Women Empowering Women Magazine - Winter 2020

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£3.00

WEWMAG

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EDITOR IN CHIEF JACQUELINE ANI ASSISTANT EDITOR TAMIKA PUSEY-SQUIRE

CONTACT US magazine@empworedwoman.org.uk VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.wewmagazine.com

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Hi Ladies, Phew! I’m so ready to roll this one out!

I’m sure you would agree with me that 2020 was the year of great challenge for many of us but thank God we’re still standing.

I would like to pay sincere condolence to everyone who lost a loved one during this pandemic. May God cover and protect you in and through your grief.

This season’s issue we have a great message from the men about why they love what they do, and some great mumpreneurs in Kenya who are doing wonderful things in building their businesses even during the lockdown.

This lockdown was a blessing to many, and I would love to hear from you on how the pandemic and lockdown changed your life positively.

Finally, on behalf of my team, we wish you a wonderful festive period with your family and a great crossing over to 2021. See you on the other side.

Jacqueline Ani Prophetess Jacqueline Ani Editor-In-Chief Women Empowering Women Magazine

Letter From

THE EDITOR

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Contents 6

WHOLENESS 6 Being Your Best Self 10 A Rejected Heart 14 Peace of Mind 18 Rejecting Rejection

SPIRITUAL ETIQUETTE 20 Before You Give Up On Love 34 Rejection By Man is Not Rejection By God 38 Taking Time To Worship 44 A Heart for Widows 48 The Wise & The Foolish

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LIFESTYLE 38 Fitness For The Soul 44 Please Don't Judge Me 48 Women in Business

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COVER FEATURE

24 SPECIAL FEATURES 62 Kingdom Man: Why I Love What I Do • • • • • •

24 Stepping Out With Preethy Kurian

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Jeffrey Daniel Fredrick Leonard Adrian Trujillo Alex Flores, Kenneth Nwokeji Maurice Elrod

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WHOLENESS

Being Your Best Selfu

& Making The Most of Life In Uncertain Times

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t is easy to forget who you are sometimes in the world that we live in today. It is easy to forget why we are here or our role in the world or in society. The lives we once knew has changed so much. We can even begin to question what the point of life is anymore. It has become so hard or virtually impossible living through the pandemic.

God isn’t an invisible God and He is watching us and seeing us through some of the most challenging times in history. He is working in the NHS, the schools, local community centres, supermarkets, airports, ports, churches, colleges, delivery drivers.

God is working everywhere that you can possibly think. He is working in your home, in your heart and in your mind. The Lord is supporting people to be able to support others. He is giving us the support and guiding hand to be able to provide us with all that we need. Although, it may seem at times that we are living in a hopeless situation. Life may seem so uncertain, so unsure. It is so hard to make any plans. As Christian women, we need to stay grounded in our faith and remember that we are not alone. The Lord is watching over us every waking hour.

By Monera T

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8| As women, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, grandparents, we have had to learn new roles. We have had to learn to communicate by using apps that we’re unfamiliar with. We have learnt to multi task more than ever before. We have learnt to home school our children alongside maintaining a household and job working from home. We have become so many people rolled into one. We have been able to help, love and support others at the same time as trying to help ourselves. God works His wonders every day. He is not an invisible God. God is our strength and He will never leave our side. He will continue to provide for us. He is our father in heaven. He will never allow us to break inside if we rely on him first and foremost in this life. He has been with us since the second that he chose us to be his daughters in Christ until we leave this world and join him in paradise. He says ask and it shall be given. He says that he knows and sees our future.

We don’t need to worry constantly about the future as He has already made a way for us. He will unlock closed doors for us in life if it is His will, “thy will be done”. He can carve a way into an impossible situation.

quickly. I could only hear ambulances and war helicopters twisting furiously above my flat on the top floor. Where was God I asked? where is He? How could he have allowed this to happen?

What has this world turned into that I once knew? It was then after this that I remember feeling God through the clapping and cheering that I could hear for the NHS. I heard him through the loud banging of saucepans and cheers for the selfless NHS workers on the front line. I realised that God was also in that helicopter that was so loud. He was guiding and leading the soldiers and helping them to supply the sick with lifesaving equipment.

God is working through the ambulance crew to save lives every day. He is helping us to stay safe and save lives. He is working day and night in hospitals all over the world. He is working on those lonesome, red buses to keep London moving. We only have to open our eyes a lot wider to start to see the goodness all around us.

"Whenever I start to feel alone or disheartened in my life I thank God "

How can I work to serve others to glorify the Lord?

If you have a skill you can use to help others you will glorify him whenever you do so. Many people have chosen to volunteer in their community during the pandemic. If you are already very stuck for time you could lend a helping hand or be a listening ear to someone who just needs to talk. Even if you just smile to your neighbour every day and say hello you are serving the Lord. Any act of kindness or selflessness or act of compassion is a way to serve the Lord and receive his blessings. Thank him for sustaining you for as long as he has and for supporting you through 2020.

How has God helped me?

Whenever I start to feel alone or disheartened in my life I thank God for helping me through every single day of my life. During the beginning of the pandemic I couldn’t make sense of what was happening around me. I looked out the window at the empty red buses which pass my flat. I watched people wearing masks walk past my home

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God opened my heart and eyes to the gift of life that He gave me all those years ago. I started to realise that I had been ungrateful for my health and everything that I had achieved in my life. I never sat and thought of how God had been helping me throughout my journey. I started to look back at my failings as lessons. I started to see my life as a whole from a different perspective. I finally started to understand this gift of life that God gave me and realised that whatever happened after that was my freewill.

It is impossible not to reflect upon your life during a lockdown. I stopped counting my mistakes ad my tears and sorrows and found a new lease of life during the pandemic.

I spent four months in lockdown with my nine year old daughter who I have been raising alone the whole time. I watched her longing to play with the children next door whilst they bounced on the trampoline next door. I watched her childhood through her eyes. I watched people walk past and I just started to love life again. I learnt to be grateful, grateful for life, grateful to be in this world no matter how hard it is. I started to see the world through God’s eyes. This world, this planet, everything was and is his gift. The sun, the moon, the planets and the sky are all gifts

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to us. Any people who come in and out of our lives are sent as either blessings or lessons. As Christian women we need to remember that God is and has always been right behind us in sickness and health. God is our provider and keeper if we have nobody to turn to or listen to us, He is there. His love is infinite and constant.

He isn’t going to go anywhere or disappear.

Human beings can be weak and let us down at times. However, God is always there for you.

We can rely on him and count on him. He gives us peace and patience. He helps us to help ourselves. He is our rock that withstands all the storms of life. He has been there since the very

second that he shaped you in His image. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. He has bestowed you with talents and qualities and a unique personality that is special to you only.

He has given you these gifts and he wants you to use them. He wants you to shine brightly like the sunshine. Go out into the world, be grateful for every day, every breath. Thank God for everything that he has done for you.

Be thankful for everything that he is doing for you that you can’t see yet. Shine sisters for God, shine like the sun.

Monera, is a qualified ESOL and Literacy Tutor and a graduate of Modern Foreign languages with over 10 years teaching experience. I have dedicated the last ten years of my life to supporting students from all walks of life to adapt to living in the UK through my inspirational and creative teaching methods. I have supported hundreds of learners over the years to become confident in their abilities through constant praise and my patience as well as my sense of humour

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WHOLENESS

A Rejected

HEART

By Theresa Skinner

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umans have a fundamental need to belong, longing for a positive and lasting relationship (DeWall, Nathan PhD).

Rejection, the act of rejecting or the state of being rejected (MerriamWebster dictionary).

Rejection can incite negative feelings and emotions (Good Therapy).

Rejection can start at childhood and continuing throughout one’s life, if not recognized and dealt with through therapy and healing that comes from a greater power.

Strangely, childhood trauma and rejection have a universal and emotion tie, that can only be broken at the foot of the cross.

As a child, she was injected into a family where a fundamental need to

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belong was at the center of her being.

At her very core and a young age, the longing for a positive and lasting relationship started when her mother abandoned the family, to search out her identity.

Sadly, her mother never really found her identity, years of abuse from her than husband, left mother desolately lonely.

As she watched her mother disappear into captivity, control by the spirit of rejection and the longing to belong.

She didn’t recognize this behavior until she herself experienced it at a later age, generational strongholds (curses).

A generational curse is believed to be passed down from one generation to another due to rebellion against God. The bible says: these curses are tied to choices (Christianty. com).

Deuteronomy 30:19 says: we can choose life and blessing or death and cursing.

However, if you don’t know you have a choice or if you don’t know Jesus. These things can stay hidden for years destroying and obliterating every waking hour of one’s life.

As she watched her mom live in pain and misery, unhealthy relationships, alcohol addiction, lack of self-esteem and a rejected heart.

Who would have known this would become her life as well?

Grandmother would tell stories of how mother was born with a veil; did this have any bearing on mother’s broken and contrite heart? No, Jesus stated in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Wikipedia explains a veil as a piece of membrane that can cover a newborn’s head and face.

There is no know biblical meaning behind it. Although some say it’s a sign of good luck.

Yet, she never witnessed any good luck for her mother, fourteen children and three failed marriages.

Sometimes we can become our own mountain, refusing to get out of the way of God,

Making things about self, eyes that only see others faults, never looking inward.

Jesus asked in Matthew 7:3 (niv) “why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

This is a result of self-surrendering to the Lord, allowing Him to work in and through us.

Being still in His presence, knowing He is God and He is working things out for our good and His glory ( Romans:28).

God doesn’t need our help, He is the great and powerful I AM, THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST THE BEGINNING AND THE END (revelation 22:13)!

Life brings wilderness trials, she went through a five-year wilderness, she felt alone, isolated from the world, she felt a longing and a void in her soul. A yearning for something greater.

Than Jesus came on the scene, truthfully, He was always there, although she tried following people seeking and hanging on every word people said or spoke over her life. Trying to find relief from the pain of her trial.

She spent many nights and days crying with no understanding of what was going on.

Even though while she was in the storm of her life God was always speaking, but because the

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12 | agony of this great trial and not knowing the word and great promises of the word, she kept herself in defeat.

She was in a defeated mindset, to her the battle was already lost. She continued to allow outside advice to consume her life. Searching online, people, places and things to fix her.

When everything she attempted failed she cried out to God. Yet what she needed was a personal relationship with Jesus. At that point she sought the Lord and he answered. Jeremiah 33:3 commands with a beautiful promise “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know”.

She took that advice and did as she was commanded. Did things get better no! things got worse.

She had her moments of reprieve, a rest in the mist of a storm. much turbulence was met the next 4 years. Doubt, fear and bad decisions that lead to more pain. When the cracks begun to show the fire of the furnace was turned up, healing begun on the potter’s wheel.

What she discovered by way of the Holy Spirit was Jesus was and always will be the answer.

Nearing the end of her trial God gave

her, Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, my purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.”

I thought what does that mean, then God spoke to me through His Spirit saying what looks like the beginning is really the end. I work from the end back to the beginning I am outside of time.

In Isaiah 55:8 God says “for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways declare the Lord) NIV. She thought oh wow, what she was seeing looked like the beginning of her trial, action, words spoken all looked and sounded like time repeating itself.

She spoke out no we are not going through again been there done it. Not today!

However, it was the end, she could see the change that was going on within herself, she had finally surrendered self.

She no longer lived for earthly thing, her trust was in God alone!

Just before Jesus breathed His last breath, He uttered the words it is finished! (John 19:2830) Everything has been done for us, we only have to receive it and believe we have it, according to the will of God. If we cast our cares on Jesus he will give us rest (Matthew 11:28-30).

Theresa Skinner is a leader and teacher She has CDCA in chemical dependency 17 years delivered from alcohol addiction She works with a population of addictive behavior She also mentors to women who feels abandoned.

She also is a part of a recovery choir. Theresa is based in Ohio, USA

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Peace of mind

By Leona Nwokeji

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s there ever a time that peace is never sought after, longed for and craved? As long as one lives, breaths, thinks and does this thing called life, PEACE will always be a necessity! To some, it’s a verb to some just a lovely word to the BODY of Christ it’s encapsulated the nature of GOD in the “son of man” J-E-S-U-S. Isn’t our truth reassured in Ephesians 2:14-22? To be honest it’s one thing to read this truth and walk in it.

Imagine a real live storm coming your way in 30seconds yet, JESUS is right in front of you guarding and protecting you from being swept away by the storm. PEACE himself stands between you and the storm. As the storm approaches in a mad rush, in that split second ……what would you do in that moment? what would go through your mind? what would happen to you in that moment?

What would the outcome be? Would your eyes be on PEACE himself or the ferocious storm approaching? One of Jesus’s disciples Peter respond’s in this way Matthew 14:28-32.

Could you say what your response would be?

Isn’t it common knowledge that storms come and they pass by but what would it leave in it’s wake? Would your eyes still be locked on PEACE?

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Through the ages of different ERAS, for generations that have lived before us, there’s never been a time in the face of such darkness, spiritual and natural chaos that word called PEACE has been craved by all mankind whether it’s admitted or not. It takes humility, trust, rest and surrender to embrace PEACE. So, what does peace of mind mean?

