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The space in the front, between the pulpit and the pew, was filled with adventurous dancers who felt the legroom at their seats was too strait for the Davidic dance to freely express their joy and thanksgiving to the creator. Others, less adventurous, found a space in the aisle to dig it. The spaces in-between the blue... | 0 | 100 |
After about twenty-five minutes, the praise session came to an end to usher in the worship session which was not in any way less eventful. Some sank deep on their knees to pay homage to the Giver of life while some others lifted up their hands and heads in His colossal awe. Patches of worshippers here and there grimace... | 0 | 101 |
But for two very peculiar testimonies which marked a heavy presence during the testimony time the service would have gone on uneventful from the point forward. | 0 | 102 |
A brother that introduced himself by eight names at a go had come out to give a medical testimony – actually, that was the nomenclature commentators passed on it at the end of the day's service, during the fellowship-after-fellowship. The octopus-of-a-name brother used almost every clause in his testimony to display, i... | 0 | 103 |
The response of alleluia was deafening and that with a thundering applause for a job well done in thrilling the audience by the way of intricate show-off. He came down from the platform and walked back to his seat with an air of importance around him. A couple of people around his seat even shook hands with him. For th... | 0 | 104 |
Another gave a unique testimony of how he had swarm of mosquitoes around his head for days. He had tried everything to drive them away but failed. The solution came when he combined the effect of the prayer of one of the ministers for him with a spray of Baygon. This time around the reaction from the congregation was r... | 0 | 105 |
The time for the message finally came and everything suddenly changed. The solemnity of and the reverence for the moment can be felt in the atmosphere, both in depth and in thickness. The General Overseer of Jesus My Lord Ministries, Pastor TunjiAdetiloye, grabbed the wireless microphone laid, for his personal use, on ... | 0 | 106 |
'It is a mad world!' the GO bellowed over the state-of-the-art mega sound system. His audience looked at one another in a knowing way, as if saying, 'Did we not say something is wrong with the Pastor?' Unruffled by the sympathetic look and the low murmurs, Tunji continued with the atypical sermon preached without an in... | 0 | 107 |
'I know you might have wondered what has come upon your Pastor. Yes, the way I turned my head around in silence was unusual and in fact absurd. And many thoughts would have run through your mind as my gaze travelled from one end to the other. But listen to me, nothing is wrong with me. I am in complete control of mysel... | 0 | 108 |
'I felt the Holy Spirit was just making a general comment on the body of Christ. I thought it was only a message for Christendom in its entirety. But, he cautioned and told me not to go too far; He was talking to me about this congregation staring me in the face right now. And this is how He put it: "many are they amon... | 0 | 109 |
He went on his knees and, with great emotion and troubling of the spirit, pleaded with his congregation, 'Please, my dearly beloved, make no haste! Our God is not slack concerning his promises; wait for Him. He will make all things beautiful for you in His time. Don't outrun God. I beseech you by the mercies of God, do... | 0 | 110 |
* * * * * | 0 | 111 |
'Aboruboye nile ifa o?' | 0 | 112 |
'Aboye bo sise o!' the bald old herbalist replied the voice greeting him from outside. Baba Awo was busy consulting his oracle consisting of some kernels on a wide cane dish. He himself, garbed in immaculate white wrapper tied over his right shoulder and a complementing white singlet as the top, sat on a local mat with... | 0 | 113 |
Baba Awo finally stopped his incantations to attend to his client. | 0 | 114 |
'Regular or novice?' | 0 | 115 |
'Regular, Baba!' | 0 | 116 |
'Then you may proceed to come in.' | 0 | 117 |
Mr. Toriola entered, undid his shoes at the foot of the door – only the sole of his feet, and not that of his shoes, could touch the sacred mat or else he commits a sacrilege. He took a bow to the ground in form of an ablution to the gods at the red corner and then sat cross-legged on the mat to make his case before Ba... | 0 | 118 |
