Go Back the Way You Came

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I’ve been receiving a lot of critical feedback recently, both solicited and unsolicited. Concerning my forthcoming book, critics have said: “I think about half of what you have so far is deadweight.” And “Your characters sound like uneducated savages.” Concerning my startup idea, I’ve heard: “You don’t have the necessary industry experience.” “You don’t have the right leadership experience.” And even, “What is your role again?”

I was surprised at how deeply these verbal shards cut even when they were spewed with the best of intentions. I began to ask myself: Why is discouragement such a powerful tool to keep us from our destiny? And why is encouragement so crucial to achieving it?

My contemplation led me to the story of Elijah in the Bible, the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. This man’s prayers caused nationwide droughts (James 5:17). He called down fire from heaven on soldiers (2 Kings 1) and sacrifices alike 1 Kings 18). Elijah was the Biblical equivalent of Aang the Last Airbender. He was set apart in his generation, imbued with enviable divine power, and achieved glorious exploits.Yet even Elijah grew discouraged.

When Jezebel, the evil queen of Israel, threatened his life, Elijah fled into the wilderness. While there, Elijah said two things that reveal the dangers of discouragement.

Going Out Into the Wilderness

First, he said, “‘I’ve had enough, LORD. Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers’” (1 Kings 19:4). When we’re discouraged, we will be tempted to compare our journey with those who’ve come before us. And prophets did not have a good track record in Israel. Nearly across the board, they were persecuted, betrayed, and murdered (Acts 7:52). So what made Elijah special?

Likewise, if we ever want to achieve anything meaningful in our lives, the stats will never be in our favor. For example, only 1 in 4 authors will find a publisher for their completed manuscript. And of these lucky few, only 1 in 100 will turn a profit. Similarly, 90% of all startups fail. Comparison to others can provide a useful dose of reality, but it can also be the quickest way to kill our ambitions before they leave the ground.

Secondly, Elijah said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, torn down your altars, and put Your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:14). When we’re discouraged, we tend to magnify our problems and minimize our progress. In so doing, we transform challenging circumstances into impossible ones.

Going Back the Way You Came

But God spoke the encouraging words this beaten down man desperately needed to hear. First, God said, “Go back the way you came,”  then He commissioned him to complete his mission (1 Kings 19:15). We will all get derailed in this life. We’ll make a string of fatal errors like Winston Churchill, or we’ll get hit by a string of unlucky breaks like Klay Thompson. But we need someone to remind us why we were taking the journey in the first place. We need someone to tell us, “Go back the way you came” if we want to end the war or win the championship.

Secondly, God told Elijah, “‘I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him’” (1 Kings 19:18). When the voices of discouragement tell us that we will fail like everyone else did, we must remind ourselves that there are still those who’ve succeeded. And we could very well become one of them.

A number of stories written by people just like us do breakthrough. They win Pulitzer’s and Nobel Prizes. They change culture and inspire young children to dream of a brighter future. And they even inspire spinoffs, fan fiction, and subreddits.

Conclusion

When discouragement comes, we have only two options. We can stay in the wilderness and lament the loss of the naïve dream we once cherished. Or we can “go back the way we came” and keep on fighting.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

(Galatians 6:9)

A Black Son’s Juneteenth

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I’ve been black ever since I was born. This may be obvious to you, but it wasn’t to me. I was born in the suburbs of deeply-black Detroit. Then I moved to racially diverse San Jose. Then I wrapped up my childhood in Mission, Texas, which is 80% Hispanic. I never experienced brazen racism or saw Confederate flag-waving white supremacists. Microaggressions and “can I touch your hair?” were the extent of the indignities I lived through.

So I never understood my Dad’s rules: If you wear a hoodie, the hood must be down. If you’re wearing a fitted, it must face forward. Never pocket anything in the grocery store even if you intend to pay for it. And always keep your receipts.  No Kobe earrings for my older brother. No Iverson cornrows for me. And in the midst of these perplexing rules, I remained relatively cocooned from the complex web of racial interactions that tangled around me.

Divided

But then Michael Brown—a teenager less than a year older than me—was shot in Ferguson, Missouri. And less than two years later, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. With these jarring cognitive blows, I finally began to realize the United States of America was not as united as I once believed. And I began to understand my dad’s deep-seated anguish and frustration with our country.

Black people in the United States have always lived divided lives, torn between the high ideals America stands for and the disappointing reality our nation has fallen into. America decried racism in Nazi Germany while embracing it on our own soil. America lauded Gandhi overseas but assassinated King back home. America opposed apartheid as early as the 1940s yet supported Jim Crow until the 1960s.

