AFTER 18-year marriage: Minister of God welcomes baby girl

For 18 solid years after marriage, the story of Apostle Kenneth Lawson, a minister of God and his wife, Favour, a preacher of the gospel has been full of anguish and bitterness as they could not savour the joy of having a child they could call their own. 

But at last, when all hope for the fruit of the womb seemed lost, God in his infinite mercy turned their lives around by miraculously blessing them with a baby girl.

Today, their joy knows no bounds as all roads recently led to Prayer Revival Bible Church, located at Revival close,  off Canal avenue, Okota, Lagos, venue of the child dedication dubbed:  ‘Miracle baby dedication.’ Having named the baby girl  ‘Deborah Peace Chinasaran Lawson’ at an earlier naming ceremony, the joy  of the once embattled and ridiculed couple seemed unfathomable  as they explained during the dedication that the choice of the name was  symbolic of the faithfulness of God, and  the comfort He brought  into  their  home with the birth.

In an emotion-laden interview with Sunday Express, which took place at their home, No. 10 Onwujiobi Street, Ago-Okota, Lagos, the elated father and preacher of the gospel narrated the circumstances that surrounded their tribulation while the years of barrenness lasted. 

His story is that of an absolute trust in God, an unwavering belief that no one created by God is barren and that God’s time is truly the best. “When we got married about 19 years ago, I never knew that we could spend so much time without any child to show for the marriage. But as time went on, we started noticing that things were not as it ought to be. Years after years, there was no sign of pregnancy. But as a man of God, I had no choice than to encourage my wife and believe in God. I have been born again since 1984 and I have travelled round the world, seeing a lot of ups and downs in marriages. Truth is, I got worried sometimes. Most times when I got worried I would find a church programme to attend or go the mountain for prayers.

“There was a time my wife called me and said, “man of God, you have been praying for women looking for the fruits of the womb and God has been blessing them with children...do the same thing to me, your wife. Some people were causing more harm to my wife by making some unguided statements like: “are you sure your husband is not using you for all the miracles he is doing here in Nigeria and around the world”. I kept quiet when I heard all these, but prayed more. Sometimes, she won’t eat and I would say ‘let me buy you this particular type of car but she would say no and I would ask her what do you want? Behold she would say ‘man of God, I need a child.’ That was the level at which she was troubled.  Then a time came when my wife said she had malaria which doctors later confirmed was pregnancy,” he affirmed.

Sharing her joy, the excited Favour gave more insight into what she passed through within those years of barrenness: “It was not an easy road. It was a tough experience that I would not even wish my worst enemy. Then I would go to hospitals and doctors would tell me that nothing was wrong with me and that confused me the more. Also, I would be told one thing or the other...either the speed is not fast or the count is slow. There is no name people have not called me. But I encouraged myself.  Upon the whole medicine and countries we have gone to for medication, nothing came out of it. We went to Germany, South Africa, Italy and so many other countries and we were planning to go to Egypt by June this year for another medication, unknown to us that I was already pregnant. God did it at his own time. Some of the imported medicines for us to use are still in the fridge”, the joyous mother avowed.

On her advice to fellow women in similar fate, Favour said: “They should be hopeful and believe that our God is a living God. You would have an enduring consolation if only you believe in God; if you believe that there is nothing God cannot do. They should not allow sorrow to overweigh them because God is the all-knowing and would visit everybody at a set time”, she admonished. “My advice is that the man should not in any way think of divorcing his wife or marrying a second wife. The woman should also not think of leaving the man because no one created by God is barren. They should just remain prayerful and united in love”, the Apostle also echoed.

Ten-Year Barrenness Ends With Twins

"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”  Mark 9:23

For Mrs. Euphemia Nnamdi, it was a pleasant case of moving from multiple fibroid to multiple pregnancy. For ten solid years, several factors had stood between her and conception. Doctors had ruled out the possibility of her ever getting pregnant. But when the almighty God intervened recently, all those obstacles gave way and she took in to the amazement of doctors and sundry observers. Today, she is a happy mother of twins – a boy and a girl. And so, during a conference of Watchman leaders and ministers at the Rock Chapel, LOGISS, Awo Omamma, she shared her stirring testimony which drew ovations and loud praises to God from the audience:

