THE STRANGE PROPOSAL
Part 18
©Franca Uwuigiaren
I entered the bedroom with breakfast on the tray when I saw Oroma looking worried, her phone beside her.
“Why is your face like this?” I asked, dropping the tray on the stool beside the bed.
“It’s Papa,” she said.
Yesterday, she tried to reach her father, but he didn’t answer her call, so she had to call her mother to ask after him. Surprisingly, her mother was with him.
“Why, then, was he refusing to answer my call? Did he put his phone on silence?” I had asked myself.
After exchanging pleasantries with her mother and answering a few questions, she finally told her mother that she had been trying to reach her father, but he wasn’t picking up the calls.
“He is here with me,” her mother replied.
“Can you please give him your phone, let me speak with him?”
We could hear Papa asking his wife who the caller was.
“It’s your daughter.”
“Which of them?”
“Oroma,” mama answered impatiently.
A few moments later, he answered.
“Hello, Oroma,” he began.
“For your information, I am out of the hospital. I didn’t die, like your husband planned.”
“Ahhh!” I exclaimed, almost whispering. My wife was quiet for a moment, I guess she was surprised by her father’s outburst.
“Papa, why would you think my husband planned to kill you? Please, my husband is not an evil person,” she told him.
“I don’t have any fight with you, my daughter; it’s with your husband. Do you think I don’t know those places he visits to acquire power…in fact, I know where he went to do juju to kill me, just because he wants to stop me from carrying you to the shrine?”
My wife had looked exasperated at me.
“My husband is a Christian, Papa. He knows only His God.”
“I pity you, my daughter…no wonder you’re in the condition you are. The story of the River goddess is to divert my attention. Your husband has used you…very soon, he will start having money to spend and probably marry more wives when you eventually die.”
“That’s not true. I don’t like how you’re talking about my husband like that,” she said, almost sobbing.
“Oh, you don’t like how I am talking about your husband, but your husband can kill me and my sons…and…and what would you say? If his plans had succeeded, what would you have said?”
“Papa…”
“Will you shut up and listen to me? By the time I am done with him…even the gods of his father’s house won’t be able to rescue him. When he brings you home…I will have my chance…the…the…community will deal with him.” He said angrily.
“When he brings me home…what do you mean, Papa?”
I collected the phone from Oroma.
“Good evening, Papa. I heard everything you told my wife. Please, I never planned evil against you. I didn’t visit any shrine or altar to do juju against you. I’m a bonafide child of God. Please, Papa, Oroma is my wife, and I will never hurt her. I never used her for rituals like you’re insinuating.”
“Let me ask you just one question, Obiama.”
“Alright, sir!”
“Where did you get the power you’re using? I have tried you, and I know you have power. Obiama, how did you acquire the power you’re using? Even where I went to, I was told the same thing. So you can’t pretend as if you don’t know what I am talking about.”
“I know that Luke 10:19 says God has given me power and authority to trample upon snakes and scorpion, and nothing shall by any means hurt me. I’m a child of God, and I have his power and authority.”
“You’re talking gibberish. I will deal with you. I will show you who I am.”
“But what is my offense? I only said I don’t want my wife to be taken to a shrine.”
“You have no right to stop me. You want to challenge me…you proved that you have juju.”
“How?”
There was no response, as Papa had cut the line. I handed the phone to my wife. She had called the lines again, but there was no response, so I told her to wait till today.
This morning, entering the room, she looked worried again.
“I decided to call him today, and he won’t answer his call.” Oroma said, bringing me back to the present.
“If he doesn’t want to pick your call, leave it. He will come around. Probably, you try later,” I told her. She nodded her head.
I left her to wash the dirty clothes. Later, when I came in, she asked why I was calling her.
“You know I can’t come out and meet you. You should have asked any of the kids to tell me what you wanted. I was even calling the children, but because the television was on, they couldn’t hear me.”
“Me call you? I didn’t, oo.”
“It was your voice I heard. You called me up to five times.”
“And you responded?”
“Yes! I was answering, but it was like you didn’t hear me.” She said, looking at me.
“It’s alright. I want you to know that whatever voice you heard isn’t mine. I never called you.”
My Oroma looked at me in shock.
“Then who called me?”
“I don’t know who’s calling your name, but if it’s for evil, my God will answer them by fire in the name of Jesus. You will never answer the call of death, in the name of Jesus.
“Amen!”
