They Walk Among Us

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"A member of the Dutch Reformed Church heard the story at his bible class : a motorist picks up a hitchhiker along the motorway. A conversation develops on spiritual matters and the subject of the future Kingdom of God crops up. The hitchhiker then announces that Jesus will appear again soon and dissapears in the same way as at the supper at Emmaus. The motorist is so shaken that he parks his car on the hard shoulder to recover from the shock. Here he is approached by some traffic policemen to whom he tells the story. They reply, 'You are the eighth motorist who has told us this'." ( Source: Trouw, The Netherlands, March 1991)

They Walk Among Us Archive

Croatia (1994)
Peter Kingsley-Ducane, a former Ambulance Service manager tells of his extraordinary experiences when on a convoy delivering aid to war-torn Croatia.

"Journey to Croatia" ( Share International, March 1997 )
To anyone reading this article, I can assure you that these events took place. I do not understand them or the reason they should happen to me. The majority of my working life has been spent as an ambulance service officer in a disciplined environment, retiring at the age of 55 as a manager of the London Ambulance Service emergency control-room in charge of the ambulance-cover for the 644 square miles which this service covers. My purpose in telling you this is to illustrate that I have held a responsible position and am used to dealing with facts.

In 1970 I was a sick, broken man, having lost my home, family, and business. I moved to London and became an ambulanceman. For the next 22 years I suffered severe unremitting pain that never left me, that no doctor or medicine could cure.
In 1981 I first heard of Sai Baba when I read a book. After just a few pages I inwardly "knew" that what I was reading was total truth, Sai Baba was a "Divine Being". I prayed to him to take away the extreme pain I continued to suffer ÷ pain which was to continue for another 10 years.

In 1991 I could stand the pain no longer. I prayed to Sai Baba: "Swami, take away this pain and I will spend the rest of my life in your service to help others, or take my life now." Three months later I was free from pain for the first time in 21 years.
By this time I was a junior officer in the ambulance service. Within six months I was promoted to a very senior position, bypassing three ranks.

It was at this time that the war was taking place in the former Yugoslavia and the television was full of the terrible pictures of the suffering children. I went to Tesco's store with my wife to do the grocery shopping. Usually I push the trolley, but for some reason I was left to wander around on my own. Stopping by the babyfood counter a sudden irresistible impulse that I couldn't control prompted me to purchase three small tins of babyfood ÷ my aid-convoys to the children of Croatia and Bosnia had started but I didn't know. Four years later many hundreds of tons of aid have been taken of every possible commodity, and the aid programme has spread to help the children in seven countries ÷ "God's miracle".

During the aid convoys I've had many instances of guidance and insight. The following occurred on an aid convoy to Croatia in 1994 but it will ever live in my memory as fresh as on the day that it happened.

In Croatia we were staying at the Zagreb Sathya Sai Centre. I was alone in my room sitting on the bed. All the other aid-workers had gone out for the evening. Slowly I became aware that the atmosphere in the room had changed. It was as if the air had become purified and the light had changed. As I looked up, the room became suffused in beautiful pink light that permeated through the very fabric of everything. A total peace enfolded me and I became one with all Love. Total bliss and understanding came into my very being, and an all-knowing completeness with no separation from all living things; time stood still; there was no time or distance; everything was understood.
I stood up and walked around the room. All the articles were radiating with this beautiful pink glow, the very air I breathed was full of little globules of light, an overwhelming feeling of a Loving Presence held me, was in me; all was one. Sitting back on my bed I watched for a further five minutes, basking in the most wonderful feeling of utter bliss and tranquility until the beautiful translucent pink glow slowly faded and was gone.

Looking at my wristwatch I was amazed to discover that time had stood still and two hours had passed, instead of the 10 minutes I'd thought.

Metamorphosis
On this same aid-convoy a few days later we were asked to visit a mental hospital in Zagreb ÷ this wasn't on our agenda but we were pleased to go.

