DAY ONE
Tuesday 070904
So, here I am, sitting on my travelling bag under a tree for shade, wondering what in heaven’s name I am doing here.
Luckily for me, all pride aside, I had asked one of the cabin crew for an extra snack just before we landed, which he gave me – along with a drink for good measure. I am going to eat that now. I feel the hunger coming on... At about 7pm, I heard a lady who was also sitting under a tree nearby, singing the hymn It is well. I smiled as I thought, 'Poor lady, having to encourage herself!‛ I listened closer and realised she was singing along to a song she was playing on her walkman. I listened more intently because the voice coming over the speakers sounded oddly familiar.
Alas, it was a familiar voice indeed.
It was the voice of a friend and fellow choir member in my church in Lagos. She had done a rendition of It is well on our new album, Friend of the Light. That was what was being played by this Corper in Kano. Well, the choir’s vision is to declare God’s praise to the ends of the earth. That really did lighten up my evening as it was slowly starting to feel like a nightmare.