As you're well aware,
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we're living in
unprecedented times.
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Join us now for
Today special program.
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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Hello, friends,
welcome to 3ABN Today.
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My name is John Lomacang
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and to my right
is my lovely wife.
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How you doing, Honey?
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I'm doing great.
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I'm blessed and thankful
to God for beautiful new day.
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And as the saying goes any day
above the ground is a good day,
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And you work on radio,
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so they might want to
know what your name is.
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My name is Angela Lomacang.
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We are so thankful
that you've taken the time
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to tune in to join
us for very interesting,
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thought-provoking
program about how God
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never stops leading.
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And our guest today
is the young man, you'll
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get a chance to
meet in just a moment.
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But you know where you are today
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is not where you
may be a year from now
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or may be a month from now.
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Because God's
providence sees us where we are
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and when we are not
where He wants us to be.
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He doesn't stop
leading and guiding
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until we get to
that wonderful place.
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So I'm excited about
the program today, Honey.
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Yeah, I am too
because this person
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is affiliated with radio.
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And as many of you
know, I work for 3ABN Radio.
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And I'm excited
about our guest today.
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Okay, the topic.
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We're trying to
keep away from the topic,
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but thank you for your prayers,
and your financial support
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of this network as we
continue going and growing,
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getting ready for
the coming of the Lord.
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Before we introduce
him, we're going to go ahead
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and go to some music
to encourage your heart.
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Who do we have today, Honey?
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I love her name.
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Her name is Mary Grace.
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And the song is a
very familiar song,
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"People Need The Lord."
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Thank you so much,
Mary, for that wonderful song,
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People Need The Lord.
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It's a timeless song.
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And playing with one hand.
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Yes, she's what
we call other abled.
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You know, a lot of times
people say people are disabled
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but when you hear
the way she plays,
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that is not a disability.
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That is a gift.
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Thank you so much,
Mary, for glorifying God
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with the challenge that she
has and what an amazing song.
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Every time I hear her
play, I always ask myself
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what is my excuse.
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Thank you for
blessing our hearts. Amen.
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Well, today we have is
our guest Samson Fidimaye.
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Good to have you here, Samson.
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Thank you, John.
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Yes, welcome to 3ABN.
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I'm assuming this is
your first time here?
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This is my first time. Yes.
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Wow.
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You have an interesting story.
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And we kind of had a
chance to look over where
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we're headed today in
our interview with you.
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And I want to just
start by asking you
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where were you born?
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Let's just go ahead and
begin with the beginning.
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Born and raised.
Yeah, far away from here.
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So I was born in Nigeria,
and Nigeria is in West Africa.
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Okay. Yeah.
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Nigeria, West Africa.
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Tell me a little bit
about the climate of your birth.
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Because a lot of
times people think,
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well, where he was born
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has a lot to do
with who he has become.
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But that is true to some
degree and not true to others.
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Tell us a little
bit about your country?
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So climate is tropical,
it's a tropical country,
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so we don't have snow.
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I like to start with that.
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'Cause snow has
been quite a challenge
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in the winter months for
me, but it's tropical again.
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And we have lots of
warm weather, dry weather
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throughout the
year, lots of sunshine,
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so we don't have
to depend on vitamin D
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supplements or anything.
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So you have lots of sunshine
and lots of rain as well.
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So we have what we
call the dry season
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and the rainy season,
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those are two seasons we have.
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We've dry season,
it's all dry, sunny.
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The raining
season, still sunshine,
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but lots of rain as well.
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Okay.
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Now we've been to Africa
several times, haven't we?
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We really enjoyed visiting
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the many
countries in that continent.
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Now what was it like
growing up in Nigeria?
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Yeah, my childhood was
mostly playing outdoors
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and we will do simple games.
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So we would ride like
car tires on the streets,
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you know, with our
hands over the stick,
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and usually we
did that almost naked,
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like we just had our
pants on as children.
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So, but apart
from that, we did play
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some indoor games as
well because I had siblings.
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How many?
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Five siblings when
my parents were done.
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Yeah.
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But earlier on in
my early childhood,
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it was just me
and my elder brother,
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'cause I'm the second of six.
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Yeah, so would
play like table soccer
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with the bottle covers,
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yeah, we'll make
them into players
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and just play table soccer.
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And what else did we do?
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At some point,
my parents did buy
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PlayStation game for us
when they could afford it.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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But you have a picture of
you when you were growing up,
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when you were a young boy.
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Kind of tell us tell
us what we're seeing here
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just for those who are
maybe listening on the radio?
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Yeah.
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So I'm from more particularly
an Islamic background
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and all of my
siblings and my parents,
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they are Muslims,
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even up to this
point as we are talking.
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So yeah, it was pretty
much a very structured life,
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or shall I say defined life.
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So I knew that I had
to pray five times daily,
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because that's the
Islamic way of prayer.
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And I did attend Arabic school
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besides my Western education.
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So I went to that
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after every time I came
back from my elementary school,
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I'll go to this Arabic
school where I get taught
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how to read the Quran.
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So and then we had
Ramadan, the month of Ramadan,
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the best month of
the year for Muslims,
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and actually do miss
that, because it's a time
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when family
really comes together.
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So, yeah, and
there's the other one
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that is quite
similar to Ramadan,
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you know, fasting
this time, but it's also
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a time family is united.
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It's called
homecoming in my language,
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and it is in reference
to the story of Abraham,
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when he went to
sacrifice his child,
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but in Islam, the
child is not Isaac,
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the child is Ishmael,
00:11:00.22\00:11:02.59
according to the
Islamic narrative.
00:11:02.62\00:11:04.23
So when God says,
don't sacrifice the child,
00:11:04.26\00:11:06.09
I'm going to
give you a substitute.
00:11:06.13\00:11:07.86
So you can go
home with your child.
00:11:07.90\00:11:09.53
So that's why it's called
homecoming in my language,
00:11:09.56\00:11:11.77
homecoming, but
the child is not Isaac,
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according to Islam,
the child is Ishmael.
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Ain't that's something?
00:11:15.80\00:11:17.14
That's interesting.
00:11:17.17\00:11:18.51
I wonder, and I just
want to ask this question.
00:11:18.54\00:11:20.14
How, how do they arrive at that?
00:11:20.18\00:11:23.18
Because we know scripturally
in the Christian narrative,
00:11:23.21\00:11:26.41
it's not Ishmael, it's Isaac.
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Do you have any idea of that?
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You know, that question
I've had for a while as well.
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But then when I realized that,
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according to
the Christian faith,
00:11:36.66\00:11:39.26
Isaac is the child of promise.
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And I begin to see
that it makes sense
00:11:41.90\00:11:45.00
if Islam says Ishmael,
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because we know
that the descendants
00:11:46.40\00:11:48.57
of Muslims come from the lineage
00:11:48.60\00:11:50.24
of Ishmael.
00:11:50.27\00:11:51.71
So, yeah, I think
it's just tradition
00:11:51.74\00:11:53.07
or something.
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Yes.
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You were born up
in a Muslim home?
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What was it like in that home?
00:11:58.45\00:12:00.48
You told us a little bit about
being raised in a Muslim home?
00:12:00.52\00:12:05.65
Did you have worships every day?
00:12:05.69\00:12:07.82
Did you pray five times
a day as the Muslims do?
00:12:07.86\00:12:11.89
How was that like?
00:12:11.93\00:12:13.26
Yeah, I think, of the kids,
00:12:13.29\00:12:16.16
I was probably the most faithful
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to that in my late teens.
00:12:18.23\00:12:21.47
Yeah.
00:12:21.50\00:12:22.84
But as a child,
it was kind of like,
00:12:22.87\00:12:24.34
you know, scanty,
00:12:24.37\00:12:25.71
because you're not
really included in yet.
00:12:25.74\00:12:27.58
Right.
00:12:27.61\00:12:28.94
But when I became, my mid teens,
00:12:28.98\00:12:31.48
my mid teenage life, I
became very serious with it.
00:12:31.51\00:12:34.08
And actually
remember that our corridor,
00:12:34.12\00:12:38.32
called it the
corridor of my home,
00:12:38.35\00:12:40.82
I converted it into a
mini mosque for us to pray,
00:12:40.86\00:12:45.43
because I noticed that
everybody prayed, like,
00:12:45.46\00:12:47.76
separately, like in their
rooms and things like that.
00:12:47.80\00:12:50.80
And at that time
in my life, I was very
00:12:50.83\00:12:53.37
serious about my faith.
00:12:53.40\00:12:55.37
And I felt like why
can we all pray together
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or pray in defined
place in a specific location
00:12:58.17\00:13:00.68
in the house, and I
thought about the corridor,
00:13:00.71\00:13:02.54
and I transformed
it into a mini mosque.
00:13:02.58\00:13:04.88
And then I had pictures of Allah
00:13:04.91\00:13:08.78
on the walls and
things like that.
00:13:08.82\00:13:10.15
Yeah.
00:13:10.19\00:13:11.52
So I was pretty
serious at some point with it.
00:13:11.55\00:13:13.05
Yeah.
00:13:13.09\00:13:14.42
How do you,
what times of the day
00:13:14.46\00:13:16.56
do you decide to pray?
00:13:16.59\00:13:17.93
Because five times a day,
how do you break that down?
00:13:17.96\00:13:20.40
Yeah, it's pretty easy.
00:13:20.43\00:13:21.80
Are they predefined?
00:13:21.83\00:13:23.16
Yeah, yeah, it's predefined.
00:13:23.20\00:13:24.63
It's a specific
times of the day.
00:13:24.67\00:13:26.17
So the first one
is before sunrise.
00:13:26.20\00:13:28.00
Okay.
00:13:28.04\00:13:29.37
Yeah, you have the
first call to prayer.
00:13:29.40\00:13:31.24
And then the first prayer,
then second one is at 2 pm
00:13:31.27\00:13:36.41
in the afternoon, and
then you have the next one
00:13:36.44\00:13:38.71
at four in the afternoon, 4 pm.
00:13:38.75\00:13:40.72
And then the next one is 7 pm.
00:13:40.75\00:13:43.79
And the last one is at 8 pm.
00:13:43.82\00:13:46.02
And the one in the morning
for sunrise is called Zuboye,
00:13:46.05\00:13:49.66
and the one at
two is called Zuhr.
00:13:49.69\00:13:52.93
The one at four called Asr.
00:13:52.96\00:13:54.63
The one at 7 pm
is called Maghrib,
00:13:54.66\00:13:57.30
and one at eight is called Isha,
00:13:57.33\00:13:59.20
so it's defined.
00:13:59.23\00:14:00.97
Yeah.
00:14:01.00\00:14:02.64
I wonder because I'm
learning something now.
00:14:02.67\00:14:05.17
I mean, I've
heard and I've seen,
00:14:05.21\00:14:07.11
I remember being in Trinidad.
00:14:07.14\00:14:08.64
I was thinking of that.