On entering the dilapidated ward I noticed a very elderly man standing at the end of the long corridor. He had a long white beard and shoulder-length hair and was wearing a long nightshirt. As he looked up our eyes met, and gesticulating wildly with his hands, and shouting strange noises, he ran down the corridor towards me. When he was a few feet away he stopped and his whole demeanor changed. His wild look had gone and he became calm and gentle. Clasping his hands together he prostrated himself in front of me and kissed my feet.

At first I'd been shocked by this poor man's appearance and actions, but as I looked down at him I was overcome with compassion for his situation, and bending down I grasped him by the shoulders to help him up and said: "Come, come." As I did so he turned his face towards me and I found myself looking into the face of Sai Baba. Emotion overwhelmed me and I was choked and unable to speak. The elderly man was again as he was before. Slowly and quietly he walked away and I never saw him again. It was some time before I recovered, and I had to go out and walk around the hospital grounds.

Columns of light
In Croatia we deliver aid to refugee camps, orphanages, children's hospitals and institutions, and have done many such aid-convoys.

Among the children's hospitals which we deliver aid to is the Gornji-Bistra Children's Hospital which is situated some 30 miles from Zagreb, hidden away in a wood. This old dilapidated old chateau-type building is home to 158 very severely disabled and deformed children.

In resources these children receive very little consideration. They are just shut away from society without medicines or means of treatment; our aid-convoys provide some of these requirements. To promote aid from the UK for the children, it has always been my practice to photograph them ÷ during the four years of aid-convoys I've taken thousands of photographs. But this trip was different. All the events that I have previously described took place, and it felt as if an unseen presence was guiding us in all we did, at all times.

I took photographs of the children. Those I took in the ward housing the worst-affected children had a strange phenomenon on them: columns and strange patterns of light, though not all the photographs on the same film were affected. I used the same camera to take many rolls of film none of which were affected, only those which were taken in this particular ward, and not all of them; I also had the camera checked for any faults. It was in perfect working order.

It is extremely hard to describe the atmosphere within this ward when these photographs were taken; it was as if we were "standing on holy ground". Subsequent events were also absolutely amazing. We were able to have an appeal for these children on German Television which was broadcast all over Europe. The response was enormous and provided these children with everything they so urgently needed.

For information, contact: International Children's Aid, Peace House, 51 Star Lane, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent, BR5 3LJ, UK. Tel: 01689 835823.

Comment - according to Benjamin Creme the rose-coloured light, the "unseen presence" and the columns of light on the photographs were manifestations of the Master Jesus, a frequent visitor to this (and other) hospitals in the region, as is Sai Baba. Maitreya, too, visits as opportunity permits.

New Zealand (1997)
The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported that a pregnant woman who fell as a house deck [balcony] collapsed believes an angel cushioned her fall. Pepi Cavanagh was one of five people taken to a nearby hospital after the deck separated from a two storey house. Cavanagh ended up lying partly in the garage and was briefly knocked out. She said she woke up confused, but with a vivid memory.

"I remember feeling like I was falling and flying backwards. I could have sworn I saw an angel standing there -- a big tall man. It was white all over.

"That angel that was there cushioned my fall. I feel God's presence was there. If it wasn't, some of us would have been dead."

Cavanagh, three months pregnant at the time, sprained her right foot and had severe bruising around her lower torso, her spine and the back of her head, but was not seriously hurt. She said: "I thank God I'm here. There's so many things to be thankful for. It's a Christmas I won't forget for a while." (Source: New Zealand Herald)

South Africa (1994)
Hundreds of South Africans prayed for peace at the bidding of an angel who spoke from a pillar of light, according to a senior policeman who says he saw the vision. Lieutenant-Colonel Johan Botha says he organized Wednesday's prayer day after the heavenly messenger appeared to him in March and asked that South Africa pray for peace. "A silhouette of a man against a tremendous light from the back ... A person in a white robe of about 40 years old, with a very deep, very gentle voice appeared before me," Botha, an elder of the Dutch Reformed Church, said. (Source: Reuters; published in Share International, June 1994 )

