Glory of His Cross Prophetic Ministries
BLESSED WOMAN AND HER FAMILY
(Gnanamani Ammal 3-10-1907 to 14-11-1994)
Every woman should read this article.
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These days, we ascribe blessedness to possession of material possessions or material prosperity. Many of us tend to believe that poverty is a curse from God. The following is the biography of a great woman of God, an ordinary South Indian homemaker with six girls and one son. She lived and died for Christ. |
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The Lord had given her many visions and revelations, which are prophetic in nature. These are a great source of blessings to the universal body of Christ. Her name was Gnanamani Ammal. She and her family glorified and praised God when they had no food to eat, and especially when they had not tasted any good food for five years. |
She glorified God when her husband passed away and when her
children were young. She glorified God when God took her four daughters (one
married daughter, two spinster daughters, and one younger daughter aged 2
years to glory. To day, the Holy Spirit bears testimony to this woman of God
- "Blessed art thou among women"(Luke |
Vedapothagam,
the father of Gnanamani Ammal
hailed from an orthodox Hindu family, and her grand father was a Hindu
priest. Her father was saved when an evangelist stood in the street and
preached the gospel. God used him mightily with signs and wonders.
Evil spirits used to fee on seeing him. People in Thiruneveli
District, Tamil Nadu,
He was an evangelist used by God mightily with signs and wonders. God endowed him with the gifts of healing. One day, he was praying for the healing of some sick people. God was healing the sick through his hands when he took water and prayed for them, saying, “This is the Blood of Jesus Christ”. Some Hindu people created a furor in the meeting and accused him of cheating them through ordinary water. Vedapothagam took water in a vessel, said, “This is the Blood of Jesus Christ”, and then sprinkled water in front of them. As the water dropped on the floor, it turned into blood and dried. On seeing this miracle, many people accepted Jesus Christ.
On one occasion, a magician, skilled in the art of witchcraft, instigated three demons to attack Vedapothagam. These demons arrived in the premises. On seeing the servant of God, these demons started fleeing from there. As they rushed towards the compound wall of the house, they faltered and dashed against the wooden gate of the compound wall. The gate was broken to pieces. The enraged demons returned to the magician and killed him.
Due to his prayers, two dead people were restored to life.
The elder sister of Ammal died and was laid on the bed for burial ceremony. When the father prayed for her, she was restored to life and asked for water to drink, to the great astonishment of the people gathered there for the burial ceremony. Like this, the brother of Ammal also died and arrangements were under way for his burial when the father arrived there and prayed for him. The dead son rose from the dead.
The father led the whole family to the wholehearted devotion to God. He did not allow the children to celebrate Christian festivals but taught them the significance of these festivals from the Word. The entire family lived a holy life. The father lived for 115 years. When he died, his face radiated the glory of God.
The mother of Gnanamani Ammal was Packiam Ammal. She was devoted to Christ and learnt the Bible thoroughly from Genesis to Revelation. People used to say that even if the Tamil Bible was destroyed, the same Bible could be restored through the memory of Packiam Ammal.
SALVATION EXPERIENCE AND MARRIAGE
The members of the whole family used to pray by turn during the family worship time. When her turn came, she prayed. A light from the Heaven descended and shore there and, it appeared to have engulfed her. As per Matt.5: eight, she saw the vision of Christ. At that time, she was only 9 years old. After this divine encounter, transformation of her life took place as follows:
(i) She always sang new songs through her mouth.
(ii) She always talked to Jesus and meditated on His love.
(iii) She had unquenchable thirst and desire to see Jesus.
(iv) Though she talked to others, her was in communion with Jesus.
(v) While praying, prayer emanated from her mouth instantaneously. While reading the Bible, she had the feeling of Some One explaining the verses to her like a person.
(vi) The Word was like honey in her mouth.
(vii) While uttering the name of Jesus, she had experienced like tasking honey. She could not describe this experience in words.
(viii) She could not enjoy any otherworldly pleasure than the divine pleasure she had from Jesus.
(ix) Whenever she looked at others not saved, she took long breath and shed tears because of the burn on her heart as these people were bound for hell.
(x) When she talked to others, she would talk only about Jesus, and could not talk about any other subject.
