Pastor Yemi Asegun and Barrister (Mrs) Dupe Helen
Awosemusi of Wayfarer Ministries recently welcomed twin girls after being childless for 16 years after they got maried.
The adorable girls were delivered on November 1, 2015. They were named
Goodness Oluwadarasimi and Mercy Oluwaferanmi.
For many who knew Mrs
Modupe Awosemusi of the Ministry of Justice, Oyo State, they did not
know she had yet to have a child. It was their belief that she already
stopped child bearing before she joined the state civil service about 11
years ago.
No wonder someone in the judiciary who noticed her
bump beneath her robe at the state high court premises, called her to
say: “Madam, I believe the pregnancy you are carrying was a ‘mistake’.”
In an interview with Tribune, Mrs
Awosemusi shed light on the 16 years of waiting which culminated in the
bundles of joy she is currently nursing.“When the judiciary staff made
the comment, my pregnancy was over five months then, almost six months. He
gave me a call after we left the courts to express his observation, but
I replied: “No, it is not a mistake. This is my first pregnancy in 16
years.”
“I heard as the phone fell off his hand and I started
saying: ‘hello, hello.’ When I didn’t hear anything from the other
side, I hung up. When he called back, he asked me to repeat what I said
earlier and I did. He started apologising, asking God to forgive him.
“He
said that he and his colleague discussed me when they saw my bump,
wondering what I was looking for to make me get pregnant at my age. He
also remarked that none of them knew about this challenge because they
never saw it on my face. He then said that the children would be named
Goodness and Mercy, unknown to him that I was carrying twins.”
Narrating
how the journey of her marriage began, the mother of two said: “I got
married on the 27th of November, 1999. Naturally, I expected that after
the wedding, children should start coming, but hopes upon hopes, nothing
was forthcoming.
“There were times I missed my period and went
for pregnancy test, only for the result to be negative. Naturally, one
would feel bad, but we kept praying and believing that God would answer
us one day.”
She revealed a comment made by someone close to her
family which she said became remarkable during the waiting years.
According to her, “shortly before we got married, my husband and I went
to visit someone. The first thing the person said to welcome me was
‘Sarah’. At that time, I was not spiritually mature so I did not attach
any meaning to it. I was naïve and did not get the spiritual message
behind that name. I thought the person mistook the name for mine or just
wanted to call me by that name.
“It was later I got the
spiritual nudge to reject the name. Apparently, my father-in-law saw
more than I did in being called that name and he was the one who opened
my eyes to the spiritual connotation of that name when I casually told
him about the name I was called.”
Despite this, the Awosemusis
did not allow their situation to weigh them down, as they still related
with people very well and continued to serve God zealously. “I remember
that sometime in 2001, someone came to us in our café, called me aside
and said God told him that He was going to answer our prayers. We
actually thought it would happen that year, but year after year, nothing
was forthcoming.
“We kept hoping, though at a stage we got
discouraged. I personally lost faith in becoming a mother. About three
years ago, I called my husband and said that with or without children, I
wanted to serve God.
“At that level, I had closed the chapter of
becoming a mother in my consciousness. I told myself that children would
not be a criterion for me to have a place in the kingdom of God and
inheriting a crown after this life.
“A lot of people said a lot
of things about me. Someone even went to the extent of saying that I was
a principality; that I had donated my womb at our coven. There were
lots of bickerings, issues. There were thunder and windstorms but I was
not carried away by them in the journey of 16 years.
“I also had a
lot of encouragements and prayers from people who felt concerned about
us. My father-in-law is indeed a father in a million,” Mrs Awosemusi
told Saturday Tribune.
Challenges from husband’s family
Incidentally,
Mrs Awosemusi, who is also a prominent member of FIDA, a body of women
lawyers, said her father-in-law stood by her throughout the trial
period. “We did not really have any problem from his family members
because my husband did not give room for such. I think it is God’s
grace. Instead of giving me problems, my father-in-law was always
praying for me.
He would call me and send text messages to encourage and counsel me. He is a father indeed.”