Sweden (1992)
Several Swedish newspapers and the UK The Guardian carry the story of a 15-year-old girl, Samira Hannoch, who says she has experienced a miracle. The holy Lebanese Saint, Charbel, she says, appeared to her at her home near Stockholm, dressed in dark clothes and with a cross in His hand. Samira, He said, would put out the fire which divides the church in Sodertalje in two: Syrian and Asyrian. Thousands of pilgrims flock to her family's apartment where she blesses them with holy oil which flows out from the picture of the Saint. There have been miraculous healings as a result.
( Source : Share International, May 1992 )

Saint Charbel - "The hermit of Lebanon: Man Of Miracles"
(Share International, October 1997)
He is called "the hermit of Lebanon" and is still held in high regard even now, 100 years after his death in 1898. His name: Charbel Makhlouf. The Catholic church was convinced of his sanctity by miracles which happened in his name after his death and as a result he was officially beatified. Benjamin Cremeís Master has confirmed miracles connected with Charbel which took place in Sweden some five years ago, and also revealed that Charbel is one of the Masters living in the Middle East. Share International has collected information about him and a number of miracles attributed to him. This article appeared in the October 1997 issue.

Joseph Makhlouf was born on 8 May 1828 to a poor family in Biqa-Kafra, a village in the highest mountains of North Lebanon. At the age of 22 he decided to enter a monastery. At the end of his novitiate as a member of the Maronite Order in the Monastery of St Maron, he took the name of Charbel, an earlier Eastern martyr.

After 16 years of strict asceticism he was granted permission by his superiors to withdraw from the world and become a hermit. In a hermitage near the monastery he lived the rest of his life in prayer and contemplation, frequent fasting and manual labour.

Tradition has it that Charbel showed ample evidence of extraordinary gifts during his life. And so it was, for instance, that he was able to rescue fellow monks from a poisonous snake simply by asking the creature if it would mind going away. There are also tales of clairvoyance and healing associated with his name. Even at his death, on 24 December 1898, it was noted in the Monasteryís records.that he was expected to remain active after his death. In a dedication to him his obedience was described as "more angelic than human".

The expectation that the world would be hearing more of Charbel was soon fulfilled: his grave was immediately surrounded by an "extraordinary brightness", according to a booklet produced by the Monastery about its most famous son. The light only finally faded after 45 days, unlike public interest which continued to wax brightly: pilgrims even tried to steal pieces of his remains, which gave the authorities a reason to open the grave. The body was found floating in mud but was itself completely free from signs of deterioration "as if it had been buried that same day." It was noticed that a "blood-like liquid" exuded from the body ó a phenomenon which can still be seen even now. The liquid is caught in a cloth and, according to the Monastery, has over the years been responsible for many cases of healing.

In this century his grave has been opened four times, the last time being in 1955, and each time "it has been noticed that his bleeding body still has its flexibility as if it were alive".

The beatification of Charbel followed the healing of a nun, Sister Maria Abel Kamari. She suffered serious intestinal problems, could not keep food down, had been bedridden for 14 years and had already received the sacrament of extreme unction three times. In 1950 she was taken to Charbelís grave and on praying suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy and was able to stand unaided. Since then Sister Maria Abel Kamari has been completely free of her previous ailments.

More recently, in 1992, some of Charbelís "miracles" reached the Western press. Swedish papers and the British daily, The Guardian, printed the story of 15-year-old Samira Hannoch who reported having had a vision of Charbel in her home near Stockholm. Since then oil has been pouring from a portrait of Charbel and has been associated with a number of healings.

A couple of months later, in January 1993, another incident occurred, this time in Lebanon, with 59-year-old Nouhad El-Chami in the main role. Nouhad, a mother of 12 children, suddenly became paralyzed as a result of a narrowing of arteries in a very advanced stage.

On 21 January 1993 Nouhad had a "dream".

