One of the things that I've learned in the last 12 months about ministering to strangers is, if you diligently pray and ask God to fill you with His Spirit and His love, He will lead you and you will always be at the right place at the right moment. Today, I went to the Samaritan House Shop which is a ministry similar to Goodwill. I went back into the craft area to see if there were any supplies I could buy at a low cost. I started talking to a lady and asked her what she was making. To make a long story short, I pulled out my box of angels and offered her one. To my surprise she said, "Oh, you gave me an angel several months ago at Alidi grocery store." I asked her if she was enjoying the angel and she said, "Yes, very much so!"

I am so surprised how God has directed this ministry to reach the lost, the hurting, the poor and the dying. When I think of the places the angels have gone and the spiritual significance behind them, it is amazing. These angels have gone into hospice care, where they've brought comfort to patients and their families. Through people I have met, they have gone into foreign countries and nations. They have gone into retirement homes for the elderly. They have gone into youth Bible camps. They have gone into the general public into all of northwest Arkansas. They have gone into various kinds of churches. They have gone into the common marketplace of the people. They have gone into nations like India, South America, Mexico and others.

I drove from the Samaritan House Shop this morning to Joann's craft store and sat in the parking lot and prayed. I was a little tired and weary and didn't feel much like making angels, passing them out, or ministering to people. In prayer I asked the Lord whether I should go into Joann's craft store or whether I should move on to somewhere else. I decided to go into the store.

To my surprise, the beads that I use to make angels were at a 60% discount this morning. I saw a couple that were looking at the beads intently. I said to them, "What are you making?" The lady said, "I make bracelets." I said, "My wife makes bracelets. Here are some that we usually give to children. Would you like to have one of these bracelets?" She very enthusiastically said she would like to have one. I opened up my plastic bag that I had with me. She said, "I usually like the clear beads best." And I said, "To be truthful, I like them the best also." She took a bracelet that was made from yellow plastic beads and quickly put it on. I said to her and her husband, "I have another gift for you." With a surprised look on their face, I pulled out my box of angels of all various colors. The lady said, "They are so beautiful! Did you make these?" I said, "Yes." I was wearing a red shirt and a hat that said Heartland Honda on it. She said, "Tell me about your hat." I said, "It was just a hat given to me because we had service done on our jet ski." Then I turned to leave and they were very grateful for the gifts they had received.

I went to the back of the store at this time to the restroom. Then I came back towards the middle of the store and they were still standing looking at the beads. I walked up to them again and I said to the woman, "You asked me the story behind my hat and I really don't have one, but I would like to tell you the story behind making these angels." With enthusiasm, she was waiting to hear what I was going to say.

I said, "12 months ago I had a stroke. It was a blood clot in my brain. It paralyzed my whole right side. I was like a baby. I couldn't walk. When I was put into bed I had to stay where I was placed because I couldn't even raise myself up in the bed. I had hundreds of pieces of jewelry I had made and sold in flea markets. I had decided I would never do this kind of work again, so I asked my wife to bring all of the jewelry up to the rehab center that I was staying at for several weeks. My wife placed the jewelry up by the window in my room. When doctors, nurses or visitors came into my room, I offered them my homemade jewelry free of charge. Earrings, necklaces, angels, crosses, all kinds of jewelry that I had made. I said to the people that came into my room, 'Take some jewelry. It's free! Take as much as you want!' They were stunned at my offer and stunned at the beauty of the jewelry. When I came home from rehab I still couldn't use the right side of my body very well. I tried to make some angels. At first I couldn't do it. Then as I slowly began to progress making these angels, I would give them away free to everyone I met. I've continued to do this for the last 12 months."

The woman looked at me intently. She said, "It's a miracle! It's a miracle!" I said, "It's the God in heaven that has given me strength and allowed me to walk again." She said she had some relatives that had a stroke and it sounded like from what she stated that they did not recover.

Then I said to this woman, "A few weeks ago a woman came running up to me. She recognized me as the man that had given her an angel. And she said, 'I want to thank you for giving me that angel and keyring. You did not know it, but when you gave me that angel I was going into surgery for cancer. That angel was such a comfort and a spiritual strength that let me know that it was going to be alright in the Lord.' I said, 'How did the surgery end up?' She said, 'I'm now cancer free!'"

At this moment the woman at Joann's that I was talking to began to sob. She began to cry uncontrollably. I turned to her husband, "I see this happen quite often as I give out angels. People begin to cry and break down and begin to weep." The woman then pointed to her arm which had a tattoo and a bandage on it. She said, "I just returned from taking tests at the hospital. There is a possibility of cancer. It runs in my family." Through her tears she said, "Meeting you is an appointment from God! For the rest of my life, I will cherish this angel you have given me." I opened my box. I said, "Well you better take some more angels, because one angel is not enough for your lifetime." She said she would gladly like to have several other angels. It was a sign of God's intervention in her life. I raised my arm and said, "May the God of heaven look down on you and on your troubles and make you well."

These kind of encounters happen quite often, in various forms and in various stories, but it is the God of heaven that is wanting to show people His love, His kindness, His giving heart and His ability to enter their life with the needed changes that He wants to give them. I agree. It is a miracle!