The Call...3

This is the third and last part in 'The Call' series... you can read the previous parts here

The two weeks are finally over and I can breathe a sigh of relief, the Village wasn’t as bad as I thought, but it wasn’t good either and I couldn’t wait to return to civilization. It was bad enough that very few of the Villagers spoke English, the food was zero and the weather out here was really cold.

Remember the ‘a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do’ phrase? That’s what’s going down this night, for most guys that is. As the final day of the trip, we had the day off and we were free to do whatever we wanted, so long as we came back to our camp site, in one piece. I don’t know how, but the guys discovered this place. Oh, did I forget to mention that the females in this Village had one major occupation? Prostitution. The alarming fact was not just the number of prostitutes, but the way they accepted what they did, like it was some kinda occupation like nursing, teaching and what have you. Really it was saddening. Obviously, the guys planned to ‘get some’ cos they came to this village fully prepared..if you know what I mean and if don’t know, just stay ignorant pls.

With just a day left, I had some exploration to do, because this village was actually beautiful… funny enough, I didn’t feel deprived when the other guys went out to ‘have fun’ instead, I kinda pitied them. I really hoped I would talk to them about God someday, I wasn’t really bold enough for now, I know that’s not an excuse, but still…

I took out my camera and set off with two of my female campers to explore the village, they later branched off at some point..to do their ‘girl thing’ I really do not know what it was, and I really do not care to know.

So it was me, myself and I walking along the path…and then the still small voice, ‘move on, move down the path, I want to take you somewhere beautiful’, I knew that voice, and I trusted it, so I kept on walking..

       

Nnse took off once again, left the town and journeyed to ‘her’ meadow, where she observed her sun setting ritual. She still remembered what happened two months ago, during her visit to the meadow, it had rained heavily and she fell sick for days, as a result of that, she couldn’t work and she had gone hungry for a while. To her, there was something significant about that day, she couldn’t place her finger on it, she just knew. Today was just like every other day in the village and she would observe her sun setting ritual just like every other day.

Philip kept on walking, he would have been scared but two things kept him going, one, his love for adventure and the gentle stirring of the Spirit within him and so he stayed on the path..at this point, the sun was already setting and he needed to return to camp. Just as he was about to give up and turn around, he saw a sight that caught his breath, the sky was orange, no a hazy brown or maybe it was yellow ouch, he really couldn’t tell, but the sight was breathtaking. The sun was setting and to get a better view, he walked towards a high rise that was set in a small meadow and sat down…but then he couldn’t help it, he was moved by the beauty and awesomeness of it all, and for the first time, Philip knelt down in a public place that wasn’t a church gathering and bowed his head in worship. How he loved Jesus.

Nnse got close to the meadow and for the very first time in her 8years of watching the sunset, she saw another being in the meadow. She gasped! But the figure didn’t seem like a man for it was bent in funny way. She became scared, but she couldn’t go back, so she hid behind a tree and watched. Apparently the figure was human because it had on clothes and it did seem like a man. She didn’t like the fact that her space had been invaded by an outsider, so she walked up to him and tapped him on his shoulder…

Philip, just knelt there, basking in the presence of his father, there were times he couldn’t utter a word but his lips kept on moving he was enjoying a moment of peace and quiet when he felt a tap on his shoulder by the softest hands ever and a voice that was heavily accented saying…

’Who are you, and what do you want here?’

Philip looked up from his kneeling position, sized Nnse up and smiled.

His smile disarmed her, for she thought he would be offended by her words

Philip stood to his towering 6foot plus stature and looked down at Nnse…my, my, my, she was indeed pretty and had the curves that could make a brother go…okay, ‘remember who you are, and who you’re not’…that same still small voice said to Philip.

‘Hi, I’m Philip…’ he stretched out his hand.

‘Philip?’ she asked, ‘where do you come from?’

‘Er..I’m here with my schoolmates on a field trip, more like a research work, you understand don’t you?’

