Andrew Piotrowski got a Facebook friend request last month from a woman in Croatia who was the recipient of a care package letter that he had sent 26 years ago.
Kristina Brunjai came across the letter, which she had long since forgotten, while cleaning out her family apartment in the Slovanian city of Vinkovci a few weeks ago, the Chicago Tribune noted.
The discovery took the 33-year-old woman right back to the mid-90s, when the Croatian War of Independence was coming to an end.
At the time, Brunjal and her sisters were refugees at their godparents' home in a non-war zone of Croatia while their parents stayed in the war-torn Vinkovci.
They were sad times for Brunjal and her family but the letter brought some joy to her life and instilled a sense of hope and faith in humankind.
Revisiting those memories, Brunjal felt an overwhelming need to reach out to Piotrowski, 30, and let him know what a difference his letter made to her life.
Turning to Facebook, she was able to track him down.
"I wrote a message to Andrew with a screenshot of the letter, hoping that I got the right Andrew and that he would remember," Brunjai told the Chicago Tribune. "I wanted him to know that he made me smile in those sad times and that I think how good-hearted and kind person he is."
Piotrowski said he was weary at first but when he saw the screenshot of the letter, he was taken aback.
"Somehow, someway, she kept the letter all these years and tracked me down on Facebook," he said in a post to the social media platform.
"She told me that she received the letter during a time of war (the Croatian War of Independence ended in 1995 so that matches up with my age from the letter) and that the gifts and letter really made a big impact on her at the time - she felt like someone out there cared," he noted.
Piotrowski said he wrote the letter and sent it with some gifts as part of a church initiative.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the letter reads:
"Hi My name is Andrew. I hope you like the toys. I am 7 years old. I like basketball. I like to play, do you? Merry Christmas!"
Brunjal, who now lives in Osijek with her husband and 3-year-old son, said she carefully stored the letter away but later forgot about it, until now.
Piotrowski said he was touched that she had kept the letter and reached out to him.
"We can have a bigger impact on individuals than we may ever realize," he said on Facebook. "Even if you never find out what your random acts of kindness may have done, you can be sure that they made a difference in someone's life."
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