Girlfriend taught me how to read

Dear Pastor,

I thank you for educating us. I have been reading your column and it has helped me. I could even say it has helped me to read. A man called you on your show and told you that he learned to read through your column, and that is the same with me.

I have a girlfriend and when she found out that I could not read well, she offered to help me. She took THE STAR and asked me if I knew about your column. I told her yes, and she started to help me to read it. I read it every day. It was so interesting that sometimes she would ask me if I didn't need anything from her, and we would laugh and have fun.

My girlfriend has a child, but she spent time with me and taught me. We are still together. She is working and we have just started living together. The rent is high, but we are trying our best to pay it. Right now, she is pregnant with my first child, but her second. When I met her she was living with her parents, but now that I have got her pregnant, she cannot bring a second child into the home. We are not ready to be married. I am working, but she is earning more than I am.

I have a brother who is working on a truck. He told me to make sure that I do not lose her, because she is one in a million. My girlfriend is trying to help me to get my passport. I don't know what happened, but I was told that they can't find my birth certificate. So it seems as if I got the wrong date from my grandmother who raised me. I would like to get my passport so that my girlfriend and I can travel.

Not everybody knows that I am not a good reader. But I can more than help myself now. I thank you for your column, and I hope to meet you one day.

Unknown

Dear Writer,

I am glad that my column is more to you than just entertainment. You have been very fortunate to have a girlfriend who is willing to help you in every way.

I am sure that when she met you, she didn't realise that you could not read. People who cannot read cannot think and reason. So it is good that you have now learnt to read.

I am also happy that you have a job. But if you do not have your birth certificate, it is something that you and your girlfriend will have to work on urgently. I have met many people who do not know their correct date of birth and they have difficulty in proving their identity. Some have got fake documents, and that has created more problems for them. It has also cost them a lot of money. You need your birth certificate to help you to get lots of things, such as your passport, Taxpayer Registration Number and driver's licence. You are working, so you should be paying for these things.

You and your girlfriend need a bank account. Perhaps she has opened one already. Also it is not too early for you to get advice from one of these financial organisations about opening a retirement account. Everybody needs that. The earlier you become a part of that, the better for you.

I hope you will be true and loyal to this young lady. I will take the risk in calling her a gem. She is pregnant, so stay very close to her, and don't be surprised if her relatives think and say negative things about you, like she could have got a better man than you. Hang in there with her and be a real gentleman.

Pastor