"I have come out here today to thank God because of the great things He has done for me. God delivered me from ten years barrenness and made me a mother of two.
We got married in 2000 and for several years, we waited for babies that did not come. Doctors attributed the cause to a lot of things. But, God is God! We believed that He could do all things. Yes, there is nothing that He cannot do. As we began to visit hospitals, doctors first told us the problem was low count. Then, after about seven years, they said to me: Madam, you have a newly developed fibroid! This was a very discouraging news, but we continued to pray unto God. Later, the doctor asked me to undertake a womb x-ray, which I did. When the result came out, he said that every woman should have two fallopian tubes in her body but that he could only see less than half in my own body which makes it practically impossible for me to conceive. Despite this development, we continued to pray. I knew the God I was serving, and so we remained hopeful. I had maintained a relationship with this God since my youth, so I knew what He could do. So, we continued to believe Him.

Later on, when I met the doctor again he asked me to do another scan to determine whether the fibroid was inside the womb or outside. So, I went, and after it, they told me that the fibroid was not only right inside the womb, but it had become multiple! As a human being, this information made me afraid but when I looked up, I knew that my God was able to intervene in any situation no matter how complicated. And so, I talked to God. I told Him that I must not go childless. I continued to believe Him. And my pastors were equally praying for me. One day, I called for prayers in my home and God said to me: Now you have arrived; very soon, if you did not conceive, know that I am not God! By this time, if you touched my stomach, it was as hard as the ground. There was nothing to show that what I had just been told could happen but I kept on believing the Lord.

Later that year, I started having some problems and the doctor said that I should come for an operation, that that was the solution to my problem. I said that I would not go for any fibroid operation. Besides, they said it was inside the womb. What if I go for an operation, what would happen? I resolved not to go. I preferred waiting for my God.

About this time, too, I went to the hospital, and the doctor said that patent fallopian tubes could not be seen. He advised me to go and return after two weeks, by then he would have decided what to do about my case. But before the end of the two weeks, I noticed that I had missed my period. I also had very high fever. When I went to see the doctor, I couldn’t find him. I went to the second doctor and he said I should come for admission that the other doctor had gone on a sick leave. Then after staying in the hospital for 4-5 days, I lost the pregnancy. So when the doctor came back from his sick leave, I went to him and he asked me: Do you really mean that you missed your period  that is, that you were pregnant?

He said it was medically impossible for me to take in. According to him, based on all the medical examinations I had undergone had revealed, it just could not happen. But God is greater than every situation. The doctor, however, said that if what I said actually happened, that is, if indeed I took in, then it must have been by God’s intervention. He then said that he has resolved not to carry out any flushing, or give me any treatment, but that I should go back and tell that same God who did the first one to do it again.  So, I went back and prayed to God. I said: God, you know that this doctor doesn’t know you but he knows what you can do. As long as you are with me, I am not moved. You have done a miracle in my life. Do another one. I am not going to do that operation, I am not going to that hospital again until you visit me because the doctor had said I should go and wait for God for 3 months, and if something doesn’t happen, then I should come for the operation.

    Then I went on to say that as long as the doctor has recognized that God has visited me, I am going to wait for God no matter the number of years. I was sure that on that day, May 22, God gave me a solid promise. In October, I became sick, and the thing was disturbing me so much. When it persisted, I forgot what God told me, and began to look at the fibroid. I told myself that I would now go for the operation instead of dying. So, I decided to go. I asked my senior brother, and he said that I should go, that he would give me money. But, the Spirit of God ministered to me to go and visit one midwife in our area before going to the Holy Rosary Hospital (Emekuku) for the operation. When I went to the woman and she asked what was happening to me, I told her that I did not know. I told her that the fibroid was disturbing me too much. But, she looked at me and wondered why there was some movement on my stomach, and advised me to go for a pregnancy test. But I told her that I was not pregnant. But she insisted that something must be behind the movement she was noticing. After refusing initially, I later agreed to go for the test. I said I would go for it the next day while going to the hospital. And so, the next morning, I went for the test and when the result came out it was Positive! It was like a dream. I decided not to go to the hospital until after one month.

After one month, I returned to the hospital, and when the doctor saw me, he asked me what the problem was, and I told him that I was sick and went for pregnancy test, and that they said the result was Positive. The doctor asked me to come so he could examine me. After touching my stomach, he asked: who told you that you are pregnant with this weight of fibroid? Often, many of you women would want to spend your husbands’ money for nothing. Look at the weight of fibroid you have. And somebody told you that you are pregnant and you agreed? Why are you so foolish?

