A Letter from Ben!

Those of you who know me well will remember that I lived for two and a half years at Camphill Village, a farm where volunteers live and work with adults with disabilities.  It's an incredible place where daily life and relationships are highly valued.  The friendships I made during my time there were life-changing! 

One person in particular that I will never forget is my friend, Ben.  Here's Ben, the "Blues Man" jamming on his harmonica.

Ben has a gentle spirit, a sensitive heart, and a great laugh.  We enjoyed making lunch together, playing board games (while eating popcorn - of course!), and playing the blues together on guitar and harmonica.  Ben loves to draw, write lyrics to songs, and send letters to his friends.

  The two of us singing at church.

And so, it was with great joy and some amazement that I came to church last week and found an letter for me from the United States addressed with some familiar hand-writing:

 "Amazement" because I can't believe the letter actually made it to me!  The address number is incorrect, and the name of the church is missing.  And yet, somehow, the letter got delivered to the church where Haidee and I work.  This is either a testament to the dedication of our Japanese post man, or the fact that there are very few foreigners living in the Noda Machi neighborhood in Fukushima City who would receive a handwritten letter (in English characters) from the United States.

Either way, receiving Ben's letter was a wonderful surprise!  Here's a brief snippet:

Dear Eric and Haidee (spelled correctly, by the way!).  I wish you to come to the popcorn and games night.  Sarah and I miss you a lots times.  Please comeback to us.  I said, 'I miss that Dude.'

P.S. send photos

Thank you, SO much, Ben.  I WILL most definitely send photos.  And to you (and everyone) who would like to send us letters, in the future please use our complete address:

Eric and Haidee Selle
Izumi Lutheran Church
1-2-10 Noda Machi
Fukushima-shi, Fukushima-ken
Japan 960-8055