A feeling of being safe or protected installing a security system in your home will give greater peace of mind.

Merrian Webster.

Synonyms being serenity, tranquility of mind, composure, inner peace, calm, peacefulness.

I feel peace of mind as goes by my Truth (the ultimate Word of God) is being still in the face of adversity, is letting your heart not be troubled whilst riding a raging storm; is allowing your mind to rest in Christ; is

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knowing He’s with you every step of the way and isn’t about to drop your hand. My imaginative mind would have me walking on a cloud that is weightless yet comforting and enveloping my very being from within.

I had an incident happen to me through a grave mistake I had made whilst I was working for a medical organization back in 2010 that erupted into a storm overnight. My storm took me before the CEO of the company facing a disciplinary action through my peace was shaken, I needed the ground to open up all at once. I remember running home to get under my covers were I just wanted to be in the arms of My Saviour. No one absolutely no one could stop the disciplinary hearing which I had to go through nevertheless. I kept hearing whispers ‘trust me’ when my peace was shaken and droplets of fear would rob my mind of His peace in the midst of the storm. I had to approach this storm, go through and came out being held by my PEACE (The Holy Spirit).

After that incident, worse case scenario did not occur only because THE ONE WHO CALMED THE STORM stepped in without a shadow of a doubt! I

didn’t realize until then the very nature of God as a DELIVER was what I discovered and held unto that revelation. Needless to say, after the storm, I still had moments when my peace of mind was threatened as the outcome of the disciplinary hearing had to remain on file for 1yr where it would be revoked. He kept reaffirming His Truth to me, brought friends to walk with me until I finally go to the other side.

I am fully persuaded and convinced that absolutely nothing and no one can give peace and epitomize peace than JESUS. For His very presence oozes of PEACE and that’s a promise in the face of what each and everyone of us would consider THEIR STORM. Is there any other notion or way to be anchored that you have experienced in times past that outsmarts the ONE I CALL PEACE HIMSELF? If not, then I know that you and I are in Love with the same MAN. Selah

Leona Nwokeji is an evangelist at heart with an ever growing understanding and evolving of her ministerial gifts of the prophetic, discernment, hospitality and more that she is still discovering. She loves to partner with the Holy Spirit and sees The Lord call out the GOLD in people (His creation). She believes that she is called to the business and health spheres of influence.

She is a Chartered Physiotherapist professionally and is in the process of launching her new business venture (FUN KIDZ ROCK) out of the boat. In her spare time, she gets excited and has a passion for strumming up recipes, creating them for others to enjoy, converse to meet at her table, fondly called “THE POTTER’S table conversations. Leona Nwokeji is based in England, UK.

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WHOLENESS

Rejecting

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How facing my rejection issues made a huge impact in my life.

Rejecting rejection is the best thing you can do for yourself.

I

TION

By Sade Popoola

f you have ever been rejected in life, by a friend, someone you love that didn’t love you back, your parents or for a job you wanted so badly or by your husband or wife then you can relate with this article.

Growing up I was made fun of about my looks from telling me I had a big head to ugly legs to big eyes there was always something that people thought wasn’t right with me and unfortunately, I believed it all without question.

As I grew older I mastered the way to push it under the carpet by acting it out in being rebellious and causing trouble.

Then I grew older and it got worse when I got entangled in religion. Religion played a good part in escalating the problem until I woke up, took the ball by the horn and walked away from religion to getting into a meaningful relationship with my Maker, God. It was the relationship I had that opened my eyes to how my not facing the rejection issues, secretly holding on to it by suppressing it played a great part in living my best life.

By divine design I met a lady who opened my eyes to the issue of rejection and why not facing it and dealing with it for good was responsible for difficulties I was facing. Of course, the relationship I had with God made it easy to deal with and a whole lot easier too as any believer will know when you come to the understanding of who God is, His nature and His intent it brings everything into perspective and a whole lot easier on the heart, mind and emotions.

Rejection has nothing on me now and can’t anymore now there is nothing more liberating than that especially in the world we live in now where mental health plays on people’s minds and ruining lives.

Allow me to start with the obvious, 2020 has been Sade Popoola is an actress, producer, speaker and author of the book – Be the Total Woman You Are currently on Amazon.

Watch her short film Empty Deceit on YouTube. Sade is based in UK, England

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SPIRITUAL ETIQUETTE

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BEFORE YOU GIVE UP ON

Love TRY THIS!

by Dr. Sara-Jayne McLeod

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llow me to start with the obvious, 2020 has been eventful. The virus COVID 19 swept in and disrupted every single part of our lives. During this lockdown period which is partially still ongoing, many have felt the effects of social distancing.

Maybe you are one of those who find themselves without a partner in life at present, and you have noticed that you are single.

Your home has never felt so quiet without the humdrum routine of work and the excitement of your usual entertainment activities or social events.

You start to think about the future, but how exactly do you date during a pandemic?

There are three things I am going to share with you today that may inspire you to

"God has a way of blessing us with precisely what we need"

action. Simple actions that you can take to transform your singlehood experience. As the world’s first Singlehood Consultant, I run my coaching/matchmaking agency on the ethos that faith without works is useless. You require both a winning mindset and effective practical strategies to achieve your hearts desires. It is a positive thing to know exactly what you want.

However, if your ‘ideal’ requirements for a man and ‘perfect love story’ are too restrictive, you may miss out on potential prospects for marriage. There are definite non-negotiable, or deal-breakers, i.e. one wants children the other does not. That is a compatibility issue which cannot be negotiated or adapted. The rest height, age, job, the cultural background is preferential. Date outside your type! There

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I said it, and I am not taking it back. God has a way of blessing us with precisely what we need in a package we may not expect. Be open to a conversation with a man who may not be from the same cultural background you are.

So what if he is a few inches shorter than 6 foot. Some women have their 6- foot man and would instead that he was faithful or could keep a job. Height does not reflect the character or maturity of the man. On your ideal list, scrutinise the entries and ask yourself whether this is essential for the healthy relationship? One of the first things I ask my coaching clients is ‘who are you?’ The response I receive varies greatly, but more often than not, there is an awkward pause.

I am comfortable with silence, so I wait until they search for the right combinations of words to describe themselves without sounding arrogant.

Ladies, there should be no pause because you are simply brilliant. God sees us as a work-inprogress and a masterpiece at the same time. The most attractive asset you have as a single woman is confidence.

Whether you are short, tall, round, slim, dark, light, love all of you! Accept yourself flaws and all because you represent a unique beauty.

Your intriguing personality is unlike anyone else on planet earth and men can tell when you esteem yourself. There should be no such thing as ‘waiting on God’ in the passive sense. Life is for living, so make the most of every day that is gifted to you.

When you step outside your comfort zone, learn something new, go on an adventure, explore new hobbies, you become a more interesting person with lots of things to speak about to potentials.

Marriage is not a reward or a ‘step up’ in life.

You have to understand that you are living your best life right now. Do not see yourself as second best or not quite good enough because you are unmarried. You must know who you are, why you are and what you want in a spouse. A confident woman shines and does not dim her

light for anyone. We are very comfortable with the idea of investing in our health, fashion, haircare, education but ladies your love life needs attention too.

If you are not meeting new potentials or attracting the same men who you are not compatible with… change something. Change everything because faith without works is dead. One of the things you could try is signing up with a specialist life coach. A singlehood consultant is a coach that specialises in helping clients get the best out of their single season.

Traditionally, church culture leaves women to figure it out themselves, but there is a paradigm shift. Lockdown has changed everything! We are socially distancing from each other, but this does not mean you have to be alone. Get some support to help you make the most of your ‘now’ season.

It is beneficial to have someone who you can talk through your concerns, fears and worries about singleness.

Sometimes we can become so busy we forget the balance. A well-placed check-in call helps you maximise your socialising potential. We will not cancel 2020, but we will recognise the resilience this global pandemic has given us. Do not give up on any single one of your dreams. Even if you have loved and lost in the past, remember that greater is coming. Any present restrictive circumstances do not define you. My advice to my sisters is to pray effectively, prepare dutifully and position yourself strategically. Seize the opportunity afforded to you today to create a life that you love.

Pursue your purpose and projects that inspire passion in you. Build a life that you do not need rescuing from, but one that attracts a like-minded man who will only add to your joy. Singlehood is not meant to be endured but to be enjoyed. The ultimate breakthrough is to be content as a single woman yet proactive about finding love. Faith is an action, so what are you waiting for?

Dr Sara McLeod is a multi-skilled qualified clinician working in an administrative branch of Occupational Medicine. She is Singlehood Consultant dedicated to coaching singles through her Matchmaking agency called ‘Adam Meet Eve.’She began mentoring young women at the age of sixteen and was inspired to start a peer mentoring scheme called The Phoebe Network.

She quickly discovered that teaching, mentoring and empowerment is her life assignment. She has taught workshops/seminars across the UK on love, confidence building, sexual integrity and dating. She has been invited to speak on international platforms, conferences and coaches clients from all over the world. Her Monday morning prayer broadcast for singles draws a global audience each week. She is known to be unashamedly honest, relatable and a millennial influencer.

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Stepping Out

t e e r P with

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FEATURE INTERVIEW

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n a i r u K thy Preethy Kurian, engineer, pastor and prophet is a woman who is definitely living her purpose. I sat down with Preethy to find out how she balances life with the many hats she wears.

WEW: Who is Preethy Kurian?

I’m a daughter, a wife, a mother, I think there are seasons in your life when you are different people at different times, For example, with my daughter going through her studies, right now, I am more in the role of mother, and maybe when she’s older that may change too. So, I am a wife to not just a good husband, but I’m also a wife to My Lord and I think that makes me a better wife in this realm.

In the sense that one of the things that I realise is that this life I live, I live for Christ and so a lot of decisions of who I am today, is because of my identity as the Bride of Christ. The trith is that, the preparation and the sacrifice to be His Bride has made me who I am today. I am a friend, I think I’m a decent friend. I like making friends although I wish I had more time to spend with friends. I am a sister, I have brothers but I am friends with my brothers. By profession I am an engineer, I’m a director of a FinTech company called CrossPay. I am also the senior pastor of Capstone Church. If you ask most people who is Preethy Kurian, they will say she is probably quite happy.

WEW: You started with describing yourself as a daughter and most times women don’t start with that description, but for those who

don’t understand, can you please explain by what you mean you are a daughter?

I would like to speak from the spiritual aspect of being a daughter. John 1:12 says that to all who believed and received, He gave them power and the authority to be called children of God. My father was the fifth son of in a family of boys, meaning they didn’t have girls in the house until after my father was born; so the family really values daughters. I was born after 2 boys, so when I was born, I became the apple of my father’s life. I really experienced his love. My mum said when I was a child in my crib hearing my father’s car as he was returning from work, I would start giggling; my mum said I would constantly be giggling at the sound of his voice and the more I giggled, the more I would attract my dad, I was really the apple of my father’s eye. When I was about 11 years old, I lost my father, something went wrong in surgery he was undergoing. It was so devastating that I remember thinking, how would I live, because I really didn’t have a lot of relationships within other members of my family at the time; I had a lot of friends, but I couldn’t imagine life without him. I always knew there was God, but I didn’t know how to get to Him, He seemed distant and far and www.wewmagazine.com

26 | He seemed angry, About 10 years later, I’m at this Christian retreat and the preacher was teaching John 14:6, Jesus says I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one goes the Father except through Me, and when he said that I realise that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and at that moment, I said Jesus if you’re the Way the Truth…..I want You in my life and that was the moment I got Born Again. There was no salvation message, it was just that truth.

I came to Jesus because I wanted a father, I missed my father and for me I believed the Word.

Let me explain what I mean briefly…

In an Indian Society, when you lose your father, you lose your protection, love, status, you lose a lot and when I came to the Lord Jesus Christ, my greatest realisation is that I have a Good Father and that is our Father in Heaven, He is Good and I realised that He Cares; I realise that He is involved and I realise that He will do more than my earthly Father would ever do for me.

For example, in India we have arranged marriages. Usually in India a father would go out and search for a groom for his daughter, but because my own father had passed away, my mother had to take up the responsibility.

How I got married was through God the Father’s intervention through dreams and visions. My future mother in law had a dream that I was to be her daughter in law; Rakesh my husband had a dream about my brother and that’s how the proposal came. When I say I am a daughter, I don’t think I ever stopped being a daughter. I remember when Rakesh needed a breakthrough in his job, I prayed and said the God “would you be able to do something like this?” The next day Rakesh gets a phone call from across the world with a job breakthrough.

Then I went to Rakesh and said you know you have the best Father-in-law on earth, right? He was taken aback and didn’t know what to say as I just made him the son in law of God (laughs).

I never forget I’m a daughter and the privilege of being a daughter releases me to be a better mother, better wife and better friend.

My Father has everything required pertaining to life and whatever I need I go into the position of being a daughter. I’m not too old to be a daughter. As a daughter, I’ve realised when you know you are loved and favoured, you’re not fighting for position and that frees you to serve, because you’re a daughter”.

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WEW: What was your passion as a young woman growing up?

I didn’t grow up in a Christian family, my family was very secular. One of my passions is that I loved dancing. Though I love singing, I’m aware of my limitations, I couldn’t sing for nuts.

