Dear God,

I live in Kosovo. I guess You already know that… This is a beautiful land. But I guess You know that, too, since it was You Who made it so beautiful… I want to thank You for creating this place to be my home. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else! I love to play with my friends in the hills near my house. We all go together to the school near-by.

Thank You for my childhood, God. It is wonderful to be a child who can play and learn and grow with other children. My parents say childhood should be a time of joy and discovery, a time of innocence and freedom from all the things grown-ups have to worry about, a time to learn who you are and who you will grow up to be, God willing.

Dear God,

Some of the grown-ups in this beautiful land of Kosovo have done things to my family, to my village, to my neighbors and friends that now make it hard to play, hard to go to school, even hard to keep living here. They took away my father's job so now we have no money to buy food or new shoes or coats. The weather is getting cold and we can't even afford firewood. God, bless those monks from the De?ani monastery who bring us a little food from time to time and money they get from America to buy wood. Bless those people in America who send us money.

Dear God,

Most of my friends have moved away and I am lonely. Our village that used to be a happy place, full of people who always smiled and said 'hello' to me and sometimes brought me sweets when they came to visit; our village that was neat and tidy, where the people were cheerful-- now is almost deserted. The people who used to live here are gone and I have few friends left. There is not much playing any more.

Some angry people came and burned down the neighbor's house so that whole family had to move away. I lost my best friend when that family moved away. My big sister cried for weeks; I thought she'd never stop. I asked my parents why was she so sad. They told me it was because she wouldn't be able to see my best friend's older brother any more…

Dear God,

My parents say that a long time ago, You came down in Person to live with us and to teach us to love each other. But now my parents tell me to be careful not to even talk too much to the neighbors because a lot of them don't love us. Why is this? Was it something I said? Something I did? I don't remember doing anything to anyone that would make them hate my whole family! But I'm sure sorry for it, if I did!

Thank You for not allowing our house to be burned down, too. Please protect my best friend's family, wherever they live now. Please protect the school where I still go whenever I can, even though sometimes people throw rocks at the school bus. Some of those rocks used to be in the walls of our church, where my family went every Sunday to talk toYou, God! Why did they tear down the church? God, why do You let people do things like that? Wasn't that Your house? I will build another house for You someday, God, if I can.

And please, if it's not too much trouble, help us to get some more food because I'm hungry almost all the time. And I'm starting to get cold, too. If You can, make those angry people less angry so they'll stop trying to burn down our houses and make us move. Best friends shouldn't have to say 'good-by.'

Amen.