Saraya

"Psalms 144:1 praise be to the Lord my rock,who trains my hands for war,my fingers for battle..."Something caught Pastor Juan Ekang 's attention at the door.He was standing at the pulpit in a black suit,white shirt and black tie facing the door,his wife Saraya sitting on a chair a few feet away from the pulpit.He stopped reading the bible for a while,his eyes fixed at the door,he saw someone familiar walk past the door outside,he felt anger and annoyance rising within him and he struggled to hide it.Suddenly three people in black trousers, black jackets and black wool hats stormed in and one fired a gunshot into the air ,the church was a big building and full of people,screams filled the air as people got down from their seats and crawled on the floor,some lay down quietly,some trying to get under the seats.It was clear they wanted Juan, one of them closed the door and stood there so that no one would escape,a pistol in his hand,the two fired shots at the pulpit aiming to shoot Pastor Juan.Saraya lay down on the floor trembling.Pastor Juan got down behind the pulpit and shouted to Saraya to move from there,Saraya crawled to the edge and rolled down the three steps and down to the congregants floor.Pastor Juan who had been holding his bible, hiding behind the pulpit to dodge the bullets suddenly threw away the bible in fury and unbuttoned his blazer,he dipped his hand into the inner pocket and took out a pistol.He pepped from behind the pulpit and saw them firing shots, coming closer,he quickly got up and fired two shots and got down immediately,screams became loud,he had shot one of them on the knee."Open that door, let's get out of here!"shouted the man who was shot,his friend grabbed him with one hand by the jacket and pulled him backwards on the passage floor between the church seats,towards the door,the other hand holding a pistol firing shots at Pastor Juan who was also firing back.As the man at the door opened the door Juan shot his arm,his gun fell down.The three men got out of the church,two wounded,they got into their car that was parked just outside the church and the unwounded man drove off quickly.Juan ran to the door and watched their car speeding off.People screamed even more louder,many headed to the door pushing each other to get out,in the middle of the chaos Pastor Juan picked up the gun that fell from the hands of the other man.He quickly went to the pulpit and grabbed his laptop bag and put the gun and his gun inside,no one noticed except Saraya his wife.Police cars arrived instantly with armed police men,they ordered everybody not to move,other people had ran away, others were still in the church.Pastor Juan came forward,his hands up "They are gone sir,the men who attacked my church",he said calmly.The policeman infront lowered his gun and moved towards him "We need all the details so we can trace them,the church members can be helpful"he said.Pastor Juan was quick to answer "My congregants are frightened,you can ask me,I will provide all the necessary information you need". Saraya stood among the church members behind Pastor Juan,she wondered why Juan seemed so calm and collected after such an incident, something that has never happened in Basaku before.The policeman nodded in agreement,of course he could ask Pastor Juan Ekang,he was a well known pastor in La Paz with a big church and a good reputation,he was a respectable man with dignity,he was known for spreading peace,love, guidance,not only in his church but in schools and hospitals as well.He offered support to schools and hospitals through prayers and donations through his church and his personal finances.The police asked questions about the incident, Saraya came close and stood beside her husband,she was completely confused when Juan didn't mention anything about the gun he picked up or his gun or him firing back,he just gave the police the information that the church was attacked by unknown robbers.

"The devil is working against the Redemption Christian church but God saved us, I know you are frightened,the Lord says "do not be afraid,for I am with you" we can all go home and rest,the service cannot continue"It was Pastor Juan a few moments after the police left.People left one after the other in silence and fright, Saraya closed the door, locked it and handed the keys to her husband "I will wait in the car",she said looking at him like she was seeing him for the first time.Pastor Juan stood infront of the door ,his right hand holding his laptop bag,his left hand in his trouser pocket looking at the direction of where the attackers drove to,his eyes swearing vengeance.Pastor Juan was a young man aged thirty two years,born and raised in Bata city.He was light in complexion, handsome, charming and energetic,he was warm and welcoming around people,he was raised by Christian parents,he became a pastor at the age of twenty six, moved to Malabo as a pastor to lead the Redemption Christian church branch there.He met Saraya when he was thirty,he married her at thirty- one and they had been married for a year. "Can we go?"It was Saraya in the car.

Saraya kept stealing glances at Juan as he drove down home.She was confused,she never knew Juan had a gun.Juan had a gun?he was keeping it in their house?why was he the target?who were those people and how were they connected to Juan?were they just robbers who wanted to steal from the church?the way Juan fought back,he was like a hitman in a movie,like he knew what he was doing,he shot two of them,a pastor with a gun in church,did Juan know some people were after him? Saraya had a lot of questions on her mind,a lot of puzzles,she waited patiently to reach home so she could confront him.She looked at him one more time,why was he so calm?.