00:14:08.68\00:14:10.15
We were in Trinidad
number of years ago visiting
00:14:10.18\00:14:12.61
and early in the morning,
00:14:12.65\00:14:14.98
we heard the call to prayer
00:14:15.02\00:14:17.12
through this
megaphone, this very loud,
00:14:17.15\00:14:19.55
loud speaker. Yeah.
00:14:19.59\00:14:20.92
And it startled
me, but the people
00:14:20.96\00:14:23.16
in whose house we were staying,
00:14:23.19\00:14:24.86
they were so used to it.
00:14:24.89\00:14:26.46
People in the communities,
if they're not Muslim,
00:14:26.49\00:14:28.83
they remain in bed
and it doesn't even
00:14:28.86\00:14:30.47
bother them.
00:14:30.50\00:14:31.83
I called 911.
00:14:31.87\00:14:33.37
I didn't know what was going on.
00:14:33.40\00:14:35.07
I was...
00:14:35.10\00:14:37.77
It's kind of funny. Yeah.
00:14:37.81\00:14:39.31
There's something going
on, I don't know what it is.
00:14:39.34\00:14:41.01
And they said, "Oh,
you get used to this.
00:14:41.04\00:14:43.08
It's a call to prayer." Yeah.
00:14:43.11\00:14:44.91
But I always wonder
00:14:44.95\00:14:46.28
why they choose
those times a day.
00:14:46.31\00:14:48.38
And I don't know how
you mentioned the time
00:14:48.42\00:14:51.55
so I'm kind of
leave it there unless
00:14:51.59\00:14:53.19
there's a specific reason
00:14:53.22\00:14:54.56
why they chose
those times of the day.
00:14:54.59\00:14:56.83
It's tradition again.
00:14:56.86\00:14:59.06
Yeah, this, you
know, Islam is based
00:14:59.09\00:15:01.30
on how the Prophet Muhammad,
00:15:01.33\00:15:03.87
you know, lived his life.
00:15:03.90\00:15:06.13
Actually, it's the
way of the prophet,
00:15:06.17\00:15:08.20
everything he did
00:15:08.24\00:15:09.74
is the definition
of Islam for everyone.
00:15:09.77\00:15:11.91
So when he followed that
is based on the tradition,
00:15:11.94\00:15:13.88
the left behind, there may be
00:15:13.91\00:15:15.61
a reason for the
specific times for,
00:15:15.64\00:15:17.78
it's just what we were
told, and that's what we did.
00:15:17.81\00:15:19.78
Okay.
00:15:19.81\00:15:21.15
I want to show a picture here.
00:15:21.18\00:15:22.68
Have you
explained what we're seeing?
00:15:22.72\00:15:25.82
This is your family?
00:15:25.85\00:15:27.19
Yeah, family.
00:15:27.22\00:15:28.56
And you see also a yellow
and a white thing over there,
00:15:28.59\00:15:33.50
because there are two
people behind those callers that
00:15:33.53\00:15:37.43
are not being seen right now,
00:15:37.47\00:15:38.93
because they
don't want to be seen.
00:15:38.97\00:15:40.30
And those are my sisters.
00:15:40.34\00:15:42.27
The only girls in the family.
00:15:42.30\00:15:43.64
They're actually
twins, by the way.
00:15:43.67\00:15:45.01
Okay. Yeah.
00:15:45.04\00:15:46.37
So identical twins. Yeah.
00:15:46.41\00:15:48.04
So I respected their request
00:15:48.08\00:15:52.11
that is not to be revealed.
00:15:52.15\00:15:53.85
And there's a reason for that,
00:15:53.88\00:15:55.28
if you don't mind
me sharing that. Sure.
00:15:55.32\00:15:56.79
So at some point
when they became adults,
00:15:56.82\00:16:02.16
so when we were kids growing up,
00:16:02.19\00:16:04.06
there was no issue.
00:16:04.09\00:16:05.43
I mean, they
wouldn't mind taking pictures
00:16:05.46\00:16:07.06
or you showing their pictures.
00:16:07.10\00:16:09.23
By the time
they went to college.
00:16:09.26\00:16:10.73
And before that, as well,
before they went to college,
00:16:10.77\00:16:12.50
they dress like
every normal teenage girl.
00:16:12.53\00:16:16.74
But when they goes to
college, they began to have
00:16:16.77\00:16:20.28
deeper convictions about Islam,
00:16:20.31\00:16:22.31
and how they dressed.
00:16:22.34\00:16:23.71
And they decided to
dress in a certain Islamic way.
00:16:23.75\00:16:26.61
So in that picture,
00:16:26.65\00:16:27.98
they were not dressing that way.
00:16:28.02\00:16:30.02
They dressed in a
regular way in that picture.
00:16:30.05\00:16:32.32
But now because they
dress in this Islamic way,
00:16:32.35\00:16:34.62
just under deep
convictions about Islam today,
00:16:34.66\00:16:37.96
you don't want people to
see how they used to dress
00:16:37.99\00:16:39.93
and they didn't
want to be shown.
00:16:39.96\00:16:41.30
Yeah. Okay.
00:16:41.33\00:16:42.66
We can understand that.
Why they don't want to see.
00:16:42.70\00:16:44.33
Right, they want the
former way of living.
00:16:44.37\00:16:46.27
Right. Yeah, right.
00:16:46.30\00:16:47.64
They're just no
longer who we are.
00:16:47.67\00:16:49.00
Yep.
00:16:49.04\00:16:50.37
Now, one
significant childhood experience
00:16:50.41\00:16:52.44
did you have growing up?
00:16:52.47\00:16:55.31
So, my parents unintentionally
00:16:55.34\00:17:00.28
developed certain fears in me
00:17:00.32\00:17:01.92
and made me very fearful child.
00:17:01.95\00:17:04.69
Because, of course,
everyone is different.
00:17:04.72\00:17:06.62
And I have a
very sensitive nature.
00:17:06.65\00:17:09.32
And I've discovered that hard
on my life that I do have that.
00:17:09.36\00:17:12.46
And as a child, that
really was very obvious
00:17:12.49\00:17:14.66
because my parents
unintentionally again,
00:17:14.70\00:17:17.17
they brought home these movies
00:17:17.20\00:17:19.40
and their cultural movies.
00:17:19.43\00:17:21.57
We call them home
videos, and they polluted things
00:17:21.60\00:17:24.31
like witchcraft
and life after death.
00:17:24.34\00:17:28.01
And they were very vivid images,
00:17:28.04\00:17:30.25
very dark things.
00:17:30.28\00:17:31.81
And so I would consume
these things as a child
00:17:31.85\00:17:34.28
that my mom was very
fond of this kind of movies.
00:17:34.32\00:17:36.85
And I noticed
that I couldn't haven.
00:17:36.89\00:17:40.69
I mean, and in Nigeria,
00:17:40.72\00:17:42.32
we don't have
constant electricity.
00:17:42.36\00:17:44.29
Okay. Yeah.
00:17:44.33\00:17:45.66
So they will seize the
power every now and then.
00:17:45.69\00:17:48.53
And there will be
probably darkness in the night.
00:17:48.56\00:17:50.43
And I just couldn't
be alone in the dark.
00:17:50.47\00:17:53.20
I mean, it's
already fearful enough.
00:17:53.23\00:17:54.77
But for a child who
had seen such things,
00:17:54.80\00:17:57.07
you know, so many times,
00:17:57.11\00:17:59.01
I'll have those
pictures in my mind.
00:17:59.04\00:18:00.81
And I couldn't in fact
00:18:00.84\00:18:02.41
till I was about
15, 16, 17 there about,
00:18:02.44\00:18:06.88
I couldn't stay
in a home by myself.
00:18:06.92\00:18:09.58
I couldn't live in a
house just by myself,
00:18:09.62\00:18:11.69
even at 15, 16, 17 years of age.
00:18:11.72\00:18:14.79
So that was how
strong those fears were.
00:18:14.82\00:18:17.23
So because I'll be like,
what's gonna happen to me
00:18:17.26\00:18:19.36
if I'm alone and
things like that?
00:18:19.39\00:18:20.73
Yeah.
00:18:20.76\00:18:22.10
So I had a very
fearful childhood.
00:18:22.13\00:18:23.47
When in fact,
00:18:23.50\00:18:24.83
the fear was
really in your mind.
00:18:24.87\00:18:26.20
Yeah. It's amazing.
00:18:26.23\00:18:27.57
And I'm glad
you brought that up,
00:18:27.60\00:18:28.94
because a lot of times
people don't think that.
00:18:28.97\00:18:30.54
But they see
conditions the way they think.
00:18:30.57\00:18:32.77
And we had some friends
visiting us from New York,
00:18:32.81\00:18:35.81
we live out here in the country,
00:18:35.84\00:18:37.81
very wide open country.
00:18:37.85\00:18:39.98
And it's dark at
night, generally.
00:18:40.02\00:18:41.72
And we had some
friends visiting from New York
00:18:41.75\00:18:43.72
during one of our camp meetings.
00:18:43.75\00:18:45.42
It wasn't maybe 15 or 20,
well, that's about 30 feet
00:18:45.45\00:18:48.59
from our front
door to their car.
00:18:48.62\00:18:50.23
And they said, "Could
you walk us to the car?"
00:18:50.26\00:18:52.43
And we said, "Why?"
00:18:52.46\00:18:53.80
They said, "It's dark.
00:18:53.83\00:18:55.16
We can't see anything."
00:18:55.20\00:18:56.53
I said, "You have more
to fear in the big cities
00:18:56.56\00:18:58.57
than you do out
here in the country."
00:18:58.60\00:18:59.93
But once again it's the mindset.
00:18:59.97\00:19:01.74
It's amazing that
with a Muslim background,
00:19:01.77\00:19:04.97
well, did the convictions
later on become stronger
00:19:05.01\00:19:07.34
that those
movies didn't continue,
00:19:07.38\00:19:09.31
or was it just a tradition?
00:19:09.34\00:19:10.68
Was it just something your
mom or family did at that time?
00:19:10.71\00:19:13.95
You mean... The movies.
00:19:13.98\00:19:15.52
The movies, was it based on
the Islamic beliefs or just?
00:19:15.55\00:19:17.85
No, no, no.
00:19:17.89\00:19:19.22
I wonder if it was.
00:19:19.25\00:19:20.59
I don't know, was there
any connection to those,
00:19:20.62\00:19:23.29
the belief system?
00:19:23.32\00:19:24.66
It was
basically cultural though.
00:19:24.69\00:19:26.09
Okay. It was cultural.
00:19:26.13\00:19:27.86
Because they
weren't Muslim movies,
00:19:27.90\00:19:29.23
they were just cultural movies
00:19:29.26\00:19:30.60
in my language
done by my people.
00:19:30.63\00:19:33.34
And the
worldview in those movies
00:19:33.37\00:19:36.10
are actually the
worldview of my people.
00:19:36.14\00:19:38.47
They believe that
there is life for death.
00:19:38.51\00:19:40.81
Does Muslims believe
that, life after death?
00:19:40.84\00:19:43.18
Muslims actually have
00:19:43.21\00:19:44.55
interesting beliefs
about life after death.
