CHAPTER ONE
Till death do us part
March 30th, 2012. Stoke Town, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
The blue car drove to a halt. Joseph Adams turned off the radio and bowed down for a word of prayer- he always did that before ministering, when he was out time. He peered into the cars mirror. He looked different now; he had a fashionable appearance and a nice haircut- unlike that bald, old fashioned preacher everybody knew on television. He reached for his bible after taking in a deep breath. He had taken a long break-he had actually subjected himself to fasting and prayer in a distant rented apartment, located in the outskirts of Spain. Joseph Adams had become a successful preacher in Africa, after twenty years of faithful service to God. He wished his mother was alive, but he knew her demise was part of Gods plan. He had a feeling that she was right in Gods arms and God was making her fulfilled with so much peace and joy. He alighted from his car and sighed. Joseph Adams was five feet tall, light skinned and handsome, he had these unique soft-peering eyes that complemented his striking appearance. After locking his car, he glanced at his watch and headed for the building opposite him. The place was really filled up as he expected, it was great that he parked his car at a farther distance or he would not have anywhere to park it. With his keys in his fist, he marched towards the entrance. A beautiful lady in a red dress was standing at the door. She flashed him a big smile.
Welcome sir, she greeted humbly. Then she put on a stern look, ...your ticket?
Joseph Adams smiled.
I am a guest minister.
She was thrown off balance by his reply-maybe it was because he was too youthful and cheerful for the stereotyped; strong, reserved and stern looking ministers, many people understood. He just smiled again; he was used to such remarks. He had encountered so many of them during his early years in ministry. The lady took a glance at a clip board, then looked up,
Are you Dr. Andrew Johnson?
I am Joseph Adams.
She was taken aback by a momentary shock. Then she laughed at herself, staring into his eyes.
Im so sorry, oh! I should have recognised you earlier.
No problem.
Joseph chuckled and he followed her to the large hall. He met an usherette there. Though, this lady was rather too robust for a female, she had nice mannerisms and was indeed beautiful .She greeted him warmly,
We need you right now sir. You are going to the altar now, for a word of exhortation. She sounded as if she was tensed when she spoke. He gave her a reassuring smile, to let her know it was all right. They went back stage; she gave him a microphone, Five minutes, sir.
The curtains opened as he walked further, into the stage. The crowd was startling. He saw thousands seated before him- but it was obvious he wasnt in charge, God was.
Praise the Lord! He roared. The crowd responded, stood and waved. ...Were here tonight for one thing, and you know what it is?He stepped away from the lectern and looked directly at the thrilled crowd,
...Christ! Hes the reason why we are all here, and one thing before I leave-we all came here to worship God, but I tell you worship cannot be done by us, worship is by the spirit and in truth, we just gives ourselves up . He nodded, ...its not about us, and it is all about...HIM! The crowd cheered. Its about His glory, its about His greatness, it is all about- he paused and lifted up his hand, then shouted, ...God! The crowd rejoiced. People were shouting Hallelujah and Amen; the hall was filled with excitement. Just then, the master of the ceremony, who was a tall young man, appeared on the stage and called out;
Grace Night!
The people responded,
...A night of wonder!
The gentle man smiled. Dressed in a nice looking tuxedo, he naughtily captured the audience with his diamond studded wrist watch. He smiled and continued,
Praise the Lord! We have a lot to offer tonight- but before we commence, III like to call on my co-host, shes such a darling. He smiled ... and she is no other person but Yvonne! The crowd clapped. Then a lady in a white, long, glittering gown appeared on the podium. She flashed a genuine smile and shouted,
Hello Nigeria! Hello Africa! The crowd roared in excitement. ...Are Americans here tonight? She tucked in a loose strand of hair, behind her ear and grinned. Hello America! The crowd responded. Many Caucasians blew whistles.
The Master of the ceremony stepped forward,
Oh. I know we are so excited tonight and I hope Im not forgetting this unique set of people -Praise the Lord Asia! They responded with a joyous noise. ...I think Asia will win tonight. Okay, lets try Australia and Europe. God bless Australia! God bless Europe! He said out loud and pointed the microphone out to the crowd. After the noise had died down, he continued.
...Asia has this tonight and surprisingly, he looked at his assistant, she winked and continued.
The first worshipper is Michael Tzu. Hes from China and he is doing the song Amazing Grace. The lights were put out and put on again, revealing a very tall man. He had the typical Chinese look: high cheekbones, small eyes and rounded nose, but he wore a unique, distinct smile. As he started the song, he shocked the crowd with his gifted tenor vocals and his unique riffs and runs-The spirit of God also blessed many lives through the song. The next performance was done by The Rainbow Band. They were really amazing; the Holy Ghost was no doubt the source of such indescribable harmony. The anchors came to the stage for the third time now. The Mc Sighed,
Are you enjoying this? If you are, say Alleluia! the crowd responded passionately.
Oh! The female anchor, Yvonne, voiced. I know we would love to see the next performance and it is by the HOSANNA CHOIR! They are doing a Nigerian song, Alagbara by Onos! Give God a clap offering.
The Hosanna mass choir appeared on stage and the crowd applauded. A male conductor properly positioned the choir and handed the microphone over to a lady, who quietly stepped forward .The instrumentalists played an intro. Then the beautiful lady started the song. As she sang, the crowd melted. The large hall was quiet, not because of her thrilling vocals or the divine lyrics, but she sang entirely from the spirit. This performance was incredible. After the performance ended, the audience stood up and clapped heartily. While Joseph was clapping, he was not hundred percent himself. Ever since the choir stepped in, he kept hearing a voice in his head.
Joseph its time.
He wasnt really sure of what this meant, but soon enough, the visions he had been seeing for a while now, clouded his spirit. He swallowed hard. Was this what it was about? Was this the reason for his presence here? Could this be the reason for his blatant refusal to leave even after his ministration, to Aja where he was needed? He couldnt help but ask himself So many questions. Just then, her name flashed right before him in a surprising manner;
CHICHI OLISEH
He was about bracing up in obedience, when he wondered for the first time in fulfilling his usual task; how could he do this? How could he tell a complete Stranger, Gods plan for her life-Even if he was famous as Joseph Emeka Adams-was it enough backing to give her that kind of information about herself? He kept asking himself, How would she take this? Then he heard the calm voice once again,
Joseph, its time.
All of a sudden, he realised there was no point of arguing and said, God Im sorry. He felt an urge to walk towards a door- an exit from the hall; he knew that he was being led, so he walked briskly to the door. It led to a hallway and on it sides, it had many doors. He kept on walking. Then all of a sudden, he heard a noise. Quite eager to see what was happening, he turned behind; half of his body lunged forward, so that he could have a glimpse of what was happening, as his body partially leaned against a wall. A man and a lady stood beside a door, they were ranting- it seemed as if they were not satisfied with their tantrum, so they started exchanging vulgar words. From experience, Joseph knew the lady was from the Hausa ethnic group in Nigeria and the man looked like an African American. Though the man was muscular and olive skinned, he was rather short and his odd dreadlocks gave him a very rugged unlikeable look against his smooth skin. The lady was slender and pretty. She had a long, natural hair, and a beautiful skin. They both looked very young and foolish. The American scowled at her,
You are so dumb, huh? You got me? Very dumb! Isnt anything in your damn, dead skull. The lady, who was almost in tears,
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