Lately I have been on this kick of finding a pen pal. I'm not really sure what inspired it, but I know that I have been on the hunt. I was trying to convince a friend of mine to be my pen pal and he wasn't so keen on the idea. So I kept searching. In my pursuit of finding a pen pal I stumbled upon a website called Adopt a US Soldier. As I read what this group is all about I fell in love and immediately signed up.
I have adopted a soldier. A man who I know nothing about except his name, mailing address, email, and that he loves coffee. What I do know about him is that every day he chooses to risk his life to protect our freedom. Everyday he goes to work and has the option of never returning home, and yet he continues to do it. I thought that my desire to have a pen pal would be surpassed by the opportunity to give thanks to this man. See, when I signed up the website made it very clear that he may never write back. That for months I could send him letters, packages, and emails and there is a possibility that I would never hear a word. I chose to do it anyway. Mainly because reading the information on this site made me realize just how much these people do to give of their lives for me. If I could send him little tokens of gratitude without expecting anything in return I would be satisfied.
So I started in. Last night I wrote my first letter (and mailed it out today). I told him a little about me and just how thankful I am for his gift of sacrifice. This morning I sent him an email. I told him more about me and what it is like here in Wyoming. I read on the website that it is good to inform them that they have been adopted and will be expecting a letter. It is also good to have your soldier get emails from you so that they can send you requests for items in packages. Sometimes they may not have a lot of time to mail a request so it makes it much easier to just drop a quick email.
This afternoon I received word back from my soldier. I was able to see that he is married and has children. I was so surprised to get a response so quickly, it really did make my whole day to see that he was able to take just a few moments to write back.
Friends I would surely recommend that all of you sign up for this incredible thing. Sign up only if you can commit to writing and sending packages. I will say that it feels so great to do something else for another person with no expectation of anything in return. If you would like to adopt a soldier please go to http://adoptaussoldier.org/ click on the tab that says adopt a soldier and get started. I really can't think of a better way for us to express our gratitude.
