Chapter 8 Decisions

Gabriel groans as he stood at the door of the church. "Why did I let you guys talked me into this?" Gabriel grumbled as his aunt took him by the hand and led him into the church. "All are welcome in the house of God." She said as she led him down the aisle. When Gabriel realizes that his aunt was taking him to the front of the church he stops. He was three rows down from the front. "I will stop right here thank you." His aunt scowls at him. "You know Gabriel I didn't take you for a coward." She teased. "Ha…ha...Very funny, I'm not going any further." "Okay you two stay here; I have some people I need to see." For some reason, Gabriel was feeling very uncomfortable. "Feeling alright prince?" Alex asks with concern "I would be lying if I say I was."

After a while, the service started and his aunt came back and sat beside them. The service was very lively and he did enjoy shaking his head and shoulders to the music but then it was time for the message. The preacher touch on a few stuff like repentance, and forgiveness. Then he touches on a topic that Gabriel wasn't expecting, lost love ones. That one was hard to listen to because it brought back some very painful memories. Then it was over and they were doing alter call. "Are you going to the alter?" His aunt asks. "No," Gabriel answered firmly. "I'm going to the bathroom," Alex said and left. "Come with me." His aunt said taking him by the hand. "Where are we going?" "To the altar of course." "I said I didn't want to go." "And I said you should." "Aunty please, I really don't want to go up there." "Gabriel Maxwell, do not argue with me."

Gabriel reluctantly follows her to the altar and she called three Missionaries. They surround him and start praying. For a while he just stood there, hoping that this would be over soon. Then out of nowhere came severe sadness, pain, memories of his brother flash through his mind. He remembered looking at him in the casket, felt the pain he had come to know so well in his chest. Heart-wrenching pain grips him and then to his surprise, tears. They came slowly at first and he tried to push them back. Then came the memories of his parent. He remembered sitting in the church with the two caskets before him and the pain in his chest got worst, a whole lot worst.

The tears came harder now so hard he couldn't stop them or control them. They rock his body. Then just like his memories, it came out of nowhere, a shock wave runs from his head right down to his toes and his body began to tremble. His knees felt weak and he couldn't stand anymore. His knees buckled and he fell. He was now on his hands and knees. Gabriel didn't have a clue what was happening to him and for some reason, he couldn't control what was happening either, he couldn't stop it, he couldn't even think, or even speak. Tears were flowing like a stream as if all the grief he had locked away was now flowing from him. Then another shock wave, a lot stronger than the one before. The wave rocks him left and right. He heard his voice, felt his mouth moving but couldn't understand what he was saying. Over and over the waves rock him and there was nothing he could do about it.

Aunt Lisa bent down in front of Gabriel and took his face in her hands. "Are you ready to give your life to God?" She asks. "Gabriel, it's time. The lord has a special plan for your life and he is calling you. Will you answer his call? If you turn your back on him right now you may not get another chance. Seek him while you still can Gabriel. The Lord wants to have a relationship with you. Do you want him in your life?" She asks gently.

Gabriel shakes his head. "Yes." "Do you want to be baptized tonight?" "Yes." "Are you sure? Because once you make the decision to follow God there's no turning back." "Yes I'm sure." He answered. "Can you stand?" Shakily Gabriel stood up holding onto his aunt for support. His whole body was trembling. "My nephew wishes to be baptized tonight." She told the preacher. One of the missionaries took him by the hand and led him to a room. His aunt came along too. The Missionary gave him a white robe. "Put this on." She said. He went in the room and with trembling fingers put on the robe and came back out. He was then led to a big pool where The Pastor was waiting for him.

Gabriel steps into the pool of ice-cold water and stood beside the Pastor. The Pastor then began asking him some questions. "Do you believe in God?" "Yes, I do." "Do you believe he died for you?" "Yes, I do." "Do you believe he's coming back again?" "Yes, I do." The pastor then told him to put his fingers over his nose. He was then dipped in the water. Gabriel could feel the water covering him, he went all the way down, and then he was been lifted again. "All your sins have been washed away. You have been washed by the blood of Jesus. You are now a new person. Live your life free of sin and you will spend eternity with God." He was then led from the pool. He went back into the room and change back into his clothes. When he came back out his aunt was standing there waiting for him. There was a young lady standing beside her. His aunt hugs him tightly. "I'm so proud of you, you will never regret this. I want you to meet Miss Diane Walker she is from our branch in Kingston." She then turned to Diane.