"Two monks came towards my bed. One of them, St Charbel, came nearer, uncovered my neck, put his hand on it and said: ëI have come to operate on you.í I turned my head to see his face, but I couldnít, because the light coming from his body and eyes was too blinding and powerful. I was so confused, and asked him: ëFather, why do you want to operate on me? The doctors didnít say I need an operation.í But St Charbel said: ëDefinitely, you need an operation, and I, Father Charbel, have come to do it for you.í I looked towards the statue of the Virgin, placed near me, and said: ëHoly Mary, please help me; how are these monks going to operate without anaesthestic or sutures?í Then I realized that the Virginís statue was standing between the monks.

"Suddenly, I felt a terrible pain under Charbelís fingers, which were rubbing my neck. When St Charbel finished the operation, the other monk approached, put me in a sitting position, and placed a pillow behind my back. He reached for a glass of water, put his hand behind my head and said: ëDrink this water.í ëI cannot drink without a straw,í I said. He replied: ëWe have operated on you, and now you will drink this water; then you will stand up and walk.í

I woke up and felt water running down my throat, and found myself sitting in the same position as the Father had placed me in. Suddenly I felt a burning in my neck, and unconsciously put my hand there, to find out what was happening. Then I realized that my paralyzed hand had become normal again; I felt my [paralyzed] foot moving normally under the blanket. I got out of bed in a semi-conscious state and knelt before the picture of St Charbel and the statue of the Virgin, to thank them. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror; I saw two wounds of twelve centimeters each, at both sides of my neck.

"I went to my husbandís bedroom and turned on the light. My husband looked at me and shouted: ëWoman! How did you get here alone? Now youíll stumble and fall and a new catastrophe will be added upon another!í I raised my paralyzed hand and told him: ëHave no fear, St Charbel operated on me, and now I can walk.í"

This story, described in a second booklet published by the Monastery in which Charbel lived, has a follow-up to it: after another dream, in which Charbel appeared to her, Nouhad discovered that there was oil flowing from a portrait of the Saint. This has continued up to the present moment, as our colleague in Lebanon, Nabil Matraji, was able to verify for himself: "It is an amazing sight," he said. However, it is not only Charbelís portait in Nouhadís home which oozes healing oil. The same phenomenon is happening with oil flowing from the portrait of a fourth century saint ó the founder of the Maronite Order, St Maron (given in the English and American reference books as St Maro) after whom the order was named. The same Maron, so Nouhad learned in a later dream, was the second monk who had helped in the operation which cured her.

One of the things she was told, reports Nabil Maitraji, was that Charbel had blessed an oak tree in her garden and that the sick could be healed by using its leaves.

In an article in Al-Anwar on 10 September 1996 Nadia Sader described what happened to her when she drank a brew in which oak leaves from Nouhadís tree had been soaked. Nadiaís illness had progressed quickly and aggressively and within a short time she was totally paralyzed; she suffered tremendous pain and expected to die at any moment. Her mother-in-law suggested trying the oak leaves which had been blessed by St Charbel ó an idea she complied with only after much persuasion.

"As I drank the hot liquid, I felt a burning inside," she told Al-Anwar. "It was horrible, indescribable. I was suffering from my chin down to my right foot. I was howling, screaming, from pain and also from fear. Suddenly I saw the most wonderful scene in my life: I saw the heart of Jesus, red like blood, beating. The heart was all surrounded by light and my children were standing around it. Then I lost consciousness.... People around me saw my right foot making violent movements, rising up and falling down with an unbelievable force. I remember nothing of all of this. [Later] the gathering saw my left foot making the same violent movements as the right one had done before. It was so violent that I fell down on the floor. My foot continued its sudden movements with more power than three men were capable of restraining. I was still unconscious. I stayed in bed, weakened, till the morning of the third day, when my little child woke me up; only then did I know I had been cured, and I was able to walk again normally and serve my family."

