MY TRIBUTE TO THE PROPHET WHO DREAMED DREAMS

_And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father... And he saw him no more.."_ 2Kings 2:11-12

I don’t know what I’m going through today because I can’t describe it.. When it dawns upon me that I can’t no longer hear from my brother Prophet Evans Annaba any more after today, that his mortal remains will be laid to rest..

Is my head breaking? What is happening to me o my God? I now understand the pains with which Elisha cried loudly, My Father, My Father!! In my case I cry, My Brother, My Prophet!! So Prophet Evans Annaba is really gone without leaving me a word, And I couldn’t attend his funeral too! Oo Kofi Papa..my brother...

I got to know Kofi Papa 30 years ago when I attended my first Easter Convention of the Church of Pentecost. He preached a simple Gospel message on the Sunday evening which led to many people giving their lives to Christ. Of all the Preachers and the big men I met for the first time at the convention, I was fascinated by that young man's boldness to stand in front of such a large crowd with such big men sitting behind him. On that day, I prayed that God should help me to become a Preacher like Prophet Annaba...

Then 8 years after praying to be like him, the Lord repeated the same scenario of Toase with me at Juaso where I was also given the platform at Area Easter Convention to preach where many people moved to accept Christ while I was still preaching.

Prophet Evans was called into ministry in 2000 and the following year, I was called. We never met but I heard about him when I was at my second station. I saw him in a missions documentary when a testimony was given about how the Lord used him to raise a dead man in Tamale Area. I admired his boldness and prayed that God would use him more and more. And that same year, the Lord used me to do a similar thing: praying on phone for a young lady who had passed away at Wenchi Hospital to come back to life.

Our paths crossed for better when he was transferred to Ayebronmu to join me in Suhum Area on 2014.

I narrated all the stories to him and we became good partners in ministry. It was in 2015 that we found out that we were born on the same day! We found out that we share so many things in life and ministry. We both come from hard family backgrounds. We both worked hard to support ourselves.

And in ministry, we both operated in teaching ministry, Believed in aggressive evangelism and were powerful dreamers. We found out that we even dream similar dreams! There was a day I narrated my dream about an incident in the Church of Pentecost in Cote D’Ivoire. He was surprised because he had dreamed about the same incident three days earlier. From that time, we decided to share your dreams for discussion and prayers.

O why did I not dream about his death or sickness? Why didn’t it occur to me that I should call Kofi Papa after the Council Meetings until the day he passed away? Eish, Hmmm. This world is full of mysteries.

And so today, I’m sitting in front of TV watching the funeral of my Brother, My Prophet and my friend, Evans. Kofi Papa, (my first boy is called Kofi and his last boy is also called Kofi so we call each other Kofi Papa) my humble prophet. I’m seeing people filing past this great man, lying silently, ooo my God!! What can I say? Do I even have a say? Rest well. Rest in peace. My Brother! My Prophet!!

The fire I caught from you 30 years ago is still burning.. But you’ve gone too early for me to finish compiling the testimonies! If I can stand in front of any group of people to speak, it’s all because you allowed God to use you as His good instrument at that tender age. Even if nobody saw anything good about you, I can boldly tell the whole world that you are one of the finest, most humble, most obedient most diligent I've ever come across.

I know you've actually finished your race victoriously. Like Elisha, I promise to hold on to that piece of your preaching, teaching and evangelistic zeal mantle that is upon me. And I won’t rest till the day I’ll also finish the race to join you at the other side where God has prepared us all.

Rest on, My Prophet.

Pastor William Boachie-Ansah

25/6/2022

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