In those early days of the Camp, sometimes my wife used to prepare dinner for the children without meat and I was touched.
Bisi Daniels
The Birds’ Invasion: When we began to build the Redemption Camp in those early years, there were some trees that provided shade which I instructed the workers to preserve. Soon, some little birds came in their hundreds and thousands to perch on these trees. Whenever they descended on them, there would be no leaves left on the trees the following day. They were also very noisy. I often wondered if they were demonic birds.
Some church members who had guns would fire shots at them but they refused to go away. Although some were hit by the bullets and dropped dead, the rest stayed on. At some point, it appeared that the more they were killed, the more they multiplied. The situation became unbearable. I therefore called on God to help us one morning. That evening, several eagles came and began to eat them up. Within hours, there was not a single one of them left.
God has not stopped using birds! If he needs to send birds to meet your needs, He will do so; but you need to show Him that you can serve Him with all He has given to you. How faithfully have you served God? To what extent can you risk your life and all He has given to you for His service?
Okro Meat Delicacy: In those early days of the Camp, sometimes my wife used to prepare dinner for the children without meat and I was touched. I remembered those days, when our mothers used to make okro meat. They would take okro and cut off its head and bottom, and throw it into the okro soup. That was okro meat, very sweet.
One day, before my wife went into the kitchen to cook, I took a walk in the bush with a little dog we had. Along the way, the dog dashed further into the Bush and we soon heard the cry of an animal. The dog brought out a squirrel. And then the battle began between me and the dog to determine the owner of the squirrel. I then used the little science I knew about dogs. If you want something out of a dog, hold its throat so that it won’t be able to breathe very well. When their throat is pressed, it has a choking effect on them and so they release whatever they have in their mouth.
I got the squirrel and we had it for dinner. When we finished eating, my children asked, “Daddy, what about the okro meat?”
I said, “Next time.”
Thank God, next time never came. One day, I reminded my wife how I used to tell her to cut cow skin meat, popularly called pomo in local parlance, into two, especially the very thick ones so that it could go round, and how I used to say that although the situation may continue for some time, the future was going to be alright.
The N17,000 Need: There was a time I was in great need of money at the Camp. It was at a time the value of the Naira was high. I needed seventeen thousand naira but I had only three thousand naira. Then one of my pastors came and said he needed a thousand naira for something urgent. I nearly kicked him out. I thought, I need seventeen thousand naira, I have only three and I need fourteen more; you need only one thousand and you are bothering me, get out of here.
But as he was about to go out of the door, the Spirit of God spoke to me and said, “Give him the one thousand.”
If I didn’t know His voice, I would have said,” Get thee behind me Satan.” Reluctantly, because I know He is the one who must be obeyed, I called the pastor back and said, “At least let’s solve your problem. From having two problems, we will have only one.”
So, I gave him the one thousand naira and my three became two. But you see, God works by certain laws that you don’t understand. One is the law of harvest. And when you are in crisis, the law of harvest can work faster than you think. Before the end of that day, I had more than seventeen thousand naira given to me by an unexpected benefactor.
If I had disobeyed Him, my harvest would not have come and both of us would have remained needy. Once in a while God may tell you to do something stupid, that is, if you are sure He is the one speaking to you. Remember He is the Counselor.
Earth Tremor at Redemption Camp: In those days, nobody lived at the Redemption Camp. I am sure some of the elders of the church would remember when one day an antelope bumped into our ministers’ conference. Poor animal, it ended up in the stomach of some people.
Early in the morning every Tuesday, I would leave our house in Mushin for the Camp and be there until Thursday morning when I went to the Headquarters for Faith Clinic. The only other people in the Camp then were the carpenters who were working, and they would stop as soon as it was dark and retire for the day.
But I wanted to seek Him; I wanted to be alone; with no noise and nothing to distract me. One night – I remember that night like yesterday – I prayed: “Father, I surrender all; it is only you now; that is all
I want. I don’t want to be an ordinary pastor. Please, I am not seeking anything else. Not seeking for gold, not seeking for clothes, not seeking for fame; I want you to empower me so I can do this work. And if you are not going to do it, take me away.”
That day, He answered, and there was a tremor in the Camp. The tremor went as far as Ijebu Ode where pictures walls were dropping.
When you seek God with all your heart; when you seek Him in desperation, you will find Him.