Times of discouragement
But
there were times of low morales in the lives of the couple. The woman
stated: “Sometimes, we heard some nasty things being said about us by
some people during outings. For example, we went out one day and I
reprimanded a little boy who misbehaved.
“The next thing his
mother said in parable was that I could not realise the worth of what I
didn’t have. She said I didn’t know how it felt to carry a pregnancy and
give birth to a child. Instead of allowing the statement to weigh me
down, it became my prayer point, as I told God to let me know how it
feels to become a mother.
“Sometimes when my husband went out and
met with such nasty statements, I would read it on my husband. Though
he would not tell me at that moment when I asked him, the issue would
come up later and he would tell me what transpired that led to the
change in his mood. I know my husband loves me, but in addition to this
was God’s grace that made him stick to me through our period of waiting.
Sixteen years was no joke.
Medical issue
We went
for medical check-ups. I was told that I had ovarian cyst which was
removed. That was at the early stage of the marriage.
But you
know there is nothing in the spiritual realm that does not have physical
representation. Medicine will always give a name to whatever has
happened in the spiritual realm. We believed it was a spiritual thing
and we attacked it spiritually since we had no negative report
medically.
How I discovered I was pregnant
“Usually,
when our marriage was eight years old, I stopped monitoring my monthly
cycle. My husband and I agreed that he would be the one to monitor it
because of anxiety. I had programmed my mind to forget anything about
dates in my monthly cycle once I finished my period in a particular
month. If you asked me a week after, I would not remember. At a stage,
my husband also got tired of monitoring the cycle.
“On March 30,
this year, I just remembered that my period had yet to come, so I went
for pregnancy test. I did not remember my last menstrual period (LMP). I
usually bought packs of sanitary towels. After the test, the laboratory
technician asked whether he should seal the envelope and I said no.
“As
I left him, I partially opened the envelope when I got back inside the
car. I peeped and saw something that looked like a plus (+) symbol,
which signified positive. I quickly closed the paper and pushed it back
inside the envelope. I opened it again, peeped and closed it the second
time.
“When I got to my office, I locked my door, and opened the
envelope very well and saw the positive symbol. I was so overwhelmed
that I put the result in my bag, locked my office window and door, and
went back home. It was around 11 a.m.
“It was like a dream, and I
could not tell my husband immediately. I thought: Could this be true?
Thereafter, I was expecting my belly to just shoot out. Many times, I
went in front of my dressing mirror to look at my tummy. This was
because I did not experience early morning sickness, vomiting or
tiredness.
“Eventually, the lower part of my abdomen started
bulging. My bump became noticeable. Then I thanked God and thought:
‘Now, I know how one feels as an expectant mother.’ The journey started
like that and I was strong throughout. I think it was just God because I
had strength throughout. I would climb the stairs to the last floor of
the Ministry of Justice where my office was. God renewed my age. I was
almost 48 years old.”
How I knew I was carrying twins
“It
was when my pregnancy was about four months old. The first scan I had
at eight weeks revealed a single fetus. I went for the second scan at 16
weeks and the doctor asked: ‘Is it a multiple gestation?’ I answered:
‘I wouldn’t know; but you have said it.’ As he continued to scan, he
announced that I was carrying twins. I called my husband and announced
the good news to him.
“I was delivered of my twin babies at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan on November 1, 2015.
“I
still look at my children and marvel, thinking: ‘So, this womb actually
carried these wonderful gifts. I hope I am not dreaming’. I bless God
for making me a mother and taking away my reproach. I am not just a
mother, but a mother of children.
“Even our members of our
ministry in Ikire, Osun State, were shocked to know that the pregnancy
was our first. They said that the way I served God with zeal would not
make anyone to know that I had yet to have my own children.”The same was
the expression from other colleagues in my office and profession. This
was because whenever items for children were brought to my office for
sale, I would buy for my nephews, nieces and cousins. They thought I was
buying them for my children.”
She had these words for waiting
couples: “I want to encourage those who are waiting for the fruits of
the womb to believe that it is not over until it is over. It is God that
has the final say. Let us wait patiently; keep praying, believing that
it will come to pass.”