THE EVANGELIST PART 14
©Temi Akintade
12 MONTHS LATER
Life in Lagos was not as fun as I have imagined. The gridlock on the lekki peninsula road was something else every working days including Friday nights. Banjo my cook once told me of how robbers stole from car owners while they were in traffic.
"How was he able to steal from them?" I asked him, clearly infuriated by his story.
"Because the car owners rolled down their glasses. So they stole and ran. No one can stop thieves in a traffic jam so everyone started rolling up their windows." He said.
But I was used to Lagos now. I was fully adjusted to living the Lagos life. I woke up before 6:00 AM every working days and I returned home by 7 PM or 8 PM at most. Sundays we're not left out. Because of the stress of driving long distances, I decided to attend the church on the estate. The church was large and it cannot be compared to the church I left behind in Kaduna. The church in my estate had beautiful flowers that surrounded it and formed a heart shape. I later thought that maybe because the church's name was called 'heart of Christ' that was why the flowers were formed into a heart shape.
Asides from the beauty, and the ambiance the church had to offer, I also loved the choir. They wore colourful clothes and always seem to sing Amazing Grace every Sunday. Somehow, I wished that I would be able to replicate the same in Kaduna.
On a Sunday I attended, it was the day that I told myself that I was going to join a department in the church to render free services to God. I was still thinking about it when the Holy Spirit led me to scripture where Jesus Christ told the little children to come unto him. I shut my Bible immediately and tried to force my mind back on the pastor who had just mounted the platform to preach. Surely the Holy Spirit could never tell me to join the Children's church or would he?
"I don't know, but the Holy Spirit wants me to tell someone seated here in this congregation that, you should join the children's church and serve God there…" my heart flew to my mouth and I froze instantly. My eyes never left the pastor's grey-cut suit even though he was already preaching the sermon. How on earth would I care for kids? I could deal with teenagers but kids were a handful! There was no way I could do that.
"Father you can't do this to me." I half-whispered.
Soon service ended, I grabbed my Bible and walked stiffly to the children's church behind the big church building. The children's church was rowdy with parents and children who kept running about. I kept my eyes trained on at least an official that could help put me through. I was still searching for someone I could speak to when a girl of about one-year-old, toddled around another boy her age. She was wearing a low-cut and her gown looked too big for her age. She was staring at the boy who in turn ran away from her. She busted into tears and began to cry. Instinctively, I lifted her in my arms and tried to placate her but she wouldn't stop crying until a dark-skinned lady walked up to me.
"She was crying so I wanted to help." I stuttered as I handed over the child.
She simply glared at me and walked away as I had just stolen her property. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't even sure if she was the owner of the child because the child was light-skinned while she was dark. But she already left before I could say another word. I was still staring at the empty spot she stood previously when a young lady around Kauna's age approached me. I explained all I wanted to know and she supplied all the information. She told me that the children teachers always prayer an hour before everyone arrives and then the teachers also teach the children after they have been spotted into different age groups. I enrolled with them, and I was told to teach age 1 to 2 years.
"I don't have a teaching experience." I tried to communicate my frustration to the lady who I have come to know as Rita.
"Don't worry you will learn. I have no experience too but I learnt fast." She flashed me a smile and handed me a T-shirt that I was supposed to wear for the next Sunday. As I drove home that afternoon, I began to wonder why God wanted me to be in the children's section instead of a more reputable place that my gifts and talents would be noticed. Or how else can you explain the fact that an evangelist, the managing director of a reputable oil company, be working as a children's teacher in his church?
I shook my head and ignored my gardener's greeting. My ego has been bruised and somehow, I felt like convincing God that I was going to the wrong department in the church but I knew better.
"Welcome oga. Your food is ready."
I almost jumped out of my skin by the time I saw Banjo dressed in his cook attire. White jacket on black trousers. He had a big white cap on his head too. I wanted to wipe off the grin on his face. Why was he home on a Sunday afternoon? I always never expected him home that early save in the evenings.
"Why are you here by this time? Didn't you go to church?" No staff of mine stayed back home from church except the Gardener who doubled as my driver. It was my rule and I intend to keep it that way.
"I went to morning mass, sir." He fumbled with his hands and I knew he had lied because he had done the same thing three days ago when I asked if he washed my restroom of which he affirmed to it. But the restroom was untouched.
"I…" I should correct him but somehow, I had too much on my plate to even think about scolding him for lying. So I marched upstairs ignoring him.
I massaged the new soap I got from the mall the previous day on my face. My assistant. Kemi a Yoruba lady who sold organics as a side hustle told me the benefits of the soap. She said it will clear my pimples within few days. This time, I hope it was true. I wasn't even sure if the pimples would leave any time soon because I was fond of buying those sweet roasted groundnuts that have been shelled and placed in transparent bottles on the table or sitting pretty on the rack of a supermarket store.
The day I finished the whole bottled groundnut in two hours, was the day that I could have sworn that a pimple emerged on my face followed by the others. And ever since, I have been fighting a battle that I hope to win. A battle of cleansing my face and returning it to its original state. I remembered the day I told Kauna about it she had laughed so much that I thought that she may not have any laughter left for days to come.
"When I come and visit, I will get you some locally made soap to help remove the pimples." But it was over a month ago and she never came because she called to tell me that God didn't want her to come. I was impressed that she had grown much in Christ to the point of hearing his voice and I was sad that I wouldn't have a known face around.
I rinsed my face and washed the other parts of my body. I stopped the shower and cleaned myself with the towel. My phone beeped and I rushed towards the bed to pick the call.it was my brother's message that came in. He said, he would be coming to Lagos the following week to spend his 2 weeks vacation with me.
I sighed and texted him back. I made a mental note to book his flight ahead and relaxed on the bed, naked, save for the blue coloured towel tied around my waist. Maybe if I had a wife, then she would urge me to change into something decent.
My lips tugged into a distant smile. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine how life would be like if I was married and had a girl child. Like the little girl, I saw in the children's church that afternoon.
Slowly and gradually, my smile grew until I drifted soundly into sleep.
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