00:19:44.58\00:19:46.08
I may be able to share that,
00:19:46.11\00:19:47.48
but one of them that I
should probably share it now
00:19:47.52\00:19:49.75
is what happens in
terms of your prayer life
00:19:49.78\00:19:52.35
as a Muslim.
00:19:52.39\00:19:53.72
So when you die,
your prayers actually
00:19:53.76\00:19:55.69
follow you to the grave.
00:19:55.72\00:19:57.39
I mean your faithfulness
to your five daily prayers.
00:19:57.43\00:20:00.13
And there was a time in
my junior high school that
00:20:00.16\00:20:03.26
I was really
thought about this concept
00:20:03.30\00:20:05.43
that when I die as a Muslim,
00:20:05.47\00:20:07.77
if I was faithful to
my five daily prayers,
00:20:07.80\00:20:10.41
they will come
visit me, personified
00:20:10.44\00:20:13.88
in my grave at
those time periods.
00:20:13.91\00:20:17.81
So the morning prayer will come,
00:20:17.85\00:20:19.18
the afternoon
prayers would come,
00:20:19.21\00:20:20.55
the evening prayers would
come personified in persons
00:20:20.58\00:20:23.45
in my grave, and it
will give me comfort,
00:20:23.49\00:20:25.32
they will give me comfort
in my grave after my death.
00:20:25.35\00:20:27.69
But if I was unfaithful
to my five daily prayers,
00:20:27.72\00:20:30.33
they will also come personified
00:20:30.36\00:20:32.56
to actually
torment me in my grave.
00:20:32.59\00:20:34.36
Wow.
00:20:34.40\00:20:35.73
And that's Islamic tradition,
00:20:35.76\00:20:37.20
it's an Islamic
tradition is believed,
00:20:37.23\00:20:39.27
I don't know
where it's in the Quran
00:20:39.30\00:20:40.64
because Islam is not
just based on the Quran alone.
00:20:40.67\00:20:43.64
There are lots
of Hadiths as well,
00:20:43.67\00:20:45.37
which are kind of like
the sayings of the Prophet
00:20:45.41\00:20:48.01
and things like
that, and some other
00:20:48.04\00:20:51.11
recognized figures
during that period.
00:20:51.15\00:20:52.85
So those things
are called Hadiths,
00:20:52.88\00:20:55.42
and those things are actually as
00:20:55.45\00:20:57.49
they're taken as
serious as the Quran.
00:20:57.52\00:20:59.22
So those are traditions
that are believed to be true.
00:20:59.25\00:21:01.82
Yeah.
00:21:01.86\00:21:03.19
Now I have a question.
00:21:03.22\00:21:05.29
Do they believe
that Jesus is a prophet?
00:21:05.33\00:21:08.93
What did they...
What did they believe?
00:21:08.96\00:21:10.57
That's basically they
believe that He is a prophet.
00:21:10.60\00:21:12.77
Yes. That He's a prophet.
00:21:12.80\00:21:14.14
He's one of the prophets,
00:21:14.17\00:21:15.50
they called him
a special prophet,
00:21:15.54\00:21:17.24
because He did certain miracles
and He was kind of unique
00:21:17.27\00:21:20.71
in the way He was born as well.
00:21:20.74\00:21:22.28
So even the virgin birth is
recognized in Islam as well.
00:21:22.31\00:21:27.22
They recognize that. Okay.
00:21:27.25\00:21:28.92
Now, I want to show a
few more pictures here,
00:21:28.95\00:21:31.19
then I'm going to
go to the transitional
00:21:31.22\00:21:32.55
part of your story.
00:21:32.59\00:21:33.92
This is pretty interesting.
00:21:33.96\00:21:35.29
Let's look at the
next picture and identify
00:21:35.32\00:21:36.83
to our viewing
audience what we're seeing here.
00:21:36.86\00:21:40.13
Oh, yeah, this is my college.
00:21:40.16\00:21:42.53
My first college.
00:21:42.56\00:21:43.90
Okay. Yeah.
00:21:43.93\00:21:45.27
This is significant.
00:21:45.30\00:21:46.63
What's the name of the college?
00:21:46.67\00:21:48.00
It's called Babcock. Okay.
00:21:48.04\00:21:49.37
Now, when you were
there, were you still Muslim?
00:21:49.40\00:21:51.51
So I went in there as a Muslim
00:21:51.54\00:21:54.08
who was not
satisfied with Islam.
00:21:54.11\00:21:57.75
Yeah.
00:21:57.78\00:21:59.65
Why were you not
satisfied with Islam?
00:21:59.68\00:22:01.68
Yeah, because just
before this college,
00:22:01.72\00:22:04.52
maybe two years before, I
had a huge problem actually,
00:22:04.55\00:22:08.09
because I had to
live with my uncle
00:22:08.12\00:22:09.49
for a little time.
00:22:09.52\00:22:10.93
So I left home
to a different city,
00:22:10.96\00:22:13.33
actually a different
state where my uncle was
00:22:13.36\00:22:15.46
because I had to
take my examination,
00:22:15.50\00:22:17.27
the one that helped
me get into college.
00:22:17.30\00:22:19.07
I asked him to
take in one more time.
00:22:19.10\00:22:20.67
So I was with my uncle.
00:22:20.70\00:22:22.10
And this time, there was
no one to be with me at home
00:22:22.14\00:22:24.61
when my uncle left.
00:22:24.64\00:22:26.11
And this was just like
two years before college,
00:22:26.14\00:22:28.04
and I still couldn't
live by myself in the house
00:22:28.08\00:22:30.21
because of these fears.
00:22:30.25\00:22:31.58
So had these
very personal fears,
00:22:31.61\00:22:33.35
I needed a personal
God that will help me deal
00:22:33.38\00:22:36.58
with all of these
fears I had as a child,
00:22:36.62\00:22:38.52
even my teenage life.
00:22:38.55\00:22:39.89
So while I was there,
00:22:39.92\00:22:41.92
I knew that I
needed something stronger,
00:22:41.96\00:22:43.56
I needed something
personal, a personal God.
00:22:43.59\00:22:45.89
So when I came into the college,
00:22:45.93\00:22:47.56
I knew that I needed to
overcome this fear somehow,
00:22:47.60\00:22:50.23
and Islam wasn't
giving me those tools.
00:22:50.27\00:22:52.50
So I was dissatisfied with Islam
00:22:52.53\00:22:54.60
when I was in that college,
00:22:54.64\00:22:55.97
But you have a
dream, didn't you?
00:22:56.00\00:22:57.67
Had a dream as a child actually.
00:22:57.71\00:22:59.67
Share that dream with us.
00:22:59.71\00:23:01.04
Yeah, because
during that same period,
00:23:01.08\00:23:03.08
when in my childhood
when I would be so fearful
00:23:03.11\00:23:05.88
because of what
I was exposed to,
00:23:05.91\00:23:07.85
I would also have
very scary dreams.
00:23:07.88\00:23:11.92
And these dreams were very vivid
00:23:11.95\00:23:13.46
because they happen in
the setting of the home
00:23:13.49\00:23:15.29
where we were living.
00:23:15.32\00:23:16.66
So in my dream, I see myself
00:23:16.69\00:23:18.03
just around our
house being chased
00:23:18.06\00:23:20.06
around by some very
scary looking thing,
00:23:20.10\00:23:23.33
like some demon or something.
00:23:23.37\00:23:25.53
And I remember
these dreams happened
00:23:25.57\00:23:28.54
a number of times, not
just once, number of times.
00:23:28.57\00:23:31.11
And I remember
during that same period,
00:23:31.14\00:23:33.14
at least one time,
00:23:33.17\00:23:34.58
because I remember vividly,
there was at least one time
00:23:34.61\00:23:36.95
when I dreamt
that I was in my room,
00:23:36.98\00:23:39.18
actually inside my room
and there was this angelic
00:23:39.21\00:23:42.22
being that came into the room.
00:23:42.25\00:23:44.22
I could recognize that being
because I'd seen posters of
00:23:44.25\00:23:48.29
Jesus in my
Christian saturated community
00:23:48.32\00:23:51.69
because we lived in a very
Christian saturated community.
00:23:51.73\00:23:54.93
So there were
many churches around
00:23:54.96\00:23:56.40
and they had
these posters of Jesus.
00:23:56.43\00:23:58.30
But that particular dream
happened around the same time,
00:23:58.33\00:24:01.07
I would have those dreams
that would scare me to death.
00:24:01.10\00:24:03.54
And this being came
into the room, very angelic,
00:24:03.57\00:24:06.88
bright and
looked just like Jesus
00:24:06.91\00:24:08.81
I had seen in the posters.
00:24:08.84\00:24:10.18
And he offered his hand
to me, like saying come.
00:24:10.21\00:24:13.25
And that dream was very
good, was very good for me,
00:24:13.28\00:24:16.99
because I kept
that picture in my mind
00:24:17.02\00:24:18.79
whenever I felt afraid.
00:24:18.82\00:24:21.19
Many years after that,
00:24:21.22\00:24:22.56
that picture
remained in my mind.
00:24:22.59\00:24:23.93
Yeah.
00:24:23.96\00:24:25.43
And that helped
in your transition,
00:24:25.46\00:24:26.93
because at the
college that we just saw,
00:24:26.96\00:24:29.43
you started transitioning
00:24:29.46\00:24:30.80
away from Islam to Christianity?
00:24:30.83\00:24:32.70
Yeah.
00:24:32.73\00:24:34.07
In fact, I first did not,
00:24:34.10\00:24:36.71
I didn't
actually plan to do that.
00:24:36.74\00:24:38.57
I just knew Islam
wasn't for me, really,
00:24:38.61\00:24:40.88
because it wasn't
helping me as a person.
00:24:40.91\00:24:43.04
And I didn't believe
that it was going to help me
00:24:43.08\00:24:44.95
overcome my
fears and everything.
00:24:44.98\00:24:47.22
So, but I wasn't
00:24:47.25\00:24:48.58
automatically
thinking about Christianity.
00:24:48.62\00:24:50.39
Right. Yeah.
00:24:50.42\00:24:51.75
So I think for a while
what I actually just did
00:24:51.79\00:24:54.26
was just live life as it
came and got involved in lots
00:24:54.29\00:24:59.09
of music with my
friends and the worldly stuff.
00:24:59.13\00:25:04.03
We will do a lot
of worldly stuff.
00:25:04.07\00:25:05.40
I think I tried
to drown my fears
00:25:05.43\00:25:07.70
with a very worldly lifestyle.
00:25:07.74\00:25:12.04
That's amazing.
00:25:12.07\00:25:13.41
So you're in a Christian
school or an environment
00:25:13.44\00:25:16.78
where there are
multiple religions.
00:25:16.81\00:25:18.25
Yeah.
00:25:18.28\00:25:19.61
But your friends start
00:25:19.65\00:25:20.98
becoming
influential in some degree.
