In the Company of Angels

By Diane L. O'Brien

In the Company of Angels chronicles one woman's travels to Medjugorje, where she becomes a witness to how our Lord takes part in everything we do. Her faith journey leads her from skeptic to true believer with miracles in between. The nonprofit Toybox Connection is the result of Michelle Maxia's quest to help others. Its ongoing success is a testament to the power of faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798888510001

Book preview

Chapter 1

Family Tree

Freedom to dig the common earth, to drink the universal air, for this they sought refuge o’er wave and continent to link Egypt with Texas in their mystic chain and truth’s perpetual lamp forbid to wane.

—Emma Lazarus, Selected Poems and Other Writings

Imagine leaving your homeland and your siblings with nothing but memories and a determination to provide a better life for your family. Imagine fleeing with your wife and baby girl from the Russian occupation of Lithuania. Imagine your fear and the panic when the train carrying you to freedom was hit by a bomb and you walked the rest of the way on foot into an unknown city.

The year was 1944, and the displaced person camp was in Wurzburg, West Germany. Michelle Maxia’s mother, Alma, was two years old.

Wurzburg was one of the largest camps, with populations varying from 2,500 to 5,500. The camp was divided into sections. Shel’s grandparents, Emma and Peter, were in the American section. DPs, as they were called, were given food, which was rationed, clothing, and medical care, in addition to shelter. The camp was comprised of craftsmen, musicians, artists, and teachers. By 1945, newsletters, magazines, and newspapers were published. Wurzburg is one of the locations in Germany which established a school for adult education called a folk school. Secondary schools or gymnasium schools and primary schools were opened.

In 1947, Emma and Peter added to their family with the arrival of a baby girl they named Mary. Peter and Emma did not know where they would be sent, as Peter’s letters to a cousin in Chicago asking him to sponsor them went unanswered. Between 1947 and 1953, over 170,000 displaced persons were sent to Australia. The day before Peter and Emma were to depart, a letter from Chicago arrived. Their cousin agreed to sponsor them!

Tears were streaming down their faces as Emma, holding Mary, and Pete, holding Alma, gazed at Ellis Island. As the Statue of Liberty came into view, they were filled with joy and reverence. Lady Liberty’s outstretched arm extended a welcome, her beacon a symbol of freedom. The year was 1950. Alma was seven, and Mary was two.

Michelle’s grandparents worked tirelessly and although poor, saved for a home with every paycheck. Pete and Emma both found work at the Chicago stockyards. Pete went on to work at Hotpoint. Emma retired from Cherry Brand Meat Company. Alma and Mary witnessed how hard their parents worked, always dreaming of owning their own home.

Their dream came true. Peter and Emma bought an apartment building which housed four apartments. They maintained all four apartments and cut the grass with a push mower. The building was located on a corner. In later years, Shel, her sister Laura, and their cousin’s chore was to cut the grass, a lot of grass! Alma and Mary watched their parents build a life for them, working all their lives, giving the girls a stable home, teaching them to recycle to make do. The girls grew to be strong and independent. They married, each taking an apartment in their parents’ building. They were a close-knit family surrounded by love. When grandchildren came along, the cousins were like sisters and brothers nurtured in a home with a strong foundation that was instilled at an early age with perseverance. Alma is Michelle’s mother.

Michelle relates, "My mother gained her strength from my grandparents. She never gave up, returning to school later in life to receive a nursing degree. My aunt Mary is also a nurse, both strong women. My grandma taught us to be frugal. She would pick up articles in the street, bring them home, and wash them. My grandparents worked ten- to twelve-hour days, always striving. My mother passed her never-give-up determination to me and gave me the gift of perseverance. I owe