The Prize In View

The picture above is the first cement block laid to build Petra Christian Academy.

The pictures above were taken a few years later of the same space as the first picture.

The pictures above show the Secondary School building at various stages of construction.

The picture above shows a section of the secondary school which is almost complete.

The pictures below were at a conference, at the time of writing this memoir, to address senior gospel ministers and wives at Bishop Kelly Center, Benin city.

Lessons Of Life

We sold our car to buy the first trip of granite for the foundation of the school. There were no crowds, no friends, no brothers or sisters, no in-laws, and no church members; it was just my wife, I, and my God.

Don’t be afraid to head out on your own. That has always been my approach to life—to walk alone, if need be—to arrive at certain destinations. Take that step into the Jordan River and God will make a way for you.

Fold your sleeves, break the ground, invest into it, bend low, and bear your load; however, always look ahead.

The days of small beginnings are tough and lonely; many will desert you and mock you, but you must pay the price for the prize. You must be persistent and keep on building like the ant, if there are no abundant resources at close reach. It is a time of sweat and sacrifice, but you shouldn’t and mustn’t stop if you are to attain success.

Don’t get discouraged; always put the pictures of success you’ve conceived in your mind; it acts as a strong source of motivation, incentive, and rejuvenation in dark times.

This world only celebrates evidence and results. It might be unfair sometimes, but that’s just the way the world works; you have to accept and work with it as a source of motivation, not fight it.

Success legitimizes everyone, including bastards—Jewish proverb.

Another popular proverb says, “Failure is an orphan, success has many parents“.

That man carrying that block in the first picture is the same man all eyes turned to look at Bishop Kelly Center. Throughout that weekend (as at the time of writing this, in 2014) I was conveyed to preach in a convoy with a security van in front. However, beneath all that flamboyance, I’m still that man with folded sleeves, bending and carrying my dream, one block at a time and looking ahead. I’m still me. I took okada (motorbike taxi), several times—the day of writing this—in another town.

You will get there. Bear the pain, it will strengthen you; ignore the insults, they will give you insights. Pay the price; there is a prize. The odd jobs always precedes the up jobs.

As at the time of writing, I didn’t have a private car; but cars came later.

This my God, who has been faithful, will also bless your efforts in Jesus name.

God Bless You.