Chapter 11: HOME AND A NEW START

Jay's friends were with him at the airport as they helped him with his luggage. Jay was going home to Oman. He was going to be home for a few months with his parents It had been many months since his parents had come for the concert with P.O.D.

"That's one fat suitcase. Dude, you packed your whole house or what?" Dan asked, and the other guys laughed.

"Yeah, if I had another suitcase and if it was allowed, I'd pack you guys too!" Jay said as Dan laughed and hugged him goodbye.

Jay hugged Duke, Ash, Stan, and some other friends who had come to see him off. He wore his shades and swung his sports bag saying, "I'll be back," impersonating the Terminator as he walked into the terminal, and they all laughed.

Jay got himself a decaf coffee and sat in the lounge for his flight. A few people recognized him as the singer of Route No. 7 because of his dreads. He shook hands before he finally boarded his flight.

Jay had a great flight home and loved every bit of it. He slept for most of it but didn't mind waking up for the meal, especially because it was served by the pretty air attendants.

When he reached Oman, he was so happy to see his country. He walked down the steps from the plane and kissed the tarmac. The other passengers stared at him as some of them thought he was nuts. Jay was smiling to himself because he was so excited.

Jay picked up his luggage, and as he walked out of Seeb Airport in Muscat, he saw his parents waving, and Rookie was with them. As soon as he reached them, Jay hugged his parents. Rookie barked in delight as he jumped onto Jay. He knelt down as he patted and hugged his dog. "This guy has become a wolf!" he exclaimed as he carried Rookie to the car.

Rookie was overjoyed to see his big brother. Rookie had become a full-grown German shepherd, strong yet loving.

Jay and his parents talked a lot until they reached home. He played with Rookie for an hour. Afterwards, he went upstairs.

When Jay opened the door of his room, he could feel the presence of the Trinity like old times. It took him back to his school days when he would often have times like this with the Wise One. He knelt down, covered in dog fur, forgetting his usual habit of showering as soon as he got home. He didn't care. He just lifted his hands and worshipped the Trinity for all the good things they had done for him over the past few years.

A lovely dinner was made ready by his loving mum and dad. They sat down to say a prayer of thanks, and then the family began to eat. Jay spoke a lot about his experiences at Murdutch. He didn't give too much information about the rap battles, but he did an overall recap of the year. Now that he had graduated from his university, he wanted to work in Dubai. His parents readily agreed.

As Jay woke up the next morning, he was just able to catch a glimpse of his mum leaving his room. There was a brand new Turkish towel and a lemon-scented Zest soap. Jay had a cold shower and washed his long dreadlocks with his dreads shampoo. He hadn't cut his hair, and it now reached beyond his chest.

His parents had prepared some eggs, pork ribs, brown bread with cheese spread, and some freshly squeezed lemonade for breakfast. Jay ate hungrily as he heard Nickelback's song "Rockstar" playing on the radio.

His dad told Jay that Reverend Turner would be coming back to Oman later that year. He also said that Brother Earnest and Tabitha were not in Oman at that time. They had gone over to the United States for work, so he would not be able to see them.

Jay was so excited to hear that Reverend Turner was coming back.

Don and Shelly shared about how their lives had taken a drastic turn while Jay was away. They had prayer meetings in their house. Now they were both seeing visions and dreams at times. They had been reading the Primus Script and were even teaching it.

After breakfast, Jay took Rookie for a walk outside the house. He wondered which of his friends would be around. All of them had graduated from college and had gone abroad to work. It seemed as if he was a kid in high school just the other day, and suddenly he was out of college and about to work.

One day, Don asked Jay if he would like to go for a drive with him, to which he agreed.

As they were driving, Jay asked, "How's it going at Brown Chapel?"

Don answered, "We stopped going there for a couple of years, ever since a new leadership took it up. The church was no longer focused on the right things, so we moved to another church. But I just heard that the leadership has changed again and that it's better now, so we could go check it out before you leave."