‘I do understand, like the government people that come here to put their noses in our ways eh?’

‘Well, not really, but something similar’.

‘Fair enough’, she said as she sat like a queen claiming her throne on the spot he just got up from.

He felt awkward and slightly pissed. Awkward because he was standing, while she sat on the grass and he more than towered over her. Pissed because he wasn’t ready to leave and she practically rendered him seat less.

‘Ur..could you, please move a bit I’d like to spend more time here’

‘More time?’ She asked, ‘in my meadow?’

‘Your meadow? I’m sorry, do you own this place or something?’

‘No I don’t, but I’ve been to this place every single day since I was 10 for the past eight years, and I’ve never, ever, had to struggle with another for sitting space’

‘Cool’ he said sarcastically ‘so this pace isn’t yours and it isn’t mine either, so let’s just share it’

Share it? She looked at him ridiculously like he had just grown two heads. And she kept at it for a while

He also held her gaze, he just couldn’t let her win and he was supposed to be the guy here. He had to stare her down, problem was, she wasn’t backing down and this was beginning to feel very awkward.

Nnse was amazed at this stranger’s audacity. How could someone come from nowhere and just take another person’s space, if it was acceptable where he came from, it wasn’t acceptable here, but then, she missed the companionship of another human being, all she had known were men that used her to satisfy themselves and paid her just enough to keep body and soul together, maybe this Philip was like all the others, and maybe he wasn’t, but either ways, she was ready to handle him, he was just a man wasn’t he?

Finally she spoke up, ‘I would let you sit here on one condition, you’d have to be totally quiet, I need to concentrate’

On what, he almost blurted out, but held his tongue. She wasn’t worth the argument. And so he sat beside her and watched what was left of the sunset.

As Philip watched the sunset, he couldn’t help but wonder at the intensity with which this pretty lady watched the sunset, like she was tryina read something or tryina see something, he couldn’t tell but the intensity was kind of unsettling.

Nnse stared at the sun as usual, but she couldn’t concentrate, this Philip distracted her, and she caught him staring at her, what did he want, was it what all men wanted of her? He had better speak up, before she left, she needed the extra money anyway.

And then Philip heard the still small voice again, he heard the call… ’Read out to this young lady, the scripture we’ve been studying’. Philip smiled and said inwardly, ‘how on earth would that scripture correlate with this young woman? She might even find it insulting’ he spoke back at that voice and he couldn’t hear the voice any longer. He sat there uneasy and uncomfortable and knew what he should do to get his peace back. He brought out his small packet bible and turned to Nnse.

Finally, she thought..’men, are all the same’ that sad thought sifted through her brain as Philip turned to her

‘I don’t know your name’

That statement caught her off guard..my name?

‘It’s Nnse’

‘Nnse? What does it mean?’

And the point of all these questions is? She almost blurted out. But instead she said

‘It means light’

‘Light?’

‘Yes, light?’

‘Well, if you don’t mind’ Philip asked hesitantly

‘Yes?’ She asked with a hint of impatience

‘I would like to read out a story to you’

‘You have a book?’ She asked with surprise and delight etched on her oval shaped face.

‘Er..yeah I do?’

‘And you want to read it to me?’

‘As a matter of fact I do’

Nnse was surprised, the last time she had seen book, was when her father was still alive. After his death, his property had been burnt because his sickness was one that was highly infectious. And now this stranger wanted to read her a book? What harm would it cause, after all, she couldn’t watch the sun, she was too distracted for that.

Philip, had never done this before, but he knew he just had to do it, and so while Nnse seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, he opened the bible to the book of Hosea and started reading ’The word of the Lord came to Hosea..’

As Philip read, he became more confident that God wanted him to do this, he just read on, and prayed within himself that Nnse would not feel insulted by the story.

