Day 141 to 147 (19th Sept to 25th Sept)

I arrived in Nigeria safelyto the glory of God. The flight was quite nice on Arik. We had individual TV but no ear phone. I guess we were being thought how to lip read. Luckily I had my laptop earphone with me!

My first challenge now is last minute publicizing of the event. I deliberately fought a mindset of having no one turn up for the event, after all who knows We CAN in Nigeria? But this is not my vision. It is God’s. I totally depend on His help to get this off successfully.

I went from the airport to distributing fliers. And God opened doors of favour on Tuesday. My sister in law and I met a friend of hers at the bank who is into radio and TV. I met a media guru Taiye Akinpelu who is larger than life. She is such an extrovert and a talker. She would be great in publicizing We CAN. Before I could say Jack Robinson, I was on live Yoruba program the next day. Needless to say, my previous night’s dream was full of Yoruba (Nigerian language). The program went very well and we immediately started getting phone calls even before we came off air. Some people were even ‘flashing’ us!  There were also some interesting calls like 'I just wanted to hear your voice because I like it', 'I appreciate what you are doing and I have been praying for you because I know that God is going to make it big', 'how can you help me for visa' and so on. We got more people attend the event as a result of the TC program than event the Guardian newspaper advert.

The first day of the event started off slow but picked up. We had about fifty three people in attendance which was encouraging. All the speakers did very well and we had good questions at the end of the event. There is a hunger for empowerment in Nigeria among the popular masses. But people are constrained by lack of funds. There is definitely opportunity and the market for We CAN to impact lives through such programs. We have learnt a lot of lessons from this event; on how to reduce cost, what to charge and in particular the importance of publicity. God had also provided a much better and cheaper venue with all the equipment we need for the next events

My friend Begay arrived from Senegal on Wednesday. It was marvelous having her with my family here. This is not her first time in Nigeria as she used to come to the Oxfam office in Abuja but this is the first time she would be entering the ‘real’ Lagos. She is such a wonderful child of God. She is so passionate about God and her relationship with Him. I love being around her because her passion for God just keeps mine glowing. Not only her love for God but her passion and support for We CAN. She caught the vision right from the start and she has always been there. There are some relationships that is just good for you and for me this is one of mine, not only helping to execute my vision but also helping to build my relationship with Christ. A true child of God is she.

God has been so faithful. He provides what we need at the right time. It really works when you totally depend on Him. I have been opened to a different side of my relationship with God during this event.

We went to Daystar church today. It was awesome. The organization, the church interior, the time keeping was inspiring. I was not surprised given the leadership focus of the founder Pastor Sam Adeyemi, it was bound to be. I listened to a couple of his messages and I was impressed. I love his concept of combining spiritual growth with leadership, so much aligned with my passion. I wish they have a centre in South Africa.

Nigerians can worship. We went to the 7am service and the place was packed! The Wednesday service was packed as well. If only our heart is regenerated from our passion for worship

Deon arrived from South Africa today. This is his first time in Nigeria and even in West Africa. He is staying for three days. One thing that has struck him is the humidity. He is definitely not used to this. I’m still in awe to have such talented people in Nigeria for these events, Deon, Begay, Tosin, Tunde and Olalekan from Abuja. God definitely has a plan for Nigeria through We CAN. I don’t think I know the extent of it but I know that with how God has been opening doors of favour, nothing is impossible. I am just looking forward to enjoying the ride with my Father.

We took Deon to dinner at KFC on Allen Avenue. It was nice chatting with him and Begay and showing them the Nigerian night life. We are all set for tomorrow. The glory belongs to God

Day 113 to 119 (22nd to 28th Aug)

There is always something peaceful about coming back to one’s home Country, at least for me. I know some Nigerians who can’t wait to leave anytime they had to come home maybe for a family celebration or the other. The weather is cool and I’m going without needing a fan or air conditioner. It’s great.

There is a lot of logistical arrangements to organize for the event. My first priority is to get the bank account opened, followed by finalizing the hall rental and then the publicity materials and advert.

Monday morning saw me at First Bank, a long time established bank. I was able to open the Account without too much stress. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I have a savings account with First Bank which I drew down to bare minimum because I wanted to concentrate on my account at Intercontinental Bank, a new generation bank. Unfortunately, this bank has been going through some financial mismanagement crisis for a while now and I was advised to get my money out of it, so am back to my neglected ‘first wife’ so to speak. The First Bank branch where I used to go was a dreary place but they have now moved to a new building which is much more pleasant and the service is better. I couldn’t wait to revive my old account. We now have a We CAN bank account in Nigeria. My next target now is to register We CAN in the United Kingdom!

My next focus is to get the venue sorted and also the flier design. We were able to confirm the hall booking and eventually paid on Thursday. I have to say, I went through some panic attack before paying for the hall. Basically, once you pay, don’t expect a refund, so one has to be sure before you let your money go. I thank God for His guidance and assurance through His Words. Our vision to impact life through imparting knowledge, skills and information is in line with God’s command for us to love our neighbors. I know what we are doing is one demonstration of love, so it is right. We also have to work by faith. A successful and fulfilling life is not lived in the comfort of one’s chair, one has to get up, take a step and take the risk. You sow sparingly you reap sparingly, you sow bountifully you reap bountifully. .

The design of the flier was done by the brother of a friend of mine WG designs. I was impressed by his patience and commitment. The design turnaround was so fast, in less than 48 hours and he kept keeping me in the loop on the progress. I was really impressed. I hope he keeps this up and I will definitely be working with him from now and recommending him.

We now need to publicize the event. I’ve been trying to get in touch with friends and colleagues. One of the challenges of doing an event in Nigeria is this snobbish attitude about ‘name’. Some parts of the city example Ikoyi, Victoria Island wants to read popular names for seminars. But, we have decided to pitch the event at the masses. It’s not feeding the ego of the already privileged but the less privileged. If our goal is to make massive money then we can target the already rich who do not know what to do with their money. There are so many people who are hard working and desire the opportunity to make a decent living but are challenged one way or the other. We just have to help people in the way we can using the gift and talent God has given us. I wish for the time when we would organize empowerment events in Nigeria free. It shall happen.

I have found that you make headway with people in Nigeria when they meet you rather than through email or telephone. I was able to make three very good future partners in less than a week that I was here. I really wish I had the opportunity to have spent a month here before the event to really do some networking. But, anyway this is learning for our future event. I think once we do this one, we would use it to start doing some networking for next year’s event which I’m hoping would target Youths unless my senior partner (Holy Spirit) has a different target group in mind.