As Don drove through Ruwi High Street, he asked Jay, "Hey, did you learn how to drive a car?"

"No, not yet. I never had the time."

"Well, it's about time, son." Suddenly, Don pulled off the road.

"What are you doing?" Jay asked in surprise.

"I'm gonna teach you to drive and get you a license. It's time, son."

Jay was at a loss for words. He was so excited and nervous at the same time.

Don stopped the car and got out. He opened Jay's door and asked him to go sit in the driver seat, so he did. Don got in the passenger's seat.

He showed Jay the gearshift, the accelerator, and brakes and said, "Whatever happens, if the car goes out of control, just stomp the brakes!"

"Okay," Jay said as he turned on the ignition, stomped the clutch, and shifted into first gear. The car moved, but it went off.

Don helped him shift gears. In twenty minutes, Jay was driving all over the desert.

Don told Jay not to tell his mum about this.

In a few weeks, they applied for the license. Jay passed the test on his first attempt. He was excited. He had just turned twenty-one, and now he was already driving smoothly all over.

Jay spent most of his time back in Oman with his family to make up for the lost time in college. The rest of the weeks rolled by with the family heading out to beaches and touring the country. They even took Rookie with them to most places. They loved swimming, so Don would take him and Shelly to a farmhouse, where they had a huge pool to themselves. They attended a few parties, but they continued to stay away from alcohol. Jay had a great time. He was able to pray and have a lot of fun at the same time.

On their first visit back to Brown Chapel, Don, Shelly, and Jay went in and sat in the back row because the church was packed. Jay saw that the pews were covered with rock band names, tic-tac-toe, and other number games carved into them by naughty students. It reflected the old management and its ineffective leadership at Brown Chapel.

Jay saw his old childhood friend Tarik walk in.

Tarik sat down next to Jay. "Hey man, I heard you had come back home and thought I'd find you here."

They gave each other a big hug and started catching up on what had happened the past few years.

The pigeons cooed on the windowsills in the beautiful, colored windows high above. Then they seemed to grow quiet, as if they were sensing that something was about to take place.

The choir leader came in, dressed in flowing robes and lifting his hands. The grand piano filled the room with beautiful music as the pianist tickled the ivories. Then the choir started singing, and the perfect harmony of vocals was like the many colors coming out of a prism and tingling every ear that heard. Brown Chapel hadn't had that kind of experience for many years, but after the new preacher and leaders had taken over that old church, it had come back to life.

Warm tears streamed down Jay's cheeks. He knelt down on the floor with his hand on his chest and bowed his head. He felt he needn't look at the choir anymore. He could sense angels and the presence of the Trinity.

All around the chapel, hands were lifted high. Some bodies crumbled down under a power that was unseen, yet so real. Some people mumbled prayers as they fell prostrate.

As the choir sang "I Exalt Thee" in fine exuberance, the voices gathered strength.

Tarik's eyes were riveted on the choir leader, lost in his memories. The choir leader sang facing the congregation, which was immersed in the harmonious worship music. His high tenor voice pierced the air as he gathered gusto, and his power vocals shook the very atmosphere. The Trinity's presence came in like a mist, yet it was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It felt like you could inhale the presence of the Trinity.

Jay's parents were deeply absorbed in worship.

Jay managed to climb to his seat, still under the influence of a spirit, but not the kind sipped from a bottle of scotch. As he looked at Tarik with a pensive look, he whispered, "Buddy, can you feel his presence?"

Tarik looked at him and shook his head. "I can't. I don't feel anything. I haven't had that experience since Mum passed away." He slipped his hand into his pocket and felt his box of cigarettes.

When the service was over, Jay said to his parents, "It was like a Reverend Turner service." When he turned to the other side, he saw that Tarik was gone.

Jay found Tarik outside, standing alone in a column of smoke.