(xi) If anybody abused her, she had the urge to tell that person about Jesus.
(xii) She could not read any other book than Bible.
(xiii) She used to gather the children of her age group for a prayer meeting and preached the gospel.
As a 9-year-old girl, she had the above experiences. The Lord provided her all she needed and helped her in the studies.
Marriage
When she was 17 years old, her parents took necessary steps prayerfully for her marriage with a man of God. The Lord spoke to her about the family of her fiancé, “This family, though Christian, do not know Me. They live like any otherworldly people. Whatever trouble they would give you, you have to bear with them and show Christ to them through your life. You have to win them over with My love”. The marriage was held in 1925.
After the marriage, she was subjected to indescribable persecutions and sufferings. She poured out her heart to Jesus alone as she was under unbearable burden on her heart.
One day, she wept in an uncontrollable manner when Christ gave her the following vision:
“There was a bridge as tall as a palm tree. The path of the bridge was made of spikes. A barbed wire fence was on both the sides of the walls. I cannot walk over it because of the spikes. If I fall down while walking with a great difficulty, the barbed wire fence will injure me. I passed through this strange bridge with a very great difficulty and very slowly, enduring great pains. I cried out, “Why should I walk over this bridge?” At that time, I heard a preacher say, “You have to witness this to many people”. Then I was comforted through the verses in 2 Cor.1: 4. At that time, Jesus spoke to me like this:
“I, Jesus, was doing good to all, during My earthly ministry. But the people hated Me. None of them, who had tasted the good things from Me, came forward to speak on My behalf. One of My disciples who was with Me betrayed Me. Another disciple denied Me. You are living in such a world. You have to simply follow My footsteps with all the patience”.
When she was oppressed by her own people and became broken-hearted, the Lord comforted her by quoting many examples. The Lord told her that repaying good for good is human’s character, that repaying evil for good is the Devil’s character and that repaying good for evil is the divine character. When He asked her to choose any of these three ways, she expressed her desire to choose the divine way.
Another example:
“As you look at the palm of your hand, so I look at the whole world. There is a swarm of ants on your palm. As you can see all the ants on your palm, so I can see the spiritual condition of all the people in a minute. But I do not destroy them for their sins. However, it grieves My heart that My own people live without doing My will. Still I am embracing them with all the longsuffering and love”.
One day, the husband of her elder sister refused to part with a box required by her. She murmured in her heart on his attitude and went home. The Holy Spirit convicted her by saying, “Whether your brother-in-law refused to give you your own thing? Does not he have the power to give or not to give a thing, which belongs to him only? Your murmuring is not right…”
One night her husband returned
home after work. At that time, she was worried about their constant state
of poverty. Due to her mental depression, she murmured to her husband
about their sufferings. Her husband lost his temper and told her, “you can die by falling into a well”. Immediately she
ran towards a well to commit suicide. At that time, a Hand prevented her
from running to the well. That day was the Maundy Thursday, the day Jesus
prayed in the
In hunger
“Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.” (Deut.8: 13)
By the above verse, God was
leading and guiding her husband named Thangiah.
For five years, she did not remember to have cooked “Kulambu”
(a liquid gravy made of ingredients like pulses, chili powder, etc. which is
mixed with the boiled rice for eating a delicious meal) because she had no
money to purchase the ingredients required for making this dish. Her
husband used to bring only half a liter of rice after
For two years, the family lived in the same style of food habit. However, the children were hale and healthy. Neither hunger nor any circumstance separated them from the love of Christ.
In nakedness
Each child had one set of clothes only. They used to wear the same dress only. If it was torn, they got the same repaired. If it got dirty, they washed it and worn the same clothes in a wet condition. However, none of the children murmured against God. They learnt to be content in all circumstances.
In perils of robbers
The roof of their house was made of the leaves of coconut trees. There was no proper door. It was not well protected. One day Ammal was praying alone in her house. Her children were attending to the household chores. When the children opened their boxes, they found, to their great amazement, that all their few dresses and belongings like scissor, small amount of currency notes, pen, etc. were stolen by some miscreants. The whole family swung into prayer.