Nigeria is such an interesting Country. We are our own worst enemies. When I told some people about Project impact lives and change communities, I met with skepticism. My response was if we keep saying the Country is bad, until someone start doing good, it will never get better. Change starts from me and from you. We know what the culture is and we can use the wisdom of God to do the right thing even amidst this culture of bribery and corruption. As a Christian, we pray to God for wisdom, do we not believe that God will give us this? If I am duped or lied to, I don’t worry about it because I know God is the one that fights my battle. I feel sorry for the person in fact because they would be going against my God who is mighty in battle. I have learnt from God a few years ago not to worry about what people do to me because He takes care of that, I only need to focus on what I do to and for people. Nigeria will be a Country of honor, integrity and love for each other. When the Israelites were in Egypt it felt like there is no way out, did God not arise for them, saying He has heard their cries? Aren’t there godly men and women in the land of Nigeria who cry day and night to God to deliver the nation from evil men and women who are holding the nation in bondage? Is God deaf to their cries? Are we calling God a liar when He says He hears the cry of the righteous? We must persist in praying for the Country and we shall see a wave of change blow over the nation. It will happen in my generation. You can call me an idealist I don’t care. All I know is that God answers prayers. To think, believe or act otherwise is blasphemy. We should continue to pray for our leaders because when the head is well, the whole body will be as well. I will do my own part, what about you?

I’ve been able to get some reading done this week, which is great. After spending the day talking, writing and going about, I feel like just relaxing my brain with some reading. I am reading a book given to me by an ex-colleague titled ‘how to be like Women of Influence’ written by husband and wife team, Pat and Ruth Williams. It’s a good book and it gives you a mini bio of women like Mother Theresa, Eleanor Roosevelt, Anna Frank, Marie Curie, Oprah Winfrey and others. I am sharing some of the inspiring words on my facebook. As I’m reading about these women, it’s given me the affirmation that what I’m trying to do through We CAN is the right way. When you discover your passion and you use this for the benefit of other people, it is the right thing and the right way. It might take time to see impact but it will come if you just persist, be hard working, be willing to take risk and be ready to do majority work yourself at least in the beginning. Each one of these women, as far as I’ve read, were working in the area of their gift and they work to help people and the society. I wish more Christ followers would have this attitude and the courage to do more than just focus on their own personal comfort. I can’t imagine the impact we would make in this world, when we work with God to change the world. Rather most of us want to be ‘rich’ first and then we can help others. Why not the other way round? Help others first and see God enrich you so that you can continue helping other people.

Sometime ago, I was reading (eventually did not finish it) a book on the most successful entrepreneurs in Africa written by a lady called Makura. That book was all men not one single woman. I want to see one with all women. I think I will write Makura on this because I know there are many successful women entrepreneurs in Africa. Although to be fair, she did acknowledge this gap in her book.

Whilst being successful business men and women is good, I would like to read about Inspiring Men in this decade. After Mandela, which men are there that fought for the good of the society, in particular Africa? We need a new breed of Inspiring men and women. Why not you? Why not me?

I was hurt by a friend this week. My expectation from fellow Christians is in line with the godly character described in the bible. Sometimes I do feel that this might be a tall order. But if we say this would we make it to Heaven?. The standard for making heaven is clear in the bible whether it is a tall order or not. I expect to be treated with respect and love from my fellow Christ followers just as I expect myself to treat others as such. Showing respect and love is not that difficult when you treat people the way you want to be treated, and you make it a decision. You don’t wait to feel respect or feel love before you demonstrate this to other people. It’s not only what you say that can hurt people, it’s also what you do not say that makes the other person feel bad. There is that adage that says action speaks louder than words. I will add my own to say action speaks louder than words and it hurts more than words. I have decided to forgive and move on.

I have been learning a lot about making things happen in general and in Nigeria specifically. I cannot emphasize enough the power of networking and building relationships. I think we must add this to our teaching material. Anyone who is in business or want to get things done must spend time to build and cultivate relationships. I am taking my own advice and will be going to my secondary school (Government College Ikorodu) old student association meeting on Saturday 27^th. I’ve never been to one but I keep track on their activities through facebook and emails. It would be great to see old faces if I can recognize them. We are also planning to do a career and motivational talk as part of the event in September.

I have some fantastic men and woman of God supporting this event, all of them are speaking at the event,  and even using their own funds to come down to Nigeria, Tosin from South Africa and Tunde from United Kingdom. We also have a South African Deon and Begay from Gambia who would be visiting Nigeria for the first time. I am so humbled and inspired by these people who are so passionate for Christ and are so committed to do His leading in all areas of their lives. God is the only one who can reward them. I am so looking forward to our time at this event and also the school career and motivational talks we will be doing in some public secondary schools in Lagos and Abeokuta.

I must really add to my journal my experience of interviewing some young people for the publicity job. Out of seven called for interview, only one has turned for the interview so far. I still have two more to see on Monday but it’s not encouraging. And these are youths that are not working. The mindset is really not about working but wanting to make money right now this minute. Not one of them even called to cancel their appointment which goes to show the level of integrity they have. There is so much work to be done with young people to change their mindset about living a principled life with integrity underpinned by willingness for hard work and to learn. The one that I have inter viewed really impressed me with his time keeping, his patience and his willingness to work hard to achieve his ambition. Needless to say, I have had to rope in other people. I never work without a plan B and C, sometimes even plan D and F. When you work with God there is always an alternative. This is something that always push me to obey God because He will get other people if you refuse, and then who is the loser?

Day 85 to 91 (25th to 31st July 2011)

The week started for me in sunny Dakar, Senegal recovering from jet lag. I spent most of the day sleeping after going into the office in the morning to see my old finance and admin team. A few of them are still around. There are some old timers in the office, people who have been with the organization for like twenty years, fifteen years and so on. They are in a new office and a lot more staff than when I was here. It was lovely to see them after six years

I heard about Amy Winehouse death early this week. I was so sad. What a waste of talent. May God have mercy on her Soul?  I asked myself whether she has fulfilled her purpose in life, a life that was cut short at such a tender age. This made me think again about our purpose in life. Why were we born? None of us ever chose to be born. When we began to become conscious about your-self, we don’t remember where we were before then, nothing at all. You start living life, putting plans in place along the way and then one day you die. Is that the reason we came into this world? How many people fulfill this reason by the time they die? These questions made me decide to research and write on purpose. If you are reading this and are interested in what I have to say, you would need to read my article on We CAN blog.

I had to prepare for my training session for Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s purely finance and not leadership for a group of fifteen programme staff from the different offices in West Africa, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Niger and Senegal. This is a good initiation into the world of consultancy.

I finished my training today, very exhausting but had very positive feedback from the participants. I am thinking of writing a finance training manual that reflects where we are now in terms of new initiative. I’m a bit wary about taking on another initiative in the remaining half of my leave though. I will try and put some structure down now it’s fresh in my head, then would think about finalizing it later. One thing though, training people is one of my purpose in life. I love imparting knowledge and skills to empower and equip people. I feel so content when I hear people talk about what new or different thing they have learnt.

