My next rural ministry challenge was at Afram Plains. I was well seen off by my church and Pastor Derick. It was the first time I had boarded a pontoon across the River Volta after travelling for hours through the Kwahu Mountains. I was tired due to the nature of the uncomfortable seat in the commercial vehicle I boarded but the sites of the mountains and green vegetation were a consolation. Eventually, I got to my location, I was to study under the mentorship of Pastor Owusu who was the founder and leader of ‘In His Presence Gospel Church’ (IHPC) I was well received at the lorry station and driven to the Pastor’s manse. The pastor had a car and a nice apartment. Some of the elders were also waiting to receive me together with the Pastor and the wife. After the greeting formalities, I was led to my room and it was obvious I was going to stay with the Pastor in his manse. The good news was that there was power and the bad news was that there was no phone network reception except for some specific locations. The pastor made me aware that he had established three congregations, the biggest is close to us but the other two are in the surrounding villages. For the three months, I will be rotating in the three congregations but will spend more time with the biggest congregation. There was an elder with a motorbike who had the responsibility of transporting me to the smaller branches of the church. The pastor introduced his two young male children to me. I was informed that Ewurama their big sister will soon come home for vacation. She is at the Accra Technical University in her second year. Initially, Pastor Owusu took me to all the congregations to introduce me to them before I started visiting them based on the schedule he had assigned to me.
Two weeks after my arrival, I was in my room listening to music when I heard the two boys shouting in jubilation. I got curious and peeped through the louvres and lo and behold they were in the arms of an adorable damsel. My guess was right; she was Ewurama their eldest sister who just arrived from school for vacation. I came out to welcome her with a handshake and indeed she had a soft palm like that of a fresh baby. She smiled back at me and asked
“please are you brother Sammy, the new student-pastor from Accra?”
“Yes please” I answered
“and I believe you are Ewurama Pastor’s eldest Child?”
“Yes please” she replied.
Whiles, we were at it, the mum and dad returned from town happy to meet their beloved daughter who had just returned from school. They reintroduce her to me and I returned to my room.
It was obvious Ewurama and the mum had a close relationship which enables them to chat at length and talk about a lot of issues. One evening, after supper I decided to prepare my teaching material for my next teaching assignment. Whiles, I was at it, I eavesdropped on Ewurama and the mother’s conversation.
“Mummy, this student-pastor is young and handsome unlike the ones who preceded him, most of them were old folks” said Ewurama to the mother.
The mother replied,
“and he is not even married, your father told me that he is also a University graduate he will go far in the ministry”
“waw, really!” said Ewurama.“He must be very intelligent!”
“Yes, I really loved his preaching last week Sunday,” said the mother.
I could sense Ewurama was already fond of me because of my accolades. I felt swollen-headed and went on to finish what I was doing.
My food was usually served at the dining table, eventually, I told the pastor’s wife that I would wish I eat in my room since they sometimes would have to entertain visitors in the sitting room which shares the same space as the dining room. My plea was well taken and from that day forward my food was brought to me in my room. When Ewurama returned from school, the mother gave her the assignment of taking care of my food whiles she served her husband. She always does this joyfully and there are times that I will chip in a quick conversation when she brings the food. There are times Pastor Owusu and the wife when stepping out will tell me to feel at home and tell Ewurama to fix me any food of my taste and also not hesitate to send her on errands. They wanted me to feel comfortable and I was grateful.
There was a sudden change in the dress style of Ewurama, especially when the parents are not around. Her dress became unusually short and sexually provocative. Perhaps she saw me as one who did not pay attention to such details but sincerely it was tempering with my concentration. One afternoon, it began to rain and what I saw sent chills down my spine. It was raining heavily and as a normal routine Ewurama was in the rain trying to position some containers and buckets to collect rainwater. I decided to peep through the louvres and observe what she was doing and there I realized she was wearing a transparent straight but short dress. Beaten by the rain, she became wet and that gave visibility to the red pant she was wearing, round hips and her fleshy thighs and legs. I gazed closer and behold were those twin soft-looking breasts with firm nipples. Suddenly she turned to lift one of the containers which were full and her back was a pleasant site one would like to spend all day bouncing on. I felt like coming out and ravaging her like a tiger attacking an antelope. I spent the rest of the day pondering over such a monument of beauty and pleasure.
