By Lorie Newman
I have just awakened from a powerful dream. Do you believe God still speaks through dreams? I do…
I was in an old building when a man and woman began to say they had something to show me. I watched them in amazement as they started pulling a huge “train type” cart into the hallway of the building. It was a train of small rustic wooden wagons, one after the other. They were connected to each other and in each one of them were two small children.
All of the children were black. They reminded me of the children I met in Africa. I was so excited in my dream to see them–my face lit up as the “train” came closer to me. But as each wooden cart passed by me, I realized the children were dirty and wearing tattered clothes. I reached out and touched them as they passed by me. Some of them were so sick, they just put their heads over on the side of the wooden cart. They were covered in sores and they were thin like skeletons. I kissed their heads as they went by. Some of them smiled at me as I kissed them.
Still others were sitting up straight to see where the train was headed. They waved at me as t hey passed by and I shook their hands and waved back at them. We exchanged giggles and smiles with each other.
My heart was so full of joy as the train went by! In my dream, I knew the children loved me and I could tell they knew I loved them! I was ready and waiting for the train to stop so the children could get out and play. I couldn’t wait to hug them all and love on them, just like I did in Africa.
But instead of stopping, the train full of children just kept going. As one of the last wooden boxes was about to pass by me, I looked at the woman I had seen earlier and I said, Who are these children and where are they going on this train? With a very matter-of-fact voice she said, They are all fatherless children. No one wants them. They are on this train going to Hell.
With her answer, I began screaming as I ran to the front of the train to stop it: “No, children don’t go to Hell! You can’t take them to Hell! They are children! There are no children in Hell!” But the woman was persistent. She even turned to go and get a Bible. I yelled at her through my sobs and said, “Go ahead and get your Bible! I’ll show you where King David’s young son died, and he told his servants that the child could never come back to him, but he could go to his child one day!” I pleaded with her to understand that this passage of scripture was proof that little ones do not go to Hell.
I could tell the woman did not want to hear the truth I was telling her. I knew then that she was really going to take the children to Hell. I fell to my knees, buried my face in my hands and wept like I’d never wept before. I begged her through my tears, “Please don’t take them to Hell… They are just little children… They are orphans, and they can’t take care of themselves… Please, please don’t take them to Hell… They are just little children… They are just little children…”
By that time, the train had stopped and the children were looking at me as I cried on my knees for their souls. They knew I was crying out for them and they smiled at me. Their smiles meant nothing to the woman I was pleading with. Then, my quiet sobs turned to righteous screaming. I cried out in a loud voice, “No, No, No, you cannot take these children to Hell! You can’t do this! They are only children! Little children don’t go to Hell…”
With that outcry, I woke up and sat straight up in the bed. I was breathing hard and I could still see the children’s faces in my mind. I immediately heard an inaudible voice saying, “No, children don’t go to Hell, but in a few short years, these orphans will not be children anymore… they will be adults…”
God has called me to be a voice for the fatherless. Of that, I am sure. The Body of Christ must arise and care for orphaned children. We must… it is not an option. It is commanded in Scripture. We can no longer let this “train” pass us by in hopes that someone else will do what God has mandated His Church to do!
If we will not take them, Satan will.
“Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now ARISE,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” -Psalm 12:5
Arise in me, oh God! Arise in me! Here I am, send me.
Lorie is a busy homeschooling mother of six children, including twins and two children who were internationally adopted one from Haiti and one from Liberia. She has taught and ministered in Bible Studies for over ten years. She and her husband Duane are founders of Reaching Hands Orphan/Adoption Ministries. Through a partnership with Childrens HopeChest, Reaching Hands Ministries enables nearly 300 impoverished African orphans to receive regular food, clothing, and education. You can visit her website at lorienewman.com.