After Michael finished his ministration, he went to his car to check on the stranger he had left there and noticed she was fast asleep.
As he stood there contemplating whether or not to wake her up and find out exactly who she was so he would know the best way to help her, he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to see the host pastor.
"Is everything okay?" the host pastor asked since he had noticed that Michael had seemed disturbed earlier, and he had rushed outside the moment he was done with his ministration.
Without thinking about it, Michael shook his head as he stepped away from the car so the sleeping stranger wouldn't be roused by their discussion.
"Can we talk in your office?" Michael asked, and the host pastor nodded.
"Of course. Come with me," he said as he led the way to his office.
"That was a powerful ministration. It would have been even more so had you asked them to sow seeds of mercy like I asked you to," the host pastor said as they sat in the office.
"Many did that without me asking," Michael said with a stiff smile.
The host pastor nodded. "Exactly my point. If they sowed when you didn't ask, can you imagine how much they would have sown had you asked?"
Michael sighed inwardly. If he had known the pastor was going to ask him to do something like that, he would never have accepted the invitation to minister here.
After they were seated, Micheal stared at his hands for some time, silently asking God for wisdom to handle the situation and relay what had happened to the pastor.
'Don't say anything.'
Micheal frowned when he heard those words in his spirit.
How can God ask him not to confide in a senior pastor?
It was only logical that he inform a senior pastor about what had transpired outside his church during the vigil.
'Don't say anything.' He heard the voice again. It was more authoritative this time.
Choosing to do what he believed was right, he went ahead to speak, "While I was leading the prayers earlier, I was led by the Holy Spirit to step outside," he said, and the host pastor leaned forward in his seat.
"You mean the time you stepped outside before you started the sermon?" he asked since Michael had led them in prayers during and even after the sermon before going outside.
"Yes, before the sermon. I met someone outside the church. A young lady."
"A young lady? One of my members?" The host pastor asked, wondering if Michael had found a wife among his female members.
Michael shook his head. "I'm not sure who she is, but I don't think she is one of your members. I don't even know her name. But God asked me to help her," he explained, deliberately leaving out the other aspect of what he had heard.
"God asked you to help her? What sort of help does she need? Where is she now?" The host pastor asked, looking at Michael with an unreadable expression.
"She is sleeping in my car," Michael said, and the pastor frowned.
"In your car? You don't even know who she is. Why did you let her into your car? You should have informed me about it, and we would have let her wait in the children's auditorium," the pastor said as he rose.
"I know you are young in ministry, pastor Michael, but you must be careful. Especially when handling females. How sure are you that she wasn't sent from the pit of hell to destroy your ministry?" He asked.
Michael shook his head as he rose. "I heard God…"
"Did God ask you to let her stay inside your car?" He asked, and Michael sighed.
"Not exactly. What do you suggest I do then?" Michael asked, and the pastor headed for the door.
"Let's bring her into the office and find out who she is. I'm sure we will know what to do after that," the senior pastor said confidently, and they both went out to get her.
"Can we talk to her inside the car? If we bring her out of the car, some members might see her and…"
"Don't worry, I will handle it," he said, cutting Michael off.
Amara was still sleeping when they got to the car, so Michael tapped on the glass.
Immediately, she sprung up, eyes wide with alarm, and Michael couldn't help but feel guilty as he opened the door.
"Who are you?" the senior pastor asked Amara as he looked her over, noticing her very revealing dress. He concluded immediately that she was either a prostitute or from the marine kingdom.
Amara glanced at Michael since he was the one she knew, and he gave her a slight nod, urging her to talk.
Despite his encouragement, Amara couldn't bring herself to speak. What was she supposed to say? That she was a call girl and the chief she had followed was a ritualist and had used the other girl, but she had managed to escape?
If she said that and the police got involved, she could get in a lot of trouble, and she couldn't afford that.
She didn't want police wahala, and neither did she want the chief to find her. She knew it would be easy for him to find her. All he had to do was contact Valerie.
Valerie!
Was it a coincidence that Valerie hooked her up with a ritualist just when she planned to quit? Had Valerie planned this? Did she know the kind of person Chief was?
"Why are you not saying anything?" The senior pastor snapped impatiently, startling Amara.
What was she going to do now? The last thing she wanted was to return to Valerie's house.
Michael watched her, and he could see the wheel turning in her head, but he couldn't understand what she was thinking so hard about and why she wasn't responding to the question.
"What is your name?" Michael asked, sensing the pastor's impatience.
"Amy," Amara said after a moment's hesitation, and the pastor scowled as he watched her.
"Come out of the car. Let's talk in my office," the pastor suggested.
Amara looked down at herself and then slowly got out of the car.
Seeing how she wrapped her arm around herself, Michael took off his jacket and gave it to her to cover herself, even though it would do nothing for her exposed thighs.
Michael stared at her barefoot, feeling bad and wishing they could have the conversation in the car instead of subjecting her to this embarrassment.
As they walked to the office, Amara looked down and tried to ignore the curious stares she was getting from the members who were frolicking outside, some of whom she was sure had stepped outside to fight off sleep.
"So, why were you outside at such an hour? Who are you? Do you live around here?" The pastor fired her with questions the moment they were all seated.
"I entered one chance," she lied.
"One chance?" Michael and the pastor asked, turning to look at each other.
Amara nodded. "I was returning from the club and paid a cab for a drop. I dozed off, and when I opened my eyes, I was in an area I didn't know, and I barely managed to escape," she said, more confident now in her lie.
"We will report to the police. Can you describe the car?" Michael asked; she shook her head.
"No."
So she wasn't a prostitute as he had thought? Michael wondered.
"No problem. Pastor Michael, you can leave her with me. My wife and I will attend to her and ensure she gets home safely in the morning," the senior pastor said.
Amara shook her head immediately. "No!"
"No, what?" The pastor asked, scowling at her.
"I want to go with him," Amara said as she looked at Michael, hoping that he would take her with him.
After he had left her in his car earlier, she had finally remembered where she met him and why he looked so familiar.
She didn't think it was a coincidence that she had met him on the day she made the decision to become a prostituted two years ago, and had crossed paths with him again just when she had made up her mind to quit.
She could trust Michael. But she wasn't so sure she could trust this pastor. She didn't know anything about him.
Michael watched her, wondering if truly what he had heard was true, and this girl who was dressed like a prostitute was supposed to be his wife.
'Take her with you'
Michael heard the instruction in his spirit.
"You want to go with him so that you can seduce him? How are we sure you are telling the truth, and you weren't sent from the marine kingdom to destroy his ministry?" The pastor asked.
Before Amara could respond, Michael spoke. "I will take her with me."
The pastor looked at Michael incredulously, "You want to take her with you? Don't tell me you believe anything she said."
"I don't have to believe her. I believe God. And that is good enough."