00:25:21.02\00:25:22.85
And then your
dedication to Islam
00:25:22.88\00:25:24.75
started lightening up.
00:25:24.79\00:25:26.22
It was kind of like the...
00:25:26.25\00:25:28.09
I think the way I
think of it is the bridge
00:25:28.12\00:25:30.26
between two points,
00:25:30.29\00:25:31.86
like between
Zimbabwe and Zambia,
00:25:31.89\00:25:33.60
there's a bridge
over Victoria Falls,
00:25:33.63\00:25:35.10
it's called no man's land.
00:25:35.13\00:25:37.13
And so you're leaving one in,
00:25:37.17\00:25:38.87
but not all the
way in the other.
00:25:38.90\00:25:40.27
That's quite an
experience. Yeah.
00:25:40.30\00:25:42.04
But you had
some challenges here.
00:25:42.07\00:25:43.81
Yeah.
00:25:43.84\00:25:45.17
And I should
say, at this college
00:25:45.21\00:25:46.78
is where I met
my Adventist friend,
00:25:46.81\00:25:49.84
actually I had two friends.
00:25:49.88\00:25:51.28
One of them was a
Pentecostal Christian
00:25:51.31\00:25:53.21
like Angelical Christian Sunday,
00:25:53.25\00:25:55.38
and the other grew up
in an Adventist family.
00:25:55.42\00:25:58.05
And both of them were
like, with bodies like,
00:25:58.09\00:26:02.66
I was like here and
they were like that,
00:26:02.69\00:26:04.99
very close friends,
00:26:05.03\00:26:06.36
but outside those two friends,
those two Christian friends,
00:26:06.39\00:26:08.36
the Adventist and
Angelical Christian,
00:26:08.40\00:26:10.00
I had all of my worldly friends,
00:26:10.03\00:26:11.57
that I would stop to go
00:26:11.60\00:26:13.00
there to kind of drown
my fears in and everything.
00:26:13.03\00:26:16.30
But the influence of
my two Christian friends
00:26:16.34\00:26:18.67
that were closest to me,
00:26:18.71\00:26:20.14
which I think
God made that happen,
00:26:20.18\00:26:21.61
because that
wouldn't have happened,
00:26:21.64\00:26:23.38
if not for God,
00:26:23.41\00:26:24.75
because I had all of
these worldly friends
00:26:24.78\00:26:26.11
that were really into that.
00:26:26.15\00:26:27.52
Well, these two
Christian friends
00:26:27.55\00:26:28.88
were ready to
be different. Yeah.
00:26:28.92\00:26:30.45
They were not perfect,
00:26:30.49\00:26:31.82
but they were so
different from other friends
00:26:31.85\00:26:33.56
that I took notice of them.
00:26:33.59\00:26:35.46
And notice that I like to
talk about spiritual things,
00:26:35.49\00:26:39.03
because, of
course, somebody who grew
00:26:39.06\00:26:41.53
up in my kind of background,
00:26:41.56\00:26:43.00
I have a very
spiritual background.
00:26:43.03\00:26:44.80
So I was interested in
spiritual conversations,
00:26:44.83\00:26:47.74
and I'll talk with him
about spiritual things.
00:26:47.77\00:26:49.97
And, of course,
they were Christian,
00:26:50.01\00:26:51.87
so they would speak
about the Bible a lot,
00:26:51.91\00:26:53.48
and I had not studied
the Bible by this time.
00:26:53.51\00:26:56.85
So they challenged
me to study the Bible,
00:26:56.88\00:26:58.58
both of them, and
that's what I did.
00:26:58.61\00:27:00.82
Wow.
00:27:00.85\00:27:02.18
Did you have obstacles
when you becoming a Christian,
00:27:02.22\00:27:04.95
share with us
00:27:04.99\00:27:06.49
about your
journey to Christianity?
00:27:06.52\00:27:08.92
There were lots of obstacles,
00:27:08.96\00:27:10.49
especially I had
the family obstacle,
00:27:10.53\00:27:12.06
because being a
very sensitive person,
00:27:12.09\00:27:14.46
I didn't want to hurt my family.
00:27:14.50\00:27:15.83
I didn't want
to hurt my parents.
00:27:15.86\00:27:17.50
And,
00:27:17.53\00:27:19.43
yeah, that was the
greatest challenge.
00:27:19.47\00:27:21.30
In my second year,
that was around 2009
00:27:21.34\00:27:25.17
at a college Mark
Finley came there.
00:27:25.21\00:27:27.61
Oh, Mark Finley?
00:27:27.64\00:27:28.98
Yeah, Pastor Mark
Finley came there.
00:27:29.01\00:27:30.35
Okay. Yeah, I came for...
00:27:30.38\00:27:31.71
A strong messenger of the Lord.
00:27:31.75\00:27:33.08
Yeah, two weeks, two
weeks of evangelism day.
00:27:33.11\00:27:37.09
And it was from Mark Finley
that I finally got a good grasp
00:27:37.12\00:27:41.29
of the Bible,
00:27:41.32\00:27:43.02
because proud folk,
proud team come here,
00:27:43.06\00:27:45.46
I had not studied the Bible.
00:27:45.49\00:27:46.83
And my friends
were challenging me
00:27:46.86\00:27:48.20
to study the Bible.
00:27:48.23\00:27:49.56
Since I was always loving
00:27:49.60\00:27:50.93
this spiritual
conversations with them.
00:27:50.97\00:27:52.67
And I began to study the
Bible, but it was quite a task.
00:27:52.70\00:27:57.21
You know, for somebody
who didn't grow up with that,
00:27:57.24\00:27:58.91
I grew up with the Quran.
00:27:58.94\00:28:00.28
So when he came around,
00:28:00.31\00:28:01.64
and he had his two
weeks of evangelism,
00:28:01.68\00:28:03.61
and he talked about all of these
00:28:03.65\00:28:06.82
major doctrines of
the Bible, including
00:28:06.85\00:28:09.68
the state of the dead,
which actually cut across
00:28:09.72\00:28:13.62
my fearful childhood, the
things I saw in the movies,
00:28:13.66\00:28:16.22
so that was really
instrumental for me,
00:28:16.26\00:28:18.09
I think, yeah, it was.
00:28:18.13\00:28:19.49
That was interesting,
because all of a sudden,
00:28:19.53\00:28:21.26
you grew up with these fears,
00:28:21.30\00:28:22.83
you know, the demonic
visions and the movies
00:28:22.86\00:28:26.40
that you were showing
that developed even into,
00:28:26.43\00:28:29.10
you know, teenage
years, these fears.
00:28:29.14\00:28:31.41
And all of a sudden,
you realize, wait a minute,
00:28:31.44\00:28:33.78
the dead are really dead.
00:28:33.81\00:28:35.14
Yeah, the dead are really dead.
00:28:35.18\00:28:36.51
They're not living,
they're not talking to me.
00:28:36.54\00:28:38.31
They're not spirits that
will visit me in my grave
00:28:38.35\00:28:41.32
because of my prayers.
00:28:41.35\00:28:42.68
Yeah. It started.
00:28:42.72\00:28:44.05
That was quite a revolution.
00:28:44.09\00:28:45.42
I mean, when you heard
that, I just got to ask,
00:28:45.45\00:28:47.89
when you heard
that for the first time,
00:28:47.92\00:28:50.06
where was the click
00:28:50.09\00:28:51.43
because, you know,
sometimes people say,
00:28:51.46\00:28:52.79
unbelievable.
00:28:52.83\00:28:54.20
The aha-aha moment.
00:28:54.23\00:28:56.23
What was that for
you? What was that like?
00:28:56.26\00:28:58.00
I mean, did you go
back to your room and say,
00:28:58.03\00:29:00.14
I can't believe, I
mean, I can't believe
00:29:00.17\00:29:02.07
this is actually,
00:29:02.10\00:29:03.44
where did you get to the
point where you embrace it?
00:29:03.47\00:29:04.81
That's the question really.
00:29:04.84\00:29:06.44
Yeah, I think I
was prepared for it.
00:29:06.47\00:29:09.51
Because like I said, I
was already dissatisfied with
00:29:09.54\00:29:12.31
what I had prior to
my coming to the college.
00:29:12.35\00:29:15.15
And I was
already drowning myself
00:29:15.18\00:29:16.55
in these worldly things.
00:29:16.58\00:29:17.92
So when that came,
00:29:17.95\00:29:19.72
there was
something beautiful to me.
00:29:19.75\00:29:21.89
It was beautiful.
00:29:21.92\00:29:23.26
So I just
couldn't resist that truth,
00:29:23.29\00:29:26.70
because it came from the Bible.
00:29:26.73\00:29:28.16
And as Muslims,
00:29:28.20\00:29:29.53
there is something
about Islam that says
00:29:29.56\00:29:32.03
that you should
recognize the Bible,
00:29:32.07\00:29:34.87
that the Bible is
actually inspired by God,
00:29:34.90\00:29:37.07
although they have
issues with the gospels
00:29:37.11\00:29:39.14
and all of these questions about
00:29:39.17\00:29:40.84
the gospels and everything.
00:29:40.88\00:29:42.24
But in general, Islam actually
00:29:42.28\00:29:45.31
recognizes the
Bible as inspired.
00:29:45.35\00:29:47.95
So for me for those
truths to be shown to me
00:29:47.98\00:29:51.52
from the Bible about
the state of the dead
00:29:51.55\00:29:53.82
and things like that.
00:29:53.86\00:29:55.19
It was just too
beautiful to just say no to it.
00:29:55.22\00:29:58.49
I just, I had it up
like I was ready for it.
00:29:58.53\00:30:01.66
So nice. I was ready for it.
00:30:01.70\00:30:03.37
You know, you go back to
the question why would...
00:30:03.40\00:30:05.37
And I can see God in
this because the question,
00:30:05.40\00:30:07.87
why did your parents send
you to an Adventist college.
00:30:07.90\00:30:10.64
And that also was a God thing
00:30:10.67\00:30:13.38
because I wasn't
supposed to go there.
00:30:13.41\00:30:15.68
I was supposed to go
to a public university.
00:30:15.71\00:30:19.11
And when I wrote my
entrance examination
00:30:19.15\00:30:21.28
to the public university,
they couldn't find my result
00:30:21.32\00:30:24.09
which is really strange,
00:30:24.12\00:30:25.45
because I went there after,
00:30:25.49\00:30:27.52
when it was the time
for us to see our results.
00:30:27.56\00:30:30.46
And then, of course, see whether
00:30:30.49\00:30:31.83
I passed or failed or anything,
00:30:31.86\00:30:33.19
but it's just that
they couldn't find it that,
00:30:33.23\00:30:34.76
they couldn't find my result.
00:30:34.80\00:30:36.13
And my dad was like, "No,
00:30:36.16\00:30:37.50
you're not going to be
home for one more year,"
00:30:37.53\00:30:39.80
because that's the
implication, I had to wait
00:30:39.83\00:30:41.37
another year to
write that exam again.
00:30:41.40\00:30:43.54
And he was like, "I
think you need to go
00:30:43.57\00:30:45.04
to a private college."