'Dewale, you have the solution already. Just dab at the floor and impress its peace upon your heart thrice,' the octogenarian said with a thickly accented dialect. After observing the figurative instruction literally, Adewale was charged exorbitantly for the treatment. He agreed to the terms and paid a deposit of more ... | 0 | 119 |
CHAPTER FOUR | 0 | 120 |
As fate would have it, AY and Segun met one-to-one, on two occasions, within a week. The first was in the evening of that peculiar service. Pastor Tunji had announced there would be no evening house fellowship at the centres. He charged all and sundry to use the hours meant for the fellowship they had now been relieved... | 0 | 121 |
In the evening, she was on her way to Segun's residence, the house fellowship centre for those living around Onikoko. Both surprise and doubt gripped her as the blue, one-storey building started coming to view. The time was quarter past five, they should be fifteen minutes into the meeting now, but no sign of any ongoi... | 0 | 122 |
Her bewilderment deepened when even Brother Segun's face wore a look of astonishment on sighting her. | 0 | 123 |
'What's the problem? No house fellowship today?' she retorted. | 0 | 124 |
'Good evening Sister AY. Nice seeing you around.' Segun attempted breaking the tension. | 0 | 125 |
'Ah! Ah! Please pardon my poor sense of courtesy, Brother Segun. Good evening. But I'm actually at a loss. What's happening to the house fellowship?' She was never done with her confusion. | 0 | 126 |
'Un-hmn! I was wondering myself because this is the actual time you normally surface at the house fellowship. You really come for the house fellowship?' | 0 | 127 |
Though she felt the question was a bit stupid she gave a nod all the same. | 0 | 128 |
'If you were not at the service this morning I would have understood. But now I'm stupefied.' | 0 | 129 |
AY quickly changed her approach knowing quite alright that she had missed something in the morning announcement. | 0 | 130 |
'I'm sorry. I was busy during announcement. Was it announced that there would be no fellowship today?' she asked pitifully. | 0 | 131 |
'Yes, we were to use the time for personal evangelism in our neighbourhood. In fact, I was just preparing to go out for that when you came in.' | 0 | 132 |
'Ah! Pardon my ignorance. I'm sorry for delaying you. Let me be on my way then.' She stood to go. | 0 | 133 |
Segun would not let her. This is a sister admired by almost all the single brothers in the church. An audience with her is a golden privilege that must never be allowed to be short-lived. So, she must not go just like that. | 0 | 134 |
'No, not so soon. Not until I have treated you to light refreshment with soft drink. And if you wouldn't mind we could then go out together for the witnessing. At least, the Bible too said he sent them out two by two.' | 0 | 135 |
Though they both laughed over the witty allusion, she tried to put up a feigned resistance to the intended treat. Segun's persistent enthusiasm ensured it did not go through. He kept her busy with his album while he dashed out. In no time he was back with a bottle of fizzy Fanta pineapple and a package of sumptuous pie... | 0 | 136 |
'Sister AY, I'm sorry this is all I could offer o. You know this is a chronic bachelor's place. But really, if not for my pot that was on holiday I would have made you a lump-less pounded yam as smooth as the earlobe, with good Amaranthus soup garnished here and there with powerful balls of egusi, and a big fresh catfi... | 0 | 137 |
'Um! If all the ingredients are here right now, can you cook half as good as you just have painted?' She beamed and the radiant face threw up its elegance. Segun was spurred on to be a good laugh. | 0 | 138 |
'You try me. Just enroll me in this year's National Maggi Cooking Competition and see how I will defeat chefs from Mr. Biggs, Tantalizer, Sweet Sensation, Mama Cass, just name it. You go know say khaki no be leather. I was not my Mummy's special assistant in kitchen matters in those days for nothing. I bet, with due re... | 0 | 139 |
'Whaoh! Unbelievable!' | 0 | 140 |
'The unbelievability is my pleasure, Madame. By the way, Sister AY, I must confess that the praise and worship session you led this morning was something else – it was electrifying, soul-lifting and heaven-rendering' | 0 | 141 |
'Ah-ah! I'll take that for flattery. Who am I and my talent to deserve such an accolade?' | 0 | 142 |
'No! who has the time to spare on flattery. I mean every word of it. You are a rear gem to the church. May God continue to increase you to bless our generation the more.' | 0 | 143 |
