10

A MONTH AND A HALF LATER

**MYRNA NZAOU**

Sara: Do you still have the work session with brother Ethan today?

Me: (putting my things away) Yes. We'll do it after the English club class. You can stay with us if you want.

Sarah: Who? I never even have a lot of trouble watching him at the club, I will also have to sit down in front of him to explain the floor to him. No thanks. Until then I still find it hard to believe that he became a Christian, it's so unrealistic.

Me: I don't understand why you refuse to believe it since then. Didn't we pray for that?

Sara: I know we prayed to Mimi, but I don't know why I'm having trouble. There is something in me that blocks and refuses to assimilate this information.

Me: Hmm. In any case. Let's go so as not to be late.

We had taken our things and gone to the room where people from the English club met every Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. The club was administered by students, a principal and his deputy, but they reported to the head of the English department at our school. Sara and I had been members there since the beginning of this year. We understood English but we weren't that good. So to be able to force us to talk, we had joined the club. At the beginning of the year, the club was held by a senior from terminal A2 and a girl from terminal B who assisted him. Only, the big one had announced to us that he could no longer administer because he had to leave the country with his parents. The deputy had said that she could not take the lead of the group because although speaking English fluently, she did not have the leadership skills so she could not lead the group as a first. chief. She wanted to be under someone's blanket.

That was how the post was vacant. A month ago the head of department told us he had found the right person for the job, and the next week Ethan was introduced to us as our new manager. Sara and I were very surprised because we didn't expect it and didn't even know he spoke English. Besides many people in the club did not know. When he spoke and spoke in crystal clear English it sounded like he was speaking his mother tongue, we were all left with our mouths hanging open. He spoke even better than our former manager and some of our teachers. We were all blown away. Add to that his natural charisma and his ability as a leader that he had been showing for years now, it had all worked in his favor. He had been at the head of this group for three weeks and it had to be said, he managed it masterfully. Within three weeks, everyone's progress was evident. Even the 6th graders who were in the group were beginning to speak English, he knew how to do it. He made the thing interesting and he himself was interesting so we caught on quickly.

It had also been a month since he had given his life to Jesus. He was truly another person, to the point where the whole school was talking about him. The day he dropped me off at the house, we talked a bit on the way and I told him that the next day I had to talk with the others and that it was good if he was there. He told me that he agreed but that he preferred that I first speak alone with them in order to prepare them because he did not want to scare them, he was well aware that he was intimidating them all . That's what we did and of course the next day the reactions were quite mixed but there were a lot of surprises.

Them: (all looking at me with big eyes and open mouths) Huh?

Me: (smiling thinking myself about my own reaction the day before) You got it right.

Sara: (incredulous) Is this a joke?

Me no.

Adam: Are you sure?

I do.

Japheth: Really real?

I do.

Sophie/Gaël/Loïc: Seriously?

Me: But yes.

Sara: We are talking about Ethan, Ethan NDZAMBA, the guy from terminale C, leader of the tiger band and the star of high school?

Me: (amused) himself.

Sophie: He became a Christian?

I do.

Gael: Since when?

Me: Since yesterday.

Sara: It's not possible. I can not believe it.

Me: I accompanied her myself.

Loic: How? Is that what he wanted to talk to you about yesterday?

I do.

Sophie: Explain this story to us well because I confess that I find it hard to believe my ears.

Me: Actually yesterday when we finished school, I went out with Sara to the seconds corridor and I continued on my own until here, he was sitting alone and waiting for me. I joined him and we started talking and there….

I had explained to them his confession and everything that had happened thereafter, omitting a few parts, in particular the one where he had cried and where he was explaining to me his feelings and the pressure he was under. I felt it was intimate stuff that didn't need to be disclosed. It was his personal life.

Them: It's amazing.

Me: (smiling) I know.

Sophie: So he's now a Christian?

I do. And he asked me if he could join us.

Them: (surprised) Excuse me?

