Four years ago, BCA supporters Ross & Sarah Andrews encouraged their daughters to write a letter to a Field Staff child their own age. This year they travelled across the top of Australia to visit them.

We have been supporting Bush Church Aid for little over a decade. When our daughters were little, we had a BCA money box that they would put loose change in throughout the year. We wanted a tangible way for them to see how we can support others in gospel ministry.

In 2019 we were looking through the BCA Prayer Notes with Zoe and Emma and suggested they find a family with a child their age and write them a letter. Zoe chose Lydia Nicol in Karratha and Emma chose Rachael Faricy in Kununurra. They sent letters and both Lydia and Rachael replied and from there they began writing back and forth to each other.

The girls write to each other about four times a year. During COVID they wrote more often, and it was interesting for them to hear about each other’s experiences of the pandemic.

They love having a friend on the other side of Australia and receiving letters from them. The girls sometimes share favourite Bible verses, and Zoe & Emma regularly ask how they can pray for Lydia & Rachael and their families. We pray for both the Nicol and Faricy families each bedtime. It is great for Zoe & Emma to hear firsthand from BCA kids about their everyday lives in remote ministry.

In June and July this year I (Sarah) took the kids on a trip around half of Australia. We drove up through Central Australia, across the Kimberley, down the West Coast and then back across the Nullarbor.

We first met the Faricy family in Kununurra. Emma and Rachael were like old friends. In Karratha we met the Nicols and Zoe and Lydia hit it off brilliantly. It was so great for the girls to meet each other in person and spend some time together. We also enjoyed meeting both families and hearing more about their respective ministries so we can be more specific in our prayers for them. We even got to attend church with the Nicols as we were there on a Sunday!

In August we had the pleasure of the Faricys staying with us in Adelaide as they were on a similar trip to ours but headed clockwise. The girls had a great time together – there was lots of giggling and ice cream!

Zoe and Emma really encourage other young boys and girls to become a BCA pen pal. It is great having a friend in another state to write to. Whenever you collect letters at home you always hope there is one from your pen pal. It is also a great encouragement for you to tell people about Jesus.