Praises Ring Out In Port Harcourt As Twin Boys Grace 22 Year-old Marriage!

“And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord”  ~ Luke 1:45.

WHEN Maximus and Charity Odunna got married more than two decades ago, the next things they eagerly expected in their home were the cries and laughter of babies. That was natural. But days went by, months elapsed, and years sped past, without these being realized. They waited and waited. They made some human efforts, to find out why the babies were reluctant to arrive. They visited the best hospitals and consulted well-recommended traditional places. Yet, the matter lingered. Pain and pressures intensified, as the long wait stretched further.

But,  hope showed its face in the horizon of near-despair, when Mrs. Odunna encountered the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, during a national crusade they held in Port Harcourt. She heard the Word of God preached by the General Overseer of the Movement, Pastor A.C. Ohanebo, accepted it, and decided to pitch her tent with the Watchman,  persuaded that God’s abundant presence  was  real in the Church. And as she joined the Watchmen in regular fellowship in Port Harcourt  and heard more of the Word of God preached  in its undiluted form, she believed, gave her life to Christ, and received the salvation of her soul. Prayers were made, and her matter was presented before the Lord. 

Then God who had saved her soul also gave her a promise,  namely, that she will conceive and give birth to twin boys.  She held on to this promise, even when  doctors had begun to give her some discouraging verdicts. She continued steadfastly in fellowship and worship of God. Though there was some delay even after she got the promise, she believed strongly that He who had promised her was faithful and would not fail her. And so, the caring and faithful God has recently granted her the desire of her heart. 

Maximus And Charity Odunna During The Dedication  Of 
Their Babies At The Watchman Fellowship Centre, Port Harcourt    

She is now a happy mother of two lovely and lively boys.  At the invitation of  the Diocesan Pastor of Port Harcourt, Pastor Joseph Chike, Charismatic Signs  was at the Watchman Fellowship Centre, 16B, Elechi Beach, Mile 1, Diobu, Port Harcourt, to observe the two sons of Maximus and Charity Odunna  presented and dedicated to the Lord on Sunday, November 13, 2005, amidst cheers, jubilations and shouting of praises by the multitudes that had convoked to worship God and join their voices with the favoured couple  to praise God for His great doings. It was also a period for the happy couple to tell their story, a spectacular testimony that drew loud and prolonged ovations and cheers from the crowd. Mrs. Charity Odunna was the first to speak:

“Praise the Lord! God will bless you for coming to hear my testimony. Sometime ago, while we were in fellowship here, I heard the voice of the Lord telling me that He will give me a wonderful testimony.  I thanked Him for that, and each time I prayed, I would ask the Lord: Where now is the wonderful testimony? Today, I want to thank the Lord, because He has given me that wonderful testimony! All those who are rejoicing with me today must get their blessings from God.

“I don’t know where to start. These past twenty-two years have been full of trials, but God has really  seen me through. In fact, God has always loved me, and showered me with special favours, even before I became a Christian. He protected me from every harm, and even when I fell sick, He would heal me miraculously. He was interested in me even while I was yet a sinner.

“When I got married, I began to have series of miscarriages. Each time I took in, I would encounter a particular woman in my dream, and then the pregnancy would go. I kept complaining to my husband about this particular woman. Even when we packed out of the place we were living to our own house, in my dreams, I would still be seeing myself in the house we had vacated. When I cried unto God, He gave me a Bible in the dream and asked me to stop applying lipsticks. He also created hunger for His Word in my heart. I had to use my two legs to seek where I will hear the Word of God.

WCCRM Diocesan Pastor Of Port Harcout, Pastor Joseph Chike And His Wife,
Fidelia Chike, At A WCCRM National Leadership Conference At Logos
 International Secondary School (LOGISS), Awo Omamma, Imo State, Nigeria 


“So, when the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, organised a crusade in Port Harcourt here,  captioned, Second Touch, and I heard about it, I saw myself in the dream filling a basket and containers with several blessings that were meant for me. And so, when I came to the crusade, and the man of God (Pastor Ohanebo), while ministering,  asked everybody to fill their containers with blessings, exactly the way I had seen it in the dream, it now became clear to me that I had come to the right place. Then I gave my life to Christ, and received my salvation. After this, God promised to give me twins. Later, I asked God for a sign  that I would have the twins. Then in the dream, I saw myself with two babies, one on my  right, the other on the left. I held both of them until I woke up. I as a result of this had a ministration then that God has done it. I started praising God. I knew then that the giant on the way to my blessing has been removed by God.  And today, we are all witnesses that God has proved Himself faithful.

“I must say here that the man I married was my own God-ordained husband. He stood by me all  through these twenty-two years. Despite all the pressures coming from here and there, he was there for me. Other people in his shoes would have considered bringing in a strange woman to have children for them, but not him. He would not think of it. His love for me never waned throughout that trying period. God also put His fear in him, and he was always there for me, doing everything to make me happy.

“I must tell you, before I came to the Lord, and got a promise from him, we made a lot of human efforts to get a solution to this matter. We visited several hospitals, and  sought help from the best doctors. When nothing came out of these efforts, we tried the native doctor recommended to us. But, I had to change my mind suddenly, and stopped going there, because I was not disposed to getting a child from the incantations and satanic practices of a native doctor. It has its consequences.

