Ida stamped her foot. Her friends were wrong. "I will not be a missionary to India like my parents!" she retorted. "Don't any of you say I will be, because I won't - never, ever, ever." Ida had never forgotten the faces of starving Indian children. She hated India - it was full of horrible situations she could do nothing about.

Ida Scudder was sure she would never follow in the footsteps of her medical missionary father. But when she witnessed Indian women dying because their religious beliefs didn't allow male doctors to treat them, Ida heard herself pray, 'God, if You want me to, I will spend the rest of mylife in India trying to help these women.

Serving for nearly sixty years, Dr. Ida Scudder lived out the truth and compassion found in Christ. She pioneered a first-rate medical school and hospital, brought life-saving helth care to rural people, and left an inspiring legacy that still touches missions of people each year with healing and hope.

Ten-year old Lottie Moon had seen too much bitterness and gossip among churchgoers to want anything to do with religion or God. In fact, if there was a single way to waste a life, Lottie told herself, being a missionary was it.

In a twist that only God could orchestrate, this spirited young girl who grew up to become the most educated woman in the American South would ultimately find her calling as a missionary to China. As Lottie watched her fellow missionaries fall to disease, exhaustion, mental breakdowns, and death, she became just as dedicated to educating Christians about the often preventable tragedies of missionary life as she was to educating Chinese people about the Christian life.

The sacrificial service of the unforgettable Lottie Moon has inspired and enabled countless others to give their all for the dream of seeing the whole world reached with the gospel.

Ancient history a literature approach.