Children of the Sanctuary

by David Pollitt

  Chapter 6

  God's Royal Hand

  Each morning Enya went to the side door by the main floor kitchen, and there it all was— provision, filling the hallway up to the door: bags of fresh produce, breads, milk, pancake mix, frozen waffles, lunch meats, large amounts of potato chips, and jars of salsa. Each day, the front door was blocked by huge angelic shapes with star eyes. They appeared with children in hand and arms. Some kids were so messed-up, it was a wonder they were still alive. They were so scared that they couldn't speak. Some were so sick from eating garbage that Enya and Nash prayed for their healing before anything else. The anointing of God was so heavy at the Mission that every prayer of faith was answered. Those they prayed over were healed, comforted, and calmed immediately losing all their fear, and they melted into Enya's arms. She couldn't hug them, hold them, and be with them enough.

  Enya and Nash lived on short naps always near exhaustion. They didn't sleep in their quarters; but slept with the children, just wanting to be near the kids. They wanted to always be near when the nightmares came or when a child needed someone to hold them till they fell back asleep. Nash started a small loving act of blessing. He went with Enya to each child, laying hands on them and putting the sign of the cross on their heads.

  He'd say, "Thank You, Lord, for this child, protect him/her by Your grace. Sanctify and keep them safe in Your arms. In Jesus' name." Nash would kiss their forehead saying, "You're the best boy, or you’re the best girl." Afterwards, Enya hug and kissed them while laid them quietly back into bed, tucking and patting them comfortably into place.

  Their act of blessing used to take only a small amount of time, now it took hours, but they didn't care. It seemed important to the kids so they kept it up. The Mission was very careful to keep the children hidden, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. There was a special presence of the Lord keeping the children calm and quiet. Sometimes they felt this was grander than all the healing miracles.

  When a child complained of being sick or was running a temperature, Nash took care of it with his little bottle of healing oil. He kept it with him all the time now. He’d anoint them and pray for their healing, and they all were healed. When the kids felt sick, they didn't go to them and say, "I'm sick. Do you have medicine?" They came to them and said, "Can you get your oil and pray my sickness away?" Their faith was immeasurable.

  They went out of their way to keep the homeless from wandering into the children's areas. They blocked doors and entrances by putting up "keep out" signs and banners. They put the homeless adults on the top floors and worked down. This left the first two floors fairly vacant, except for meals. When the adults heard the kids, they asked about the noise.

  Nash answered, "Special children’s ward. Some are sick." It was true. When the kids got there, they were sick, but they didn’t stay sick long. It still made Nash feel uncomfortable stretching the truth even a little. He reasoned that this was war. It was necessary to keep the truth from the enemy. This wasn’t much different. Satan

  was their enemy. Nash reasoned that they couldn’t afford for him to find out the truth, and it worked. The homeless were hesitant to venture down the stairs. God put a spirit of fear and heightened nervousness in their hearts and minds, and they didn’t cross the marked keep-out zones.

  Nash started speaking more strongly about the Lord. It was so powerful that it caused an avoidance of the Mission of late. When the homeless walked through the doors, they were hit with God's

  presence. It drove many right back out onto the street—evil didn't take to light. God's presence exposed their sins without the need of preaching. It scared many of the homeless away in spite of their hunger.

  The angels sent them a gift of special helpers, but only a few. With the never-ending work, they needed all the help they could get and accepted them gladly. These women, helpers, never asked questions. They did everything asked of them, and Enya and Nash wondered if they weren’t really angels. The women worked exhaustively alongside them and were a great blessing that kept Enya and Nash from collapsing under the load. What surprised Nash was the way the Holy Spirit gave them hours worth of energy from small naps. A 15-minute nap was like sleeping hours, and they were able to keep going. Others would’ve been hospitalized with exhaustion long ago.

  One day, Aaron came up to Nash and apologized, "Nash, I’m sorry there can’t be more helpers for you. We're a little stretched by what’s going on in nearby areas. Hopefully, it will get better when we get to Sanctuary." Then he walked away not expecting a response. Nash thought about it long and hard and became even more convinced that these helpers were angels.

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  Cole’s Debut

  Cole’s small church was the only church on the downtown side of the river that was operating and growing. Once the homeless were saved and healed, they moved over to Cole’s church to become more acclimated into what was left of society. After that, most moved on to a work project somewhere. At least, they were healthy enough to work again. Between the Mission and Cole’s church, they had a monopoly on the scrapings of the world, which in this case was the majority.

