By Grant Bissell
Steelville, MO (KSDK) - You might call it a long-distance relationship.
An eighth-grader from Steelville, Missouri and an Army lieutenant on a year-long deployment to Afghanistan have become friends, despite being separated by more than 7,000 miles.
On Monday those two friends finally met in person.
Nathan Biggs first wrote a letter to First Lieutenant Bryan Langley for a school project. He never expected to meet his pen-pal face-to-face.
"It was amazing actually talking to him rather than just writing words on a piece of paper," said Biggs.
Langley was just as excited to meet Nathan. On his way back to Fort Hood, Texas the lieutenant stopped to visit his young friend at Steelville Middle School. The two exchanged gifts and then got to spend some quality time together.
"It was really nice to be able to put a face to all the sincere letters he wrote to me while I was gone," said Langley.
His visit was special to the entire school. But Langley's not the only service member the kids are thinking of.
The students at Steelville Middle School have adopted dozens of military pen pals and they've created a picture wall to honor all those men and women they've had a relationship with. Many of them served alongside Langley.
"It's really great to know we have a real presence in the Steelville Middle School, said Langley.
And Langley says the Steelville students' letters meant more than the kids will ever know.
"To get hand-written letters from students and give us words of encouragement supporting our mission in Afghanistan, it's really special," said Langley.
"It's a very positive experience just knowing you've changed somebody's life," Biggs added.
KSDK