Some people abused the thieves. Ammal asked them not to abuse them but to pray for their repentance. Around that time, the same miscreants were caught red-handed while stealing from someone’s house. All the stolen things were recovered from those to whom the same had been illegally sold by the thieves. All the stolen things were restored to Ammal.
The thieves belonged to her village. Committing theft was their livelihood. She was advised to get this gang arrested by the police and put behind the bars. For this purpose, she was advised to give a false testimony to the police that she had witnessed the theft being committed by this gang. It so happened that a gangster had sought her forgiveness on hearing the gospel from her. How could she give such a false statement against this man? At last, she refused to obey the voice of men.
Miracles in sickness
The whole family would never take any medicine for illness. When she was pregnant, during the 4th month of pregnancy, the growth the baby in embryo stopped and during the 8th month, she had travailing pain. The baby’s half body came out, the remaining portion remained inside, and this condition continued for 12 hours. Two persons were praying for her. At that time, a servant of God came there and asked the family members to take her immediately to the hospital to save her life. However, she told him that if it were God’s will, she would live without taking any medical treatment. At that time, she saw a vision of crucified Christ and new strength came to her body. Without taking any medical help, the Lord caused a safe delivery of the baby.
Similarly, another miracle happened when she was again pregnant. For 8 months, there was no growth of the girl baby in her womb. A servant of God came there and prayed for her. The following month the baby was revived in the womb, and came out alive during the 13th month. At the time of her delivery, she had no physical strength at all. There was no money also to buy food. But, God gave new strength to her.
Following illness, her beloved husband Thangiah entered glory on 3-4-1947. On the deathbed, Thangiah committed his spirit into the hands of the Lord with a smiling face. Her husband was to be buried on the night of Thursday, the day on which Jesus suffered in the garden of Gethsemane. On that night, she was left with six young daughters and a son. The last daughter was only 3 months’ old. Laying her daughter in her bosom, she was comforting the other children. She wondered what to do in this world. She was not in a position to do any work. She was 40 years old. She did not know eve how to buy things from a provision store or a vegetable market because she had relied on a young girl to go to the market and fetch the vegetables, etc. She had no worldly possession except a hut made with the roof of the coconut leaves. While she was pondering on her future, Jesus spoke to her from the Song of Songs 5:9.
“What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?”
One night, a cobra and a viper entered the house, and hid themselves in the heaps of dried stumps and leaves kept in the corner of the house, which were being used as firewood. She was upset. Whom she would call at night to help drive away the two big deadly snakes? She cried unto the Lord. The Lord told her, “My eyes will be on these snakes. Do not fear!” She mustered courage and called the children. She told them that nothing would happen without the knowledge of God. Then they prayed, took supper and went to bed. She was awake, and told the Lord, “Lord, it is only at night the snakes go in search of their prey”. The Lord again told her, “My eyes are on these snakes”. Like this two days passed by. On the third day, when she was attending to the household work, the Lord asked her, “How do you live in this house fearlessly?” Raising her hands, She answered and said, “Lord! It is because of You”. Then a strange thing happened. She saw herself as tall as a palm tree. When she asked the Lord to reveal the secret, the Lord told her that though she stood physically on the ground, she was spiritually seated with Christ in the heavenly place. The Lord again posed a question to her, “My daughter, you have 6 daughters and one son. Your husband is no more. You do not have any possession in this world. There is a woman who has one daughter. She has prayed to Me many times for the marriage of her only daughter. But, you have never told Me how you would get your daughters married. What is your hope in this world?” She replied, “Lord, You are the Head of my family” Then the Lord asked her to testify to this everywhere. Thereafter, the snakes left the house on their own.