United

I still remember sitting with my dad a few years back, overcome by my newfound jadedness. I shared my grievances with him and expected him to say, “Son, welcome to the table.” But rather, he told me he was still proud to be an American. The United States is still the nation my father dreamed of coming to from his youth. The United States is still the nation where my father proved that blood, sweat, tears and an unremitting hunger for success can open nearly every door and shatter countless glass ceilings. And this hope, this pride is what he’s passed onto me.

So as a Juneteenth Father’s Day approaches, I celebrate all the black fathers who refused to give into cynicism and despair. I celebrate all the black fathers who stuck around, gritted their teeth, and refused to give up or give in. I celebrate all of the black fathers who poured themselves out for their nations, their companies, and their families even when no one gave them an ounce of appreciation. And most of all, I celebrate my own father. I love you, Dad.

Leaving Nazareth

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Jesus Christ was a country boy. He was raised in a Podunk town in the backwaters of Judea. The geographic blip was so inconsequential even one of Jesus’ own disciples said, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there” (John 1:46)?

Yet Nazareth was also Jesus’ home. It was where His parents, siblings, and childhood friends lived (Mark 6:3).  It was where his mother taught him how to walk and his father how to woodwork. Sadly, Nazareth was also where Jesus suffered his first rejection. Here Jesus uttered the words, “A prophet is not without honor except in His own town, among His relatives and in His own home (Mark 6:4).” In Nazareth’s synagogue he declared His mission to “bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free” (Luke 4:1). Yet it was the only place in all of scripture “He was not able to heal many sick because of their lack of faith” (Mark 6:5). So with a heavy heart, Jesus had to leave Nazareth.

The Challenge of Leaving Nazareth

As I sit on an aircraft right now, flying back to Washington D.C. for the last time, I think of the “Nazareth” I’ll soon be leaving as well. My experience was nothing like Jesus’. Here I forged friendships I hope to carry with me till I die. I recovered from old wounds I never thought would mend. And my vision for my future crystallized so clearly I can almost taste it. But almost is just not good enough.

Within three months of when I landed in this great city, God told me I would be leaving. With my eyes set on Los Angeles, I’ve often found myself wondering why leaving Nazareth is so hard for me.

The Pain of Leaving Nazareth

As I mentioned earlier, Nazareth is home. And home is familiar. Whenever we step into God’s calling for our lives, it will be uncomfortable. The shy girl will have to stand up and speak out for the needs of the silent. The clean freak will have to get their hands dirty to serve the homeless and destitute. The introvert will have to reach out and bring the lonely into their family. Comfort is not something any of us part with willingly.  

Secondly, Nazareth is old. We have old friendships we can tap into and old haunts we can visit. We have established roots that help us weather the fiercest storms of life. But when we enter into the new, everything changes. We have to find a new job, a new home, and a new family. No wonder Jesus said, “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). He was speaking from personal experience. When Jesus left His throne in heaven, His family of the Father and the Spirit, and His home of heaven, His heart must have broken. And it must have shattered again when He left His earthly home too.

The Reward of Leaving Nazareth

But an essential shift took place when Jesus left Nazareth. Matthew 6 says “Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned (Luke 6:13-16). In order to be where God wanted Him to be, Jesus had to leave Nazareth.

And so it is with us. That well-paying job is our Nazareth. That steady girlfriend is our Nazareth. Or even that up-and-coming city with booming nightlife is our Nazareth. But if Jesus clung onto His Nazareth, He never would have laid hold of heaven. We too have a heaven to reach, and a cross lays between us and the haven we seek. But every step of this grand adventure will be worth leaving Nazareth.

“‘Truly I tell you,'” Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.'”

(Mark 10:30)

Falling Apart or Holding Together (The Terrifying Trio Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “Doubt”, click here. For Part 2, “All Eyes On You”, click here.

These past several weeks have been crazy hectic. I’ve been meeting current friends to say goodbye, calling new acquaintances to say hello, and finalizing my moving plans. Just as my doctor mentioned that I need to find ways to relieve stress, I’ve been stockpiling it in heaps! I’ve found that coordinating a move across the country to a home I haven’t even found yet has been exceptionally challenging. And the metastasizing number of unknowns is triggering subliminal warning bells throughout my system.

Falling Apart

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus poses a key question, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life” (Matthew 6:27)?” We all know the answer to this rhetorical question, so why do we still worry?

My worry is a reflexive, visceral response. If I can’t actively manage a situation, the least I can do is focus my mental energies on it. I treat the problem like a Rubik’s cube my head. If I tweak this here and rotate that over there, maybe a solution will finally crystallize. But the Greek word merimnao means to be “divided into parts, to be distracted.” But we are terrible multitaskers. When we exert all of our mental energy on our worries, we can’t focus on what God wants us to.

