At a point, I was angry with God----woman who gave birth after 14 years of bareness

Emeka Ibemere, reports about a woman who after 14 fruitless years of trying to have a baby and wanted to give up on her dream of becoming a mother, later have twins but lost one to the cold hands of death. She shares her experience here

Let’s know you madam

Mrs.

Christiana Abimaje

What actually brought you into this Ministry?

It was only one thing and it’s because I needed the fruit of the womb.

For how long have you been in need of a child?

It’s for 14 good years.

I married in April 2000.

About your husband

My husband is from Kogi State.

Where were you worshipping before now?

I’m a Catholic and my husband is a Muslim.

And he allowed you to be going to Catholic Church?

Yes, we have understanding

For those 14 years, you have been coming to this Ministry?

No, I have been going to other churches that I can’t even count number of churches I have been visiting all those years including hospitals. We have gone for prayers in so many places of worship. If i can tell you that it’s so, so numbers, then I will be lying.

During those years, how is it like; and what were your feelings?

It was terrible for me. I was feeling bad as a normal human being. In fact I can’t even describe my condition during those 14 years. It was frustrating, bad and bad for me.

Where the troubles coming from your husbands, mother-in law or from your friends and colleagues?

My husband doesn’t have problem. Even my husband and his relatives were even encouraging me to stop worrying myself over the issue. His parents were good people; they don’t have problems at all. They were encouraging me and my husband but within yourself, you know that things are not well with you.

Especially when you see your mates you got married before them having their kids and those you got married at the same time with, going and talking about their children and you are there, you know you will feel somehow about it.

In fact, i never dreamt of staying a year without a child of mine own. It was the last thing I envisaged when I was about to marry. So it was like, what happened?

How many hospitals

I visited many hospitals. Infact, hospital is the minor one. Infact, if I should mention number of times I visited hospitals and number of doctors I visited, I can’t name them.

In all of them, did they discover any problem from you or your husband? I mean what was the core problem?

None of the scans, doctors or the hospitals could discover anything. They were all giving the same report and there was nothing said to be the cause. The funniest aspect of it is that I will be pregnant but before a short time I will have miscarriage.

 So, it’s a case of miscarriage for 14 years?

Yes, but the major issue is delayed pregnancy. And when the pregnancy comes, I will have miscarriage. I had more than four miscarriages in the last 14 years.

What were the challenges you faced in those long years of delayed pregnancy and miscarriages?

It was so enormous. Infact, I’m somebody that likes to be happy always frankly speaking, I don’t know what it is to be sad. I have never been sad before and nothing makes me sad. I mean I don’t have place for anger or sadness in my mind but the situation turned me into another thing else. The situation made me to be angry always and at every little provocation, I became angry immediately. It reached to the extent that those things that don’t usually hurt me started hurting me and as if devil was working against me because I don’t usually get angry, it uses the situation to be provoking me. I started getting angry, complaining too much at slightest issues I ought to forego, I complained against everybody, against myself and I became frustrating because of the situation. I will comp-lain to my husband, he will get angry and said, I should not complain to him again and that those things are unnecessary things and why Am I complaining?

How was your first day in the Power of the Holy Spirit Evangelical Ministry church looked like?

It was like the devil was following me and trying to obstruct me from get deliverance from the church. It wasn’t easy for me. The Prophet of God doesn’t have problem in seeing people, Infact I ‘m the type that whatever I want, i will go for it and by God’s grace, I will get it except I have not made up my mind for that thing.

Who introduced you to the Power of the Holy Spirit Evangelical Ministry?

I worship somewhere there but I never knew that there was a ministry very close to where my church is. My driver knows this place but he didn’t tell me. So, I came to know this church through one of my sisters, she has a shop and each time she opens her shop she will see seven colours of keys in her shop. She complained to one woman, who came and got salt for her from the ministry and she used it and that problem stopped. So she gave my younger sister the salt and told her about the ministry. My sister came and told me about the ministry but I told her that I don’t like such churches and that I have gone to so many ministries like that and that nothing came out of it. I told my sister that I don’t want to go to any place again and if she was interested that she can go for herself.

So what happened?

So, we stayed and I didn’t go. So one day, I had a dream and in that dream, I was given a telephone number and in the night I called the number the person answered me with harsh voice; and said ‘what do you want?’

Are you saying that the number you called was the phone number of Holy Spirit Evangelical Ministry’s Prophet?

