I fasted and prayed for the 3 days. At the end, the transformation in me was unimaginable. The Lord clothed me with boldness and I was ready to testify to anybody and at any time, not minding what anyone would say about me.

Sunday morning during the fellowship, Pastor called me out for the testimony.

“Brethren, praise the Lord!”

“Hallelujah,” the congregation echoed.

“Testimonies abound, but there are living testimonies. We have a sister who the Lord gave a great deliverance. Afterwards, the Lord commissioned her to go everywhere and testify of what he has done for her. Sister Judy please come up.”

I came out with a song and before I could round off the song, people were already rolling on the floor and worshipping God. The atmosphere was fully charged and it was obvious that God was set to transform lives. I tried to make the testimony as succinct as I could because of time. At the end of my testimony, almost half of the congregation ran to the altar. It was visible that they were touched by the testimony.

“Sister Judy you have touched my life. If God could do your own, then, I will not lose hope. Thank you so much for the testimony.” I looked at the person talking to me but I couldn’t place her face. It is either she was a visitor or from another branch of our church. This was happening immediately after service. As she was still talking to me, people gathered around me, thanking and blessing me.

Then, one of the ushers came to inform me that Pastor needed my attention. On getting to Pastor’s office, I discovered that it was the guest minister that called for me.

“Sister Judy, I don’t know your schedule. I will like to invite you for a programme; it is a non-denominational meeting holding in 6 states of the federation: Lagos, Abuja, Calabar, Enugu, Kano and Port Harcourt. I can see the hand of God upon your life and I know that God will use you to transform people’s lives.”

“When is the programme holding sir?”

“It is next week; Wednesday through Tuesday. The only free day is Sunday.”

“Alright sir. I will discuss with my father in the Lord and get back to you.”

At that point, Pastor joined in the conversation.

“Sister Judy, he told me everything and I am okay with it. It now depends on you.

“Daddy, if you approve that I should go, then I am ready.”

The guest minister requested for my bank account number and transferred a huge sum of money to my bank account.

“Please, use the money to get the things you need for the journey. We will sort out your flight ticket and send the details to you.”

I was surprise when I received the alert of the payment. I was not expecting any money from him. When he requested for my account details, I was wondering what he wanted to do with it. Another thing was that I felt that travelling on air would be expensive. I suggested that they should allow me to travel by land. After all, I was not a guest speaker.

“Sister, I appreciate your concern. But the means of transportation is not negotiable. You are going to be in 6 states within a week. See yourself as a guest minister because that is the position God has placed you. As for the money, you need to get new clothes for your ministration. All the same, your humility is commendable. Another is that you attached much importance to your call than money. Keep it up and you will go far.”

That was how my ministry was birthed.

My first outing was successful and it gave birth to other invitations. I was travelling in and outside Lagos to give testimonies of the great miracle that God performed in my life. Souls were saved and lives were transformed. Pastor was always there, praying for me and guiding me. He kept telling me that God wanted to use me in a powerful way. After church service on a Sunday, pastor advised me to go on a personal retreat for one week.

I obeyed and travelled to our church prayer camp. While there, I kept praying that God should reveal his will for my life. On the 6th day, I had a dream. A man wearing white robe came to me. He took me to a hospital and told me to start praying for the sick. I kept moving from bed to bed, praying. Anyone that I prayed for received their healing. When I woke up, I thought of the dream.

“Could God be calling me into the healing ministry?”I thought to myself.

I rounded of my prayer retreat in the evening, and went home. I made up my mind not to tell anyone of my encounter, not even pastor because I thought that It was not real.

The next day was Sunday and I went for church service. As the service was going on pastor made a call for sick people to come to the altar for prayers. Many people came out, including a girl who was born blind. A visitor who was lame in both legs also moved to the altar, on his wheel chair.

All of a sudden I heard, ” sister Judy, please come out and pray for them.”

I was sure that it was not me so I didn’t move.

“Sister Judy Pius, I know that you are in the congregation, the Lord said that you should come and pray for the sick,” Pastor announced.

I managed to get up and tears filled my eyes. I wished that there was a way to run away, but I couldn’t. My legs were shaking as I made my way to the altar. Half of the congregation were laughing as they await the drama that would happen.

When I got to where pastor was standing, I collected the microphone, knelt down and started singing a worship song. I didn’t know what else to do. After few minutes, I heard a shout. I didn’t know whether it was a shout of joy or mockery so fear did not allow me to open my eyes. I kept worshipping in tears . I didn’t know that the crippled man had started walking.

Few minutes later, I heard, “I can see!” I quickly opened my eyes and saw the blind girl running around and touching people.
I was amazed. I stood still and tears filled my eyes.
People were coming to hug me and thank me but I didn’t respond to them. I was wondering if it was real or I was dreaming.

Our church turned to a crusade ground. Many people that heard what happened brought their sick relatives and God healed them. That was how my name automatically turned from sister Judy to evangelist Judy.
That was also how many young men in the church started coming to ask for my hand in marriage.

One of the things that was still a mystery to me was the person that made me to be stealing. I really wanted to know the person. I started praying for God to reveal the person to me.

Watch out for the next episode.