Urgent Ministry Need: Impoverished America
December 17, 2023 6:21 PM
Lloyd Acree
Dec 17 2023
This dream came in two parts and I will recap it briefly. The first part was in Hawaii where I ran into various people traveling around Honolulu and the conversations were fairly easy going and mostly positive concerning anything and everything: that is everyone seem to be friendly and the gospel was also tolerated widely as were honorable political views. So I do not record specific conversations in depth as nothing stands out to me requiring an interpretation: it was virtually all positive and simple. The second part of the dream I immediately found myself traveling down a super highway across America and I ended up getting off the highway in Appalachia or Mississippi or state like these areas where there was much poverty visible immediately off the highway. On the highway I happen to be riding in a small vehicle that reminds me of a bobsled as if I were being pulled by another vehicle and I don’t understand this vehicle at all. Once off the highway I found myself with a companion and this companion carried a lot of symbolism which I explained in the interpretation below. Now our stay off the highway was like an attempt to stay over the night as if we could not find a motel. So we stayed in what looked like a rural suburb trailer park kind of neighborhood. And these houses were as small as can be surrounded by small wire fences like those for goats or pigs and all around the front yard were scattered toys and junk. That is where my companion and I split apart a stone’s throw and separately camped out between the road and these yards such that we were amongst the junk and toys. The next morning I woke concerned that we had slept too close to these homes and their stuff and so I attempted to rouse my companion and get us going before the morning drew long. But as I approach my companions sleep area, I heard the man in the house directly facing him begin to shout threats that he would use violence or shoot and he also used the Bible as justification that he would kill. So my companion and I immediately said to rounding up our gear and moving it up the street about 200 yd or so and around the corner to the main road. I seemingly had an excess of gear and used a child’s toy like a scooter to roll myself down the street with gear so I had apparently decided to borrow their stuff just to get out of there quickly. Somehow although I seem to have less stuff I ended up being the last to retrieve it. And in my final trip back down the street to get whatever I had left behind, I ran into five or six of these hillbillies including the man who had been shouting death threats. But I saw that they were easily calmed when I apologized and told them that we had just been trying to find a place to sleep for the night before we left. Even the angry man who acted like a leader immediately changed his demeanor and spoke to me like a neighbor. It was at this point that I saw that these men were built out of Frankenstein attached vessels of clear glass over their heads and so on and it was as if they had no bodies or their bones and skin were missing and had been replaced with glass inside of which were what looked like rice or beans or some strange material unrecognizable and very different from human anatomy. Nonetheless it was disturbing to see that only their eyeballs and miles were recognizable through all of the artificial materials clamps fittings etc whatever had been attached to hold them together. And even their mouths looked this figure. It was also revealed to me that they were reconstructing their lives after covid: or in this case, literally there essential health, as if putting their own bodies back together.
End of dream.
Interpretation
Cutting right to the chase and skipping over the Hawaii dream which seemed to be simple, I will explore the journey of myself and travel companion. Now I don’t know why I would be traveling with this person (I never do) so he must be an entirely separate metaphor unto himself and him being an unbeliever and rather adamantly and perhaps even hostile so against the gospel there is a duality or an ironic combination of very unlike and opposite natures between himself and I which suggests the divided culture of America perhaps in being pro gospel and anti gospel to the utmost; as that is the most significant factor between myself and this person, which overshadows everything else in our relationship. This is the case because I have a love relationship toward my Lord Jesus Christ and his hatred of this is rather overwhelming. Now this individual probably represents a wider view of America because the rest of the dream pertains to Appalachia and a super highway, clearly cut through America, off of which we left into the hillbilly’s neighborhood.
So in this ironic relationship of complete religious division, we faced another reality of America in the irony and duality of the juxtaposed hillbillies and the super highway. The highway in the Bible represents the path of righteousness and by extension in more secular means could represent the best part of society where the successful or upper classes roam freely and often. Then we exited this journey out of that upper area of the highway and down into the blue collar and in this case it was quite the social hierarchical “abyss.” In this abyss was the abject poverty associated with places in America like Appalachia and Mississippi where these rednecks thus here in the dream are portrayed not just as humans and poverty making rather uneducated-sounding, making allusions to the Bible to justify their bitterness or eagerness to use violence in their own defense, but moreso: in a stark and rather shocking manifestation of the utmost ruin and disfiguring of their entire beings that is pertaining to their bodies and their heads. Hence these deserve a paragraph on to themselves:
The hillbillies
The hillbillies were made of Frankenstein surgically attached artificial materials such as glass containers and presumably metal fittings and clasps holding these containers together around there somewhat skeletonized ruined bodies. There must be addressed why through the glass particularly in their heads I did not observe regular anatomy such as brains but I saw an incredibly strange composition that appeared to be something like black eyed peas and other such grainy or at the very most intestines in appearance but certainly unrecognizable as anything human. And yet they appear to have regular human features still attached such as eyeballs and mouths couched in these artificial containers that held them together so that they could walk around and function as normal human beings. Because I was able to communicate with them and deescalate the situation that they had begun to develop in vigilance against my companion and my staying on their street for the night, the dream shows that these hillbillies are ultimately manifest as decent people who can be reasoned with and where rather eager to recognize and appreciate my respect for them. In conclusion they’re disfigurement being associated with covid speaks to the effect that these hillbillies represent the state of America’s blue collar society as a whole being in a state of ruin and desperate reconstruction. The head which was made of glass and filled with what appeared to be grainy foods ultimately suggesting to me rice or beans (which is a meal of poverty) shows that “what is on their mind” is food, the barest of necessities and that pursuit of their survival. This is the overall interpretation of what they represent and in more detail they are disfigured because what has happened to them is in the spirit horrifically destructive and has affected them perhaps in every possible way. The fact that the mouth I saw in the dream on the one individual was disfigured like an animal shows that there is a de-evolution of this people to be defensive like animals in their speech. Or whatever else they need their mouths for. This is doubly reflected in the fact that they were initially hostile and ready to kill my companion and me, or so they claimed which is an animal instinct.
