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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA (ANS) -- Do you believe in angels? A group of female missionaries in a restricted country certainly do. Their story was forwarded to ANS, but their location has been withheld to protect their identities.
The overnight hotel stay provided some rest after the 32-hour train ride and an opportunity to prepare for the 38-hour ride still awaiting them.
The team was excited to be ministering in this giant restricted country. They pulled their heavy roller bags down the long ramp, taking them under the railroad tracks. They joined the mass of people waiting at the gate to rush up the two flights of stairs onto the platform, each anxious to be the first on the train to secure their always oversized luggage.
The gate opened, and the mad rush began. One of the women struggled to remain upright as pressure came from every side. She lifted her bag up one step. Then struggled up another. She knew she was not going to survive this ordeal.
Breathing a silent prayer, she realized her bag suddenly became light. She turned to see that a middle-aged gentleman, dressed in a trim, dark colored business suit had grabbed hold of the bottom handle of her bag. With a smile and a mouthed "thank you," they easily climbed the steps.
At the top of the stairs, she felt the bag let down on its rollers. She turned to offer another "thank you." He smiled and was lost in the crowd. Melody thought it a bit strange that this man had no luggage. You just don't venture onto a 38-hour train journey without at least a small bag. But thoughts of finding her car quickly filled her mind.
The group boarded the train. Their bags were stowed. As they sat on the lower bunk of their compartment, one of the women remembered her encounter with the strange gentleman. And she shared her story.
The other four women brightened and jumped up and down in their excitement. They could not contain themselves. With one voice they exclaimed that the exact same experience was theirs to tell.
Separated from each other in the mass of people climbing those stairs, they each began their struggle up one step, then another. Each load lightened as a middle-aged gentleman, dressed in a trim, dark colored business suit reached for the bottom handle of their roller bag. And after a smile and "thank you" by each lady, the gentleman disappeared into the crowd.
It is one thing to read in the Bible that there are angels. It is another thing to believe that there are angels available to minister today. It is an encounter of yet another dimension to realize that five angels were dispensed to assist these ladies with their luggage.
Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.
Used by permission Assist News Service www.assistnews.net
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