Dust-covered Angels

In its purest form the definition of angel is simply, “messenger of God.”

A tiny clump of wet cement, a pair of small, sweaty hands and a glimmer of hope. That’s all it took.

The workers had been on site all morning coating the outside walls of the church with cement. They stood high above on make-shift wooden scaffolding, buckets and trowels in hand. As the heavy grey substance was thrown against the wall the excess would splatter and fall on whatever or whoever was below. In this case, it was two young Honduran girls, maybe seven or eight years old at the most, who were happily scooping it up while playing among the remnants on the work site. They sat on the dirty, hard stairs not far from the litter of unused boards and old tools, but the smiles that lit up their tiny faces defied their surroundings.

As Emily and I looked on, they would giggle and squeal while making shapes with the wet matter, proudly showing one another their treasures. They were each darling, no doubt fast friends by the way they played so easily. Every few minutes they would timidly glance over at us, see us watching them and than quickly look away in another fit of giggles. After a few of these exchanges, we smiled and waved and watched as their smiles and eyes grew even bigger. It doesn’t take long before one of the sweethearts stand up, does her best to brush the dust off of her pink cotton dress and begins walking toward us. When she reaches us, there is excitement in her eyes and a gift in her hands.

A tiny clump of wet cement formed in the shape of a heart, one for each of us, offered by a pair of small and sweaty hands. It was a gesture of love robed in a glimmer of hope. That’s all it took to steal my heart.

The heart that stole my own.

Her name is Keili and we soon learn that she is an affectionate, caring bundle of energy who never left our side the rest of the week. She looked for us each morning as we arrived on the site, and with her baby sister in tow who she cared for like a little mother, we would delight in the unbridled joy of their company. Genella, who may have been a little over two years old took a little bit more convincing to warm up to us but once Emily let her wear her sunglasses, she became all giggles and hugs. What amazing lessons these sweet children taught us that week, lessons that only a child could know and understand. But if we slow down long enough to notice, they'll invite us into their world where God is working and waiting for us to see His heart as well.

Keili was always eager to wrap her slender arms around us and chatter non-stop in such animated Spanish that we could only long to comprehend. What we did understand was her message of acceptance, unconditional love and friendship that she showed again and again. We couldn’t help but be touched by the tugging of her hands as she pulled Emily across the room to proudly introduce her to her parents, the contentment in her face while she sat mesmerized on our laps, or the tears in her eyes and strength of her hug when we had to say good-bye.

This is the message that God sends His children, that we are all created to love and to be loved by Him; that what unites and draws us to one another is far greater than the differences of language, culture, age or gender. And that all it takes is a little faith.

 If you’re really fortunate, He might just send a beautiful dust-covered angel to deliver the message.

 Do I believe Keili is a heavenly host in the biblical sense of the word? No, I believe she's someone even more special than that, I believe she is a heavenly child created by God and used to send me a message; an angel that I can see and hear and touch and hold close to my heart. An angel that I hope to see again and will someday be able to tell her how  much she means to me.

I still have the heart Keili made me, I keep it in a little box next to her picture that reminds me of our time together. I left something for Keili as well and I hope it reminds her of how incredibly special and valuable she is - I left a piece of my heart with her.

                                                                            Keili, my angel

                                                                              Keili and Anita,
                        The day we met and she gave me her heart <3

                                      Keili and Genella



                                                                                          Genella
                                                                    Clapping and singing


                                                                                                  

                                                                               Keili with Emily
                                                                   "Love in any language"