Rashid and Mahde are friends who have been living in different cities. Mahde shares in a letter that he has been staying with his aunt in Taguig City to take care of her house. There, he has met schoolmates from different religious backgrounds like Christian, Iglesia ni Cristo, and Seventh-day Adventist, who he does school assignments and community service projects with peacefully. Rashid responds that their mutual friends miss Mahde and hope to see him again soon.

1. Our world is full of people with different beliefs. Regardless of how
much time we spend with people who have the same beliefs as ours, we
will one day encounter people who do not share our values and beliefs.
Below is an exchange of letters between friends Rashid and Mahde. In
their letters, they share their experiences in meeting people.

2. A Letter from Me to You

3. Dear Rashid,
How are you?
My family and I are now staying at Aunt’s house here in Taguig City. No one
looks after the house, so my aunt abroad wants us to take care of it.
I am now studying at Silangan Elementary School where I met John Dayle
who is a Christian, Martha, a member of Iglesia ni Cristo, and Ramon, a Seventh-
day Adventist. We do assignment together. We also plant trees and maintain the
cleanliness of our school.
Living here in Manila is not hard as I thought. The people are different from
each other, but they live peacefully together, just like how we were in Barangay
Carmen.
I miss you and our friends. I hope we can go on vacation there in Cotobato
City, so I could see all of you again. Tell Abo and Johare that I miss them a lot.
Your friend,
Mahde

4. Dear Mahde,
Our friends Abo and Johare also want to send their hellos. It is good to know
that you have new friends who are nice to you. Your tree-planting activity made
me remember the garden plot that we took care of. We were lucky to harvest to a
lot of cabbage then. We even gave Abo a bigger share for his four siblings.
Abo, Johare, abd I still eat our lunch together in our favorite spot-under the
mango tree. Johare still picks mangoes from the tree whenever he forgets to bring
his lunch.
we also have a new teacher, Ms. Cruz. She came from Manila. She and her
family in our barangay. She also often talks about places in Manila like the big
shopping malls she has visited. I think Manila is an exciting place to visit someday.
We hope to see you soon, so we could play together again.
Your friend,
Rashid