I stood up from the chair, took her hands, and prayed for her. After which, I told her about my observation on the children. Their health has improved so much that I stared at them in awe. In two weeks’ time, school would be resuming, and they were so excited about it.
“I observed too. They’re getting stronger, and their necks and ribs are filling too. They no longer depend on you or Dokubo for movement.” Oroma said.
“These days, Boma rushes his food and asks for more.” I told her, and she smiled.
We chatted for a long time, and suddenly, my spiritual eyes opened, and I saw four men walk inside the sitting room, carrying a coffin. They placed it in the middle of the sitting room. It was a white coffin. I was surprised as one of them opened it, and when I peeped, I saw Oroma on it, with cotton wool blocking her nostrils. I stood motionless as I stared at her. Just as I raised my head to ask them what happened, I didn’t see the coffin bearers anymore.
When I turned to look at Oroma, she stared at me with concern on her face.
“I have been talking to you, but you were staring into space.” She said.
“What is it? Did you see a ghost?”
“I saw something,” I told her, taking her hand in mine and squeezing gently.
“The devil is a liar, Oroma. No member of this my family will be devoured by the enemies.”
“Amen!” She chorused, nodding her head.
I told her the vision I saw.
“God forbid! No weapon that is formed against me shall prosper in the name of Jesus.” She said.
“Amen! Isaiah 7:7 says, thus says the Lord, it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. Oroma, every arrow of death shot into your life will not stand, in the name of Jesus.”
“Amen!”
“The Bible also says that surely, they shall gather, but because the gathering is not of the Lord’s, they shall scatter.”
“Yes!” I made so many declarations upon my wife as she kept saying “Amen!”
Later, I received a call from Pastor Moses. He wanted to see me. I told my wife, then left home. The pastor had not reached the church when I got there. Shortly after I entered the premises, I was surprised to see Sarah coming in. She was without her car and in tears too. I was about to ask what the problem was when the pastor drove into the compound. We exchanged pleasantries before entering the church.
“I wanted to discuss with you concerning a program coming up, but Sarah called that she wants to see me.” Pastor told me.
Sarah’s eyes were flooded in tears as she looked at us.
“I’m penniless!” She said.
I was surprised, but Pastor Moses wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, he was waiting for her to say more, and Sarah seemed to get the drift.
“I was two streets away going out to see a friend who needed my attention when a neighbour called that my house had collapsed.”
“Collapsed? Hope no one was injured?” I asked.
“No one lives there except me and the housemaid.”
“Thank God she wasn’t home at the time it happened.” She said.
“Thank God!” I said.
“The cars disappeared, and…”
“Ahhh! What of other houses?” I asked in shock.
“I don’t want to have anything to do with those houses anymore. I don’t want to associate myself with the houses. The money I used in building those houses were from Queen Mother.”
“Okay!” I said.
“I…wanted to make a transfer only to discover that my accounts are empty. Nothing there. The River goddess is responsible. She just wants to frustrate me. I have been sleeping in a friend’s house and I…I…don’t know what to do” she said, crying.
I sighed deeply and looked at Pastor Moses, who was listening attentively.
“You don’t need to cry, Sarah,” Pastor said. “The Bible didn’t lie when it says that the gift of God adds no sorrow. The devil doesn’t give free gifts. Be glad that God saved you. In fact, you should be dancing and laughing at the devil.”
Sarah wiped her tears. “If only God would open your eyes and see what the devil planned for you. By their ordination, you were supposed to die in that house. You were supposed to be in the house when it collapsed.”
“Ahhh!” she said, placing her hands on her head.
“But God is ahead of them. You remember you had an emergency call and you rushed out of the house. You hadn’t gone far when the house collapsed, and a neighbour called you.”
“Jesus! It’s true, Pastor. I was cooking when that call came in. I turned off the gas, then asked my maid to rush to the supermarket to get me ice cream. Come to think of it now, I am not a person that likes ice cream.”
“Sarah, what did the Bible say in Isaiah 59:19? That when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” God disappointed their craftiness.”
“Thank you, faithful God,” she said, going on her knees.
“By their plans, you’re supposed to die, but Lamentations 3:37 asked, ‘Who is he that says and it comes to pass when the Lord has not commanded it?’ Sarah, only God has the authority and power to speak and bring things to pass. If something happens, it is because God has ordained or allowed it. The queen mother and her agents have no authority over your life.”
She sighed.
“The church of God is not going to abandon you, Sarah. We’re behind you, backing you up until you’re on your feet again. We will get you an accommodation. While you’re looking for a job, we will support you financially.”
