Mary heard a voice in 2014 telling her to “take care of orphans.” The voice was so real it scared her. She shared the event with her husband. They wondered how this could be because they had no money and no resources. They dismissed it as an impossibility.
A second time Mary heard the same voice instructing her to “take care of orphans.” This time she confided in a prayer partner, who told her to examine the voice to determine whether it was from God. If it was from God, she should not be afraid and the instruction would become a reality.
The third time Mary heard the voice instructing her to “look after orphans,” she again became fearful considering the logistics. She didn’t know whether her husband would agree to take in children; and they continued to be as poor as church mice.
But then a lady from her church, Jummai, came to her at 6:00 a.m. shaken and crying after a sleepless night. She had seen a vision of Mary being given orphans to care for and felt she had been strongly instructed to come and tell Mary to obey the command. In her vision, Jummai had seen newly-born twins crying and was fearful that they might be her grandchildren since her daughter was pregnant. Mary thanked her for coming and encouraged her. Mary had not previously told Jummai about the voice she had heard.
It was now time for a family meeting. Mary convened her husband and children and told then about the three occurrences of hearing the voice and the recent visit from Jummai. Her family agreed to support her if it was God’s will.
About two months later, Jummai again visited Mary and told her that a lady from her village had just died in childbirth. The surviving twins left behind were the exact ones shown her in the vision she had previously seen. Mary, her husband and son journeyed to the village. While Mary was overwhelmed with compassion and told her husband they should take the twins, her husband remained incredulous that this could be a possibility.
As it turned out, three other ladies had visited the bereaved home before Mary arrived. Each had offered to adopt the twins, and each came from relatively affluent families. Mary suggested to her husband that they should wait and see which family the father of the twins would choose. If it was God’s will, he would deliver the twins to their home. Sure enough, to their amazement, the father chose Mary to take the twins. He personally delivered them to Mary’s house.
This was the start. Six months later, Mary received a girl and a boy from two other families; and another set of twins a year later. When we met them, they had 17 orphans in their care. They were fasting and praying for food, clothing and educational support. Their needs included daily food, educational help to support the children in school, additional housing space, and training for their oldest son who desired to be a pastor.
Aboki International was able to provide immediate help with food from our grain reserves, and we have become a regular supplier of food resources. We have also helped with educational needs. What a great privilege to participate in being an answer to prayer.
