Letter #101 - Dave

I grew up with a very interesting life.  The child of educators, ministers, and a natural hostess... my life has always been full of people.  Making new friends, greeting old friends, hosting families and strangers, being hosted by families and strangers... it's no wonder I don't do well with too much alone time! :o)

When I was four years old, my father became an appointee, which is our church's term for clergy, or full-time minister.  during his 10 month training process, he became friends with his fellow classmates, and all of our families developed a bond that I draw on to this day for strength and support.

Recently, I was reminded of a family vactation where a number of these families rented a place and spent a few days together out in the woods.  I was pretty young, and have relatively few memories of the time there, but I can vividly remember the emotions.  The feeling that I was completely safe with all of these people, and that they all loved me.

Dave was one of the guys on the vacation.  He and his family goofed off with us and hiked through the woods with us and told stories and laughed with us.  Dave has a great laugh.  Even as he has gotten older and become more serious (in part, a product of his latest position in our church), his laughter is something I treasure.  I wrote Dave mostly just to say hi, and to share the memory of that trip with him.  I hope it brings a smile to his face as he recalls some of the  shennanigans that took place that weekend... including the "ceremonial offering" presented to my family in my dad & brother's burned out sneakers...

I may not keep in close touch with Dave, or any of the other people in those families... but we all went through a very intense family experience together, and that has created friendships that have outlasted many things in my life.  These people also provide me with a strength I find I can access just by recalling those times we were all sharing space, and sharing love and laughter.  I will always be an appointee kid, and that makes me a part of a very special family.

Letter #92 - Jim

I am a photographer.  I haven't formally studied photography, but I have had the great privilege of having some fantastic mentors in my life who taught me a lot, and who encouraged me on my journey, and critiqued my work.  About 5 years ago I decided to launch my own photography business, as a side job.  The intent was always to make a little extra money doing something I love, but not committing to it full-time.  Photography is a creative outlet for me, and if I'm relying on it solely for my income then it becomes more of a job, and I don't love it as much.  I didn't want to force myself to fall out-of-love with my passion, so I've never pursued it full time.  Even since I've been laid off I have amped up my efforts, but am still seeking full time employment that isn't photography.

Jim was one of my photo-mentors.  I met Jim by accident, because he happened to have arrived early at a worship service, and I was standing at the podium with my father, hyperventilating and sobbing my heart out.  I had agreed to say a prayer at the opening service of our church's world conference, and was the opening prayer before our President-Prophet preached.  There were about 5000 people in attendance, plus it was being broadcasted on many of the local tv networks, and world wide on a live streaming webcast.  The reality of what I had agreed to do had just sunk in, and my poor dad was trying to get me as settled as he could before the service began.  I was freaking out.  Jim witnessed all of this (unbeknownst to me).  When the service began and I settled in my seat (alone on the rostrum with the top 3 leaders of our church at the time... no added pressure!) - I discovered that when they tell you the lights will be so bright you won't hardly see anyone, they're lying.  I felt my heart catch in my throat again, and tried to look down without looking as though I was looking down.  That's when I saw Jim.  He gave me the biggest smile and just nodded at me.  The rest of the service, I just focused on him, and his smile never broke.  He got me through the entire thing and I had never even met him before.


That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and once he discovered that I had a budding interest in photography, he jumped on it and offered to critique some of my work.  From then on, he would take me around church events as his assistant, until he eventually promoted me to staff photographer (a very exciting day!).  He would invite me to come stay with him and his wife for a weekend to tour me around and take photos.  He taught me how to use photoshop, and how to better frame a shot, and gave me tips on shooting portraits.  He introduced me to his brother-in-law, another excellent photographer who also took me under his wing.


Whenever I hear from Jim I am always anxious to see what he has to say about my latest work, and eager to hear how life is treating him.  He recently contacted me and asked if I would be willing to share a testimonial that he could put on his website, so I decided to send it to him long hand along with a letter.


I may not see Jim as much as I like, and I may not keep in touch as much as I used to, but he's with me every single time I pick up my camera, and I am forever grateful for that smile!

Letter #66 - Alan

This one may not hit the mailbox for a few days as I realised after the fact that I don't have a current mailing address for him, but Alan is getting a letter as soon as I can get one.  :o)

Alan was my pastor for a few years in college and I adore him.  He always had a hug and a smile for me, and was a key person in helping me deal with some rough times during my freshman year.  As life has evolved, I have often lost touch with Alan and am always ecstatic when he crops up somewhere I am so I can get a hug and a smile.

I hope my letter finds him well, I know he takes on the weight of the world sometimes, and he deserves so much to just be happy and free.

Letter #52 - Debra

When I think back on past relationships I've been in, there was always one glaring red flag for me when I would consider if this was gonna be "the one" or not.  I never loved their families.  In one case I was afraid of the guys family.  That always bothered me.  I come from a very close knit family (immediate & extended) and it's a big deal to me.  I couldn't quite wrap my head around spending the rest of my life with someone whose family made me uncomfortable.  Clearly none of them became my in-laws so we're all good there... but I wonder if that didn't help my husband's case even more when I met his family and loved them all.  Even his awkward pre-teen cousin who spent the day peeling my sunburn when he thought I wasn't looking (he's grown out of that phase by now).  I love my in-laws.  Parents, aunts & uncles, siblings, cousins... they're awesome.  That's why I decided to write to Aunt Debbie.

I don't know Aunt Debbie nearly as well as I would like to, and so this letter was about reaching out to her to hopefully get to know her better.  I love just about everything I do know about her, and she is one of the most pleasant and caring women you could ever hope to meet.  She always greets us ALL with a huge smile, a big hug and sparkling eyes.  Her laugh is infectious and you can tell how deeply she loves her family, just by looking at her.  She's awesome.

As I wrote my letter all I could hear was her laughter in my head, and all I could see was her smiling face.  I really hope that this relationship continues to grow because I feel like she has so much to offer me that I haven't been able to reach out and accept yet... I hope that changes really soon.

Letter #45 - Jerry

When I was pursuing my undergrad, I spent 2.5 glorious years living in a beautiful house off campus that was owned and operated by my church.  Now known as the Journey House, I LOVED that place.  I lived with 11 other residents and we grew to become such a close knit family... I miss them all so much now.  I find myself getting homesick for them, so tonight I reached out to Jerry, one of my housemates during that time.

I grew up going to camps with Jerry's sister, and with Jerry, though at camp we hung with different circles.  When I found out Jerry was considering moving into the house I was ecstatic because I knew what an awesome guy he was.  Turns out he was even cooler than I thought at the time.  Jerry always had a hug for me when I needed it, always knew how to make me laugh and smile, always brightened up the room when he walked in.  If I was having a sucky day, all I had to do was wander into his room and it was instantly better.

Jerry now lives in Las Vegas which means I see him next to never and that sucks a lot.  I think about him tons and always wonder how he's doing out there (he works in hospitality-business and the last time I saw him out there he was in his glory!)  My husband and I are considering a trip to Vegas this year if finances allow, to visit my aunt and uncle who are more like grandparents to my brother and I.  They were unable to attend our wedding at the last minute because of health issues and I was absolutely devastated.  I promised Jerry in my letter that if a trip pans out, we would make time to hang out with him while we're there.

I can already see Jerry's face when he sees my name on the return address.  He has the most infectiously warm smile, I wish I were there to see it in person... and to collect that hug I know he'll have waiting for me...!