“O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.” – Psalm 136:1
“BRETHREN, praise the Lord! My name is Chika Orioha and I worship at the Hopeville Parish of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Okigwe. I want to give glory to God Almighty for showing Himself strong on my behalf. Before now, people used to refer to me as Aunty Lolo but now I am called Mummy Zedek. To God be the glory! The good Lord has lifted off my shoulders the burden of sixteen solid years of barrenness.
My husband and I got married in 1996. A few months after, I noticed a change in my body and went to a clinic to ascertain if the signs were indicating that I had become pregnant. Unfortunately, they were not. I was only given some routine drugs and asked to go. After the first and second year and nothing still happened it became a burden. We now began to visit some hospitals to consult the doctors. At the first clinic we visited, tests were conducted on me and when the results came out, I was referred to a hospital in Afikpo where I met a white female doctor who booked me for a major operation. She told me that one of my two fallopian tubes had been blocked by infection and that if surgery was not carried out immediately, the other one could be affected too. My husband and I consented to her suggestion and the surgery was carried out.
After the operation which she claimed was successful, she wrote a congratulatory message to my husband and wished me a quick conception. We thought the devil was done with his evil deeds. After some months and we were yet to see the positive outcome of the surgery and the doctor’s wish, we visited some more hospitals. The more we consulted the doctors, the more our burden increased because of the various comments made by almost all of them. Some blamed the white lady doctor while some others laid the blame on us for accepting to have the surgery. As I continued to ask God to listen to my cries and there was a delay, I became worried and angry with myself. Brethren, the agony and trauma I experienced during those years are better not experienced by any woman. Though I continued to believe, the burden raised very serious doubts in my mind.
My husband kept encouraging me and sometime in October 2006, my sister in-law invited him (my husband) to the International Gospel Ministers’ Conference of the Hour (IGMC) hosted by the Watchman. He attended the programme and when he came back, he told me how he had witnessed the real move of God. He also shared with me some testimonies that showed that God was such a great God. He equally told me how the awesome power of God touched him during the ministration of the man of God on 2Chronicles 16:9. He also told me that the man of God had prophesied and told all those looking for the fruit of the womb to be ready to visit the clinics within three months for pregnancy tests. By January, 2007, just three months after that prophecy, I noticed some changes in my body which was an indication that I had taken in, but the devil fought against our expectation and by March of the same year, I lost the pregnancy. We encouraged ourselves and hoped that in a few months’ time another one would come. After 2007, 2008 and 2009 had passed and there was still no conception, we decided in November 2010, to return to the hospital for more investigations and in fact, we got the last and worst disappointing advice from a consultant we met at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu. After a whole two weeks of tests and investigations, he advised us to go for an adoption, as that was the only option left for us. He even promised to assist us go through the legal procedures required to effect the adoption.
My husband thanked him and promised to call him in due course and we left with heavy hearts. I cried throughout the night, asking why God created me as a woman in the first place. My husband tried to encourage me by saying that he did not marry me by mistake, and so children or no children would not make him to have any regrets. That was the situation of things until we had the programme, Mount Horeb 2011. Just at the close of the meeting, our diocesan pastor said that those looking for the fruit of the womb from the Lord should go through a particular entrance door and get prepared for a great testimony come 2012. I passed through the door with faith and went home trusting the Lord. Since the only burden that occupied my mind was this matter of conception, I continued to remind the Lord about it all the time in my prayers.
In February 2012, a relative of my husband who he respects so much invited us to his place. We went and after we talked briefly, he raised the issue of adoption and advised that we do that urgently as our plight was a matter of concern to them and all that loved us. Other relatives who were there supported the idea. My husband, after baring his mind on the matter, requested that I be allowed to say my mind. Then I began to cry. They consoled me and asked me to say my mind. I was prompted in my heart to request of them to allow me till the end of the year 2012 after which we could go for that option. They agreed and I left. I cried for the rest of the day.
Brethren, by the month of June 2012, wherever I went, people that knew me would bow down and raise their hands to praise the name of our God. At market places, churches and even on the road, people that were aware of my plight, raised songs and danced to the glory of our God. However, many doubted and waited. But on November 8, 2012, God in His mercy and awe delivered me of my baby boy whose name is Zedek Chimimmela. Praise the Lord!”
