When I was 21 years old, I went on a missions trip to Mexico. The Bible college I attended was sponsoring the trip and the chaperones were instructors from the school. When I signed up, I didn’t know who else was going to be on the team. There were several mission trips scheduled for that summer to different locations around the globe. I prayed about it and felt I was to sign up to go to Mexico.

After joining the team and finding myself in Mexico, I realized this was going to be tougher than I thought. It was a 4 week trip and I was with a bunch of strangers! The leader of the team was from the athletic department of the college. All the guys seemed very familiar with Coach, as they referred to him. I assume they played basketball on his team at school.

All of the girls on the team seemed to know each other. I only recognized one of them from a few classes we had had together. They spent a lot of time harmonizing together, practicing different worship songs, as we rode many hours in the school’s van to reach the border of Mexico.

I loved to worship, but I knew I had no singing talent. I didn’t know the first thing about harmonizing so that excluded me from their practice. I had tried to take a singing course at the college, but I guess I failed the audition because I was not permitted to sign up for the course.

We had a great time in Mexico, ministering to the very poor. It’s a beautiful country and we were traveling in the mountains. The scenery was full of luscious greens and beautiful flowers everywhere. But the longer the trip went, the more isolated I felt. No one was mean to me, I just didn’t “belong” with this group of people. I didn’t play basketball or any other sport and I didn’t sing. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to be away from everyone who knew me for so long.

One day, feeling particularly lonesome, I left the room where I was staying and went for a walk. We were at a large retreat facility that had many buildings and a courtyard. I went to a nearby building and climbed the outdoor stairway. I sat down on one of the steps. I put my head down and just cried. I felt like no one knew what it felt like to be me, all alone in a foreign land with no one to talk to about how I felt.

Very gently I felt someone put their arm around my shoulders. I assumed it was one of the girls from the team, but I couldn’t tell which one it was. I was a bit embarrassed and didn’t raise my head for a few minutes. I waited for the emotional storm to pass and then looked up to see who was with me.

There was no one there! 😲

I quickly stood up and looked around – thinking maybe they had just left and I hadn’t realized it. But there was no one on the stairs or in the courtyard below.

I sat back down and tried to remember if I had heard footsteps on the stairs. No, it had been silent the entire time.

That’s when it dawned on me – that must have been an angel! 😇

Suddenly I felt a lot better! I recalled the comfort I had felt, feeling someone’s arm around my shoulders. I had assumed it was human comfort, but realizing that it was heavenly comfort made me feel “seen” in the best way possible.

God knew where I was and He cared about my sorrow. He CARED and sent a tangible reminder of that. It blew me away. ❤️❤️❤️

That is a very precious memory for me from that trip – something I’ll never forget. The Lord brought it to my mind last night and I wanted to share it with you.

Have you ever felt the presence of an angel during a time of need? Can you describe what it was like? Please comment below – I’d love to hear your story!