  Cole still watched for the children. He had been so preoccupied with his church that he hadn't talked or visited Nash in the last couple of weeks. He heard about the growing reputation of the Mission as the "Holy Ghost place." That pleased him. He always considered the Mission as part of his calling too. He stayed in touch with other ministries, which were doing the same things. They

  acknowledged the missing children, but there wasn't alarm about it anymore, and he didn’t understand. It was as if they knew the answer but weren't sharing it. Where were the children going? Why weren't they asking about them anymore?

  Cole was sitting in his office studying for his Sunday sermon when in his spirit he heard God speaking to him, "Go see Nash. Take care of my children. Protect my children. Watch over my children. Go now!" He jumped up like he’d been shot. Long ago he learned to be responsive to the voice of God. Timing was everything.

  He spoke to himself, "Can't afford to miss a chance to serve God."

  He remembered what he read somewhere, "When we talk to God, we are said to be praying; and when God talks to us, we’re said to be loony."

  He said out-loud, "God, I’m loony tunes, I guess," and ran out the door.

  He started walking down the street towards the Mission and noticed the windows in the basement of the Mission were taped over, and some, even had black spray paint on them. He entered the front door just as a new child arrived with his tall friend. The boy looked to be about seven-years old was tucked under the arms of this massive adult.

  Cole courteously yielded at the door, and the adult answered politely, "Thank you, Cole."

  Cole didn’t recognize the voice; and certainly, he’d remember someone as large and distinct as this guy. He only saw his back and shoulder; and as the angel turned around, he lowered his sunglasses a peek, and that was all Cole needed. His star-spangled eyes burst into Cole's consciousness, and he knew exactly who and what this man was.

  He said in surprise, "Oh, my…" as his voice trailed off.

  The angel put his finger to his lips and said, "Not by heaven or earth but yeah and nay be your speech."

  "Yes, yes, of course, but why are you…?" Again, his voice

  trailed off seeing Enya approaching up the center of the chapel aisle with another child. She noticed Cole, but her focus was on the new kid. He was in far better shape than the rest she had seen, no bruise marks and not underfed.

  The boy spoke to her as she approached, "My mom, dad, and sister are dead. Mr. Star Eyes said I could stay with you. He said you’d be my new mom if I wanted. I want my mom back, but I want to stay. Can you help me?"

  Enya tearfully hugged him. She felt his pain seeping into her heart and flooding her own emotions. Lately, she felt this every time she got near anyone who was hurting. She felt their burden, the hot lead of pain being picked up by
her own heart. She understood more than anyone what a broken heart was, and her heart stayed broken all the time now.

  "Yes, you can stay. I can't be your mom, but how about your big sister? Would you like that?" The little boy nodded "yes."

  Enya picked him up, took the other child by the hand, and hurried down towards the basement. She stopped in the kitchen long enough to pick up a bowl of chili from a steel cooking pot.

  Cole watched intently as his own heart broke. He whipped his head towards the angel, but he was gone, and Cole didn't even see him leave. It was like he vanished into thin air.

  Cole thought, "Why, of course. That's exactly what he did. Why not? That's why they're called angels." How he wished he could do that.

  Cole ran towards the basement. It was afternoon naptime for almost a thousand children. The quiet was outstanding. "Enya," he whispered as he approached her. She was closing the basement door quietly to keep the street noise down.

  "Is this where all the children are coming?"

  "Cole, what do you think?" Enya opened the door again to let him peek in.

  "Cole, we believe that when we are full, about 5000, the angels will help us get up to Sewanee on Monteagle. We still don't know where we're going to put all 5000, can't in the basement, but God will provide. Anyway, we only get about 20 a day now, but always the same way. We won't have to come to grips with it for at least three months. Although, I heard that orphanages were calling around town from different areas needing someone to take care of their kids. That

  would surely expedite things. We could be having to make a move in the next month or weeks depending on what happens."

  “But Enya, it makes sense why no one wanted to talk about it. Everyone knows, like you, what’s going on. God must be doing this all over America. There’s no mystery anymore, and they certainly couldn't talk about it on the Internet. I understand, now.”

  "How will you get them there?" Cole’s head was swirling. He had so many questions that he couldn't ask and get answers fast enough.

  "I think I can answer part of that," commented Aaron, who was standing directly behind Cole. Cole was so startled that he jumped forward almost falling over Enya.

  "I'm Aaron. I didn't mean to startle you. I'm always doing that. I should be more careful," and he steadied Cole with his massive hand.

