I was shivering terribly. My teeth clattered as I stood outside the veranda of our house with mucus trickling down my nose in an annoying manner, while I tried to forcefully sneeze it back in. It was the harsh season of harmattan. Mama has just woken me up to start preparing for the day's activities - fetching water from the stream and gathering firewood for her to start cooking for the household.
"Lade!!!" I heard Mama yell from inside which reminded me of the duties I have to face this cold morning. I grumpily stomp my way into the house and carried the bowl from the corner where it was kept.
I walked slowly, crossing my arms over my shoulder, towards the direction of the road where we assemble to move in group. I know I came out early, which was Mama's way of doing things, she was an early riser and expects all her children to be likewise. She hates when things are done hastily which means that you have to be a step ahead of others. As her children, myself and my elder brother, Femi had to master the art of doing things earlier.
"Lade!!!" I heard Mama yell from inside which reminded me of the duties I have to face this cold morning. I grumpily stomp my way into the house and carried the bowl from the corner where it was kept.
I walked slowly, crossing my arms over my shoulder, towards the direction of the road where we assemble to move in group. I know I came out early, which was Mama's way of doing things, she was an early riser and expects all her children to be likewise. She hates when things are done hastily which means that you have to be a step ahead of others. As her children, myself and my elder brother, Femi had to master the art of doing things earlier.
I met only Ife. She was my age mate and classmate at the community high school were we attended. I approached and greeted her " hey, good morning" she responded and adjusted on the root of the mango tree where she was sitting, I took that as a clue and lowered my butts on the space she created.
"Do you slept well" she asked initiating a conversation . "Yes I did and you" I responded with a light smile ." My night was great" she replied back.
Ife and I wasn't really that close as friends,but we got along pretty well... she was that typical girl who brought news and gist as she was always current on the happenings in our village, Adeodu.
"Do you slept well" she asked initiating a conversation . "Yes I did and you" I responded with a light smile ." My night was great" she replied back.
Ife and I wasn't really that close as friends,but we got along pretty well... she was that typical girl who brought news and gist as she was always current on the happenings in our village, Adeodu.
Read: 5 Reasons why you need Kingdom Prosperity
"Do you hear that this year ojude oba festival will be sooner than others we have been having" she asked as she turned towards my direction " Really... Why" I questioned back as I tapped my legs to kill the annoying mosquito that was trying to make its early morning breakfast from my flesh.
"Yeah I overheard that from my Father, and that this year own was going to be more epic"she said emphasizing on the 'epic' "And the reason for that is what I don't know" she continued activating her full gist mode, "but am sure going to prepare well for this festival, maybe our handsome prince ,Adewale will notice me..." she said dreamily looking towards the sky.
"Hmm", I cleared my throat interrupting her fantasy " okay, thanks for the update, I think others are already heading towards our way" l said as I stood up dusting my bottom and picked up my bowl to join the group of boys and girls that have gathered, she did same and we all headed towards the lonely stream.
"Do you hear that this year ojude oba festival will be sooner than others we have been having" she asked as she turned towards my direction " Really... Why" I questioned back as I tapped my legs to kill the annoying mosquito that was trying to make its early morning breakfast from my flesh.
"Yeah I overheard that from my Father, and that this year own was going to be more epic"she said emphasizing on the 'epic' "And the reason for that is what I don't know" she continued activating her full gist mode, "but am sure going to prepare well for this festival, maybe our handsome prince ,Adewale will notice me..." she said dreamily looking towards the sky.
"Hmm", I cleared my throat interrupting her fantasy " okay, thanks for the update, I think others are already heading towards our way" l said as I stood up dusting my bottom and picked up my bowl to join the group of boys and girls that have gathered, she did same and we all headed towards the lonely stream.
She was fair skinned, slender,gap toothed,with sexy curves and legs that could be mistaken for a city model, She was an all-round beauty, and Her name was Adesewa.
Adesewa is a year older than I am, she came from the city and she was admitted to our school .How she managed to gain admission at form 6 which was the final year at school was what I didn't know, but anyhow it means we were in the same class.
The first day she set her legs at our school, she attracted so much attention from everyone, especially from the boys and some envious glares from the girls. She approached where I was sitting by the corner of the school compound, "Hi am Adesewa, a new student from Amokoko village, pls can you show me around?" She said with a smooth tone. What directed her to me out of the whole lot was what I wasn't aware of, but I willing accepted to show her around.
As we conversed, I got to know that she was staying with her maternal uncle as she just recently lost her parents .She was the first daughter of the three girls,her mother gave birth to.
Oops.. hold on...did I properly introduced myself?...I guess nah... So, I am Lade, a seventeen year old girl, born into a family of four; me, my elder brother Femi, and our parents. And I am in my final year at school. I think that's enough for now...