00:30:45.07\00:30:46.41
So that's how I ended there.
00:30:46.44\00:30:47.84
You see the blessing.
00:30:47.88\00:30:49.98
It wasn't coincidental
now that you look back.
00:30:50.01\00:30:52.21
I don't believe it was.
00:30:52.25\00:30:53.58
The Lord was closing one
door and He was opening another.
00:30:53.62\00:30:55.42
You know, it
reminds me of John 16:13,
00:30:55.45\00:30:58.89
"However, when He, the
Spirit of truth has come,
00:30:58.92\00:31:01.29
He will lead you and guide you
00:31:01.32\00:31:03.29
into all truth."
00:31:03.32\00:31:04.66
And so tell us
about your transition now.
00:31:04.69\00:31:07.36
Did you decide to get
baptized at that school?
00:31:07.40\00:31:10.10
I got baptized at that school.
00:31:10.13\00:31:11.53
Okay. Yeah.
00:31:11.57\00:31:12.90
And I would go home
during the holidays.
00:31:12.93\00:31:16.10
And I would
still pray as a Muslim
00:31:16.14\00:31:17.97
because I was so scared to death
00:31:18.01\00:31:19.61
that my friends
would find out that I was,
00:31:19.64\00:31:21.24
because my daddy told me that
00:31:21.28\00:31:22.71
when you go to that
college you become a Christian,
00:31:22.74\00:31:24.65
because he knows
it's a Christian school.
00:31:24.68\00:31:26.68
And he did tell
me if I went there,
00:31:26.72\00:31:28.52
don't go there and
become a Christian.
00:31:28.55\00:31:30.02
And I wasn't
even planning on it.
00:31:30.05\00:31:31.82
But it happened because God
wanted it to happen that way.
00:31:31.85\00:31:35.12
Just like he said,
00:31:35.16\00:31:36.49
what happened with
my public university
00:31:36.52\00:31:38.83
chance which closed
was a God, and I believe,
00:31:38.86\00:31:41.26
because now today
I'm a different person
00:31:41.30\00:31:43.50
in terms of my fears.
00:31:43.53\00:31:44.87
Yeah, I'm not the
same person I used to be.
00:31:44.90\00:31:46.53
So, yeah, I would go home,
and I'd pray as a Muslim out,
00:31:46.57\00:31:50.51
still pray on the mat like,
I'll go through the motions.
00:31:50.54\00:31:52.61
Yeah.
00:31:52.64\00:31:53.98
During the holidays,
but I know I remember that.
00:31:54.01\00:31:56.34
I didn't say the
Arabic verses now.
00:31:56.38\00:31:58.41
Because most probably...
00:31:58.45\00:31:59.88
You didn't want.
Yeah, and I did not say.
00:31:59.91\00:32:01.45
You didn't say Arabic verses.
00:32:01.48\00:32:02.82
Yeah, I did not
say the Arabic verses.
00:32:02.85\00:32:04.19
I was saying the Christian
scriptures in my heart,
00:32:04.22\00:32:06.05
because most of
those prayers, we pray,
00:32:06.09\00:32:07.99
you pray them inwards.
00:32:08.02\00:32:09.72
There are some of
them you pray outwards,
00:32:09.76\00:32:11.63
like the morning
and evening ones,
00:32:11.66\00:32:13.63
but the afternoon prayers,
00:32:13.66\00:32:15.00
you're supposed to pray inward.
00:32:15.03\00:32:16.36
So nobody knows
what you're saying.
00:32:16.40\00:32:17.73
And I used to say
00:32:17.77\00:32:19.10
Christian scriptures in my heart
00:32:19.13\00:32:20.47
as I went through the motions.
00:32:20.50\00:32:22.10
That was
interesting scenario in prayer.
00:32:22.14\00:32:23.47
You should be
that from losing it.
00:32:23.51\00:32:25.01
Yeah. Yeah. Right.
00:32:25.04\00:32:26.37
Because I mean, I can imagine
00:32:26.41\00:32:27.74
you send your son away one way,
00:32:27.78\00:32:29.28
and he comes
back home another way.
00:32:29.31\00:32:30.85
How challenging
is that in a family?
00:32:30.88\00:32:33.25
You know, for example,
00:32:33.28\00:32:34.88
if a child decides
00:32:34.92\00:32:36.48
they no longer
want to be Islamic,
00:32:36.52\00:32:38.49
and it's the parents...
00:32:38.52\00:32:40.06
That's the most dreadful thing
00:32:40.09\00:32:42.22
you could do to
your Islamic parents.
00:32:42.26\00:32:43.79
Yeah, it's like,
it's like you put in.
00:32:43.83\00:32:47.80
Yeah, spitting in
their face kind of thing.
00:32:47.83\00:32:49.86
That's how
serious it is in Islam.
00:32:49.90\00:32:52.70
It's like you're saying
throwing sand in their face
00:32:52.73\00:32:55.10
and saying that everything
they gave you means nothing,
00:32:55.14\00:32:58.21
including the western
education they invested in,
00:32:58.24\00:33:01.14
including how they've done
for you in growing up party,
00:33:01.18\00:33:03.61
invested in you
basically saying that,
00:33:03.65\00:33:06.55
I despise all of that.
00:33:06.58\00:33:07.92
That's what you mean
by becoming a Christian.
00:33:07.95\00:33:09.52
Wow.
00:33:09.55\00:33:10.89
Because you almost
have to ask yourself.
00:33:10.92\00:33:13.42
When they found out,
00:33:13.46\00:33:15.06
I need to ask that
question when they found out?
00:33:15.09\00:33:16.42
And they did find out.
Yeah, they did find out.
00:33:16.46\00:33:17.79
Yeah. What was that like?
00:33:17.83\00:33:19.66
Yeah.
00:33:19.69\00:33:21.13
So I did that for the
last two years of college
00:33:21.16\00:33:23.87
goes towards a
bachelor's, just four years.
00:33:23.90\00:33:25.57
So I go baptized
in my second year.
00:33:25.60\00:33:27.77
I remember I think,
00:33:27.80\00:33:29.14
and then for the next two years,
00:33:29.17\00:33:30.51
I was doing this
during the holidays.
00:33:30.54\00:33:32.17
And so they didn't find
out till when I was done.
00:33:32.21\00:33:34.84
So after you
finish college in Nigeria,
00:33:34.88\00:33:38.01
you're supposed to go
for a year of service.
00:33:38.05\00:33:40.38
So that was my chance.
00:33:40.42\00:33:42.15
I think I have a picture
there of my youth service.
00:33:42.18\00:33:43.92
Yes.
00:33:43.95\00:33:45.29
Yeah. Let's see.
00:33:45.32\00:33:46.65
Probably they will
show that, but not that one,
00:33:46.69\00:33:49.89
but the one prior
that may be but anyway.
00:33:49.92\00:33:52.23
So while I was going
for the youth service,
00:33:52.26\00:33:55.03
I said, this is
my golden chance,
00:33:55.06\00:33:56.73
because I'm going to be
away from home for a year.
00:33:56.77\00:34:00.07
So I wouldn't be
there to see them
00:34:00.10\00:34:01.44
break down and everything
00:34:01.47\00:34:02.80
because I didn't
want to see that.
00:34:02.84\00:34:04.24
So what I did was I
wrote them a letter,
00:34:04.27\00:34:06.74
and I sent it to them
00:34:06.78\00:34:08.24
because while I was
waiting for my youth service
00:34:08.28\00:34:11.51
call up letter to come
00:34:11.55\00:34:12.88
because I had to
wait like three months,
00:34:12.91\00:34:14.48
I went to stay
with my Christian friend
00:34:14.52\00:34:16.48
the Evangelical one
in a different city.
00:34:16.52\00:34:19.69
So I said I was going there
00:34:19.72\00:34:21.06
just to try and
find a temporary job
00:34:21.09\00:34:22.76
before I go for
my youth service.
00:34:22.79\00:34:24.13
But the real reason was,
00:34:24.16\00:34:25.49
I wanted to
practice my Christian faith.
00:34:25.53\00:34:27.36
I went there on that note,
00:34:27.40\00:34:29.13
and I was, my Christian friend
00:34:29.16\00:34:30.57
will go to church on
Sundays and everything,
00:34:30.60\00:34:32.63
because I tended towards
Evangelical Christian at first,
00:34:32.67\00:34:35.30
Christianity at first.
00:34:35.34\00:34:36.71
Yeah, so, while I was
there for three months,
00:34:36.74\00:34:39.11
I would go to
church every Sunday,
00:34:39.14\00:34:40.48
I was so happy, you
know, being a Christian,
00:34:40.51\00:34:42.61
and everything.
00:34:42.64\00:34:43.98
And then when that
time was coming to an end
00:34:44.01\00:34:45.71
to come back home and
prepare for my youth service.
00:34:45.75\00:34:48.75
I said this is
time to tell them,
00:34:48.78\00:34:50.52
so I wrote them a
letter, like a note,
00:34:50.55\00:34:52.89
an email, I send it
to my younger brother,
00:34:52.92\00:34:54.72
the one after me to
give my parents this letter.
00:34:54.76\00:34:57.66
Tell them to read it.
00:34:57.69\00:34:59.03
And I'm coming home tomorrow.
00:34:59.06\00:35:00.40
Oh. Yeah. Wow!
00:35:00.43\00:35:01.93
So, get them
ready, and I'm on my way.
00:35:01.96\00:35:04.97
Okay. Yeah.
00:35:05.00\00:35:06.33
So they read note
00:35:06.37\00:35:07.70
and I arrived the following day.
00:35:07.74\00:35:09.30
And they had seen everything,
they had read everything
00:35:09.34\00:35:11.31
because I put
out my heart there,
00:35:11.34\00:35:12.87
including why I
did what I did and how
00:35:12.91\00:35:15.68
I didn't want to break
their heart and everything.
00:35:15.71\00:35:17.31
So I just put
my heart into note.
00:35:17.35\00:35:19.55
And when I came
home the next day
00:35:19.58\00:35:21.28
I came at the 7 o'clock prayer,
00:35:21.32\00:35:23.69
I arrived at a 7 o'clock prayer.
00:35:23.72\00:35:25.79
And I told myself that
I'm not going to budge.
00:35:25.82\00:35:28.69
I'm just going to
stand for what I believe.
00:35:28.72\00:35:31.43
And I remember as
soon as I came in through
00:35:31.46\00:35:34.33
'cause we had a
fenced, a fenced compound,
00:35:34.36\00:35:36.67
we call it a compound.
00:35:36.70\00:35:38.03
So as soon as I
came to the gate,
00:35:38.07\00:35:40.00
I saw my dad there just
finished doing the ablution,
00:35:40.04\00:35:43.30
you knows, you have to
do the ceremonial washing
00:35:43.34\00:35:45.34
before you pray.
00:35:45.37\00:35:46.71
And my dad told me,
00:35:46.74\00:35:48.34
go and perform your
ablution and join us in prayer.
