………AND THE ANGELS CAME TO THE NEWSROOM

………AND THE ANGELS CAME TO THE NEWSROOM

The sound of the speakers buzzing with gospel tunes leaves you wondering if you were in the wrong place,if you had not seen the white banner cleverly hung on the wine coloured wall of the Vanguard Newspaper entrance with these words boldly written:’VANGUARD CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP HOSTS PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE.THEME:THE STORM IS OVER.A few days before the event, held on Tuesday 29th of November 2010,I was approached by one of my,’senior’ female friends to be available at the event to play the bassguitar.I was elated, as I figured out this will give me the rare opportunity to have a close encounter with the renowned General overseer of RCCG.A day before the event, Monday to be precise,I was in the valley of indecision, regarding the outfit I will put on, that will best suit the purpose of the event, and also make me stand out. Suddenly, my eureka moment came…..i decided to pick my treasured shining black suit, which I only wear when I have very important outings to attend. As the hours drew closer,and minutes became seconds,P.H.C.N refused to perform the miracle of restoring the power supply, so I found myself carefully using the stove iron to smoothen the rough edges of my treasured suit.

Fast forward to the day of the event….as we stepped into the venue of the event,I was marveled at how the media house’s compound had been tastefully and excellently decorated….imagine a compound housing newsrooms being transformed into a haven of divine visitation. Unexpectedly, the programme started quite late due to logistics issues like the testing of the musical equipments, late arrivals of the invited guests.e.t.c.After immersing myself in the ritual of sound check and tuning the bassguitar, I waited for the other instrumentalists present to have their fair turns of observing the soundcheck and making every necessary amendment in order to produce excellent sounds when the event eventually kicks off. My initial excitement melted, when I started feeling the bitter pangs of hunger, since I wasn’t able to have my my breakfast before I left home that morning.Hence,I and my fellow instrumentalists had to find a place where we bought soft drinks and biscuits, which helped simmer down the pangs of hunger.



THE ARRIVAL:

The guests came in from far and wide.There were editors, reporters, families, and friends of Vanguard media, columnists, all coming into the venue of the event like devoted members of a congregation.Expectedly,ministers and members of the RCCG came in en masse to add colur to the event. The event kicked off with serenading praise and worship songs led by the praise team, which literally changed the atmosphere,as our hearts were one with heaven, you could feel the presence of the angels riveting in the pure worship.



..AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH

Vanguard newspaper didn’t spare any thing in publicizing the event.As they splashed the adverts in their paper announcing the event.But inspite of the buzz worthy hype preceding the event, members of staff of Vanguard still had their doubts that the renowned pastor will honor their invitation as he is known to have a busy evangelistic itinerary. The most explosive part of the event was when the G.O arrived. He was warmly and delightfully received amidst the ongoing praise song, sung to welcome him.As I passionately strummed the string of the bass guitar, I saw the twinkle in the eyes of the people, as the cameras clinked , and the individuals who have not been privileged to have a close encounter with the man of God, jostled to get a glimpse of him.He was clad in a milk colored French suit with a bow tie to match. He immediately delved into the message after his salutation. A lady sitting close to me was prompt in saying’: Our G.O doesn’t waste time’ and in my mind I said to my self: ‘I hope so’

With the pressures of living in a cosmopolitan city like ours, I could see the people beaming with hope after the delivery of the message. It was as if a courier had dispatched envelopes containing millions of naira to everybody. As I unplugged my guitar, putting in back inside the bag, I concluded that with the excitement on the faces of the individuals who attended the programmme, definitely hopes has been dispatched into their lives, as we all left armed with the courage to confront our lives storms.