Jesus goes on in Matthew chapter 6 to say we are to “seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33a).” And speaking about this kingdom, Paul says that the kingdom of God is about “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 4:17). So we should be focused on loving others by living righteously and loving ourselves by finding peace and joy in God.

Holding Together

That probably sounds like a pat answer only sufficient for a church retreat. But when the rubber of life hits the potholed road of student loans, angry bosses, and rebellious children, you may wonder how practical that really is. If you don’t spend all your time not worrying about these distressing issues, who will?

Matthew 6:33 in its entirety says, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  God feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field. God cares for everything on this planet and most of all for us. Just as children trust their parents and don’t shoulder the same worries they do, neither should we. Our heavenly Father was built to carry the weight of the world on His shoulders because He made it in the first place!

Rather, we’re called to trust Him, even if we don’t know where we’re going to sleep next month. Because God holds the universe together by the strength of His mighty power (Colossians 1:17), we can certainly trust Him to hold our lives together too.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

(1 Peter 5:7)

All Eyes on You (The Terrifying Trio Pt.  2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “Doubt”, click here.

Joshua was Moses’s successor. This was the same Moses parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21), spoke with God face to face (Exodus 33:11), built God’s first earthly dwelling place (Exodus 40), and led the Israelite community for forty years. And it was this same Moses who was not able to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12). Now Joshua was being called to complete the challenge his predecessor never could. With Moses dead, a million eyes now locked onto the son of Nun. And he must have been petrified!

The Fear That Freezes Us

The Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon defines fear as “dread, making one unfit for action.” We all know that feeling. Our heart races, our hands shake, and our knees tremble uncontrollably. In that grip of that powerful emotion, we find ourselves frozen, unable to save ourselves or anyone else. A fearful person will never make a good salesperson, spokesman, or soldier, let alone a good leader.

The Courage That Releases Us

That is why God commissioned Joshua with these famous words, “‘Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go’” (Joshua 1:9).

With this powerful message, God released Joshua from the clutches of fear. Because He knows a truth that we need to internalize as well: our emotions are tied to what we fix our eyes on. If we fix them on the wrong target–waves too high for us to crest, burdens too heavy for us to bear, or forces too strong for us to fight–we’ll tremble in the shadow of that looming giant.. But when we fix our eyes on God, we can remember that He shushes the waves (Mark 4:39) ,shoulders our burdens (Matthew 11:28); and topples giants (1 Samuel 17)!

It was in the strength of this word that Joshua prophesied to the Israelites, “‘In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you’” (Joshua 1:11). And just as Joshua had promised, three days later, they entered the Promised Land (Joshua 3)!

Conclusion

We cannot live in fear and walk in God’s plan for our lives. We can only hold on to one or the other. We must let go of our fear of the future, of failure, and any other thing in this world that is not God if we want to conquer the Promised Land He has in store for us. Because entering the Promised Land is not the end of the journey; it’s only the beginning.

“‘Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.’”
(Isaiah 41:10)

Doubt (The Terrifying Trio Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Faith is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. It can uproot mountains (Matthew 21:21) and tear down strongholds (Joshua 6:1-27). That is why doubt is one of Satan’s most potent weapons to attack the kingdom of God.

 Speaking of the crippling impact of doubt, the apostle James said, “When you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (James 1:6-8). These verses provide deep insight into the destructive power of doubt.

The Context

First, the Greek word translated “doubt” in this passage is diakrino. According to HELPS Word-studies, “diakrinos means literally to judge ‘back-and-forth’. It can refer either positively to close reasoning or negatively to over judging. Only the context indicates which sense is meant.”

Last week, I fielded over a dozen calls from various moving company representatives. Each of them tried to convince me that their organization was the right company for the job. I cross-examined, analyzed, and dissected every word they told me because I was going to entrust my most valuable possessions to them, yet I did not know or trust them. In that context, my paranoia was a healthy response to uncertainty and ensured that I chose the best company for the job.

On the other hand, I flew down to Florida last month. My mom told me that my dad was going to pick me up at the airport. I didn’t spend half an hour confirming that my dad was a better option than an Uber because I trust my father. And I can rely on him to show up when I need him the most.

Even though I confidently place trust in my earthly father, I struggle to do the same with my heavenly one. I find myself constantly questioning Him at every step along the journey. I’m like Peter who Jesus called out onto the water. I’ve seen God do the miraculous, yet I struggle to silence the whistling doubts that storm through my head, What if I can’t make this deadline? What if my bills are too high this month? What if I scared her away? And I sink into the tumultuous waves of analysis paralysis.