"I'm asking you to please look after my nephew for me; he's going to need a mentor, someone he can call if he needs help." "I'll do my best," Diane said and smile as she turns to Gabriel. "Here's my number, please call me if you need anything. She held out her hand for him to shake it and he did. But as his hand touches hers he felt a current ran through him. Not like the one in the church, this one was different almost intimate, like a connection, and from the look on her face, he could tell she felt it too. For a moment his eyes lock with hers. She had beautiful brown full eyes. Her hair was braided and she had it plait down her back. She was about 5ft, 5inc. She had a very nice plump shape and her skin reminded him of dark chocolate." Come Gabriel let me take you home." His aunt said as she went back into the church to get her bags. He turned to follow his aunt but then turn back to Diane. "How did you get here?" He asks as surprised by his question as she was. "On our church bus, why?" 'Just wondering, have a safe trip home. I will see you in Kingston." "Okay bye." Gabriel turned and walks away.

Alex was leaning against the car when they got to the parking lot. "Is it over?" He asks. "Yes, and you miss it all." Aunt Lisa said as she got into the car. Alex notices that Gabriel was very quiet. "You okay prince?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "Then why are you shaking?" Alex asks puzzled as Aunt Lisa pulls the car out of the parking lot. "Prince what's wrong. What did they do to you in there? You are shaking." "I'm okay. Just drop it alright."

The next morning Alex came downstairs, Aunt Lisa was in the kitchen. "Good morning aunty." "Good morning Alex." She said with a warm smile as he took a seat at the counter. "Can you tell me what happened last night? Prince hardly said two words to me last night, he just went to bed. What's going on?" "Well, Gabriel got baptize last night." Miss Lisa said smiling proudly as Gabriel enters the kitchen. "You did what! Alex shouts. Aunt Lisa's smile widens at the look on Alex's face. "He's a new person now." Alex turns to Gabriel and groaned.

"Please tell me this is a joke. You didn't. You couldn't. Did they trick you or did they force you to do this?" "Neither." "Then why on earth would you do something like that?" "Alex, go get dress we are leaving in thirty minutes," Gabriel told his friend. "Get dress! I want to know what's going on and you're telling me to go get dressed!" "We will talk about this later; now get out of my face!" Gabriel said coldly between clenched teeth. Alex knows better than to push Gabriel when he doesn't want to talk. So he walks away and went upstairs. Aunt Lisa then came towards him and gently holds his hands in hers. "Gabriel, I know Alex is your best friend, but please don't let him turn you away from God." She pleads.

"He won't. Something happened to me last night. Something I can't explain. But I just know I will never be the same." He said taking a deep breath and breathing out slowly. "I'm very happy to hear that and please remember to call Diane. There will be Bible class tonight. Please try and make it. It will help you understand more about God." "Okay, aunty. I'll call you when I get home." He hugs his aunt and takes two containers of fruits from the fridge. Placing one on the counter for Alex he left the kitchen. "Let's go, Alex!" Gabriel shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

Alex came running down the stairs with his bag. "There's a container of fruit on the counter get it and meet me outside," Gabriel said over his shoulder as he went to start the car. Alex enters the kitchen and snorts with disapproval. "You may have brainwashed him last night, but I promise you all that will change when we get back to Kingston." He said taking the fruit off the counter and leaving the kitchen. He got in the car and they drive away.

They drive in silence for a few minutes but after a while, the silence became too much for Alex. "Prince I know you took my head off earlier but I'm going to ask you again. Why did you get baptized last night?" Gabriel didn't answer. And Alex tries again. "Prince, Talk to me please." Gabriel knew he couldn't put this conversation off any longer. "It's not like I planned it okay. I went to that church because you wanted to go and then you just got up and left me in there. And I went to the altar because my aunt dragged me up there. But it's like God was waiting for me." "What do you mean? What happened?" "That's just it. I don't know. I mean first I started crying, then I started to shake and I felt a hand on my head. Not like a human hand but a hand of pure energy. Raw energy running through my body and for the first time in my life I wasn't in control of myself. I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to, but it's like a part of me didn't want it to stop and then the rest followed."

"So what happens now?" "I don't know." "Okay, so I will tell you. You're going to forget this whole thing ever happened because there's no way I'm going to let you become one of those people." Gabriel didn't say anything but he knew it wasn't going to be that simple he just didn't want to get into it with Alex until he knew more about what he was dealing with. Alex knew it was up to him to keep his friend away from those people. He had lost a lot of people in his life. First, there were his own parents who didn't give a damn about him. Then there was Gabriel's brother and then Gabriel's parents, the only people who had ever treated him like a son and there was no way he was going to lose his best friend to a bunch of brainless Christians. To him, Gabriel was a player and a hard-core businessman and there was no way he was going to let that change.