Miss Ciara Allessandrea Dykes was our gift from the Lord, being born on April 20, 1997 to her parents Eric and Regina Dykes at St. Luke’s Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri. Ciara would have been entering the 7th grade, attending the Dykes Family Home School.
Her favorite subjects were Bible Study, Math, Science and Art. She developed a strong love for animals at a very young age, and desired to become a Veterinarian at the age of three. But after meeting the missionaries who visited Lenexa Christian Center, she felt a strong desire to become a missionary and take dogs to the mission field to minister to young children.
Ciara was an avid dog lover and who spent many years enjoying everyone else’s dogs, eventually her parents purchased her what she always wanted...a dog. Muffin, a Yorkshire Terrier was the first dog, she spent countless hours grooming and 
bathing her, teaching her new tricks, polishing her nails and dressing her. After three years, she begged her daddy for another dog, visiting Land of Paws was not satisfactory for Ciara, so eventually in March 2009, her dad purchased Maggie, a Shitz-poo at three months old. This brought great joy to Ciara, taking care of two dogs. Her favorite television channel was the “Animal Planet”, and although she enjoyed all dog shows, her favorite show was “Emergency Vets.”
Ciara was a sweet and kind little girl who accepted Christ and was baptized at the age of six. She loved Children’s Church, Wednesday night church services, church camp and many of the play productions over the years. She was a lovely child who showed compassion for others, often asking and helping her mom make jewelry as gifts for anyone who touched her heart.
On September 14, 2009, Ciara answered the call of our Heavenly Father, while her dad, mom and dear friends were praying the Prayer of Faith. She left her loved ones and was peacefully escorted into heaven by the angels. Ciara taught a lot of us about faith and will be sorely missed, for she impacted many, many lives around the world.