Me: (smiling) If you see your faces huh, it's so funny.

Sara: (shocked) He really said that?

I do.

Japhet: And what did you tell him?

Me: That I was going to talk to you about it first.

Sara: I am against it.

Me: (surprised) Why?

Sara: I can't believe this story, it's too easy, that he repents so easily, I don't believe it.

Loïc: I agree with Sara. I don't believe it either.

Me: (looking at Sara) There should be a conversion delay? When you converted, how long did it take you?

Sara: It's not the same Mimi.

Me: Really? And why ?

Sara: This is Ethan.

Me: Yes, and?

Sara: We all know his reputation for

Me: (cutting her off) Bad boy? It's too dirty for the blood of Jesus to wash away, isn't it?

Sara: (guiltily) That's not what I meant.

Me: (raising an eyebrow) So explain yourself because I don't understand you. We have long and all here prayed for him and his friends. We even fasted for them. Now that it is, you refuse to believe it. Why did we pray then? Or is it that the blood of Jesus belongs to a class of people who haven't done a lot of bad things and the others just have to fend for themselves? Is not the blood of Jesus the same for all?

Sara: Of course it is.

Me: So what is it?

Sara: (sighing) I know, you're right Mimi. I looked at it from a human perspective versus its past and forgot that God doesn't look at it that way. A criminal and an adulterer are the same for God and there are no exceptions. I'm sorry.

Me: Ok. So what do you think? Should we introduce it or not?

Japhet: And his friends become what?

Me: I guess if he wants to join us it's because he wants to separate from them no.

Japheth: I see.

Me: So?

Them: It's good. He can come.

Me: Okay.

I had written to Ethan to tell him that it was good and that at the end of the course he could come and join us to make the official presentations. He found it hard to believe that the others hadn't expressed any resistance to his joining the group. I wasn't going to tell him that was the case, it wasn't important. At the end of the lesson, he came to join us and it was really funny to see. Between an insecure Ethan standing in front of us with a blasé look to one side, and my friends all standing huddled together in the corner of the table clutching their bags to them as if they'd seen an animal that had to devour them. I was in the middle.

Ethan: Hello.

Me: (smiling) Hello brother Ethan.

Them: hello.

Me: (to Ethan) Sit down. (What he does) As I told you in my message, I talked about you to my friends and they agree that you should join the group.

Ethan: (looking at them) Alright. Thanks.

Me: Nothing. So it would be good if we made the introductions.

Ethan: (Nodding) okay.

Me: So here you have sisters Sophie and Sara. And there the brothers Gaël, Japhet, Loïc and Adam. Friends, meet Ethan, our new and little brother in the Lord. God entrusted him to us for all of us to watch over him.

Them: Welcome brother.

Ethan: Thank you.

Me: (to Ethan) You can talk if you have something to say.

Ethan: I just wanted to say thank you for accepting me among you. I realize it's not easy for you to believe this and certainly it will take time for you to get comfortable with me and me with you but I believe that God who enabled these things and certainly orchestrated everything that, knows how he will do his things and that with the help of time we will all be able to sit down without there being any discomfort. And I am ready to learn from you to grow as Myrna explained to me yesterday after she prayed with me.

Them: Alright.

Me: (smiling) Glory be to God. And we all want to say thank you together for the life of brother Ethan.

We then prayed to say thank you to God before leaving. Ethan had offered to drop us off and Sara, Gaël and I, who were going in the same direction as him, had left.

After that, he now joined our group and everyone had their mouths taped even the teachings. His friends to whom he had told that he had decided to accept Jesus were even more shocked when he started walking with us. He had stopped flirting with girls and cut ties with all those who went out with him to the point of even changing his number. He had surprised me that day when we were talking around the floor and he had asked me.

Ethan: Tell me, would you be available to accompany me to airtel and libertis agencies on your way home?

Me why ?

Ethan: I want to buy chips.

