Trip to Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Kenya
December 8, 2004 — January 3, 2005
[Report updated to include Bro. James Veremu's side missionary trip - 2 Feb. '05]

In September, 2000, when I was ministering in Cotonou and Bohicon (of the Republic of Benin), I met a pastor by the name of Joseph Tokpo from the neighbouring nation of Togo. He had been invited to come to the meetings. He had read some of my books which he had been given and has appreciated the ministry.  He told me that his assembly was constructing a church tabernacle and that when it was completed, he would like me to go over for a convention and to dedicate the tabernacle for the glory of the Lord. I told him that I would do that if the Lord would have it.

In April, 2004, two days of meetings were held in Lelboinet (western part of Kenya) by the local pastors there. There were several believers from Nairobi. After the hearing of the Word in the meetings, a brother by the name of Hilary Mwangi and a sister by the name of Dorothy Kiarie decided to go along with me to Luzira (Uganda) where more meetings were held. Both had expressed their hearts' desire that I should make a trip at the end of the year to their church in Nairobi for some meetings. They would also relay what they had heard to their pastor and that he should invite me officially for some meetings.

Some time after returning from the Philippines with Bro. James Veremu in August, I emailed Bro. Joseph Tokpo that I would make my way to Togo and asked if he still wanted me over for a convention at the end of 2004. Unknowingly, Bro. Tokpo had already announced to his assembly that he would invite me to Togo to conduct a convention as well as to dedicate the church building that had been completed recently.

So, with the leading of the Lord, I made plans to visit Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Kenya. (Ghana was to be a part of the visit to meet some believers but was not meant to be for reason best left out in this report.)

NIGERIA

On December 7, 2004, I flew to Lagos via Bangkok (Thailand) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) which took about 20 hours of flying and ground time. I arrived on Dec. 8 at around 6.30 pm. local time. Pastor Billy Joseph and some of the saints were there to receive me and to take me to the hotel. I rested the following day followed by 3 days of meetings starting Dec. 10.

Note: Expenses in West Africa nations for a visitor is high. An average hotel room costs around US$60 to $70 per night. Food is expensive too. For example, a plate of fried rice and three spring rolls cost US$24; a plate of white rice with a piece of chicken, fish or beef and some vegetables cost US$16. However, the churches there helped pay for my lodgings and food.

The ministration of the Word was on the importance of the Word of God, the Sufficiency of Scriptures and its prophetic Words and Visions concerning the endtime parousia of the Lord Jesus Christ, showing from Scriptures the types and shadows of the different events that are to take place. I placed where the "Former and Latter Rains", spoken of by the Old Testament prophets, would be in the plan of God for the Church. (Read the message "It's Raining!")

The home and church of Pastor Billy are located in the dirtiest area of the dirtiest State of the whole of Nigeria - Ogun State. (That's what some of the believers had told me. The reason given was that that area is the gateway to the neighbouring countries as well as to the north and south of the nation itself.) I saw piles of rubbish lying about almost everywhere - on the sides of the roads and even on the center dividers of the roads.  The air, fanned by the winds, was filled with dust and belched out blackish exhaust smoke of old motor vehicles .

Nigeria claims that 65% of its population are "Christian" people. A "convert" is faced with hundreds of choices as there are plenty of sects to choose from. No doubt, fanaticism abounds in many of them.

On the morning of Dec. 13, together with Bro. Billy and a brother, we drove to the city of Ibadan, Oyo State, for meetings at Bro. Ben Oluwatobi's church. However, the car developed engine trouble even before we could get out of the hotel driveway! It ended up taking longer to fix the fault than was estimated and we arrived in Ibadan as the church meeting was ending. I greeted the saints and promised that I would stay a further night in lieu of the lost meeting.

We had great meetings the following two days. Joining us was a pastor, Bro. Josiah, from a neighbouring Nigerian State.