Jay said to him, "Your mum is in Blue primus. She would wish you to stop smoking. Your pain is heavy—I can see it—but God will turn this tragedy into a blessing. He will make life good again. Love you, bro."

Tarik hugged Jay. "I'm leaving to the States for work next week. Someday I'll meet you again. I don't wanna be here. It reminds me of my praying mum." Tarik's eyes filled with tears.

Jay hugged Tarik. "See ya, buddy. We will catch up if you are free. Just let me know," Jay said as he walked to his parents, who were waiting in the car. As Jay rode home with his parents, they prayed together for Tarik.

* * *

After being home for about two months, it was time for Jay to return to Dubai, and he was contemplating taking up a job as soon as possible.

Jay's dad went over to Dubai with Jay because he had a surprise. He bought him a dark green Lexus sedan. "Mum and I saved up for this. This is our gift for you, son. And don't drive like the guys in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."

They laughed together.

Jay was ecstatic. He was driving in the city of Mirdif with his dad.

"You good, buddy?" Jay's dad asked.

"Yeah, Dad. I think this is perfect, and I love you guys for this! You guys are the best!"

Jay's dad also helped him to take care of his rent, and Jay was able to get a private apartment of a house for himself. When he was at home in Oman, his parents had taken turns teaching Jay to cook a few dishes so that he could survive without any help. Now he was truly going to start life by himself.

The day that Don was leaving to go back home, they prayed in the car before Jay dropped him off at the airport.

Jay drove to Murdutch in his new car to collect all his official school documents. Jay hadn't told his band yet that he had returned.

Dan, Duke, Stan, and Ash all happened to be on campus that day. They jumped on Jay when they saw him. They had a lot to talk about—all that happened during the holidays and the fun times they had.

After Jay collected all his documents, he showed his friends his new sedan. All the boys had gotten their cars by then, so they celebrated at a local steak joint. They reminisced about how the years in college had been a great experience because of the good times and the music.

Cain and his friends had already graduated. Jay and his friends didn't know if they would ever cross paths with them again. It was rumored that Cain and his bandmates had moved to Europe.

After Route No. 7 had played alongside P.O.D., they had openings in all the clubs in Dubai and also in the other Emirates of the UAE. However, Jay and his bandmates now needed to have regular jobs.

Jay got his first job doing customer service for a multinational bank. Since he was a newbie and had absolutely no relevant work experience, they put him on a long-hours shift. Jay tied his dreads up. He had to change from his regular black tee shirts to formal shirts and trousers. They had to move to a different building for the training program.

The training hours were back to back, and they had three trainers working on different subjects. Jay had to concentrate, and he would try to hide his yawns. He could never sit in a briefing room for too long. "Why do they have so many hours? " he wondered. Sometimes he slept through the class with eyes wide open.

He was in a team of people who were mostly about his age, with some younger and some older. He made new friends who asked him, "You in a rock band?"

"Yes, of course," he said.

Some women, including those who were a couple years older than Jay, were eyeing the young, fresh, new face, but he just dodged them. Even in college, he had never really chased after women most of the time because he was so focused on his music and performance.

In a month, the trainees qualified for the job, and they were placed in their respective teams. Jay was assigned to deal with people's accounts. He became the number one performer from day one and was praised many times for his quality work. He found work life exciting and he worked hard on his shifts.

Jay found that in the company, people were different from what he was used to. Everyone was all about promotions, growth, and money. There were hardly any normal, human social conversations. The plaza would be filled with smokers. Jay hated cigarettes, so that was one place he would never visit. His constant companion was coffee, a habit he picked up from the office comrades.

In time, most of Jay's life became work, and he would attend church and meet his friends on weekends. He had no time to cook, so he began to order in food. He barely had time to pray. He began to feel that he was drying up spiritually.