Back to the present, From then, Adesewa and I became very close friends, as we clicked right from the very first day. While she was a vibrant, intelligent and easy going girl I was on the other hand a calm, reserved and also intelligent girl.yes! I gave that to myself because I literally headed the class from form one, and I led my school to some competition with the neighbouring schools...so I can count that as part of my attributes right?.
Now. Adeodu, our village was the typical calm yet interesting village, we were ruled by king Adeleke, and we organized alot of festivals in which one of the memorable ones was the ojude oba festival which holds once every year and was a festival for the royalties.
We cook, eat, dance and praise the oba(king) on that day. With so many other activities and rituals which were done on that day. The rituals aspect are none of our business as it involves the village priest, ayaanwale and the elders of the land and so, it was not really a general activity.
In the village, we worshipped runmila, a powerful god, and sacrifices are made to it at every appointed time of the year by Ayaanwale, from the produce we the villagers contributed.
Read: 6 Types of Nigerian Christians You Would find on a Bus
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In the village, we worshipped runmila, a powerful god, and sacrifices are made to it at every appointed time of the year by Ayaanwale, from the produce we the villagers contributed.
Read: 6 Types of Nigerian Christians You Would find on a Bus
★★★★★★★
We were in my room, sitting with our legs crossed over our knees on the colourful mats spread on the floor, with textbook each in our hands. We were preparing for the first term exams that will begin in two weeks time.
Adesewa came visiting in my house, yes! we were now close to the extent my parents know her uncle and her very well . This was her third time of visiting and everytime she visited,it was fun filled as we play games, gist you know , as girls will always do ... eat Mama's food or we cook in turns and then share the food with my brother while we joke and tease ourselves on who cooks better .
Though I haven't been to her uncle's house before, but I knew him very well in the village. During today's visit, we decided to settle down and read our books, since our exam was around the corner.
We read for about a half and an hour in silent before Adesewa broke the silence.
"Hmm"she cleared her throat in an attempt to gain attention. I looked up from where I sat and look towards her direction. " Are we going to bury ourselves with books today"she asked in a playful manner as she stretched on her mat " Pls am tired, I can't kill myself , we will pass this exam ,any gist for me" she said in a relaxing tone. Well I don't blame her she should have known better that I don't play with my books because that means playing with my grades, and she was brilliant on her own, so I can't take chances..."I heard their is a festival that will be holding in this village in three weeks time?" she continued with a question drawing nearer to my mat."yes, the ojude oba festival" I answered as I tried to focus back on my book. "So what do they normally do there" she continued pressingly .
I sighed loudly, closing my book reluctantly and faced her, " what else do they do in festivals, if not for dancing, cooking and eating" , " well, in this case, we praise and pray for our oba and his son , prince Adewale" I said, "nothing spectacular", she inquired in a drawling manner. I shook my head, rolling my eyes, "hmm, maybe I forgot to add the wrestling contest as well as the maiden's contest. " What's that" she asked in a curious tone making me roll my eyes again,
We read for about a half and an hour in silent before Adesewa broke the silence.
"Hmm"she cleared her throat in an attempt to gain attention. I looked up from where I sat and look towards her direction. " Are we going to bury ourselves with books today"she asked in a playful manner as she stretched on her mat " Pls am tired, I can't kill myself , we will pass this exam ,any gist for me" she said in a relaxing tone. Well I don't blame her she should have known better that I don't play with my books because that means playing with my grades, and she was brilliant on her own, so I can't take chances..."I heard their is a festival that will be holding in this village in three weeks time?" she continued with a question drawing nearer to my mat."yes, the ojude oba festival" I answered as I tried to focus back on my book. "So what do they normally do there" she continued pressingly .
I sighed loudly, closing my book reluctantly and faced her, " what else do they do in festivals, if not for dancing, cooking and eating" , " well, in this case, we praise and pray for our oba and his son , prince Adewale" I said, "nothing spectacular", she inquired in a drawling manner. I shook my head, rolling my eyes, "hmm, maybe I forgot to add the wrestling contest as well as the maiden's contest. " What's that" she asked in a curious tone making me roll my eyes again,
"Well, it's the dance contest, that is organized by the maidens in the village, before the oba and his Prince and you know..." I drawled piqueing her interest, "the prince may get to choose his bride among the best dancers" I concluded.
"Well that sounds great, you know I am not used to attending village festivals because, of some of the rites and sacrifices they perform",
"And what has that got to do with you" I asked incredulously, "well I am a Christian, I believe in God and His son, Jesus Christ, and you know, those things, I mean,the rituals and sacrifices are considered fetish and unchristian, so we don't attend them"
I stared at her in an unbelieving manner, wait... God? Jesus Christ? Was that not what Mrs Smith a teacher that teaches one subject at school normally says , which piqued my curiosity and when I asked mama and papa they asked me not to offer that subject again, and many of my classmates also stopped offering the subject, only very few people who we see as outcast in the village offered it , but Adesewa saying it now irked my curiosity as i wondered within me.
