The vision is for an appointed time; wait for it Week 20, 2011

I was not interested in US immigrant visa lottery and told her exactly that. The lady disturbed me to put in for 2006 visa lottery. She offered to do all the applications for me and family. But as she kept pressing, just to get my peace I agreed but then kept forgetting the pictures. Four days to the end of the program, she came again to ask for the information and photographs. I then gave them to her just so she could leave me alone. At least I could now get some peace.
With a B.Sc in economics and an MBA in banking and finance, I was unemployed for 4 years. God had, in 1988, promised taking me to the USA. With the help of my brothers in the USA, I made several efforts to leave the country, to no avail. Eventually I got a visa to travel to Trinidad and Tobago in February 1996. I was excited! Unfortunately I was denied entry into the country for no clear reason. All efforts to explain myself and my itinerary with necessary documents fell on deaf ears. Instead, I was bundled into the next plane back to Nigeria. Deported! How humiliating. I wondered how God could allow that to happen to me. Devastated, I quietly decided to leave God. But no, I found myself continuing my service to the Lord steadfastly – God’s hand sustaining me. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay Hab 2:3(ESV).
I began producing and hawking popcorn for a living. I did this for 4 years and actually got married doing it. I also started making and selling ice cream, but the business became unsustainable a year after. God readily provided a job for me, allowing a seamless transition. Thus, I got my first formal employment 9 years after my MBA. Four and half years later, I headed a branch of an international IT company, where I was made to put in the US visa lottery. Two and half years after, I became the Managing Director of a micro finance bank. I felt settled.
Amazingly the visa lottery results came in 2007: I had been selected. I was stunned. The struggles came: why pull up and go to another land? My wife and I were both well established and starting anew was not a welcoming thought. By now (2008) the family had become comfortable, living in Trans-Ekulu a reputable part of Enugu. About that time, my wife was made a senior nursing officer. We turned to God. He reminded me that He foretold taking me to the United States 20 years ago. He arranged the application and ensured I put in; the lady who pressurized me so much had forgotten all about what she did! Initially, I wanted to take a leave of absence so I could retain my job and return to Nigeria until my wife passes her Board exams and gets a job, but God prevailed on me to trust Him absolutely and not look back. God provided funds and flew us on eagle’s wings to the United States in February 2009. "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?” 2Sa 7:18. That is how, 21 years after God spoke, the promise manifested.
Greg now lives and works in Patterson, USA with his family