SAT AT THE FEET OF JESUS FOR 6 MONTHS
Ammal was led by the Holy Spirit to sit at the feet of Jesus for 6 months. During this period, she agonized and wept with Jesus when Jesus unraveled the condition of the churches and the Christian leaders. She sat at His feet day and night and learnt the Scriptures as Christ expounded all the Scriptures from the book of Genesis to the Revelation. It was exhilarating to her when the Lord explained to her how He made the man and the woman in His own image and how in the garden of Eden, they lived without sin and amidst the animals like lion, tiger, etc. which did not harm them. After finishing all the household work and the duties towards the small children in the morning itself, she would kneel down in prayer and would get up only for the family prayer at night. For six months, she did not have proper sleep. However, she did not feel weak due to fatigue. Nobody in her church knew how Lord was leading her those days. They looked at her through their physical eyes. Her children thought that their mother became mad following the home-call of their father. Jesus taught her a simple prayer as follows:
“Oh Lord, Help me to perform my duties properly and with godly fear, holiness and wisdom”. Because of her flaming love for Christ and because of her fellowship of suffering with Christ, she was able to feast on Christ’s love and sitting at His feet and learning from Him gave her indescribable joy.
Jesus wept over the tragic end of the worldly nations and over the pathetic condition of the churches. She also wept with Him. Jesus was also grieved at the backsliding state of the churches, which had begun in the Spirit. He also revealed the importance of the institution of the holy marriage and its present state. “Will you bear My burden and tell about My agony in every church, notwithstanding any objection to it? Until My second advent, will you preach my gospel along with your testimony?” Jesus pleaded her.
During this period, Jesus also explained to her the importance of the truths concerning baptism, confirmation in the Spirit, etc. He also explained to her the need of the pastors to be filled with the Spirit and fire and with the passion for the lost souls as they lay their hands on the youths who receive confirmation.
Pointing to the backsliding state of the pastors in the churches and the present condition of the churches, Jesus shed tears along with her. Jesus asked her to tell all the churches about the burden on His heart. He also revealed to her the backsliding state of the Pentecostal churches. He also convicted her of her disobedience to His voice on some occasions when she refused to pray in some prayer meetings when inspired by the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Spirit convicted her of many lapses for which she sought His forgiveness. On some occasions, when the Lord asked her to inform her husband of his shortcomings in his spiritual life, she refused to obey Him on the plea, “Lord, You should speak to him”. Now that the Lord brought the soul of her husband from the heaven before her, she asked him for his forgiveness. As soon as she expressed her regret, the Lord took him back into the Heaven.
The Lord revealed to her the various stages in the growth of spiritual life. He also took her to the first, second and third heavens in a similar manner as the apostle Paul was taken unto the third heaven. The first heaven is the place where the saints on the earth and the saints of the heaven meet for prayer and conversation. The second heaven is the place where we commune with the saints of heaven, which is in accordance with the Apostolic Creed, which states, “we believe in the communion with the saints”. The joy she had experienced in this part of the heaven was indescribable. In the third heaven, the Lord showed her the glory of the heaven, and the sea of glass. The heavenly worship was glorious, whereas the worship service on the earth has become short of holiness. If the worship on the earth is holy, the saints of the heaven and the angels would partake of it, she writes. According to her, the foretaste of the heavenly worship was indescribable, and there are no words to express the joy she had while partaking of the heavenly worship.
GOSPEL MINISTRY
As led by the Holy Spirit, she began a gospel ministry christened as “Self-Denial Evangelistic Team” in 1952. This team used to stay in a local church for 2 days in a month and to evangelize the surrounding villages. Though some Christians opposed her ministry saying that there was no need for such meeting as the people who took the infant baptism stood saved, the Bishop of Tiruneveli Diocese supported her and commanded the church leaders to assemble and pray for their salvation every night.
The Lord revealed to her how the people who lived in the days of Noah did not believe the message of Noah. When the floods swept them, they approached Noah seeking forgiveness of their sins. The Lord did not show mercy towards infants of even three months’ age.
REVELATION ABOUT THE PREMATURE DEATH OF THREE DAUGHTERS
God blessed her with seven children. The first daughter, Daisy Kohilam, was born in 1930, the second daughter Grace Lydia in 1932, the third daughter Joyce Ruby in 1934 (8-12-1934), the fourth daughter Emi Alice in 1936 (7-9-1936), the fifth daughter Hepsibai Buelah in 1940 (28-3-1940), the sixth son Samuel Devasahayam in 1943 (3-4-1943), and the last daughter Clara in 1945 who passed into glory when she was 2 yeas old.
