Since my membership in the Church over two decades now, I have witnessed people bear powerful testimonies, and others who speak profoundly of the Gospel. I recall the faith promoting demonstration of a sister in Benin City recently.
We were having one of the workshops in the Employment Resource Center one morning when Sister Adesuwa (not real name) slowly walked into the Ihogbe Stake center, gripping her stomach with both hands, her face contorted. She was obviously in pain. Taken aback, I moved straight to her to know what her problem was.
As I approached, she grabbed my left arm and muttered hoarsely.
“I need Priesthood blessing, please, brother.” I suppressed a temptation to ask if she was a member. “How could she know about Priesthood blessings if she was a stranger to the church,” I thought.
I took her by the other arm and led her to the office. As she settled into a chair, she sighed deeply. And I noticed her face was a bit more relaxed.
“What is the problem, sister?” I asked.
“I have stomach ache,” she managed to say.
Then I went to the workshop room and invited another facilitator, a Priesthood bearer, to come in and together, we administered to her.
Immediately after the “Amen”, Adesuwa became very calm. She wiped the tears from her face, looked up and tried to smile. “Thank you,” she said. Only then did I find the courage to ask the question that had been bothering me.
“Which ward are you from?”
“Ihogbe Second ward,” she replied.
“How did you know we were here?” I was really curious, “you’ve never attended any of our workshops.”
She said she had a fashion outfit about two blocks away from the Stake Center. And when she became ill, the only place she knew she could go to find succor was the House of the Lord. And according to her, finding Priesthood brethren there to administer to her was purely a divine intervention.
Although she had taken her medications that morning, the ailment relapsed just moments before she decided to visit the Chapel to rest. So when she found us in the workshop, she knew that Heavenly Father had arranged the situation so that she could receive a blessing from bearers of the Priesthood of God.