  "Are you going to vanish before I can ask you some questions?" There was Cole’s wit and sarcasm again. If he was witty with anyone, it meant he considered them his friend. It was his special treatment.

  "Possibly. We're good at it, aren't we?" Aaron chuckled a little and grinned.

  "I'll say. You all make a great magic show, with due respect."

  Cole looked at Aaron and winked, and Aaron laughed winking back. He was always amused by the human's ability for wit and satire. It was something angels had little use for. Everything was so serious, not necessarily formal, only serious, especially now. There were times when it was less stressful, but they were designed for worshiping the King of Kings, fighting heavenly battles, and serving His children. In between, there was not much room for humor.

  "I did promise some answers, didn’t I?" replied Aaron.

  Suddenly, Nash came in through the side door, and he felt a great sense of relief at seeing Enya, Cole, and Aaron together—all his favorite people, beings, as it were.

  "Aaron, so glad to see you. You guys have really been busy. Did you know that three orphanages have called to see if we have room? There were at least 500 in each one, and they all seem to be in pretty good shape according to the chancellors?"

  "Yes, we seemed to have influenced quite a number of places to call. You'll get many more soon enough. Much depends of what we all determine here today. I have some important things to say."

  Aaron ran his hands over his face as if he too was tired. After a minute of silence, he took a deep breath and continued. "You all are so important to the holy equation. We’re going to need everyone's help getting the children to sanctuary. Unfortunately, there are as many dark angels as there are of us, and this complicates things. The dark angels haven't regained their prince to this area yet, but they will. A battle for this area took place about six weeks ago, and

  they temporarily lost this region’s commander. He and his army are the opposite of 'powers.' That’s what we call those of us whom God has created to stop the demons and dark angels from overthrowing God’s kingdom."

  He continued tiredly, "I had to do battle to get my legions into the area. He is an old enemy. I'm sure I'll see him in battle soon enough, but it will take him a little longer to recuperate. We may be immortal, but we sometimes take time to repair. Most of the time, it's a matter of minutes depending on, for example," Aaron pulled back his shirt, and they saw a long cut that ran from his collarbone down to his waist. It was two inches deep below his heart, worsening as it progressed down his torso, and it was still seeping blood.

  "It's healing, lots better, but he’s worse off. Can you imagine how long it takes to repair from a total severance, especially top to bottom? Kind of puts us out of commission for a while. We're always back, which means all of us, whatever side."

  Nash and Cole were thinking the same thing at the same time. What kind of fight does damage like that? What kind of wound was it six weeks ago? These angels weren't exactly the white, fluffy things that fairy tales made them. They were soldiers, tough, huge warriors, right out of "Battle Magazine." Their respect for angels notched up.

  Enya was leaning tiredly against the hall wall. This was the first time she had stopped for days, and it was a relief to have someone ask her to only listen. Aaron noticed Enya fighting to keep her eyes open. In spite of how much she wanted to listen, her exhaustion was taking its toll. Cole, on the other hand, stood spellbound, fixing his gaze on Aaron and hung on every word and syllable. Aaron reached over and placed a finger on Enya's forehead.

  She popped her head up instantly saying, "I'm sorry, I must have dozed off a bit. It won't happen again. In fact, I feel pretty good right now." Cole thought he could use Aaron around when he stayed up late preparing his sermons.

  "Folks," Aaron replied, "I want you all to know how dynamic things are. They can change on a moment’s notice. We have several thousand angels surrounding this Mission, including your church. Apollyon hasn't yet figured out that it’s about the children. He thinks it's only a convenient place to observe Nashville." Nash noticed how Aaron had picked up a little Tennessee accent recently.

  "As you have discerned, there are many more legions all over the country protecting stashes of children. The timing is crucial in getting all of them to places of safety. Each part of the country is different; but surprisingly, the sequence of events is very similar. The end time is drawing near, and Apollyon and his angels know this. They are trying to stop us from getting any of the children, but their problem is the same as ours. There are only so many on either

  side. They don't know where we are focusing; and with our limited numbers, we don't know where they are focusing. They've recruited many humans by taking the worst of the lot and doing terrible things to and with the children. Who and what we are up against is compounded by whom they use."

