‘LORD, YOU ARE MY FATHER’

Here is a personal account I received:

My name is Y. I’ve lived with my grandmother since I was very young. As I was enrolled at a Catholic primary school, the parish priest made it compulsory for all the pupils to attend Mass. At my grandmother’s house, I looked after the house and took care of my younger siblings whilst our older brothers were out in the fields. But as soon as they’d left, we’d empty the cooking pot of its contents and turn the whole house upside down. Furious, my grandmother took the keys away from us. From then on, she kept them under the stones behind the house. I’d noticed that a stone, once lifted from its original position, struggled to return to its previous shape. So I used this trick to locate the keys’ new hiding place, and the ‘fun’ could carry on. Once the pot of food was empty, I’d close the door and put the key back in its place. At school, the teacher used a thick bamboo stick to whip those who got bad marks. My gang of six troublemakers would go for a swim in the river during lessons. A classmate told on me to my grandmother, who stripped me naked and whipped me with bamboo strips whilst splashing me with water. This left little thorns embedded in my skin. But after two days of attending lessons regularly, everything went back to normal as if nothing had happened. It took the firm intervention of the headteacher to get me back on the straight and narrow. I remember the day our neighbour found all his goats dead and, based on the false testimony of my two younger brothers, I was singled out as the culprit. I was so shocked that I asked God to let me die. In Year 9, I’d become a fan of video clubs. An older boy had also introduced us to gambling and late-night parties. Nevertheless, I strove to live a chaste life. Once at university, I regularly heard sayings such as: ‘University kills genius’; ‘University is the graveyard of A-level graduates’; ‘A man is nothing without his drink’. And so I began to cheat. I also frequented charlatan marabouts. All this was not without consequences; I had become a liar, devious, shy and hypocritical. But I was sick of life.

It was the story of my birth that hastened my conversion. Indeed, when my mother was seven months pregnant, she had a serious road accident in which the paramedics declared her dead at the scene. It was only when they came to take her body to the mortuary that they realised she was still breathing. She was therefore rushed to hospital, having suffered a fractured thigh and lost some teeth. Yet all the tests showed that I was unharmed, and two months after her accident, I was born without a single scratch, whilst she was still on crutches. According to my mother, it was after her accident that my father left her. For me, my life was clear proof of God’s immense love for me. Once at university, I lived with my aunt, who was a member of the revivalist churches. I received several invitations from their church, which I declined. They criticised the Catholic Church and used Bible verses to try to convince me. I wanted to remain Catholic, and to do so, I started attending Mass regularly every Sunday again. I read the Bible every day so that I could discuss matters with them more effectively. It was then that I discovered that the Bible was no ordinary book. It is full of wisdom. The more I read it, the more my love for God grew. I had also bought Father Jean Benoit’s book entitled *Answers to Criticisms of the Catholic Church*. Through it, I came to understand why and how I should live out and fully defend my Catholic faith.

Some time later, the Lord led me to discover the ‘Parole de Dieu’ group at the parish through an advert. Just hearing that name made me eager to find out more. At my first meeting with the group, I was amazed to see people dancing for Jesus. What’s more, I could tell the ‘Parole de Dieu’ members apart from the guests just by looking at their faces, as all the members had beaming faces and smiles on their lips. Without hesitation, I joined the ‘Parole de Dieu’ group. In my new life, I’ve faced many difficulties. My commitment has earned me nicknames such as: ‘Pasto’, ‘The aspiring priest’ or even ‘The laughing cow’. These nicknames don’t irritate me; rather, they are like thermostats that allow me to test my relationship with God. Many people mock my decision to remain chaste until marriage and claim that my wife will be unfaithful to me. But I reply, with a smile, that the God I serve is faithful, just and brings together only those who are alike. At work, some colleagues would even set girls on me to seduce me, saying, ‘The goat grazes where it is tethered.’ I have always turned down these offers and never fail to remind them: ‘It is also where the goat grazes that the snake comes to bite it.’ Moreover, Jesus reminds me that ‘No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’. To combat these difficulties, I offer them up to Jesus through prayer, confession and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which is one of the greatest gifts the ‘Word of God’ group has given me. I have come to realise that I can only succeed if I give God first place in my life. I therefore believe that ‘Where God has first place, everything is in its rightful place’. The fruits of my conversion are many. I have found peace of heart again and I am no longer so afraid of death. I have given up many sins. My family has been converted. Thanks to the Parole de Dieu group, through the practice of which we are often reminded: ‘Go to confession or make plans to do so’, I was able to make my first confession 12 years after my baptism. I am not ashamed of still being a virgin. I jealously guard my body for the one I love because it is her wedding gift.

Dear brothers and sisters, I would like to say, on the one hand, to all my friends who have been abandoned by their fathers or who have irresponsible fathers, and on the other hand, to those going through painful situations, that the Lord does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and for ever. ‘What He has done for me, He can also do for you.’

Jesus Christ is risen. May this testimony help us to live in the presence of the living Jesus.

Henri Bayemi