Conclusion

The answer to this double-mindedness is not to try harder. You can’t will a broken heart to trust God any more than you can will a broken clock to tell time. As an ocean of doubt floods my lungs, one verse gives me hope: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

In spite of how powerful doubt is, there is yet a power greater still: our faithful Father. Just as Jesus plucked Peter out of the water and set him on solid ground, our Father will rescue us from our doubts. We just have to remember Peter’s words, “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30)!

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
(Hebrews 11:1)

Standing at the Crossroads of Logic and Faith

By Ife J. Ibitayo

When I say Ananias, your eyes might light up as you remember the dishonest landowner from the book of Acts and his wife Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). But there is another, lesser known Ananias.

On the road to Damascus, a brilliant white light blinded the religious terrorist known as Saul of Tarsus. Forced to his knees and rocked to his core, Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?”

Out of that light, a voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:5-6). The blinded terrorist was led by his friends into the city, where he remained for three days without food or water (Acts 9:9).

In that same city was a believer known as Ananias. In a vision, God commissioned him to go to Saul and heal him. But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name” (Acts 9:13).

But the Lord said, “Go! This man is My chosen instrument to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:14).

Ananias now stood at a crossroads: Would he believe the voice of sound wisdom, reliable logic, and eyewitness accounts, or would he believe the voice of God?

The Logical Route

The strange thing about our expectation of God’s revelation is that we think He will tell us what we want to hear: “If you keep putting in the extra hours at work, you’ll definitely get promoted.” “If you keep swiping left on Tinder, you’ll certainly find your soulmate.” But, by definition, revelation is the impartation of a “surprising and previously unknown fact” that often runs contrary to the convictions we previously held.

Ananias’s trusted friends had told him how much damage Saul had wrought on the church. Logic told him that befriending terrorists is not the best way to live a long, pleasant life. But God had told him that this man was His “chosen instrument”, literally his “divinely selected vessel”, to represent Him before the entire world.

 So the question remained, would Ananias trust himself, or would he trust God?

The Faith-Filled Route

This same question lies at the heart of faith today. When God says the “last shall be first and the first last” (Matthew 20:16), the “meek shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:11), and “the greatest among you shall be your slave” (Matthew 20:27) we should recognize that these are illogical statements.

When God tells us that the best way to get ahead at work is to spend more time with our family or that the best way to find our spouse is waiting on His timing, our common sense screams foul. But scripture after scripture emphasizes that this is the very nature of divine revelation. 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom.” From our limited vantage point, many of His plans look reckless at best and foolhardy at worst. Yet like a chess grandmaster, His methods are more brilliant than we could ever imagine.

The Path Forward

Ananias’ response to this terrifying commission was obedience. “[He] went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized” (Acts 9:17-18).

Everyone knows Apostle Paul, but the catalyst for his journey, the one who literally opened his eyes, was someone just like us. He risked his life and freedom for a God-given vision, and we’re still reaping the fruit of his courage today.

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”

(Isaiah 55:8-9)

New Problems, Same God

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Last Monday, I found myself perched uncomfortably on a hospital bed. A woman in a black dress strutted in and took a seat across the room from me. She glanced my way and casually said, “You might have had a heart attack.”

With a sheet of paper in my hands with obscure lines traced across it and a sticky note referral to a cardiologist, I realized I was back in my car. I gripped my steering wheel, fighting back tears. But the dam broke, and I wept bitterly, “Not again! Lord, please let this not be happening all over again!” I’ve had petty problems and big problems, but now it seems that every new year I collide face-first with a new problem. But then God brought to my mind a Bible story I’d read just that morning.

Old Problems

King Hezekiah was one of Judah’s last good kings. He demolished idols and defeated nations leading to spiritual and economic revival. But during his reign, the mighty Assyrian empire ransacked the northern kingdom of Israel and set its sights on the southern kingdom of Judah. It captured every fortified city in Judah besides Jerusalem (Isaiah 36). And on top of all that, King Hezekiah fell fatally ill and was told by the prophet Isaiah that he was going to die (Isaiah 38:1). In the middle of his grief, King Hezekiah made a passionate plea to the LORD for his life, and God sent Isaiah back to the king with this message, “‘I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life’” (Isaiah 38:5).

This was the verse that God brought to my mind. He told me sitting there in my car crying in that hospital driveway, “‘I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.’”

Same God

Later that day, I made a call to the cardiologist, and they were able to slot me in for a visit at the end of the week (a mini-miracle in and of itself). And by Friday’s end, I was walking out of another hospital, but this time I had a smile on my face and a fresh lease on life. The same God who was faithful to King Hezekiah has been faithful to me.

