In The Lord’s Temple (1)

AUSTIN Adelanwa was a very determined young man with a passion for the things of God. He belonged to God’s Heart Ministries. Something mysterious and disheartening happened to this young man that made him question the existence of God and His love for His servants. By dint of hard work, within a period of two years, Austin became the head of the pastoral team of his church. His peers at the church became envious of his amazing success. He had a young and beautiful wife by name Hannah who was a devoted and loyal wife. She loved Austin with her whole heart. They got married a year after they met. It was a relationship which had the divine hand of God.
   As the years progressed, Austin established a private school to further add to his stock of success. The school, ‘Adelanwa International Nursery and Primary School’ began to grow steadily. Things were working out as he planned. The school continued to grow at an amazing pace. Within two years, he bought a bus to transport the students. He thanked his stars for making him a success story. His pastoral calling too continued to blossom; he became the head of his provincial church. Then suddenly, the devil struck! He started having problems with his school business. The bus he was using to transport his students to school developed technical problems that even skilled mechanics couldn’t handle or solve. He thought it was a joke but sincerely, it was as real as the lines on the palm of his hand. Before he knew what was happening, some parents had started withdrawing their children or wards. What further infuriated the parents was the fact that his teachers and other staff were becoming really rude and nasty towards them.
They couldn’t stomach the unruly behavior of his staff, and in protest they started withdrawing their wards. Austin started running from pillar to post trying to figure out what must have gone wrong. “Am I not prayerful enough?,” he questioned himself. “Where is your face Almighty God,?” he thought again. The following month Austin started using commercial motorcycle a.k.a Okada to transport his pupils to school. He was between the devil and the deep blue sea. He wondered aloud what actually went wrong. One Monday morning, in a heavy rain, the devil threw its wicked spanner into the wheels of progress of the embattled and confused young man – he had an accident with his motorcycle. The unfortunate incident happened when Austin was riding his motorcycle towards a pupil’s house. He was hit by a fast moving commuter bus. The accident almost claimed Austin’s life.
Sympathizers rushed towards him and took him to a nearby hospital for treatment. Austin was in the pool of his own blood. He suffered a broken arm and a fracture on his back. He was hospitalized for three months; the hospital bill was paid by a sympathizer who was at the scene of the accident and who took pity on the man of God.
Austin’s wife, Hannah, was always by the side of her husband during his three-month stay at Sacred Soul Hospital in Surulere, Lagos. She cried and cried, praying to God to come their rescue and she wondered why these heaps of problems and untold hardship kept cascading on her gentle, loving and loyal husband. When Austin was discharged from the hospital, he was a shadow of his former self. He that was formally handsome and tall, and always cheerful now looked thin and really emaciated. He was on crutches. And a Plaster of Paris (POP) was on his arm. A painful tear dropped from the corner of his eyes as his wife opened the door leading to his apartment. As if his travails were not enough, his landlord gave him quit notice the following week.
“What’s happening to my world Hannah?” he asked his beloved wife. “Where do we go from here? How can a servant of God go through these avalanche of problems?,” he shook his head sorrowfully.
“Just let’s pray over it Austin,” Hannah pleaded, “and endure a little more. God has reasons for our present situation. Perseverance is the right word. Hope is not lost. Don’t let us blame God,” she concluded philosophically.
 “Hannah, tomorrow I’ll go and see my old friend, Dr. Rotimi, to discuss my problems with him. He’s a very successful and rich doctor who has a number of hospitals to his credit.”
“That’s a good idea,” his wife responded. “I hope he’ll give you ideas on how to wriggle out of our present predicament. A problem shared is half-solved, my dear.”
The following morning, Austin was with his old friend, Dr. Rotimi. Dr Rotimi was dark-skinned, short and robust.
“Rotimi, I have come to see you about my personal problems… problems that are beyond my understanding.” Austin said with tears gathering in his eyes. “I know you can help me out. I have prayed over it severally as a minister of God but it seems God is not ready to solve these mounting problems for me. So, as the last resort, I decided to see you for assistance. Please, put a smile on my face. My world is crumbling. I don’t know what I did wrong to deserve these untold punishment and hardship.”
“My good friend, Austin, to be sincere with you, the solution to your problems will go away and disappear like the morning dew if only you can keep the secret and do whatever I tell you.” The young and ebullient doctor was smiling and fiddling with his stethoscope while talking.
“Please, tell me the secret, I won’t tell anybody…I’ll do anything that can change my life for the better… just tell me the secret, Rotimi,” Austin pleaded.
“This is the secret of my success and wealth, the key to making big money! Do you want me to tell you?” Rotimi asked for the umpteenth time.
 “Please, go ahead and tell me Rotimi, I am all ears,” Austin said once again. Then Rotimi began:
“Money-making ritual. That’s the secret of my wealth. I’ll take you to a great diviner and medicine man tomorrow. You’ll be initiated and later perform some money-making rituals at midnight. You’ll buy three black he-goats and three yards of plain red cloth. The three he-goats will be slaughtered and buried with the red cloth at 12 midnight in the forest. After this ritual, you’ll be surprised at the turn of events. Money will come your way like a torrential downpour.”
“Money-making ritual!” Austin exclaimed. “Thank you very much my friend, I’ll see you tomorrow so that we can go and see the great diviner.”
“See you then, Austin. Make sure you’re here around 7a.m. tomorrow. The diviner lives very far on the outskirts of Lagos. We’ll spend two days in his abode. Bye-bye,” Dr. Rotimi replied waving to his friend.
As Austin left the premises of his doctor, sweat beads covered his forehead. He was confused and shocked. “What sort of thing is this?” he questioned himself. “How can me, a minister of Almighty God, indulge in such fetish money-making rituals? I’d rather die than do this kind of thing. It’s an insult unto God. I can’t taint the Holy Spirit with dirt. I’ll tell Hannah when I get home… this is really terrible.”
He made up his mind to disclose what had transpired that day to his beloved wife, not minding consequences that might arise. His mind was heavy with grief and melancholy as he hurried home. He wondered what his wife would say in reaction to this unwholesome development. It was something strange to his ears and disposition. All his life, he had never looked back with regards to worshipping God in truth and honesty.
 “Hannah, Hannah,” he called as he entered his apartment, “I have strange news for you!”
To be concluded tomorrow
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