Another passion is that I love architecture and buildings. Most children would draw flowers, I drew houses. I also loved relationships with people. If I meet a person once, I never forget them in that sense, I always think I’m really close to them. In my head, once we become friends, we are always friends. I also love reading, anything and everything, encyclopaedias, books, novels. As a young woman growing up, my main passion I would say was dancing.

WEW: What inspired you to be an engineer?

I come from a family of professors, doctors, engineers. What drew me was probably the fact that my father was an engineer and I don’t think I ever thought of anything else. I loved the logic of engineering, I love building and constructing. Being a computer engineer, I love the logic of coding, I like that it makes sense to me. I even love engines, the old engines where you have the carbonators, where I can tell what’s going on. I love things that make things work.

WEW: When did you realise you are called to build others?

I was the fun kid in college; I wasn’t particularly known for my responsibility as such, but I was responsible in my own way, I wouldn’t have thought I would be building others.

When I came to the Lord, I was given Isaiah 60:1 -3 by this woman and she quoted it saying “arise, shine for the Glory of God is on you”, and I said in question “on me?” (laughs) and she was like yes on you! So, I felt responsible that if His Glory is on me. I had to start living in that manner. So, I started living in that manner. In those days, I’ve never seen women ministers. I’ve never seen women do much more than serve tea and coffee. I started doing all I could to help the church, I started cleaning the church building because I’m always went in there early to set up and clean up. When people come before service, they would talk to me. Soon I started to realise that people come early just to talk to me; I became a point of consolation and comfort for people and they were getting built up.

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We were a youth ministry that was reaching out in India. At the time, we saw nearly ten thousand people saved. I had started preaching and I would go from place to place with the team.

But in the year 2000, I was in a small bible study and the preacher said 2 Timothy 2:2 and as he read that scripture, I saw four generations together Paul, Timothy and those who Timothy had taught and who would now entrust to others. I saw four generations and they called it the principle of 2T2:2. That means when I am training somebody, I always train them to train others and as a maths person that is exponential growth. In 2002 we were living in Hong Kong and I sat with my husband Rakesh and said we need to have a personal vision, a professional vision and a spiritual vision. As we were praying, we realised that discipleship was very important, and this was the same scripture that came to us. We realised that we will not only evangelise but we would build up evangelisers who would build up other evangelisers. We realised we were called to build others to build others. For me, I like to WINTER 2020 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

build for a season, maybe build 3 people and enjoy that and let the 3 build another 3 while I build the next 3 people. It was a realisation and going back to my childhood passion in architecture navigated me to build. Today God speaks to me about the church through architecture. Even though I’m not an architect, I’m the Architect’s daughter.

WEW: When did you realise that your function was to walk in the Office of the Prophet?

Now you’re coming into my neck of the woods. Pro means before- so when you look at the English word of “prophet”, it means someone who speaks before.

My first prophetic vision was about when I was 8 or 9 years old, I and my friends, as young girls do was talking about marriage and envisioning my father walking me down the aisle and I heard the Lord say “no he won’t walk you down the aisle” even thought he voice wasn’t distressing, I somehow knew my father won’t be walking me down the aisle.

I kept wondering why I didn’t cry and it was because there as a peace, a knowledge that

| 29 stayed with me a 9 year old girl whose life was her father. When my father died when I was 11 years old, we were living in Saudi Arabia.

He went for surgery in the Philippines and something went wrong with the surgery. At the time, my mother was in the Philippines with my father, my eldest brother was in United Sates of America and my middle brother and I were in Saudi Arabia.

Three days before he died, I had a dream.

In the dream I was standing outside the cargo side of the airport in India and I on this side of the fence and my mother and elder brother are on the other side of the fence in the cargo area and they’ve got a huge black box between them. AsI looked at the box and I knew that my father was in the box. So I wake up and tell my friend. At that age, I didn’t know that the dead people’s bodies were transported in a black box. When I had this dream, they hadn’t told me how dire his condition was. They had informed the rest of my family and my elder brother had already left America and was travelling down to Philippines. So, three days later, when my father dies, my middle brother and I arrived in India before my mother and elder brother could leave the Philippines. And because they were bringing the body, they had to go into the cargo area to collect his last remains. Four days after the dream, I am standing on this side of the fence waiting for my brother and mother and they come out with this black box.

There are other times I’ve had a premonition,

as others would call it.

The prophet is a person and that is in your DNA and it comes out. The only office I knew growing up as a Christian and that is the office of the pastor, or a teacher and for a woman, a pastor’s wife. It has been an interesting journey. When I was evangelising I saw so many people come to the Lord, so I thought, I was an evangelist. One of my first awareness of the office of the prophet in the bible was when Moses was called and he didn’t want to speak and Aaron comes in and the Lord speaks to Moses and says see, I have made you like god to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron will be your prophet, so a prophet is someone who speaks for somebody else. The office of the prophet is a gift and it’s the person. The gift of prophecy is the gift from the Holy Spirit.

WEW: What do you think is the call to prophets in this dispensation of the Kingdom?

The prophet equips the church with the eyes to see. The prophet has to hear and have the authority to direct the church, the calling to the office is a life calling. It’s the Lord’s choosing; and it’s a function that you do. It takes years to develop, I don’t think you become a prophet over night; I think it’s a journey, whereas the gift of prophecy, is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the minute you get the gift, you open it, you receive it and you use it. You do get trained in the gift and the gift operates through the person using it. I also believe there are prophets who are to be in the workplace.

The Prophet guides people, if you’re looking at a building or a construction for instance, the prophet gives architecture, gives blueprint and they’re able to assist the general contractor – the Apostle, to lay the foundation for the building of the church.

WEW: How are the biblical prophets different from the present-day prophets?

The old testament prophets were a mouthpiece for God, they had a singular role in bringing God’s Word to the people; there were instructions, prophecies and it was from God to the people. In the new testament, relationships are introduced.

The Father introduces the Son and the Son introduces the Father and there’s this whole

"To build a successful church is to go to the Lord and get the blueprint from Him."

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30 | thing about relationships.

In the New Testament, God starts speaking to people personally. In the Old Testament, God wasn’t speaking to people personally. In the New Testament, with the advent of the Second Adam which Is Jesus Christ, the restoration of the relationship and the communication with God takes place. That’s why in the New Testament we are encouraged that all may prophecy. In Genesis 1 to 3 you find that God was speaking to His People and He was communicating, so you will see that the prophetic that comes to the New Testament is the confirmation of the relationship that has already spoken and this is already established. The prophetic ministry will always bring confirmation to the Word, it brings unity. In the Old Testament, prophets were constantly bringing the judgement of God, but in the New Testament, prophecy is for exhortation, to build and the reason for this is that the judgment is not there, through Jesus Christ who saved us from our judgment.

In the Old Testament, we are not asked to test the prophetic word, in the New Testament, the Lord says to test the prophetic word. In the New Testament, the prophetic is towards the redemption of the people and the unifying of the Body of Christ.

The prophetic in the New Testament, is always in line with Jesus and His Ministry. In the Old Testament, the prophets were stand alone, but in the New Testament, the prophetic is a Body that works together. Jesus Himself gave some to be Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Pastors and Evangelists and in 1st Corinthians 12, there are many members, but One Body so the prophetic belongs to a Body. In the Old Testament, a lot of the prophets where standing alone. The New Testament, prophet is incomplete without the added ministry of the apostle, the pastor, teacher and the evangelist.

No prophetic person in the New Testament has in the entire revelation of God. Why? Because we work well within a Body; that’s why you often find prophets attract prophets, there is a gathering, like prophetic teams. The higher we go in the Body of Christ, the more we are a servant, so we must treat ourselves with humility, teach humility, it’s a servant’s ministry.

WEW: What would you say are the ingredients to building a successful church?

I think the key is to define what a successful church looks like to you, because it would be very different to what another pastor defines

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as a successful church. For me, a successful church looks like successful people. I think that success is the sum total of everything God has given you, and the ability to use it. The sum total of the wealth God has given you and the ability to use it and enjoy it.

If someone in my church is an extremely talented worshipper but is in distress in an area of their life, rather than use them on church worship team immediately, I would rather build them up in their foundations before I use them. As a prophet, often I’m able to see in advance and with a godly balance, I try to be faithful to what God is showing me.

Sometimes, part of the building process is that if you have additions that are not legal, you may need to bring it down. It depends on what you decide is successful.

To build a successful church is to go to the Lord and get the blueprint from Him. Structure is important. A blueprint meant for a shopping centre cannot be used to build a house. When you’re in the foundation stages, you need to understand there will be changes as it grows, getting the right vision and purpose to what you’re doing. Think about what your unique calling is. What do you bring to the building?

I know that my unique calling is to carry the presence of the Lord and so worship is an ingredient of that. It is important to know your purpose and function when building. Prayer is also an ingredient. It’s the core of building the church; the prophetic flows from a heart of prayer.

I love the Fivefold ministry structure and that’s where we build from. I have learned that the pastoral structure of the church often limits growth. I prefer an apostolic and prophetic foundation for churches including people working together. People feel more useful when you’re offering opportunities for them. Everyone may not immediately get into their calling, but if you can get people working together and serving and you get into community. Part of building a church is being open to change. I enjoy the process and the journey to build successfully.

WEW: Do you think women’s ministry is relevant resource to what God is using to build and empower His daughters? Why? I believe the Bible, and the Bible says there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free person. In the book of Genesis, to Adam, the Lord says I will give a helper, right? Helper doesn’t mean servant; if you go to the original

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32 | text, it doesn’t mean servant, In Psalm 33 the main word Helper is used for God, so In Genesis 2 it’s equal partnership, one is made before the other. I also see that Eve was in the Garden and if she’s in the garden, she’s doing the work of the gardener. The Lord didn’t say Adam you work and Eve just sit there. It’s relevant because the word says so. Some scholars quote Paul saying women shall not speak and etc, but the same Paul calls Junia an apostle, so how do you become an apostle and not speak. Women are called co-workers like Phoebe, so how do you minister without speaking? Paul does not contradict himself. A good builder uses what material is in the land to build. In most churches, the majority of people are women.

If you have an army, 20% in war and 80% are making soup, you’re not going to win any war.

Besides, the burden on the 20% would be too much. So logically if you want the church to grow, you need to be able to use women to build. If you look at the book of Nehemiah, it was all the family that were building. I believe, God wants to use men, women and children.

If I stand up, my daughter has to fight less of a battle. Part of pioneering is going through tough ground, unchartered territory. I believe there is awakening to roles of women in the church.

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One thing, I tell women is don’t become hard hearted because that’s not who we are.

When I got saved, I had a vision of my daughter leading worship and women free in dancing and in that vision, I saw a move of God had set women free. I want to be part of that; I want to see mothers, daughters and sisters standing together and our fathers, brothers, and sons cheering us on. We need to realise that we are one whole family and we have to build each other up for that.

WEW: What is your advice to new generations of the prophetic people in this dispensation of the Kingdom?

I would say develop your relationship with God, take time out; find your keys of breakthrough because your forged in a battle, so learn to fight people spiritually not naturally.

My heart attuite is that I’m very open, I try not to be defensive, I guard my heart and don’t get offended. Remain humble, seek the Lord.

Don’t rush the journey but enjoy the journey with the Lord.

WEW: How can you be contacted?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ Preethy-Kurian-2015854911840234 Instagram: @preethy.kurian Capstone Church: www.capstone-church.org Email: info@capstone-church.org

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MAN GOD REJECTION BY

REJECTION BY

IS NOT

By Lisa Trujillo

T

oo many times we look to man for approval, acceptance, or validation.

We look to man for our self-worth and being good enough. This kind of thinking is dangerously wrong and out of alignment with our identity.

As a Christian, a believer, in our Lord and Savior we should come to know who we truly are and WHOSE, we truly are. This will set us free in so many areas of our lives. Once this revelation sinks in we will be released from looking to others to weigh our importance.

I have seen this in so many wonderful people, and sadly, myself, who have placed the value and importance on the opinions of man.

If the person whom we care for so many rejects us, we find ourselves at a place of insecurity, invaluable and possibly begin to think; we are a nothing. These thoughts are unhealthy and can be dangerous for our tomorrow.

Do not allow a man to defined you. Do not allow a man to tell you if you are or are not good enough. If someone has caused you to feel unwanted, unworthy, or unloved then it could be you have given that person too much control of who you are and not WHOSE you are.

It most certainly is a beautiful thing when we find love in the natural, it feels up the

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SPIRITUAL ETIQUETTE

fleshy part of you and makes you feel whole and complete, totally alive, but what happens, what happens when that feeling fades, from either that person changes their minds or you do? What if there was a child whom you raised and gave them all that you had to give, and they grow up and decide you were the worst parent ever? Then what? We are left broken just a shell of whom we once were and completely undone.

That should never be the case. Learn WHOSE you are. THE GREAT I AM....that is whose you are.

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"Someone

needs what you have to offer."

Why? Why are we now a broken soul?

Because we gave man too much control of

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ourselves and not God. The part that should be Gods we gave to man.

We ARE made in His image, the word says...we are called to be Christ like....

What does that mean? What does that look like?

