Below is a diary of my time in Nigeria. Enjoy reading my thoughts, my revelations; the highs and lows as I journeyed. And of course, enjoy the pictures! Don't forget to let me know (in the comments below) what location inspired you most!
16/09/2017, 00:45
Doyin Olorunfemi: Sorry I'm sending this so late. I had to keep my promise. I have now landed in Lagos and tomorrow will be speaking at Gods Girls Club. We are expecting 100 girls. pls pray that God moves in their midst a d ignite a spark in their hearts to pursue their purpose. I will send pictures and report in the evening. Thanks for your support
16/09/2017, 18:38
Doyin Olorunfemi: What an awesome event today - organised with so much more excellence than I expected. Definitely a new generation of young girls are rising. I feel so privileged to be a part of it.
16/09/2017, 19:01
Doyin Olorunfemi: Nike is screaming cos I'm using her phone as hotspot
16/09/2017, 19:02
Doyin Olorunfemi: Nike is my sister 😄. I guess no more pictures today 😄
20/09/2017, 06:50
Doyin Olorunfemi: The Bayelsa project is close to my heart cos it screams SECOND CHANCE. There will be 200 girls at today's talk and they are all Teenage mums - some were raped and some got pregnant by their own doing. Great thing is 'Operation Back To School' enables them to return to school, attain their GCSEs while nannys are provided to care for the young children. Praying I speak a word that sparks off a desire in them for growth and for more in Jesus name, Amen
21/09/2017, 08:20
Doyin Olorunfemi: Yesterday was humbling to say the least. How many times do you think you are doing something for God, but instead, He translates you to prominence- beyond your wildest dreams? I sit in my bed in my hotel room, wondering how I got here.
The talk became a big event, with the Deputy Governor and many dignitaries in attendance. The event that was initially supposed to be a meet up of me and the girls passing out of the ‘Operation Back To School’ and the new intakes for this year became a state event. I sat beside the DG wondering ‘how did this happen’? Initially I was a bit flustered and wondered if my shortened speech had the desired impact until God reminded me ‘it’s the quality and not the length of words that matter’. TVC and numerous other TV stations filmed the event and because of that, many will hear of the message I spoke of – the girl child, rising strong and making an Impact on her world.
In addition, God reminded me of Pr 18:16. Indeed when we walk in our gifting, He makes us stand before kings. Be encouraged my friends and be committed to #LiveWell #LiveFull #LiveOut.
Everything about this OBS project makes me know God has so much in store for them and I am glad for the opportunity to keep mentoring them on my return to the Uk. Next to Project 3 of 7, pray for me as I fly to Abuja today
23/09/2017, 08:01
Doyin Olorunfemi: Hey
Sorry, internet access has been sporadic, hence the lack of update.
Thanks for your prayers - despite the very heavy storms in Port Harcourt, which caused a 2hour delay to our flight, we arrived Abuja safely on Thursday. On a personal note, I was happy to see Tunji's miracle twin daughters who were born earlier this year. A true icing on the cake for me on this tour😉😍. Lest I get side tracked, back to the #ALTMD2017 updates 😁...
Yesterday was a lot more quiet as 'Kub Konekt', our Abuja partners had asked for me to do 15minute individual sessions with their core group of girls. I totally enjoyed this experience. These girls are about to leave for Uni and it was good to guide them in discovering the CORE - who they are and where they are headed. We did one of my favourite exercises- 'whiteboarding' and it was soooo good to see the spark in their eyes as they left the centre.
Also 2 of the girls from yesterday are coming along today to help out so I've asked them to bring their boards along. I will take pictures of these and send later.
Prayer point for today is for utterance. This project has a good number of non-christians attending and even though I won't be 'preaching', I am trusting for seeds to be sown in their heart - seeds that raise questions in their hearts and lead them to Christ, Amen. Have a brilliant day...