As Nnse listened to Philip read, she was stunned, who was this Philip and where did he come from? Certain things went through her mind as Philip read. First off, she remembered her childhood and her father, she remembered him teaching her to read, and when she read, she would always dream of a place where she could be who she wanted, she remembered her best friend, Kumay and how they planned their lives together. Now her father had died of a terrible illness and Kumay was sold off as a slave. Nnse’s dreams had died; she had to conform to the status quo. It was all she knew about survival.

Something started happening inside of Nnse, the dark dungeon she called her heart started warming up, she didn’t understand. What was this Philip doing to her? She really listened to the story he read from his book, how did he know who she was, what she did and what kind of man would ever want a prostitute like her for a wife? All these things didn’t add up…she listened for a while and she felt wetness on her cheeks, when had the tears leaked out? She wanted to scream, she wanted to shout, something was calling, pulling her, something was untying the bitterness, the pain, the sorrow, the anger, the hatred that had bound her heart and gradually, that dark dungeon was warming up.

Philip was so engrossed with the bible, he read with such passion and power that he knew something out of the ordinary was happening. After a while, he turned to Nnse and was surprised to see her crying she was weeping, heart wrenching sobs, he didn’t know what to do.

‘Holy Spirit help me’, he whispered.

And then Nnse cried out, ‘help me!!’

And Philip responded…’I cannot help you’

‘’No! You have to help me”

“I can’t but I know someone that can help you”

“Who? Take me to him at once!” This time her sobs had become deep and sorrowful. Philip himself was moved to tears but common a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do remember? *datz just a load of crap* Philip said to himself

‘He’s right here,’ Philip said with a strong conviction in his voice.’ He’s the one calling out to you, he’s the one winning your heart to him. Nnse, have you heard about Jesus?’

‘Yes, my papa’s books talk about him but I cannot get to him, his land is faraway’

‘No, Nnse, he’s here, all around you, within you, he’s speaking to you right now, he loves you Nnse.’

‘But you don’t know who I am, what I’ve done. The story you read, that woman is me…that’s my only way of surviving’

‘Jesus will change you, give you a new story and show you another way to survive’

‘How? Look around you Philip, what do you see in this Village? All I see is defeat, fear, emptiness, no one can help me out, it’s my fate’.

‘No, it’s not, Jesus loves you, he can make you a light Nnse. That’s your name isn’t it?’

‘Yes..’

‘Are you ready to let Him in, and let Him help you?’

‘Yes Philip’ she said with a broken and sober voice

‘We’ll start with this…’Jesus, we come before you this evening, Nnse and I. Nnse has some things she wants to say to you….

After Philip prayed with Nnse, she still sobbed and he held her to his chest like a baby. He still couldn’t understand what had happened. Maybe it was all a dream, but this seemed real and he knew it was indeed.

Nnse’s sobs subsided and she had lots of questions, Philip answered and when he didn’t know the answers, that still small voice supplied them. It was dark already, but the full moon shone and cast it’s silvery ray on everything around them. It was beautiful. They both stood to leave after a while and Nnse was surprised when Philip told her he would leave the next day

‘How will I cope? Who will help me?’

‘Jesus will Nnse, all you have to do is trust him, can you read? ‘

‘Yes I can?’

‘I’ll leave my bible with you, you’ll be fine Nnse, remember, you’re a light’.

As Nnse collected the bible and stood to leave, she stood on tip toe and pecked him on his cheeks. Thank you she whispered into his ear, with that, she took off, her gait lighter and happier than when she arrived at the meadow.

Philip was rooted to the spot! That peck was really something you know. Maybe, just maybe, he would come back and check on Nnse, but for now, he was grateful he met her, he was grateful he heeded the call and was unashamed at least this time. It was the first time he had witnessed and it felt good..really, really good.

 Nnse felt new inside as she walked home, she didn’t fully understand what happened but she was sure of some facts; one, she would never go back to her old life, two, she would never forget Philip, maybe, just maybe, they would meet again and thirdly and most importantly; her knight had come, with her messages from the sun on one hand and the keys to her heart on the other. That knight indeed had a shiny armor and his name was Jesus.


Till next time,
xoxo