CHAPTER 19 –
© OPEYEMI OJERINDE AKINTUNDE
I didn’t speak to Reuben for three months but he
made it a duty to send me messages on the first of
every month and the fifteenth of the month. He was
using an unknown number; he must have guessed I
blocked his line…
Daniel, on the other hand was beginning to take God
seriously, or that was what he told me. According to
Him, he had started attending a campus fellowship in
his school.
‘This Your Bishop’s son is fineeee” June said one quiet
evening.
I noticed June had started wearing her headphones
frequently. I didn’t know why, until that day. “We must push for him to come to our school and
ignite God’s fire here” June said
“Who?” I asked
“Your Bishop’s Son, Pastor Reuben, he is trending
now, that guy is fire, his messages are trending”
“Trending where?” I asked
June looked at me like I just asked a dumb question…
“You don’t follow him online?” She eventually asked…
“You know I have been off social media for a while”
“Yeah, so you can concentrate on your relationship” She answered sarcastically. She didn’t like Daniel one
bit. She felt he was too possessive for a boyfriend. “Yeah! I replied
She however had piqued my interest. I brought out
my laptop and connected it to the internet. I searched
for his name online and Oh my World! Quite a large
number of videos popped up with hundreds of
thousands of views. I began to read comments of how
people treasured his messages
“Where have I been?” I asked myself
I became addicted to watching his videos. It became
so obviously addictive that whenever I wasn’t studying
I was listening to his messages. Eventually, June suggested to the Student’s council to
bring Reuben to our Spiritual week of Fire, and she
mentioned my name as a member of Reuben’s church, hence I was given the assignment to contact him to
ask for his availability…
“Why would you do that? The student council can
contact him on their own” I said to June
“I am sorry if it is a big deal, I thought it would be
easier & faster with you as a church member”
“I will try my best” A part of me wanted to see him. I actually missed him. I was also curious about Timo…
I waited for June to leave the room, before dialing his
number… I unblocked his contact first before dialing… He picked up and for the first time ever, he was silent
after picking up. Before then, he always had the
cheerful “Hello” on his lips as soon as he picked up…
“Hello Pastor Reuben” I managed to say
“Hi Nwala” he replied
“I am sorry for calling, my school made me reach out
to you, they would like to invite you for our spiritual
week of fire”
“Oh… ok… when is it?”
“Next month, 1st – 4th, but you will be ministering on
the 3rd and 4th”
“Ok…”
“Ok…so can the school send an official letter?”
“Yes…”
“Can I have your email sir?”
“I will send to you as a text, I believe you should
receive it since you have unblocked me” Reuben said
“Sure!”
“Nwala!”
“Yes sir” I replied with my heart racing, I didn’t know
what to expect. “What’s with the ‘sir’, are you in a meeting?’ “No, I am the only one in my room”
“So why the Sir?” he said with a more relaxed voice
“I am actually honoring God’s Grace in your life, I
don’t see you the same ever since I started watching
your online fire programme”
“Oh… well, Reuben your friend is different from
Reuben the minister… Please feel free to still call me
Reuben”
“I will try” I said
“How is Timo?” I asked
“Great… He now lives with me” Reuben said and I
can’t say exactly what he did to my heart with those
words. I was touched. “What?” I asked
“I decided to adopt him as a son”
“Wow… Are you serious?”
“Yes…”
I was beyond shocked. I swallowed the lump in my
throat. “A lot has happened in three months” I said
“Yeah, but some things remain as they are” He said…
“Like?” I asked
“How I feel about You” Reuben said sweetly and
calmly. I felt the Words. The five words were
intentionally and deliberately said.
“Good night, Pastor Reuben” I said quickly hanging
up…
I was still thinking about how He must have adopted
Timo and how clean Timo would be looking, when his
text came in…
“My email is
Reubensonofyahweh@acmeministries.com. It was
fulfilling speaking to you tonight, it feels like having
ice cream after a long while… I Can’t wait to see you
next month… Timo sends his love…” Reuben, Your Friend.
“God how can someone be almost perfect like this?” I
asked the Lord…
To be continued…