" Does that mean, you are not going to be attending the festival"I asked curiously she shrugged her shoulders"well, maybe, I don't know yet though I would love to see how you do such things here"she said as she stood up and made for the door,"it's getting late, I would get going" I also stood up and made for the door to escort her, but my mind was disturbed, and I didn't know why, maybe, for my friend based on the new revelation on her belief , I don't seem to wrap my head around some things she just said. She needs to explain, what exactly ? I battled within my thoughts.
"Well that sounds great, you know I am not used to attending village festivals because, of some of the rites and sacrifices they perform",
"And what has that got to do with you" I asked incredulously, "well I am a Christian, I believe in God and His son, Jesus Christ, and you know, those things, I mean,the rituals and sacrifices are considered fetish and unchristian, so we don't attend them"
I stared at her in an unbelieving manner, wait... God? Jesus Christ? Was that not what Mrs Smith a teacher that teaches one subject at school normally says , which piqued my curiosity and when I asked mama and papa they asked me not to offer that subject again, and many of my classmates also stopped offering the subject, only very few people who we see as outcast in the village offered it , but Adesewa saying it now irked my curiosity as i wondered within me.
" Does that mean, you are not going to be attending the festival"I asked curiously she shrugged her shoulders"well, maybe, I don't know yet though I would love to see how you do such things here"she said as she stood up and made for the door,"it's getting late, I would get going" I also stood up and made for the door to escort her, but my mind was disturbed, and I didn't know why, maybe, for my friend based on the new revelation on her belief , I don't seem to wrap my head around some things she just said. She needs to explain, what exactly ? I battled within my thoughts.
All through the night, I kept wondering and pondering on the new discovery, I couldn't bring myself to believe that there was another God other than the powerful runmila that we worshipped and that even my best friend was worshipping him. I couldn't bring myself to ask my parents again, since I knew what their answer would be and also they might cut me off from seeing my best friend. In fact! I was scared both for myself and my friend, I didn't want to be regarded as an outcast and I didn't want my best friend to be seen as one. I kept rummaging through this thoughts and then resolved to ask her all about it.
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The next day, I woke up early as usual, greeted my parents, and prepared for school. I walked through the school gate and met Adesewa on the front of the school gate. We exchanged pleasantries and joined others towards the assembly hall. Mrs Smith led the assembly and she lectured on diligence and consistency. After the assembly, we all went to our different classes.
"So what are we doing here Lade" Adesewa asked me as we entered the back of the school compound. It was closing period and student were already dispersing out of the school. I asked her to follow me to the school backyard and there we were. "You haven't answered me,Lade" she repeated now glaring at me. "Nothing to panic about, i am not about selling you, because even the buyers won't pay enough" I teased her . She scoffed" be real lade, they would pay double of whatever price you call, though am not ready to be sold yet, and I know that is not the reason you brought me here ,so speak up, I have a lot of errands to run"
"Okay that's fine, sewa can you explain to me what you were saying about God and His son, Jesus something if am not wrong, because the only god I know is runmila, and inasmuch as I don't want to be involved talking about another God apart from him, I can't help but be curious" I said at a go as I looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping on us.
She looked at me and sighed" Lade is this what you are still thinking about?, Anyway, this God me and my parents are serving is the creator of the whole universe, His son, Jesus Christ came to this Earth in His human form to die for our sins. And because of that,any body that believe in Him shall be set free from their sins and the bondage they have been placed in from their forefathers" she explained. "Wow!!,so you mean that's not obatiala that created us ,with this Earth" I exclaimed. "Yes!it is not,those are myths that were told to us from childhood"she said. "So, how is this your God, like how does, he looks like,and how do you communicate with him"I asked with curiosity, of having heard something contrary from what I had known from childhood.
"Well, our God is a supreme being, no mortal can see Him, because he is too holy to be beheld with our sinful eyes, so we worship Him in truth and in spirit" "what does that mean," I interrupted
"It means that we worship Him through our faith and belief in Him, then we communicate with Him through prayers and supplication, before you interrupt, I will explain, it means conveying our thoughts, feelings, wants and needs to Him with the absolute belief that he hears us" she concluded.
"Really!!! You mean, no sacrifices on the ALTARS... You just do that and He hears you and do what you want, just like that??" I queried with wide eyes.
"Actually Lade we offer sacrifices, but it differs from the physical sacrifices you do, the sacrifices we make is through the prayers we offer and doing His will at all times. This sacrifices has to do with the heart which is our ALTAR and our continous prayers which we offer to him as sacrifices, okay? She asked in a concluding manner.