My answer to him was that I did not know anything, that he should, please, conduct his own test. He said okay and sent me for a test. When the result came out, he said to me: Madam, I am sorry, you are pregnant, I didn’t know! Later, I went to three other hospitals, and the result was still the same, that I was pregnant. It was clear that the hand of the Lord was there. And He continued to help me.  When the pregnancy reached five months, it began to disturb me so much. The doctor said I should come for a scan and I went. When they finished, they were all looking at me. Then the other doctor said: Look, it is a multiple pregnancy. But the other one said: look at the weight of fibroid.

And the other one ran out and called other doctors and told them to come and see how God has proved that He is beyond doctors, and beyond science. He had defied fibroid to plant two children in the womb. And he added: This your God is too much!  For about an hour, the doctors were examining me and using my case for special study. They were looking at the weight of fibroid, and equally looking at the two children in the womb. It was like a dream. And so, it was that on the 6th day of June, by 10′oclock, and despite multiple fibroid, blocked fallopian tubes, low count and an infection, God gave me a baby boy and a baby girl. That was how God wiped away 10 years barrenness, made me a fruitful mother of two and gave me a name among women. When I go out now, people will call me Mama Ejima (mother of twins).

 

SOURCE: watchmancatholiccharismatics

 

IVF Failed Me Six Times

Mrs. Mary Abah is a lawyer, banker and wife of a former Minister of Interior, Mr. Humphrey Abah. She shares her experience on her challenge of being in marriage for 23 years without a child and the support she got from her husband...

Congratulations on the arrival of your baby 23 years after marriage. Did you ever think it was going to be like this?

Before I got married, my view of the marriage institution was that marriage was a sanctuary; a place where a woman could actualise her dream together with her partner. I understood very early that marriage usually gives some form of security and the expectation was that in it, one should blossom, be fruitful and multiply generally as the Bible says. That was basically how I saw marriage in my youthful age because I finally married at the age of 27 and I was still quite young.

In essence, you did not anticipate the challenge of having a baby…

No, I didn’t anticipate it, the truth is that as a young child who was brought up by a very strict mother, I saw life as a bit of calculation: a sort of ‘1+1 =2 and 2+2=4.’ So if you get married, you expect that after nine months, as they say, you will have a child or children. My challenge has made me very sensitive to what parents and well wishers normally do at wedding ceremonies. During a wedding, people start talking about gathering again for a naming ceremony after nine months. They say it as a joke but that is the genesis of pressure on married women. So, if yours doesn’t happen after nine months, there is a question mark there and you begin to fret and other problems come in.

Did you have any health challenge when you were growing up that could have delayed your giving birth?

Not really, it was much later in life that the health challenge came. I have been a banker since 1987 when I undertook my National Youth Service Corps. I served in a bank as a lawyer. I continued to work in the bank thereafter. Because I ended up in the banking industry, I decided to update myself in everything related to the industry.

During these trying moments in your life, did you feel that somebody somewhere was responsible for your predicament?

The truth is that in the whole of the 23 years, I refused to focus on such things.  I didn’t worry about who it was, what it was, where it was or how it was. I did not want to get myself involved in what would cause me anguish for the rest of my life.

You are from Cross River State while your husband is from Kogi State. Was there resistance from your parents when you initially wanted to marry Mr. Humphrey Abbah?

 The way we met each other was very peculiar and our marriage was also peculiar. Our families did not actually affect us. They were not there when we met and when we started courting. Our families were not so involved and when it came to the decision of marriage, we took that decision on our own but involved our families later. My husband is not somebody that you can force to do something which he doesn’t believe in. So, even when we got married, that was already established in his family . When he said this was the young lady he wanted to marry, I don’t think he had too much opposition. If there was any at all, it was very insignificant. The truth is that my father-in-law was a very lovely person; a gentleman who had a lot of respect for his son.  By the time we got married, his mother was late and my parents were late too. So, his father was the focal point and the cordial relationship they had made it easy. The rest of my family and the elders gave us a little bit of tough time as you would expect in inter-cultural marriages. But it didn’t take us time to be able to woo them to our side and that was it.

At what stage did you begin to get worried?