00:35:48.38\00:35:51.45
And he said it
with such a strong voice
00:35:51.48\00:35:53.78
that I didn't know when
I went and do the ablution.
00:35:53.82\00:35:56.02
I just went and
did it and joined them.
00:35:56.05\00:35:59.12
But I knew that that was
going to be the last time
00:35:59.15\00:36:01.46
I was going to pray like that.
00:36:01.49\00:36:02.82
I knew that. So I
just obeyed and did it.
00:36:02.86\00:36:05.19
And that night he
called me into the room,
00:36:05.23\00:36:07.23
my parents before them and
00:36:07.26\00:36:09.80
they started
asking me questions,
00:36:09.83\00:36:11.23
but I didn't have to say much
00:36:11.27\00:36:12.60
because I said
everything in the note,
00:36:12.63\00:36:13.97
I had sent them.
00:36:14.00\00:36:15.34
So I just kept asking,
did you guys read the note?
00:36:15.37\00:36:17.27
Did you guys read the note?
00:36:17.31\00:36:18.64
They wanted to
hear it from your mouth.
00:36:18.67\00:36:20.01
He said,
actually what my dad said,
00:36:20.04\00:36:21.71
they want to hear
from the horse's mouth.
00:36:21.74\00:36:23.28
So I remember my mom was crying
00:36:23.31\00:36:25.98
so bitterly, she cried
and cried and cried and cried.
00:36:26.01\00:36:28.78
And she did say something
that I remember that night,
00:36:28.82\00:36:30.99
she said, "I
believe you're going to test
00:36:31.02\00:36:35.22
that religion, that other,
check and write the other side,
00:36:35.26\00:36:38.26
I believe they're
going to test the other side
00:36:38.29\00:36:40.10
for a while.
00:36:40.13\00:36:41.46
I believe you're
going to come back.
00:36:41.50\00:36:42.83
Oh.
00:36:42.86\00:36:44.20
But even though I was a
fresh Christian at this point,
00:36:44.23\00:36:46.77
I was just starting
my Christian journey.
00:36:46.80\00:36:48.34
I knew it wasn't
gonna happen, because I knew
00:36:48.37\00:36:50.77
that I had a
personal Savior in Christ.
00:36:50.81\00:36:52.44
And that was what I
had always wanted so.
00:36:52.47\00:36:54.08
Wow. Yeah.
00:36:54.11\00:36:55.44
Today, I think my
mom has changed that...
00:36:55.48\00:36:57.35
That opinion.
00:36:57.38\00:36:58.71
That opinion by just
seeing how much I've grown
00:36:58.75\00:37:01.05
and everything that's
happened on that journey.
00:37:01.08\00:37:02.65
I don't think she believes
that soon I'll come back,
00:37:02.68\00:37:04.32
I don't think so.
00:37:04.35\00:37:05.69
How many years have
you been a Christian?
00:37:05.72\00:37:08.19
So this story I just
shared now was in 2012
00:37:08.22\00:37:13.13
and this is 2021,
00:37:13.16\00:37:14.50
so...
00:37:14.53\00:37:15.86
Wow. Yeah.
00:37:15.90\00:37:17.23
That's amazing. Yeah.
00:37:17.27\00:37:18.60
So and I think
that your constancy,
00:37:18.63\00:37:19.97
your consistency is
going to be a witness to them.
00:37:20.00\00:37:22.17
Let's look at another
picture here and explain
00:37:22.20\00:37:23.97
to what we're seeing here.
00:37:24.01\00:37:27.64
Yeah, that was
the youth service.
00:37:27.68\00:37:29.24
So it was while I was away,
that God began to walk in them.
00:37:29.28\00:37:33.21
This was kind of
like a rural village area
00:37:33.25\00:37:37.05
where I was posted to
teach other high school
00:37:37.09\00:37:40.56
as part of my
service for one year.
00:37:40.59\00:37:42.29
Okay. Yeah.
00:37:42.32\00:37:43.66
So after that, I came back home.
00:37:43.69\00:37:45.03
But when I came back home,
God had began to heal them.
00:37:45.06\00:37:47.46
Yeah.
00:37:47.50\00:37:48.83
And I remember
my mom would call me
00:37:48.86\00:37:50.20
in Jesus' name.
00:37:50.23\00:37:51.97
Or she would call
you in Jesus' name. Yeah.
00:37:52.00\00:37:53.74
She would?
00:37:53.77\00:37:55.10
That's what she called you?
00:37:55.14\00:37:56.67
That's
interesting. That's interesting.
00:37:56.71\00:37:58.74
Now, I have a question.
00:37:58.77\00:38:00.18
You've been a Muslim.
00:38:00.21\00:38:02.28
And we've heard for many years
00:38:02.31\00:38:04.98
that you're
ostracized when you're Muslim,
00:38:05.01\00:38:07.68
you put out and I mean,
when you become a Christian,
00:38:07.72\00:38:10.39
you're put out of your
home and things like that?
00:38:10.42\00:38:13.82
They didn't treat you that way.
00:38:13.86\00:38:16.19
They didn't shun you
or anything like that?
00:38:16.22\00:38:18.93
I think they
shunned, in fact, half
00:38:18.96\00:38:20.30
before I left for
the youth service.
00:38:20.33\00:38:22.00
So after that night,
yeah, after that night,
00:38:22.03\00:38:24.17
there was a break
in the emotional bond.
00:38:24.20\00:38:27.77
This was so obvious
00:38:27.80\00:38:29.14
that our hearts were
almost like ripped apart.
00:38:29.17\00:38:31.07
And we couldn't
communicate in the house.
00:38:31.11\00:38:33.68
But I remember my mom
00:38:33.71\00:38:35.04
would tell me
get some food to eat,
00:38:35.08\00:38:36.41
because I wouldn't eat.
00:38:36.44\00:38:37.78
And after a long silence,
maybe almost a day of silence,
00:38:37.81\00:38:40.55
nobody talking to anyone,
but speaking to each other,
00:38:40.58\00:38:43.22
she will say get
some food and all of that.
00:38:43.25\00:38:45.05
But I remember
that like a week later,
00:38:45.09\00:38:47.12
darker for like a week this,
00:38:47.16\00:38:49.12
this break in communication
00:38:49.16\00:38:52.09
and emotional breakdown.
00:38:52.13\00:38:54.00
But a week later,
00:38:54.03\00:38:55.36
when I was ready to
leave for the youth service,
00:38:55.40\00:38:56.73
they actually
followed me, my parents,
00:38:56.77\00:38:58.10
they followed me all the way
00:38:58.13\00:38:59.83
to the village
like hours of travel,
00:38:59.87\00:39:02.34
to where I was going to serve.
00:39:02.37\00:39:03.84
So I think I
have unique parents,
00:39:03.87\00:39:05.87
I have to say that,
because Nigeria, Islam,
00:39:05.91\00:39:09.64
it's pretty
serious, even in Nigeria
00:39:09.68\00:39:11.48
that parents would
try to kill their child,
00:39:11.51\00:39:13.21
especially in the north.
00:39:13.25\00:39:15.92
And if they don't
try to kill the child,
00:39:15.95\00:39:18.25
they disown the child.
00:39:18.29\00:39:19.62
And this was
also I had in my head,
00:39:19.65\00:39:21.39
that my parents
wouldn't try to kill me.
00:39:21.42\00:39:23.26
I think they love me
not to try to kill me,
00:39:23.29\00:39:24.96
but I think
they might disown me,
00:39:24.99\00:39:26.39
they might say,
00:39:26.43\00:39:27.76
we don't have
anything to do with you.
00:39:27.80\00:39:29.13
But that didn't happen,
00:39:29.16\00:39:30.50
there was the
break down for a week.
00:39:30.53\00:39:31.87
But when they
followed me all the way to my,
00:39:31.90\00:39:34.70
where I was
gonna serve for a year.
00:39:34.74\00:39:36.07
I just thought,
00:39:36.10\00:39:37.87
what parents I have, you know.
00:39:37.91\00:39:40.01
And, you know,
I believe the Lord
00:39:40.04\00:39:41.54
was intervening in that respect.
00:39:41.58\00:39:43.75
He was saying,
00:39:43.78\00:39:45.55
I know that your
heart is sincere.
00:39:45.58\00:39:47.78
And I like the way
you brought this out,
00:39:47.82\00:39:49.72
because for those who may be
00:39:49.75\00:39:51.15
watching or
listening to the program,
00:39:51.19\00:39:52.72
some people may
be at the same place.
00:39:52.75\00:39:54.46
You might be in the same place
00:39:54.49\00:39:55.82
between where
you are comfortable
00:39:55.86\00:39:58.43
and where you know
God is leading you.
00:39:58.46\00:40:00.20
But you have your
parents, that's a factor
00:40:00.23\00:40:03.23
you have the people
that you love and care about,
00:40:03.26\00:40:05.27
you know that they
have a heart. Yeah.
00:40:05.30\00:40:07.14
And you don't want
them to feel that you
00:40:07.17\00:40:11.41
disrespect them or don't
like what they've done for you.
00:40:11.44\00:40:14.61
And some people
tend to get emotional
00:40:14.64\00:40:17.08
and translate that
rather than saying,
00:40:17.11\00:40:19.25
My son is on his own journey.
00:40:19.28\00:40:21.02
They look back and say
00:40:21.05\00:40:22.38
he disrespects
everything we did for him.
00:40:22.42\00:40:24.92
But God has blessed
you in an amazing way.
00:40:24.95\00:40:26.62
Now I have to
ask you the question,
00:40:26.65\00:40:28.12
how has the Holy Spirit led you?
00:40:28.16\00:40:30.19
How has the Holy Spirit lead you
00:40:30.23\00:40:31.89
in your Christian walk?
00:40:31.93\00:40:34.46
Yeah, so.
00:40:34.50\00:40:36.03
And the power of the Holy Spirit
00:40:36.06\00:40:38.27
was also very new for me,
00:40:38.30\00:40:39.63
because that was
foreign to the Islamic faith.
00:40:39.67\00:40:42.80
So this is something
that I had to learn it out
00:40:42.84\00:40:45.47
the Holy Spirit from God
00:40:45.51\00:40:46.84
was supposed to guide
me in my life journey.
00:40:46.88\00:40:49.01
So it was pretty interesting
that I began to actually feel
00:40:49.04\00:40:52.28
I had a close person
with me, like this guidance,
00:40:52.31\00:40:57.62
this
communication with my heart.
00:40:57.65\00:40:58.99
I believe that
was the Holy Spirit.
00:40:59.02\00:41:00.36
And that helped me
even in my transition
00:41:00.39\00:41:02.66
from the
Evangelical Christianity
00:41:02.69\00:41:04.03
into Adventism,
00:41:04.06\00:41:05.39
because I said, I didn't
become an Adventist immediately.
00:41:05.43\00:41:08.60
So I tended towards more of what
00:41:08.63\00:41:11.33
I learned from my
evangelical Christian friend,
00:41:11.37\00:41:14.50
because as I was
studying the Bible,
00:41:14.54\00:41:16.54
I was seeing
things about the Savior.