Nadia Sader still did not know what to make of it all, wavering between belief and non-belief, even after several more appearances to her of Charbel and Jesus. "I have snatched you from your deathbed, and you still donít believe?" Jesus asked her. Nadiaís home became a place of pilgrimage where icons of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St Charbel exuded oil but Nadia herself continued to swing between faith and fear, especially after a medium told her that the oil had evil origins and was the work of the devil.

Only after repeated appearances of Jesus to her did Nadia finally admit that she was convinced. She subsequently began receiving messages from Charbel. The following are quotations from these messages: "Always ask for the healing of the soul, and donít fear the illness of the body." "Pray for the living, because most of the living are dead, and the dead are living."

Raymond Nader, a Lebanese electro-mechanical engineer, carries with him quite spectacular evidence of Charbelís activities: on one arm he has five fingerprints literally burnt into his skin. The scorched fingerprints have already renewed themselves six times.

Raymond Nader told his story earlier this year, in April 1997, in front of the TV cameras.

On 9 November 1994 he spent a night in the hermitage where Charbel had lived for 23 years. He wanted to meditate and had lit five candles. It was a still, cold night. "Suddenly," he told Murr Television, "I felt warmth around me in the cold night, and a fiery, warm wind began to blow. However, to my great surprise the flames of the candles were steady and still. I tried to reason scientifically, but I thought I might be dreaming or hallucinating. Suddenly I lost my five senses. There was no more warmth or wind or flames. I was in a different world, a world bathed in light. Not the usual light we know, not white, but transparent like crystal water. The light didnít come from a specific direction, but from everywhere. It was a billion times brighter than the light of the Sun....

"In that light I felt a Presence, I couldnít see it, but I was aware of it. ëNo, you are not dreaming, YOU ARE MORE AWAKE THAN EVER.í The Voice came from nowhere and yet from everywhere. I heard it in every part of me, not with my physical ears. It expressed itself to me with no words, no sounds. The Presence presented itself to me as a ëfeelingí of deep peace, and joy and love. At a certain moment I felt that this experience had come to an end. I wanted this joy and peace to last for ever, and if the Presence couldnít stay, I wished at least it would take me with it; but He made me understand that He is always here."

Gradually Nader returned to normal consciousness. "I looked at the candles with astonishment: they were totally consumed. My watch indicated that four hours has passed in a blink of an eye. I left the hermitage, and on the way to my car I felt heat in my arm. I thought it might be a scratch, or an animalís sting. But the heat grew stronger. I took off my pullover, and in the light of my car saw five fingerprints on my arm, showing every detail of human fingers, including the wrinkles and the nails. It was very hot, but there was no pain at all, only itching. For five days it oozed blood and water."

Dr Nabil Hokayem, a plastic surgeon, one of the most famous surgeons in Lebanon, confirmed that it was a second-degree burn.

On the occasion of the Feast Day of Charbel on 15 July in 1995, Raymond Nader had a new and extraordinary experience while visiting the Monastery of St Maron.

"On my way to Charbelís hermitage, I saw a procession ahead of me. I recognized the monks of the monastery, but at the end of the procession was a very old priest. I approached him to ask a few questions. As I came closer to him, everything around me changed. All sounds disappeared, but the old priestís voice resounded inside my head."

It was then that Nader heard one of six messages which he attributes to Charbel. With each message the fingerprints on his arm were renewed.

The following are quotations from these messages:

"The Lord has created each human being to shine, to enlighten the world; you are the light of the world. Each man is a lantern meant to shine; the Lord has provided a clear and transparent glass to the lantern, to enable that light to shine and illuminate the world; but they are taking care of the glass and forgetting about the light; they are caring about the glass shape, colouring and decorating it, until it becomes thick, opaque, preventing light from shining forth, and thus is the world drowned in darkness. The Lord insists on illuminating the world. Your glass must become transparent again. You should realize the purpose for which you are born in this world."

"Christ knows what is in your hearts, and it is your hearts that he wants. Donít seek for the truth outside the Christ; when you know the Christ, you will know the Truth and you will be free. The Christ wants you to be free. Fear not, and be sure that the Christ has defeated the world."