My first signal was when I was 30 years and three years in my marriage. At first, it didn’t really worry me because as a career person, I felt we should take it in our stride. I was already beginning to make waves in the banking industry and the demands of the job were already telling on me. Also in my innocence, I didn’t really feel it was an issue. But by the time I was 30 and nothing had happened, I asked myself, ‘what’s going on here?’ Then I began to be conscious of it and started making deliberate efforts to get pregnant. Before this time, there was no real effort. When the pregnancy was not forthcoming, I began to suspect that there was a real problem. But as usual, I went to the doctors, they said there was no problem and suggested that I should give myself time because I was a busy lady. But after about a year, I went back and they gave me one or two interpretations as to what could be wrong and we started tackling it from there and it came to the point that by 2011, the doctors were saying nothing could be done.

Which was your first point of call, church or hospital?

By 1991 when we got married, we became born again and the church had become a focal point and integral part of our lives. We were praying and fasting; good relationship with the leadership of the church had become part of our daily lives and so the church was always there for us. The church was never against consulting orthodox doctors. The only no-go area for us was to seek help outside God. So I think that was why very early in the journey of this crisis, we knew that anything outside God was not an alternative to take at all.

During these periods, did the idea of stealing a baby come to you?

I can say that I never really had the thought of  doing that. The advice I had was different; it had to do with visiting witchdoctors. But the idea of stealing a baby never came to me; it never crossed my mind. I think sometimes the friends that you have determine the kind of advice you get. For me, I never had that category of friends. I did not even have a lot of friends. I can actually count them on my fingers. But the rest of them were my professional colleagues and church members. I surrounded myself critically with those I felt could help me in my journey in life. I didn’t have that crowd that could really derail me in that sense. But there were general advice of ‘a Baba somewhere,’ ‘a doctor somewhere’  and many others. There were times, through text messages, out of their concern for me, some of the women politicians would make suggestions that one Baba somewhere could do it. Most of the time, I would politely decline and smile. But I would never take it against those people because somehow I felt they were just trying to help. But I needed to communicate to them that such help didn’t suit me. When they realised that it was ‘a no-go area’ for us, most of them backed off. For us, we knew that we needed to shut out the world to be able to succeed in this journey.

Did you try IVF?

Yes, I did it many times. By the sixth time, it was very obvious that it could only be God that would help us. If you look at the Bible, you will realise that God uses what he has created to solve problems. At first, it was a problem for me coming to terms even with IVF and particularly when I had done it once, twice and three times and it failed, I was thinking that maybe that was how God wanted me to go. Sometimes I would agonise over it, sometimes I would pray and sometimes I would even face the battle with my God because I also understood that faith was also very important and faith also involves work. I understood clearly that you needed to activate your faith and so when I began to see the failure of IVF, I felt that was part of it. I would pray and I would move, but each time it failed. I was actually confused because in your journey as a Christian, you grow little by little; you don’t just become a mighty woman overnight. It is from the experiences and how you exercise the word of God that you become confident in what you are doing.

During these times, did you lose interest in having sex with your husband as most women who had faced similar experiences in the past would do?

You see, if you read the Bible clearly, there was only one woman who had a baby without sex and that is Mary, the mother of Jesus. I only said there is only one Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. All of us can’t be like Mary. So where is your action and where is your faith? You must work with your faith; there’s nothing about faith that is easy. Because you understand spiritually that the physical aspect must be part of that journey, then you must keep that fire burning, you must keep trying because without it, you cannot be pregnant. So you will find ways to make sure that it keeps going and with that, what you are asking from God will materialise. If not, you are wasting your time and you cannot blame God who had said ‘I have made man, I have made woman for creation’. Out of it, the next generation will come and you are sitting down to say you have lost interest, then don’t blame God at the end of the day. You will work and whether you like it or not, find time to make way and the Lord will see you through. I think He has shown us that it is good not to give up.

There have been cases where, due to pressures from in-laws, some women are forced to marry wives for their husbands. Did you contemplate this?

No, not at all. As beautiful as child adoption is, my husband refused it. That is the only area of thought that came to me. Not because I felt I needed to give up hope but I felt it might calm the atmosphere because I had also read situations where adoption preceded the gift of children in families. For me, adoption was not a problem; I was willing to do that if it was going to calm the atmosphere. I also understood that the atmosphere that you are in could either help you or scatter everything. You needed to be calm, have a good home and you needed to enjoy marriage for these things to happen. If you are in a tense situation, it would only prolong matters. It was only adoption that we considered, but my husband said no and kept saying, ‘ours will come.’ We didn’t think of another woman. But the beautiful thing about it is that God kept him away from that decision. I am an Efik woman from Cross River State and my husband is from Igalla in Kogi State. We used to joke that he crossed many rivers before he could find me. But a lot then believed that I probably gave him ‘love potion’ to be able to keep him and his faith surprised me.

