I Care, But My Purse Hurts
During my stay in Nigeria, I’ve had some interesting experiences:
There was the time that my car tire burst in the middle of the road and we had to park by a petrol station and decided to take a bus (public transport) back home. This was my second time ever taking public transport in Nigeria. Side-note: I was born and raised in Nigeria until I was 13, then my family and I moved to Canada. I believe the first time I ever took public transport was during my early years, which was a long time ago.
I took what is referred to here as ‘keke napep’ a time that my mum and I went to see a prophet at a hotel (there was a HUGE crowd there!) and we couldn’t find our driver when we wanted to step out.
I saw a monkey while out with my mum at the market on her business pursuits.
I attended an all-day conference called the Youth Aflame Conference, which was geared towards young Christian professionals. There were a lot of notable Christian speakers such as Pastor Daniel Olawande (convener of Redeemed Christian Church of God Young Ministers Retreat), Pastor Poju Oyemade (Senior Pastor and Founder of The Covenant Nation), Pastor Kola Oyeneyin (CEO of Opportunik Global Fund and graduate of Harvard Kennedy School), Dr. Oby Ezekwesili (Former Nigeria Minister of Education; Former Vice President of the World Bank’s Africa region), Pastor Adeola Abolaji (Deputy Leader of the Legislative House, Obafemi Owode LGA, Ogun State), Dr. Sam Adeyemi (Founder and Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre; Founder of Daystar Leadership Academy), and notable Christian musicians such as Beejay Sax (a popular Nigerian saxophone player) and Sunmisola Agbebi (a popular Nigerian gospel artist).
I went to Rufus and Bees (an arcade recommended by my friend: shoutout to Grace!) with my mum. We played some games and had this really good virgin strawberry daquiri.
I attended the Redeemed Christian Church of God Annual Convention August 2023, and after the program was done at around 3am, my mum and I laid some wrappers on the floor and slept there till about 7:30am when we took a bus for the second time during this trip.
There was a special celebration in church where Mercy Chinwo (notable Nigerian gospel artist) ministered.
Amidst my stay in Nigeria, one thing I’ve noticed is that there is great need. A lot of people are in dire need of financial help. It can be daunting to the average Nigerian to lend a hend, especially to a fellow believer. And so I thought that I would provide a recommendation.
Recommendation Steps:
- Create a means of sharing the gospel with anyone you encounter. You can use your imagination or ask the Holy Spirit for suggestions. In the past, I’ve been inspired by the Holy Spirit to do lollipops with notes. I gave these out in Toronto, Canada, and also to people close to me in Nigeria, as well as to business partners in Nigeria.
- Based on your income and funds coming in, set out an amount that you feel comfortable giving out weekly. You can ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on this.
- Pray to God that He will help you encounter and support the right people. I’ve given money to kids on the street, and one time in talking to a security personnel at a fast food chain, I discovered that she couldn’t go to church because she didn’t have transport money, and so I gave her some money for transport to church.
- Give out the funds as you feel led, in addition to the means of sharing the gospel created.
- When the funds run out, don’t feel guilty when you can’t give. I can’t emphasize this enough! Know that you’ve done your best, and continue to give out the means of sharing the gospel that you created.
Take a look at this YouTube video where I speak on my Christian experience in urban cities (I touch on what is mentioned in the blog, and also speak on my experiences in New York and Toronto; click here to view), and you can listen to the episode on spotify (click here to view).