INITIATION:

People think that biography must be after the death of an individual concern. That's an error. What is biography? That's a good question. "Biography is the history of someone's life". What is history? "His - Story". You can also call it "Her-Story". The most accurate story of a person's life should be the story written when he is still alive. And the story must be told by that very person. Therefore, since I picked interest in writing people's stories, my own story will not wait for my children to write, since they may not know exactly what happened and how. I decided to post my story as biography. I will write in a reported speech, so that it will show as a post from someone else about me. Let's explore into the life story of Rev. John Onwubiko Odum.

BIRTH DATE:

On March 6th, 1960, there was a cry of a little born baby boy heard in the family of Mr. Onwubiko Odum of Umuobasi Amankalu Igbere in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State Nigeria. The baby boy was helped by a local native midwife because the woman did not deliver her baby in hospital rather at the back of their residence. There was great celebration for save delivery of a bouncing baby boy from Mrs. Jemimah Onwubiko Odum. The parents gave him the name John, Ndubueze, and Eze. So, when the boy grew up, he decided to go with English name John, while his parents called him the remaining two names at home only. Therefore, John is the only name he has in the names "John Onwubiko Odum". Onwubiko was his own father, while Odum was his grandfather's name. That Odum became their families' name.

CONVERSION:

On 23rd day of February, 1973 at an evening service at Assemblies of God Church, located at 222 Clifford Road Aba, the boy John had encounter with Jesus Christ. He was converted and saved from sin as he testified to our interviewer at the compilation of this post. He added a detailed information to portray hís point, he said that the preacher that evening was a visiting pastor called Evang. Michael Ajuonuma. He remembered vividly everything that happened and how they happened.

HIS EDUCATION:

He started school in the year 1966. While he was yet in his standard one class, the Nigeria/Biafra civil war interrupted his schooling.
He didn't go to school again until 1972. That year was declared a national free education year for every child whose father paid taxes. Unfortunately, the program stopped that same year. He didn't have the opportunity again for schooling because he lost his father in that civil war. He was seven years when his father died. His mother was the last wife of his father's three wives. He was the fourth baby of his mother and the first son of their own kitchen. After the death of his father, the leadership system of their family went into "kitchen system leadership". He started to head his mother's kitchen at the age of seven.

Rev. John Onwubiko Odum didn't attend school again until he joined the adult night school in the year 1974, when he was 14 years. He stopped studies again after his primary six examination in that night school. But he was so determined to be educated. He started to read at home without any supervision. He was doing his personal studies until he answered the call of God that led him to Bible School at the age of twenty - five. The Bible School became his secondary and tertiary schools. He sat for Senior Secondary School Examination while he was in Bible School. He cleared all the subjects he took.

After his diploma in theology, he furthered to a degree course in Biblical studies. Then he bagged the Bachelor of Biblical studies in the year 1996. He enrolled in masters program, but dropped.

MARRIAGE/FAMILY:

He was married to Ngozi Nwachukwu of Asa-Umuakwa in Ugwunagbo Local Government Area of Abia State Nigeria. The two persons wedded on December 28th, 1988 at Assemblies of God Church, Onu-Ibina Igbere in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State Nigeria. The marriage lasted for 26 years, produced five children who are still alive today. After twenty six years in marriage, his wife died. Before her death, she suffered a protracted illness that lasted twenty - three years. She enjoyed her marriage for three years only and suffered for twenty - three years. She was buried on May 28th, 2015 at Umuobasi Amankalu Igbere in Bende Local Government Area in Abia State Nigeria.

Due to the nature of Rev. John Onwubiko Odum's work as an active minister of the gospel and a local church pastor, he saw the need of immediate replacement. An official married woman must be in the parsonage.

Rev. Odum remarried to Comfort Mgbechi Onwuka of Obinkita in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State Nigeria. Their wedding was conducted on October 29th, 2016 at Assemblies of God Church, located at 222 Clifford Road Aba, in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State Nigeria.

CAREER:

He was fully involved in the gospel ministries. He avoided any form of politics in his life.
His leadership location was his family and the local church he pastured.
He was very keen in blogs and ebooks. He joined Hive Blockchain on January 1st, 2024 where he posted all his blogs on daily bases. The Hive Blockchain nicknamed him "a busy bee" because he posted daily without fail.
He has his own blog site also where he uses as a library. He filed some of his blogs there, mostly those he posted outside Hive Blockchain.

HIS GOSPEL MINISTRIES:

He started as a fulltime pastor in January 1985. He pastured nine different local churches within thirty - five years of his active service. He made impact in the growth of Assemblies of God Nigeria between the year 1985 to 2020. He made a voluntary retirement at 60 years of his life, after 35 years of serious activities.

HIS RETIREMENT:

On the fifth day of December, 2020 he terminated his work with Assemblies of God Nigeria in an honorable retirement. The retirement attracted a huge ceremony because it's not easy to work among people as a pastor for thirty - five years without any accusing finger from within and without. Again it is a thing of joy to finish up the work alive. The altar and parsonage are real battle field. Rev. John Onwubiko Odum had no land property nor house of his own until his retirement. So, immediately after the retirement party, he bought 10 plots of farmland with the money he realized from the ceremony. He later shared the land among his children.

LESSONS TO LEARN:

• Rev. Odum encountered Christ at the age of 13, and remained faithful in maintaining that relationship till this old age.
• He remained faithful no matter the hustles of life.
• He maintained avoidance of accusing fingers, no matter what.
• He remains faithful in anticipation of Christ's return.
• He is truthful to the roots meaning of the word truthfulness.
• He is still active in evangelism, though not under the supervision of Assemblies of God Nigeria.
• He is still a Sunday School teacher both to online and offline audiences.

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REV. JOHN ONWUBIKO ODUM @64 YEARS