It got worse when his shifts were changed to night shifts. He would come home in the early hours when it was still dark. He would put the keys in the keyhole with his eyes closed. Once he reached his bed, he would remove his ID tag, change into his home clothes, and just fall asleep in bed. He would wake up only to eat some breakfast that was in a plastic food delivery bag left hanging on his front doorknob. Once he was done with it, he would sleep again and wake up to eat his lunch and then be back to sleep again. By evening, he would be up and pray for a wee bit, head to the bathroom for a shower, dress up in his formals and then drive to work. As weeks passed into months, he was still adjusting to the relentless corporate life, and it was not doing him too well.

However, Jay did not miss any opportunity to talk about his faith to most of his colleagues. It was as if Jay had a fishing hook for catching people for the Trinity. As he told stories of his life experiences, people were fascinated. They liked his sense of humor and could relate to his struggles, but then they wanted to know more about his supernatural experiences and miracle stories.

One by one, the lives of his coworkers who believed in the message of hope that Jay shared were starting to change. There was the coworker who was working at this company because his family business had failed. He suddenly got a new business idea, which led to a complete turnaround in the family business. Later, he quit his job at the bank in order to handle all the profits that were accumulating. The girl who went home every day to an empty apartment was starting to be surrounded by loving friends who cared about her. The woman who was stuck in a dilemma of relationships gained clarity and saved herself from future harm. Many of them received an understanding of the status of their souls, and many began a new life through the Prince. One of his most prized catches was Cristabelle, a tall, lanky Catholic girl who later became a powerful influencer who brought many people to the truth.

Working in the Business Bay was hectic, with just a short breather, only to go out and see a concrete jungle. Jay wanted a break from his work when his new boss was making the team work so hard that they were all burning out. Jay's rehab was the time he had to spend with his music, but otherwise, most of his life was in the building on front of a computer and accounting figures. Some nights, he would have dreams about his workplace. He was trying to make sales even in his dreams. Jay would wake up and understand that it was just a dream.

After several months, Jay switched to a media job with a private company, where he began to work as a camera assistant. He learned some angles of shooting, but editing never got into his head; it was way above his level. He stuck to doing some marketing with the company.

After some time, he started working with an events management team as an events coordinator for other bands. He also got opportunities to put his own band in many of the college music festivals, including Murdutch. Once again, Route No. 7 became the talk of the town.

After that, Jay became a producer and a radio jockey for a local radio station. Radio was big in that city. Most people would spend hours in traffic and in cars, and the only thing they would listen to was the radio. They found it refreshing to hear Jay because of his wit and drama. On his show, he played songs and also told stories that he had compiled. Jay had been a good storyteller since childhood—he used to love telling stories from The Twilight Zone TV series and the Sherlock Holmes stories, but as the years went by, he eliminated horror stories. The music he and his crew brought out was the latest and the best because he had one motto: "No compromise on quality." He also interviewed many musicians and artists. He even brought up serious life issues like suicide, relationship fallouts, work, and people's ambitions. Every week, Jay would ask the Wise One for guidance to help write the best stories and real-life incidents, and he would compile them into the one-hour radio show.

Jay soon became one of the most-liked radio hosts of the area, the top radio host of that station, and his program, "Jay's Hour," became a famous radio show in the region. Jay began receiving e-mails from kids from schools and colleges about the way their lives had been impacted by the radio program. Even parents were writing to him, appreciating him for all the work he was doing.

The fame and recognition had its sour side with some church goers frequently judging him because of his dreadlocks. Many wrote him off as a drug addict or even went to the extent of saying he was a Satanist. Jay was hurt by the treatment he received, but he kept moving.

He was also performing acoustic sets in the clubs as he worked at the radio station.

After a couple years passed, he moved on to another job that required him to do work concerning human rights, so it was for a couple years he was on that. Jay began to feel the drag on his life. His spiritual life was dragging; he barely had anytime to pray.