I’m straight unto preparing for another project that I’ve been asked to do in Liberia. This time a review of a project implemented with donor funds. It’s nice to have unplanned income. All glory be to God. I think I might really like this consultancy thing, work for two weeks earn nearly a full month’s salary and take the remaining two weeks off?

It’s been an amazing week in Dakar. It’s funny I don’t feel much sense of déjà vu because the RC is not in the same office, there are a lot more people than before and the environment is much different. There are still most of my finance team around and some other programme and logistics team. It sure was great to spend time with them all.

Dakar, the city though is changed a lot. It’s dirtier, more high rise building which I have to say was already starting before I left in 2004. Though for a Country that do not manufacture or export, there are questions on how and where the money comes from. Politically, there are rumbling of citizen dis-satisfaction with the intent of the President, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade to change the constitution to pave way for him to be President for life (he is 85 years old!) and subsequently hand over power to his son. I don’t know what is wrong with our Africa leaders. They get intoxicated with power, don’t want to leave and want to make it a family affair. It’s great though to see the Citizen’s of a nation take action against unconstitutional and unfair government practice especially in this part of Africa. I give Kudos to Malawi for their stand as well.

I have been staying with my friend Begay and it’s been good spending time together. She is a We CAN Board member as well. She is the founder of Life Solutions and they’ve started wonderful initiatives to equip and empower people. Do check them out on the web; www.lifesolution.co.uk.

I am sitting at the Accra International Airport updating my journal today the 1^st of Aug and the time is about quarter past twelve mid-day. The Airport is quite nice and fully air-conditioned the minute you step into the building. I’m reading the ‘One minute Entrepreneur’ by Ken Blanchard and Don Hutson. It’s a very easy read and you pick up some tips and some interesting quotes. One says, ‘you get what you want in life if you help other people get what they want’, another one says, ‘Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation’. Although for this one I think not necessarily all the time, it is possible for success to occur when you create the opportunity. Think about Bill Gates, he changed the world’s view and the use of personal computers. He did not wait for the opportunity to come but revolutionize the computer world.

Talking about opportunity, I saw the set of women in Ashilem market in Dakar making beautifully designed hats from wired like string. I don’t know what to call the mesh, yes I think that is it wire like mesh. One can squeeze the hat and it springs back. It brings to mind entrepreneurship. It’s a new kind of hat and might become quite marketable.

On our trip to Ashilem, we went to the food section of the market. Oh my word, I don’t know whether flies were having a meeting that day but the way there settled amongst the food being sold might put me off for life if not that I like food so much. Take a look if you can see them in the meeting inside the fish calabash!

Day 60 (30th June)

It’s still sunny today. I hope that means winter is on its way out? In my Word study today, I was led to a scripture passage in (Zechariah 4:10) that talks about not despising small beginnings because the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. It brought such peace to my spirit because sometimes it seems that we are crawling with our We CAN events, though I know that the future of We CAN is great.

My daughter and I went to visit the Children’s Centre called ‘Give Them Hope’ in Nellmapius. I have been postponing for a while but decided to go today. The Centre looks after orphans as well as acts as a Crèche for children whose parent goes to work. The place is a couple of sheds which accommodate the children and a kitchen area. It is managed by a lady fondly called Pinky. They are a registered nonprofit organization but are still in the start up phase in terms of funding support from the government. There is so much need in the community to take care of orphans and other vulnerable children.

The Children are so beautiful and require love. We met them having lunch and enjoying it so much. These children are so precious to Jesus. They deserve so much love. By the grace of God, I am committing to supporting this Centre.

Day 52 - Day 58 (22nd June to 28th June)

It’s been a while. This past week has been hectic with activities. I spent most of last week helping some friends and working on the church account to bring it up to date.

We had the Sisters retreat on Saturday and it was awesome. I learnt a vital lesson about being on time. My two youngest went to Nigeria early on Saturday and I drove directly to the church for the retreat. This meant I got there about the time slated to start. Our Spiritual Mother was so impressed and she just started praying for me, straight from the heart. I was blown away, it seemed like the early bird blessing. It has definitely changed my attitude to being on time and keeping to time. I don’t want to be late and be left with remnant blessing. It sort of reminds me of the story of Jacob and Esau, though done through trickery, yet Esau unfortunately got the bottom of the barrel. This would not be our portion in the mighty name of Jesus.

Now that I’m nearly two months into my sabbatical, I’ve been reflecting on the changes in my life as a result. I feel that apart from having more flexibility in how you plan your time, you still have the same worries with the exception of one, work related worries. I still feel that time is too short on some days. Would I want to be on a permanent sabbatical, I don’t think so. Without having specific things you are doing, life could become aimless without purpose. I would definitely want to be working, preferably on projects I love and would be great to have that time flexibility in how one prioritize.

I’m spending some time to research some topics; the Kingdom of God. Is the Kingdom of God a literal kingdom, spiritual or both? I believe it is both. There are some good articles on the Internet an example is http://www.gci.org/gospel/kingdom

We were watching an old convention programme at the RCCG Camp ground. It was an old one because the auditorium being used look nothing like the current one. It’s amazing that I’ve not been to the Camp before. I guess given that I’ve only been a Redeemer for about six years, it’s about time. I will plan it in my next visit home. The throng of people that gave their lives to Christ during the session was inspiring. I do hope that these people keep the faith.

I had a wonderful business lunch with some brothers in Christ of mine. It was a vision generation meeting that resulted in a partnership for the Youth event coming up in September. God is really faithful in how He carries us in the entire We CAN project

All Glory be to God in the highest.

Day 51 (21st June)

I think I’m going through a phase of writer’s block this morning. There is so much in my head but to I’m having some challenges getting them down in writing, but I guess writing this is a start. I wish this cold weather is over or at least nearly over. I feel so sluggish in cold season, though thankful, because there is a purpose for all seasons that God created. I am a bit behind in my journal but I’ve managed to bring it up to date this morning.

I’m happy I got some work on the new look We CAN website done this morning. It’s hard work with so many changes, not to talk about trying to get my little brother to keep to deadline.

I got sad news this afternoon. A Pastor and a friend died earlier today in Nigeria. He had Kidney failure and has been on dialysis for a while. I just thank God for his life that he is a believer and his faith in Christ was never shaken. It put a damper on my day though. I remember his time in SA and our engagements. He was such a humble man who loved God so much. I learnt so much from him, one that made such an impact was his teaching on the Passover and what the different items and instruction meant. I pray that God will pour His peace into the heart of his family at this time.