Yes, so the way the person responded put fear into me and I was afraid and I quit the call and refused to call it again. I slept again, and got the same number and it was around 12.30am, so, I summoned courage and dialled the number again and the person repeated in the same tune and I answered quietly like a baby having changed my voice and mentioned my name to the person.

The person said what happened? I told him but in that dream, somebody was chasing after me and I got to a point, it was a desert. So the person caught me and put fire on that field and put me in the middle of the field while the fire was ranging. It was burning seriously that I was like trapped and doesn’t know what to do to the extent that the flame of the fire burnt my skin and my body turned to red. In that dream, I was struggling how to come out and all that and that was how I saw that number but I didn’t know the meaning. So that was the first thing that made me to say there is something in this church. I called the number the following day, and asked the person if he was in Nigeria because I didn’t know whether if it was a foreign number but because, it started with 080..., i concluded that it must be Nigerian number. So, I called the number again and the person picked and I wanted to know where the person was and he said Lagos and asked me where I was calling from and I told him. So he directed me how to get to the church.

I called my sister and asked her to accompany me to the church and when I told her the place, she said it was the same place she wanted us to come before now. She was heavy and was about to put to bed, so we came on one Friday like that the workers were questioning us and asking us what we came to do and we told them that we want to worship there.

They asked us if we had appointment before and I said no, but my younger sister said yes. So they locked their gate against us and didn’t allow us to get inside of the church. They directed us to go and wait outside and we went and waited for the whole day and they came afterwards to tell us to go and come back on Tuesday the next week and that was the day of service.

So we left that day without seeing the prophet of God. We went back and came again on Tuesday, when we came we came for the Tuesday service, and when I stepped into the church, my mind accepted it immediately because it looked like a Catholic church.

I told my sister that I will be coming here now because everything they were doing was Catholic. When I got home, I called that number again, and this time prophet picked it and said I should come, so I came but the workers didn’t allow me to see him. I told my sister that in this place I have seen and stepped in, no matter any discouragement I must got what I want. On that Tuesday that was service, I saw him from the crowd when he was ministering and because I was sitting behind, I couldn’t participate much and I said in the next one, that I must stay in the front row. One lady beside me said how do you I think that I could stay in the front row when I was just knew and I told her that I must stay in the front. So the next Tuesday service, I came around 4.30am and got seat on the front row. So, the lady was surprise when she saw me on the front. So after the service, I wan ted to see prophet but the workers refused and said I cannot see him. They were pursing us to go, so one of the workers was standing there pursing us and prophet was at the altar watching what was going on. So, as they were pushing us, I now asked the man and said, ‘is it because I don’t speak Igbo language that is why you are pushing me away.’ So prophet heard me immediately I said that. He spoke to the man in Igbo and asked him what I want. I now told him why I want to see him and he asked them to take me to intercessor unit. When we went there, the sister there was Angela, she is now married. So she took us to prophet and he gave us appointment to come and see him. This thing was happening around 2011, when we came they said we should not see prophet. One thing that got me angry was the day i bought spiritual material for him to bless and when i was going to see him, the workers were asking me so many questions, who gave me appointment, how did i entered the church and so on. One of them even said who gave me those materials and where did i bring them from. I couldn’t hold myself and I started crying. I cried and wept and said I was not going to go there again. I left and went out of the gate and vowed that no matter what it is, i was not going to come to this place again. So as i was leaving, i didn’t know that prophet was looking at us and immediately i left, he sent somebody to come and call me. So by then I was crying and was cleaning my eyes with handkerchief. When i entered again, everybody was telling me sorry and prophet did not attain to me immediately. Short time after, it was their 3pm divine mercy prayer and i joined in the prayer but before then, i was angry with myself, I was angry with God, too and said what kind of embarrassment is with this in my life. I was asking God question, even if you are going to give me children, must it be with embarrassment. So, as I was talking to myself something now spoke to me and said –you are about to do divine mercy prayer; forgive. During that prayer, i came down and prayed and forgave everybody before we entered the prayer. When finished the prayer, prophet sent for me and when i got there, he asked me what happened and said nothing happened. He said i should tell him nut i insisted that nothing happened and that i have forgiving everybody. He said when did you forgive them? I told him when we were doing divine mercy prayer and he said is that how you forgive and that you should not forgive devil and that when devil catch you, he will not forgive you. He said again, is that how your own is; that his own wasn’t like that? I told him that the most saddening one was the query i got on who gave me the spiritual material when they saw it in the ministry bag and that was the only one that pained me most.

