“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” Isaiah 45:22
At Hill-Top Encounters 2011, the annual International Conference of WCCRM Campus Fellowships, Esther Ogechi Ugodibe, of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Ukraine, shared the testimony of how God transformed her life and made her His child. At first she was afraid of the reaction of her family to her new faith, but after she was counselled and prayed for by the Watchman General Superintendent during a pastoral visit to Ukraine, her faith was strengthened. And when she visited Nigeria, it was into the warm embrace of her family that she walked. Today, she is a happy child of God, free to serve the Lord who had shown her mercy and saved her soul. Now, her testimony:
“I STAND here to testify to God’s faithfulness to me since I joined this ministry in Ukraine two years ago.
I had been a Roman Catholic since I was born and have only known and regarded all that we were taught there as the truth. When I was leaving Nigeria for Ukraine in September 2010, I had made a prayer to God based on my little knowledge of Him that He should bring me in contact with a pastor. Little did I know that this was what God had designed for me. When I arrived in Ukraine, while a friend of mine in this ministry was trying to put me through the registration processes, one of our pastors (usually given to helping the new brethren settle in Ukraine) was passing by, and immediately offered to assist me. Before I knew it, and just within a very short time, I had completed my registration with the school, obtained permission to attend classes, and secured and paid for a hostel accommodation. It was a clear divine favour from God.
I first visited the Watchman fellowship in late September precisely during a Sunday Light fellowship. After the message I heard that day, I made up my mind to keep coming. More so, my friend through whom I came to Ukraine had advised me to worship with the Watchman. As I kept attending the weekly activities, I kept hearing strange things that are quite different from what I had been taught since I was born. And to be sincere with you, they were things that “burned” inside me, and I always heard something telling me that what I was hearing was the truth and that I did not need to struggle with it even though I tried many times to. I had my way of life already before I came to Ukraine and while I was there. I loved fashion; I wore trousers; and I had my hairdos; I however did not like painting. I also had a boy who was interested in me, and I too was showing interest. I also loved the parties and would honour the invitations given to me. In the midst of all these, my pastors always hoped for a transformation in my life, and would constantly call me to advise, admonish, counsel and instruct me. In fact, sometimes, they would rebuke and reprove me. One of them always told me that I had an open heart which can be for God’s glory or the devil’s tool. I really took this word to heart.
After about seven months in church, during a particular Sunday Light fellowship, the pastor that ministered to us told us to go read online the revelation of a certain young Ecuadorian girl, by name, Angelica Zambrano, who for twenty three hours had an experience with the kingdom of Heaven and Hell. After I read it that evening, I didn’t know myself again. I wept profusely for quite sometime and ran to my pastor for clarification on the things which I had read which though left me terribly confused, were the ultimate truths that kept burning in my heart like fire. My pastor did well to clarify and comfort me using the scriptures. With all these experiences, beginning from day one I joined the ministry, God began to work in my life, and by January 2011, I became born again. My old interests were gone, and were replaced by exciting new ones: love for God, going to church early, helping to put the church in order, reading my Bible and seeking for explanation from my pastors, loving the Christ-like life and appearance etc. Today, I am a Watchman. I must also tell you that I have enjoyed every fellowship I attended and God has really been blessing me with bountiful blessings which Watchmen are entitled to.
For a long time, our pastor kept telling us about the coming of the General Superintendent, Pastor A.C. Ohanebo, to Ukraine. As I heard it and got to know of the kind of man of God he is, I developed a hunger to see him like the entire church also did. Then came the memorable day on May 18, 2012, when the man of God came. Before then I had always wondered what the situation would be at home when my parents would see the change in my life and doctrine. But on this particular Sunday when I met the servant of God and told him about my transformed life and my fears about the likely situation at home, he encouraged me and prophesied while ministering to me that I would be celebrated by my family members when I got home. And that was exactly what happened. Pastor Bede Oguh, one of our diocesan pastors, also spent some time with me in Ukraine and encouraged me. Here at the Hilltop Encounters 2012, I am really having a great time. Let me conclude by advising and encouraging those of you out there in my former situation to believe God, and open your hearts to Him like I did, and watch Him transform your lives and turn them inside-out. Your problem might be the fear of what your friends or parents would say if you repent of your sins, but God is there to help you like He has helped me. Praise the Lord!”