CHURCH POLITICS

Hey Padre, I know you gotta problem with me

But I'm telling you, man, I'm not your enemy

You hate the way that I dress I sing and I rock,

You just can't stand the sight of my dreadlocks

When was the last time you thought of ever praying for us

Tell everybody on your stage" Hey those guys r nuts!!!!"

You just can't help it to take a shot at me from your pulpit

We go into the world to sing to every creature

We're preachers, we're prophets, them people call us teachers

U think we can't do a job becoz of lack of trust

No one was praying for us or are we dangerous?

We explode from our rapkit at the point of Transit

U call us performers, sheep-stealing robbers

We're leaders, we owners, the Prince of Peace is for us

You wanna break it?

Flock Rock, Raprock

Ma faith is on the solid Rock

Preach the cross round the clock all the way we Rock the flock

Yo, pastor! I heard that u had mentioned ma name

Telling everyone ive been rocking stages for fame

The guys in your youth groups like the music we make

Cut them loose from the strict religious coils, I pray

Don't let the essence of reasoning

Reap the presence in seasoning

Tell everybody on ure stage "That's not from God"!!!

U just seem to miss it every time we get to hit it (Jayden is a rapprophet)

We wanna use the Tester coz we have the strength to muster

We're leaders, pied pipers, them people call us rockers

U think you can make us stop by the words you say?

Why don't you take a seat n pray hear the music we play

We explode from the rapkit at the point of transit

Were Leaders were owners the Prince of peace is for us

Redeem us, revive us Rock of Ages for us

You wanna break it?

Flock Rock, Raprock

Ma faith is on the solid Rock

preach the cross round d clock all the way we Rock d flock

youre looking for peter he's out in the pub

James and john fixing joints Rotting out in the club

Paul and silas total rudeness they ain't showing you no kindness

struck down with madness along the way of blindness

the wolves have got your sheep while your leaders went to sleep

some have gone astray, it's time for us to pray

the formulas changed but the message remained

updated by Jehovah this goes to supernova

Ima shake ma hand with you we're doing this together

so sing this song with me, pasta' preacha' teacha'

Why are you fighting with me

BUT we guys ARE family

Why are you fighting with me

show me the unity

Why are you fighting with me

BUT I love the Trinity

Why are you fighting with me

Transitpoint, "Flock Rock"

Jay had started going to a church that was closer to where he lived. He found it too hard to keep going to the one in Al Barsha, due to the extreme traffic. This new church was not like Brown Chapel. It was a huge church with a massive congregation that was like an ocean of people fighting for their seats. The pastor was so busy that he didn't bother to even learn the names of the people who were faithfully working in his periphery. All he cared about was the number of people who were in attendance and in view of the cameras.

In the beginning years, it was great, and he learned a lot, but as Jay continued to attend church services, he started coming under the spotlight of judgment. He joined the worship band, but every time he would lead the congregation in singing, they would stare because of his looks and rock singing style. But he couldn't help it—that was the only way he knew to express himself. He tried to be a part of the Christmas play, but the leaders did not allow him and others to be creative. They always set boundaries and stuck with their own ideas that were very outdated.

During one church service, one of the pastors spoke against people who play heavy music and head bang, saying those things were of the devil. It was obvious that he was talking about Jay and his band. Jay decided that would be his last day there, and he penned a song about that experience.

Seeing absolutely no support for what he believed in from the people whom he thought would help him navigate life, he moved on in search of a better place where he would not be judged, mocked, or misunderstood. He wouldn't have cared if it had been people who were without the knowledge of God, but these were the ones who sat in a church building, and they weren't keen to change their understanding. He saw himself as an extended arm to serve the same purpose as they were, but he was treated as a limb infected with gangrene. The people just couldn't understand the world outside of the four walls of their church.

The Trinity was saddened by the way Jay and many like him were treated. Unbeknownst to Jay, the Emperor had already made plans to bring him to a church that would receive and celebrate him and not just tolerate his calling, even though it was different from others'.