  Aaron continued his speech as if he had given it before, smooth without breaks. "Most of the battles have taken place between heaven and earth. We are winning those battles. They know they are doomed, and some seem to have lost a lot of enthusiasm for one-on-one battles. As I said, they are concentrating on humans, worsening the problems. Those with only a little faith will be devastated and lose what faith they have. However, we are using people like you and influencing brethren all over the world to use the remaining time to hide God’s treasure, the children. God is pouring out an exceptional anointing on children and adults alike, but especially the children. We are literally snatching children from every hellhole in the United States and bringing them to safe havens. These places are so empowered with God that the stronghold is totally impenetrable to Apoll
yon's dark angels. They'd rather take on anything than these spiritual fortresses. God is allowing us to pull his children from the jaws of hell itself. Getting the children to these havens is the test. Hiding them, and without warning, getting them to these places is essential. Some havens are easier to get to than others. In your case, it’s a matter of you keeping the children until

  we know we have enough for a good run for safety. My legions will take care of the heavenly war above Nashville, but Apollyon will eventually know why we are concentrating our forces here. He'll figure it out soon enough. He has a habit of drawing seasoned reinforcements from other parts of the world, and this is completely unpredictable. We never know when this might be. If he brings in enough forces, he can delay our efforts of protection and deliverance. It means some groups may never reach safety, and some may die on the journey.

  We know you can only handle 1000 in your basement, but you have to make room for the next 4000. What do you have to do to make room for so many more children? What do you think you’ll need if you have to leave on a moment’s notice? How do you get children to a place 95 miles from here? How much gasoline do you need? What kind of transportation do you have? Remember, when Apollyon finally finds out where you are keeping the kids, he’ll make sure that everyone turns against you. This includes the brethren, authorities, government, and police. You are safe from none of these. They will use any excuse to stop this evacuation. Anything!"

  Cole interrupted, "You said the end. Is the rapture soon?"

  "Cole, you know as much as I do. Hasn't it always been soon? Can't you see, like I see, the 'signs of the time?' I see a world ready for a rapture, don't you? The light is growing brighter with God's great outpouring of the anointing, but the darkness is getting more wicked, more powerful too." As they talked about the rapture, cold chills went over the group, even Aaron. They were talking about the most desired event in the history of man and angels.

  "You can help, but you don't have a facility big enough by using only the basement. Cole, what will help is for you to assume

  the responsibility of the adult homeless by getting your members to care for them on an individual basis? Why don’t you, Nash,

  Enya, close down your operation. Use any reason. Give us about four to six weeks to fill the Mission from top to bottom rather than the bottom only. Do you think you could come up with a reason to let us use it only for the children?” Aaron looked questioningly at Nash. After all, the angels didn’t do all the thinking. He wanted Nash to use his own savvy, and his own Holy Spirit intuition.

  "Of course we can. We can be quarantined for a health reason. I don’t want to lie. You’d have to create the real thing," replied Nash. He had already justified his "stretching" the truth by keeping the homeless out of the basement area, but he still felt bad about it.

  He didn't want to give Apollyon any excuse to defeat them. He was hoping for a better answer.

  "I didn't ask you to. How about a serious outbreak of something?" asked Aaron.

  Enya volunteered, "How about an outbreak of tuberculosis?"

  "That would do it," said Aaron. "We can always add a few more nonfatal ones if need be."

  "Not the kids, Aaron! Not the believers!" pleaded Nash as he felt very uncomfortable with this conversation.

  "Of course, not the kids. As far as believers go, we wouldn't be the 'servants to the heirs of promise' if we were to harm, rather than protect you. That’s contrary to our calling, our creation."

  Aaron went silent for a minute. He was trying to figure out how he was going to say something difficult. "You guys need to be aware of something. In the near future, brace yourselves for some pretty rough rides. These are going to be the most difficult times of your lives. You all may say before it's over, 'Why me?' Trust in our Lord and remember that the anointing upon you is the greatest anointing in the history of man. It's even greater than the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts. These are the times of Joel. These are the promises of the last day. Rely on it and don't underestimate it. The

  power on you and in you is greater than anything that can come against you. If you remember to use His anointing, nothing will succeed against you."

  "Another thing, we are aware of many small, evil plots from various individuals to harm the children. We know about them, but we're not ready to play our hand yet. We'll take care of them when

  the time comes, but be assured that we're watching everything." As Aaron spoke he was thinking about Casey and others like him. He saw hundreds of others who were hunting down children to use as barter. It made him ill for a moment, but he continued.

  Aaron stepped close to Nash, put his arm around his shoulder and bent over to talk directly into his ear. Others still heard, but he wanted Nash to get the full impact of what he was going to say. "Now, Nash, I have special words for you."

  Nash steeled himself. He didn't like the tone of Aaron's voice. He instinctively thought, "Now, what did I do?"

