A Christmas Testimonial

Hi dear reader. Welcome to my 2021 open testimonial.

This year was a pretty eventful one to say the least especially from bring stuck at home and inside through most of 2020. From a New Year's gift to a radical outburst, here are some highlights I'm thankful for and resources that might help.

Let's begin with a flashback to January 2 shall we? The day right after the New year began. I was on the floor of my room crying profusely feeling like a real Hannah. Why? I was basically blackmailing God. Yes, I know. We shouldn't do that - ish, but hear me out ok. One of the perks of being stuck at home during the pandemic was church attendance. As a college student in America, finding a... how do I say it... truth and spirit based church was hard. Especially the Spirit angle. So I often just tuned in to church online. Anyhoos, by August, the biggest realisation of the century hit me - I could not speak in tongues. Did this bother me before? Absolutely not. But as they say, 'when Saul is in the midst of prophets, he will prophesy.' And this girl was not prophesying. To make it worse, it seemed every meeting, sermon, and conference seemed to start with, "just rattle in tongues for the next 5 minutes." Like what was I supposed to be doing then? In the beginning, I was like, 'Nigerian churches sha.' But by December, I wasn't finding it funny. Apart from the fact that I was out of prayer points 10 minutes into my prayers, I was feeling totally left out. So I spent a lot of time asking for this confirmatory gift. A lot of time, probably because I was often waiting to be possessed by the Holy Spirit. Still, I wasn't getting anywhere. Some words would swish through my mind then quickly fade, almost like a mist, plus they sounded like rubbish so I kept quiet.  However, after hours of tears and telling God that he was the one who started making promises in the first place (which one? The one from Mark 16 of believers speaking in new tongues), I opened my WhatsApp to find one of my friends had posted on their status, "If you want to be filled with the Spirit, DM me." Of course, there was the whole 'Ah, Kamikun, but you were in bible society, how would it sound if people knew you could not speak in tongues?' thing. Pride ehn. Besides, of all the people. This particular friend of mine was the last person I expected. Once again, why stereotypes are bad. Anyhoos, lesson number 1. Thou shall not limit God nor ignore people cause he can use anybody. Ok? Ok. By that evening, I was speaking in tongues and by the next week, speaking for hours on end. This was the best Christmas/ New year's gift I ever received. All because of desperation/diligence (whatever you want to call it) and swallowing my pride.  Honestly, I think this set the tone for my year. From increased intimacy to more studying of the word, answered prayers (a big one, my vibrant prayer group), countless opportunities, and evangelism, my testimony for this year has been progress and joy in the faith. Oh, and church, I eventually found one, and guess what their benediction is. Progress and joy in the faith! A week ago, I spoke to someone on the plane about Jesus. Normally, I would just watch TV or read a book, but after learning she had ADHD and overhearing her conversation with this other passenger, an older woman who was into meditation, self-awareness and such. I'm all for therapy, but this girl was obviously lost, and enhanced spiritual awareness with the universe wouldn't cut it. So there was talking. If you know me, this is massive progress. A year ago, I was marveling at one of my mentors speaking about Jesus on a plane full of people, and by the next year, I was doing the same.  There are so many highlights to my 2021, as I'm sure we all have, but no matter what your new year's resolutions are, permit me to say start with God because he gives the best years ever. Just maybe don't do the blackmailing thing 😅

Thanks for reading.  2022 is going to be a fantastic year. I can already feel it in my bones. And no, I have no resolutions yet. Ok maybe one. I am going to be intentional with every single day. Right now, I want to share some resources that really helped me in 2021. Aramide's diary: Written by one of my firebrand mentors🤩, Aramide's weekly emails are sure to set the tone for your week getting you off your couch and into your purpose. Learn more about Aramide here.

Church: Especially for my uni people😁🙃 Don't not have a physical gathering of believers. And if you're looking for where to start, CCI always has an extra seat for you. But if you want to attend online, I totally understand. MT (Media team) will make sure you have a wonderful experience. The link here is to our annual reboot camp session. Don't worry, you can skip to 35 minutes for the sermon (if you must) but get ready to be mind blown. I know I was.

Books o: I don't want to hear 'I'm not a reader.' Nobody is a school person unless you're an alien😄 so pick up one of these on Amazon/Kindle (I'll link the ebook versions if possible so you don't have to pay for shipping)  1. Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven 2. Bamboozled by Jesus by Yvonne Orji 3. Diary of a Nineteen Year Old Teacher by Aramide Kayode 4. The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma 5. How To Talk To Anyone by Leil Lowndes 6. 20 Lessons I Learned At Age 20 by Aramide Kayode  7. Holier Than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry  8. The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason

I actually have some of them as ebooks so if you're interested, send me a DM on WhatsApp or through the blog's contact page. 

Podcasts: If the eyes are the windows to our soul then ears are the doorways to our thoughts. I only have one for you. Jesus and Jollof! ( Apple Podcasts, Google Sites & Spotify) Ah wait! Thirty minutes with the Perrys is awesome too. Ok just those two. I hope you're relaxing, rebooting, reviewing and recharging in prep for the new year. And if you want to supercharge yourselves, tune in to YMR (Young Ministers Retreat) or if to can get to Redemption Camp🙃 Don't worry, you can find them everywhere on the social meds. I cannot go anywhere so I'll just be joining awon mixlr geng🤧. Love y'all. Thanks for sticking with the blog in 2021. Wishing you nothing but the best.  Merry Christmas 🎄 and a Happy New Year🤗🤗

Peace and love ✌&❤  Kami. Learn about the reason for the season in this short post, about The Greatest Love Story Ever.