THE CHARGE - EPISODE 21
In the midst of all the pain and hurt she was experiencing, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.
She looked up and stared at the faces that looked at her with empathy. However she rather felt enraged.
“Ow… Sister… Take heart eh? Take heart!”
She just stared at them, from the left to the right; up then down. It was Pastor Marfo, and Aunty Stella, with some of the members of the church.
“Get out of my sight!” she barked in anger. She was fuming, and they could feel it. “Leave me alone!”
“Oh… Dear… we share in your pain, okay? This is hard… But the Lord gives, and the Lord takes! May His name be pr…!” Aunty Stella tried to say.
“Stop the pretense! All of you stop it! Just stop!” Esi screamed out at them then got up. She seemed to be making a scene at the hospital premises.
“Oh sister we really share in your pain!” Pastor Marfo said empathetically.
“Stop acting like you care! Just... Stop it! When Caleb and I needed help none of you were around!" She said tearfully.
"When my family was falling apart none of you were around! You never cared! So stop pretending! Maybe if you had been concerned enough, or prayed for us, or visited to give counsel to my family, my parents wouldn’t have continued fighting! They probably would have surrendered their marriage to God! Caleb wouldn’t have left home in frustration on his birthday! He probably wouldn’t have been hit by a car! He probably wouldn’t have died! My brother wouldn't have died on his birthday” Esi lamented tearfully then ran off.
#TheCharge
THE CHARGE EPISODE 22
The Owusu family was shattered. For days they mourned the loss of Caleb. Mr. Owusu blamed himself for what had happened to his only son. His wife for days couldn't hold back her tears. Mr. Owusu realised that his wife and his daughter were drawing near the borderline of depression, and that got him scared. He wished that Caleb was still with them, but it was too late.
Esi still couldn't believe such a thing could happen. She got angry the more with her parents as she thought about her brother's demise, and she refused to speak to them.
A couple of days later, there was a knock on their door which Esi went to get. And she received a great shock when she saw the people at the door.
It was Pastor Marfo with Aunty Stella and some members of the church dressed in funeral clothes.
Esi just stood at the door and looked at them without uttering a word.
"O sister we have come to express our sympathy. We know that you are angry with us, but we want to pledge our support to you and our prayers in times like this. "
Esi didn't even allow them into her home and she said to them,
" You finally have a reason to come to my house now? You finally know the directions to my house? You finally have a reason to want to support me and show that you care? You finally have a reason to say prayers for me?... Just leave... Please just leave. " She said sadly as she closed the door.
Mr. Owusu who was inside wondered who his daughter was talking to, yet he dared not to ask her.
Later in the day since they were planning Caleb's 1week celebration, he went to his son's bedroom to check from his phone whether he would be able to get a picture of him for posters.
However, the content of a received text message he saw on his late son's phone got him petrified.
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THE CHARGE EPISODE 23
Later in the day since they were planning Caleb's 1week celebration, he went to his son's bedroom to check from his phone whether he would be able to get a picture of him for posters.
However, the content of a received text message he saw on his late son's phone got him petrified.
"Charlie when are we getting some of the good stuff? I really wanna get high. Been long since we smoked some o! " the text message read. Mr. Owusu started getting nervous. Was his late son into drug peddling?
He quickly decided to go through his chat history. His heart began to beat faster upon the messages he saw. His son had been peddling drugs.
" What? Caleb? " He couldn't believe his eyes. How come his 18 year old son was selling illegal drugs? Where did he get them from? How? How come it never was obvious to anyone of them?
In horror he thought about all these things. Going through his whatsapp chats as well, he saw many other chats with people confirming that his son had indeed been into drugs.
And that wasn't all. One other chat he went through frightened him. It was a chat his son had had with someone who's name was saved as 'Grand Rebel' :
Caleb: Charlie I dey br3 waaa! I can't go one night without porn
Grand Rebel: 😂😂😂 but this bi normal?