On the morning of Dec. 16, the three ministers and a brother, whose car was to take us to the border crossing to Benin (a French speaking nation), came to pick me from my hotel. No sooner did we get out of the hotel compound the car started making strange noises. A call was made to a brother who is a mechanic. We were told to drive over to his workshop. The noise had been caused by a broken bolt that held the radiator fan shaft. Our journey was delayed by some 2 hours. We drove to Bro. Billy's home for lunch before hitting the road to the border. Alas, an hour before we reached the border, the car caused trouble again. This time the fuel pump had stopped working. It needed to be fixed twice before it could take us to the border. The brethren had to locate the where about of the Beninian pastor, Bro. Norbert Bambelou and Bro. Sossa Thomas whose presence was most needed to obtain a visa for my entry. It was approaching sunset before we located the pastor. Crossing the Nigerian border was an ordeal of sorts. I was asked irrelevant questions and "scolded" for providing the right answers.

BENIN

Because we were late in arriving at the border, Bro. Sossa was no longer there at the border to see to my visa application for entry into Benin. It took more than an hour before I was given a visa — a 48 HOURS Transit Visa only. I was told to obtain the visa at the Immigration Office in the city within that period of time.

We loaded our luggage onto a jeep and went straight to the church. Again, we were late. Nevertheless I went in and greeted the saints.

In one of the evening services, I saw a man wearing a black suit and a hat coming in and sitting in one of the back pews. He caught my attention for the reason that the weather was hot and humid and yet he could tolerate such insulating attire whereas my shirt was already wet with perspiration within five minutes of standing at the pulpit. After the meeting was over, I found the same man, with his hat on, mounting on a motor scooter and ready to ride off. I greeted him and said, pointing to his hat, "You're going to ride that machine with your hat on? Won't the wind blow it off?" He pointed to himself and said, "Branham. Branham." I asked him if he meant that he was trying to look like Bro. Branham. He said, "Yes."  Later, when I was in Nairobi, I learned from a Congolese minister that the majority of the believers in Congo are extremists. (Congo is a French speaking nation.) Their churches are named as "Branham Tabernacle" and their personal names have been changed to reflect the name of Branham and his children. These extremists are so deep in Branhamism that they claimed "The Spoken Word" books of Bro. Branham as the LIGHT and that the Sacred Scriptures, the Bible, as a BUSH, meaning to say, in no uncertain term, that Bro. Branham's words are the Absolute and that one needs no longer to go looking for Truth in the Bible (BUSH).

On Dec. 21, Bro. Sossa and Bro. Norbert accompanied me to the Benin-Togo border. The crossing here was no hassle unlike crossing the Nigerian border.

TOGO

Bro. Joseph Tokpo, the pastor of "Taberncale De La Foi" and one of his associates met me at the border. From there they took me to the hostel of ODSTA/DOAWTU, an organization that trained union leaders from all over Africa.

There were 5 evenings of meetings in the newly constructed church building, from Dec. 22 through to Dec. 26.  My subjects were similar to that which I had taught the believers in Nigeria.

At the end of the convention, Bro. Tokpo came up with a song sung by those in Pentecostalism. The song was about receiving the "Latter Rain", the out pouring of the Holy Spirit in this present time. He changed the two words "Latter Rain" to "Former Rain". However, I find the following small changes which I made later to be more appropriate:

"It is raining all around me.
I can feel it; it's the former rain (or teaching rain; early rain).
O Lord Jesus, give us more rain
Until we're soaked and we're come into the latter rain."

On the last day and after the preaching of the Word, the tabernacle was dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ for His glory and that the Word of Truth would proceed forth from that place as the saints of God walk in the Light of His Word.  Amen.

After the meetings in Togo, my plan was to visit a minister in Tema, Ghana, for some two days or so. However, it was not meant to be. There is a spirit today that works in the life of many ministers and believers as to their SINCERITY. I have known a good number of preachers that have such a spirit of insincerity that I could not come to accept such a man after a while. I do always remember the words of the angel, who came to Bro. Branham. He said, "If you would be sincere..."  How could one believe and respect a man, especially if he is a preacher, for saying or putting forth contradictory signals to different people?  Truly, as the Scripture says: "A double minded man is unstable in ALL his ways" (Jam.1:8).