Me: What to do with it?

Ethan: I want to change my phone number.

Me: Your numbers have what problems? They no longer work?

Ethan: Yeah but...

Me: But?

Ethan: (hesitating) I, I'm being harassed.

Me: (surprised) Bullied? But by whom?

Ethan: I don't know if I should show you this.

I looked him in the eye and waited for him to explain. He took his phone out of his bag and went into voicemail and put the phone down in front of me. I retrieved it and noticed there were over a hundred unread messages, mostly girls. He had randomly clicked on a message and made me read the content.

"Ethan for god's sake you can't tell me you've become a Christian. Are you going to waste your life because of the bullshit that little girl over there talks to her friends? They've been over two thousand years drunk us with their story of Jesus coming soon, since then Where is he? Someone smart like you can't believe nonsense like that, you too. That's the things of the simple-minded"

I had looked up at him to look at him, he had done the same before clicking on another message.

"Baby please don't do this to us. I'm missing you. My pussy is crying out for you, my body is crying out for you. We want to accept that you've decided to follow the Lord, that's good but you're not going to tell us that you're not going to fuck anymore. Please Ethan even quick blows we'll take. Even if it's only to suck you, you can even take me by the anus, but sorry don't do that to us"

I thought i was shocked by what i read but when he went to whatsapp where he had almost 5 thousand unread messages and he randomly clicked on a conversation and i saw pictures of a girl's private parts I dropped the phone as if it burned my hands. Lord ! So the girls in high school there did things like that? I looked at him shocked.

Ethan: (picking up his phone) I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. You understand now why I want to change the number, don't you?

Me: (still in shock) Yes.

To be harassed, he was. My God, how did young people do things like that? He absolutely had to change his phone number, it was urgent.

Ethan: So you're coming with me?

I do.

We had continued what we were doing at the beginning before going from there. During the drive, I had thought back to the messages and images of the girls that I had seen on his phone and I had thought to myself that it was what he was doing to them and then they were begging him to sort of having sex with him until filming themselves naked and sending this to him? I got to thinking that before he became a Christian he looked at these things and certainly enjoyed them. Had he stopped thinking about it? When I understood where my thoughts wanted to take me under the promptings of the Spirit, I chased these ideas from my head and concentrated on the road. We had arrived at the agencies and had taken two new numbers. He told me that he was going to write to me once the sims were activated and he told me that he had to recover some numbers first before getting rid of his old sims.

After that, he dropped me off at home before going home. That same evening, he had written a message about his status saying that he had changed his life and decided to walk with the Lord. As he wanted to have peace, he had decided to change his number and that from now on, no one except his friends who wanted to respect his new choice of life and his family was going to join him. He looped back saying that Jesus was coming soon and there was still time to repent. After that, he logged out. A little later, he wrote to me to give me his two new numbers. I myself had been impressed by his change.

He was also very diligent about the teaching time we had in addition to the time we spent in groups. With the others it was always quite difficult because they always had trouble adapting to him and he to them. They were always impressed in his presence to the point of stuttering when he looked into their eyes. Sophie and Sara became like carp and the others lacked self-confidence. Also, he had trouble asking them questions on subjects he wanted to discuss, he was waiting to be alone with me to do so and there he was free. I had asked Sophie and Sara to stay with us to participate in our sessions but they had refused. Loïc and Japhet too. Adam's program didn't match ours and as for Gaël, he had attended once but hadn't stayed because he said he was losing his words. As a result, our meditation sessions were done two or three times a week and I was really delighted with his evolution.

We had arrived in the room where we were doing the English lessons. We talked until he started but that day session was led by the deputy who told us that Ethan hadn't come to school that day. I was quite surprised and when I got home, I wrote to him and waited for his answer in vain, he didn't answer, and the next two days he didn't come to school. I had started to seriously worry when I got home that afternoon and decided to call her. Was it on the fourth call that he picked up?