A letter to an orphan can guide believers of all ages.

St. John Maximovich of San Francisco founded St. Tikhon's Orphanage while in China and established a new one with the same name when he came to America.  When not personally ministering to the children he also reached out via letters.   Below is one that highlights the challenges of living in a culture with values and practices alien to those of Orthodoxy.  Orthodox of all ages can learn from his words....

You know that when they were children, raised in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, they refused any delicacies at the king’s table and ate only vegetables, so that they would not violate the law of the Old Testament Church.   

For this self-restraint and obedience to the Church’s Law, God rewarded them, gave them wisdom, in which they surpassed all their peers. Through the experience of fasting their souls were fortified, and they were able to refuse the king’s demand that they bow down to idols. And when they did not fulfill the impious command, and the three youths were thrown into a burning fiery furnace, and Prophet Daniel into a pit with lions, the Lord preserved them from it all. The hymns about this are sung everyday in the morning services to remind us of these youths’ heroism and to set them forth for us as an example.

You are now in a situation similar to the position of those children in Babylon. We are surrounded by people who do not know the Orthodox faith and do not submit themselves to the Church’s laws. The choice is before you: either fill yourselves with food that is forbidden by the Church, or, like Ananias, Azarias and Misael, you are free to reject what is forbidden. With whom do you want to be—with the youths, or with those who were against them? Do you want to emulate those saints, who were of the same age as you are now, or do you want to take the broad path and disdain all the rules?

Great courage and strength of character was demanded of those three youths so that they could fulfill the Church laws and traditions of their fathers; in the end they remained to live amongst the numberless multitude of unbelievers. For this God in His mercy glorified them before the whole world and for all ages. The Lord also will reward each of you if you follow the example of those youths.

Every time you are tempted to please yourself by eating what everyone else who does not know the divine laws of Christ’s Church eats, remember Daniel and the three children. And answer yourselves—are you with them, ready to follow them and be under God’s protection, or are you more interested in enjoying the sweet foods, which might look harmless but in fact turn us into destroyers of what made those Youths strong, glorious, and invincible. Who are you with, children, and whom do you want to follow?

 ~ From an article in orthochristian.com