Caleb: Errh? Charle, like every gb3k3 i dey watch some.
Grand Rebel: Ei😳😳😳. Then your libido level bi high paa... Chai😂😂😂
Caleb: Hmm Charlie I no dey lie. Sake of Enam never allow make i chop i for satisfy my body. The day I no fit masturbate koraa that day I go have funny funny sex dreams. Charle, I dey hia prayers! I dey fear say if I die I go go hell koraa...
Grand Rebel:😂😂😂.
Caleb: Wey the church my sis make we join sef dem no dey biz . Like I for tell the prayer people koraa make den pray give me. But from their faces I sure say I go make top story for my area if I ask them for prayers. That Church dierrr Jesus for whip them. Hypocrisy nkoaa. Now I dey br3
Grand Rebel : Charlie dawg church people koraa. But ibi normal o. Porno bi normal! You for get a girl or get some weed to control your libido level my guy😂😂😂
And that was the chat.
"What?" Mr. Owusu thought in horror. His son had been peddling drugs and was also addicted to pornography and masturbation and he didn't know. He wondered why his son never shared these struggles with him, but he seemed to forget that he wasn't ever there for him. His eyes begun to fill up with tears
THE CHARGE - EPISODE 24(Final EPISODE)
Pastor Marfo and his leaders and elders couldn’t bear the guilt for days. He felt ashamed since he remembered that Esi had discussed an issue concerning her parents marriage and their Christian lives with him but he made no effort to address that. He never even got to pray for them like he said he would. He totally forgot about it.
Aunty Stella as well as the other shepherds were also ashamed.
Pastor Marfo finally got to understand what the dream he had some time back meant. He felt more scared again when he thought about the fact that Caleb probably wasn’t saved before he died.
This incident prompted him to take statistics of the church. It was then that it came to his realization, as well as to the realization of the leaders and elders in the church that about 40% of their members had become inactive and weren’t attending church anymore, and his shepherds were also not being diligent in taking care of the church members.
Unfortunately, they could not account for these ‘lost sheep’. They got scared when they realized that they probably had been so busy about other things paying less attention to the sheep, especially the young, weak, injured and frail ones.
Since all efforts to reach Esi on phone proved futile, they all decided to go to her home again after they felt rebuked and ashamed by what had happened.
Unfortunately, when they got to the house, they saw the ‘For Sale’ tag on the gate. Wondering what that meant, they enquired from a woman in the neighborhood.
“Hmm… That family… They moved out 2 days back after the 1 week celebration of their son o! It was in the air as well that the couple are filing for a divorce... We really don't know where any of them is now... It’s so sad”
And yes indeed it was sad! The church probably could have done something to help save the situation! A little concern, a little prayer, a smile, a listening ear, a little care, probably could have gone a long way to help save the situation.
But now, it was too late.
Caleb was gone. The home was now broken. The church wished that they could offer their solidarity now. But it was too late.
We have a charge not just to win souls for Christ, but as Christians, Church members, pastors, shepherds, church elders etc, we have a charge to make those who come to the Lord feel like they have a home and a family in us. You have a charge O Christian, to care and to show love and concern for that believer who may sit next to you in church!
We have a charge!
Ezekiel 34:3-5
“SHOULDN’T THE SHEPHERDS FEED THEIR FLOCK? YOU DO NOT TEND THE FLOCK. YOU HAVE NOT STRENGTHENED THE WEAK, HEALED THE SICK, BANDAGED THE INJURED, BROUGHT BACK THE STRAYS, OR SOUGHT THE LOST… THEY WERE SCATTERED FOR LACK OF A SHEPHERD; THEY BECAME FOOD FOR ALL WILD ANIMALS WHEN THEY SCATTERED….THEY WERE SCATTERED OVER THE WHOLE FACE OF THE EARTH, AND THERE WAS NO ONE SEARCHING OR SEEKING FOR THEM.”
THE END
#TheCharge
Dorothy Budu-Arthur
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