RIGHT: THE ABIAKAM FAMILY WITH TWIN BABIES
For the family of Mr. Chidike and Mrs. Gloria Abiakam, June 24 2004 shall forever remain a date for sweet memories. It was the day the miracle of the Lord became manifest in their lives as Mrs. Abiakam gave birth to two bouncing babies – boy and girl after 11 years “break in transmission.”
Mrs Abiakam, a native of Amaigbo in Nwangele LGA told how she had been betrothed to her heartthrob Chidike Abiakam at a very early age.
“My husband took me as a wife in 1987 and by 1988 we had our first baby. Two others followed in 1990 and 1992 before I started having difficulty in conceiving.”
Not deterred by the early t ime out, Mrs Abiakam said she put her whole trust in God since she had no medical problem and the husband was very okay.
Tension over a male child
That never disturbed me because my husband never for once showed signs of a worried person. In fact, it was from my husband that I started doubting stories I heard about turbulence in marriages because of the sex of a child. He never for one day worried or gave me cause to worry. I was even the person who worried initially but drawing courage from him, I now took solace in God and my whole trust was in Him.”
The birth of the twins
“When I finally took in eleven years after my last pregnancy, I thanked God for hislove and mercies upon my marriage. I felt with their birth, God in his wisdom and love decided to make me a testimony point and further strengthen my faith.”
She also narrated how the twin babies were delivered with the girl coming out first “and the doctors and nurses around who knew me and my desire for a male child were all giving words of encouragement until the second baby was noticed and it was a baby boy. The entire labour room went wild with jubilation, that God had answered my prayers.”
The testimonies of the Abiakams are eloquent as are indicated in the names given to the twins. The girl is AMBLESSED CHINYERE KELECHI while the boy is MIRACLE SAMUEL KAMISIYOCHUKWU.
For not bearing a child after 17 years of marriage, a small boy told her she was an economic waste, among other insults
Since marriages are crumbling because of childlessness, then one could imagine the tension that enveloped the family of Rev. and Mrs. Imo Samuel Nyah, a pastor in the Assemblies of God Church, currently at Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, for 17 years without a child: the family literally came to the precipice, but survived.
Today, that tension and apprehension has paled into oblivion since the arrival of their son more than a year ago.
Mrs. Precious Nyah
In the beginning
My name is Mrs. Precious Nyah. I come from Itu Mbon Uso in Ini Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. I had my primary education there and after that I attended Dorcas Commercial Secondary School in Calabar where I met my husband and got married in 1986. we met in the same church- Assemblies of God in Calabar. Later he answered the call into the ministry and the wedding took place on August 13, 1988.
Expectation
Like every other woman, I expected a child after the wedding. Though it was not easy, we kept on praying, believing God that I would take in soon. Initially, I used to have miscarriages, but after eight years, the thing stopped. We consulted doctors. One of them even said I had fibroids; and encouraged me to go for an operation, but I rejected his advice because I was afraid, more so, I thought it might not be successful. Believed that God would perform his miracle even with the fibroids in me.
Apart from the fibroid problem, there was also a time I went to the hospital for check-up and the doctor advised me to wash my womb. He said I should check my tubes whether they were in order. I did that. I expected them to tell me that there was a problem with my womb or so. After washing my womb, they confirmed that my womb and tubes were okay, but after all that I never took in and when I asked them, they couldn’t tell me the exact problem.
In-laws and parents’ reaction
My parents were worried. My father, in particular, encouraged us to find some other options apart from prayer since we had prayed and nothing happened. He asked us if we would like to consult a native doctor and that he would give his clothe for us to go with it to find out if he was the cause. So, they really wanted a solution to the problem. When they said all this, I told them that, I believe in God and I knew that God would do it at the right time.
Regarding my in-laws, I knew they said all kinds of things. I remember when they asked my husband if he wanted to be like Abraham. They advised him to take another wife. They said if he didn’t want to bring the second wife to his station, he should keep her in his house or in the village so that he could have children through her. They reminded him of his younger brother who had three or four children, but I didn’t bother about all those things because I believed in God.
Harassment
Some people were sometimes even bold enough to accost me openly. I remember one person asked me whether I aborted some babies when I was single. She said that could be the cause of my problem. I told her that I never did such a thing and that inability to take in was not because of that.
A boy’s insult
I can also remember another case. I visited one family and there was a boy whose mother was a member of our church. When I greeted the young boy, his response was shocking. He said, look at you; don’t greet me. Don’t you know that you are a waste? The food you eat is a waste. Since you cannot have a child of your own, the food you eat is a waste.’
I felt so bad and cried within me. When I got home, I shared this with my husband. He comforted me, saying there was nothing we could do. I advised that I either slept with him or another man who would make me pregnant so that I could have a child. I felt so offended and lambasted him. I later told my husband.
Lowest moment
Though I cannot mention the exact period, there was a time I felt so bad and told my husband that there was no need punishing him. We had stayed all these years without a child and people were saying all kinds of things. Moreover, every month when I had my period, I would be weighed down and would say that there was no need for me to stay. I remember that I packed my things and went about from house to house. I was just roaming up and down but my husband called me and asked where I was going. I said I didn’t know, anywhere I liked.
Husband’s attitude
His attitude towards me was encouraging. Each time I was down; each time I began to think, my husband would encourage me. He told me he was not bothered about the problem. He would ask me whether he had ever challenged me because of my inability to take in. he would assure me of his love. He would tell me not to worry about what people said. In fact, he really helped me. If he did not support me, anybe, things would have turned out differently, but with him on my side, I was encouraged. Some other genuine friends also supported us.
Conception
After my graduation from the Bible school in November 2003, I came back not feeling fine throughout December. I thought it was stress and malaria. I took some drugs, but I was still uncomfortable. So, I consulted a nurse and she advised me to go for pregnancy test. I was not happy with her but she insisted I should do it. And my husband supported that I should go for the test. He even took the sample to the hospital and the result was positive. I asked what was positive; he said pregnancy. It was as if he was not serious about it and personally such stuff was not on my mind so, I told him it was not true. I said okay, let some months pass. I was advised to go and register at Ikot Abasi General Hospital. It was there that they confirmed the pregnancy. In fact, it was like a dream.
Peoples reaction.
When people saw the pregnancy, they praised God. Some came from far places to confirm if it was true. When they saw me, they were overjoyed. Even those who abused me earlier were happy. I remember during the child dedication on November 14, 2004, many people came and the church could not contain people.
Advice
My advice to women going through similar experience is that they should keep on believing God. God has said in His word that none of His children shall be barren and that word is sure. I believe that scripture despite what people say. They should have faith.
Child’s name
As would be expected, the child’s name is Samuel. Not necessarily as a namesake of his grandfather who also answered Samuel, but principally because the mother, Mrs. Precious Imoh Samuel Nyah says: “I like First Samuel, chapter one that talks about Hannah, the husband and their son Samuel. So, that place was always a great inspiration to me. I don’t know the exact length of time that she stayed but it came to a time that she was provoked and she went to God in prayer and right there, God answered her prayers through the man of God, Eli and she got her miracle.”