'Amen !' She responded laughingly. | 0 | 144 |
'I mean I was really, really, really blessed by the ministration.' | 0 | 145 |
AY was all giggles till she finished the light refreshment provided. Straight after, she freely offered herself to be his witnessing partner. | 0 | 146 |
Not that they didn't face what they set out to achieve – in fact they led five to six people to Christ – but their partnering off naturally ended up a date. A relationship was established; platonic or more, only time would tell. | 0 | 147 |
The second encounter was an offshoot of the first and was as coincidental as the first. In their course of seeking out souls to bring the Good News to, AY had informed Segun of her upcoming birthday on Friday and wanted him to be her guest. She was only marking it and not celebrating it, she had stressed. Segun should ... | 0 | 148 |
'Just to take sobo and some groundnuts with friends.' She had jocularly said. | 0 | 149 |
Friday is here. Segun put on his best shirt – a light blue packaged shirt sent to him by his cousin abroad. He was proud of the top because of its Marks and Spencer label. With a pair of navy blue plain designer trousers, well-buffed, black, narrow-toe shoes and a black Versace belt, he completed the dressing. He conte... | 0 | 150 |
* * * * | 0 | 151 |
Baba mimo mimo mimo mo wa sope o oba nla | 0 | 152 |
Baba mimo mimo mimo mo wa sope o oba nla | 0 | 153 |
F'ore to o se laye mi o po oba nla | 0 | 154 |
F'ore to o se laye mi o po oba nla | 0 | 155 |
The popular track of Tope Alabi, a Yoruba Gospel music performer nonpareil, charged the atmosphere of the mini-hall from the background, as the items on the birthday programme were happily carried out with a romp. The generator of the music was the Ore ti o Common album disc turning in the CD player of a 3500-watt Shar... | 0 | 156 |
'The brevity of the chronological mensuration cannot accommodate the longevity of the provisioned thingamabob for the programme...' | 0 | 157 |
'Eh-eh, oyinbo poju!' one lady ejaculated from the audience. | 0 | 158 |
'Please, sir, can you help us break it down? Abeg, no give us migraine, dear professor emeritus!' another, a brother, requested. | 0 | 159 |
'Anyway, what I'm saying in essence is that though we have a lot of things to do, the time is short, OK?' | 0 | 160 |
'Effico! The hall roared with amusement and applause. | 0 | 161 |
You mean you can't remember this brother? He is the one and the same person that gave the medical testimony. Who knows whether he studies his dictionary, medical or English, more than his Bible. | 0 | 162 |
'Thank you, thank you. Don't mention it. What are enemies for!' His ironic use of 'enemies' caused another fit of giggles to permeate the audience. | 0 | 163 |
'The basket has been passed round and you must have picked something. Now if I point at you, just walk up here and tell us what is inside the piece of paper you picked.' | 0 | 164 |
He pointed at one brother but that one said the basket did not get to him. He pointed again and the lot fell on Segun. He came out, unwrapped the paper and read out what he foud therein. | 0 | 165 |
'Dance and gist with the celebrant for two solid minutes!' | 0 | 166 |
'Whaoh! That is phantasmaglorious! Hold on, please hold on DJ. None of us should be left out in this networking. This is what we are going to do. Get someone beside you and you too can interact with him or her for those two minutes. No dancing in your own case however.' | 0 | 167 |
He turned to Segun and AY who were now standing together. 'And to both of you, "Holiness to the Lord" o?' He feigned a baritone, 'Thou shall not tamper with the holiness gap.' | 0 | 168 |
The two beamed with enthusiasm. | 0 | 169 |
'I request the DJ to play us a soft, slow-moving gospel. They can't be dancing marcossa and still be able to colloquize. Yes or no?' | 0 | 170 |
The echo was in the affirmative. | 0 | 171 |
'Meanwhile, if you can't find anyone to spin a yarn with, I'm very much available. Let the music roll.' | 0 | 172 |
It was time to continue where they stopped on Sunday evening as they rocked lazily to the music. When it all ended the two minutes seemed two seconds. Segun craved for more. | 0 | 173 |
* * * * * | 0 | 174 |
Segun got to his door but could not put the key in the lock. He bent to the peephole and discovered another key hanging in the lock from the inside. Definitely Sister Kemi is around. He knocked at the door and Kemi was prompt to open. They held hands and got inside. She had come with the progress report as usual. | 0 | 175 |
