I got aboard and sat down in my seat．It was going to be a long flight． Around me were some  1  "Where are you headed?" I asked．

       "Lakes Air Base．We'll be there for special training, and then to the front．"

After about an hour, an announcement was made that box lunches were  2  for five dollars． The journey would be several hours, and I decided to buy one．

        As I 3  for my wallet, I heard a soldier ask his fellows if he would buy lunch．"No, that seems a lot of money for just a box lunch．" I looked around at the other soldiers. 4  were buying lunch．I walked to the back of the plane and  5 the flight attendant a fifty-dollar bill．

        "Take a lunch to all those soldiers．" I said．She seized my arms tightly．Her eyes wet with tears, she  6  me, " My son is a soldier in the front．．．it's almost like you are doing it for him．"

       Picking up ten boxes, she headed to the soldiers．

       After eating, on my way to the rest room I was  7  by a man．"I saw 8 you did and I want to be part of it．" With this, he handed me twenty-five dollars．

       Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming, looking at the seat numbers  9  he walked．When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his10  , and said, "I want to  11  your hand．" I stood and took his hand．With a loud voice he said, "I was a soldier．12 , someone bought me a lunch．It was such an act of  13  that I never forgot．" I was a little bit  14   when applause rang out from all of the passengers．These soldiers were giving their all for our country．I could only give them a couple of meals．

       Later, when I walked to the front of the plane to stretch my legs, a man  15  another twenty-five dollars in my hand．

When we 16  , I gathered my belongings and started to leave．A man stopped me, put something in my pocket, and walked away 17 a word．Another twenty-five dollars! Seeing the soldiers  18  at the terminal, I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars．As I walked  19  to my car, I prayed for their safe  20  .

    People from every corner1into the streets that Christmas Eve. "Frosty the Snowman," and "Jingle Bells"2in stores; on the pavements, the street singers performed happily. Everyone was3by someone else, delighted and cheerful. I was alone.

    As one of 8 kids of a Brazilian family, brought up in America's crowded apartment, I'd spent several years searching for aloneness. Now4 at 27, a college student after the5with my girlfriend, every cell inside me wanted to be alone6not at Christmas. My family had returned to Brazil and my friends were7with their own lives. Dusk was approaching, and the fact that I had to return to my8home made me sad. Lights from windows blinked , and I hoped someone would 9from one of those homes to invite me inside with a Christmas tree decorated with shiny fake snow and beautiful10.

    At a market, I felt more11when people were buying lots of goods, which12the gifts we received as children in my mind. I missed my family and wanted to cry for wanting to be alone and for having achieved it.

Outside the church, a manger(小耶稣) had been set up . I stood silently watching the 13 some of people were crossing themselves,14.As I walked home, I realized that leaving Brazil was still a painful experience as I struggled with15 I had become in 15 years in America. I16 the losses, but for the first time, I recognized what I'd gained. I was independent17and healthy. My life was still ahead, full of18

    Sometimes the best gift is the one that you give yourself. That Christmas, I gave myself19for what I'd obtained up to now and promise to go forward. It is the best gift I've ever got, the one that I most20.

    I worked about thirty to forty hours a week as a nurse at a local hospital during the summer. Most of the time I spent there 1.with Mr. Gillespie, who never had any visitors and nobody seemed to 2.his state. I spent many days there helping with 3.needed to be done. He became a close friend of mine, 4.he answered me only by holding my hand. Mr. Gillespie still couldn't wake up.

    I left for a week and when I came back, Mr. Gillespie was 5.I didn't 6.to ask any of the nurses where he was, 7.they might tell me he had died. So 8.many questions unanswered, I continued to work there.

    Several years later, I was at the gas station 9.I noticed a 10.face. When I 11.who it was, my eyes filled with tears. He was alive! I got up the nerve to ask him 12.his name was Mr. Gillespie. With a/an 13.look on his face, he replied yes. I 14.how I knew him, and how I had spent many hours talking with him in the hospital. His eyes were filled with tears, and he gave me the warmest hug I had ever 15.

    He told me he thought I was an angel who was there with him. He firmly believed that it was my voice and touch 16.had kept him alive.

    17.I haven't seen him since, he fills my heart with 18.every day. I know that I made a difference 19.his life and his death. 20., he has made a very great difference in my life: he made me an angel!

    The universe has a way of sending help from even the most unlikely of places.