One night she was on her way back to home after conducting a gospel meeting in a nearby village, over a distance of 4 miles. The Holy Spirit talked to her revealing the future events. She did not feel the fatigue in her body during this strenuous long walk because she was in deep conversation with her beloved Lord. While unfolding His plan to her, the Lord revealed to her that He would call her daughters i.e. Daisy Kohilam (married and with a 4 year old daughter), Emi Alice (spinster) and Ruby Joyce (spinster), (who were all undergoing educational courses as teacher), to the Heaven to be with Him. The Lord asked her to glorify Him in the premature death of her daughters. She was completely upset. Her daughters who had scored good marks in their examinations despite their penury were about to earn now. She had mortgaged their small house and raised some money for meeting their educational expenses. She wrestled with the Lord praying to Him not to take away them from this world. She asked the Lord to let her know why He wanted to do so. Was it due to any sin? The Lord spoke to her, “I know you and your children. I want to make them living martyrs. Many of My people deny me and become disheartened when I take away the lives of their small children, saying, “The Lord is blind”. So you have to witness to many people and to glorify Me in the death of your children”.
She reminded the Lord that He called home her 2 year old daughter Clara, she did not murmur but washed and dressed her dead body for burial and sang songs in glorification of His Name, sitting by the side of her dead daughter. She also reminded Him that when He took away her husband in the prime of his youth, she glorified God. Tears rolled down her cheeks copiously. She did not inform either her children or anybody about the divine plan.
As the days passed by, her daughters finished their education and got jobs as teachers. Within 6 months, two of her daughters fell ill. However, the family devotion continued as usual despite their sickness. When the sick daughters asked her, “Why are you silent these days?” She simply told them that she was singing in her heart to the Lord. The sick children did not murmur at all and were happy in the Lord.
Again, the Lord spoke to her about His plan of calling home her third daughter Joyce Ruby, “My beloved daughter, I will take away your beautiful daughter. Will you testify to others by the side of her dead body?” She told Him, “Lord, how is it possible to do so? Even Mary did weep over the death of Lazarus. Even when my children do not eat, the food will never enter my mouth. How can I praise You and testify when she is dead?” Then a Bible verse came to her mind exhorting her to sing with the spirit and also to sing with the understanding (1 Cor.14:15). The Lord spoke to her, “Your daughter would put on a spiritual body without sin; she would go to the heaven to live with Me happily. People should know that I came to this world for this purpose. It grieves Me that though people heard many testimonies about this, they have hardened their hearts and have not believed Me. You have to testify to this to many people”. After some days, her daughter Joyce Ruby passed into glory on 17-11-1956.
When the body of Joyce Ruby was laid for burial, a servant of God testified that her face radiated glory like an angel. Ammal and her family sat around her body, and sang hymns, clapping their hands. Many people testified that a Christian family in bereavement should be like this family.
Then the Lord spoke to her, asking her to see her daughter Ruby in the company of saints and angels through her spiritual eyes of faith.
After some days, her eldest daughter Daisy Kohilam also fell ill unto death. She was married with a four-year-old daughter. She also passed into glory on 1-4-1959. When her body was taken to the graveyard, they sang hymns and recited the Bible verses on their way to the cemetery. One catholic nun testified that the face of Daisy radiated the glory of God to such an extent that she felt like lying beside her in the coffin. The following day, the Holy Spirit led Ammal to do a ministry in the nearby village. The people who visited her house to offer their condolences could not find her in the house.
After some days, her other children talked to one another, “Our elder sisters have gone to be with the Lord. They are now living happily with our father and grandparents in the heaven. But we are suffering in this world. When shall we go to the heaven?” On hearing this, she immediately rushed to them and told them that she had requested the Lord to preserve them. When she asked them if they had the fear of death, they answered in the negative. “O death, where is thy sting? O grace, where is thy victory? The stint of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor.15: 55-57).
BRIEF TESTIMONY OF DAISY KOHILAM
“I am the eldest one of the six daughters born to a godly couple who hailed from Christia Nagaram, Thirunelveli District. I have one brother also. My youngest sister died in her childhood. My parents brought us up in His ways. Since the Lord loved us very much, He had shown all forbearance and longsuffering to us whenever we grieved Him. My parents did not give us any medicines whenever we fell ill and only through their prayers, the Lord healed us. Though the cords of death surrounded us, the Lord did deliver us.