As we study, they would...the biggest clue on what these two things look like Galatians 5:22; Fruits of the Spirit.

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Selfcontrol.

These are the things Jesus was made up of and He walked it out all day, every day.

He never changed...He said what He meant and meant what He said, and He told us to do the same, let you Yes be Yes, and your No be No. No wavering...think before you speak so your words, thoughts and opinions remain consistent.

Rejection is such an ugly experience, and so many of us have been impacted by it, because we do not know our Daddy God, who will never leave us nor forsake us. When we get a good hold of our identity of whose we are, I promise that we will never ever feel the pain of rejection again because our Father in Heaven loves His children.

There are so many different scriptures that tell you God is with us, He will never leave us.

One of Jesus' name is Immanuel...God us

with us Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

We all have been rejected by man. HAVE BEEN should be the key words...past tense.... we should let go the spirit of rejection and put on ourselves; the new creation that God created us to be.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!

Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

God has so much for us we only need to receive it. We do not have to do anything but receive it, just like you are being offered a gift you open your hand and receive it. Receive this gift from God. He loves you so.

Lisa L. Trujillo is a believer in Jesus Christ, a published author, Writer and Blogger. Lisa operates in the office of a prophet and the gift of healing and deliverance. She is a mentor, mother of 3 children and is based in Texas, USA.

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TAKING TIME TO

Worship

by Lisa Trujillo

W

orship, , what a word. What a feeling it produces not only an internal feeling that taps into our emotions, but also taps into our Spiritual being and ministers to our soul.

Worship is not just reserved for Sunday morning Church before the Pastor delivers the Sermon of the week. No, worship is for anytime of day or week and it's not just a song.

Worship can be a written word to God, a praise to God, a dance to God, anything to give honor and glory and it is a weapon of warfare.

I admit, I use to think worship was just singing songs about God and that was it....boy was I wrong...it is so much more.

There are so many benefits from worshipping.

Let's review a few couple.

Medicine for the soul. It can bring you completely from a place of darkness to a place of light when you allow the words to pour over your spirit.

How does that work, you ask?

As we worship, we release our inhabitants and become one with the words that are praising God. We are freeing our minds of day to day life and becoming one with the Spirit of God, feeling His love engulf us to the point of being

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totally filled with the Spirit.

It moves things from within and brings hope alive.

Peace, it brings peace of mind, body, soul.

The peace that surpasses all understanding is easily obtained by removing yourself from the natural and into the spiritual. It is like going to our true home in Heaven. We begin to feel the stillness of what is waiting for us.

The Lord says, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven", so when we worship we are calling Heaven down to earth.

The Lord truly inhabitants the praises of His people so when we worship Him whether in song, dance or in praise it causes God to move.

My favorite thing that worship does is sends the enemy running in the opposite direction...how?

When we open our mouths and utter a song of praise to God in the midst of a spiritual attack it lets the enemy know whose we are and who we trust and we will not be moved. We will not hide under the blankets or go shrink into a corner until the attack of whatever it is stops....NO we are going to

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able to get a fiery dart through because as you worship, your shield of faith is being raised. As you worship, your helmet of salvation is secured on your head and the negative thoughts can't penetrate through to your mind because its begin filled with positivity. When you worship your belt of truth is tight around your waist for the words you speak are true. When you worship, the breastplate of righteousness protects you from offense, letting the lies get into your heart.

When you worship your feet are shod with peace and when you worship your swinging your sword speaking the word of God. We must stay on the offense, always being ready for the enemy's attacks, and trust me, they will come.

This weapon of worship is an easy one to pull out and use at anytime. We all have a favorite song or two that we know a few lines to sing... we can all lift our hands or tap our feet or move some part of our body. Don't think you can't worship even if its in your mind you can war in the spirit.

Praise God for He will never leave you. He left us with many tools, use this one often.

Lisa L. Trujillo is a believer in Jesus Christ, a published author, Writer and Blogger. Lisa operates in the office of a prophet and the gift of healing and deliverance. She is a mentor, mother of 3 children and is based in Texas, USA.

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SPIRITUAL ETIQUETTE

A HEART FOR THE

WIDOWS

By Ifunanya M. Okonkwo

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“Who cares for the tears of the helpless”.

T

he burden of this project kept coming to my heart as a burning and persistent desire to reach out to the poor and oppressed widows, the destitute and the orphans in the society, to help the Lord and put smiles on their faces. I kept musing over it and pondering continuously why it has to be me. I kept asking the Lord, why he has left the rich and the more privilege people to chose me to accomplish this herculean task.

This burden was persistent until the Lord started speaking to me audibly in my dreams. Most times, I will hear the Lord call me by my name “Ifunanyachukwu, call the widows, the orphans and less privileged children, organize empowerment programs for them, put food on their tables and wipe their tears for me”.

Initially, I was confused and it was very hard for me to understand but when I went to the Lord continually in personal prayer devotions, my eyes were opened a little on the burden the Lord has and the initial steps to take. From time to time, the Lord will open my eyes in a revelation to see widows, orphans and destitute in deep tears yearning for food and clothing.

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42 | Most of the times, during worship sessions in church the Lord will open my eyes to see this category of people in their numbers struggling to eat cooked jellof rice displayed in a tray pan, with bare hands. These visions and burdens made me cry out to the Lord in the helpless desperation like Mary in the Bible and said lord, how can this be?

Where are the resources to execute this project?

As I continued in this argument, I slept one night and the Lord put a question to me and said “My daughter, what are you doing for the Lord?”

I replied that I am a Pastor’s wife and a Women Leader. The same voice knocked out my argument and said, “No that is not enough”. I persisted and said “Ok I am also a Youth Teacher and a Pulpit Coordinator”. The picture of these areas appeared before me and the voice said, “But you are not there. My daughter raise up a memorial for me and I the Lord will uplift you and announce you”. When I woke up, I continued still to ponder in my heart.

At a time, I made up my mind to share the vision with my husband. I was skeptical at first but surprised that I could get my husband’s approval.

He encouraged me with Zech. 4:6, 10 saying, “If the Lord has asked you to do something for Him, then begin it in your own small way and His hands will do the rest”.

So, we decided to join forces to stake our little resources into God’s hands – meager incomes, food items, and items of clothing.

That is how we started empowerment programmes for widows etc. the first year, and on and on, and since then, the Lord is proving Himself faithful by raising helpers, supporters even sponsor and co-partners from year to year.

Before the inaugural program we launched in 2010, I earnestly sought the face of God for the theme of the program and the Lord answered me in my dreams and said, “who cares for the tears of the helpless”.

It started with about 40 widows in the church I attend in Nigeria and progressed to the communities in and around the local government. Today, I am beginning to witness the fulfillment of the backup promises I received from the Lord during the commissioning stage where He promised, “I will announce you”.

Presently, I feel happy, fulfilled and accomplished though challenges abound but I trust God to bring me to that for which He has called me into this vision.

Pastor Mrs Ifunanya M. Okonkwo is the Founder and President of Showers Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization originated in the heart of the Eastern part of Nigeria.

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44 |

THE

Wise&Foolish The

By Jacqueline Ani

A

new era is now upon us!

Since the hit of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020, I write from a very different perspective in that whether I though I was living biblical times before, I certainly know now that we are living biblical times.

When you read the parables of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like in the book according to the gospel of Matthew, it is very evident that the Kingdom of Heaven is here now and as such, it’s important to apply the teachings Jesus directs us through these parables.

Jesus speaks to us in parables for a reason and then explains it that to us it is given the ability to understand the mysteries so that they can apply it and see success whilst here on earth (live in His Wisdom). The bible also says that to others who may not believe, understanding of these parables will be lacking and as such will live as the blind, though they see naturally, they don’t walk in the wisdom of God, but in the wisdom of this world and you know that the wisdom of this world is foolishness don’t you?

In this period of a new era, we need the wisdom of God to guide us, not the wisdom

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of the world which is foolishness, but God’s divine wisdom that brings light, revelation and direction and without this we will rely of the world’s wisdom.

The story of the Ten Virgins (5 Wise & 5 Foolish) is a replica of those carrying and living in the wisdom of God verses those who operate in the wisdom of the world which is foolishness. This is not reflective of the believer and non-believer, but to all believers those who call themselves Christians or Kingdom minded people.

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went to [a]meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish [thoughtless, silly, and careless], and five were wise [far-sighted, practical, and sensible]. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take any [extra] oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delayed, they all began to nod off, and

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46 | they fell asleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! The bridegroom [is coming]! Go out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins got up and put their own lamps in order [trimmed the wicks and added oil and lit them]. 8 But the foolish virgins said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, ‘No, otherwise there will not be enough for us and for you, too; go instead to the dealers and buy oil for yourselves.’ 10 But while they were going away to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut and locked.

11 Later the others also came, and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open [the door] for us.’ 12 But He replied, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I do not know you [we have no relationship].’ Mathew 25:1-12 The Five Wise Virgins knew the era they were in, they were alert and kept their lamps oiled. What does this mean? They made sure their relationship with God grew, they lived His Principles and kept their hearts pure no matter what was going in their world. They did not distract from the will of God and where ready when He came.

The Five Foolish Virgins, were sleeping, they were not laying with eyes closed in practical sleep, but they were spiritually asleep they didn’t know they had turned an era and such times had changed, they continued with their comforts and lifestyle even though things had changed, they didn’t have time to develop their relationship with God so they were not in anticipation of the Coming of Jesus.

The wise and foolish virgins depict many of us in this new era, they are all believers who’ve been in the system of change and transformation, the system of change I am talking about is

the Kingdom of Heaven. Once you’re saved, you become a citizen of the Kingdom and transformation happens when you submit to the process that makes you look like Christ.

Not everyone changes though and some take longer than others, some in the Kingdom have hard hearts so the word falls on stony hearts or by the way side because they’re lovers of the cares of the world; and some obey and grow and reap either 30, 60 or 100 fold depending on their understanding and application of what they’ve learnt.

This is where the foolish virgins missed the bridegroom, though they were in the same Kingdom, with the wise virgins and had the same training and process, they didn’t understand and intimately know their Bridegroom and that He could appear any minute, they were lovers of this world and so never prepared with oily lamps and they missed Him! This could happen to you and me, but we must use this parable to prepare and get ourselves ready, because He is coming and soon.

Some Christians will be ready for the Second Coming of Christ and some will be living life forgetting that Christ is coming, enraptured by the cares of the world and living in a state of anger or unforgiveness towards others.

The wise and the foolish are all being prepared for the Second Coming but its those who get it, who understand the times we’re in like the Sons of Issachar and who are keeping their lamps oiled that are ready to receive Him when He comes.

Which one are you and how can you be relevant in the Kingdom timing and not the world’s timing?

Jacqueline Ani is a life coach, transformational leader and social entrepreneur, she is an author and has written 3 books with another 2 yet to be published. She is the founder of Jacqueline Ani International and mentors’ others to launch their idea; www. jacquelineaniinternational.org. She is the Managing Director of Ani Recruitment and Training Consultancy and the pioneer of online group The Mentoring Group for International Women on Facebook. You can connect to her via email, Instagram or simply emailing her at info@ jacquelineaniinternational.org

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Fitness W for the Soul By Rhoderline Kyeme

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hen I reflect on my school years I remember always being on the larger side, most probably due to overindulgence of mother’s amazing Ghanaian home-cooking. I developed a passion in my teens for sport and found an aptitude for athletics, even making the cut for our school’s athletic team to compete across our borough.

Despite my enthusiasm for sport, I had an ongoing battle with my weight and would often refer to myself as “big boned” probably as a means to excuse my size and weight. The start of university life sparked my desire to take control and do something about my weight, so I joined a well-known diet club.

Through sheer determination (and if I am honest frustration of being a plus size) I lost three stones and have ever since managed to keep it off. That was twenty odd years ago!

Losing the weight was the easiest part, keeping

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"I became truly

comfortable in my own skin."

the weight off or “maintenance” as some call it, has been the greatest challenge requiring consistency and self-discipline. For many years I was fixated with my weight and size, it felt as though my identity was centred on this and nothing else.

The dawn of my thirties saw a more confident me, I became truly comfortable in my own skin and didn’t allow external influences to determine my identity. This also coincided with the rebirth of my spiritual life, becoming more connected to my faith and my relationship with God. I no longer cared how others might have seen me nor allowed negative self-perception a stronghold, but rather focused on how I felt inwardly and how I knew God saw me. The following scripture from Psalm 139:14 comes to mind as I write this: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.

Life begins at forty they say, a few years ago one of my pals suggested that given my passion and dedication to keeping fit, why not study and gain a qualification in fitness. Weirdly though a real passion, I had never seen myself as someone that could influence others to lead a fit and active lifestyle nor did I feel I epitomized that physique.

However, being a real academic, I enrolled on a course. It was challenging, but I was driven.

In the summer of 2016, I qualified as a Level 3 Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. This passion has now become a part-time occupation I love and now see as more of a vocation. I teach group classes and train one-one. What I love most is the noticeable change in people post class/session. There’s an exuberance and energy that is priceless and heart-warming.

In 2019, I decided to study further and qualified as a Nutrition Specialist, which provides a more holistic approach to my own personal fitness

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50 | journey as well as the service I provide clients.