She began to cry.
“You should be glad, Sarah.” I told her.
“I am! I’m just overwhelmed that you will get an accommodation for me.” She said.
“No true church of God abandons her child.” He told her.
We nodded our heads.
“Give me a few days to sort out your accommodation issue. I will engage the service of an agent to get a good place for you. Which location would you prefer?”
He asked. Sarah told him, and he said it’s alright. She was relaxed.
Having settled Sarah’s case, the pastor told me the reason he wanted to see me, and we discussed it. Before I left, I encouraged Sarah to engage in warfare prayers and be sensitive. As usual, she was thankful that I brought her to the house of God and she was grateful to the pastor.
As I left the church premises, I couldn’t help but think about the mysteries of life. Sometimes, things happen, and we don’t understand why. But one thing is certain: God is always with us, even in the midst of challenges. And with Him, we can overcome anything.
I got home, and my wife was worried again. I didn’t ask immediately but went straight to the kitchen to prepare food first, after which I sat with her to find out what the problem was.
“It’s about your job, dear… you know I have been praying about it recently because the money you have… after clearing debts, paying the current school fees… money is reducing… and books will be bought too.”
“Okay.”
“I really want us to take time to fast concerning it… you need a job.”
“You’re right!”
“When you left, I dreamt that I entered a company, and as I was talking to the receptionist, a woman came to the receptionist too, carrying a trash basket. On the basket were envelopes. On the T-shirt she wore was written ‘cleaner.'”
“Okay!”
“The cleaner told the receptionist that madam asked her to burn them. The receptionist asked her to put the envelopes on the table.”
“Okay! So what did the receptionist do with the envelopes?” I asked curiously.
“The receptionist began to tear open the envelopes, and… and I saw yours among those to be burnt.”
She told me almost in tears. “I collected the CV and was looking at it when the cleaner dragged it from me and told me she’s going to follow instructions. She packed all the envelopes and CVs inside the basket. As she was going, I ran after her before waking up.”
“Ahhh, Jesus!” I exclaimed.
“We really need to intensify our prayers.”she said.
I sat on the bed, pondering what she told me. The devil is fighting me everywhere. Actually, I have been looking at the money in my account, and I know it’s going down. I have been wondering why no company has even called me for an interview or employment.
“Alright, dear, we will fast and pray concerning it.” I told her.
After eating dinner, I called the kids, and we shared God’s word, prayed together before bidding them goodnight. I hadn’t climbed the bed when my father called. He wanted to know how we were doing. I told him we are fine. Then he told me his reasons for calling.
“We have not heard from you for a long time,” my father said. “Your mother keeps dreaming about your death, and it calls for concern. Everywhere we go, the same message keeps coming that the river goddess is after your life. Obiama, the only solution is to accept her proposal, and I tell you, everything about you will change. Right now, we want you home.”
“For what?” I asked.
“Just come home. Everything for the sacrifice is ready.”
“What sacrifice are you talking about, Papa? Can you stop going to the river to offer sacrifices?” I asked, getting angry.
“The sacrifice is to appease the goddess to spare your life, to show you mercy, but you have to agree to the proposal,” he replied.
“Papa, my life and that of my children and wife are in God’s hand. Whatever you do, ensure you don’t mention my name. I disassociate myself and my family from whatever you want to do in the river,” I said firmly.
“Obiama…” he started to say, but I cut him off.
“Papa, no one should call me for such things.
It’s alright!” He said, but I could sense his reluctance. I tried to engage him in other discussions, but he didn’t respond well. He soon cut the call, and I told God that whatever my parents would do at the river, the consequences would not come close to me and my family.
In the following days, we engaged in fasting and prayers. There were many things to pray for. My spirit was charged and active. Daily, I saw my Oroma growing and declaring God’s word upon her life, and it gladdened my heart. My kids were on fire for God too.
Then we noticed that every night at 1 a.m., movement would be heard on the roof of the house, making sleep very difficult, as if someone was stomping on the roof. It got to the point that the kids had to run into our room out of fear. We prayed and prayed until it stopped.
One night, we were all sleeping when the Holy Spirit woke me up. He told me to pray intently, and I jumped out of bed and started praying. As I prayed, He directed me on how to pray, and it was a prayer against death. Oroma woke up and joined in the prayers. We asked God to frustrate the plans of our enemies. We released the fire of God on an invisible coffin following us. For over an hour, we prayed, fortifying the environment with the fire of the Holy Spirit. By the time we finished, Oroma was sweating, and I had to put the fan on the highest and get cold water and clean her with a face towel.