After the death of our beloved father, the responsibilities of our family fell on my shoulders. He died on the Good Friday, 3rd April 1947. The entire family was dependent on me as I was earning as a primary school teacher. Despite the penury, the Lord was leading us wonderfully as He led the people of Israel in the wilderness. He helped us to cross many Red Seas in our life. The Lord loved me very much since my childhood. However, I was postponing my decision to accept Him as my personal Savior though the Lord was speaking to my heart. Many people of God told me that there were two ways before us i.e. a way of death and another way of Life. I was convinced that since there were a hell and a heaven I should not live according to my own ways. I began to think of my soul and to pray both in the morning and at night with tears. All of a sudden, I could not eat my food due to some infection in my throat. I started bleeding from my throat. My mother and other people of God prayed for me. I did not believe in the divine healing though the Lord performed many miracles of healing in our family. I decided to go to the hospital and spent Rs.800/- in two months on medical treatment. Even then, I was not cured. I was very scared. If I died at this stage, where would I go? I sought Him with all my heart through prayers. The Lord came in search of me. On a Christmas day, the Lord gave me a vision and saved me from the sin. He gave me a joy, which the world could not give me.
After I had received His peace and salvation, the Devil began to afflict me. He tried his best to defeat us by bringing all sorts of trials and tribulations to us. One day, as I was praying to God with tears, He asked me to read Isaiah 41:10, 13. Since I had not read this Bible portion earlier, I began to wonder as to what this Bible portion would mean to me. As I opened the Bible and read these verses, I was comforted.
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness…. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not: I will help thee” (Is.41: 10 & 13).
After some days, her fourth daughter Emi Alice also fell ill. She was very beautiful and was working as the Headmistress of an elementary school. She used to teach the other children in her village on the Word of God and good spiritual songs, apart from teaching the school children. Due to ill health, she resigned her job. Emi Alice informed her mother, “If it is God’s will, I will live. Otherwise, do not worry about me. All of you should live happily”. The entire family and other believers fasted and prayed. She and her children fasted for 40 days and prayed. Ammal continued to fast for 90 days by taking some light refreshments. During the church services, special prayers were offered for the healing of Emi Alice. Grace Lydia, her elder sister, wrote to Oral Roberts of America to pray for the healing of Emi. Oral Roberts sent a reply stating, “You need not worry if you have no worldly possession because you have treasure in the heaven. The Lord will do His will. I have asked the churches in America to pray for your sister”. Oral Roberts sent her a handkerchief after prayer and stated that if it was God’s will, she would be healed.” Despite all these intercessory prayers for the healing of Emi Alice, the Lord revealed to Ammal that He wanted to call Emi Alice into glory.
When the death neared her, Emi Alice called her mother and told her that a bright light surrounded her, and that though the death looked like the night, it night shined like the day. In a vision, Emi saw a man in white apparel that told her that her dress was white as snow. Emi told her mother and others that the angels of God would come down and take her to the heaven where she would meet her father, elder sisters, grandparents, uncle, aunt, etc.
The following day, a song sprang in the heart of Ammal. It is given below.
“We seek the heaven and its glory; joy in the heaven is indescribable. How it could be when we see and enjoy it!”
