The Girl With the Pink Backpack

When AnnaLisa Cochran entered college at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1981, she wanted to be an actress. Her future looked hopeful. But when she contracted a severe case of rubella, she nearly died. She missed three weeks of classes, and for the first time, she had failing grades.

As she recovered, AnnaLisa recognized the acting talent of her peers and felt like she’d never be able to compete with them. And her boyfriend had just broken up with her.

I feel so alone and worthless, with no reason to live, she thought.

One day, in her desperation, she was about to attempt suicide by jumping from the roof of her dorm. But an audible yet unseen voice stopped her. Wait, she heard.

Seeing no one, she asked, “God, is that you?” Even though she wasn’t religious, she decided she’d grant God 24 hours to intervene.

The next day on campus, Josh McDowell — founder of Josh McDowell Ministry™, a ministry of Cru^® — was speaking outside to about 300 UCLA students. Walking in a daze to her dorm, AnnaLisa was trying to get past the crowd. But as Josh talked about Jesus, he suddenly stopped.

Josh McDowell meets with students at the University of Washington in Seattle in the early 1970s. During the next decade, Josh drew thousands of people at events, including 5,700 at an evangelistic event in Long Beach, California, called “Six Hours with Josh.” (Photo courtesy of Josh McDowell Ministry™.)

“Hey, you!”

AnnaLisa kept walking, thinking, Of course he’s not talking to me.

“Hey, you,” he said again. “You, with the pink backpack!”

AnnaLisa looked and saw Josh pointing at her and her pink backpack. The crowd stared.

“God’s been talking to you, hasn’t He?” Josh asked.

She remembered the unseen voice, and she nodded. Josh told her that God had just given him a message for her and to wait with his assistant, Sherry, until he finished. Curious, AnnaLisa agreed.

After his talk, Josh went to AnnaLisa and said, “I don’t know what this means, but God told me to tell you that He loves you and He has a wonderful plan for your life.”

AnnaLisa started to cry. Josh said, “I’d like to tell you about how you could have a new life with Christ.”

AnnaLisa spoke with him and Sherry for half an hour. The following day, Sherry met with AnnaLisa in her dorm cafeteria and she answered AnnaLisa’s questions. Soon after, AnnaLisa told her she wanted to become a Christian.

As Sherry and AnnaLisa prayed, she confessed to being a sinner and thanked Jesus for dying on the cross so that she could have eternal life. That day AnnaLisa chose to follow Jesus.

After making her decision, AnnaLisa sensed that God wanted her to become a teacher to influence young lives. She also got involved with Cru at UCLA.

A decision that changed a child’s life

Six years later, the school year at Palo Verde Elementary School had just started when a fourth-grade teacher approached AnnaLisa.

“There is a man trying to get his little girl into one of our classes [today],” she told AnnaLisa, who was also a fourth-grade teacher. “Be sure to refuse them because we have reached overflowing capacity.”

AnnaLisa Cochran, sitting at the desk in her classroom, has influenced the lives of students for more than 26 years. (Photo courtesy of AnnaLisa Cochran.)

AnnaLisa already had 33 students. So she braced herself for turning away the man and his daughter. Later that morning, a knock sounded on AnnaLisa’s classroom door.

A thin girl with sad eyes and a ponytail on the top of her head stood there. Her elderly father, recently widowed, bent over her and held her hand nervously. Mah Fook, a Vietnamese man, lived in a poverty-stricken area of San Francisco with his young daughter, Mai-Ling. Mah Fook worked as a mail carrier in Palo Alto, an affluent area where Palo Verde Elementary School was located. Because of the school district’s outstanding reputation, Mah Fook desperately wanted Mai-Ling to attend the school.

Mah Fook looked at AnnaLisa pleadingly and asked, “May my daughter join your class?”

“Absolutely!” she said after talking with them. AnnaLisa took Mai-Ling’s little hand and led her inside.

As the year progressed, AnnaLisa told Mai-Ling about Jesus and how she could have a relationship with Him. Mai-Ling placed her trust in Christ later that year.

AnnaLisa hugs Mai-Ling on her wedding day. Mai-Ling spent summer breaks with AnnaLisa and her family after Mai-Ling’s father died. (Photo courtesy of AnnaLisa Cochran.)

Mai-Ling began to spend a good deal of time with AnnaLisa and her family. When AnnaLisa and her husband, Mark, had a son and later a daughter, Mai-Ling became like a big sister to them. Years later, during Mai-Ling’s sophomore year of college, her father died. During summer breaks, Mai-Ling stayed with the Cochrans.

A chance reunion

In 2001, AnnaLisa started teaching sixth grade at The King’s Academy — a private Christian school in Sunnyvale, California. The school suggested that teachers interact with students outside of class, so she invited girls into her home, got to know them, heard about their troubles and helped them work through conflicts. Her job provided her with opportunities to further influence young lives.

Eleven years later, in 2012, Josh McDowell spoke at AnnaLisa’s school. During intermission, she rushed to the podium to tell him about his influence on her and to thank him.

“I know you won’t remember me, but...” AnnaLisa began to say.

But Josh interrupted, “The girl with the pink backpack! I remember you.”

“How did you remember me after 30 years?” AnnaLisa asked, shocked by Josh’s response.

“The message God had given me to tell you was so powerful, I never forgot it,” he replied.

“The message saved my life and stopped me from committing suicide that night,” AnnaLisa told him. “Instead [of an acting career], I became a teacher.”

A shared message

In 2015, a few years after AnnaLisa’s reunion with Josh, AnnaLisa was preparing to retire after 26 years of teaching.

“It was hard for me to quit and retire,” said AnnaLisa, “but when I had my first grandchild, I knew that it was the right time.”

AnnaLisa (right) stands with a pregnant Mai-Ling. AnnaLisa, who has two biological grandchildren, considers Mai-Ling as a part of her family and sees Mai-Ling’s two children as her grandchildren as well. (Photo courtesy of AnnaLisa Cochran.)

As a way to conclude her career as a teacher, she decided to speak during chapel time at The King’s Academy. That day, just as she shared with young Mai-Ling in her classroom, AnnaLisa told more than 700 high school students about her story. She said that when they feel alone in college, they need not despair because God loves them and offers them new life — just as He offered AnnaLisa years before.