Each day just seems to fly. I think I work more now than when I was going to the office. I still managed to get a couple of hours late morning nap though, which is good. One task I intended to do today was align the Church report to the headquarters format. But I did not get to it; I’m feeling a bit low and not energized to do any figure work today. I think I will get some more reading and a Christian film. So, got a film titled; ‘Bishop in Hell’ in the video and got even more low. I need the Joy of the Lord here. The film is about men of God who ended in hell, for unforgiveness, pride and disobedience, it’s depressing. I think I need a lighter, more joyful film, maybe a romantic Christian film. I want to think about Heaven not hell. Tomorrow is another day. I want winter to be over like tomorrow but that would bring me nearer going back to work. I need some energy! I think enough whining now. Over and out for the day.

To you the source of my Joy, Jehovah you are exalted.

Day 49 (19th June)

Sabbath day! This is a day of rest, even from journal writing. We had one of my ward came to visit, a talented young man. Simi’s friend is spending the weekend. I love having these youths around me.

Yes, oh yes, my two youngest daughters Debra and Tobi came out during the alter call today to give their lives to Jesus. It is so awesome. I was so happy. They have taken the right step at ages 14 and 13 respectively. I pray that they will never go back in the mighty name of Jesus. They will be used mightily of God for His Kingdom. I wish I gave my life at that young age. I would be supporting them with their bible study more, maybe individually. I am so happy for them.

Day 46 (16th June)

Today was an awesome day. The Women event went brilliantly with about thirty nine women in attendance. There were many more South African ladies than expected which was great because it is through the locals that we would be able to impact the citizens. We have very positive feedback in the evaluation which would be incorporated into future event, one being the use of a microphone!

Karen Van Vuuren’s session was good. She gave very succinct points on how to be successful with biblical passage to back these up. Pastor Titi really nailed it when she spoke about Integrity being important ingredient for success. Mama Rose shared her story about living positively with HIV & AIDS since 1990, twenty one years ago and she looks good. Her session really moved the women and I believe each one would take the right step in doing something in their world for those infected or affected. It is always so fulfilling after these events, seeing people connected and interacting with each other and the decisions being made to take action on one thing or the other. Already thinking about the December event! There is need for these sort of events where Women could be encouraged, motivated and inspired to be more. We had some surprising attendance which was great.

I was depleted after the event. I put a lot of energy into the preparation and the events and immediately after it I always feel depleted and need some quietness to recover. But it is good deplete. I remembered to send a thank you message to all the speakers before I went into a straight two hour sleep.

I give all glory and honour to God for a successful day.

Day 43 (13th June)

Today is Monday. Mondays are always quiet days for me. I thank you Jesus for the Joy of Salvation. After dropping the girls in school, I hit the gym for about one hour. I am determined to give my gyming some structure. The key word is determination. In fact I am adding this character trait to those vital for this period of my life. I am determined to go to the gym x number of times a week. I think I will keep the x number to myself. I learnt from School of Disciple that the devil sends his demons to go out and collate information they will use against you, hence a wise (wo) man learns how to be silent. Not that the devil is so interested in my determination to gym but, hey I’m a child of God, I will not give him the chance in anyway to steal my joy! Anyway, without a specific number written down, I can feel proud when I meet and exceed the target rather than guilty because I didn’t meet it. That is my reverse psychology for it.

I was stuck on Luke chapter 4 and 5. I am still writing up my inspiration on the temptation of Jesus. Not so much the fact that he was tempted but more like what he was tempted on and what we his disciples could learn on what the enemy would use to tempt us. It’s amazing and I am always amazed how God teaches me. In Sunday, our Pastor spoke about temptation. In School of Disciple we learnt that God uses Satan as an examiner for His children, and we know that part of the examination is through temptation. This for me is affirmation that what am writing is in line with what God wants to teach us at this time. I sometimes wonder whether writing is my forte but everytime I take my pen or should I say start punching the keyboard the words flow. Not only that, I wake up most days with pages and pages of words ringing in my head. I have learnt to have note books all around me so that I immediately start jotting the insights down, otherwise I tend not to remember verbatim. My challenge is actually sitting down (or standing up) to put the notes into a coherent outline. The time and focus to do this was one of the major reasons I decided to take a sabbatical. So far, it’s helped but not to the extent I would have loved to have reached at this time.Still, I am grateful to God for the opportunity. I need determination. God help me.

I was in Johannesburg downtown in the evening. I had to submit a letter to get my Nigerian driver’s license authenticated by the Embassy, so a friend and I went to a lady’s house to drop the letter as it was too late to go to the Embassy. This lady lives in the middle of city centre. I have never been there at night before and it was interesting to see how alive it was. It reminded me of Lagos downtown. One must really love the hustle and bustle to set up home there. It reminds me also that a lot of people who live in Lagos actually love the fast paced life and I guess those that live in the major cities of countries. We all have our likes and dislikes. God has created so much diversity and we must appreciate this in life.

I was reading the June JOY magazine today. They had a few articles on Universalism. I have heard about some of these new movements and trend ‘New Age’, ‘Emerging Church’ but not Universalism so I was really interested to know what it was about. I read about one third of the articles before I decided I don’t really want to know a lot about it after all. All these concepts, I believe are meant to turn people away from God by intellectualizing the Bible and creation and every aspect of our faith. These are indeed the end times. This concept believes there are many ways to God, that there is no absolute truth only what is true to you as long as you don’t try to convince me on your own truth, they believe that God (at least they believe that God exists) will draw everyone to Him and this translates that they don’t believe there is hell. And to cap it all, they believe that the Bible is not the ‘authority’ nor is it infallible. I pray that none of us or our children falls into this sect.

Day 40 (10th June)

The days seem to be flying and so cold, yet will I forever praise God for being alive and well! I’m really learning about focus and diligence. A lot of things just keep cropping into my days, if not studying for the School of Disciple exam tomorrow; it’s having business meetings and so on. I had to pop into Oxfam the other day and one of my team was asking how it feels to spend time sleeping and resting. She was surprised when I told her that I don’t get to have extra hours in bed in the morning. The only time I’ve done that so far was when I was in Nigeria in the first week. There is just so many things I have to do each day.

I definitely need to focus on priorities if I want to get to the end of the six months having achieved all my objectives. I would not be able to take another six months off, at least not immediately.

It was great to see the team though it does not make me feel like going back just yet.

I’m so behind in my reading, but getting some more writing done, still in rough draft which is ok, at least it’s written down.

