THE EVANGELIST...PART 12

©Temi Akintade

I was welcomed with an uproar by the time I came back to the town where I stayed. Even the town chiefs wanted to see me because I spoke a word, and it came to pass. Some of their roads were constructed, and the town now had tap water instead of streams and boreholes. I was elated when I saw and heard of this news. The teenage club grew even more and their faith grew as well. Even the boys' football team grew and we finally got some sneakers from Dimeji who donated money to buy twenty pairs of sneakers for footballers. The boys were happy. Even, I, was happy so much so that we danced to the tune of the local women who sang in Hausa dialect that evening.

The missionary's wife shared Baked beans (Moi-Moi) with the happy boys. I couldn't eat the baked beans because God had commanded me to be fasting since I arrived at the village. That night, after I returned to the house, the missionary and his wife called me that they had something to discuss with me. I was curious to know what they had to say so we sat in the small sitting room and conversed.

"Remember how you told us two months ago that God was going to visit us?" The husband said. I nodded wondering where all this was going but I noticed that his wife was grinning.

"Yes, I remember."

"Well, two days ago when you told us you were coming. She noticed that she was feeling dizzy and sleepy more than necessary so I advised her to take a pregnancy test. She went to the town clinic and brought back a positive test."

I was dazed.

"Pastor my wife is 2 months pregnant!" Tears slide down his cheeks. "After so many years, our God did it."

I dropped to my knees and began to praise God. We danced, cried, and praised God all the same. I was also shocked that God who put his word in my mouth, brought it all to pass. I was so excited. That night, I slept with smiles on my face.

The following day, I went to the riverside, as usual, meditating on scriptures and waiting to hear from God. It was then that I observed some groups of Ravens. The birds usually came towards that area during the harmattan season according to the locals. The birds flew across the sky until I couldn't see them anymore.

'It's time son.'

I turned to check if someone was behind me. Speaking to me but there was no one. Instead, it was just me alone with God. That means my time was up in Kaduna. A sudden cloak of sadness covered me. If I leave who would take care of the teenage boys? What about the church? What about the teenage girls?

'You don't love them as much as I do. This was just your training field. You are going to command a huge dimension of wealth in your lifetime but I brought you here for you to know that the wealth is not for you. It is for missionaries, kingdom work, it is to finance the gospel, and financing the gospel also means providing for these young ones. Write it down, don't ever forget this.'

I fell on my knees, weeping. I didn't care if anyone would see me, their most respected evangelist in that way. "But you called me here as an evangelist father."

'I have called everyone in Christ to be an evangelist. To preach the gospel. However, there are certain people I have called to do full time and you must support them with your resources.'

Tears trickled down my beards. I suddenly wanted to tell God to leave me in Kaduna. I suddenly derived pleasure in teaching the teenage boys and girls but there was something about following the will of God. "Father just help me to do your will."

The joyful laughter of the teenage boys forced me on my feet and in no time, I wiped the tears from my face. I didn't want them to see me in tears. Besides I had much to say to them.

When we finished the praise session, they settled down for the teaching sermon. That was when I noticed that, the meeting was growing. There were more teenage girls now and few young adults who wanted to hear me speak like Kauna. At the end of the service, I stayed back to counsel the teenagers and Kauna was the last person I counseled. "Why don't you go back to the university?" My free hand was stuffed in my pocket while my other hand clutched my Bible. I was walking home and Kauna decided to walk me home too.

Strangely, I noticed that I no longer feel the way I use to whenever I'm with women most especially Kauna. Maybe it was because I always forced my mind on the things of God and the things we were talking about rather than the things that could easily affect a man. But I still have to thank the Holy Spirit for my self-control otherwise, controlling myself would have been difficult.

"University? What course will I read? Besides I heard that when a woman goes higher in her education, she would never get a husband to marry her." She folded her arms now.

I threw my head back in laughter. The moon was full tonight, such that I could almost see her dark features. Her smooth face and new hairstyle. The one she had called 'two-hand' I'm still wondering if two people had plaited the hair or why was it called 'two-hand'?

"See, the higher you go in life, the higher your choices become and the higher your chances of becoming a great model to the upcoming. You are a born-teacher Kauna." I stopped to face her. I wasn't sure if my confidence unnerved her because she unfolded her arms and tucked them under her yellow blouse. "I have seen you teach those kids who know practically nothing! But after their first contact with you, their lives transformed with the little you know."

She nodded as if to affirm my last statement.

"Wake up to the potentials in you! Forget about superstitions and break them. Be the first woman who will get to the peak of her career and still get married to a movie man. Don't you want to give back to your community?"

"I do." Her tone was firm with determination.

Just then, some group of naked children ran past us, springing dirt to our shoes. We watched them under the full moon until they were out of the distance. Then I turned to her. "The destinies of those children and many more in this village are tied to you. And God will hold you accountable if you don't rise to who he has created you to be. If I had told God that I wasn't coming to your village, that means I wouldn't meet you and the others! That means the good road and water that you enjoy today, wouldn't have come if I didn't come on time! So stop all this naivety and wake up to your call! Go and study a course maybe child psychology in education. I will help with the fees." I blurted before I could stop myself.

How was I going to get the fees when I wasn't even working in the first place?

Kauna thanked me, full of determination that night. She said she would go into town tomorrow and get a form for the entrance exams into the university to study the course I just told her.

That night, before going to bed, I told God to give me a sign that I should leave Kaduna. Then I dozed off.