“The journey to Brazil was stressful and drained my strength. On arrival I was asked if I am a Nigerian I told them yes. I was told to step aside, after much waiting I gave them my passport which they confirmed was good. I was asked several questions which I answered. I was asked about my occupation and I told them I am a pastor. They requested my Brazilian hosts’ phone number, and I gave them three numbers. They went to their office to make the call to confirm if I was truly invited, with five policemen surrounding me.
After they came out, I was told that the number did not go through. I was told that I will be going back to Nigeria that night after having arrived in Brazil for about 20 minutes. This was after an 18-hour flight from Nigeria. I would have to go back to Istanbul on an 11-hour flight, and then back to Nigeria on a 7-hour flight.
They took me and an Indian man who had a fake passport to where we boarded a flight to Istanbul that night. On reaching Istanbul after checking my documents, they felt for me but unfortunately the flight to Nigeria would be in two days time. So we were locked up in the lodge for deportees. When you are locked up, you don’t come out again until you are leaving the country. But some people are not allowed to leave, especially people with fake documents. Some have been there for over three months. But some of them were released the day I left because I pleaded with the authorities on their behalf. This was on account of the impact God had in the lodge through me his unworthy servant.
What happened in the “lodge”
The lodge is like a cell—you don’t have access to the outside. There are four cameras in the parlour, and two more in the bathroom and toilet. You are constantly monitored, anything you say is recorded. There was an Iraqi man who was saying all kinds of nonsense in the lodge. Ten policemen came in and beat him up. Then they put him in a wheelchair and rolled him outside the lodge to an unknown destination. We never saw him again until I left. New people kept coming in while others were sent back to their country. They fed us twice a day with bread and juice.
The second day I decided to approach the deportees. I gathered them together—the Muslim, the nominal Christian and the atheist. I preached a simple message of salvation, they were all touched. I asked if there was anyone with an infirmity. I would minister healing to them before leading them to the Lord.
A Palestinian Muslim man said he needed healing from God concerning one of his ears which was totally deaf for over twenty years. A man from Norway was also deaf in one ear. I put my fingers into their ears at the same time and commanded the ears to be opened in the name of Jesus Christ. They could not believe what happened then. Within a second their ears popped open. The Palestinian Muslim was just chanting “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.” (God is great, God is great.) He was amazed.
The Norwegian man was shedding tears. For seventeen years he had spent so much on that ear in vain. But now God had healed him. A man from Pakistan had one leg shorter than the other. I told him to stretch out his leg. Everyone could see that the left leg was shorter. I told them to keep watching as I commanded the shorter leg to grow out in Jesus’ name. Within a second the legs became equal in length. God was mesmerizing us in the lodge.
Then I gave an altar call for salvation. Everybody in the lodge was converted to Christ. From then on, the Muslims could no longer embark in their prayers in the lodge. Two hours later I told them I wanted to teach them how to heal the sick [as Jesus taught and commanded his disciples in Luke 10:9]. You could see their joy. We had the Elijah Challenge Training in the lodge. I taught them for two hours, and they were greatly moved.
I told them to go back to their country and do likewise: to heal the sick, to lead people to Christ, and also to teach them what I had taught them. I gave them the Elijah Challenge website to download the teachings, and CDs for further studies. They all believed that God did not send me to Brazil, but to them “for such a time as this.” When some of the policemen saw how I was able to organize the inmates, how they were always by my side asking questions, they perceived that I was a pastor. They asked me if I was a pastor and I answered yes.
One of the security officers was watching me on camera as I was healing the sick in the name of Jesus. He came in later and just looked at me. But when I was leaving he escorted us and requested that I keep praying for him. He had seen everything I had done on camera. He told me that although he was a Muslim, he would give his life to Jesus. (But he was afraid of his people the Turks.) But he is convinced that Jesus is the way.
He told the two policemen who escorted me to Nigeria to take good care of me. I took a picture with him and one of the policemen.”
Emmanuel & Palestinian Muslim gentleman whose deaf ear opened up
Emmanuel (second from left) & the fellow deportees he led to the Lord
Emmanuel & new believers in the “lodge” resting in background
Emmanuel with Turkish Security Officer & Policeman