When I went to bed to sleep, I saw four men being dragged into my sitting room by military men. They were asked to carry the coffin they left in my sitting room. This time, Oroma wasn’t inside the coffin, and I was relieved.
“We can’t carry it because we were assigned,” one said.
The slap he received almost blinded him as he fell. A great fear descended upon them as they bent down and carried the coffin out of the house.
“We will follow them until the coffin is returned to the sender,” one of the military men said.
“Of course!” Others chorused.
“They dare not drop it elsewhere.” Another military man said.
When the revelation passed, I praised God so much. There’s a thing God will do for you, and you will not know how to praise Him. God does beautiful things for us. Imagine a coffin in my house!
Many people have spiritual coffins in their houses or coffins following them wherever they go. Such ones have been marked for death. The next thing you hear is that the person had an accident, or he slumped, or he slept and didn’t wake up, or he fell sick. It could be that he or she had a quarrel, and a push, slap, or blow took the life of such a person. Some are already killed spiritually.
Every Christian must be sensitive in the Spirit. Must be hot, not hot today and cold tomorrow. Your name should be creating terror and fear in the kingdom of darkness.
I really danced, thanking God for the victory.
The first call I got that morning was from my father-in-law. I picked the call, but he wouldn’t say anything. Twice he called, and twice I picked, but he wouldn’t say anything. Each time I called back, he wouldn’t pick my calls.
I woke up one night because my phone was ringing. The caller was my father-in-law. Looking at the wall clock, it was past twelve.
“Why this call at this time of the night? I hope there’s no problem?” I asked rhetorically.
Just when I was about to answer the call, the holy spirit stopped me. I just left the bedroom to the sitting room to study my bible when it started ringing again. The holy spirit instructed me to switch off the phone and I did.
The following day we started noticing cats wailing mournfully at the windows, making it difficult to sleep. It became an everyday thing. Sometimes one would think it’s a new born baby crying. It was so disturbing.
The moment I open the window to peep, they would stop wailing, and when I close the window, it would continue. There was a night we even opened the door, armed with a cutlass and wood to kill the cats, but alas, there was nothing out there. Yet, when we return inside, the cats would give loud mournful yowling.
Last night, Alabo ran into the bedroom, so angry.
“These cats are not ordinary. They’re evil and on assignment.”
“Whatever assignment they came for, God will frustrate them,” Oroma said.
“Amen!” I chorused.
“Why is he disturbing us? What did we do to him?” Alabo asked, and I raised my brows, wondering what he was saying.
“Let’s pray,” I told him instead.
Three of us held hands together and began to pray. It was the kind of prayer you pray in anger when the devil gets you annoyed. We prayed! We heard the cats run round the roof, round the premises, shrieking as if pursued.
After prayers, I told Alabo to go and sleep. Just as he got to the door entrance, he came back and stood in front of his mother.
“That cat is your father,” he said bluntly.
“How?” Oroma asked, her lips quivering.
She looked at me, then settled her gaze on him.
“I see him whenever he comes. God always shows me. Grandpa transforms into whatever he wants. He is the cat disturbing us. Tell him to stop what he is doing.” Alabo told her.
My wife stared after him as he marched out angrily. Actually, we had never seen Alabo get angry like this. Me too, stared after him before coming to take my seat beside Oroma.
“I’m sorry, Obiama,” she said, her eyes misty.
“Sorry for what?” I asked.
“I know it’s my father causing all these troubles. I saw him too. I have been praying that the Lord reveal who my father is, and He did. What He showed me concerning Papa shook me. My father has a lot of blood on his hands, but…I couldn’t say it to you. It was shameful…and disgraceful to associate oneself with such a man.” She said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Thank God you now know who he is,” I said, trying to comfort her.
“The trouble he wants to bring you is to cause my death…”
“Of course, that’s not possible. Oroma, I serve a living God. The Bible says greater is He that’s in me than he that’s in the world. In all things, I am more than a conqueror. If God be for me, who can be against me? No power. If your father doesn’t stop this, God is going to disgrace him.”
Oroma sighed deeply.
“So my dad wants me dead.”
“Oroma, your head will never be a target of the enemies. Your head will not carry any evil load. Death isn’t your portion. Whosoever digs a pit for you shall fall inside.”
“Amen!” She chorused.
We went to bed and slept soundly believing that God will disgrace our enemies and give us all round victory.
To be continued…
