Mrs. Angela Collins - Listening to Intuition - the Gift of Life

Mrs. Collins(right) and her family with Mrs. Darren Paquin (left)

On May 6, Golden Year 5 (2008), Darren Paquin, an English teacher at Elwood Community High School in Elwood, Indiana, was given the gift of life through a kidney donation and the kind and selfless donor happened to be a former high school student from 22 years ago! Her name was Mrs. Angela Collins, now a wife and mother of three.

On October 4, initiates from the Indiana and Illinois Centers presented the Shining World Compassion Award to Mrs. Collins on behalf of Supreme Master Ching Hai with Mrs. Paquin  also present. Angie, as she likes to be called, described how she and Mrs. Paquin developed a friendship over the years. When she heard about her former teacher’s plight, she was compelled to help. She hoped that Mrs. Paquin could use her kidney so she prayed and prayed to receive an answer, “I couldn’t sleep one night and it was very quiet and I listened and I knew …” Mrs. Paquin, a survivor of two heart transplants and the kidney transplant, considered the whole experience the mysterious work of God because it turned out her former student’s kidney was an absolute match - an extremely rare occurrence! She graciously called her student “a beautiful, wonderful angel.”

When notified of the Award, Mrs. Collins expressed her surprise that someone so far away would think of her and was touched by the words of Supreme Master Ching Hai. She was very grateful for the Award and the accompanying gifts. In the Award letter, Master wrote, “For your caring gesture of help for a close friend, for showing us the true noble meaning of friendship, and for bravely risking your own health and comfort for the wellbeing of another, we hereby applaud and celebrate the heart-warming deeds of Mrs. Angela L. Collins, Angel of mercy, courageous hero and noble role model.”

Congratulations for your Award, Mrs. Collins, and may more people follow your shining example to make this planet a caring, sharing Heaven.