“If angels couldn’t take on human form, they wouldn’t have such a wonderful way of acting. I believe that sometimes they hang up their wings and are here with us, in human bodies. Look! One of them visits me regularly,” Marie-Rose laughs, pointing to Dr. Elias.

Carrying a basket full of vegetables from Charbel, we step into a basement apartment in Ajaltoun, where Marie-Rose is busy trying to mop up the water covering the floor.

“It overflowed. I don’t even know what—some valve in the main pipe. The water ran through the pipes and everything ended up here,” she says, without a trace of bitterness or anger. Instead, there is joy bordering on euphoria that guests have just crossed the threshold of her home.

Marie-Rose sets the basket of vegetables aside—she will enjoy it later; now it is time for the doctor and for us. She forgets that her entire apartment is standing in water. She moves things off the sofa and tells us to sit down. She laughs, because something has just happened that makes even a flooded apartment stop being a problem. Someone has broken her loneliness, spoken to her, asked how she is feeling and what she needs.

“Me? I don’t need anything at all. Help this angel. Everything should go to him—he knows what to do with it, who to give it to. A dear, great man,” Marie-Rose says without even pausing for breath, let alone giving the clearly embarrassed doctor a chance to speak. He turns to us and quietly points out that, apart from this visit, the woman expects nothing, even though she could ask for so much.

Every day we see how important it is simply to be with these people, to hold their hand. They are not waiting for a fortune or a lottery win—they need attention and time. Marie-Rose celebrates this meeting, even though we were so close to losing her. A few months ago she narrowly escaped with her life after falling into a spiral of health problems. She is on regular dialysis, which requires transporting her to the hospital. We also make sure she never runs out of medication or food. As winter approaches, as always, we will also help with heating fuel.

Today is the International Day of Older Persons—those who meet angels in their lives regularly, and those who desperately need to meet at least one. Thanks to you, they can. Support our project for seniors in Lebanon.