On Sunday, February 16 2020, a great friend of mine passed on to glory. I cannot begin to tell how priceless a sister and friend she was. A tremendous Christian and a precious soul, she hailed from Ojuka-polo, Buguma East of the Kalabari Kingdom in the Niger Delta  (Asari-Toru Local  Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria), and there she will be laid to rest on Saturday, March 7 2020.

I have written this ode in her honour, in celebration of her selfless life and total submission to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ in worship:

Ode to My Sister from another Mother

I will bow down and worship Yahweh!

Tamunotonyemieba Flagg-Amachree. The young woman walked into church in Port Harcourt on a certain day in 1993 or 1994. You were ever so unassuming and remained so all through the years.

A sister of sisters and a friend of friends is what you became to me. I know that you were so to as many as were close to you. However, for me, I would say to you time and time again, “You are my sister from another mother!” You became one of the very few I could bare my heart to. I do not count these up to the number of fingers on a hand. What a privilege it was to get to know you.

I will bow down and worship Yahweh!

You were as simple as simplicity, yet your faith in the Lord was extremely robust. A disciple of Christ in every sense of the word, facing and withstanding the myriads of challenges that would unleash over the years. They came against you like a tsunami preceded by an earthquake. Many times shaking you to the very core and of a truth did they shake you! But you knew the Lord, and the Lord knew you. Even the Lord God of Israel! You always withstood both earthquake and tsunami, even when it seemed you would fall, and I often feared for you. You ended up standing. You stood until the very end.

I will bow down and worship Yahweh!

Sister Tonye, so weak… yet so strong. You said to me once that the most memorable message series I preached in church was one I had titled “Faith and Patience: the Winning Combination.” And it meant a lot to you. Nevertheless, flood after flood and fire after fire you stood. You lived a life of faith and patience until the end. The Lord your God whom you loved and worshipped from the depth of your heart and soul, the One you trusted, He who gave you strength, has given you victory.

I will bow down and worship Yahweh!

Pastor Tee, there was no pretence to you. In private and in public, what we saw is what we got. I saw your pain when you were sometimes misunderstood. Yet you were an encourager of encouragers. You would spend and be spent for the comfort and wellbeing of others, though you were in need yourself. When there was a need to correct or rebuke, you were as kind as you were firm. In rebuking, you were tactful and respectful. You would not shift ground as long as that ground was God’s word! When you were at the receiving end, you took it with equanimity. O yes, you did put up an argument here and there, but in the end humility would get the best of you. There was no dull moment with this one, no not at all. A hard nut to crack once a while, but when it was broken in the spirit of grace and truth… the beauty of peace was unveiled in a depth of strength of character.

I will bow down and worship Yahweh!

Then came the day, I saw in a vision, my sister dying in my arms. I called mummy. The situation was dire. We poured out our hearts to the Lord… Lord, You have taken my sister. You have taken her to Yourself… Lord, did both of you agree that enough was enough? Did you? And You thereafter commanded the storm, “Peace be still!” Did you? I submit.

I will bow down and worship Yahweh!

A tear, two, or three breaks out now and again, but there is a flood in my heart. Nevertheless, beneath that torrent is a gentle stream, that calm undercurrent of assurance… Jesus Christ rose again from the dead, and so shall we.

Tonye Essa-Ogorry, my sister from another mother is at a better place.

We will bow down and worship Yahweh!

Yahweh! Yahweh! Yahweh!