"The Church of the Christ is a rock upon which are being shattered the waves of evil. Christ is the way. Crosses of light will flood the Earth."

admin sinfulldude · they walk among us

USA - Massachusetts (1997)
A reader of the Standard-Times newspaper in New Bedford, Massachusetts, noticed the image of a winged, curly-haired cherub in a photo layout of a sunset taken by staff photographer Mike Valeri.

When the story of ValeriLs photograph hit the national news wire services, the newspaper was deluged with calls and letters from around the country and beyond. Newspaper staff have received hundreds of written requests for reprints of what everyone simply calls "the angel picture." Proceeds from the $25 reprints are donated to the newspaper's charity, the Neediest Families Fund.

Valeri was encouraged to take the photos by a fisherman who told him there would be a wonderful sunset, and gave him further encouragement when clouds threatened to spoil the shoot. A columnist for the paper wrote that "Much has been made of the man who drifted into Mike Valeri's life for a signal moment Oct. 2 as heavy clouds rolled across the western horizon, roiled the heavens and obscured the setting sun. This is the man who dissuaded Mike from packing his gear and quitting the scene, giving up on his sunset project. Just bide your time for a few minutes more and you'll get your picture. That's basically what he told Mike. Who was this guy? Where is he now? We don't know. Nobody has come forward." The newspaper column also noted that all this took place on the day that the Church celebrates as the Feast of the Guardian Angels.

The newspaper's computer systems administrator Vance Gorke has received many e-mail messages from people who have seen the photo on the newspaper's World Wide Web site: "One man from Rhode Island said his father had died, and he saw the angel as a sign that reaffirmed his faith," Gorke said. People have said: "You know, this was just what I needed right now." (Source: Standard-Times, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA)

USA - West Virginia (1998)
At least three times in recent months, an unusually dressed man and woman have shown up at the door of churches and soup kitchens in West Virginia and left money. "They were standing there holding a bag of coins," said Althea Burns at the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling Inc. "They said: 'No, we're not the Blues Brothers*. We're angels from heaven.' They dropped a card in the container that said: 'Smile, Jesus loves you.' Then, they vanished, leaving a bag with 240 dollar coins behind, and a business card with the initials SMAB. "I didn't even have time to get up off my chair to thank them," she said. "I really do believe they're angels."

In another incident, two clowns opened the door of the Warwood Lutheran Church during a Sunday School lesson, rushed down the aisle and emptied 120 silver dollars into the collection bag. A similar visit occurred at Ye Old Country interdenominational church, when a man and woman wearing street clothes left 100 silver dollars at the altar. Business cards were left at both visits.
(Source: Associated Press)

*The Blues Brothers are two popular US entertainers who dress in dark suits and hats and sunglasses.

admin sinfulldude · they walk among us ;- Homeless People Encounter the Christ

Homeless People Encounter the Christ

The US tabloid newspaper The Sun reported on the experiences of several homeless people in the US who claimed to have had encounters with the Christ.
Among the experiences reported:

Alejandro Diaz, a 67-year-old man from Miami with cancer, had "lost his faith in God when doctors told him he had less than a month to live." One evening Diaz was searching through a restaurant dustbin for food when, he said, "a soft-spoken man tapped me on the shoulder. I thought he, too, was homeless so I offered him half of the bread crust I had fished from the trash. He smiled and took my hand. It was a feeling like none other - a kind of comforting warmth that oozed through my body. For the first time in years I felt happy to be alive. Tears welled in my eyes and I blurted out to this stranger: 'I don't want to die! Please help me!' We kneeled and prayed right there among the cockroaches and rotting food. My new friend, of course, was none other than Jesus. It didn't surprise me when the doctor at the free clinic told me my cancer had vanished." Diaz said he has met a number of other homeless people in South Florida with similar experiences. He now holds daily prayer sessions on a street corner in Miami.

