A while back I wrote about a 61-year-old schoolteacher who said she has absolute personal proof that there are guardian angels at work.

“I know that for a fact because I was saved by a guardian angel during a severe snowstorm,” she told me. “If you know the circumstances, you’ll know why it had to be a guardian angel that pulled me from my car when my car was only a minute away from sinking into the lake,” Cathy said.

It happened during a snowstorm that caused a whiteout along the rural road she was traveling to get home.

“It was hard to know where the road ended along the lake, and before I knew it my car was emerged in deep water,” she said. “I couldn’t open car door and it kept sinking deeper.”

Just as the car was about to be completely submerged, the car door opened and I was pulled to safety by a woman.

There was absolutely no traffic along the rural road until a snowplow operator saw her car.

“When I told him I couldn’t open the car door but a woman came along and pulled me out, he said there were no tire tracks in the snow except for my car. So where was the woman?

And he didn’t think one woman could get the heavy door open when it was mostly submerged in water.

Cathy said she never thought much about guardian angels, but she knows she must have encountered one that saved her life.

I don’t believe I ever had a personal encounter with a heavenly angel, but I sure do believe there are human angels among us.

A the second hurricane had flooded David’s house just one week after an earlier hurricane had dumped seawater throughout the house. We had worked to wipe up the water until we were falling over with fatigue. But one week later, there was no wiping up Hurricane Milton, which that was merciless in destroying David’s house.

The water level was so high that clothes in the highest drawers were wringing wet.

Nothing could be saved except the big painting high on the living room wall.

The job of taking it all up and putting it outside for curb pickup way beyond two old folks. We had no idea what to do until 12 real life angels appeared on the scene.

These angels are part of a charity organization called Samaritan’s Purse. They are volunteers from all walks of life who came to help in our devastated towns. Some came for a few weeks, leaving behind their everyday lives, jobs, family and friends. Others came for the long haul, wanting to stay as long as possible to help as many people as they could.

They do a lot more than hand out the food and water we need. In addition to supplying those basics, they do what amounts to hard labor.

They clean out homes, lug damaged furniture to the curb then cut wall boards to get at the mold and water in our damaged homes. When all that is done, they sanitize and provide mold treatments.

Those volunteers put in exhausting days to help us homeowners.

I don’t want my readers to think these volunteers do typical cleaning: They do what the fainthearted wouldn’t tackle.

For instance, when the electricity went off in David’s home, all the meat and food in the freezer and refrigerator melted.

When we first went in the house we were greeted by a river of blood flowing from the thawed-out food.

The smell is overwhelming. Worse yet, it’s physically dangerous to inhale all that mold and contamination. Every day the smell got worse and we had no idea how two old folks could clean out the home.

I cried tears of relief when the 12 Samaritan’s Purse volunteers came to help.

I talked with those incredible men and asked why many were giving up their vacation time to come here and help while others put their lives on hold to stay here until there was no longer a need.

They said they believe in a life of service to others.

“We are honored to be the hands and feet of Jesus,” said one man.

Everything they do is because of their faith.

Each volunteer has a compelling story. One woman handling the phone said she understands tragedy. She lost every single member of her family and knows the depth of despair. Her healing, she said, came when she turned her grief into helping others.

Believe me, there are angels among us — and many of them are Samaritan’s Purse volunteers.

So many people have far harder circumstances than David and I, because we have a roof over our head. One 80-year-old couple now living in a camper lost their longtime home and every single thing in it. They weren’t able to save even one family photo.

I will tell you this: When you see such need and devastation, it’s hard to do anything frivolous.

If you want to help, consider giving a donation to Samaritan’s Purse.

We can all be angels when we help in any way.

Two neighbors are among the angels doing what they can to help. Because of eye problems, neither David nor I can drive the 35 miles from his place and mine, so we have to pay drivers.

When two neighbors learned that, they offered to drive us back, saving us $40 a day.

I am grateful for every angel that touches my life.

And I am so grateful for the prayers and encouragement from my readers.

Every angel brings more light into our world.

Email Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcastnet