After the chief priest murmured some incantations, he gave each of us a weird gaze for ten minutes. When he finally dropped his gaze,he shook his head,made strange movements which was rather vulgar and barbaric around the shrine. He gave us similar symbols on our foreheads so that the evil spirits will identify and locate us faster.
My friends and I accidentally killed the sacred leopard while hunting. The oracle therefore demanded our heads in return. We were to be taken to the evil forest in twenty-four hours else the entire Umuikpa people will be wiped out. Our relatives cried their eyes out but no solution came.
On that faithful day,we were bound in chains by some muscular men whose machismo coupled with their horrific costume and vibrating breast muscles made them look exactly like the agents of the spirits who were sent to torment our souls until we reach the evil forest. We walked for hours without nothing to quench our taste,neither did manna fall from heaven. We were miserable and pathetic.
On reaching river Oshimiri,we saw some unusual white creatures rowing their boat to the bank. At first I thought they were the evil spirits. Perhaps they couldn't wait any longer before they devour us. But at closer examination, I discovered these creatures looked too beautiful and decent to be evil spirits. They frightened the muscular men away with their guns. We were unbound and fed. We regained our strength. We were liberated because of these missionaries. So we made up our minds saying “Where you go we will go. Your people shall be our people and your God our God"That was how we accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour. We were delivered and liberated. We were educated. We were saved. We were the first converts from Umuikpa land. Praise be to God.