The Diary Game || HOW I SPENT MY SUNDAY: PRESBYTERY THANKSGIVING SERVICE, AFCON DRAMA AND OTHERS || 18/1/2026

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My day was a very busy one, from 8 am service in our worship center at The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Use Offot Congregation in Nwaniba Road Uyo to The 2026 Uyo Presbytery Thanksgiving Service held at 73 Wellington Bassey Way Uyo of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Uyo Parish. After the service, I took my family to visit a colleague before we returned home for some rest while we anticipated the AFCON final match. Let's dive into how I spent my busy day from morning until evening.

Shot from Samsung A05 - During The Presbytery Thanksgiving Service

^{8 am service at the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria Use Offot}

Sundays are always very busy and special for me, so it was different yesterday. We woke up about 5:21 am to have our morning devotion and from there proceeded to prepare for the 8 am service from the Uyo Presbytery Thanksgiving Service which every church under the Presbytery convened to count all the LORD has done in the whole of 2025.

I was in our congregation at about 7:46 am, and I started praying using the few minutes left before the service time. Those who came very early were part of the winning prayers.

At exactly 8 am, the Glorious service of encounter commenced. We have a standard liturgy or order service that is straight to the point, therefore it wasn't difficult picking from amongst those in the congregation to conduct the service while one of the elders of our church preached on the topic “Exceeding Grace”. The preacher told the congregants to take advantage of the General Assembly's theme of 2026 “Grace Upon Grace” where he coined the subtopic from.

“Grace is an unmerited favour, it is free, without ransom. It is found in Christ Jesus”

The service was brief but power-packed. Prayers were said, and other aspects of the order of service were followed until the closing hymn and benediction, and the service was dismissed at 9:16 am.

^{After Service and Moving to Wellington Bassey Way Uyo}

A few of us moved from the Use Offot Congregation for the Presbytery Thanksgiving Service which began at 10 am. The five (5) Parishes that make up Uyo Presbytery were presented and they took turns to thank God. The cleric charged the church with the theme “Thanking God for More Grace”. This year in the entire Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Grace is the motivation. The Thanksgiving Service ended about 1:11 pm.

^{Pictorials of the Thanksgiving Service}

After the service, the Presbytery convened for a brief meeting with major decisions taken going forward for the year 2026. From there I went to visit our minister in his house with my family and others, spent roughly an hour or more there, and later went back home, had lunch and I needed to sleep.

There were other schedules by 4 pm but my wife told me to cancel them. I was supposed to attend a marriage planning committee meeting, and I would have gone to the PSF evening fellowship. I called them to cancel, for my body needed enough sleep which I gave it. I slept from about 2:55 pm to 6:29 pm.

^{At the Minister incharge Apartment}

	Presbytery Leaders Convened After Service

Waking up, I struggled to be very strong, so I went straight to the bathroom for a cold shower. Later on, I took my family to stroll down the street, having a view of the beautiful city of Uyo. My son was excited playing around. We returned after a while, waiting for the AFCON final match between Senegal and Morocco. It was an intense game where both teams fought to be crowned the 2025 African Champions.

^{AFCON final and Senegal Crowned Champions}

The match was not without drama from the officials to the players. The Senegalese felt the VAR call was fair leading to a penalty in the last minute of the game. They saw their own goal disallowed without VAR calling the center referee. It was chaotic as the Senegal players left the pitch through the tunnel, while Moroccan fans were celebrating the VAR decision the other fans were fuming with serious anger and pain.

Hosting Right of AFCON 2027 Given

Sadio Mané, who is a sportsman, pleaded with his teammates to get back into the game, fortunately the awarded penalty was comfortably saved and Senegal went ahead to win in extra time and crowned AFCON champions for a second time in 4 years (2021 and 2025). Next were the award formalities with the CAF and FIFA presidents present. The next countries to jointly host the next AFCON, received the hosting right (Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania).

1. Never allow your emotions to control you: without Mané calling the Senegal team back, they would have been banned by CAF and FIFA.
2. Always remember the rule of every institution and be legal in your actions.
3. Never conclude when it is not over: Moroccans must learn.

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