I still keep busy with my 9-5 as a consultant, though have achieved a good work-life balance by splitting my time equally between my day job and my PT work.

For me, the essence of fitness is that it must be holistic; it is all-encompassing and includes health of the mind, body, and soul. Therefore, equal time and energy should be invested in every one of these areas to make for a wholesome human being.

As a woman I know too well how our hormones play such a significant role in our perception of self and can distort our self-image. Our identity can often be wrapped up in the superficial, and yet there is so much more to us.

The ever-growing popularity of social media has much to answer for in this area of “health & fitness” and I write this in quotes as I feel that many people are saturating their minds and forming beliefs which may not be 100% accurate.

I have learned over the years not to rely solely on the obvious measuring systems (e.g. the dreaded bathroom scales). Example case: over the past three months I have increased the level of weight training I do and yet the scales have stayed the same. However, many people have commented on how trim I look, and my clothes fit better. The answer? Increase in muscle mass and reduction in body fat. This flies in the face of what my twenty-something-year-old self would have believed.

My advice to anyone reading this article who might be struggling with “weight loss” is to

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think about varying your training regime, nutrition, and adopting good sleeping habits, for these are all contributing factors to how our bodies look and feel. Spend time daily to meditate, show appreciation and gratitude to your body for all that it enables you to do, and then set about your day.

What does the next decade look like for this forty something female fitness professional?

Well as we get older our fitness goals should look different, my focus will be on increased mobility and flexibility training. I hope to compliment my gym-based work with alternative exercise such as Pilates and perhaps take up swimming or cycling. I’ll continue to teach and train for as long as my body will allow me. And perhaps study some more, after all we’re never too old to learn something new!

Management Consulting and Project Management over the past twenty plus years gave me such breadth and depth of experience in the commercial arena. A profession which provided opportunities to work across varied and interesting industries sectors such as Aerospace, Banking, Pharmaceuticals and Agrochemicals to name but a few. Over and above the work itself are the people I have had opportunity to work with globally, exposing me to diverse cultures and experiences, some who have become close friends. Work often entails travel and on each trip, and I ensure to pack my essential items of sports kit and trainers!

Fitness and well-being now permeate every sphere of my life.

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m I the only one finding that so-called “work tools” such as iPads for school are being used for leisure – sometimes even whilst in class? On this basis, I now try to collect the one device I reasonably can at the end of the school day and return it in time for the next day’s class. This, though, does leave one in the position of having to ensure you return the device charged and in time for class registration at 7:50am. I managed to do so successfully yesterday morning but also had the (mis?) fortune of hearing my child’s name being mentioned twice for not having completed his homework. It does appear however that one teacher’s claim that he had not completed 10 out of 12 pieces of homework was a gross exaggeration (why do teachers do this sometimes?) but the fact still remained that there were outstanding items of work.

Fast forward to the last class for the day of another of my children (I hope you have noticed how I try hard not to name and shame them even though anyone who knows my children can readily guess J) and I just got this nagging feeling that she may not have completed her tasks in class. Saying “nagging feeling” kind of

PLEASE DON'T JUDGE ME!

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By Sanyade Okoli

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makes me sound more intuitive than I really am. The fact that, despite my protestations, she seemed to have been role-playing during a good part of the session was a bit of a give-away.

For the sake of clarity, this was an ICT class and not drama. So, at the end of the class I did what any self-respecting child hates; Mama pops her face into video view and speaks to the teacher.

It turned out I was right; she hadn’t submitted any of the classwork for the day. But wait, it gets worse… I then go on to check her list of outstanding items for all subjects and she had a list as long as your arm. Do you remember when your parent would call your older sibling when you had done something wrong to “talk to you”? I did just that!

Having sought “senior sibling intervention”, I went on (like so many women do) to briefly ponder about my failings as a mother :-). Come, I myself, what was I looking at as the list was growing?! You would think that after being a mother for 17 years with four children in tow I would have a good handle on this. The honest truth is, I don’t! I think there are a few reasons for this.

First things first; let me not deceive you; I have been struggling with helping out with school work for a little while now. It is precisely because I have been doing homework for so long that I now struggle – it’s been at least 14 years with a good few more years to go. As I have joked with a few close friends, I feel like I

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“If you trust Me and follow Me, I will show you what to do with your children.”

should be “post-homework”. I am tired of “doing homework”. I am tired of getting back home from work and having to try and remember to “check homework”. You see, at the risk of being scoffed at for stating the obvious, I am not as young as I was when my eldest was 7. This has several implications – good and bad. Let’s face the “bads” squarely first. (1) I have less energy (yes…. I know I should exercise), (2) I have more things on my mind (including more kids, of course) so I don’t always remember, and (3) my attention span seems to be regressing.

The good thing however is that (1) I am more relaxed (which of course you could say is part

| 55 of the problem :-)) and (2) I am more rooted in my faith so I worry less. Bottom line? I just need more grace in this area.

Secondly, is it just me who is often riddled with angst when doing school work with their kids (especially secondary school entrance exam preparations)? Surely, I am not alone on this! As I work with them and they seem to not be quickly grasping certain concepts my mind would get flooded with thoughts of, “Oh God, are they not smart?! Does this mean they wouldn’t get into a good university?! Does this mean that they are doomed to work in menial jobs all their adult life?! Will they get good spouses at this rate?!”. Talk about projecting a mountain onto a molehill situation! My tension rises and I pass it on to the poor eight-yearold who is learning to make inferences from a comprehension passage in which they have zero interest. Of course, he/she picks up your tension and your angst and the whole exercise quickly degenerates into goodness knows what. I kid you not, I eventually learnt that I needed to hold a “short prayer meeting” with my children before attempting to do any school work with them that would last longer than 5 minutes. I think that’s definitely one of the few occasions they would gladly pray with Mama as they themselves know that it is in everyone’s interest. Again, more grace Lord; more grace!

Last but not least, this is a new experience for us all. Getting to grips with effective remote working is difficult. Getting to grips with being an effective “Class Assistant” to effective remote learners is difficult. Trying to do all at the same time…. well, let’s just say that it takes some getting used to. I am pleased to report however that it is (kinda) getting easier. Having accepted the fact that my seven-year-old will not “get herself to class” on time without supervision, I have now set an alarm for myself for 5 minutes before each class. The next step is for me to learn not to ignore the alarms. The penny also dropped yesterday afternoon that I could simply access her classroom on my laptop to keep an eye on things. I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out that strategy but at least slowly but surely, I am learning. You guessed it!

More grace!

So, I mentioned to you earlier that I was more relaxed now than when, say, my eldest was seven. There are a few reasons for this.

Over time I started to recall that as much as I now find it easy to understand a Year 4

comprehension passage (I wonder why?), I was actually quite bad at it when I was at school. I remember being very perplexed as to how some of the children seemed to get almost all, even 100%, of the answers right. In fact, even when the teachers would go through the corrections I would wonder how they arrived at those answers.

I also remembered that “The Great Mama” even went as far as to fail some of her exams in her day. Dare I confess, the last geography exam I ever took (Form 3), I got 10%. When I reviewed my script I quickly realised that my teacher had incorrectly marked some of my answers wrong.

As you can well imagine, I rushed over to him to have my paper re-marked. That earned me the unscholarly revised score of 16%. To add to my pain and shame, the teacher went on to draw a face in the figure 6. How churlish! J Yet, here I was, with all my inglorious academic moments, seemingly being sufficiently intelligent, got a university degree and even got decent jobs. So it slowly dawned on me that failure to immediately grasp times tables, or any other academic concept for that matter, would not immediately doom my children to becoming “failures in life”.

Also, I started to recognise that my children were very different and unique individuals – not only were they different from each other, they were actually different from me (duhhh!). As a result, I tried to flow with who they were instead of trying to mould them into my own picture of who I thought they should be. I have come to accept them for what they are – part spirited, part cheeky, part naughty, and totally loveable.

Not least because not only did I not make them (well…. You know what I mean ;-)), we have dedicated each one of them to their Creator. Our responsibility therefore is to nurture them to be the best their first Father has made them to be.

Most importantly, however, is that I try to remember something the Lord whispered to my heart about 10 years ago. I can remember it as if it was yesterday. We had a friend visiting and she had been “whipping me up” by telling me about all the fantastic things she and her friends were doing with their children to ensure they excelled academically. She seemed positively appalled that none of my children had “lesson teachers”.

After a somewhat bruising conversation, I went into another room and sat on a chair with a sigh, questioning if and how I was getting it wrong (hmmm, I clearly wasn’t even a Tiger Mum 10 years ago either. Lol!). Then came the quiet whisper to my heart, “If you trust Me and follow Me, I will

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56 | show you what to do with your children.”

That one line has been an anchor to me so many times. And (I am so loving breaking the rules our teachers laboriously taught us about not starting sentences with “But” and “And”.

For the sake of completeness, I will try and sneak in a sentence starting with “Because” before I end :-D) God has truly shown Himself as faithful over the years. I haven’t always done what He has told me to, when He has told me to do it (Lord have mercy on me) but He has stayed true to His promise – a nudge here, a whisper there, guiding me along this awesome and truly rewarding mothering journey.

Whenever I am tempted to do things “because that’s what our sort do”, He reminds me, in one way or the other, whose blueprint we are meant to be following as we raise His children.

I pray to God that in my somewhat “chilled

approach” or periodic disobedience (or delayed obedience) I don’t make any costly mistakes with the children. I am learning to trust, however, that even if I did, their original Father is ready, willing and able to redress my failings – In His own way and In His own time. After all, they belong to Him. I am also in the truly blessed position of not having to walk this road alone, Papa too is “on it!”

Postscript: Spare a thought for teachers who now have to teach classes knowing that there may be almost as many parents “in the class” as children. Because (I promised…:-)) in their shoes, I would find it most disconcerting to have all these parents, whether visible or not, in my class. Do you think they think we are judging them? Just wondering….

Sanyade Okoli is the Chief Executive Officer of Alpha African Advisory Limited, a financial advisory business based in Lagos, Nigeria. She has over 25 years of financial advisory; private equity; corporate, commercial and management finance; and auditing experience. Sanyade is in the inner healing ministry and recently started an inspirational blog, www.justasiam.ng. She is particularly passionate about helping women to fulfil their potential. Sanyade is married with four children.

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LIFESTYLE

WOMEN in

BUSINES desire to spend more time with my daughter as well as serve my gift to the community. I honestly started the journey afraid, but did it anyway because the vision was bigger than the fear. With 4years experience in a renowned events company under my belt, personal savings and passion for Nature’s Line by WAMZ Kollections all things beautiful, I set up the company. I am actively running Inspired by the natural the business and working and relaxed colors of Kenya’s towards building it as a legacy rich and vast culture, WAMZ for my family.

Kollections presents a unique line of ponchos and gift items.

Instagram: #lillasignatureevents Facebook: Lilla Signature Events WAMZ Kollections Email: lilian@lilassignature.

Mobile telephone number + events; info@lilasignature.

254732609498 events Facebook: WAMZ Kollections +254 0726 979 489

Rose Njogu

Lilian Nyagaki

Dorcas Maina-Omari Akisir Studios

Lilla Signature Events

Lilla Signature Events is an Event Planning, Design and Styling company based in Nairobi, Kenya. It opened its doors in May 2019 out of a deep

My name is Dorcas MainaOmari. I am 52 years old. I am married and a mother of two young adults.

I hold a B.Ed. (Arts),

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Kenyatta University, 1990. After graduation I was employed as a teacher by the Teachers Service Commission and worked for some 10 years before venturing out of the teaching profession.

I currently work as a Finance and Administration Manager at Max & Partners Limited, a civil engineering consultancy firm in Nairobi.

For most of my adult life, neckpieces and earrings have been part of my daily attire.

I like them unique and often will buy beads and assemble the neckpieces, or purchase a neckpiece, pull it apart and create a new look with the same beads or in a mix with others.

As a result of my long passionate love affair with handmade beaded jewelry, I founded Akisir Studios at the beginning of 2019.

Akisir is a word from the Turkana language that means ‘to adorn’ or to ‘beautify’. I adopted this word while working with Turkana women in Lodwar, as part of Hawa Artists, a women’s group that promotes talented women artists. I was inspired by the colorful adornments worn by the Turkana people.

About Akisir Studios At Akisir “Crafting Your Curosity is our Mission”. All our pieces are handcrafted in Kenya

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SS| KENYA

by Kenyan artisans.

Our metal pieces are made primarily of recycled brass and aluminum. We also use recycled glass and sustainably collected pieces of wood.

Recycled metals not only reduce the carbon footprint, but they also require much less energy to produce and process compared to the production of new/fresh raw materials.

The same applies for the use of recycled glass.

Recycling creates a chain of economic activities and provides livelihoods along the production chain, right from the scrap metal collectors to the artisans.

Other natural materials used include assorted stones and sea shells, horns, and bones from non endangered species.

We have great ideas for stunning pieces that celebrate our culture and heritage and distinguish us from the rest.

Visit us at our website: www.akisir.com and view the full range of our finished products.