24/09/2017, 07:42
Doyin Olorunfemi: You could be tempted to think CROWD = SUCCESS. Well that's how I felt when I got to the venue yesterday and was greeted by just 12 young ladies. Boy was I wrong as the impact of today's talk was sooooo tangible. The girls leaned in, soaked up all I had to offer and were definitely impacted. One of the girls broke down in tears as she shared her battle with lack of confidence and one wrote a statement to rid herself of pests and embrace the necessary nurturing. I can say Abuja was a big success. Thank you very much for your incessant prayers.
I am enroute to Ibadan for the western part of the tour, please pray for journey mercies and for Ilesha Grammar school, our next stop. Have a fun day in church and a great start to the week. Enjoy our pictures.
26/09/2017, 06:53
Doyin Olorunfemi: Good morning all.
I feel very refreshed today, having taking yesterday off to rest. We are now off to Ilesha. Please pray for journey mercies and an impactful session. I know I say that every morning but I truly mean it. I look forward to sending you pictures and lots of feedback tomorrow morning. Have a super-productive day!
26/09/2017, 19:55
Doyin Olorunfemi: Talk about DESIRE... That's what I found in 'IleGram' - the nickname for Ilesha Grammar School. To say I had a fulfilling time there will be putting it mildly. Over a 100 final year secondary school girls attended. (I know it was 100+ because we ran out of books and I had to give out the ALTMD pens instead 😑.)
These girls asked lots of questions- we had to stop at the 12th question so they could go home. 😄.
Please keep these girls in your prayers and if like me, you have a prayer wall to guide your daily intercession, add on 'IleGram SS3 2017'. God knows who they are and He will watch over His words, which we speak over them, to perfect it, Amen!
I am so happy I went to Ilesha and I must say 'watch this space' cos I believe we have sparked confidence in a generation of beautiful 16year old girls. Enjoy a few photos
27/09/2017, 07:35
Doyin Olorunfemi: 'It's only a setback if you accept it as one!' This was the conclusion I came to on Monday when I was told that Obafemi Awolowo University (one of the key points of the #ALTMD tour and my alma mata) had moved resumption by a week. 😭😂. This meant I couldn't do the talk there 😑.
After indulging in a bit of self pity and sulking, I picked myself up and did the following
1. Connected with one of the organisers and delivered 100 books which will be given to the students when they eventually resume
2. Went round OAU campus yesterday morning and made a short video clip for my daughter's 😁. At least I still visited.
3. Visited another university. For those who know Nigeria well, UI and UCH to be precise because I slept in Ibadan.
It was in UCH I found such fulfilment. I randomly stopped girls I saw on the streets and chatted with them 😁. (I do it all the time for Mary Kay so why not) Then I gave them a copy of the book and connected with them on Facebook. While they were mostly sweet, 2 of them stood out (Success and Rachel). These 2 girls are going places and I can't wait to watch them blossom. Pls keep them in your prayers.
I share this experience, not just to be accountable to you, but to encourage you to keep going. When things don't go as planned, find a way to make lemonade from your lemons.
I'm glad the OAU students will eventually get the books, plus a pre-recorded video clip which I will send them once I return to the UK. I am however EXCEEDINGLY GLAD I was able to spend last night walking round UCH especially and sparking off something in those young ladies.
Have a fab day and pls pray for us as we travel back to Lagos today. Enjoy the pictures and Be blessed!
28/09/2017, 07:00
Doyin Olorunfemi: And so yesterday, there was another benefit to not going to OAU. I got a call from my big brother, Deniyi to pass by his office on my way to Lagos. Deniyi works in NYSC and is the current Camp Director for Ibadan.
What I didn't expect was to be greeted by an audience of 100+ Corpers. Thank God I was a Girl Guide and I'm alwaya prepared cos I did a short 10-minute talk on GRACE (from my newest book). Again, it was so good to see them lean in. Only sad thing was I only had 20 books left so I had a near stampede as the girls scrambled to get a copy.
Let me say as a word of encouragement for anyone who wants to do a similar project - there's a need and there is a DESIRE.
I promise to try to 'rest' today 😄 but please say a prayer for Batch A Ibadan North Youth Corp set. Have a blessed day!
