Swallowing hard, 8-year-old Daisy pushed open the door of the big building and stepped inside. It was her first day at her new school, and she was scared. What if I can’t understand my teacher? Daisy worried. What if no one can understand me?

Starting Over

Daisy and her family had fled the fighting in their home country of Myanmar [MEE-en-mahr]. [Locate Myanmar on a map.] They had lived in a refugee camp until they moved to America to make a new home. [Trace a line from Myanmar across the Pacific Ocean to America.]

Daisy had studied English in the refugee camp, but some people in America talk fast, and she sometimes couldn’t understand them. Sometimes she didn’t know the right words to answer them, and that made her feel shy. “Be brave and do your best,” Mother urged. “God will help you.”

Making New Friends

Daisy found her classroom. Her teacher welcomed her and helped her understand the lessons. Daisy quickly made friends with some of her classmates, and soon she had learned enough English to help her parents.

Her friends asked her lots of questions about what her life had been like in the refugee camp. “We went to school every day, but it wasn’t a nice school like we have here,” she explained.

So Much to Learn

Life was so different in America! The refugee camp—the only other home Daisy had known—felt more like a prison with its high fences and guards to protect them from enemy soldiers. They were given rice and vegetables to eat, but often they were hungry.

In America there were no high fences or guards around their home. And the grocery store had so much food!

Daisy noticed other things, too. “In the refugee camp everyone looked like us. But in America I see all kinds of people—Chinese, African, Hispanic, White. And often they are speaking in other languages,” she says. “Mother says God loves everyone He made, no matter what they look like or how they talk.”

Finding a Church Home

Daisy and her family worshipped with other Adventists in the refugee camp. When they moved to America, Daisy wondered how they would worship. “There are Seventh-day Adventists in many countries,” her mother explained. “We’ll find a church.” And they did. Daisy is happy to attend Sabbath School in her new homeland and keep learning more about Jesus.

Making Disciples

To Daisy’s surprise, many of her friends from school don’t attend church. “I want to help my friends learn about Jesus,” she says. “I tell them the Bible stories I learn in Sabbath School, and I pray that one day they will love Jesus as I do.”

Daisy is being a missionary in her new homeland. Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help other refugees like Daisy’s family have an opportunity to learn that Jesus loves them. Let’s save our money so we can give a big offering on June 25.