Staff Writer - Carol Cato
“We’re having a baby!!”Funmi shouts out to her husband Olu, as he walks in the house after a hard day’s work.
“What are you saying woman!” said Olu as he took her by the hand. Funmi told him that the doctors had even said it was a miracle; they hadn’t experienced anything like this before.
“They did every test possible and gave me a scan. I am pregnant and I’m 18 weeks. We thought that I had started menopause it’s not, I’m pregnant.”
At this point they both fell to their knees and worshipped the God who is faithful, is never late and always on time. Acts 1:7
Olu and Funmi Abraham married 15 years ago and started trying for a child immediately. After a year of nothing happening they decided to undergo medical investigation.
The tests found that Funmi had fibroids and blockages in both tubes. They were told that IVF would not be an option because the fibroids would need to be removed before an egg could be implanted, but there were too many fibroids to be removed. Their only option was adoption or surrogacy.
Olu is a Pastor and a Lawyer and Funmi, is a successful business woman with a chain of boutiques, she is also a nursery teacher at the church. Their faith in God was strong and they knew that through prayer God would answer them, but, they are still human.
They’d been through rough times, often in desperation, Funmi told Olu to find someone else to father his children. Olu reminded Funmi about the story of Sarah and Abraham; Genesis 16, he also reminded her that he was committed to her and loved her. They decided to fast and pray for fruit of the womb.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world a mother was praying for her baby’s safety. Locked tightly in her arms she held her baby boy, frightened that the war hungry guerrilla fighters would hear his cries.
She tried to silence him as machine guns fired outside their small wooden hut. Suddenly, the door of the hut ripped open and a man and a boy with heavy guns fired randomly inside the hut. They dragged the mother outside ignoring her pleas not to hurt her or the baby. They spared the child but raped and killed the mother.
The man told the young boy to give the baby to one of their women to raise the child who would grow up to be a soldier. Ben, the boy soldier, decided to ignore his orders and took the child to an orphanage. He knew the risk he was taking; he was also taken from his mother to be a soldier.
If he was caught, he would be killed. He would tell the leader he shot the child and buried him because the baby was troublesome and cried too much.
In London Funmi and Olu told their three adopted children about the exciting new arrival, and how God chose them for their family. Ten years ago, Olu was on a missionary visit to an orphanage in Rwanda where he met a little boy named Isaac, who ran up to him and just stood staring.
Photo courtesy 123rf.com
Olu looked at the child and as his heart moved, he knew he wanted to take the boy home. But what would his wife say? When Olu arrived back in London, he broached the subject to Fummi just before bed one night. He told Funmi about baby Issac, and that he felt it in his heart that God wanted this child for them.
Funmi listened to her husband, but deep down felt that they were giving up their faith in God. Funmi was a God loving woman and believed that if God told her husband this is their child, she would accept it.
Funmi went to Africa to meet Isaac and immediately fell in love with him. While they were there, twins had been brought to the orphanage; they were rescued from the guerrilla camp after the gang leader had been shot.
The twins were a boy and girl 8 years old. This time Funmi herself heard the Holy Spirit tell her these were her babies too! When she heard the Holy Spirit she said,
“I can’t have them, how will I cope with 3 little babies.” Her husband was talking to a nurse at the time, she went over and told him her revelation.
To her surprise, Olu revealed that he had been shown a vision of them with three children a few nights before, so he was not surprised.
Six months later when the legalities and paperwork was completed they had their readymade family. Funmi took a year off to settle the children in, two boys and a girl, Isaac, Ruth and Ben the boy soldier.
The children have grown; Isaac is now 12 years old, Ruth & Ben are 18. Fummi is now 4 months pregnant with her own child. The family are very excited about the news.
After sharing the good news with their children, the family knelt down to pray, thanking God for all He had done. They thanked God for coming on time – it could only be God.
Funmi’s womb was filled with fibroids, but now the scans did not show a single one, they had disappeared; her tubes were no longer blocked. Their prayers had been answered. Olu & Funmi realised that if they had been able to have their own children earlier, they would not have been blessed with their adopted children.
A mother across the seas praying for the safety of her baby and her prayers were answered. The Abrahams prayed for children and received their blessings and also a new baby girl of their own.