"What you remember most is his eyes," said Tina Forsch of Los Angeles. Forsch was on the street with her three children because their father had left with another woman. "I was begging for food and change," she said, "and was so desperate I even considered selling my body. I saw this guy coming down the street and thought to myself: 'He won't hurt me. He looks too kind.' Before I could utter a word, he put his hand on my shoulder and said: 'Your body is a temple given you by God ... if you desecrate this temple, you are turning your back on the one who cares and can lead you to the promised land. He held me as I cried like a baby. When my tears stopped, I felt my soul had been cleansed." Forsch accepted a $50 bill from the man before he revealed his identity. He urged her to place the children in a safe place. Forsch donated the cash to a church where she now works as a housekeeper.

Sylvia Dennison, suffering from senility, wandered into a dangerous neighbourhood of Chicago. She was surrounded by several young men, but the would-be attackers were driven off by a flash of flame and searing heat. When the smoke cleared, "Jesus guides Sylvia to a shelter."

John and Mary Donaldson of Pennsylvania became homeless after their uninsured home burned down. A few days later Mary died. John Donaldson became so desperate for money to give his wife a proper burial, he planned to rob a bank. But, according to the article: "He's met at the door [of the bank] by Jesus who walks him to a park bench where they chat for hours." John vows to continue on with his life, and change his ways for the better. Money from an anonymous donor pays for his wife's service. (Source: The Sun, USA)

admin sinfulldude · they walk among us;- Angels on the road

Angels on the road

Master Mechanics
Recently, two elderly sisters, driving along a quiet country back road in Iowa, USA, had a puncture. Unable to change the tyre, they sat and waited, hoping that help would soon arrive. Within seconds a car appeared and three young men jumped out offering to help. Their rescuers were "handsome, courteous and happy. They were also fair haired, blue eyed, and all wore white suits."

One of the young men lay full length on the road to position the jack, and was scolded by the sisters for soiling his spotless attire. However, he made light of their worry and, when he climbed to his feet his suit was not stained at all, even though the road was greasy and slippery after a day's rain.

The tyre was quickly changed, the young men ascertained the sisters had no further difficulties, and refusing to accept payment for their efforts drove away. However, as they continued down the country lane, their vehicle began to shimmer brightly, until the car was "almost transparent ? and then, with a final pulse of brilliant light, it vanished altogether". The sisters are convinced that they were helped by 'angels'.
Apparently, dozens of experiences have been recorded from all over the United States of 'angels' coming to the rescue of stranded travellers with punctured tyres. The 'angels' are always young, smiling and playful, but become solemn and silent as they perform their duty of changing the wheel. When their mission is accomplished their otherwise unremarkable vehicle dematerializes in a magical shimmer.
(Source: Daily Mail, UK; published in Share International, March 1993 )

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We reproduce, with acknowledgments to the New Zealand magazine New Idea, the following letter from one of their readers:

Dear Editor,
Ever since I was a child I have had premonitions, but the following incident is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me.

I had gone to Rockhampton for a day's shopping, and as I drove into the car park at Kmart a man who had parked on my left asked if I knew that there was a large bubble on the inside of one of my rear tyres. He said he was driving behind me when he saw it.
As my car was stationary and the bubble couldn't be seen, he asked me to move my car forward, but the fault in the tyre still wasn't visible. He suggested that I go and get it checked. I then got into my car to reverse it into the parking space, and as I did so I turned to give the man a wave, but to my amazement he was nowhere to be seen, and a woman was driving into the space he had occupied.

I asked her if she had seen the man in his car, as I hadn't heard him start the engine or seen him drive off. She looked at me strangely, so I told her what had happened. She said she hadn't seen the man or his car at all, and had wondered why I'd looked so surprised at seeing her there.

After doing my shopping, I went to the tyre place, and told them what had happened, asking if they could check the tyre. They couldn't believe that anyone driving behind me could have seen a bubble on the inside of a tyre. Much to their surprise, when they removed the tyre and checked it on their machine, there was a bubble, just as the stranger had described it. My guardian angel was certainly looking after me.