    When Tony received a wrong-number message on his mobile phone, he could have just 1 it. Instead, he gathered five of his six children and 2 a picture to send to Syd, the girl on the other end of line, just to give her a little 3 However, he had no idea that replying to this random message would 4 his family's life.

    The message was from Syd, who was dress shopping when she decided to get a second 5. So she took a picture of herself in the new dress that she had chosen and sent the message to who she thought was her friend.

    Tony sent her a message 6 right away, but he also wanted to let her know that her pretty picture hadn't ended up in the 7 hands, so he included a picture of his kids giving a big thumbs-up. “I figured that the children's 8 would be far better than some middle-aged man!”

    Syd's friend Mandi was deeply touched by the 9 that she posted it online, where it quickly went viral. Not only is it just a sweet 10 of kindness on Tony's part, but look at those cute kids of his!

    Once the story 11 the web, people discovered that one of Tony's children was 12 from the picture. The youngest child, Kaizler, wasn't home at that time 13 his mom had taken him to his chemotherapy (化疗) appointment.

Once Mandi read about Kaizler's cancer diagnosis, she shared his GoFundMe page, which snowballed into a widespread 14 of giving. Thousands of people have donated to the little boy's page.

    Kaizler's mom says she can't express how 15 her family is for the financial help, and no one can believe this rush of good fortune 16 from a simple wrong-number message!

    “It is so refreshing to be 17 that there are good people in the world who still care about others and are quick to be 18 and kind to others,” she stated, “I would also like to thank EVERYONE from bottom of my heart 19 all the kind words, all the donations, all the love and support. We honestly would never have been able to 20 it this far in our journey without every single of you!”

    Tears clouded my eyes as I stood in our washing room, holding Brett's jeans and shirt full of burn holes.

    Tired and defeated, I 1 to the floor. The clothes were just one more thing Brett had 2 . He often got almost everything in the house out of 3 . Many windows in our house needed repair due to his breaking 4 to steal money when he chose to live on the street. Yet none of this could compare to the emotional 5 Brett had done to our once quiet home.

    Brett came to live with us when he was 12 years old. During the next few years I had dealt with Brett as 6as possible, but inside I was shouting. “I don't want him in my house another day, Lord! I just can't 7 him!” Having wiped my tears, I continued 8 him as before.

    When Brett was nearly 18, he landed again in Juvenile Hall(少管所). After that, my husband and I had to send Brett to a boarding school for helping 9teens.

    At the  10 ceremony, each graduate held a white rose to give to the person who had 11 the most to him or her.

    Brett spoke12 to his parents and then spoke to me, “You did so much. You were always there, no matter 13 . My mom and dad, I was their kid. But you, 14 troubled enough by me, always 15 me such love. And I want you to know I love you for it.”

    16, I stood as Brett placed the white rose in my hand and hugged me17.

    At that moment, tears18 in my eyes again, this time not for disappointment but for19. Although I had struggled with silent 20toward my stepson, Brett had seen only my actions. Love is action. We may not always have positive feelings about certain people in our lives, but we can love them.

    My cousin is nine years old, a little bit fat and doesn't do really well at school. She is heavily 1, and thus has developed some resistance and 2 towards adults, who usually don't put high hopes in her.

    Yesterday we went to an art 3 together. There were paintings from kids with disabilities. My little girl has a 4 eye, for the paintings she liked most were also the best of the show. She voluntarily helped to 5 the chairs and table for a sharing session, painted by herself alongside new friends while I attended the sharing, and also 6 helped me to get my bag from another room, 7 that doesn't happen often at home as she's usually 8 to her iPad.

    In the afternoon, we went to buy books together. I bought a book written by a mom 9 her journey with her autistic (自闭的) son. On the bus back home, I briefly 10 the book to my cousin, and to my surprise she was 11 interested. She kept asking me to tell more stories about the boy in the book who 12 with small things in life. Even when the subject strayed (偏离) elsewhere, she 13 hearing more about this boy. This is the first time I've seen her so interested in a 14. Usually when she talks to me she describes events at school and at home without a 15 focus. I'm very 16 that the life of a 17 has found its way into this little girl's heart.

    I'm very thankful for the 18 of books, for the beauty that my cousin revealed to me, and for the time we had together. I 19 that I can keep seeing clearly the wonderful things in her, so that whenever the not-so-kind world puts her 20, I can remind her how truly wonderful she has always been.