Email: dwashera@gmail.com or info@akisir.com

Catherine Odhiambo Senior Socio-economist and Communication Strategist Private Consultant in Infrastructure (roads & commercial) Development, and Tech-preneur

I always say building a business based on being a Socioeconomist and communication strategist has been a journey of chasing transformation verses personal choice. My stint in business started 5 years ago, my aim back then was to earn a living as a private consultant but have the autonomy to develop an organization that would be a solution towards positively impacting the African story, especially in providing opportunities for a growing jobless population. Full-time employment was a prison in fulfilling the vision.

I grew up wanting to be part of influencing Africa’s socioeconomic development. So I studied for it. I have a B.A in

Sociology & Communication from University of Nairobi, An M.A in Development Studies from the University of East Anglia-UK and Completing a PHD in Culture, Potential & Sustainable Development.

However my career intentions involved working for INGOs or doing policy development work with African Governments.

The mind shift into business happened while I was working as a lecturer of Development Studies in one of Kenya’s well known institutions and every now and then students would say, “I do not think I will get a job after I graduate”. Yet there was so much talent and ingenuity.

As I kept rolling out all the various development concepts I had studied and practiced; constantly reviewing the state of unemployment not only in Kenya but most of Africa; I kept hearing that inner voice ask. : “ Who will develop sustainable economic industries to harness all this young & budding potential?”.

Spacious Place Consulting was then actualized and the rest is currently unfolding.

As a private consultant, I have mainly worked in the infrastructure development Industry. It has been by design because I believe that if we can develop our trade & transport

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60 | infrastructure we can create sustainable socio-economic opportunities for majority of our populations. We can build Africa’s future employable brands. I have been humbled to work in several of Kenya’s vision 2030 flagship projects.

My work involves; providing advisory support & undertaking feasibility research for GOK’s vision 2030 projects, Developing & conducting communication strategies for implementing these projects, carrying out social & environmental impact studies for these projects, drawing up Resettlement Actions Plans, Gender Mainstreaming & Child Protection Plans during project implementation and Poverty Eradication Plans and coordinating stakeholder engagements for these projects between different levels, grass roots, local government and national government.

As a Socio-economist and communication strategist, my purpose is to facilitate development without harm to people and environment and to assist people to harness project opportunities to grow socioeconomically.

In the 5 years of private consulting I have experienced both many highs and lows. Some of the challenges have included struggling to be taken seriously in an industry that is male-

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dominated. There have been many meetings where I have had to rely on my male counterparts to deliver messages or my ideas so that it can be well received.

Another major challenge has been experiencing competition from male counterparts in this space, this has meant limited cash flow to offer opportunities to young people. My solution to that as I look into the next 5 years at Spacious Place Ltd, is shifting our focus.

As we globally shift into the digital economy era Spacious Place Consulting is currently adapting and is now focused in developing the NEW ROADS for socio-economic opportunities.

Spacious Place LTD has morphed into a consultancy that is steadily becoming a digital socio-economic hub. The mission is to develop new socioeconomic opportunities through technology with the aim of keeping businesses sustainable in Africa . We pride ourselves with being able to develop unique sustainability strategies for our clients and networking them into viable e-commerce eco-systems.

As we transition towards mainly digital we are currently focused on 3 main products; Spacious Digital Solutions: Through our digital solutions we aim to assist companies’ digital migration by facilitating human resource systems via digital work from home schedules, task

management, and digitization of all business processes. The spacious digital solutions aim at creating sustainable digital human resource systems, and other business systems in the digital era.

Spacious E-commerce Eco Systems: Through our young and innovative tech-team we are developing digital ecosystems to help businesses launch their brands and remain relevant, visible and profitable in the digital economy. At Spacious Place we are building brand targeted e-commerce infrastructure that will enable any business from any sector to thrive.

Spacious Planet (The weaving project): In our aim to build sustainable commercial infrastructure that also protects the planet. We have started a cottage based industry that primarily works with vulnerable women (families where women are the sole bread winners) to sustain Kenya’s shopping industry. Kenya banned the use of plastic bags for shopping in 2017.

The SSB is a project started with the aim of empowering women in the lake region. Shopping is something synonymous with women and a basket represents; the woman’s pantry. SSB’s moto is buy a shopping basket and empower a families’ bread basket. Within the lake region women used to weave baskets using re-purposed material e.g grass that grows in swampy areas. Our aim is to develop a commercial industry by using sustainable material, crafted by vulnerable women in groups of 5-10 women to keep the shopping industry sustainable and allow these women to put food on the table.

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KINGDOM MAN

By Sonia Morris

Jeffrey Daniel WINTER 2020 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

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SPECIAL MEN'S FEATURE

WHY I LOVE WHAT I DO

Including: Feature interview with Jeffrey Daniel Plus: Fredrick Leonard, Adrian Trujillo, Alex Flores, Kenneth Nwokeji, Maurice Elrod www.wewmagazine.com

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FEATURE INTERVIEW

JEFFREY DANIEL W

hen you think of the Backslide Dance or the Moonwalk (renamed by Michael Jackson), or Soul Train Dancer or even the song Make that Move by Shalamar, what comes to your mind? It could either be Jeffrey Daniel, Jody Watley or Howard Hewett.

Well, I had an opportunity to meet up with one of the members of the Shalamar Trio, Mr Jeffrey Daniel.

My interview with Mr Daniel about Why I Love What I Do, created such a great conversation, instead of an interview and I must say this man is having great fun with his life even now.

I found him in Nigeria, settled and established and is a great source of contribution to the society at large. Watching some of his recent videos shows, he hasn’t lost his touch and can still make anyone get up to dance to the song “Make that Move Right Now Baby”.

So, sit back and read what makes Mr Jeffrey Daniel the man he is today and why after years of great success, he still loves doing what he does.

WEW: Growing up as a young man, what made you steer towards dancing?

JD: What started me dancing was my immediate environment, my mother and my two older sisters, because that’s what we did at home. My sisters were very good dancers as well. In fact, my oldest sister (Janice) was the

Yell Queen cheerleader in high school and she was very good, but my middle sister (Joyce) we were a lot closer, she and I would win all the dance competition in Jr high school. No one could beat us. Once we won a dance contest, the whole school was there and we competed against other people and we won, then they put on a victory song for us to dance to and it was a slow record and I’m like “huh”! This is my sister, I can’t slow dance with her. They didn’t know we were brother and sister (laughs).

My sister Joyce was my first dance partner, before I started dancing with Jody Watley. I also danced with my sister on Soul Train for a little while.

WEW: Were those dances ever caught on Soul Train JD: Of course, it must have been, but I don’t think we were on the radar back then, because I was just coming on the show, so I wouldn’t know if I was getting that notoriety yet, but then later as I started becoming more and more prevalent on the show I became more of a prominent dancer and then I took over (joke, laughs) No, I didn’t.

I started dancing with Jody Watley because a couple times a good record would come on and I would look for Joyce, but she was off messing around and so I started dancing with Jody Watley.

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66 | WEW: When did the dance competitions with Jody Watley start?

JD: Jody and I became one of the most prominent dance couples on the show. And then we used to team up as the Fantastic Four with Tyrone Procter, Sharon Hill, Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel.

Then we formed a group called the Outrageous Waack Dancers because Tyrone Procter used to be the pioneer of this Waacking style. I’m the one who named it Waacking. Now it’s very popular and its called Waacking (as he shows me some moves with his arms and upper body to demonstrate what it looks like).

Don Cornelius started the record company Soul Train Records; he put together a group called the Soul Train Gang. I auditioned for it; Tyrone auditioned for it; I just knew we were going to be in it but, they didn’t pick either one of us, we were devastated. That went on for a couple of years or so then one of the members dropped out of the group, so they put me in to replace that person, but it was just for a tour they were doing.

After the tour was over, I went back home, I was staying with Jody and her mum at the time. I’ve known Jody since she was 12 years old, we met in the church, her mother was singing in the adult choir, I’m singing in the youth choir and Jody always sat in the congregation, she never sang.

So Don Cornelius calls me and says “Jeffrey, that Soul Train Gang thing is not going to pan out, but I want to build another group around you” and they already had the record Uptown Festival, so he asked me if I know a girl who can sing and I was thinking about El DeBarge’s cousin in Grand Rapids , Michigan who could sing like crazy, I was calling for her but she was pregnant, so she couldn’t join. So I started training Jody, lo and behold, Jody had a voice, but she never tested it before and so Shalamar was the impetus for Jody to bring her voice out. She still would have been in the group because her and I were such a popular couple on the show, but they would have had to bring in another girl to the group. Dick Griffey heard Jody sing for him, so he didn’t need another girl on the group.

WEW: What has inspired you to stay in entertainment?

JD: First of all, I grew up in Los Angeles, which is Hollywood, so entertainment is all around me.

My mother was a classical pianist, she wasn’t famous, but she was very accomplished as a child protégé and so after she had my sisters and I, she started a youth choir in the projects in LA. We lived in the Aliso Village Projects, so WINTER 2020 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

she formed the Aliso Village Youth Choir and so music and dance was always in my home and I was the youngest, so I did not know I was supposed to grow up and get a regular job (laughs). I continued dancing, everything that I am comes from my mother. My passion for life, my compassion for people, my talent, my musical talent all of this is from my mother; and I give homage to my mother.

In fact, I am glad that this is a woman’s magazine because I cannot exalt women enough.

They are the progenitor of life, women raised me, in fact, women have raised every man that is walking the planet, regardless of what path they’ve taken along the way. If you go back to ancient Egypt and African, it took women to crown kings. We don’t know our history, we’ve been so separated from who we really are and what we are.

Who was the first to invent the counting system?

Who is the first to start counting? Nature tells you it’s women, why? They have to keep up with their monthly cycle. Men had no reason to, they didn’t have that part of society except to know when we were gathering or whatever we were hunting.

Women started agriculture.

WEW: How would you describe the creative side of what you do as purposeful?

JD: Given my age, you will have to understand that when I was young, there was no promise, there was nothing saying “you can make it man, you’re going to be big”. Back then stars where stars; James Brown was James Brown, Stevie Wonder was Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross was Diana Ross, who am I? We didn’t have this technology where we could make a demo tape on our computer, we didn’t have MTV, we didn’t have videos. All these things had not come yet, so I wasn’t walking around saying “I’m going to be big”, I just loved it more than anything else. I was studying architecture in high school and that’s when I found Soul Train and that changed my life. I saw Don Campbell doing a dance called locking, everybody else was doing Rock Steady (as he sways his arms and upper body side to side) doing all these dances and that, this guy walked, stopped, gave himself five #, hunched his shoulders and I thought Oh my God, Don Campbell changed my life. He sadly just passed away earlier this year.

They named a street corner after him, Don Campbell Lock Square.

Now I am going to school, I’m in the tenth grade of high school and I’m banging on the lockers and hunching and jumping up; I’m going to the pencil sharpener doing the robot (as he demonstrates the robot dance) and the teacher says Jeffrey Daniel sit

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down (laughs).

Soul Train changed my life. If my mother wanted to go to the grocery store on a Saturday afternoon, whilst Soul Train is on, remember back in those days we didn’t talk back to our mothers, I would go “but mum Soul Train is on”; she would say “Jeffrey, we’re going”! I would cry all the way to the supermarket if I missed Soul Train.

Soul Train was that important to me because they were doing what I always did since I was a kid, dancing, and black people looked good, because then in the early 70’s when we saw Blacks on TV who played drug dealers or pushers, being chased by the police or a lot of buffoonery type of comedy. You rarely saw Blacks looking good with integrity on TV back then. Of course, now we understand it was by design. When Soul Train came on , you saw young, good looking black kids, afros, dressing nice, dancing cool, where else on earth would I have wanted to have been? I gravitated towards Soul Train to be on Soul Train, to the point where I had to sneak into the night club Mavericks Flat on Crenshaw Boulevard. I heard that Don Campbell and the Soul Train Dancers were going there, I was too young at 17 years old, you had to be 18. I would sneak in there just to watch these guys dance all night. So, when I went to school no one could touch me because I was learning from the best.

They weren’t teaching me directly, but I was picking it up. We didn’t have videos, so I had to remember everything I saw. I was learning from all of them, taking all their different styles and compiling it up into one and I put my stamp on it, which made me one of the heaviest weight dancers on the west coast.

WEW: Back to the question about being purposeful, do you now see it was your purpose to do this, or would you have done everything else if given the chance?

JD: The only other thing I could have imagined doing was to become an architectural drafter because I was always fascinated with designs and I always believed I would design my home one day, buildings or cars. That’s the only other thing I would have dreamt of being, other than music because all though I played a lot of different instruments and I was so undisciplined because I was playing by ear and the teacher didn’t realise it until they asked me to play a piece by myself and I couldn’t and they were all amazed because I was actually playing by ear and they couldn’t understand how I was in the orchestra and I WINTER 2020 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

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couldn’t read, but it was always in me, so as you said purpose., I think so because part of that purpose being fulfilled is that you and I sitting together here because that talent brought me to where I am today, took me around the world and back how many times, exposed me to things I never would have been exposed to, I mean I’ve lived in the UK, I’ve lived in Japan over the past 20 something years before I came to Nigeria, now I am living in Nigeria.

This kid raised on welfare by a single mother in the Aliso Village projects, would I be here without that talent.