You gave birth this month?

Yes, it was on the 15 March, 2014, that I gave birth. Her name is Asana; it means twins. I gave birth to twins but the male child died at birth, I named her after my mother. My mother’s name is Merry. And the name I give her is Divine.

When do you think that the pregnancy entered?

Infact my breakthrough started when the prophet had his programme tagged: forfeit something and get something.

It started when he threw apples on alter for women in searching of fruit of the womb during the event of ‘forfeit something and get something’.

We were many that came out that day. The population was too much. We picked and I picked my own. So, I was asking myself what I would forget. I know what I want but I don’t know what to forget, in my life there is nothing special. I don’t like food as much; there is nothing special for me. I was saying what is going to forget that it’s so special enough to attract something for me.

 I was asking my younger one what to forget and she said i should forget anything special in my life and to me nothing is special. I said okay, at least if you cook food, there is something that makes that food delicious and I concluded that i have to forget meat for one month of the programme. But it wasn’t easy. Each time i want to eat without meat it looks odd. At a point, I will call one of the workers to ask him if I eat fish whether it’s the same thing as meat and he will tell me ‘fish is fish and meat is meat’, so i will tell them to buy fish for me that what I forfeit is meat and not fish. It was tough. If I go for meeting, weeding and other things and meat is what they would serve but i will not eat and people would be looking at me with askance.

At times I will eat without meat and ask them to take the meat but people will be saying what is it again that this woman is trying to do and others. It continued till the end of the programme. Before then, my husband followed me to the ministry for two times but after that; he stopped going to the ministry with me because of the delay in seeing the prophet of God.

Prophet will give you appointment and you will stay for whole day without seeing him. My husband said he will not come again. And he suggested that we should go and do IVF and that he was tired of all these protocols. I want to the Prophet and said see what my husband is saying and the Prophet got angry and said okay, if you don’t want there is no problems but i kept on begging him. So Prophet asked me what I wanted him to do and I said he should attain to us and I told him that my husband suggested IVF, but he said I shouldn’t mind him that I should not go for IVF. So there was this day prophet gave me appointment and we came and wasted the whole day but we couldn’t get prophet. In the night, my husband said if I don’t follow him to the hospital, that he won’t hear to me again and that I should go to the internet and search any hospital anywhere in the world and if not that I should not talk anything again. I went and search the internet. So to satisfy him, I told him that there is a place in Victoria Island in Lagos and said hope you are comfortable with that place and I said yes. Prophet was not aware because, he had told me that I should not go for IVF. So that was in August last year. We now went there with our tests and scans I had done and submitted it to the doctor. We did every scan and tests we supposed to do and send it to them. It remained for us to go and start the IVF; we paid for the money and everything that was supposed to do for it. So the doctor asked me my last menstrual period and i didn’t remember again.

It was more than a month and i didn’t know. I used my phone to store it then but when I checked my phone it has been wiped out. I told him that I don’t know again and he said I should go for another test. While I was doing the test, he collected my blood sample and put the scan thing in my womb and now said is like you are pregnant and said while the test is going on let him monitor it. My husband said is it through or are you just playing with us. It was in August that this thing was happening because the programme ended in July.  My husband said doctor you don’t want to do the IVF or what, but the doctor said, is not like that.

He said if you give me money that he was going to collect why he would tell him false because of money but he was telling him the truth that his wife is pregnant. But my husband wasn’t convinced and I wasn’t convinced, too. We came back and I now called prophet and told him that is like am pregnant and see what our doctor said to me and prophet said, you are pregnant and you are saying you aren’t sure. He further said but I told you that you shouldn’t go for the IVF.

How was the pregnancy period and challenges?

Prophet said I told you that God will do it for you.  Still I was surprise and doubtful. So it was like that because, I was menstruating till six months after. I called prophet and said Prophet please continue to pray for me and he said don’t worry but that I should not tell anybody about it.

