Adeyipo, the venue of the 2018 Immanuel College Chapel Mission Love Feast, is one village unlike many.  Situated some 25 kilometres north of Ibadan, Nigeria, it is the home of the African Heritage Library And Cultural Centre.

Conceived and established by a son of the village and an academic Dr. Bayo Adebowale the centre attracts scholars and students from far and wide. It is this village, in particular the flat terrain in front of the centre, lined with tall leafy trees that determined our choice, this particular time.

Why? Because the trees would provide some protection against the harsh sunshine.  Besides, Dr Adebowale is a committed host when he has advance notice of our evangelical visit to the village. So also are his relations as they help to mobilize their neighbours.

The Love Feast is a yearly event, scheduled for the second Sunday in December. It all started in 2007 when it occurred to the Mission Team that, apart from the monthly outreach in different villages we ought to bring representatives of all the villages together in a central location, for a Christ-centred festival, a village christmas before the actual event.

As may be expected the 2007 feast was held at Oyo Ile, the village which hosted our first Mission outreach on November 4, 2000.

Thereafter, Eleru, Paala, Ladojo, all of which are central to the 100 villages which currently constitute our mission field, hosted the feast.

New to the 2018 Love Feast, held on December 9. Before our arrival at Adeyipo the village had been agog with crowds of gaily dressed men, women and children.

Our arrival was to have been disrupted by a tragic event - a five year old boy was run over by a careless motorcyclist. Suddenly the conviviality was replaced by anxiety and fear although the boy was quite conscious but understandably unsettled. A member of our team examined the victim and declared that the injuries were superficial.  He was taken to a health centre about 1 kilometre away where he was attended to and discharged. Calm was restored. The devil had failed.  The festive atmosphere returned with christian music and dancing.

Father Christmas, who had been carefully hidden away in one of our two mission buses, soon disembarked, to the delight of the children.  The atmosphere changed dramatically as the children, all 300 of them, surged forward to embrace him, the annual visitor from Rome!! He proceeded gradually to our makeshift grotto with his bag of gifts hanging on his shoulder. The children were thereafter organised in long queues, and the youth too.  They proceeded to the grotto to received their gifts comprising branded exercise books and biros, soft drinks, cheese balls and the like.

For the 286 men and women, who were required to stay sitted, each of them received portions of our seven, fifty kilogram bags of rice, which they took home, enough for them and family members who were unable to attend the feast.

What followed was a rain of prayers from our Ministers, the Very Revd Dr. William Egbetakin, Dean, Immanuel College of Theology, The Chapel Chaplain, The Very Revd Idowu Ariyo and The Assistant Chapel Chaplain, The Very Revd Joseph Ayodele.

For the entire Mission Team December 9 was a day of fulfillment despite the 35 degrees heat and the bumpy road to Adeyipo. From what we saw the villagers were happy, all 586 of them. Even the parents of the little boy, run over by a passing motorcyclist, were more than relieved, because the secret mission of satan had been aborted by Christ, the Saviour himself.