Going on visitation and praying with the church members was one of the key things we studied in the course called Pastoral Care and Counselling in the Bible school. This move was well appreciated and it motivated me to do more. Some members would give me food items and money as a way of showing appreciation for my time and care for them. I really love this aspect of the job. I returned from one of these visitations and met Ewurama home alone doing the laundry. As usual, I greeted her and she informed me that my lunch was ready and added that she wanted to tidy up my room as well. I went ahead to change my dress and wore my usual shorts, Lacoste T-shirt and started playing computer game on my laptop computer. She later brought the food, Jollof and fried chicken with boiled egg,
“that is my favourite food” I happily said.
I noticed she was in a shirt with a piece of cloth wrapped around her waist. For the first time, I invited her to join me to eat lunch and she gladly did. We conversed and laughed but mutually felt a strong energy building up. I asked her to come to sit with me on the bed and as she moved towards me, I pulled her towards me and we started kissing passionately. It was clear Ewurama was not a greenhorn. The feeling was intense, I unwrapped the cloth around her waist and started removing her pants when her kid brother dashed into the house crying and shouting her sister’s name. She quickly got up and dressed, met him outside and started yelling at him
“what is it, what is it, Kwame?!”
Kwame got into a fight with one of the neighbourhood kids and was beaten. He wanted her big sister to beat the boy for him but Ewurama will do none of that. She comforted him and served him his lunch and that ended that episode.
When serving supper, she apologized for what had happened earlier sensing the disappointment in my demeanour. Later that evening, Pastor Awotwe and the wife instructed Ewurama to take me on a stroll and show me some places in the town, of course, their observation was that I usually stayed indoors.
Ewurama, on our way, said to me
“Brother Sammy you are very romantic, you really know how to make a woman happy”
With a smile of appreciation, I replied, “thank you my dear”
It became obvious Ewurama and I had sinister motives in common. Interesting as it may seem, she was looking forward to making it up to me. To be sure of what we were doing I asked her what was the prospect of our involvement, did it mean that we were now in a relationship? Ewurama’s answer got me mesmerised, with a mischievous smile she replied
“Brother Sammy It is not in my plans to marry a pastor, I don’t want to be a pastor’s wife because of the numerous restrictions. I want to enjoy my life. You know you are a handsome and romantic guy right? I just want us to be friends with benefits”
In my curiosity, I asked her, “what are friends with benefits?” She replied, “Oh brother Sammy, you mean you don’t know what friends with benefits mean? Well, it is the situation where a guy and a lady do not want to be in a serious relationship leading to marriage but wish to satisfy each other sexually. There is no commitment attached.”
“Do you have another guy who is also your friend with benefits?” I anxiously asked, “I used to have, he was even a banker but married now, you see the truth is that I want to start a serious relationship after school when I know I am ready to marry but for now I want that which will keep me going.”
“Interesting concept” I said sheepishly nodding my head whiles walking. I thought this young lady was supposed to be the pastor’s daughter, well nurtured, spiritually and morally. It was apparent she was completely different from one’s expectation of a child of the manse. The parents on the other hand saw her as a much disciplined and well-behaved child. At this point, none of that was my business, Ewurama had an unfinished business with me which I was looking forward to finishing with her soon. After that day, I completely saw her differently, knowing she was not who the parents thought she was.