The conclusion of this dream must be that this group this strata at the bottom of American society is in desperate need of ministry of all kinds both physical and spiritual. The dream emphasizes their physical needs and that they are physically disfigured, minded to do violence in defense of their homes, in the blink of an eye, and seem to be only concerned with food in glass jars. Yet there is also that we need for them to de-escalate their fears pictured in this hostility they showed which would be a spiritual ministry that they are predisposed and inclined already to receive whether or not they realize it: they are ready to be blessed.
Now I must return to the fact that this dream comes at the tail end of the other dream concerning my journey in Hawaii or more properly Honolulu where things seem to be generally well off concerning spiritual matters and there seem to be instant cohesion and kindness rather than any hint of severe disfigurement or preloaded animosity against travelers and strangers. Literally nothing in the Hawaii part of this stream stood out to me as needing to be addressed or as carrying dense metaphors; so this place is even greater emphasis to me on the severity of need among the Appalachians or the deep South people. The dream is clearly a call to prayer that they should receive an influx of ministers sent by the Holy Spirit and be saturated in prayers by the body of Christ.
Perhaps last I should return to the metaphor of my companion as it still stands out to me. I believe that his actions are important in that he was certainly minding his own business and when accosted by the redneck with threats he immediately left the area without a word as if to never return and have nothing to do with these people. Once again the stark contrast emerges as a theme for this dream showing that there is what could be considered an impassable separation in these cultures by which my brother will have no dealings with any such people in any way and make no attempt to conciliate their concerns. And it just so happens that the companion has lived and staked his career fully on life in New York City. So the theme I believe concerning my companion is to show that there are now vividly two completely separate Americas. While he does carry the attribute of militant atheism, the greater purpose of his presence in this dream pertains to that of his entire sphere of life: in contrast to that of rural, impoverished America. I must also consider the additional socioeconomic Injustice that is attributable to the way in which the megalopolis communities across America have drained and ignored this bottom strata. I speak specifically of states like Illinois where citizens have, in total frustration against their overburdensome city politicians, demonstrated the injustice by stripping their homes of basic physical necessities: the siding in particular, so as not to be taxed. Now this example may not pertain to Appalachia which are a short walk away from such a place as Illinois but there does seem to be the indication that this strata of America ought not to be so hopelessly obsessed with their basic survival especially in comparison to the luxurious welfare opportunities available in the cities which are at extension paying for such welfare by taxing people like these hillbillies should they dare to attempt to work decent jobs under the law. Either way, whether they be viewed through a lens of simple economic regional depressions, or through a lens of deliberate economic warfare waged against them by the welfare states, the conclusion is that they are in desperate need of holistic ministry and support.
If it were not too bold to pursue political solutions and addition to prayer and pastoral care then we should expect that this strata ought to be cared for in either: the humane relief of virtually all taxation, and/or the rewarding of still functioning business endeavors and entrepreneurs in these areas, as this entire economy attempts to recover from a state of shock in which everything is falling apart.
Extra Metaphors
Some of the metaphors on the periphery should also be noted simply because they are not without purpose. Namely there is the glass in casing the body parts food etc whatever was inside of the hillbillies. This glass being perfectly clear shows that their needs and livelihood is completely transparent and obvious to anyone who would take the time to just observe them. There is also the question of why my brother and I had such an amount of stuff and a strange vehicle with an open top for at least myself to ride in on the highway like in a bobsled. This amount of gear I had to move from the hillbillies front yard area back down the street, approximately 200 yd including the turnaround to the right, where I ended up at a main road (next to my brother’s gear where he sat waiting for his exit); and which I moved using a borrowed child’s scooter of some kind; this all shows me that perhaps even literally in my own life but more likely by extension the rest of the church or America or something in between, there is a sense in which these hillbillies are unreasonably hard to reach either because of their location but also apparently because of there being too much stuff in the hands of those like me in the dream who would travel to them off the beaten path so to speak. This part of the dream i e moving my gear with difficulty, shows that a concerted effort towards prayer and the sending of very intentional long-term missions into the area will be required. EG it would be preferable and necessary that my brother and I should have had a suitable vehicle with the ability to sleep without having to live like the homeless.
End of Dream Interpretation
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Mat 9:35-37 (KJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind;
to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompence; to comfort all that mourn;
that there should be given to them that mourn in Sion glory instead of ashes, the oil of joy to the mourners, the garment of glory for the spirit of heaviness: and they shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory.
And they shall build the old waste places, they shall raise up those that were before made desolate, and shall renew the desert cities, even those that had been desolate for many generations.
And strangers shall come and feed thy flocks, and aliens shall be thy ploughmen and vine-dressers.
But ye shall be called priests of the Lord, the ministers of God: ye shall eat the strength of nations, and shall be admired because of their wealth.
Thus shall they inherit the land a second time, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head.
For I am the Lord who love righteousness, and hate robberies of injustice; and I will give their labour to the just, and will make an everlasting covenant with them.
And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: every one that sees them shall take notice of them, that they are a seed blessed of God;
and they shall greatly rejoice in the Lord. Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for he has clothed me with the robe of salvation, and the garment of joy: he has put a mitre on me as on a bridegroom, and adorned me with ornaments as a bride.
And as the earth putting forth her flowers, and as a garden its seed; so shall the Lord, even the Lord, cause righteousness to spring forth, and exultation before all nations.”
Isa 61 (LCL Brenton)
Lloyd Acree
Photos courtesy Depositphotos
