Firstly, I would like to thank the entire congregation for your love and affection at the home-going of my wife. Time will fail me if I mention names and roles a lot of you played, especially our presiding Pastor. Thank you very much.

The passing of my wife, to say the least, took two-third of me away. I became hopeless and every other thing became worthless. I consistently cried and cried, in public, driving to work, returning from work and worst still, when alone at night. Severally, my heart felt like a sharp blade cut through it. Gradually, I began to sleep with suicidal thoughts within me.

We planned and planned, we concluded on my girls, and I was sure Boma, my in-law would uphold them morally even as I mentally set aside some funds for their education. For my son, I could not find a suitable individual for him. Every other night, thoughts centred around him was to no avail. Then the Father in His love stepped in. In a rear vision in broad daylight, I saw my son looking tattered, with mud smeared over him. It was a picture of a drug addict. Then I heard a voice saying, “This is what he would become if you had tried that nonsense”. From that day, I began to ignore the enemy and his thoughts.

Then the enemy invited his demon of insomnia to torment me. For about a week, sleep disappeared from my eyes. A sister in church who is a doctor, whom I ran into by chance, described my case as a serious one because I could not sleep for up to an hour every day. This time I stood against the enemy with the Word. My sister, Glory and I searched and found more Scriptures on God’s promises on “sleep”. So, I would walk around my room shouting, telling the enemy that he was responsible and not my Father. I would yell at him, scream, pray in tongues and everything else yet I still couldn’t sleep. I have experienced the power of God and was certain of victory, so I continued my resistance against the onslaught of the enemy. At, about the fifth day, when I was becoming weary, I heard in my spirit to play music. I obeyed by playing Stranger’s song on my PC. I guess I was just humming the first song when I slept off. I woke up the next day feeling so good. Praise the Lord!

I believe Satan got so enraged by this victory that he put out some more arsenal against me. Five months after the passing of my wife, my daughter, Topis and I were returning to the parking lot to drive home after a prayer meeting here on Greenville, when Edesiri called out to her. Immediately she left me for Edesiri, a vehicle on high motion picked me up and I landed head-on and lost consciousness. According to Uncle Ifeanyi who witnessed it, I went up 8 feet high. The plan was against my daughter and I and more extensively, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. What he did not know was that the good Lord also pre-planned my deliverance. The same Edesiri had seen the acts in a dream the night before the incident. He interceded, not knowing the victim and the Lord intervened and delivered me even before the enemy attacked. Hallelujah!

Then came OASIS 2019, by Word of knowledge, the presiding pastor called out to one under the oppression of the spirit of suicide.

I knew I was the one and tried to resist. Suddenly, a sensation like a mild flame came over my bum and I quickly jumped out to receive help. Since then, I have not only smelt the scent of water, but I have also begun to sprout again. I am here to stay and the Word of the Lord to me is, “While you are 80, you are 40”. Hallelujah!

Promotion

For over four years, promotions to a certain cadre in my organization were stalled and this affected me. My wife and I sought the face of the Lord in prayers and made vows alongside. One day, she came and announced that I was seen occupying a grade one level higher than what we were believing for. I hushed her and reminded her concerning the processes and procedures in our organization. She walked away with an attitude she and I regularly credited to Pastor Charles by declaring “Ewo lokani”, a phrase in  Yoruba which means wetin concern me. Well, four months after she passed, we were unexpectedly invited to write the promotion exams. Unlike before, a new rule which required a minimum score of 65% to qualify for the final level, was set. Immediately after the written exams, I knew that my score was 63 and told anyone that cared to ask, even my mother-in-law. Well, after the incident on Greenville, I was taken to the hospital. On the second day at the hospital, I awakened from a dream wherein there was a battle, and I was victorious. I quickly called a colleague and informed him that we shall be called for the next level. The result of the written test was published and  I scored 73. Then we heard that 10 marks were awarded across board. It was that colleague of mine, who is a member of church, that reminded me of the dream and that God had stepped in for my sake. Yes! I was promoted but that exercise caused the forceful retirement of about 500 staff nationwide, for poor performance.