About nine years ago, when I was a 400 level student in the faculty of Law at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, I got one of the most shocking revelations of my life. I was told that I was never a student of that institution because I was never admitted. All efforts to get to the admission officer that was in charge at that time failed because the man had been sacked for fraudulent activities and was being hunted by several people.

This news got me very devastated especially when I thought of how my mum, who brought us up as a widow was going to bear the fact that her efforts and expenses had been a waste. I spoke with one of the lecturers who encouraged me to try and write all my exams so that when the issue is finally sorted out, I’ll have some record to fall back on. I did series of fasting and prayers. I wrote several appeal letters to the dean of the faculty, the vice chancellor, the school senate, director of students’ affairs and all. I even remember one time when I sat at the gate to the VC’s residence for hours praying and waiting for him to come out so that I can ambush him with my crying. I was chased away. I was so heartbroken that I tried to threaten and blackmail God with all the “Father to the fatherless” sentiments I could whip up, all to no avail!

I came back home deflated, pretending through the congratulations I got from my mum and siblings but couldn’t hold it in for too long. My mum was critically ill and admitted in the hospital, “This news will just kill her” I thought to myself. I ran to Pastor Charles and Pastor Kech and explained everything to them. I remember Pastor Charles being very furious at the school system for not being able to detect the abnormality early enough. Pastor Charles even tried to see if some people he knew in the school were still there, because he attended that school, but there was none. They finally asked me what I wanted, whether to write JAMB and start again or wait for this issue to be resolved. I said wasn’t going to start again. So they prayed and agreed with me in that light. Pastor Kech recommended the message The waves of Favour by Pastor Charles and I took them and kept listening to them. My faith was rekindled. I mustered up courage and prayerfully broke the news to my mum she took a deep breath, held my hands. We prayed together and she encouraged me saying that everything was going to be fine. I went to Ekpoma and gave all my credentials to a particular senior lecturer that God obviously touched to favour me. He promised to keep trying to help.

And so the waiting began. Without totally ignoring the situation, I decided to focus on church activities which were enough to take my attention. Along the line I got married to my wonderful husband who was there from the very beginning being my campus fellowship pastor on campus, he knew all about the glooming challenge and yet chose to stand by me in faith for as long as it will ever take. My wonderful in-laws were very understanding and encouraging. They never gave me an attitude to suggest that I was going to be a liability in fear that I might have to start all over again. Also along the line, the Holy Spirit Himself gave me a skill in cake making and decorating. Besides the fact that it was a great source of income for me, I quickly adopted it as a shield and defense to questions like “What do you do?” or “What did you study?” Needless to say that my self-esteem was greatly battered! Without saying the words, I comfortably gave off the impression that I voluntarily gave up my law profession for cake making and became very dodgy of loved ones who would ask the real question: “Soton, how far with your school matter?” As far as I was concerned they were living in the past. I almost got carried away living in denial and accepting “cake designer” as my new identity and probably God’s plan B for my life, but I thank God for my husband, my family, my close friends and my pastors who restrained me from forgetting my faith project.

I remember once when I sent pictures of some of my very creative cake designs to Pastor Kech expecting her to be happy for me and my newly discovered escape route. Her response literally delivered me. She said, “Soton these are wonderful! Truly wonderful, but I will only accept it and celebrate it after you have gotten your certificates and have by yourself decided to put them away to go into cake making. That is more honorable.” It was the bitter truth. Thus in spite of all the pressure from my well-meaning customers to make complimentary cards, have a website and things like that to generally take the business to the next level I decided to keep it moderate. All this while, about six years had gone by. It became really uncomfortable to call the only lecturer that was helping me in school because he had now advised me to get a JAMB form and start over.

One night on my way back home from rehearsal, I got a call from the same lecturer, this had not happened in like four years. When I picked the call he simply said to me, “Madam your result has been approved by senate. Come and take it and go to law school when you’re ready.” You can imagine the joy that this news brought to me, my family, my in-laws, my dear pastors and everyone who knew my story.