I still can't work out how that gentleman could have left without me seeing him. As there were cars parked in front, he couldn't have driven straight through, and with the lady driving into the space beside me, he couldn't have reversed. Did he exist, or was it one of those strange phenomena? Or was it a guardian angel looking after me?
Throughout history people have claimed to have seen angels, at the place where heaven and earth meet. Many religions and cultures include angels in their beliefs and folklore. There are countless stories of lives being saved by the timely appearance of a guardian angel.

I recently read a very inspiring book about sightings of angels, and how they have saved the lives of many credible people. It's called A Book Of Angels, by Sophy Burnham, published by Ballantine Books, New York. It contains reflections on angels past and present, and true stories of how they have touched our lives.

Kevin Arnett, New Zealand (From: New Idea, 14 March 1992)

From the Share International "Letters to the Editor" column :

Dear Editors,
At my work I have heard about a colleague who had the following two extraordinary experiences:
It was in Lausanne, Switzerland, where my colleague went one day for a walk. She stopped at a pedestrian crossing because she saw a truck coming. The next moment she saw, in the middle of the road, a lady with her child in a pram. The lady with the child did not see the truck at all. My colleague wanted to shout to them: "Watch out, the truck," but she couldn't say a word because she had already imagined the accident as the situation seemed hopeless. My colleague turned her eyes towards the truck, and at that moment she saw a man standing in front of the truck, looking towards it with both arms raised. This happened in a fraction of a second and the man, dressed in white, seemed to have wings. My colleague thought he was an angel. The truck came to a standstill and the lady with her child crossed the road safely.

It was also in Lausanne that the same colleague went out by car. She was driving alone in her car when all of a sudden it stopped on a bend. She tried to make it go again but suddenly she saw a truck coming which couldn't see her because she stood on this bend. She closed her eyes, sure that this was the end.

Nothing happened and when she opened her eyes again she saw a man in white standing with arms raised between her car and the truck. He was looking at the truck and she saw that he had wings. She was sure that this angel had saved her life.

Concetta Cordo, Switzerland
( published July 1994 )

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The Mysterious Good Samaritan
Shortly after Princess Dianaís death, a tragic accident occurred on the M6 motorway, near Cannock, in the UK, involving a coach carrying a group paying a commemorative visit to Buckingham Palace. Sadly two women died and many were injured. The group are now trying to trace a man in a red car who stopped to help. People described him as a ministering angel at the roadside, as the full horror of the crash became apparent.
Club organizer Barbara Jones said: ìWe have no idea who he was or where he came from, but he was such a wonderful man. He got us all to get off the bus quickly in case it exploded, then started wrapping us up in blankets. He even put people suffering from shock in his own car to keep them warm. We just want to thank him personally.î (Source: Crewe Guardian, UK; reported in Share International, November 1997 )

In a similar story, rumours still persist of mysterious men in white at the crash scene of one of Europe's worst air disasters six years ago, when an El Al plane crashed into apartment blocks in a suburb of Amsterdam, Holland. Investigations, which are still being carried out, seem to suggest that the plane was carrying either uranium or sarin -- a nerve gas component. Residents in the immediate area have been complaining ever since of a variety of illnesses.

Local people continue to describe the presence, soon after the crash, of a number of men in white -- they describe them wearing some sort of "protective clothing". Some reports say the men in white were moving about helping victims, aiding the dying, helping with rescue efforts, while others link their presence with the fact that the plane was carrying some toxic substance. ( Share International, November 1998 )

And in October 1998, an unknown elderly woman helped the driver and three passengers out of their car when the vehicle landed upside down in a canal in Mijdrecht (the Netherlands). The accident occurred when the car skidded, presumably because of the wet and oily road surface. The elderly woman helped the four to leave the car and took them to a dry part of the road. Astonishingly, not one of them was injured. When the accident victims wanted to thank the woman they found that she had disappeared. (Source: De Nieuwe Meerbode, the Netherlands)

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