00:41:16.57\00:41:18.47
That was all I wanted.
00:41:18.51\00:41:19.84
I just wanted a personal Savior.
00:41:19.87\00:41:21.21
I didn't want all
of these strict rules
00:41:21.24\00:41:22.58
because I thought
they were strict rules.
00:41:22.61\00:41:23.95
Because my
Adventist friend would say
00:41:23.98\00:41:25.31
the Ten
Commandments, don't do this,
00:41:25.35\00:41:27.22
don't do that and all of this.
00:41:27.25\00:41:28.85
For me Adventism was
like Islam 2.0 at first.
00:41:28.88\00:41:32.85
At first?
00:41:32.89\00:41:34.22
Yeah, at first,
and so I was just,
00:41:34.26\00:41:37.13
I tended towards the Sunday,
00:41:37.16\00:41:38.99
Evangelical Christianity.
00:41:39.03\00:41:40.83
I want to reiterate that because
00:41:40.86\00:41:42.20
that may have gone so quickly.
00:41:42.23\00:41:43.57
Yes.
00:41:43.60\00:41:44.93
He was saying when
you heard about the rules
00:41:44.97\00:41:46.47
and the lifestyle of
a Christian Adventist,
00:41:46.50\00:41:48.57
it was almost
like Islam 2.0. Yeah.
00:41:48.60\00:41:51.04
It's like, okay,
00:41:51.07\00:41:52.41
because there was so
many prohibitions in Islam.
00:41:52.44\00:41:54.31
Now I'm into another religion
00:41:54.34\00:41:55.68
with a lot of prohibitions.
00:41:55.71\00:41:57.05
That was your
initial attitude towards it,
00:41:57.08\00:42:00.25
but how did that change?
00:42:00.28\00:42:01.62
So three years down the line,
00:42:01.65\00:42:03.08
so after college,
three years down the line,
00:42:03.12\00:42:06.12
I was done with my master's now.
00:42:06.15\00:42:08.86
And I was working now.
00:42:08.89\00:42:10.66
And I was still
worshiping on Sunday.
00:42:10.69\00:42:13.43
And so, where I was working,
actually in north of Nigeria,
00:42:13.46\00:42:16.70
hours away from where I grew up.
00:42:16.73\00:42:18.97
I was at church this
particular Sunday again,
00:42:19.00\00:42:22.24
and I remember
that the pastor came
00:42:22.27\00:42:25.01
to the front of the church,
00:42:25.04\00:42:26.37
and said, okay, he was
holding a dress in his hand,
00:42:26.41\00:42:29.24
just like that,
00:42:29.28\00:42:30.61
and was saying,
"This is the dress."
00:42:30.65\00:42:31.98
He's holding what?
00:42:32.01\00:42:33.35
A dress, a dress.
00:42:33.38\00:42:34.72
Yeah, a dress in his hand.
00:42:34.75\00:42:36.08
And he said, this is
the dress that we wore,
00:42:36.12\00:42:38.89
when he said
we, he meant himself
00:42:38.92\00:42:40.46
and other pastors
of that denomination
00:42:40.49\00:42:43.39
that we want his dressed
00:42:43.43\00:42:44.76
to meeting during the
week with other pastors
00:42:44.79\00:42:47.60
and the GO, the
general overseer.
00:42:47.63\00:42:50.17
That's what they call it,
the leader of the denomination,
00:42:50.20\00:42:52.87
the general overseer.
00:42:52.90\00:42:54.34
And they had this
meeting during the week,
00:42:54.37\00:42:56.37
and the general overseer
told them all of the pastors
00:42:56.40\00:42:59.97
that when you guys go
back to church on Sunday
00:43:00.01\00:43:02.34
for the service,
make sure you hold
00:43:02.38\00:43:04.58
the dress you guys are
wearing for this meeting.
00:43:04.61\00:43:06.88
Make sure you
dress at the church,
00:43:06.92\00:43:08.38
hold it in front
of the congregation
00:43:08.42\00:43:09.98
and tell them
anyone who has a problem
00:43:10.02\00:43:13.82
should come and touch the dress.
00:43:13.86\00:43:15.36
And whatever problems
that you have would vanish.
00:43:15.39\00:43:19.43
If you touched the dress?
00:43:19.46\00:43:20.90
If you touched the dress.
00:43:20.93\00:43:22.26
That's interesting.
00:43:22.30\00:43:23.63
And I thought to myself,
00:43:23.67\00:43:25.57
because I should tell you
that before I went into college,
00:43:25.60\00:43:29.87
I had an experience.
00:43:29.90\00:43:31.77
That was a night I
was playing PlayStation,
00:43:31.81\00:43:34.24
because I did
tell you guys sometime
00:43:34.28\00:43:35.78
I think before this interview
00:43:35.81\00:43:37.15
that I think it was Angela that
00:43:37.18\00:43:39.51
my dad was able to
buy a PlayStation for us
00:43:39.55\00:43:42.52
at some point
when he could afford it
00:43:42.55\00:43:44.09
for myself and my brothers.
00:43:44.12\00:43:45.59
So I was playing
PlayStation by myself
00:43:45.62\00:43:48.19
that night in the room
just before I went to college,
00:43:48.22\00:43:51.36
and I slept afterwards.
00:43:51.39\00:43:53.23
And I had an experience,
actually a demonic experience.
00:43:53.26\00:43:56.70
And something came into the room
00:43:56.73\00:43:58.47
just before I
could fall into sleep,
00:43:58.50\00:44:01.10
and was
harassing me from the back.
00:44:01.14\00:44:04.37
And it was so
strange and so fiery like,
00:44:04.41\00:44:07.84
I see a fiery
being, I felt so hot,
00:44:07.88\00:44:11.25
like a fire thing in the room.
00:44:11.28\00:44:14.02
And I felt this was so strange,
00:44:14.05\00:44:15.58
because I hadn't
even fallen asleep yet.
00:44:15.62\00:44:17.15
And I was trying to turn my neck
00:44:17.19\00:44:18.92
to see what this thing was.
00:44:18.95\00:44:21.09
And I couldn't,
because my neck was stuck
00:44:21.12\00:44:23.36
from moving.
00:44:23.39\00:44:24.93
And I remember I actually
said Jesus at some point.
00:44:24.96\00:44:28.30
Yes.
00:44:28.33\00:44:29.66
And when I said
that, the thing left.
00:44:29.70\00:44:32.63
And I would
just leave that story
00:44:32.67\00:44:34.37
because I remember I
went to my mom's room
00:44:34.40\00:44:36.47
'cause I was so
scared, I was sweating.
00:44:36.50\00:44:38.31
So this experience,
that was the very first time
00:44:38.34\00:44:41.14
I'd experienced but
it continued afterwards.
00:44:41.18\00:44:43.91
So after that
first time it happened
00:44:43.95\00:44:45.71
every now and then.
00:44:45.75\00:44:47.08
So even years down the
line after I became a Christian
00:44:47.12\00:44:49.78
and I was worshiping
every Sunday, like I said,
00:44:49.82\00:44:52.85
I was still
having that experience
00:44:52.89\00:44:54.42
every now and then.
00:44:54.46\00:44:55.79
Whenever I try to fall asleep,
this thing comes into the room
00:44:55.82\00:44:57.86
and harasses me
from falling into sleep.
00:44:57.89\00:45:01.10
And so when a pastor said
that, that came to my mind.
00:45:01.13\00:45:04.60
So I'm like, I
should go towards the dress
00:45:04.63\00:45:07.47
because this thing harasses
me, I don't know what it is,
00:45:07.50\00:45:11.21
maybe I'll stop
having an experience.
00:45:11.24\00:45:13.24
So I did go touch
the dress as well.
00:45:13.27\00:45:15.51
And I remember I
went back to my seat,
00:45:15.54\00:45:17.55
and I fell to the ground
00:45:17.58\00:45:18.91
and I was rolling on the ground.
00:45:18.95\00:45:20.28
I was screaming in
tongues, of course.
00:45:20.32\00:45:21.88
That's what we call the
tongues in the Sunday churches,
00:45:21.92\00:45:25.02
and so on
everywhere in the church
00:45:25.05\00:45:26.39
was full of people
screaming in tongues,
00:45:26.42\00:45:28.29
and they were people
rolling on the floor.
00:45:28.32\00:45:29.69
There were ladies in
front, almost naked in front,
00:45:29.72\00:45:32.56
were rolling on the
floor and everything.
00:45:32.59\00:45:34.83
So after the service,
00:45:34.86\00:45:36.50
because I was
living with a friend
00:45:36.53\00:45:38.50
in this city
where I was working.
00:45:38.53\00:45:40.74
So my friend was driving.
00:45:40.77\00:45:42.74
And he asked me a
question, he said,
00:45:42.77\00:45:45.47
he called me by my
cultural name instead of name.
00:45:45.51\00:45:48.14
Why did you fall
down in the church?
00:45:48.18\00:45:50.58
Yeah.
00:45:50.61\00:45:51.95
And I was almost
like, are you serious.
00:45:51.98\00:45:55.32
Are you asking me that question?
00:45:55.35\00:45:56.99
And he said,
"Yeah, why did you fall?"
00:45:57.02\00:45:58.72
And I'm like,
00:45:58.75\00:46:00.36
that doesn't make
sense, people fell.
00:46:00.39\00:46:01.92
I mean, everybody was falling.
00:46:01.96\00:46:03.43
So what do you
mean, why did I fall.
00:46:03.46\00:46:05.29
That he said, "It was because
you did not have breakfast."
00:46:05.33\00:46:08.23
So he was kind of
playing about this,
00:46:08.26\00:46:09.96
because actually I didn't
have breakfast that morning.
00:46:10.00\00:46:12.17
He said, "Is it because
you didn't have breakfast?"
00:46:12.20\00:46:14.17
And I felt he would explain.
00:46:14.20\00:46:15.54
He was trying to
make a joke out of it.
00:46:15.57\00:46:18.21
And that really got to me
because I felt what happened
00:46:18.24\00:46:20.88
was a divine thing.
00:46:20.91\00:46:23.04
And I said, "Shut up. Shut up.
00:46:23.08\00:46:25.01
Stop saying that
00:46:25.05\00:46:26.38
if you don't God to strike you."
00:46:26.41\00:46:27.75
I mean, I was so,
I was so infuriated,
00:46:27.78\00:46:30.32
yeah, by his pranks.
00:46:30.35\00:46:33.82
So, but when we got home,
00:46:33.86\00:46:36.12
I began to think about it
and reflect on his question.
00:46:36.16\00:46:38.76
Yes.
00:46:38.79\00:46:40.13
And he didn't even know
that. But I was thinking deeply.
00:46:40.16\00:46:41.70
I said, "Does
this even make sense?"
00:46:41.73\00:46:43.63
I remember the ladies
in front of the church
00:46:43.67\00:46:45.73
were rolling almost
naked in front of the church.