I am listening to a TBN programme on what constitute adultery in the new social media age. If as a married person you send nude picture or sexually charged sms, emails, and tweets to people, are you committing adultery? In other words, this is conducting internet sex. I don’t think there should be any debate on this, the bottom line is you think lust in your heart and it is counted as adultery in the sight of God, you might not do it physically but you must have thought and be thinking about it whilst you are sending the text/email/image. Jesus is very clear about adultery being from the heart. God will have mercy on all of us.

Day 34 (3rd June)

I thank you Lord for a glorious and cold morning. The girls have no exams today and are able to stay at home to study. For once, I get to sleep a bit later, wonderful.

I have some paperwork to get done this morning, including finalizing my UK tax return for 2009-10 which is way overdue. Even 2010-11 would be due on a couple of months. I have procrastinated on doing my returns and it has cost me some penalty (Eish!). Let me just make myself a bit happier by defending and justifying myself. Every year, I have to do two tax returns, one in South Africa and one for the UK. The UK one is more complicated and I always have to adjust my submission for one reason or the other including the fact that I should not be taxed in the UK since I’m taxed in SA. So, it’s not a task I enjoy doing at all and I delay doing it till the last minute. Well I over delayed this time and it cost me. Anyway, got it out of the way (at least 2009-10), though I still need to call the tax office to explain some things so that I’m not asked to pay the GBP10k I’ve already been assessed on.

I spent part of the morning assisting a brother on some financial analysis for training he is doing with DTI. I haven’t done pure accounting work for some time now and it was like a refresher. I hope something good would come out of the work for him as well as for me.

Apart from articulating my experiences, insights and reflection, it struck me that there are other learning from this my journey which is more to do with how I am during this time. I already reflected that this period in my life requires focus, structure, diligence or one would get to the end of the six months and have not achieved what was planned and then it would a waste of time and resources. Really this period is an investment for me. I am not earning income but using my savings to achieve outcomes that would not only give me some financial returns, but develop me to a higher lever that would enrich my life spiritually, mentally, emotionally and financially. Other learning is that it is a period of both uncertainty and excitement. I don’t know where God would have taken me to at the end but I know with God, it can only be a better level, hence am so excited to live this next few months. Having the time to ready is fabulous. I’m learning from the knowledge and inspiration of men and women of God. Actually, I think I read men’s book more that women. I love Karen Kingsbury’s books. I shed tears every time I read any of her books. Her stories are so real and moving. She is so gifted and God is using her to minister to people through her writing. It would be awesome to get her as a guest speaker for one of We CAN’s women leadership event. You won’t receive if you don’t ask. This goes on my ‘to do’ list for We CAN right now. Hold on, I need to ask God first. Maybe I will hold on from adding this to my list till I hear from God. One of her books is now a movie titled ‘Like Dandelion Dust’. I’m planning to go and see it for sure, on Wednesday when it’s half price.

It’s so cold today. We have the monthly Divine Encounter service in Johannesburg this evening. I will be padded very well. The Service was great. It’s always awesome being in the presence of God.

We continued to plan for the Women leadership breakfast event today. I spoke with the special guest yesterday and was so happy to learn that she lives in Pretoria. I had been wondering how we would get her to Jo’burg if she lives outside Gauteng. But God is so good how things are working. I’m looking forward to having a cup of coffee with her next week.  She is the owner of Tehillah art. Tehillah means ‘High praises to God’ in Hebrew. What a fabulous name for a business. I’m positively all our women would be so blessed by her experience.

Another day in your glorious presence oh Lord, I thank You.

Day 33 (2nd June)

I think this is the first day of my ideal day during this period, spending time in the morning in the Word. Anytime I read the bible, I get so much insight into the heart of God, about principles for living, about leadership principles and so much more.

Before I went into the Word, I continued watching a film which I started yesterday night but fell asleep in the process. This was not because it was boring, rather because I was tired. The film was titled’ Tribulation Night’ by Mt Zion films. It tells the story of those left behind after the rapture (when Jesus Christ came back for the Saints). There was the Choir leader in the midst of fornication, the TV Evangelist who was living a proud and adulterous life and so on. Hm, the agony and sorrow of those Christian who did not make it. Many that would be left behind would not be able to persevere and would take the mark. What sorrow! What will I be doing when the rapture happens? What will you be doing when the rapture happens? Incidentally, I also hit on a site showing a video that asks the question; ‘Will you be taken by God or be left behind? Eternity should always be in the forefront of all believers. If Jesus were to come right now, will I make it? It is worth constantly thinking about.

I think that my life in SA would probably not be as exciting as in Nigeria. I have to catch up on a lot of things which means going out less and doing more activities that would help me to achieve my objectives. This would mean I would have to be tougher on taking on projects or tasks that people ask me to do or I give myself to do. This is putting into practice some of my leadership training on prioritization.

I was reading the book of Luke today. I started some weeks ago but keep reading the first few chapters. I was fascinated by the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. We know their story as the parent of John the Baptist and also Elizabeth is one of the examples we use to encourage women waiting for the fruit of the womb. The dimension that God opened my eyes to as I was reading Luke was their faith and complete submission to the will of God. They must have prayed so much for the fruit of the womb and eventually gave up since they are now old, yet their faith and obedience was unwavering. There is so much learning in their story and I would be exploring this in my spiritual journey write up.

The other person that I got engrossed with was Mary, the mother of Jesus. You know, this woman did not doubt the word of God, tough she was curious how it would come to pass as she was a virgin. Yet, she accepted it. What faith. The reason why the faith of these three people fascinated me was that this was the first time that God would speak to His people after 400 years. I’m not even sure there were any miracles, signs and wonders during these 400 silent years. The only thing that the Jews had, to communicate with God was the Old Testament scriptures. There was no prophecies, no dream nothing, nothing. Yet, this three kept their faith in God based on the stories of what He has done for their ancestors. Incredible! In our dispensation, we love hearing prophecies, seeing visions and so on. In fact, whenever there is a programme where there would be prophecies, miracles etc there would be a large gathering of crowd than in a normal Sunday service or Bible study. We need to see signs, actions to keep our faith glowing. Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary only depended on the word of God, and boy did they receive the favour of God.

I have always wondered if Jesus was able to live a sinless life because he did not carry the Adamic sin nature t(hat is being born without the seed of man). I kept asking God to open my eyes of understanding. God said that those who seek Him shall find Him, and He responded to my wondering in this same book of Luke. Jesus was both divine and human in nature when he was on earth. He was born holy reflecting his divine nature and born of a woman reflecting his human nature. Being born holy also paves the way for him to be the sacrificial lamb (and he has to remain holy). He bore similarity with the first Adam who was also born holy (without sin) but this is where the similarity ends. Jesus maintained his holiness by complete obedience to God but the first Adam failed here when he disobeyed God. Because Jesus was human he also had freewill and he used his to do the will of God the father. As human he relates with human feelings and emotions. We see a lot of this in his compassion to people and most illuminating was his cry in the garden of Gethsemane for God to take the cup away from him (this is definitely human emotion). There is nothing that we can go through as humans that Jesus won’t understand; he knows the human nature first hand. His holiness at birth was not the reason he was able to live a sinless live, rather his complete submission to the Will of God and in complete obedience. That is the perfect example for us believers. If we submit to the perfect Will of the Father and in complete obedience, we would live in God’s perfect purpose for our lives as Jesus did, and with the Holy Spirit, live a holy life as Jesus did. I thank you Father for this understanding.