As we spoke, Mrs Smith came out from nowhere with a smile in her face. I was surprised, has she been listening to our conversation? I wondered. "Well am sorry to eavesdrop on you guys " she said confirming my thoughts, "but I couldn't help it and am impressed with how far sewa has gone in explaining God the supreme being to you" out of curiousity I asked her" ma, is this the same God you worship"
She nodded her head and sat down beside sewa, " I serve Him because He is the only true God, all other god's are man-made and man and every other living things is created by Him, He is not seen but His handworks are seen which includes nature around us"
"Is it true, you don't sacrifice to this your God like we do to runmila every season?" I found myself asking her with bewilderment,
"So what are we doing here Lade" Adesewa asked me as we entered the back of the school compound. It was closing period and student were already dispersing out of the school. I asked her to follow me to the school backyard and there we were. "You haven't answered me,Lade" she repeated now glaring at me. "Nothing to panic about, i am not about selling you, because even the buyers won't pay enough" I teased her . She scoffed" be real lade, they would pay double of whatever price you call, though am not ready to be sold yet, and I know that is not the reason you brought me here ,so speak up, I have a lot of errands to run"
"Okay that's fine, sewa can you explain to me what you were saying about God and His son, Jesus something if am not wrong, because the only god I know is runmila, and inasmuch as I don't want to be involved talking about another God apart from him, I can't help but be curious" I said at a go as I looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping on us.
She looked at me and sighed" Lade is this what you are still thinking about?, Anyway, this God me and my parents are serving is the creator of the whole universe, His son, Jesus Christ came to this Earth in His human form to die for our sins. And because of that,any body that believe in Him shall be set free from their sins and the bondage they have been placed in from their forefathers" she explained. "Wow!!,so you mean that's not obatiala that created us ,with this Earth" I exclaimed. "Yes!it is not,those are myths that were told to us from childhood"she said. "So, how is this your God, like how does, he looks like,and how do you communicate with him"I asked with curiosity, of having heard something contrary from what I had known from childhood.
"Well, our God is a supreme being, no mortal can see Him, because he is too holy to be beheld with our sinful eyes, so we worship Him in truth and in spirit" "what does that mean," I interrupted
"It means that we worship Him through our faith and belief in Him, then we communicate with Him through prayers and supplication, before you interrupt, I will explain, it means conveying our thoughts, feelings, wants and needs to Him with the absolute belief that he hears us" she concluded.
"Really!!! You mean, no sacrifices on the ALTARS... You just do that and He hears you and do what you want, just like that??" I queried with wide eyes.
"Actually Lade we offer sacrifices, but it differs from the physical sacrifices you do, the sacrifices we make is through the prayers we offer and doing His will at all times. This sacrifices has to do with the heart which is our ALTAR and our continous prayers which we offer to him as sacrifices, okay? She asked in a concluding manner.
As we spoke, Mrs Smith came out from nowhere with a smile in her face. I was surprised, has she been listening to our conversation? I wondered. "Well am sorry to eavesdrop on you guys " she said confirming my thoughts, "but I couldn't help it and am impressed with how far sewa has gone in explaining God the supreme being to you" out of curiousity I asked her" ma, is this the same God you worship"
She nodded her head and sat down beside sewa, " I serve Him because He is the only true God, all other god's are man-made and man and every other living things is created by Him, He is not seen but His handworks are seen which includes nature around us"
"Is it true, you don't sacrifice to this your God like we do to runmila every season?" I found myself asking her with bewilderment,
"Yes sewa, we don't sacrifice to God with those things like goat and fowl because those sacrifices never changes anything,rather, we serve Him from the in depth of her heart which is the altar in which we pour out our sacrifices through prayers and doing His will" she paused and continued" you know in the days of old, that is in the time of our forefathers, God asked His prophets to prepare an altar with burnt offerings and keep it burning with fire, never to wane, so that He would always be with them, but now having sent His son to us the altar now is our hearts which we are to keep burning through continuous prayers and obedience to His word,"she concluded with a smile.
I was awed, I stared at the both of them and started to have that longing of serving this God which hears and answers us through our hearts without sacrificing our fats goat and fowls, which does not often bring results...My eyes seem to become open I still have questions and doubts, but..
I was awed, I stared at the both of them and started to have that longing of serving this God which hears and answers us through our hearts without sacrificing our fats goat and fowls, which does not often bring results...My eyes seem to become open I still have questions and doubts, but..
I suddenly knelt down before them and asked Mrs Smith to show me how to pray and serve this God and how to make my heart a BURNING ALTAR for Him.
This was the best discovery she has ever found out and she's not letting it go!
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