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SANDY — Saturday, when Ron Lynch opened his mail truck at Mathew Flores' home, the boy's eyes widened and he yelled out with excitement.
Packages of all shapes and sizes filled the small rectangular truck. The brown boxes and envelopes stacked to the top of the truck contained books for the boy who loves reading so much, he used to find and read people's discarded junk mail.
Lynch, a mail carrier, noticed this boy and pleaded for people to provide the voracious reader with more material.
KSL-TV first brought you the story Sunday that seemed to resonate with everyone.
Since then his story has gone viral. And now, when the mail arrives at the Sandy boy's door, it's more than Lynch can haul. Their unlikely friendship has taken them both further than either could've imagined.
"I expect good things out of you now with all this knowledge," Lynch told Mathew.
Saturday's load alone added nearly 300 packages to the piles of books that already fill Flores' bedroom. But his favorite reading has come in the form of letters from people all over the world.
Flores plans to share his new wealth with other kids who may not have books to read, and Lynch wants to help.
"You know, there's Mathews everywhere. There's a million of them," Lynch said. "Hope that we can turn this now into getting books into every kid's hands."
Flores refers to Lynch as a hero, saying, "Ron is my angel. God sent him to me for a reason."
Two paths that crossed at the mailbox has led to sharing a message they hope continues to spread.
If you would like to share books with Lynch and Flores, send packages to:
Matthew Flores C/O Sandy post office 8850 S. 700 East Sandy, UT 84070