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Episode 20.
Ā©Miriam Edem.
2 weeks later, the pastors were re-ady to follow me to the village. According to them, they have to seek God face first before embarking on such mission. They got me involved in the prayers also, and in my own little way i prayed the way i could asking God to keep my mother alive and to help us when we get there. We got into a 18 seaters bus that Friday very early in the morning with the pastors and prayer team and we set off. I anxiously held Charity scared if my sisters will accept them because of the experience they had with the late sister Mercy, then I thought about my mother, will she forgive me for leaving her that way? I kept thinking.
We finally arrived around 5pm and I saw few of my sisters sitting outside and that worried look on their faces to see a bus entering inside the compound broke my heart, Probably they will be thinking whose corpse are they returning. The ones inside c@mĀ£ outside to see and we c@mĀ£ down one after the other and they kept looking speechlessly until I c@mĀ£ down. The screams that filled the compound was enough to call the whole village outside, they never expected I will return, probably they thought I was alre-ady dead.
“Chi o your daughter is back! My sister who helped me during childbirth shouted and my mother ran out. She looked so pale, and I know my running away affected her the most and I felt so very bad.
“Sharon Sharon! She shouted hvgging me ti-ght and I couldn’t stĀ©p crying.
“Sorry mommy I left I…….. “Sshhhh you’re back and that’s what matters, thanks for coming back, thanks for coming back to me, she said stĀ©pping me and hvgged me again crying.
I guess my return made my sisters welcomed the visitors and they brou-ght their chairs outside for them.
“I’m glad to see all of you in good health. First of all my name is Pastor Isreal, the pastor said and introduced the rest to them and they just looked at him saying nothing.
“We are not here with water to wash you, but we are here with the blood that is able to cleanse. We are not here to deliver you, but we c@mĀ£ with the word that can deliver you all, are you re-ady to listen to us? The pastor continued and they all looked at themselves still wondering what his talking about and I stood up clearing my throat.
“I un-derstand what’s going throu-gh your head right now but trust me when I said we really nee-d this, its very important, I said to them.
“You want to join sister Mercy? Cecilia who was R@pĀ£d spoke up.
“Cecilia calm down, my mother said.
“Because she’s your daughter huh? So because they R@pĀ£d you last time you’ve come back from the city to return the favour huh? She continued.
“Sister Mercy meant well for us but she met the wrong people. I ran away to seek answers and i have, just listen to them okay, I said and Cecilia scoffed.
“Can we bow our heads let’s pray, pastor Isreal said and led in a short prayer and began to preach.
It was a long preaching of salvation, hitting the nail on our heads and everyone was very quiet listening. At a point Charity bec@mĀ£ hungry and I took her from her grandmother to feed her and that was when I noticed it was past 9pm yet no one felt it. I smiled looking at them and put Charity to sleep after eating, and that was when Pastor Isreal was now praying for them.
“Thank you Pastor, I heard them said and I almost shouted in the bus I was with Charity and I c@mĀ£ out carrying her.
“No don’t thank us but thank God. We’ll continue in the morning, the pastor said and I smiled at my mom who drew me close.
“Let me prepare something for you all to eat, my mother said.
“No plea-se we are on fast, the pastor replied always with smiles.
“Okay what about a place to sleep? Cecilia asked and it got me very surprised.
“There is no sleep for us my dear, we will be awake here tarrying. Just go rest yourself for the night, the pastor who took care of Charity replied her.
“You mean you’ll sleep outside? The midwife asked and I smiled.
“Don’t worry they will be fine and thank you so much for giving them a listening ear, I said to them.
“Go rest we’ll see in the morning okay, pastor Isreal said and that was how everyone slowly went in.
That night it was from one gisting to the other with my mother who could not wait to hear all that happened to me. I told her everything, the ones that will make her shout she shouted, the ones that will make her cry she cried. But in all she was very grateful that I c@mĀ£ back with her grand daughter and when we were about to sleep, that was when the prayer team started with choruses in the compound and I checked the time to see it was few minutes past 12am.
