The Teaching Child...

Prologue

Prologue  

  "I've said it, and shall keep saying it-faith is the only connection between man and God!"

     Pastor Gbenga declared with a beautiful aura, he looked like a 'super-star' who people gathered together to watch, in the service. He continued with his usual sense of charisma "No one here will be able to receive anything from God without tapping into this thing, called faith...you see it, work it, and live it!" he pauses;

    With a response of clamor, he continued "if you're going to be giving anything to God, c'mon! do it with faith!! And, let me add this; your giving this morning should be the best...how? God judges your giving by how much you've left and the heart you've used to give it, so as we raise funds for our building project, I implore us to give our best and with a backing-faith, God 'll surely reward you"

This, he said, walking to and fro on the beautifully designed podium.  Then people started trooping out, dropping different amount of money enclosed in white opaque envelopes. Pastor Gbenga Agbola, clad in a dark-blue suit with a yellow bow-tie to match went forward also, to drop his offering.  In about forty minutes later, the Sunday service was through, the congregation dispersed to their various homes in the environs of Mafoluku, Lagos state. They needed to erect a building, the hundred and twenty member-church has been using tents for long, even before pastor Gbenga was posted there, sometimes last two years; and he wanted a change.

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"Stop him! Stop him!! Stop him!!!"

  "Help us catch that boy!" 

"Thief! Thief!! Thief!!!"

     People of the Mosaku-market of Oshodi, shouted as a young boy ran out of a shop with loaves of bread falling off his bag, taking to his heels, he was a lightning, and as he ran, he managed to guard the bag with his right arm. Some other bigger boys followed him as it was a normal thing in the streets of Oshodi. 

"Damn..." he let out a heavy sigh as he sat at the back of an almost-dilapidated building, ignoring the visible cracks on the walls, dropped the bag at his front, beholding the loaves "wow! Tomorrow's meal is secured; let me finish this two loaves firstly, before I return home" he thought as he hurriedly brought one out. 

"Stop!" a voice yelled from his left corner, Chuks couldn't afford to gamble, he jumped to his feet taking to his heels. A resounding slap on the face stopped him, he fell straight to the ground; he struggled to get up, as he hung the bag on his left arm now, with part of loaves falling, he delivered a punch to an empty space. He was confused, seconds later, he felt a heavy wooden rod on his back "yeeehhhhh!!!" he screamed.  He was pulled-up, 

"who're you?"  With a bloodshot eyes and a swollen face, he managed to see himself surrounded by three bigger guys, he was scared and his voice began to quake "I am..."