He said we shouldn’t discuss about it even when we are in the house and that we should just keep quiet about it. That was when we sealed it and kept quiet about it. Every little thing i will call prophet and he would say, don’t worry the baby is there. He told me not to be afraid of anything and that i should continue to pray and be using the materials he gave me. But it wasn’t easy. There were several spiritual attacks. When I sleep something will be biting my navels, even in the midnight, I will in severe pains, Infact, prophet suffered in my hands. I will be crying but prophet will tell me that nothing is happening that my child is okay. So, I thought it was something within and because of that I travelled out of the country to see whether the thing will still be attacking me. Even in abroad, the thing was still attacking me and I stayed till December and when I came back, everything stopped and even the monthly bleeding stopped. So, that December, I went for another scan again but there was nothing in my womb but i was feeling the baby. I went to prophet and told him and he said don’t you know the type of attack that you were going through. He said the baby was hiding from the attack that was why the scan couldn’t locate the baby and that the baby was sent by God. He said the baby was hiding itself from the enemies’ attack and that I shouldn’t worry.  The scan was showing that I have two fibroids. But the prophet said it was twins that the scan was seeing. I was shocked when the doctor gave me the d-day      appointment because i didn’t expect the time. I ran to the prophet again and told him that I have been given a D-day appointment.

When he was sharing pineapple, orange and apple for women searching for the fruit of the womb, my sister went to stand for me because I told her that i was not going because i had already gotten pregnant and because prophet told me not to tell anybody, i didn’t tell my sister and she didn’t know that i was pregnant. So, she went to stand for me. She picked banana and when i came she gave it to me and I said i was not going to eat it. She was surprise and said look at the person she was trying to help. So, I told her to eat it after all she is due for another child but because she said she was not ready for pregnancy for now that she went there for me. So, I refuse to eat the banana and she ate it. Few weeks later, she became pregnant and now she is due to gives birth again. She said to me see what you have caused me.

The labour room experience how was it on the d-day?

It didn’t take long; it was immediately I entered the delivery room. When I entered I told myself that I was not going to shout and cry, the nurses said madam that was a good statement and when labour pains started, I didn’t cry and shout. The prophet before that had given me some spiritual materials that I was using. On the deliver day, I went to the hospital and when it was time for me to deliver, the nurses said I should push but there was no strength on me again to push but around 1.15am, i couldn’t push again and the nurse said that the baby is close to come out and if don’t push that there will be problem. She said they were twins. I now called the prophet his phone was ringing but he didn’t pick. So on that weakness, i manage to send text with my phone. ‘I’m in the labour room and I can’t push again, pray for me’, so within five minutes I send that text, I didn’t know what happened, the babies started coming out. The first one came out, i heard her cries and the second one, i didn’t hear his cries and i was asking the nurses ‘what is wrong is the baby dead’?    But they didn’t tell me anything. Rather they said i should push again for placenta, but i didn’t answer them. But they put hand inside me and brought out the placenta and i was hearing them. So, there was this one nurse among them. When that nurse was there i was pushing but i wasn’t having strength and there was no sign of the babies coming out but I don’t know what happened, because i was not seeing them, it was my sister who was seeing them, she said immediately the nurse disappeared from the labour room, after five minutes, I pushed the babies out. Then it was around five minutes that both the children and placenta came out. Despite all these, I gave birth without surgery. As they were bringing out the placenta, they said the nurse fainted for 20 minutes and they abandoned me and started attending to her because she was like she was dead.

They quickly brought in a pastor and a native doctor to the hospital to revive the nurse. After they cleaned me and put me on a corner, they said i should pray so that they won’t get one delivery and another person will die. I couldn’t talk but inside my mind i was saying if she had hand in anything that concerning all that i have gone through, that she should die. This was what i prayed inside me. So, before you know it, my husband came and they took me to bed and my husband and the nurse refused to tell me that one of my babies died. It was the next morning that they now told me everything. I was like trying to make trouble with them but my husband said no and for what. That Am I not happy to have one of the babies and my own life?     

How she feels today?

I‘m happy and fulfilled in life. I’m the greatest woman on earth today. My husband is so happy that God answered our prayer after 14 years.

What is your advice to other ladies who are still searching for the fruit of the womb?

My advice to them especially those coming to the Holy Spirit Evangelical Ministry for prayers and deliverance should know that there is no magic here. If you feel that you are coming for magic, you can’t get it. If you leave your house to come here and started seeking for miracle, or magic or anything that is not from God, that is what you will get. In my life, i don’t like wasting time.

My office is in Benin and i shuttle from Benin to this ministry on weekly basis but I make sure that I don’t miss the programmes. I want to tell them, they must be persevere, have faith, prayerful and sacrifice.

There will be challenges, no doubts but have faith in Christ Jesus, and He will do it for them, no matter the time. Deliverance in June 2012, i took it as if it was me that the thing was done for; even though we were many that came out