Was there pressure from your in-laws to get another wife for your husband?

As I said, there was no room for that. Nobody could look into Humphrey Abah’s face, whether in my family or his and make such suggestion. The only person who could do that was my father-in-law. He backed off after bringing up the issue of the delay initially in our marriage. It will be a lie for me to say there was no pressure from my family or his family. They were only concerned about how things would be better for us through the efforts  we were putting in. Outside of that, there was no pressure at all.

How did you feel when you were told that you were pregnant?

When they told me I was pregnant, I screamed and cried in the hospital and everyone present rose up and gave thanks to the Lord. Since then, the story has been one testimony after another. But that was not all, when I was to put to bed, I was told there might be complications as a result of all the operations I had done. They said that might make it a very difficult and dangerous birth. Yet, the Lord saw me through. It feels great and I thank the Lord for wiping away my tears and making me a mother at last. It is a dream I have had since I married at the age of 27. Now, I am more than 49 years old, it has taken a long time but the Lord has done it for me. I have shed a lot of tears. Our story is like that of Abraham and Sarah. I am already in menopause  but I told God that if He did it for Sarah and gave her womb the strength to conceive, then He would give my womb the same strength. Even when doctors in London told me in 2011 that nothing could be done, I knew that it is only Him (the Lord) that could help me. I focussed on the Lord and He did it for me.

 

source: punchonline

 

Some Politicians Mocked Our 23-year Childlessness: Ex-Minister

Above: Humphrey Abah holding new son

A former Minister of State for the Interior, Mr. Humphrey Abah, and his wife, Mary, on Sunday in Abuja recounted their ordeal while waiting for a child after 23 years of marriage.

Abah said most times politicians threw verbal punches at his then childless status whenever he refused certain demands based on his personal principle.

The ex-minister and his 49-year-old wife spoke during the dedication of the child held at the United Evangelical Church in Utako District. They said they weathered their storm because “the God of Abraham and Sarah did not forsake us.”

According to Abah, God had given him and his wife the name they were going to give their child 15 years ago.

He said, “We were in the church service 15 years ago when God told us He was going to give us a child. When we got home that day, God gave us David as the name we were going to give to the child.

“Through those many years, I never lost hope. On the political turf, I got a lot of jabs. Most times, when I object to certain issues based on principle, the politicians will say, ‘what do you expect? We are not surprised, after all, he has no child’.

“I have grown to a position in life that I do not listen to comments that come from the sidelines. I have built a wall around myself that I can always move forward.”

On October 10, 2013 the family’s faith paid off as Mary finally gave birth to young David Onu Abah.

While shedding tears of joy, Mary Abah likened her many years of waiting for a child with the Biblical Sarah, wife of Abraham.

She said, “I thank the Lord for wiping away my tears and making me a mother at last. It is a dream I have heard since I married at the age of 27. Now, I am more than 49 years. It has taken a long time, but the Lord has done it for me.

“On November 18, 2012, it was a Sunday, I came to the church and I expressed my concern to the Pastor and he called a little child to pray for me. The whole church rose up and chorused ‘Amen.’ That same Sunday, the church organised a praise concert and I danced before the Lord and I said the Lord has provided me with a birthday bash.

“Even when Hallish Street Doctors in London in 2011 told me that nothing could be done, I knew that it was only the Lord that could help me. I focused on the Lord and He did it for me.

“When they told me I was pregnant, I ran a test and it said I was pregnant, I was like truly those that dream. I screamed and cried. Since then, the story has been one testimony or the other.”

It was also gathered that during the process of delivery, Abah was told that it was going to be a very difficult and dangerous delivery.

Mary added, “Yet again, the Lord stepped in for me. So I thank Him because he preserved me all through.”

Also speaking, the Minister of the Interior, Abbah Moro, who was among other dignitaries present during the dedication service, said the story of the couple was a lesson of faith for those believing God for the fruit of the womb.

He said, “Something wonderful has happened in the life of this family. As a friend, I need to come and share in this joy. This is a message to those believing God for a fruit of the womb. They must exercise patience.”

By Friday olokor

Punchng.com