  Aaron sensed Nash’s nervousness, especially when Nash subconsciously ducked like a scolded dog. "You didn't do anything, but something is going to take place forcing you to rely more on His

  anointing than the rest. When Paul of Tarsus was stoned, do you know the reason he was able to get up the next day and move to the next town?"

  "Pure God, I imagine?" Nash wasn't sure where this was leading, but it made him uncomfortable.

  "Yes, definitely all God. But, something happened to Paul during this ordeal. He came to some pretty amazing conclusions, which carried him to the end of his life. It was so dynamic that nothing that happened to him afterwards affected him. He deliberately decided that God could and would raise him from the

  dead. He believed so much in the power of God that his stoning, though terribly discomforting, was nothing compared to the power of God to heal and resurrect him." Aaron waited a second before continuing while wanting to make sure his words sunk in.

  "But I thought his brethren came to pray over him?" Nash didn't know what to say so he thought he might as well ask a question.

  "They did, but Paul already made up his mind that his wounds would be healed with or without them. He felt like he was going to die any moment. What surprised him, as bad as he felt, was that he didn't. In spite of the pain, he believed that Jesus would raise him up, and he’d make that trip. I want you to think about surviving. I want you to have a mind and heart that are so stubborn and so trusting in God's power that nothing will have victory over you. Can I trust you to meditate on these things?" Aaron put out his hand for Nash to shake. Aaron was making his own Godly deal for Nash’s benefit.

  "Sure you can," he said as he shook Aaron’s hand firmly. "But I’m certainly going to be thinking about what can take me to that point. I can't imagine anything that bad happening to me."

  Nash was opening up a hopeful question. He hoped Aaron would pat him on the back and tell him it was going to be fine, a breeze, smooth sailing, no problem, maybe this was a joke, but he didn't.

  "Nash, not as bad, worse!"

  Nash got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He thought he'd rather not have known. Whatever was coming his way wasn't going to feel very good. He got that picture right off. Nash was so used to teaching and talking the abundant life of John 10:10b, "I have come to give you life and life more abundantly," that he never

  thought in a million years that it included suffering like Aaron implied.

  "Aaron, will Enya, Cole, and the children be okay?" asked Nash weakly. He needed some comfort, some good news. He wanted to believe that whatever he had to go through was worthwhile and helpful to and for those he loved. He'd do anything for them.

  "That’s why we’re here, Nash," said Aaron as he squeezed his shoulder affectionately.

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  Holy Positioning

  Nash thought about calling on his friends to help at the Mission, but he didn’t have many around anymore. The work at the Mission caused Enya and Na
sh to become isolated. They didn’t get away from the ministry at hand to fellowship or socialize much. There was a time when they did, and it was responsible for them being at the Mission.

  Fortunately, years ago, he and Enya found an Episcopal praise church in the Green Hills area. What a relief it was to talk to others who didn't mind saying, "saved" or "reborn." It gave them the best of both worlds: roots to their Eucharistic appetite and praise worship saturated with the Word of God.

  Nash still remembered calling the church and asking about their programs and worship. "I want to know one thing. Is the Word taught in Sunday School? I mean, do believers take the Word of God, lay it in their lap, and discuss it openly?"

  The answer from the priest was a definite, "Yes."

  "Does the church support a Jesus who includes everyone as the children of God—no need to make a decision to serve Him—everyone makes it—or does it teach that there has to be a decision, a decision to surrender to the Lord in order to become a believer?" He held his breath on that one.

  "We believe in sheep-and-goats, heaven-and-hell, which means the lines God has drawn are distinct and definite. A decision is required to become a believer. Just being alive and going to church doesn’t automatically qualify a person for the kingdom of God." The priest gave the right answers thought Nash.

  "Great, I’ll see you on Sunday."

  They weren’t disappointed. The worship services won them over completely. The praise worship including singing the Psalms and the Lord's Prayer were overpowering. He and Enya fell in love with the church. This is where they met a retiring Nashville preacher who wasn’t able to run the Mission anymore. Since then, they continued to work, teach, and speak Jesus to everyone they fed, clothed, and sheltered. The Mission became the expression of their living journey of faith. It allowed them to be spent for God in a way that made a difference. This was truly the ministry that they were called to. They felt the same way about the children. They believed that they were called to be in this place and to do exactly what they were doing for the children. They were at the right time and in the

  right place for God. This is what their whole life had come down to. They felt that this time with these kids was the last journey of their faith walk in the Lord.

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