I’m behind in my reading. I managed to read a couple of chapters from the Screwtape letters. As usual I’m amazed how C.S. Lewis got the insight into the machinations of the devil and his cohorts. I try to share any inspirational insights from the books I read on my twitter (@aakintoye or @WeCANLI). I firmly believe that knowledge is for sharing. This is part of God’s purpose for my life; to share knowledge. Anytime I learn something, I have this compulsion to share with others. I guess one of the reasons I’m writing and sharing my journey. The learning might not be relevant for many people but for the very few that it does impact; all glory is given to God.

An insight I got from the Screwtape letters this morning was that many of us use faith as a means to a worldly end (material possessions, wealth) when it should be a means to an eternal end. We don’t have faith to gain possessions, to live a good life but we have faith to make it to heaven. We might not show our intention for being a believer but God sees our heart and our intentions. My sister and I were discussing something similar when I was in Nigeria but more on what some people ascribe to God which should not be. We said that there are some things that happen which you don’t even need to have faith to get or be a believer to have or achieve because it has been set from time immemorial by God as part of nature. And example was that there are so many wealthy people who are not Believers. There is the principle of sowing and harvesting, principle of working in your area of gift or talent, principle of diligence and hard work and so many others. Some people use these principles to gain wealth (examples Bill Gates, Richard Bronson and many others), and we see some become believers after becoming wealthy. There is no need for believers to use their faith as a means of getting wealth; rather their faith should be to make eternity. Our focus should be on holiness rather than acquiring material possession. Not that wealth is bad, no we need money to expand the gospel to the four corners of the earth but wealth is secondary. After all, Jesus said we should seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and every other thing shall be added unto you. The Screwtape letters mentioned that the devil uses the Christians’ focus on material things to keep them away from the Will of God. This is worth reflecting upon.

I got the final version for the new We CAN website today from my brother. I’m so excited but unfortunately could not open it. I’m looking forward to the revamped site. Fabulous.

Father, help me to keep my focus on You, always on You. For an enriching day like this, I bless your name.

Day 32 (1st June)

A new month, wow! I thank You Jehovah for the gift of life. I’m gradually getting a little bit of structure into my day; take the girls to school, gym (maybe not some days, haven’t fallen in love with it yet!), any errands in town, read and or work on specific projects for the day, pick up the girls from school, rest, church (Tuesday and Thursdays), do more work usually updating journal and more reading. Well, that is the plan; I need a whole lot of diligence and not forgetting to keep some flexibility for unplanned events.

Planning for the We CAN Women leadership breakfast is in progress. We went to check the venue today in Northgate Mall. I would have loved a quieter venue with the same budget but God is in control, and the important thing is to ask God where He wants us to hold it. We are a little bit behind schedule as the event flier should have been ready by now but God is helping us.

I picked up one of my newly bought books (seems I buy at least one book a month), titled ‘Hearing from God by Henry and Richard Blackaby a father and son writing duo. I flipped through the book to briefly read a chapter and my gaze was arrested by the chapter on prayers. I guess this was because of the digging deep we had yesterday where we were discussing this topic. One of the ways that God speaks with me is getting affirmation through other people, either in a sermon, in a book or in a discussion. The writers were discussing some perspectives on prayers, what is prayer, why we pray, whom we should pray, what does God’s answer look like and so on. Some of the things that got me reflecting were their view that the reason we pray is that, it is a means of getting our focus away from us and turning it to God, that God uses prayer to relate with people and share what is in His heart. Once again, I ask myself, do I really give God the chance to share His heart with me? I feel I do, in particular through His word, through the various insights that He drops in my heart about who He is and His love for us. I pray that we continue to understand how to effectively communicate with God and not use prayer just as a medium to petition God.

Today, the phrase that keeps popping into my heart is ‘Intimacy with God’. Since I articulated my goals for this period in my life, I heard clearly the spiritual goal is to become intimate with God. This, coupled with the insight on prayer gives more clarity for me on my journey towards discovering my purpose; in Christ and in the world.

I was reading a magazine today and I came across this gruesome article on body suspension. These people put hooks through their skin and suspend themselves on poles. Apparently, it helps them to overcome pain, fear and increase their endurance level. This is definitely not for the faint hearted and I’m sure there are easier and simpler ways of overcoming fear and pain! What human beings do!

It’s my immediate brother’s birthday today. I remembered him and his family. I did not send birthday greetings though as he is a Jehovah’s Witness. I have been saving on birthday gifts for my siblings for many years now due to their faith Still, I lift them up into Jehovah’s hand and pray that God Himself will teach him and me His Will, and continue to shine His light upon him and his family. My brother is also one of the few people remaining in the world that is not hooked on facebook.

Father, I thank you for a day of continuous growth.

Day 30 (30th May)

I give God all the glory for His goodness and mercy in my life. I woke up today with a long list of ‘to dos’. I wondered how come I’m back only a few days and already there is a lot of things to do. I have not updated my journal since Saturday day 28^th and I know this is not the best way to keep a journal. The best way is to write up your journal each day when the events and thoughts are still very fresh in your mind.

This made me realize the importance of diligence as a character trait. Diligence makes you focus and keep on what you have to do no matter what. I definitely need this in a big dose each day. Getting back to SA, has gotten me into a ‘must do this and must do that’ mode.

We had the second quarterly We CAN board meeting today and one of the members said something which I’ve been reflecting on. She mentioned the need to focus. This is definitely another character trait I need a good dose of. I have a purpose for taking this sabbatical and I have articulated (or have I?), actually just realized that I say it but I’ve never written down my sabbatical objective. How would I track progress against my goals? I’m diverting for a few minutes to do this right now.