So, on Dec. 27, Bro. Tokpo and I took a taxi from the border of Ghana and rode for about 3 hours to a hotel in Accra. I stayed there for two nights before flying to Nairobi on Dec. 29.

This is Bro. Joseph Tokpo's audio testimony he gave on tape to the saints in Singapore:

KENYA

I arrived into Nairobi airport as darkness fell. Bro. Hilary and Bro. Kimani (who came from Eldoret) greeted me at the gate and they drove me through heavy city traffic to a Methodist Guest House on the outskirts of the city and which was also closer to the church.

Compared to other churches (which are mainly Branhamism in spirit) in the Endtime Message in Nairobi, this church, pastored by Bro. Simon Mutahi, is small. But it has the spiritual support of the other ministers and churches in Western part of Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Several of their ministers came for the meetings. Some of these ministers also preached during the meetings too.

I left Nairobi for home on the Jan. 3, 2005 and reached home safely the following evening.

In conclusion, I thank the Lord for His love and care during this whole trip. Though there were several hiccups, the Lord took control and smoothened the way. Also, there were brothers and sisters in all those churches in the three West African nations and Kenya, who did their very best to prepare good meals for me and the other visiting ministers. May the Lord bless them richly.

"Would you please visit Congo the next time to minister?" I was asked. Well, I don't know. We have to just leave that to our Lord Jesus Christ and pray about it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bro. James Veremu's Report

The day started on a good note on the 16th of December in the morning, I took Mufaro Dzvova, 16 years of age, to the water for baptism. She is the second daughter of Bro. & Sis. Foreman Dzvova. I baptized her father 22 years ago and whom I joined in holy matrimony to her mother, three years later. As a baby I dedicated her to the Lord praying that when she was of age she would accept the Lord. Now I was confirming her decision in baptism. It was a great moment for me. I had to rush to the airport, soon after the baptism service, for Nairobi, Kenya.

On arrival in Nairobi Bro Francis Mwangi met me at the airport. I put up at his house on the 17th Dec. Bro Simon Mutahi, a pastor in Nairobi, accompanied me to Eldoret, a small town (some 6 hours bus ride from Nairobi) where there was a convention which drew believers and ministers from the neighboring countries of Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC Congo. Also two ministers from Europe were present. At the close of the convention on the 20th Dec. I went by road to Uganda. I was in the capital Kampala for a week and on the 28th Dec. I went to the rebel infested north of Kenya for a convention in the town called Katido. This convention was very successful with over 100 people accepting Christ as their Savior and 40 of them being baptized.

On the 31st Dec. I left for Nairobi, arriving on the morning of the 1st of January, 2005 for yet another convention at Pastor Simon Mutahi’s church where Bro. Richard Gan was the main speaker. On the 6th of Jan. I went back to Kampala, Uganda and on the 12th of Jan. I went to Kigali, Rwanda. The church in Rwanda went through a tough time in the time of the Genocide. One church lost about 200 people the wife of the pastor included. Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure [ 2 Timothy 2:19]. They still have their hands up praising the Lord.

From Kigali I went to another town called Gisenyi and had two days of meetings. On the 19th Jan. I went back to Kampala. On the 22nd Jan. I went to Nairobi reaching on the 23rd Jan. and attended the Sunday service before I flew back home on the same day. Back home the church and the family were all fine.

I want to praise and glorify God because during this trip a great amount of inroads was made. There was a great hunger for truth in those called to see the present day truth [2 Peter 1:11-12]. It is my prayer and appeal to all, as we see the day fast approaching for Christ's return, to cry to the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers into the field. God Bless you,

Bro James Veremu,
Chitungwiza Assembly, Seke,
Zimbabwe.
[1 Feb. 2005]