“We also went to a white garment ‘church’, but  when I came back, I had a clear impression that God did not want me to go there any more. In fact, after going to any of those places to  search for the fruit of the womb, God would confront me. It became clear to me that there was something special about my case. That was why I had to give  my life to Christ. I now began to read the Bible and to pray. I would tell God: you told me to carry this Bible, and now that I have done so, give me the children; wipe out my tears!  As my relationship with God grew, He made me know He has dried my tears. I now knew there was a difference between wiping one’s tears and drying one’s tears. When tears are wiped out, they could still come out again, but when they are dried, they have been stopped completely.

“After this, I started rejoicing. It took a few more years for my miracle to mature. Each time we went for medical examination, they would tell us that there was no problem with us. At a time, I had to confront two doctors. I told them: ‘Every time, you are saying there are no problems, you must find the problem today!’ In fact, this period of trial helped me realize how dearly my husband loved me. We visited several doctors. 

Each time he was asked to bring money, he would quickly bring. He was also willing at any time to submit himself for all the tests. May God bless him in Jesus’ name. Indeed, he’s the kind of husband every woman should pray to get. During this time, I was busy taking care of other peoples’ children — in the house, in the school, everywhere, because I knew that God created them in His own image. I was always happy, and even growing fat, because I was confident that He who had promised me was faithful, and would certainly do as He had said. I never limited God’s power. In fact, I was already answering Mama Ejima  (Mother of twins), long before my babies came.

Happy Parents After 22 Years; Praise God! 

“At one time, when I went to  see  the doctor again, and I told him my age, he said: ‘That means you are no longer ovulating’, but I quickly replied: ‘Look, Doctor, it is a lie, God has promised me twins.’ The man was embarrassed. When  he looked at me, I removed my eyes. When he said I  was no longer  ovulating, I kept repeating that God has promised me twins. He looked at me and must have thought I was foolish. I kept quiet and was watching him. But when he examined me, what he saw thrilled him. I had conceived. The miracle had taken place.

“After sometime, a colleague at the school where I teach told me: ‘Your body is coming down, why are you still coming to school?’ They were all so concerned. But I continued to come to school until very close to my delivery period, when I could not come again. Indeed, on the day I was to put to bed, God made me deliver like the Biblical Hebrew  women (that is, normal, hitch-free delivery). Before then, I had been advised by my colleagues who were concerned about me, and even my mother, to go for a Caesarian Section, but I told them that I would not do that because, that was not what God said about my case. God had said I would have a wonderful testimony, which means that my twins will come through normal delivery. If I died during child-birth, who then would give the wonderful testimony? So, I will not die. I will be alive to give the wonderful testimony.

“I had a very smooth delivery. God  reduced the sizes of  the babies, and they came out easily. But now, you can see how big they are; that’s the doing of the Lord. Before 12 o’clock that day, I put to bed. When the news reached the school where I teach, the principal shed tears of joy, informed the teachers, and all of them started jubilating. They rang the bell and gathered the students, and there were jubilations everywhere. Both students and teachers besieged the clinic where I was. There were suggestions that I should stay back at the hospital,  at least, for a day,  to regain strength, but when my doctor discovered I was strong, he agreed to let me go. So the teachers lined up their vehicles. I entered one of the vehicles,  a jeep, and we went home,  myself and my babies, in a motorcade.  As we got home, my neighbours converged in my compound singing and praising God for a very long period.”

The Proud Father, Maximus Odunna, Testifies Too ...

“I thank God who has made it possible for me to stand here today. Twenty-two years is not twenty-two days. It takes the power of God to sustain a man in my condition to withstand all the temptations that usually arise from outside the home   a result of this matter.  God has blessed me with many things, I am not boasting: I am a handsome man, and He had made it possible for me to be working in an oil company. I could easily have derailed, but because God was interested in me, He helped me perfectly, and sustained me for those number of years.

“When I travelled to Scotland in 2001, I went to a mother-care centre and bought a baby bed for twins. I brought it home, and kept it, even though my wife was not yet pregnant. We continued to wait, and to expect. There were pressures from here and there. Tongues also wagged. But I refused to yield to any pressure. I stood by my wife, and shielded her from aggressive voices.

“So, when my wife became pregnant, she called me and reported that she was feeling dizzy. I then  asked her to go and see the doctor, and tell him what was happening. You know, in the past, she took in a number of times, but they all went out. When she called me again, she said the doctor said she was pregnant. When the pregnancy attained three months, I went home and informed my dad. After five months, I went back and told him that the woman’s tummy was developing more and more. In fact, the day I came back and noticed she was pregnant, I said: ‘Woman, you are carrying Paul and Silas.’

Well, today, she has given birth to two baby boys. Indeed, I agree with her that she married the husband that was meant for her, because not every man can withstand this situation. I must tell you, I know what I passed through. At a stage, I became a shield for her. I never allowed any person to trouble her.

“So, I want  to call on our men to love their wives, and refrain from pointing  accusing fingers at anybody, either  woman or man. If you find yourself in this kind of problem, go to the doctor, find out what the problem is. If the doctor says that there is nothing wrong with any of you, then surrender the matter  to God because He is the Omnipotent and Omni-present.There is nothing bigger than Him.

Have faith in Him. God will do it for you as He has done it for me, because I have been hearing people talking of 10 years of childlessness, 14 years, but I have not heard of 22 years. Throughout this period, I never envied any man or woman because they had children.

So, my brethren, please help me to thank God, and glorify His name, because He is all and all. His Word is yea and Amen. 

Thank you.”