January 2013, after seven years l had left the university I was finally qualified to go to law school. I did all I was meant to do in order to facilitate the admission except that I forgot not to get pregnant. The new challenge was how I was going to cope. I heard many scary stories of how tedious law school is, from people who went to the law school as singles. There I was married, with a two year old son, pregnant, and worse still with a brain filled with about four years of marriage experience, singing and cake making. There was so much pressure to defer the admission to this year when my baby would be older. Of course I resisted them I couldn’t think about deferring an admission I waited seven years for. I spoke to pastor about it and she agreed with me that I was going to be fine against all odds. October came. It was my month of delivery and resumption at law school and consequently a month of great financial responsibility for my husband and me. I had chosen the Bayelsa campus in order to be close enough to my family and for my mum who will have to come frequently to take care of my baby. Just as I was about to resume, God reminded my mum of an angel He had stationed in Bayelsa to take care of me; an unlikely vessel. It was her sister’s step-daughter. According to God’s perfect plan, Aunty Ayaba and her husband insisted that I stayed in their home rather than rent a house. The money for rent was not even available after school fees and all the burning expenses.

I resumed at the law school with birth stitches, my suckling child and a physically not ready brain. The first two weeks was a horror. Every single word and action by my fellow students oppressed me and tried to instill fear in me. I had to snap out of that state immediately. I prayed in tongues more than ever before sometimes even while the lecture was on, after all I did not understand much. Of course God came through for me. I sent mails to Pastor and she responded with the most encouraging, kind and soothing words. My brain miraculously got revitalized. I began to move with supernatural strength and speed. I spent 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Sundays on my books and thanks to my lovely aunty and her family, my baby was well taken care of. Before I knew it, I became an intellectual force among my fellow students. God caused me to stand out during all class activities, tests the court and chambers attachments, and even during our mock exams.

The main exams finally came. The tension was almost irresistible. People were collapsing while reading, I heard strange prayers at night, saw people rub their foreheads, their feet, and their pens their chairs and tables with olive oil or anointing oil, as they say. I seemed to be doing nothing but God constantly reminded me that He did not bring me that far to disgrace me. The exam was for just one week. I remember physically trembling and some days crying just before each paper only to get into the hall, pray in tongues for about two minutes open the question paper and discover that God actually led me to areas of concentration out of the extremely wide scope of study. I was reminded every day of that week that His grace was sufficient for me. I finished strong and came home to my family.

I really thank God for keeping my family through these times, for using my dear mother and sister Lolia to make the weight of my absence almost nonexistence to my son. My husband got a better job which he wasn’t exactly qualified for, and for which he now has an official brand new car. Hallelujah. Also on the 1st of March 2014, God miraculously delivered my husband from death in a motor accident that claimed no fewer than 5 lives on one of his trips to see us in Bayelsa. We really can’t tell it all.

Like every good fight of faith, there is always an expected end. Our results finally came out, but before I could check my own, the news everywhere was that the result was the worst ever recorded by the law school. I also heard that the lecturers had been pleading with the director-general to give bonus marks to every student in order to improve the result. At this point I began hope that I will be amongst many exceptional students I already heard had made passes. My husband stepped up to the plate and checked it because I just couldn’t. To my amazement I was amongst the very few that made a 2.2 in the exams Hallelujah! My expectation to end in glory was not cut short. Today, to the uttermost shame of the enemy and the exceeding glory of my Jehovah Shalom, after eight years of graduating from the university, against all the odds with my LLB certificate and my call to bar certificate and I believe that my God who has made these eight years seem like eight days is able to restore all the lost time to me. I thank my darling husband, my dear mother, my sweet sister Lolia and her family, all my in-laws, friends and family, and of course my very dear pastors. All the faith I rode on all these years were birthed from the rich Word of God taught from this pulpit. Brethren, WITH GOD NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.