'Brother Segun, the good news is that Daddy's attitude is getting more and more favourable by the day. From the look of things he will give his full consent with one or two more delegations'. | 0 | 176 |
She noticed Segun was not showing interest. It was taking him unnecessarily long pulling off his shoes. He was bent double to the task and would not even lift as much as his eyes when she mentioned 'good news'. | 0 | 177 |
'Brother Segun!' she tapped him on the back, 'it seems you are not even interested in what I'm saying. You are not saying anything. Is anything the matter?' | 0 | 178 |
Segun jerked up his head, managed a reluctant smile and spoke with an interest that was only skin-deep. 'I'm interested now. Nothing is wrong, it's only that I'm tired. I'm sorry.' | 0 | 179 |
'Then say something to the issue on ground,' Kemi queried. | 0 | 180 |
'I'm happy. Yes, I'm happy that Daddy is responding. I just pray that the Daddy upstairs will grant us good speed.' | 0 | 181 |
'Amen. He will. But you know God's time is the best. He makes all things beautiful in His time and ours shall not be an exception. God will help us. Let's just hold on to Him till the end.' | 0 | 182 |
Segun concluded the dialogue with, 'It is well.' | 0 | 183 |
Somebody else is beginning to steal Segun's heart. A real-life osmosis is taking place across his heart – love is moving from an area of higher concentration to that of lower concentration. But then, when the two sides are balanced, one must be discarded, for the heart understands romantic love only in the language of ... | 0 | 184 |
CHAPTER 5 | 0 | 185 |
3 – 2 = 1 heart praying 4 u. 1 + 1 = 2 eyes looking at u. 3 + 4 = 7 days thinking of u. 7 + 5 = 12 months asking God to protect and bless u, because u're special! How is ur day? The Lord is ur muscle. Shalom. | 0 | 186 |
Segun finished punching in the short message and was about sending it when he caught sight of the figure 269/2 at the top right hand corner of his Nokia 1100's LCD. That suggested the message had spilled over to the second page, meaning an additional cost. Segun, a shrewd and thrifty SMS-sender, could not tolerate it. ... | 0 | 187 |
He keyed in AY's number offhand – no need of going through the search option in the terminal equipment's phonebook. OK. In about twelve seconds the screen read, 'Message sent', and ten more seconds, 'Delivered to AY' flashed on and off the display unit. AY flashed back to acknowledge the receipt of the text. Segun's ga... | 0 | 188 |
Terminating a call while still ringing, before the called could pick it up, had become a cheap form of sending warm but dumb greetings and acknowledgment to friends and loved ones. The verb 'flash' was whimsically coined out for this special service maybe because of the speed involved. The flasher must be on the red al... | 0 | 189 |
Actually, flashing costs nothing. You must have airtime validity and a few kobo of credit left though. With that, one could go ahead to flash the whole world. But if one of those flashed prematurely picks the call, maybe accidentally or deliberately – as a sort of punishment or mischief – your flashing credit goes down... | 0 | 190 |
An extended use of the flashing technique plays out when the younger intend sending the older a free electronic SOS which could be equivalent to a telegram message that sounds like: please call me. | 0 | 191 |
Segun flashed a smile and then withdrew to his sofa to reminiscent on the series of happenstance, as the Americans will say, that had brought him thus far with the beautiful and talented AY. Only a month into the relationship and the developments seemed built over years. The way nature arranged the events and their rol... | 0 | 192 |
'And what is the point?' | 0 | 193 |
'This lady is meant for me.' | 0 | 194 |
'Are you sure? Has that conclusion passed the joy and peace test?' | 0 | 195 |
'My peace seemed a bit withdrawn about it. But does it really matter? Time can take care of that.' | 0 | 196 |
'You are treading on a dangerous path, Segun, you are!' | 0 | 197 |
'Allow me please!' and with that he ended the conversation with his conscience. | 0 | 198 |
His mother, Mama Sola, came visiting two hours later. Her furrowed face bore the concern of the severing relationship between Segun and his father. Baba Segun lay critically ill at the General Hospital, Oke-Ijeun. He had been there for two weeks but Segun did not bother to send a word, much less a visit. The gap betwee... | 0 | 199 |
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