The next morning I woke up to see Charity alone in the room still slee-ping, and I went out to see everyone outside listening to the pastor who took care of Charity. Ahhhhhh! The seriousness and sober look on their faces meant a lot to me as I stood by the door looking at them. Then an altar call was made;
“If you know from your heart you want to experience this power, you want to feel his presĀ£nce and you believe that only Jesus can save and only him alone has the answer and solution to your problems, let’s see your hands up, the pastor said and that was how hands were raising one by one.
“Okay can you stand up plea-se let’s see you, Pastor Isreal c@mĀ£ in and I was surprised to see everyone up and that was when Charity woke up and gave me a signal inside.
When I c@mĀ£ out with her i saw them all on their knees as prayers were made for them. They confessed with their mouth accepting Jesus and the joy in my heart was overflow.
“Welcome to the new faith, but there’s something the Lord showed me as we prayed here last night, Pastor Isreal said and turned to the pastor who took my daughter; Pastor Marcus.
“The blood of the innocent and a prophet is speaking. A prophet was killed by your fathers! You know when the bible said “tĀ©uƧh not my anointed and do my prophet no harm” it was not a joke, he meant it. I am seeing people like us holding the bible entering this village as missionaries, and I am seeing hvge men who felt they matters in the village blocking them. The missionaries who insisted to share the light, I see them caught and buried alive, Pastor Isreal said and my eyes bulged out.
“After some months, I am seeing a man and his teen daughter entering this village. Then he began to preach the word, and someone from this family ganged up with other boys and dragged them into the bush. I see the throat of the prophet cut off by your own blood, and I see him carrying the girl on his shoulder into this compound as his slave to lvst ra-ping her constantly until she died, he buried her here but before she gave up she spoke a word; By the sword will the sons of this family go, and by r@pĀ£ will the daughters of this family suffer. In tears will they live all their lives!
You all are drinking from the cu-p of sins your father filled up and left for his children and unborn children to suffer from. If there is any old man still alive in this village, let them come out and tell me otherwise, pastor Isreal said and my heart was so heavy.
Everyone was crying uncontrollably in the compound that people from the neighborhood ran in to see what is going on.
“Its true, my great grand mother who died last 2 years once was trying to tell us that your great fathers when she was still very small was one of the strong men in the village very wicked, a woman who c@mĀ£ in said but I was just sitting at the door on the ground out of this realm.
“Why should we suffer for what we don’t know! Chinenye screamed out.
“Matthew 23:31-32 says, therefore be ye witnesses that ye are the children of them which killed the Prophets. Fill ye up then the measures of your fathers.
Isaiah 14:21 even said; prepare slaughter for his children, for the iniquities of their fathers that they will not rise nor possess the land. Sometimes all the suffering and pain we go throu-gh are the seeds our fathers planted, and when you are not holding ti-ght unto Jesus, God visits the iniquities of the fathers unto even the fourth generation. But this day Lord we cry for mercy. Pardon the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your mercy. They have come to the knowledge of your word and have surrendered and this day we plead let the curse be lifted. Let the cu-p of their fathers be taken away forever, and the blood of your servants, let it speak no more. We bring the children those here and outside into a new covenant of life and fresh beginning with you. We bless them, no more death, pain, r@pĀ£ nor sorrow in this family. For you said whatsoever we bind on earth is bind in heaven and whatsoever we bless on earth is blessed in heaven, even this day Lord, we bless this land dedicating it also into this new covenant. I speak peace, No child born again will suffer what he or she knows nothing about and we put a stĀ©p to the happenings of this place taking over and binding every territorial powers enjoying the sufferings of this children and will want to invoke any dead spirits on them. With this oil I put a seal freeing them from every curses in the name of the father, son and the holy spirit, Pastor Marcus prayed and poured the anointing oil in the compound and everyone screamed a big Amen.
“It is well with you all, Pastor Isreal said after he also made his own declarations and the villagers clinged on them asking for prayers.
In fact throu-gh us, we brou-ght salvation to the villagers because the whole news spre-ad as wildfire and mas-sive evangelism was done in the village………
TBC