00:46:45.77\00:46:48.04
I was like, is this
what biblical Christianity?
00:46:48.07\00:46:51.21
Is this really what
Christianity is about?
00:46:51.24\00:46:54.04
So then I began to
remember my conversations
00:46:54.08\00:46:56.75
with my Adventist friend,
00:46:56.78\00:46:58.41
how his
Christianity was very decent.
00:46:58.45\00:47:01.88
It was not all of these
emotionalism and all of that.
00:47:01.92\00:47:04.75
And I said, I
should probably go slowly,
00:47:04.79\00:47:07.46
not even asking
because at this point,
00:47:07.49\00:47:09.49
I was very confident
00:47:09.52\00:47:10.86
in my ability to
study the Bible for myself.
00:47:10.89\00:47:13.06
So I said, let me try
and study all these things,
00:47:13.09\00:47:15.13
he tried to
tell me, that's cool.
00:47:15.16\00:47:16.50
And that was what I did.
00:47:16.53\00:47:17.87
And after two
weeks of intensive study,
00:47:17.90\00:47:20.00
because I want to make sure
00:47:20.04\00:47:21.50
I told myself I
was gonna leave Islam,
00:47:21.54\00:47:23.91
I need to do
something that is true,
00:47:23.94\00:47:25.97
something that is true,
00:47:26.01\00:47:27.34
something that is biblical.
00:47:27.38\00:47:28.71
So I began to do
this research myself
00:47:28.74\00:47:30.61
for about two weeks.
00:47:30.65\00:47:31.98
And I will show at
the end of my story that
00:47:32.01\00:47:34.75
Adventism was the
biblical Christianity.
00:47:34.78\00:47:37.29
Amen. Amen.
00:47:37.32\00:47:38.65
Wow.
00:47:38.69\00:47:40.02
You know, our time
is running away from us.
00:47:40.06\00:47:41.39
And you have so
much to share with us.
00:47:41.42\00:47:42.76
I want to go
through a few more pictures.
00:47:42.79\00:47:44.13
Advent Family Missions,
we got to talk about that.
00:47:44.16\00:47:46.19
What is the
Advent Family Missions?
00:47:46.23\00:47:47.70
Yes.
00:47:47.73\00:47:49.06
So I met this
lady some time before
00:47:49.10\00:47:52.53
I went to the
mission school in Nigeria.
00:47:52.57\00:47:53.97
So I just left my job.
00:47:54.00\00:47:55.34
I'm talking about how
the Holy Spirit has led me.
00:47:55.37\00:47:57.41
So the Holy Spirit.
00:47:57.44\00:47:58.77
Yeah, that's all right
there. That's the lady you met.
00:47:58.81\00:48:00.34
Yeah.
00:48:00.38\00:48:01.71
So the Holy Spirit, I believe,
was convincing me to leave
00:48:01.74\00:48:04.05
what I was doing my regular
job for something deeper,
00:48:04.08\00:48:06.82
that God wanted to lead
me to something more deep
00:48:06.85\00:48:09.62
than what I was experiencing.
00:48:09.65\00:48:10.99
And I, at some
point, I let God guide me.
00:48:11.02\00:48:13.59
And I was in a
mission school in Nigeria.
00:48:13.62\00:48:15.89
And around that time,
I met a lady right there.
00:48:15.92\00:48:17.93
And she was just about to finish
00:48:17.96\00:48:21.86
bachelor's in Bible instruction
00:48:21.90\00:48:24.90
from a college in Nigeria.
00:48:24.93\00:48:26.63
And so I met
after I left my job.
00:48:26.67\00:48:28.67
So I wouldn't have even met,
00:48:28.70\00:48:30.21
if I didn't follow
God's guidance for my life.
00:48:30.24\00:48:32.17
So while she was finishing her
00:48:32.21\00:48:34.58
bachelor's in Bible instruction,
00:48:34.61\00:48:35.94
I was at this
mission school in Nigeria,
00:48:35.98\00:48:37.61
where I heard
about Heartland College.
00:48:37.65\00:48:41.12
Yeah, that was how
I came to the States
00:48:41.15\00:48:43.08
because I heard
about Heartland College
00:48:43.12\00:48:44.62
while I was at a mission school.
00:48:44.65\00:48:45.99
That's right.
00:48:46.02\00:48:47.36
Yeah, so to answer your question
00:48:47.39\00:48:48.72
about Advent
Family Missions. Yeah.
00:48:48.76\00:48:50.09
We intend to have a
family ministry together.
00:48:50.13\00:48:52.56
Yeah, she's Adventist.
00:48:52.59\00:48:53.93
She grew up Adventist.
00:48:53.96\00:48:55.30
And who is she in
your life? How is she?
00:48:55.33\00:48:56.77
Who is she in your life?
00:48:56.80\00:48:58.13
She's my fiance. There you go.
00:48:58.17\00:49:00.57
You know, my wife
was gonna bring that up.
00:49:00.60\00:49:02.10
Yes, definitely. Yeah.
00:49:02.14\00:49:03.81
Getting ready to get married?
00:49:03.84\00:49:05.17
Yeah, I'm gonna get married.
00:49:05.21\00:49:06.54
Praise the Lord.
00:49:06.57\00:49:07.91
Let's look at the
next picture here,
00:49:07.94\00:49:09.28
because we want to
point out that you said
00:49:09.31\00:49:10.65
you're going to be
starting a ministry together.
00:49:10.68\00:49:12.68
Yeah.
00:49:12.71\00:49:14.05
And, and is that...
00:49:14.08\00:49:15.42
You know, what
is that? Oh, yeah.
00:49:15.45\00:49:16.89
So this is the
ministry that she started.
00:49:16.92\00:49:19.89
Okay. Yeah.
00:49:19.92\00:49:21.46
So it's called
Young Gospel Advocates
00:49:21.49\00:49:23.73
because she likes to
organize conferences,
00:49:23.76\00:49:27.93
yearly conferences.
00:49:27.96\00:49:29.30
So since 2017 when I met
her, I met her late 2016.
00:49:29.33\00:49:32.90
So 2017, she
organized a Bible conference.
00:49:32.93\00:49:35.64
And we have that
picture right there.
00:49:35.67\00:49:37.07
And I went there as a friend,
00:49:37.11\00:49:38.71
she invited me to come to share,
00:49:38.74\00:49:41.71
and I shared anyways.
00:49:41.74\00:49:43.08
There was a baptism, some
young people got baptized.
00:49:43.11\00:49:45.08
There's a picture I
think, I have there.
00:49:45.11\00:49:46.45
Yes. Yeah.
00:49:46.48\00:49:47.92
So that's, that's a
ministry that she started
00:49:47.95\00:49:49.68
for Bible
conferences in Nigeria.
00:49:49.72\00:49:51.72
That's the
picture right there. Yeah.
00:49:51.75\00:49:53.69
Okay.
00:49:53.72\00:49:55.06
Now, the Lord has
blessed your life.
00:49:55.09\00:49:56.42
And we're not going to
talk too much about it today.
00:49:56.46\00:49:58.49
But there's a booklet entitled,
00:49:58.53\00:50:00.43
book actually you
wrote called Saving Fearful.
00:50:00.46\00:50:03.47
And the title is
amazing, because it has to do
00:50:03.50\00:50:07.24
with coming out of
the fears of growing up,
00:50:07.27\00:50:09.70
the fears of
disappointing your parents,
00:50:09.74\00:50:12.34
the fears of your experience
00:50:12.37\00:50:13.98
even into your
educational years.
00:50:14.01\00:50:17.25
But then the word
saving is a big part of that.
00:50:17.28\00:50:19.55
What made you choose that title
00:50:19.58\00:50:21.12
just before we go
to our news break here?
00:50:21.15\00:50:23.85
Absolutely, so...
00:50:23.89\00:50:26.92
And even the picture.
00:50:26.96\00:50:29.59
I believe that, and the
picture tells the story as well,
00:50:29.62\00:50:32.56
because in that
picture, I was at church
00:50:32.59\00:50:34.86
at my local church in Nigeria,
00:50:34.90\00:50:36.30
the Seventh-day
Adventist Church there,
00:50:36.33\00:50:37.73
and I didn't know what
the future held for me.
00:50:37.77\00:50:39.47
So I remember it was
after the service in Sabbath,
00:50:39.50\00:50:42.27
I stood there to the window,
00:50:42.30\00:50:44.41
and someone
took a picture of me,
00:50:44.44\00:50:46.07
and when I look at that picture,
00:50:46.11\00:50:47.78
it's mysteries of the future,
00:50:47.81\00:50:49.28
not knowing what
the future held for me.
00:50:49.31\00:50:50.71
Okay.
00:50:50.75\00:50:52.08
I get it? Yeah.
00:50:52.11\00:50:53.45
So Saving Fearful is just...
00:50:53.48\00:50:56.18
I'm like fearful,
personified as a child
00:50:56.22\00:50:58.45
and intermittently to life.
00:50:58.49\00:50:59.82
So God has to save
to save me somehow.
00:50:59.85\00:51:02.12
Wow.
00:51:02.16\00:51:03.49
And you've also
worked at Strong Tower Radio?
00:51:03.53\00:51:05.46
Yeah, that was
my internship site.
00:51:05.49\00:51:07.40
Yeah.
00:51:07.43\00:51:08.76
Because I said,
I went to Heartland
00:51:08.80\00:51:10.13
for my training
when I came to the States
00:51:10.17\00:51:11.93
and I went to Strong Tower Radio
00:51:11.97\00:51:13.57
in Michigan for my internship.
00:51:13.60\00:51:15.30
Well, I want to also
give some information
00:51:15.34\00:51:17.07
because you might want
to get in touch with Samson
00:51:17.11\00:51:19.11
Fidimaye
00:51:19.14\00:51:20.54
to find out more
about maybe inviting him
00:51:20.58\00:51:23.11
and more about his story
00:51:23.14\00:51:24.48
and even getting
access to his book.
00:51:24.51\00:51:25.85
So here is the information
that you're going to need.
00:51:25.88\00:51:29.88
Advent Family
Missions works in collaboration
00:51:29.92\00:51:33.66
with churches
and other ministries
00:51:33.69\00:51:35.42
to conduct
missionary work in Nigeria,
00:51:35.46\00:51:37.83
West Africa and beyond,
00:51:37.86\00:51:39.59
preparing people
for the coming of Jesus.
00:51:39.63\00:51:42.33
For more information about them
or to support their efforts,
00:51:42.36\00:51:45.40
please visit their website,
AdventFamilyMissions.org
00:51:45.43\00:51:49.37
That's AdventFamilyMissions.org
00:51:49.40\00:51:52.97
You may also call
them at country code
00:51:53.01\00:51:55.08
+234 (810) 603-4266.
00:51:55.11\00:52:00.35
Their email address is
00:52:00.38\00:52:02.35
Mission
@AdventfamilyMissions.org
00:52:02.38\00:52:06.22
That's Mission
@AdventFamilyMissions.org
00:52:06.25\00:52:10.29