Now it is becoming evident to me that the talent can be used in another purpose, because now I am using it for another purpose to try and bring people together, to inspire our people to remember who and what we are because we are the Guardians of the Galaxy, as in the movie.

WEW: How has music evolved?

JD: The answer to this question is a double-edged sword and I’ll tell you why. As a musician and coming up in a era where we had to manually do the hand claps all the way through the song with no drum machine, we had to manually go in and play the guitars and the keyboards, bringing in an orchestra to do the string sections and the horn sections, I saw that whole process being done and I’m so blessed to have grown up in that error and now people are sitting in their rooms on the computer copying and pasting, so there are some amazing things that have happened in hip hop and one of those amazing things is that these black children took the English Language, some of these kids never even graduated from high school, some of them never saw college, but they took the English Language and did something more profound with it since Shakespeare, they made an art form out of the English Language, even if they are using their own vernacular, but the point is they took the English Language and turned it into an art form and they became millionaires, they couldn’t do it in corporate America, but they took this art form and did something with it that you could never imagine.

Now when the drug dealers got into the rap game that’s what brought in gangster rap and from that part it became very vulgar.

If you look at Shalamar album covers, the Jacksons, Kool and the Gang, we’re smiling, we’re having fun, now here comes rap and it became very frosty. In the late 70’s to 80’s if someone didn’t know anybody, they would come to the club and we would introduce them to everybody, I would go to New York and I was welcomed. However, when rap came it became a

sense of ownership. They became territorial! I don’t blame all rappers and all of hip hop, but that’s what took over hip hop! Hip hop became the division of the black community and a disrespect to our women. I’m looking at these videos, who gets up in the morning and has 6 women in bed and bouncing their behinds, who walks to the pool and has 12 women around their swimming pool half naked? I mean that doesn’t even happen in real life.

WEW: Do you think it’s because most of the young black children have come from an environment of anger?

JD: We can’t speak for everybody, some of these guys did grow up with their mother on drugs or parents in jail or grew up in a foster home, as they said they had to sell drugs on the streets, these may be the back stories for some of these guys, but you can’t put that on everybody. Some of them had a choice. In my case I never had a father at home, I was raised by a single mother, but I had mentors, James Brown, the Last Poets, I was drawn to positive images, I could have easily have gone to the local drug dealer and had him be my role model, I knew the gangsters in my neighbourhood, I knew the drug dealers in my neighbourhood, I had to otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived. I had a choice to follow that or something else, now for what reason they didn’t make the right choice, I cannot judge them. Maybe some of them didn’t have another way out, but it couldn’t have been that for everybody.

WEW: What made you settle in Nigeria?

JD: Going back to role models, in Los Angeles, my mother always said we should be proud to be African, my mother always told us we were African, the consciousness was there, so when you’re at an impressionable age, you have this imagination, I always had this dream that one day I would come out to` Africa at least to work or live there at some point in my life and that was implanted since childhood.

When I came here 1982 to do a concert and it was the biggest concert from America organised by Ben Bruce. When I got off the aeroplane in 1982, when I got down and walked outside I kissed the ground. I believed I had come home.

Maybe if I did the genealogy test, I would have discovered I’ve come from Angola, I might have come from Nigeria, I might have come from Togo, or even Ghana, but its West Africa. The point is this is our home continent. We came to perform for a wedding in Port Harcourt in 2010 , after that we went to London and did a couple of shows and instead of flying back to Japan where I was based, I bought my www.wewmagazine.com

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own ticket to go back to Nigeria. I didn’t have a schedule, no one was sponsoring me, I got on the plane and came back. So you see me taking a leap of faith and taking the initiative just to come back one thing led to another.

WEW: How is what you love to do helping you in Nigeria?

JD: I became a judge on Nigerian Idol. I never liked reality shows and I didn’t want to be on the show, but my manager advised that if I want to be associated with Nigeria, the young people don’t know me, the older people know Shalamar, Jeffrey Daniel and Michael Jackson, but the young people won’t know me and I agreed and got on Nigerian Idol and that was the greatest thing I could have done because now the whole society knows me.

I was known as the compassionate judge, because I don’t speak badly of any of the acts; I’m not a Simon Cowell, rather the opposite, I’m the nice judge, because I know what it’s like to be in front of people who are judging you; who are trying to observe your mistakes, compliment your greatness, and I understand the pressure they’re under. I stayed behind, helped produce some of the artists. Now I am trying to create a social media platform.

It’s an African based platform and then to connect to the rest of the world. The African population is about 1.2billion people on the continent, we developed our own indigenous social media platform. At the moment it’s at the funding stage, right at the beginning stage of the project, but everything came on lockdown, so I was stuck in Lagos, while all the domestic planes were not flying so I couldn’t get to Abuja, nothing could happen from that point on. Which was sad for me because during the lockdown, all internet businesses went up by 400%.

place on the planet for people to go to unless you have a reason to go there, there’s no tourism red carpet rolled out, so why am I here?

People think I am here because I am making a load of money, but they don’t understand that tours I do with Shalamar is so that I can live here in Nigeria because I want to be amongst my family, I have adopted families. I don’t have friends in Nigeria, I have family in Nigeria; Nigerians are some of the most hospitable people on the planet. You know who the Igbos are by their food, you know who the Yoruba’s are by their clothing and food they eat, culture is so visible here and I love that because I feel I am in a culture that I missed growing up in America. Here the culture is still intact and you can become part of that culture.

WEW – So you’re like fulfilling a purpose by living in Nigeria, this is something you’ve dreamt about and it’s here for you now! I see that you’re peaceful happy; JD: Nigeria has challenges, but look at the rest of the world, are our challenges greater than America, what about the UK are they greater? Everyone has challenges. I am living amongst people who you love and who love you. I grew up in a western society, I was born and raised there and there’s no unity, unless you live in a black community in America, but living in Nigeria its like the biggest black community on the planet (laughter)

"As far as my

career has gone, I can look back and feel very proud."

WEW: What’s the name of the platform?

JD: Dbongo. I’ve just secured the rights and the names and the name was inspired from the bongo talking drums. The way Africans communicated, one village sending a message to another village with the drums. Also, just me Jeffrey Daniel of Shalamar being in Nigeria, as you know it’s not the most desired destination WINTER 2020 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

WEW: How are you dealing with the electricity and the blackouts?

JD: After you’re here for a while it becomes the norm, we have UPS, when the lights go off, the ups kicks into gear, until the generator kicks on. It’s part of the norm, you don’t want to accept it; it is what it is until things change. Nigerians are some of the most resilient people on the planet, regardless to what level they’re at, they can survive, because it’s a society that is dependent on each other, there are some ethnic group issues, but its not as silly as that black and white issue.

WEW: If there is one thing you would change in loving what you do, what would it be and why?

JD: I’ve been blessed that everything I have done has been overwhelmingly successful, from dancing on Soul Train, to being a member of Shalamar who sold over 30million albums, to work with

| 71 Michael Jackson, to be his dance trainer, teacher and choreographer, I choreographed the Bad and Smooth Criminal videos, and to have worked with Michael over a 20 year period, I’m in a movie with Paul McCartney of the Beatles, I’m in Starlight Express, the Live Musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the Queen came on stage and shook our hands and I shook the Queen of England’s hand, so being a judge in Nigerian Idol to having a music production company in Japan and working with Japanese artists and being part of that culture.

The only thing I would have done differently was, my mentor Dick Griffey gave us a platform to perform, however, I wished he could have supported us to be more financially buoyant and astute. If I had that mentoring, I would have used my money a little more wisely. As far as my career has gone, I can look back and feel very proud ninety-nine percent of the things I have done in my career and I’ve been so blessed because its not predicated by just singing and dancing, I hosted the UK Soul Train back in 1985, I became a choreographer, a director, I did musicals, hosted a Radio Program in Japan. I’ve been blessed to have done so many things, so those are the things I’m proud of. The only thing I can think of is that I could have been a little smarter with my money.

When the Hip Hop guys came in, they came for the money, they had talent, they could create with words, but was everyone truly a star quality, did they have the IT factor?

When we came in the 70's we didn’t know about contracts, lawyers, accountants and everybody was getting ripped off and Dick Griffey wasn’t helping us at all and that’s when I left the group. At some point I started understanding the game and felt I wasn’t going to do things for him, if it wasn’t going to work for me, I wasn’t asking for anything extra nor making demands, I was asking for the total of what I was making, not some of it, not part of it and that was what broke up Shalamar. I was the one who left the group and stayed in the UK, I was doing a movie with Paul McCartney and I was enquiring back home as to how things were developing and when I saw

that it wasn’t going favourable for us, I didn’t go back home. I spent about 11 years in United Kingdom in St John’s Wood. I didn’t only leave Shalamar, I left America. I didn’t know London, I called a realtor and he showed me some places, I didn’t know Maida Vale or St John’s Wood until I moved there.

WEW: What projects are you working on right now?

JD: I’ve released a new solo recording called “Make Love Great Again”. The inspiration of my song was two major issues: One was Donald Trump saying Make America Great Again, that sounds a bit selfserving because we are living in a global community and we’re all connected, so should America be great and Africa not or Haiti not; should America be great and England not be great? For you to be great, everybody else should be what? But yet America is comprised of all these people. In leu of what’s going on in society with all this racism and inequality and people not satisfied with this and we need Brexit and this and that and trade wars with China etc; if we make love great again then we can all be great; because if we have love in our society, in our hearts and in our systems, then we would deal with everybody more equally and compassionately, we will deal with each other with more empathy, we can make love great again, because love is the answer. As corny as it sounds, love is the answer. If you’re going into something with greed or prejudice it might work for a while, but eventually it would have some conflict and confrontations because of the way it was put together. Love begets Love. I was introduced to two of you and Frank’s love, your beautiful daughters. Make Love Great Again is a solution and a call for us to reset. Now that we are on reset, the virus has everyone on pause and we have a chance to come back and be better.

I also have another song coming out called Take it Back to the World, let’s act like humans again.

WEWM: How can people follow your work?

JD: YouTube on Facebook Jeffrey Daniel or Jeffrey Daniel of Shalamar and Twitter which I am just beginning to use; and Jeffreydaniel.com website.

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Frederick

Leonard Actor

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FEATURE INTERVIEW

Mr Frederick Leonard is a leading Nollywood Actor who has reflected his gift and talent in every genre of movies you can imagine, from romance to religion, you can’t deny that he’s professional and articulate suave presentation shows he loves what he does not only as an actor but a producer and director. This is why Frederick Leonard loves doing what he does……

WEW: What inspired your move into acting?

FL: First, I would say the need to express the God given gift in me, the need for the expression of talent. Growing up, I have always come across as a child who could sing a beat, who could dramatize, who could do a few things art related and I just new that I had to express all of the talent burning inside of me.

In getting into it properly is what has continued to keep me in the business are moral lessons that comes with every story that we tell as film makers and how that can reshape the world or shape the world and how that can also reconstruct the minds of people, people love to watch movies and listen to music and I would like to think we can use that as an opportunity to change the world, to communicate our messages through the songs we write and the stories we tell; so that in itself inspires me. We live in a world that is dealing with so many issues, politically, socially and even in our families, so it is very important that we use the arts as one of the corrective measures to make our world a better place.

Therefore being an actor and producer is what I do to add my quota to make my world a better place through arts and that’s what inspires me.

WEW: What are some of the challenges you’ve experienced as an actor and how have you overcome them?

FL: I haven’t really experienced and I do not wish to experience hard knocks. However, in the beginning, it’s always normal that you have to be patient, go through the process, learn the job, perfect your art and hone your craft. Try to break into mainstream and be accepted by the viewing audience, build a fan base, consistency and the patience to follow through. Sometimes, it’s not easy at all I have to tell you; but it’s not peculiar to Nollywood, it’s global as far as the arts is concerned.

WEW: How does your present career in acting inspire you to fulfil your life’s purpose?

FL: I answered this in the first question, but I will also add that art has also helped me to contribute to remoulding the world that I see myself in through story telling. A lot of people grew up in different circumstances and it is imperative that you do not use force and violence sometimes to correct certain ills in our society; correction can be done through art regardless of your product of environment, you find that majority of people are drawn to the arts and we can introduce positive agendas and encourage the minds of the people.

WEW: Why Do You Love What You Do? FL: I can be different people at different times and also I feel that filmmaking is like ministration.

WEW: If you didn’t become an actor, what would you have been and why?

FL: I would have been a pilot, I love to fly, (laughs) I can actually fly from my living room to my bedroom, that’s how much I love to fly.

So, in answer to your question, I would have been a pilot, yeah.

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ADRIAN

Trujillo Senior Intel Analyst, Army

How would you describe the creative part of what you do?

I would describe my creative part of what I do as a thinker. I am always thinking about the outcome, what is the best shot to take to get the desired result. I am an avid tennis player, so when I play tennis I am always watching where my opponent is and aim to hit the ball where they are not, creative in where I place the ball. The same is true in my job, I have to see the layout and create a strategic battle plan that would shift my opponent to go one way while we go the other. Always out think your opponent to stay one step ahead. Study them and see their weak spots to gain a foot up on them to take the win.

What inspires your creativity to do what you love to do?