I took the girls to school in the morning, a change from the past three weeks when they’ve been taking taxi to school. They are starting their exams today. Deborah was very quick to assure me they have been studying very hard. After the school drop, I had to and I mean had to go to the gym. You know as a registered member you are required to attend the gym at least 20 times in a 12 month cycle (is this a punishment or motivation?) and apparently I need to go at least 1 (one) time by the 31^st of May or I would be de-registered. So off I am to the gym. I decided I might as well do some treadmill and cardio whilst I’m here and not just swipe my card for recording purpose. I have to say every time, I manage to go to the gym, at the end of it I’m always very happy. Makes you wonder why it’s such a chore after a while to diligently go, after all it’s for one’s good. I think I’m trying to encourage myself here

I did some running around during the day and after picking up the girls after school we went to Menly Shopping mall to get my Sim card sorted. As we got back to the car, the security guard stopped us and pointed to the front left side of my car. It had been bumped by a lady who was reversing out of her parking space without taking cognizance of the parked cars behind her. Needless to say, I’ve just had additional work put on my plate. I thank God there was no loss of life.

I started another book called crazy love and it’s written by Francis Chan, the pastor of Cornerstone Church in California. I have not finished reading the Screw tape letters but I wanted something a bit lighter in addition. One thing I have realized is that it’s not just the knowledge you get from reading books, you also get affirmation of your own views sometimes. This book is centered on the passionate love of and for God. It got me to start thinking and reflecting on why do we love God. I have felt that I don’t love God enough, the way He should be loved when you think about what He has done for us and how much He loved us. I asked myself if I love Him because of what He can do for me or because of who He is? The response that came back from myself is that for me to answer this, I need to think about how I relate with Him (do I ask Him for things more than I worship Him in praises and exaltation?, communicate with Him as an afterthought), what sort of relationship I have with Him (do I long to just be in His presence? How much time do I devote to studying Him from His Word?), is every aspect of my life God centered? These are tough questions to ask. I don’t need a Preacher to tell me I have to do this, just need to ask and study myself to see if I do these. It’s easy to say, ‘I love you’ but actions confirms whether this is actually true. Do I love God enough as I should?

Got in touch with some of Oxfam staff today, more as a necessity because the cell phone sim decided it’s had enough and I need to do a sim swap. It was nice to reconnect but it made me feel that I haven’t really totally de-oxfamed. I should, really should. Eventually, I was able to get my cell phone back on track, thank goodness.

Father, I thank you for today, teach me to love You the way You expect us to. I thank You Jehovah for a day of abundant blessings.

Day 31 (31st May)

I woke up thankful for seeing another precious day. I reported the accident at the Police Station and took the car for assessment. I do hope that all the process would be done stress free. There goes my ‘bucks back’ no claim refund. Anyway, thank God for life, it’s only a piece of metal after all.

This unplanned accident took most of my time this morning, not to talk about the additional expenses I had already incurred by having to change all my four car tyres. This taught me again that you can plan your day in detail but you need to be ready for unplanned incidences.

I don’t feel I’m yet fully into my sabbatical. There seems to be so much to do, though today feels a lot less packed. I was able to spend some time in Church, not as much as I would love to but it’s a start.

Today was Digging Deep in Church, were we dig deeper into the Word of God, discuss and ask questions. I always enjoy these sessions as you are able to ask questions and explore. We were discussing Revival prayers. We had some interesting discussion on prayer. It got me reflecting on the teaching I had from God some time ago on praying the heart of God. You know, we want to learn how to pray those prayers that God would answer (immediately?). Where do we learn this from except from God Himself? If our prayers are full of request/petition for what we want God to do for us, with the right does of praise and worship added, would this get us our request? Prayer is much more than this, for me. It is about a continuous communication with God. Note, communication with not communicating to God (that is communicating our requests, our needs, our wants, reminding God of His promises). This would require a two way conversation. I don’t feel I communicate with God enough; I want my communication to be much richer and intimate. I want to know more, how to ask for the right thing. It’s like there is a house full of treasures, and you ask for certain treasures in the house, thereby missing some. When what you should do is ask for the key to the house, once you unlock it, everything in it becomes yours. I want God Himself to teach me how to ask for the key to the house of treasures. I want to learn how to let God communicate more and I listen more.

Father on this my journey, teach me.

Day 29 (29th of May)

I arrived back safely this morning in SA. Praise God for journey mercies. The flight was boring, no movies and the services from South Africa Airline was appalling I have to say. We were served dinner first without any drink not even water. Most people had already finished their dinner before we were served any drinks. What is someone had choked on their food? Having travelled quite a bit with SAA to Europe, I have to say the SAA attitude on the European flights is far better than those going to Nigeria. Every time I travel with them to Nigeria, there is a marked negative difference. I wonder why.

The Customs at Oliver Tambo airport, what are they like. It’s as if they see the opportunity to make some dosh (slang for money) from Expression hairpiece. I was stopped by an Officer who latched onto the 20 hair attachments I bought. He said I have to pay vat. I was quite ready to argue my case because the customs regulation allows me personal effect to the tune of R3000 and my 20 attachment was nowhere near 60,000 naira. So I demanded to see the regulation that covers paying VAT on 20 attachments. Do you know what I was told? They are allowed to use their discretion, and for them, 10 is the maximum exempt for VAT because we Nigerians bring them to sell. Eventually I had to pay R43.86 for 24 attachments including those that are not even mine. It’s not a lot, however it’s the principle and injustice. Maybe, I should appeal, for my fellow Expression bearing Nigerians and after all, there should not be anything like discretion in VAT

It was lovely seeing my girls after three weeks. Simi did a great job looking after her sisters. I pray that God’s mercy and favour will always overshadow my girls, that as they grow in age they will grow in their intimacy with Christ Jesus.

I was able to make it to Church for the Sunday service tired but alert. I came back home thanking God for His mercies.

Day 25 (25th May)

What a beautiful day, praise Jehovah.  I took a trip downtown Lagos again, this time to buy some souvenirs for the We CAN training. There is so much to choose from. We 9gerians do not throw parties without Aso-Ebi (family wear) and souvenir printed with the details of the party. We got some interesting stuff and I’m very well pleased.

My sister came from Kogi state with her husband to visit. I’m so happy to see them. They are an inspiration to me. Both of them are in full time ministry, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 I kept noticing some houses that were painted this green colour with the GLO (a mobile network provider) logo. I call this green colour, Shrek green. If you have watched the movie titled Shrek, the colour is exactly like him. I’m sure they pay the owners money to get their houses painted (as per my own taste) this hideous green. Maybe if I’m offered more than a million naira to paint my house this colour at least for a limited time who knows what I’d say…… I can always close my eyes anytime I want to enter.

I thank you Father for your abundant blessings today and always.

Day 24 (24th of May)

It is wonderful to be woken up by God each morning. There is so much to be thankful to God for. I’m counting down to the return day to Southie. There is still so much to do but some would have to be postponed for another time.

I did some running around in the morning using a chartered taxi. It’s so expensive without a personal car however its convenient to be driven round Lagos with our traffic system.

