Tag: Personal Experience

#WBC2020 – How I met my Husband while Covering an Event

Saturdays are meant for relaxing especially if you’re a student at the University and a volunteer for a campus radio station. You always looked forward to the weekend to prepare and eat good meals, catch up on your sleep as well as spend time with your roommates. Other students preferred to go home so I wasn’t particularly excited when our news editor asked me to go cover a programme. The programme was being organised by medical students who had offered biological science but were currently offering medicine. The event, that day, was meant to mentor biological science students/medical-school hopefuls on how they could also get into medical school.

Looking at the weather, which was warm and all the sacrifices I was making in order to be at that programme that Saturday afternoon, I was not enthused at all.

At the event, which had a good attendance, I found a place to sit, brought out my recorder, pen and notebook and started taking notes. Whenever I raised my head, I saw the MC of the event looking straight at me. I started frowning and it seemed I did that throughout the event but I made sure to gather my story.

The programme was enlightening even for me who was not a medical-school hopeful. It ended with participants gathering to take photos. I gathered my tools and started to leave when the MC approached me to introduce himself. The same guy that got me frowning throughout the entire event. He asked whether I wanted to stay for refreshment and my answer was no. I thanked him and wished him the best.

Before leaving, I stopped to speak to another medical student who was my classmate from senior secondary school. I had interviewed him a week (on another show) prior to this event. I promised to keep in touch.

How excited I was to be walking back to my hostel to go enjoy the rest of my Saturday.

About a week later, I received a call from an unknown number and when I answered it was the MC of the event I had attended.

“I got your number from …. I saw you speaking to him after the programme and I knew how I could contact you.”

I was shocked even when my classmate from senior high had given me prior notice that he was giving my phone number to the MC. I did not frown. This time, I was very polite and we spoke for a few minutes, basically introducing ourselves and we hanged up. He started calling every Saturday to “check up on me.”

Initially (and erroneously), I thought medical students had no social life and perhaps, this guy wanted a friend in a different circle. That was the main reason I decided to be friends with him. Another reason was because he just listened. He’d call, ask one question and I would talk and talk.

The calls became more frequent. He could even call and say he was going for a wedding.🤷🏿‍♀️

We became good friends and one thing led to the other and the rest they say is history. Actually, we are married now and we’ve been married for almost five years and met at the event in October, 2010.

***This is 20/22 of the #WinterABC2020. The prompt is to share about a life-changing event you once attended.***

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Valuable Life Lessons – What Acquiring a Driver’s License taught me

I want to get very personal. This post is motivated by a promise I made to God before I passed my driving test for a license earlier this year. The issue of acquiring a driver’s license may seem quite trivial but to me, it is a testimony of God’s goodness because this is after several attempts.

I started taking driving lessons way back in 2015. I did acquire the skill somehow but when I took the test, I missed the pass mark by two points. I was sad. I promised myself I was going to re-sit for the test but I never did. I packed driving to the side and went about my business. A lot happened and I gave up driving entirely.

This year, with the pressure that I faced (mostly from my husband) I took up the challenge to acquire a driver’s license. My husband attempted to remind me of how to move the car, but we always ended up arguing and stopping the lessons. The idea of going to a driving school again appealed to both of us and that was how I found myself taking all of the lessons once again.

The good news in all of these was that I started to feel more confident sitting behind the wheels. The fear I initially had when I began driving four years ago had dissipated but the new challenge was acquiring the license. The time came for me to take the theoretical test and when I did, I missed the pass mark by a point. Once again, I failed.

Of course I was disappointed in myself. I questioned God. I questioned myself. I questioned the whole process of acquiring a driver’s license in Ghana. I heard several stories too. Very negative ones of people who had attempted the tests on numerous occasions but always failed. I was encouraged or rather discouraged by someone in the license acquisition space to forget the test and bring some money for the process to be expedited.

“Most people who fail this test the first time do not pass. Just give up,” she said.

I told her I was going to give her suggestion a second thought and that if I failed the second (or third time) I would get the said amount of money and forget about acquiring the licence ‘legally.’