30/09/2017, 07:17
Doyin Olorunfemi: Good morning my friends. I can't believe the tour is coming to an end 😭.
You have been very generous with your words, with your gifts (monetary and otherwise) and even last night 10 people I have never met organised a dinner for me in a very prestigious hotel. The success of this tour is down to you, so thank you for keeping me motivated all through!
Yesterday morning, I was on air on InspirationFM radio station and I had the opportunity to share my heart. It was also such a delight to hear the book being read out loud. The words came alive and it made me realise just how potent the contents of the book is. I hope you'll join me to pray that EVERY GIRL who reads the book will not just read words, but be impacted for life.
Today, I will be speaking at Pearls Africa. It's the 'Girl Coding' project I've been very excited about. I will tell you all about it tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy a few pictures from yesterday and have a fruitful day!
01/10/2017, 02:34
Doyin Olorunfemi: if you're wondering why I'm awake, it because of 2 things - first I'm doing my last minute preparations for today's talk in Akute and secondly, I am troubled. Troubled because of what I heard those young angels at Pearls Africa tell me yesterday... In fact it made me wonder if this was the reason God sent me to Nigeria. Before I get ahead of myself, let me backtrack.
So the talk started with me never getting started. initially I thought it was because I was extremely tired but as I spoke, I prayed underneath my breath because I felt a resistance I hadn't felt in the 5 talks prior. After about 20mins, I closed my notes and decided to talk about Relationship/Sex/Chastity/Value and that was it. Initially the girls didn't say anything but again I felt in my heart a prompting to send the men in the room out and then the girls spoke and couldn't stop. The number of young girls that have been violated by their teachers was staggering! I had to sit down as I heard account of girl after girl. I heard of the deceit and trickery employed in sexually harassing these girls and an anger welled up in my spirit. How can these girls maximise their potential and live as the best version of themselves when those they should trust most are the proprietors of such evil. Please my friends, pray for these little angels and for wisdom to take the necesaary steps to rid rhem of this evil. I will definitely use my voice to bring awareness to this issue as I can't permit a whole generation to be destroyed/wasted.
On a lighter note, it was great to have some friends with me at the talk and a very big surprise- A CAKE! You see, when organising the vision night in the UK, my friend Bisi had suggested having a cake and I refused because of budget constraints. You can't imagine how shocked I was to be presented with a beautiful cake as I walked through the doors. I guess it's little things like these that make me feel so enveloped by God's love all through the tour.
Anyway got to go back to bed now. In the meantime, enjoy a few pictures and PLEASE PRAY for the 'girl child' and for the final talk in Akute this morning before i head to the airport. God blesa you
01/10/2017, 14:02
Doyin Olorunfemi: I hope I am not being too spooky but I unintentionally appeared at today's talk in a green dress... What a coincidence as it's Nigerian Independence day and our national colours are white & green... Hmmmm.
Oh well, talk No 7 (which in itself has a meaning too) was as God intended. Because it was a church, I had the freedom to delve into the scriptures and do what I love most- teach from the bible. Gods presence was tangible and I felt people were liberated and set free to BE AS GOD INTENDED FOR THEM TO BE.
I ended the talk by declaring this scripture (1 Kings 8:54-61) on them all. It's the same one Solomon prayed as he consecrated the temple to God. Permit me to speak it over you too.
Thank you for standing by me through this journey. I will now start my journey towards the airport. It's been a fulfilling 2 weeks but I miss my family so much and can't wait to see them and some of you too. Enjoy the pictures and Be Blessed!
02/10/2017, 08:19
Doyin Olorunfemi: I am now home and tucked under the duvet 😄. Thank you for journeying with me and making the last 17days some of my best ever. Special thanks to Kayode and the girls for allowing me do this. Also to you all for your financial support & prayers.
Today's prayer point is for grace for me to resist the temptation to be mummy for a day 😄 - no cooking, no tidying, just snoozing (not that I'm complaining about the house oh 😁). Once again thank you very much. I promise to send you details of the blog once it's online. God bless & have a fruitful week!
