Don’t miss the other book review I’ve posted this week:
Testament From Prison by Georgi Vins
Also be sure to check out My 10 Most Favorite Free Online Books.
Kohila: The Shaping of an Indian Nurse
Kohila arrived, as many other children arrived at Dohnavur, ” . . . after a long journey, tired, dishevelled, frightened, and shy. Her bright dark eyes looked up at us out of a tangle of rough curls.” She was about four years old. Her childhood was lived in the nurseries of Dohnavur, where she learned joyful service and “to keep the backs of their nurseries as tidy as the fronts . . .” so that the Lord might see nothing displeasing there. Education at Dohnavur was unique; their school was not part of the government system, which released the children from the stress of cramming for public examinations. So Kohila’s early life happily progressed until a dreaded intrusion threatened the innocence and safety of the child.
The people who had given Kohila to Amy Carmichael wanted her back, even though they had signed a paper relinquishing custody. Returning Kohila would lead to her moral destruction. Keeping her could result in charges of kidnapping.
They kept Kohila. Criminal charges were brought against Amy Carmichael. Then, mysteriously, the charges were dropped with no explanation. Kohila had already been spirited away to a secret location where she was kept for several months until everyone felt that all was safe. God protected her.
When Kohila was grown and finished with school, she went to the hospital to be trained as a nurse. She learned to carefully tend the small, delicate babies that were brought to Dohnavur. As she tenderly nursed them through life and sometimes death, her intense love and dedication to the Lord became more and more apparent. She was a Sister of the Common Life, someone from whom the hardest could be asked without hesitation. Amy Carmichael goes into great detail about the foundational beliefs and practices of the Dohnavur Fellowship and how Kohila’s life intertwined through it all.
God never wastes His servants’ time.
Hers was not a wasted life, although, in human terms, it was cut short. One day she went up into the mountains to gather flowers. When climbing a steep rock, she fell and was instantly in heaven. “She passed from one garden to another.”
On the surface we see tragedy, yet the book points out that this was a soul plucked from the hell of India’s temples. “Could anything be too much to do or to suffer, if only we may save such as she from what that shadow means?” Her life was a tale of victory, not defeat.
This book is full of Amy Carmichael’s songs and poetry, as well as other inspiring quotes Amy borrowed from other authors. Here is a list of some excerpts:
Salt or Sugar?
The Cost of Love
The Prince of Life was Crucified
Be not Blind to the Shining of His Face
I Did Common Work
He Has Set it High
Grant us Inward Fortitude
O Hush of Dawn
There is a King Who Cometh
Be Fixed in God
Is Anything too Hard My Lord, For Thee?
Quietness Before God
I Must Wait Betimes at His Gate
Heart That is Weary
That is Discipline
Send us to the Seeking Heart
Christ and His Love
Nothing Between You and His Light
Stand Up to the Difficulties of Life
To Quit Me as Thy Knight
Toward Jerusalem
Two Gardens
Love That Never Faileth
This is Heaven
Kohila
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May 19th, 2009 - 11:51 pm
This is one of Amy’s books that I have not read but my interest has sure been peaked by your review.
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May 20th, 2009 - 5:57 pm
Thank you for recommending my “Singing” post. I love your background!
And thanks for the list of books. I think I’ve read “Testament from Prison” Georgie Vins, years ago. I’ve read most of Richard Wurmbrands, Peter Popov’s, Brother Andrew etc. There are a few others written about the faith of the Christians under Communism oppression. Another favorite arthor is Harvey Yoder a Mennonite Brother who wrote, (I think the titles are) “They Would not be Silent” and “They would not be moved.”
When I was in Romania three years ago I got to ride on the distribution truck that took food and clothes from the USA to some of the believers homes. The driver of the truck, Nicu, told us the story of his father spending time in prison for smuggling Bibles into Russia and how he helped him. His story is chapter 18 or 19 in one of the books. We saw the grayness and devestation of a country still struggling in the aftermath of Communism.
Also years ago I heard Richard Wurmbrand speak and his dear wife Sabrina greeted me with a holy kiss. Another good book is “None Dare Call Him Father” and yet another very good book is “God Knows My Shoe Size” Also written by Harvey Yoder about Silvia Tarniciceriu. While in Romania I spent the night in the spot where she grew up. A few months ago she visited our church and I stood beside her on the banks of a river watching a baptizing. These people who spent time in prison and suffered for their faith are so precious! I feel blessed and honored just to be in their presence.
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May 24th, 2009 - 9:20 pm
@mom1945 - That’s so neat that you have met the Wurmbrands! I have fellowshipped with many Russian Christians who were imprisoned for their faith in the past, but their names are not well-known in the West.
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