My inspiration for being creative in my job is I love being a Soldier. Being able to sit behind a desk and see the world before me knowing that I have a hand in keeping our country safe and my family. When there is an assignment on the table no matter how big or

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small, I look at the effects of what can happen if I am not best that day and it gives me the ump, I need to remember that the job I do is not about me and having an off day. I pledged to serve and protect this country and that is what inspires me, my promise. My family is also my responsibility when I am at work, so you can say I take my family to work for my inspiration to be creative in helping to keep our country safe.

How would you describe the creative part of what you do as purposeful?

Being an analyst, it is crucial to be creative because you must have the forethought of planning and creating for the what if's, especially in the combat field. As we strategize, we have to do it on purpose with purpose, for other lives are at stake and some lives have to be at stake (the enemy). So, with every creative plan thought out, creating an expected outcome comes from a point of purpose. When we are state side and on assignment such as Hurricane Harvey and now the COVID19, I am creative in a way that making sure every

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person that I could see that needs help to be brought to safety. Before we hit the ground in flood water we had to be strategic in seeing the layout and knowing who is deployed where and stay in contact and ensuring everyone is bought to safety, this resulted in lives being saved. With the COVID 19. At this time, the main strategic and creative approach is being safe, following the guidelines set before us to remain healthy to be able to respond when called up to serve and to be sure my Soldiers are following the same guidelines in and out of uniform for at the end of the day, you are always a Soldier.

Why do you love what you do?

I have been in the military for over 20 years. It has been my career choice and it's what I do and what I love. Why do I love being in the military? It allows me to serve and protect my country, but most importantly, protecting my family. I have been on tours overseas fighting the enemy and knowing anything can happen, but with all that I face, I still love what I do.... protect and serve. Like any job, career, profession, not everyone is cut out for it. The military is no different, you truly have to be called to serve. The call is a desire that is within you, that nothing else can fulfill. Some people join the military as a way to escape a

situation; temporarily, or obtain an education or to travel and when their enlistment is over, they move on. But, when there is a call to serve there is no moving on, you re-enlist and you continue to serve. I joined the Air Force and did my enlisted years and got out. I was out for a period of time living the life as a civilian, but realized that being a Soldier is what I do, it’s who I am and what I love, so I re-enlisted and this time joined the Army.

I am a third generation Military Soldier following my grandfather, uncle and my mother who served 23 years in the Air Force.

If there is one thing you would change in your creativity to do what you love to do better what would it be and why?

As analyst, my job is very detailed oriented and exact. I must look at the assignment and be strategic, as well, as creative. Using the tools that are provided to me, to plan direct, maneuver and having the new technology available would aide in putting together strategic pathways. The main thing I would change in my creativity while doing my job is feeling limited.... putting limits on myself, unnecessarily. I tend to overthink the process as I am strategizing and then not follow through with what I was thinking. I know that if I did not overthink it and go with my first instinct there would be no limitations, creativity becomes endless. Like the placement of the winning tennis shot.

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Alex

flores Lead Researcher – Telecommunications

How would you describe the creative part of what you do?

This is a great question, “creativity” was never something I associated with my profession, as I used to perceive things in a much more black and white manner. The very nature of my role/job heavily depends on analytical and methodical reasoning (“left brain”), yet in the past several years, I have realized that my role and profession is very creative. In my role, I’m responsible for generating data driven intelligence that will help executives make educated decisions to further the business and better serve our customers. Creativity is what I use every day to help answer very challenging business problems. Usually it takes a moment of reflection to realize and appreciate the creative elements that, ultimately, lead to the development of intelligence.

What inspires your creativity to do what you love to do?

The challenge! When executives look to me to help them answer their business

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challenges, that becomes my inspiration.

Having a new challenge in front of me inspires me to use my creativity to figure out the best way to tackle the challenge.

How would you describe the creative part of what you do as purposeful?

Another great question and one that I have always struggled with. I will start by recognizing that the creativity involved in solving tough business challenges is rewarding to me, and I relish in the challenge whether I succeed or fail. As of recent, I am starting to appreciate the creative part of what I do and am starting to consider it purposeful in the sense that I can leverage it in other areas of my life outside of business.

However, in my role my skillset is beneficial to the business and usually for all consumers as well. Yet I struggled with the “greater purpose” of my role or the creative aspects of my role.

I’ve come to realize that my internal struggle with this is not in relation to the creativity or the profession itself, but rather it is a result of the current use of that skillset. I wonder

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FEATURE INTERVIEW

if using my skill set (and the creative ways I can solve challenges) for more “purposeful” things, such as help to understand, explain and solve the social inequalities that many people experience every day all over the world.

As I write this, I wonder if part of that more purposeful desire truly stems from a longing to understand and help myself come to terms and have some form of internal peace with the unbelievable injustices experienced by many.

Why do you love what you do?

Solving difficult challenges is very rewarding for me and definitely the reason why I love what I do in my profession.

If there is one thing you would change in your creativity to do what you love to do better what would it be and why?

Two brains think better than one, and that’s sometimes difficult to accept when you are tackling an issue or tapping into your creative self to solve something. However, this is something I have learned over the years and it always yields best results. This is the one area I would look to “change” or “enhance” within the creative process of solving challenges, having others involved to help elevate my own thinking and results.

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KENNETH

Nwokeji

Vice President, Digital Solutions, Epsilon

What Do You Do? I’m a Vice President for technology for digital solutions at Epsilon, which is a consulting company specialising in marketing technology consulting.

It’s marketing consulting in the digital space, especially when you see what’s happening in the COVID environment and a lot of companies driving towards more digital. My Group is called Digital Solutions or DX and we focus on helping clients understand what digital can do for them, how they can orchestrate and tailor their conversations and how they can use the right channels to communicate with the right audience. I think of my job as having three facets to it; 1. Consulting and advisory; 2. Delivery and execution and 3. Helping grow the revenue of the company.

How did you get into the industry and field of work?

I was trained more as a technologist as opposed to a developer and grew into software engineering. During issues with the

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2008 housing bubble I moved from financial services and technology development to managerial roles in the marketing and agency space. I remember having a conversation with a mentor back in the day and I knew I wanted something in consulting but I wasn’t certain.

He told me to put together a matrix outlining my skills, strengths, and passions and listing out the key attributes of what I saw in myself in those areas. After doing the exercise we both analysed it and what struck out was that I was more geared towards consulting and advisory.

I agreed with his insight, and started applying to some consulting companies. During that period, I also set up my own company and cultivated some relationships. When I finally joined a consulting company, I found it wasn’t too difficult, I had a natural ability in the area and I found I enjoyed it.

The enjoyable part I found is taking what your client is trying to understand, building a narrative (story telling) crafting it in a way that focuses on the client’s needs. This is the difference to whether you do a good job and whether the client understands what the solution your proposing is. Approaching the

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narrative by explaining it to them using the lowest common denominator in the audience is the best way to get them to understand what the narrative is. I enjoy that a lot. I think it comes natural not story telling in a way that you’re only trying to blow smoke or trying to sell them what I want. The focus is really about having the client understand how you can break it down such that the client can understand it accurately. I feel that comes across when I talk to a client where that empathy comes across when they connect with me and I them. This is what’s enjoyable to really grow in. So that’s how I found myself in this growing in this field.

Would you say that using a mentor helped you understand your narrative in direction?

What I’ve found out is when I present to my clients I connect effectively. The clients are very appreciative to the point that I am constantly being sought after by different groups to present to their clients. If I trace back to where the skills came from, it didn’t come because I was professionally trained to do it.

When I trace it back, it started when I would attend our Church’s nursing home ministries.

During these visits, I would occasionally be asked to lead and present to the residents and this continued over a couple of years. I realised my style of presenting came from my time of presenting in nursing home ministries, preaching, talking with them and encouraging them. The reason why this is key is because you’re not presenting a deck or slides or convincing them about a solution, rather we were there to keep them company and to make them feel connected to a bigger Christian body, I used that thinking when I talk to clients and my goal isn’t to sell to them or convey a sellable idea, my goal is connect them to what I already know is true, and how to partner with them to help them understand what they need.

The mentor’s input from the past I viewed as

stepping stones to where I have come to now.

Even now, I know God is still training me for something down the road and I look at it as what is shaping me to be effective for where I am. Right now I feel like I love what I do and enjoy it, but in 5 years from now, God may call me to do something else and I hope and pray that whatever skill I’m getting here will be used for that next turnaround. It could be something different from consulting, but everything I use now will be applicable to that time of change when it comes. I believe the mentor was put in place at the right time when I needed that guidance the most. Everything is a learning process. Functionally, where I am has been enjoyable and I see success in the output - I put that down to not always focusing on making it about me. Rather, for every presentation I do I always pray that I just do a good job.

How do you describe the creative part of what you do?

It’s fun! What I’ve found is the ideas just come and I am not ashamed about sharing them. I allow my imagination to be free to flow wherever it takes the conversation. My wife quotes a scripture “people will wait upon your wisdom.” I have found out that when I take myself out of the equation, which means I don’t need to be smart and I don’t need to be relevant and just say what’s coming in my mind, I find that I have fun and its enjoyable.

I build upon the idea and get excited and that excitement is what people connect with.

The process is fun and building upon that is quite infectious. For me it about being open to making yourself vulnerable, you don’t care about looking silly, you just want to engage that’s what I enjoy about the creative process of what I do. If I take myself out of the picture it’s easier, if I put myself in it, then I put pressure on myself and that means pressure to deliver.

If I’m being honest, these ideas don’t come because I’m smart, but because God has given them to me, and as such they’re His ideas and I’m just a vessel, so why do I need to feel scared

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or why do I feel I have to form it or chisel it or craft it? Just bring it out, they will form on their own, that’s what ideas are for?

Would you say what you do is purposeful? How is it purposeful?

I think so. After my presentations, my peers approach me and appreciate the delivery because they have never heard it presented in that way. Most times I also forget what I say in my presentations. When I present, I don’t have a lot of speaker notes, I don’t do a lot of rehearsals in fact I try not to over prepare because I go in with a freshness, excited to see what God will do. Yes, there are things I need to rehearse; but there’s an excitement of what will happen, what will God do here and that is impactful and purposeful for me. It shouldn’t matter whether it is a million-dollar deal or a thousand dollar deal, because I use the same

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mindset of allowing God use me as His Vessel.

What advice would you give to the next generation?

Be ready to put in the hard work and don’t define what you can do, let whatever scenario you are in define what you can do.

The problem is a lot of the younger generation coming in are not ready to put in the hard work and hard work is what really drives thinking big. They also expect that what they will do has been defined for them already. As a consultant you have to be ready to adapt, you have to be ready to change and changing means that you might work in the marketing and digital space and sometimes move into something that has nothing to do with pure technology as in my case. Though God crafted me into what I do now, I had to put in the hard work and I couldn’t define dimensions around them.

In consulting if you put in the time and hard work, it’s easy to progress pretty quickly.

Work hard and be adaptable.

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mAURICE

ELROD

Film Writer/Director

How would you describe the creative part of what you do? *The best way to describe the creative part of what I do is simple yet complex. It usually starts with a vision or just a bunch of ideas based on something I read or saw or a conversation that I had with someone.

Experience is the best factor to draw from during the creative process. Another key component is having the flexibility to pivot when something isn't working the way in which you hoped for in the beginning. The ability to try new things also plays a crucial role in the creative process.

What inspires your creativity to do what you love to do?

My inspiration is deeply rooted in leaving behind a legacy. I know it sounds clichĂŠ but I truly desire for my great great grandchildren to one day view a piece of my work and feel proud or inspired. I'm also present in the now and have watched my children's creativity run through their own veins. I believe my wife and I have in some shape, form or fashion

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influenced our children to tap into their own creative spirits. Our son is into creating music, using his voice to inspire. Our oldest daughter is an artist, using her hands to create. Our youngest daughter is an entertainer with a vast imagination. It's truly inspiring to watch them flourish in their own creative lanes.

How would you describe the creative part of what you do as purposeful?

I'm extremely passionate about helping others and inspiring someone else that may have been on the fence to actually do it! I believe that our strongest asset is our mind and how we think/problem solve. Often times we are too afraid to take that leap of faith to do what our heart desires. Fear is a real thing and it has 2 meanings: Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. I believe in facing my fears and attacking them head on. It's not always easy and is definitely a challenge but it's worth it in the long run. So for me, I hope that with every failure I've endured or every victory I’ve celebrated, someone watching was inspired either way to go all the way and let the chips fall...

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Why do you love what you do?

I love the freedom of expression and pushing the limits. Going through the process is extremely rewarding. The concept of ideation to execution is something that drives me daily. I'm a firm believer in seeking out to do what I said I would do. When I was probably 8 or 9 years old, my mom told me that once you find something you love, you would never consider it work! That quote stuck with me all throughout my youth and into adulthood.

creativity to do what you love to do better what would it be and why?

I once believed that my creativity was never focused and that I was trying to do too many things at once but I realized over the years that's just how I'm wired. I embrace it now and understand that it's okay to have multiple concepts going on at once and not being forced to believe what I was told years ago about being singular focused on one task at a time. That said, I wouldn't change anything, I am who I am...

If there is one thing you would change in your

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