*/ GEWC at 44 years: 4 Days to Go

 

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GEWC at 44 years: 4 Days to Go

04 Sep 2016
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RUMUKWURUSHI – THE MIRACLE OF THE RAIN, AND DELIVERANCE FROM SOLDIER ANTS:

Fieldwork was very, very stressful spiritually and physically and equally dangerous. It required great courage, strength and sacrifice, a price only very few were and are prepared to pay. God’s over-riding presence was with him and his Ministry and He confirmed His presence with them through salvation, miracles and deliverances of thousands of people. He was moving at such a pace that within five months they had covered seventeen village groups outside Port Harcourt and its suburbs, and in less than one year they had recorded over ten thousand converts purely from village evangelism. These figures they published in their August newsletter that year. But there was no excitement in his heart. His aim was to evangelize the land within three years which in itself was a lofty aim when one considered the difficult terrain in which he was to labour. There were hundreds of islands and villages in the State with millions of people that needed to be saved. To him ten thousand was a paltry figure when compared to the millions of his people who had not even heard the gospel not to talk of being saved. The number even paled the more when placed beside the crowds that the Lord had shown him in the vision of his call on 3rd March 1970. The burden of fulfilling the vision was heavy on his heart and he did not want that vision to be diverted by man’s figurative calculations. He wanted to go on preaching until he could preach no more.

He therefore had to discourage the gathering and publications of numbers and statistics lest they began to believe they had achieved much for God and become proud and self-conceited. When God gave him the vision, His last words to him were, “I have chosen you but be humble”, words which he has always said he would never, never forget. The desire of Apostle Paul, ―…I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus‖ (Philippians 3:13 – 14) was his desire. And so he pressed on his team and they continued to pursue their goals with great zeal and favour, and the work moved on.

RUMUKWURUSHI CRUSADE

Two spectacular things that God did for them in Rumuokwurushi were, withholding the rain on their behalf, and protecting them from being bitten by soldier ants. That period was rainy season and in Rivers State it does not just rain, it pours. When they arrived in Rumuokwurushi it rained during the first three days of their campaigns. It did not stop them from holding their Crusades but many of the people could not attend the Crusades because of the rains. Also, it was farming season and they had to be away in their farms all day. Their farms were far away from their homes and they had to trek long distances daily. This meant that by the time they came back home it was either they were too tired or it would be too late for them to leave their homes.

When Numbere discovered the reasons for the poor turn-out to the Crusades, he publicly made a decree that there would be no rain on the Crusade grounds. And as the servant of God decreed so it was. God held back the rains from the Crusade ground while heavy rain fell in the rest of Rumuokwurushi and its environs. The people would come back from their farms soaked and drenched with rain only to come within the vicinity of the Crusade ground and find it completely dry. This miracle brought crowds to the Crusade ground, many gave their lives to the Lord, and many were healed and delivered from occultic bondage.

On one of the days it did not just rain, there was a storm. The only accommodation they could get in Rumuokwurushi had been a market shed right in the middle of the market square. They had had to use the Ministry cloth banners to drape round the stakes of the shed to form a wall. The storm came with a heavy wind, heavy rain and terrible thunder and lightning strikes. The cloth walls were torn away by the wind, the Crusaders and everything they had were all soaked with rain, and the ground, which had been their bed was flooded. They stood in the middle of the shed huddled together as the rain pounded away on every one of them. It was in the midst of this storm that the cause of this breach in the wall of their divine protection was discovered. Unknown to the men, there had been a disagreement among three of the girls over food. As a result the girls had had a terrible row. All along, Numbere had never ceased to warn them of the need for all of them to be in one accord so that Satan would not have a point of entry through which he would come in to attack them. When Numbere heard about the row he was so angry with those three girls that they became frightened and ran out right into the rain in the night.

This now brought a new dimension to the whole episode. The entire surrounding was thick bush except for the AMORC (Rosicrucian) Lodge that was nearby. Like the father that he was, Apostle Numbere’s anger now turned to anxiety about their safety. He had to run after them in the dark stormy night, calling after them. It was now Evangelists Tamunoigbani and Ibama’s turn to be angry. They could not see why their leader had to run after the girls; certainly not after the untold suffering and embarrassment their misbehavior had caused the team. Eventually, he found them and brought them back and they all prayed together. The crisis now over, they spread their wet mats on the wet and muddy ground and they all went to sleep, as usual lying across the mats to create more space for one another.

Fancy sleeping under such conditions! The Lord gave His children sleep and protected them while they slept even as it is written in His word that, "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet...I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety… for so he giveth his beloved sleep” (Proverbs 3:24, Psalms 4:8, Ps 127:2b)

That fateful day had been a market day so the rain had washed foodstuffs such as garri, leafy vegetables and pepper into their shed “apartment”. That night, while they slept on their wet mats on the cold muddy market ground, soldier ants came and invaded the whole market including their shed. The ants built long columns all over the floor, but when they came to the mats on which they were sleeping, they burrowed under the mats and continued their columns after the mats. Not one ant climbed the mats!! What a divine protection that was! They woke up in the morning to find out that they were not only surrounded by those terrible ants, but that they had actually slept on top of them. Evang. Tamunoigbani decided to step out of the mat. He was immediately stung by some of them so he quickly stepped back to his mat. It was a sure sign that that was no ordinary situation but God’s divine protection.

There they were in the cold and mud, the shed littered with the foodstuff that had been washed in by the rain with the accompanying odour, and now soldier ants whose stings could be fatal. And there they were, sleeping in such a terrible environment, just to take the gospel to their people. God in His infinite love and mercy did not allow those ants to attack them and make an already bad situation worse. This sure was a case study of what disunity could cause among brethren.

They temporarily lost their divine protection as a result of discord. You can imagine what would have happened to them with the ant invasion. They would all have been stung to death but God in His mercy intervened and restored them after their repentance, confession and forgiving of one another. After this incident the campaign continued and ended successfully. They established a Fellowship in an uncompleted two-storey building in the village. The converts were so hungry for the Word of God that they did not mind the environment. During fellowships some would sit on blocks, some would stand outside leaning on their bicycles for support, and many more would stand without anything to lean on, yet they all were happy to be in the presence of the Lord.

Culled from "A Man and A Vision" by Nonyem E. Numbere. For inquiries, visit our bookshop.

 

 

 

 

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