Our eldest daughter, Anna, had the hardest adjustment to life as a Missionary Kid – just at the beginning of her high school years, leaving behind a dear friend, and arriving three weeks after the school year started at her new international school in India. Yet God has been faithful! Now, 20 months after our arrival in Kodaikanal, she has the full and energetic schedule of a happy tenth grader. She has a large group of friends that include kids from all over the world and from most faith traditions. Last week Anna came home from school and shared with us this story:

She was in physics class and they had finished the lab assignment well before the end of class time. One of her classmates, a European boy with little religious background, struck up a conversation with the lab assistant, an Indian Christian woman, about the basics of the Christian faith and beliefs. Anna and two of her good Christian friends, Peter and Jeran, joined in with them. They spent 45 minutes earnestly addressing Josh's questions and sharing how they have found answers in the Christian faith that are missing in other religions. Devika, a Sikh friend, was listening intently to the discussion and expressing uncertainties of her own. When the class ended, she let Anna know that she was open to the efforts to convince her of the truth in Christianity. After leaving the lab, Anna, Peter, and Jeran went to the school chapel to find the scripture references for the thoughts they had just shared. They prayed for their friends Josh and Devika.

We know that it isn't just Anna's parents that are the ABC missionaries here at Kodaikanal International School. So is she, and her sisters, Lisa and Kara.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12