I was raised in a Christian home and have been a believer since I was a small child. I grew up hearing about how Jesus Christ gave his life for mine to ransom and set me free, but never has that truth been as alive as it is at this moment in time. My husband and I have been walking through the process of orphan adoption in Liberia, Africa for the past few weeks and it’s through this process that God confronted me on the reality of the depth of what Jesus gave to ransom and set me free.

On the Liberian "adoptable listing" for the orphanage we are working with, there are nearly 24 children.

We’ve inquired about several of them before, but each time we sought after a child, we would hear that he or she had been taken off the list for various reasons. Perhaps they were matched with another family or became ill- I don’t know.

But this past weekend, everything changed. I prayed and fasted last week with a friend who is also in the middle of an adoption. We both had some serious answered prayers, but it wasn't until Sunday that God spoke to me loud and clear.

I had seen a set of two year old boy/girl twins on the ‘adoptable list;’ they had originally caught my eye simply because I already have a set of biological twins. For some reason, I could not get these particular twins off my mind on Saturday and Sunday. I kept thinking about them and so I began to pray.

During the worship service Sunday morning their picture was at the forefront of my spirit. I cried out to the Lord: "Lord, are you calling us to these twins? But Lord, we already have six children. If we adopt these twins it will take everything- all of our resources, all of our money, all of my time. Lord, it will take everything."

And then He spoke to me clearly; it couldn't have been clearer if He had sat down beside me in the Worship Center and said it in my ear!

“Lorie, I gave everything to ransom you and set you free. Now, give everything to ransom these orphaned children and set them free."

Whoa! What else can you say but “yes” when God calls your name? Then after the worship service, our small group teacher read 2 Tim. 2:20-21. God spoke so clearly again, I could hardly breathe. It reads:

“In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but of wood and clay; some for noble purposes, some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument of noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”

All the "stuff" of life, the wood and clay as 2 Timothy says, means nothing. Every "thing" I have will burn up one day but the souls of these children will last forever! I'm ashamed that I even cared for one minute about the sacrifice of money, time, and resources of this double adoption. As He said to me, He gave everything for me; how can I not give everything to save these children?

Those sweet children don't even realize it yet, but tomorrow morning I will go to the bank to wire money (meaningless money that all belongs to God anyway) to Liberia to pay their “ransom" and set them free. I can hardly wait to see what great things God has in store as I lay everything down to save them.

Sleep well tonight my little ones, The Father to the Fatherless has heard your soft cries and He is restoring to you everything the world has taken. Soon 'forgotten' will become 'remembered.’ Soon 'cast aside' will become 'set apart.’ Soon 'abandoned' will become 'chosen.’ Soon 'unwanted' will become 'wanted.’ Although I'm a stranger to you now, I've just paid your ransom and you've been set free.

And that's just what Christ did for me 2000 years ago, before I even knew Him. How can I not trust Him in this? It will be my great honor and privilege to serve my Savior by becoming the mother to these orphaned children. The world will never understand, but let them say what they may.

I've been gloriously ruined.

If you liked this article, check out: Facing My Fears in Africa
Africa_113 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 Children’s 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.