That was how I found myself re-sitting for the drivers’ license exam for the third time in my life. I changed strategies. I read but not as I did with the previous two. I prayed and relaxed, and this time, I got the exact pass mark. It was one of the best days of my life because it had taken me four long years (that could have gotten me a degree 😂😂). I had also proven the naysayers wrong and did not have to bribe my way through the process. I was legitimately acquiring a license.

What is the import of this post? This is to fulfill my part of the bargain and the promise I made to God of sharing my long and difficult experience of acquiring a license with readers of the blog. To me, it’s a testimony and I am not exaggerating. Secondly, this is to motivate anyone who has been trying hard to do things that people do quite easily. Logically, it may be challenging but note that all things are possible with God. The task may seem arduous. You may feel like giving up but don’t listen to yourself and don’t allow people to discourage you. You can do it too!

PS: I have failed in my attempts at so many things – in examinations, in job searches and other applications, etc. I think I have mastered the act of getting up strong after failures. If you are seeking someone who understands your situation, I believe you should be speaking to me. My email address is christianblogghana@gmail.com Let’s get talking!

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The Prophet Who wasn’t (A personal experience with two fraudsters)

He was speaking to somebody on the phone when he saw me approaching. A middle-aged man, probably in his late forties, fair in complexion and quite well-built. He wore a checked shirt, predominantly, white, red and blue and had a sling bag.

He ended the call and asked,

“Please, can you direct me to Monaco Missions.”

I was completely lost because I had lived in the neighbourhood for close to three years, yet, I had no clue where he was referring to. It had been a long day at work and the only thing on my mind was getting home to rest.

As if by some coincidence, a shorter man, possibly in his forties was passing by and this fair man asked me to inquire the location of the said Mission House.

“Oh, that place? It’s right over there,” the shorter man replied.

He pointed to a junction that I knew quite well but wasn’t sure if I had seen the building they were referring to. The shorter man volunteered to go show this man the place on condition that I came along to translate to the fairer man who needed the directions. Like the children in the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, I followed them, not knowing what laid ahead.

The fairer man who urgently needed the direction, started prophesying about the shorter man who was now providing the directions to the Mission House. He asked me to explain to the shorter man who seemed unable to communicate in English. I did most of the translation which included relaying information about the shorter man’s drinking habit to which the ‘prophet’ advised him to stop because it was hurting his heart. The shorter man would also respond,

“Oh what did he say? It’s true. Whenever I drink, my heart would be hurting,”

Once in a while, a ‘harmless prophecy’ was thrown my way which included the fact that I’ll be traveling outside of Ghana and this year will be good for me and, the usual things that I already knew about. Meanwhile, most of the prophecies were directed to the shorter man and they included pieces of advice on buying a house instead of a car, investing his money properly etc. These two men managed to get my attention fully and I thought I was helping the fairer prophet to probably win the soul of the shorter man.

Eventually, the ‘Prophet’ asked the shorter man to give me his bag and keys while the shorter man walked away to about three electric poles, reciting the Lord’s Prayer. I took the shorter man’s bag while he went to do his penance and before he arrived, Fairer Prophet had mentioned two names of the people who seemed to be troubling Shorter Man. That was great. I was excited for shorter man.

“It’s now your turn. Give your bag to Shorter Man and say the Lord’s prayer and God will reveal something to you,” Fairer Prophet said.

“Please, I am not comfortable giving my bag out,” I said.

They started pulling my bag gently, cajoling me to hand my bag over to them. Shorter man swore they were good people and that God would certainly reveal something to me. Fairer Prophet chastised me for allowing worldly possession like the content in bag to prevent me from receiving my blessings.

I became confused and helpless at this point because these two men started teasing, taunting and pushing me to take the walk while reciting the Lord’s prayer. Fairer Prophet even walked a few meters with me but in a twinkle of eye, I turned and say neither him nor Shorter Man. They had bolted with my bag that contained my laptop, phone, some money and even my house key.

This is one night that I do not want to remember. Never!