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”⁴

Mary: “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”⁵

Nine months later, the unique person who was both God and man was born—Immanuel, “God with us.”

Some of the manifestations of “God with us” were seen through Jesus’ actions, such as:

• Compassion through healing those who were sick.⁶

Jesus: “I will; be clean.”

• Care and provision for the poor and hungry, manifested by feeding the crowds of 5,000⁷ and 4,000.⁸
• Power over nature as He walked on water and commanded the wind and storm to cease.⁹

Jesus: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

• Power over death—raising the only son of a widow,¹⁰ a twelve-year-old girl,¹¹ and His friend Lazarus from the dead.¹²

Jesus: “Lazarus, come out!”

• Mercy by forgiving sins.¹³

Jesus: “Your sins are forgiven.”

• Love by His willingness to be hung on the cross to die so that we could have eternal relationship with God.¹⁴

Criminal: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”¹⁵

At Christmas, and every other day of the year, all of us within whom the Spirit of God dwells are in a sense an extension of “God with us” in our community—to our friends and neighbors, our coworkers, the people who serve us in shops and restaurants, and strangers whom the Lord brings across our paths.

Man: Kind people who moved in next door.

Woman: Aye! And their children are polite.

Secretary: Hey, they just invited us to a huge Christmas celebration!

Wait staff: ...and they’re always so respectful to us.

Busker, thinking: Whoa! They gave me ten euros!

The love we show through our interactions with others, the words we speak and actions we take, the kindness and generosity we show, the helping hand we offer, reflect the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Woman: Come on in, Mr. O’Hara. Happy Christmas!

Others can sense something uncommon and special in us, and when we explain that God is with us and can be with them as well, we help to fulfill the ultimate reason of Christmas.

Christmas is the celebration of “God with us,” the birth of His Son, who lived and died in order to make it possible for us to come into relationship with God and for the Spirit of God to dwell within us. What a joyful reason to celebrate!

Footnotes:
¹ Matthew 1:22–23. All scriptures are from the English Standard Version of the Bible.
² Luke 1:31–33
³ Luke 1:34
⁴ Luke 1:35
⁵ Luke 1:38
⁶ See Matthew 8:1–4, 14–15, 9:27–33, 12:22–23, 17:15–18, 20:30–34, 21:14; Mark 1:30–31, 7:32–37, 8:22–25, 9:25–27, 10:46–52; Luke 4:33–35, 8:27–35, 9:38–42, 14:1–4, 18:35–43; and John 4:46–53, 9:1–7.
⁷ See Matthew 14:14–21.
⁸ See Matthew 15:32–38.
⁹ See Matthew 14:22–33.
¹⁰ See Luke 7:11–16.
¹¹ See Mark 5:22–23, 35–43.
¹² See John 11:1–44.
¹³ See Matthew 9:2–8.
¹⁴ See Colossians 1:19–22, 2:13–14 and Ephesians 2:13–19.
¹⁵ Luke 23:43–44