Finally, my practical attachment at Afram Plains came to an end and as usual, the church saw me off in a grand style with a lot of gifts and cash. The congregations were glad I came to spend some time with them. They did appreciate my visitation and care for them. I indeed felt elated but knew I had to leave as soon as possible before I set fire into my host pastor’s house. Ewurama was one nasty and mischievous lady which I came to be very fond of. Although nothing sexually took place between us for the rest of the period I stayed with them, something did happen before my day of departure. Ewurama and I still had a strong sexual attraction towards each other and it was almost uncontrollable. The dawn before my departure, I head a quivering but quiet voice through the window mentioning my name
“Bro Sammy, bro Sammy please open the door for me.”
My heart seized for about 4 seconds in shock, what was Ewurama doing at my window asking me to open the door at this time of the night. Anyway, I obliged and opened the door; she entered the room with a piece of cloth wrapped around her chest.
“Brother, Sammy I can’t wait any longer and besides you are leaving today, please make love to me.”
Before I could make any reasonable statement she dropped her cloth and walked towards me like an innocent child walking into the arms of the father. The sight of her body was too tempting to resist. I embraced her and we both fell on the bed, with moaning and passion we gave our bodies a hunger quenching sex. Eventually, we got to the climax of it and she returned to her room. We were not lovers but friends with benefits, I reminded myself. I just could not fathom the fact that there were ladies who could be interested in a man just for sexual satisfaction. Coincidentally, Ewurama’s reopening day was due and we had to return to Accra on the same bus. We slept through the journey to Accra due to the manual work we had imposed on our bodies the dawn before that morning. When we alighted at the bus terminal, I gave her some money and chartered a taxi home.
My family was in anticipation of my arrival, when I got home, mum knowing my favourite food had prepared Jollof with chicken for me that afternoon. In the evening, I went to visit Pastor Derick at his office and I was delightedly welcomed by him. I used the opportunity to give him a verbal briefing on my practical attachment at Afram Plains. Pastor Derick dropped a bombshell that got me thinking for days before returning to campus to complete my final year. He said to me “Sammy, you are now 34 years old and will soon be graduating, it is prudent to find a responsible lady and get married soon after you are commissioned a pastor. There are a lot of temptations in this ministry, especially for young men like us. My wife and I were dating before I entered the Bible School and since she was industrious and came from a well to do home, we did not waste time at all with our wedding. I married her when I was in the first semester of my final year in the Bible School”
I smiled sheepishly at him and replied
“Bishop, I have made this my priority and would fast and pray to God for direction, I am really determined to tie the knot very soon”
“oh I see, I suppose very soon means you have met a beautiful lady you are already seeing?”
He asked with desperation whiles gazing at me in hope of hearing an answer in the affirmative. I said in a jittering voice
“No no no Bishop, I have not come across one yet though I have a lot of options, I am still waiting upon the Lord for His direction in such delicate issue of my life.”
He had to receive a foreign call which saved me from continuing an uncomfortable conversation. I took my leave and returned home.
Finally, it was time to go back to school. The whole neighbourhood knew I was now a ‘man of God, my demeanour had changed completely and of course, it was also due to my advancement in age. I was in my early thirties and was expected to think and behave in mature and socially accepted ways. The old folks in the area were impressed by my transformation and the fact that I will soon become a pastor. My mum was now called ‘Osofo maame’, the pastor’s mother. A name she so much cherished and responded to. One unavoidable issue an ageing youth in Ghana or perhaps Africa faces is old folks and your married schoolmates taunting you with the never-ending question of “when are you getting married?”
The morning before I left, my mother came to me in my room and insisted we had a very important discussion before I leave for school. She said “my son, I am very proud of you because you turned out to be a very respectful and responsible adult in society who people look up to, my only challenge is you will soon become an Osofo without an Asafomaame, I need you to take this issue very seriously and do something about it. I can help you find a wife if you want, I have some friends who have beautiful and responsible ladies”
“I have heard you mama, Pastor Derick and I had this conversation the day I arrived from Afram Plains, I will keep my eyes wide opened now and if I finally meet one I will let you know” I was glad that I was able to put some smile on her face, she thanked me for listening and taking her advice.
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