By: Timothy Kays
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” ~ Hebrews 13:2
It was almost 2,000 years ago when the Apostle Paul included this admonition in a letter, and it applies today just as much as it did then. As we grow older though, we see angels everywhere, or at least we see what we feel are angelic acts from ordinary people, and thereby call them angels. What does an angel do? Whatever that angel is instructed to do by God, and in the same manner in which Christ directed when He said in Matthew 6:2, “When therefore you do your charity giving, you should not blast a trumpet before you like the pretenders in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by the children of men; truly I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Whether of flesh and bone or of spirit, a real angel has reached out to touch a group of children, as well as the inhabitants of Hillside Country Living. This unknown and unnamed angel made an appearance at Wal-Mart to meet with the kids, setting the ball in motion, then walking away into the same obscurity from whence he came.
It all started out with that treasured rite of springtime…the sale of Girl Scout cookies. Brandi Sabatino, the leader of the Montpelier Brownies Girl Scout Troop 10802, took some of her second and third grade girls to the Bryan Wal-Mart to sell boxes of the decadent delights that we call Girl Scout cookies. It was there, on March 21, that they encountered their angel.
As Brandi recalls, “We were sitting out there, and this guy comes up to our booth. He said, ‘I’ll buy Girl Scout cookies from you under one condition.’ I said, ‘What’s that?’ He said, ‘I want the best salesperson here.’ Well, it happened that one of my Girl Scouts’ brothers, who was seven, was sitting in the back of my car, and he said, ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ So he came out to talk with this guy, who said, ‘If I buy Girl Scout cookies, will you make sure that they go to a nursing home?’ I said, ‘Absolutely, we will!'”
What happened then stunned the junior salesman and the cookie-peddling entourage. Brandi continued, “He handed Justin (Evers – the junior salesman) a $100 bill, and asked how many cookies he could donate…which was 25 boxes. Justin was in shock. Now I want to show my girls that you should do what you are asked to do when given a donation like that. We’re going to go out to Hillside Country Living on April 6 to deliver the cookies. They are going to put us in the activity room with some of the residents, but other than that, I’m going to play it by ear. I want the girls to give some of the residents some cookies. I’m going to have Justin there as well, because I want him to see how it works. I want him to see it come full circle.”
What of the mysterious donor? Who was this man? As it turns out, the only adult to interact with him was Brandi…and she cannot remember any significant details about him. “I know he was a veteran. He had a hat on that I believe said, ‘Vietnam Vet.’ He was an older gentleman, probably in his mid-60s.” She can’t recall if he had facial hair, or any other distinguishing characteristics. She has no recollection of his height, or any other feature, including anything else that he was wearing. She does not know his name, where he is from…or where he went after the transaction. What she wants this angel in a Vietnam Veteran hat to know, is that his wishes are being carried out to the tee. “I want him to know that we did what he asked us to do,” Brandi said, and with a grin added, “…and that we didn’t just take his money and eat the cookies ourselves.”
Angels walk among us, this I am not alone in believing. They are an extension of God’s love. That being said, consider what has transpired here. A man with no known origin or departure point buys $100 worth of Girl Scout cookies from Troop 10802. He has no memorable features, other than a hat indicating that he is a veteran of a frequently forgotten war, the veterans of which are themselves oft forgotten. A forgotten veteran of a forgotten war puts down a $100 bill to purchase Girl Scout cookies for the most forgotten members of our society…the inhabitants of a nursing home. After the transaction is completed, virtually every identifiable feature of the man is then forgotten by those who had just dealt with him.
Think about it. That was no ordinary man that Brandi, Justin and the Brownies met on March 21.
That was an angel. Only he and God knows if he is of human or heavenly origin, but really…do you believe that it matters to the residents of Hillside Country Living? They will see smaller angels on April 6…all dressed as Brownie Girl Scouts.
Timothy Kays can be reached at
tim@thevillagereporter.com