Then Emi Alice called her mother and kissed her. Ammal also kissed her. She called her sisters and brother to come near her. She also requested the presence of the believers who lived in the nearby villages. About 200 people of God gathered there near her deathbed. She exhorted them to sing the following hymn:
“Glorious day! The day of my sin washed away! The Lord redeemed me! Joyful day! Joyful day! The day of deliverance from my sin”
Then Emi Alice gave a message from John 3:3 and bade farewell to those around her. Some people requested her to pray to God for allowing her to stay in the world for some more days. She answered to them, saying, “I am going to live in a holy land without sin. How can you ask me to live for some more days on this earth? You should seek forgiveness from God for asking me like this”. Then all of them prayed to God seeking His forgiveness. When her younger brother Samuel and younger sister Hepsibai wept bitterly, she comforted them. Her elder sister Grace Lydia wept and said, “We have all taken passports for visiting Ceylon to see our uncle and aunt there”. Emi answered to her, saying, “After reaching the heaven, I will be able to see my uncle and aunt who are in Ceylon. However, all of you cannot see me when I will be in the heaven”. Then Emi reminded her mother about a new Sari (an Indian dress for women) purchased for her. Since she fell ill, she could not wear it. She now asked her mother to bestow this Sari upon some poor woman because this Sari, if wrapped around her dead body, would be eaten away by termites. She asked them to sing certain hymns after her death. After some time, she told them, “I now see a group of angels and saints along with a golden chariot. Are you able to see them? “ However, those around her could not see what she had seen. Then, with a smiling face, she passed into glory on 15-8-1959. After the demise of Emi Alice, the Lord gave an opportunity to Ammal to see and talk to her daughter in the heaven. Emi told her mother that she was given a good place in the heaven with a golden crown and with a white dress and that she rejoiced there.
Ammal was blessed with seven children. Three daughters passed into glory and the youngest daughter died in her childhood. She was left with two more daughters and one son. Ammal prayed to God that her remaining children should not get married so that they might avoid the family life, which was full of struggles because she had herself suffered a lot after marriage. However, the Lord revealed to her that they should get married and that their marriages should be conducted in a holy manner and according to His will. In 1962, her elder daughter Grace Lydia was married to a servant of God N.Samuel, an apostle of Christ in India, who hails from Nilgris, Tamil Nadu. Bro.N.Samuel publishes a Tamil Magazine, which contains spiritual food and the message of the Cross. He uses to go to the Himalayan countries every year to preach the gospel. Grace Lydia, the wife of Bro.N.Samuel passed into glory on 28-6-1996. Bro.Samuel has two sons, namely, Sundar Singh and Charles Finny.
The other daughter Hepsibai Buelah was married to an evangelist G.Sundarapandian. They have two daughters Sarah Solomon and Elizabeth, who were since married. The only son of Ammal is Rev.T.Devasahayam Samuel, an ordained pastor of Church of South India, Tamil Nadu. He was married to Betsy on 26-5-1972. Both Samuel and his wife were missionaries in the State of Gujarat for many years. Betsy Samuel passed into glory on 29-1-1999. Rev.Samuel has one married daughter, namely Mrs.Benitta Margaret and two sons Alpheus Jegaraj and Jernaus Britto.
Ammal spent her last days in the house of her grand daughter Eunice Clara Esther who was a nurse in Pondicherry, South India. Eunice is the daughter of Daisy Kohilam, the eldest daughter of Ammal. In her old age, since Ammal had lost her eyesight, she asked her grand children to read the Bible for her. In 1994, she wanted to see her beloved son Samuel in Christia Nagaram, Thiruneveli District, Tamil Nadu. As soon as she reached Christia Nagaram, the news spread like a wild fire. Many people made a beeline to the house of Rev.Samuel. People loved her from their heart. When people called on her in her last days, she did not discuss with them on worldly matters but on spiritual matters. She used to intercede for others by mentioning their names in prayers. Whenever any food was offered to her, she did not relish it and used to say that she would meet the Lord in the heaven very soon and said that her dying body did not require nutritious food.
She became very weak since the morning of 14th November 1994. Though she was very weak and sick unto death, she did not lose her consciousness. Though she gasped for breath in the last hours, she was praying fervently, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. At 10 p.m., there was a family prayer. She sang a hymn in a loud voice. Then all of them knelt down and recited Psalm 23. As soon as the prayer ended, she said Amen in a loud voice. She ended the prayer, saying, “Bless the Lord, Oh my soul”. She inquired about the time. They told her that it was 11 p.m. Then she advised them to go to bed. She called her children, prayed for them individually, and prophesied to her son, “The Lord will lead you. He will use you mightily. Do not worry about anything”. At about 11.10 P.M. on 14-11-1994, she commended her spirit into the hands of the Lord.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF BETSY SAMUEL
Hazards of a missionary’s life
Betsy Samuel (1-1-1947 to 29-1-1999) was the wife of Rev.Devasahayam Samuel, the last and the only son of Gnanamani Ammal. She was born in Nazareth, Tiruneveli District, Tamil Nadu, India in a devout Christian family. She was the first daughter in the family with three younger sisters. She stood first in her studies. After undergoing the teacher’s training course, she worked as a schoolteacher. She was married to Samuel who was also working as a teacher on 26-5-1972. She was saved during a revival meeting held in a town called Megnapuram in 1973. Since then, both of them dedicated themselves to a full-time God’s ministry.