God taught me that His promises don’t come with an expiration date. They never go bad. The same promises He made thousands of years ago, He is faithful to keep today. Because God doesn’t change, neither do His promises.

“‘The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.'”

(Isaiah 40:8)

Inbounding the Buzzer Beater

By Ife J. Ibitayo

It was the last game of the season. We were down by one point, and there were only a few seconds left on the clock. The referee gave me the go-ahead, and I inbounded the ball to Jorge, our up-and-coming shooting guard. As the dying moments of the game ticked away, he sprinted down the court, drove to his right, and tossed a wild shot in the general direction of the basketball hoop. It rattled around the rim and miraculously dropped in! The buzzer sounded, and we won the last game of my short and not so illustrious basketball career.

I still vividly remember the excitement of that moment. Our team attempted to carry Jorge on their back but nearly dropped him. And I beamed at my father who had made a surprise appearance to watch me play.

On the drive home, my dad complimented me by saying, “The way you play reminds me of Dennis Rodman,” the rainbow-haired power forward who won three rings with Michael Jordan. “You didn’t score much, but you proved yourself so useful they kept you on the floor for the final minutes of the game.” I didn’t know whether to be deeply offended or greatly encouraged!

The Basketball Game of Life

Since then, I’ve lived through many quarters of the basketball game of life. I’ve spent several long hours sitting on the sidelines. I’ve been begging week after week for the Coach to put me in. Now must be the opportune season. Now must be my time to shine. And sure enough, He’s heeded my request.

In a few months, I’ll be jet-setting across the country and beginning the greatest adventure of my life. I’m standing on the sidelines excitedly waiting for the next break in the action to leap onto the court. But slowly something has begun to click in my head.

In Zechariah 4:6, God says, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.’” In the book of Psalms, God says, “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength…But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him” (Psalm 33:16, 18). Joseph affirmed that it was God who spoke through Him (Genesis 41:16), David that it was God who fought through Him (1 Samuel 17:47), and even Jesus that it was God who worked through Him (John 5:20).

Conclusion

I’m not Michael Jordan or even Scottie Pippen. I am still very much Dennis Rodman. I’m Robin to God’s Batman. I am the sidekick, not the hero, the wingman, not the ace. I get to step onto the court, but I’m still on the sidelines, watching the great Superstar perform dazzling miracles and stunning turnarounds. And like John the Baptist, I’m learning how to accept that, “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30). Because the audience isn’t here for me. And as the ball rainbows through the air, I will remember that I had the express honor of inbounding that sick buzzer beater.

“For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”

(Psalm 84:11)

The Heroine Kokofe

By Ife J. Ibitayo

My short story “The Heroine Kokofe” has been published and narrated in the 833 episode of Escape Pod! This is my first professional publication, and I especially enjoyed writing this story because it sits at the intersection of my two passions–faith and fiction:

Escape Pod 833: The Heroine Kokofe

Story Excerpt

Muhamolu clapped his hands together and said, “We have gathered here today for the Agba of Kokofe Lalarun. If she defeats her demon, she will be a full adult in our community when she returns. If she does not, she will be an outcast forever. It only remains for God’s Ori to provide her target. God’s will be done.

“Ori,” Muhamolu boomed, his voice echoing across the village square, “tell us your will!”

A faint, humanoid emanation appeared in front of the Kwanza’s head. It was the buggy remnants of the spacecraft’s AI, to Kokofe at least. But the villagers bowed as reverently to it as God Himself. Kokofe also sank to her knees. Of all days, today she’d need as many allies as she could get.

“For whom?” Ori said, in a deep, resonant voice. As it flickered in and out, it locked eyes on Muhamolu. The chief fixed his gaze on the dirt in somber respect.

Baba gently pushed Kokofe forward and whispered, “Say your name.”

Kokofe cleared her voice and said with as much confidence as she could muster, “Moyororokokofe Lalarun!”

“Processing,” Ori said, and it vanished for a minute. Kokofe had always wondered what it did when it disappeared. The strange cross-referencing associations it made between the colonists’ names and the colony’s animals was still very much beyond her. It returned and said, “Akata.” A hologram of a humongous hairless canine with savage fangs and the Devil’s eyes glared down at them.

An old woman shrieked, and someone muttered in their native tongue of Yoruhili, “The accursed have no luck.”

“God’s Ori has spoken!” Muhamolu boomed, but there was a quaver in his voice. “His will be done.”

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Yrq3w1BkSmmaGZ9geXfk5?si=9aa812a50d5b4ee6