Tracy: Angel On The Doorstep

Angel Tree received this story in a letter from a caregiver named Tracy: My brother Jose is serving 32 years in prison. He has four children and he signed them up for Angel Tree last Christmas. He used my phone number as the alternate contact point for Angel Tree.

Before Christmas, I received a call from a woman saying she had selected the names of Jose’s children for Angel Tree. After several short phone contacts, we made an appointment for her to bring the gifts to my house on Christmas morning.

On Christmas Day, I opened the door to find a middle-aged woman with bags of gifts in her hands. I invited her in, and we began to talk about Jose. I was able to share with her his recent acceptance of Christ and how he is building a relationship with God.

"I need to tell you something," she said. Her eyes filled with tears. "I know you and Jose. I saw you in the courtroom the day he was sentenced. I am part of the victim’s family.

““Last month my family was at church, and we allowed our son to go up to our church Angel Tree to select the names of the children we would be buying gifts for this Christmas. When he returned and I read the name on the card, I just stood in disbelief. My first reaction was to put it back.

“Then I remembered my prayers to God on the day of sentencing. Before, I had only very bad images and thoughts of Jose, but after seeing him in person and hearing him speak, I realized that his own family were also victims in this awful situation. My feelings changed to compassion for everyone involved.”

The woman said that the day her son handed her that Angel Tree tag, she cried a lot, but she could not forget that she had asked God to use her to help both her own family and Jose’s to be healed. This might be the method through which God would bring Christ into Jose’s life, and also into the life of her family. When she saw the Angel Tree tag for Jose’s children, she knew this was not an accident. God was answering her prayers to use her.

We cried together. She is a wonderful woman who loves God and wants to be used by Him. And God answered her prayer by using Angel Tree to make this happen.

Thank you so much! Not only were the children blessed with gifts but Jose, our family and the victim's family have received a greater blessing; we have seen God’s healing through the love and compassion of others."

– Tracy