After a long wait and no address in sight, my mother encouraged me to write to churches in England and America and just ask to hear from a girl or boy my age who would like to write to me. I remember writing six letters to large cities all across the U.S. and one letter to London. It worked!

I was the very happy recipient of a letter from John in New York and another letter from Dorothy in London. I believe it was the summer of 1947, and my knowledge of the English language was very limited.

With the help of a dictionary I laboured to write my letters and struggled just as much reading those arriving from my two pen-pals.