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On the
contrary, this is not so in all the cases.
The more
reason why the unlawful marriages had
lingered on finds better expression in the
experience of one of the couples whose
immediate younger brother died in the early
morning of same Saturday he was about to
wed.
As if that was
not enough, friends and relations who were
in his house to help out in cooking had the
shock of their lives when the pots with
which they were cooking began to explode one
after the other with their contents emptied
away and the pots clinically turned upside
down.
Sounds
strange, but that was a true life story.
Other
testimonies were those of hardship, decline
in business, sicknesses, all manner of
troubles as soon as arrangements were being
made to go for the marriage rites and
payment of bride price.
Other spouses
would pack their bags and baggage to their
suitors without bothering or caring whether
or not their parents give their consent and
the like. Some of the suitors had the money
but simply wouldn't want to pay.
The
testimonies were as irritating as they were
astonishing. The funniest of them all was
the case of one of the couples whose wife
came to the church for the wedding with the
husband at large.
When the
wedding was almost concluded, rushed in the
man, who said he first had to go to the
market. Yet this is a man that had been
trading for years, lived with the wife for
about four years without garnering enough to
pay for her bride price. The devil is a
liar.
What made the
mass wedding interesting however, besides
the inspiration is the will and generosity
of this rare man of God, Apostle Chinyere
Chibuzor (OPM G.O), to dole out money that
runs into millions of naira shared among the
140 couples to go to their in-laws
accompanied by selected number of church
members to pay for their wives' bride prices
or whatever remained unpaid for, at the time
of contracting the marriage. That was not
all.
Each couple
were also provided with a foreign suite and
wedding gown free of charge with a tie to
match.
At the end of
it all, all the wedded couples with their
relations, friends and special guests were
treated to a sumptuous reception with lots
and lots to eat and drink after which
marriage certificates were issued to all the
newly wedded at the expense of the church
too.
Sounds like a
'dream world' episode but real it was.
While
delivering the sermon prior to the wedding
proper, the OPM G.O., Apostle Chibuzor said
the couples' hopeless situation had remained
a source of worry to him for a long time
until he was led by the spirit to take the
bull by the horn not minding the financial
implications.
According to
him, despite the ongoing building of a
permanent site of the church, he decided to
carry out the mass wedding first because to
win souls is more important to God than
church building.
The man of God
argued that to continue to live with wives
not paid for is sinful and the end-result,
being the pit of hell.
In order to
save the souls of these fathers and mothers
from ending up in hell, it therefore became
imperative to facilitate their wedding since
separation is not the best option at this
point, Apostle Chibuzor stated.
In a chat with
some of the couples, notably the 71-year-old
Samuel Arewa who wedded his heartthrob,
60-year-old Chinyere said the event was a
divine call and could not have been possible
on their own strength.
All thanks
they said, go to the G.O., Apostle Chibuzor
who was used by God to perfect their
marriage and enable them to break the yoke
of iniquitous relationship that has aroused
joy and celebrations not only among the
Christian brethren but also among the angels
in Heaven.
For the
60-year-old Mrs. Chinyere Arewa, “My God
will continue to bless this man, this man of
God, this Reverend, this pastor, this Dr.
Jesus, Amen”.
The marriage
ceremony which lasted close to five hours
drew guests and personalities from across
the length and breadth of the country.
The highlight
of the occasion was a group photograph with
the General Overseer of the Church, Apostle
Chinyere Chibuzor.
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