After the birth of a daughter on 27-3-1973, both of them joined an outstanding evangelical organization in India, Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB). They were sent to a mission field, called Periamalai, situated in a hill station, at an altitude of 2500 feet above sea level, which was not accessible to transport and communication. This place was inhabited by some tribal people. On this hill lived dacoits and wild elements like elephants. The villages in this mission field are so scattered that one has to cover a distance of 4 KMs to 15 KMs on foot. For buying provisions and vegetables, one has to walk over a distance of 9 KMs to a nearby market. There were no hospital facilities.
Both of them reached the mission field with their 3-month-old daughter. The FMPB paid a monthly allowance of Rs.260/- (say $5) during 1973. They lived a very simple life with this meager allowance. Betsy paid one-tenth as tithe to God i.e. Rs.30/-. She gave Rs.50/- to her mother-in-law G.Ammal for her maintenance, and kept apart a sum of Rs.50/- towards the marriage expense of her sister-in-law. The missionary couple lived on the remaining amount of Rs.130/- only. Both of them ate the food, which was normally consumed by the tribal. She never murmured. Nor did she let her parents know about her needs. She was content with God gave her.
Samuel used to go out for ministry amongst the surrounding villages and remained on such long tours ranging from 10 to 20 days, leaving behind his wife with the young child at home. On one occasion, he returned from his 22 days’ tour. To his shock, he saw his wife immobilized and confined to her bed and the child was playing near her. Had he returned after 2 days, he would not have found both the mother and the child alive. Since there was no medical facility, she was to be rushed to a far off place for medical treatment. Samuel hired some laborers for carrying her from the hilltop to the plain country. As soon as they reached the plain country, she was transported in a bullock cart to a hospital in Krishnagiri. She remained in the hospital for 40 days and regained her health.
After their mission work in Periamalai mission field, they were sent to Gujarat, a North Indian state which was known for its hostile attitude towards Christian missionaries. Two more children, boys, were born to them after their transfer to the new mission field i.e. Vyara, Surat District, Gujarat. Betsy brought up all the children in His ways and helped her husband in the ministry.
For taking medical treatment for the deteriorating eyesight of Samuel, the family had gone to Aligarh, and stayed there for some days. On return to their home, to their shock, they found the entire house ransacked by some thieves. The valuable earthly possessions were stolen. Their neighbors gathered there and wailed on seeing their pitiable condition. They thought the missionary couple would also wail. To their great surprise, the missionary coupled prayed to God, “Lord, You have distributed our goods amongst the needy. We praise You for this”.
In 1980, Samuel went to a Bible College in Karnataka State for theological studies. During the period of his study, they were not getting the monthly allowance from the evangelical organization. A dear servant of God, Emil Jebasingh, came forward to help them. He gave them Rs.450/- ever month. Though this meager amount was not sufficient for the missionary couple to make both the ends meet, they survived even after paying tithes to God. God strengthened their faith and comforted them through the following Bible verses:
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body”
Betsy was not only a good wife to Samuel but also advised him in spiritual matters and strengthened him in his spiritual life. She worked hard with her own hands.
On 8-5-1995, she was operated upon her abdomen for suspected infection. However, it was diagnosed as cancer. The doctors predicted that she would live only for a month. But the Lord prolonged her life. In 1997, she underwent another surgery and regained her health to some extent. Again, in Dec.1998, her health further deteriorated. Knowing her imminent home-call, she wanted the marriage of her daughter to be held. The marriage was subsequently held. On her deathbed, she gave her golden bangles to her husband and requested him to gift the same to the daughter of a servant of God. However, her husband insisted on bestowing the bangles upon their daughter. However, he acceded to the request of Betsy. On 29-1-1999, Besty passed into glory.
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