I started or should I say re-started reading the book by C.S. Lewis titled ‘ The Screwtape Letters’. This book is listed by John Maxwell amongst the top 100 must read books. It takes a bit getting used to. Essentially, it is a masterpiece satire of the portrayal of the human life from the point of view of demon Screwtape, through a series of letters to his nephew. It is an interesting book. I saw myself in some of the situations that Screwtape adviced his nephew to exploit, examples are the posture we maintain in prayer and how important this is. We learnt about posture in school of disciples, how different postur.es signifies various level of submission.

 I also learnt about the danger in focusing on specific objects (as s symbol of God) during prayer, for example some people focus on the image of the cross. I remember asking some more matured Christian what they focus on when they pray. I got some very interesting responses. Some said an image of light as the bible tells us that God dwells in light. I used to have an image of a figure in a long white gown, could not put a face to the head though. Now, as I mature my focus is more on His presence than an image. The Presence is so real and active.

The other reflection from this book was on the importance of knowledge. One of their approaches is to keep knowledge out of the mind of humans in particular Christian. This immediately got me to think about the word of God that says ‘My people perish for lack of knowledge’. Without the word of God, we die spiritually. If the enemy can keep us from this, he is happy.

I’m looking forward to reading more of this book. It got me thinking about my attitude as a Christian

Nothing much today except sitting for 4 hours getting my hair braided. What we women do.

Thank You Jehovah for blessing me with another wonderful day.

Day 23 (23rd May)

I can’t believe it’s day twenty three already. Time is flying so fast. I give all honour to God in the Highest.

Day 22 (22nd of May)

Today is a great day, glory be to God. I spent the day with my immediate younger brother Akin and his family in Lekki. We went to their meeting in the morning and I returned home later in the afternoon. My brother has two beautiful girls and two boys. They are so sharp and make me laugh. The youngest child who is about three years old kept calling me ‘grandma’. What! Do I look like grandma?

On our way back, we witnessed a near fatal accident on the Third mainland bridge involving a speeding car and an OKADA (Bike)

The car involved was speeding so much and could not break on time as it approached the OKADA. It ended clipping the back of the bike which sent it flipping backwards with the three people on it being thrown in the air. We were coming directly at the back of the speeding car, but fortunately we were not speeding. If not, the three men on the bike would have landed on top of our car or underneath. Thank God for his banner, that forever protects. I was too shocked to take any picture which would have helped as the speeding car increased its speed and sped off without stopping to see if the people were ok. Thankfully, no-one was killed. It emphasized my view that these OKADA are death of wheels and should be banned. How can a bike meant for two people carry three people without any helmet on a Motorway. I can’t understand how people do not care about their lives by taking these bikes without any safety helmet.

It was a disturbing end to a good day. Yet, in all things I give God thanks.

Day 21 (21st of May)

We came back to Lagos today. I thank God for journey mercies. It’s been quite fruitful but there is still a lot I need to do. I took Keke Marwa (Marwa’s bike) today. This is a form of transportation initiated by the then Lagos State Governor, Marwa as an income generating initiative as well as a mode of transportation. I think they have something like this in India as well.

I went passed my primary school today. It’s been over 33 years since I left. I was glad to see it’s been repainted and look good. It brought back a lot of good memories. I used to take public transport from Ketu to Maryland, about 7kms even as young as 10 years old. It was so safe in those days. I remember wanting to get to school very early in order to be part of the school bank for the morning assembly. I didn’t even mind not having breakfast. My younger brother Akin who was a couple of classes behind me loves his breakfast and I used to hurry him up just to get to school on time. The primary school is a catholic school and we used to have Holy Communion every so often (can’t remember exactly how often). I remember one time for such when only Catholics were supposed to take the communion. I and some other children decided to see what all the fuss is all about and took the communion. I don’t know how the Reverend Mother and Sisters knew, needless to say our names were called and we were punished. No one told me not to do it again.

I would love to visit my secondary school but I’m not sure I would get the time this time. There is a very good Government College Ikorodu (GCI) old student association, in particular the Lagos and London chapter. My old classmate who used to be our Head boy Oladimeji Odunlami with other dedicated GCIians are doing a great job getting this going.

This evening I was bitten so much by these tiny mosquitoes called koinkoin. I was helping a family friend do some work on the generator outside and these things feasted on me because I had on a wrapper as it was very hot. I saw multiple small lumps all over my arms and legs. I’m glad I was able to provide their evening food for them.

I’m spending the evening updating my journal as I’ve not been able to do so in the past couple of days. I was able to follow a discussion on facebook intermittently with respect to the issue of some Pastors having spent over 200 million naira on private jets last year. A lot has been said already. However, there was a comment by someone on the need to be circumspect when it comes to talking about the anointed men of God, and that facebook is not the right forum. You know, I hear this a lot. You can’t talk negatively about Pastors, because they are men of God. Does this mean Christian should keep quiet when you see and hear what is not right? What is not Christ like? On the issue of the right forum, where and how? Maybe, if there is more visibility on the accounts of Pentecostal churches, it would allay the concerns of people on how these blessings are being utilized. Where there is lack of information, it provides a breeding ground for rumours. I remember when I was younger and followed my parent to the African Church, in the Sunday bulletin; they would publish the total offering, tithes etc taken in the previous Sunday. There is also an annual Vestry meeting where all members of the church attend and each committee in the church gives account of income and expenditure in addition to the total church account, and all activities undertaken. Maybe many Pentecostal churches do, and I’m not aware of. God will bless His own. I would just like to see, as Christian are amongst the richest people in the world, they are also counted amongst the top most Philanthropists in the world. There is a lot to be done in alleviating poverty in our immediate environs. Father, make me a channel of blessing.

I’m praying for strength this evening. I have a couple of proposal to do amongst a few other things. God is my strength. Over and out for today. I’m giving God all the glory for today.

Day 20 (20th of May)

We spent yesterday’s night at my Uncle’s place and left Abeokuta city around midday today for my brother, Gbenga’s place. Gbenga got married in January and lives not too far from Abeokuta with his wife.

It was really good spending time with him. He lived with me in South Africa for nearly 3 years, so I’m really glad to see him now settled. And I can see his contentment as he is now sporting a round belly! He won’t hear the last of this. I’m happy for him.

Before we left Abeokuta, I met with the Area Director for Industrial Training Fund who was so hospitable. The ITF is doing good work in the area of training and empowerment. We have gotten our first youth mentor for Nigeria. Great things ahead all for the glory of God.

Oh yes, finished my reading book today! One down, lots more to go. Good book, recommend it for those who have the time to read. I think in this day of social networks, writing a book of over 200 pages meant for twenties to fifties, I think, is too much. I would also want more audio (not too expensive) books.

It was such a relief to get indoors after a hectic two days. All glory belongs to Jehovah.