How I Met And Fell In Love With My Wife, Gloria - Evang. Mike Bamiloye

 

Evangelist Mike Bamiloye and his wife, Gloria Bamiloye are a celebrated couple in the vineyard of God. They are loved and respected by many Christians within and outside the shores of the country. Evangelist Mike Bamiloye is the founder of Mount Zion Faith Drama Ministry. He and his lovely wife, Sister Gloria, as he fondly calls her, have been married for 36 years. They got married in 1988 and their marriage has continued to wax stronger by the day. But it was never a bed of Roses for this beautiful couple, they had to weather the storm together to be able to overcome all of the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them.

In a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to his wife, Evangelist Mike Bamiloye reveals how tough it was for him and his wife in the early days of their relationship. He also encourages single ladies to learn from his marriage and never make money their priority when choosing a man.

As a matter of fact, his marriage is a testimony which reveals clearly that, if not for his wife, he probably wouldn’t have been where he is today and perhaps his very popular drama ministry may never have flourished the way it has done.

He spoke about how they met, how his wife’s family kicked against their relationship and how his own elder sister led the war to his wife’s house to tell her family not to let their daughter marry her brother because he has no JOB. It’s quite an interesting read…

“My wife and I got married in 1988’” he began. The year we got married, she was only 24 years old and I was 28. Since then, we have travelled through thick and thin together. We have climbed the mountains and descended into the valleys together. We have faced adverse physical and spiritual situations together. We have both confronted together, daunting challenges that have stood and those that are still standing against our lives and ministry.

But what is special about this great woman is when I remember how we started and how we have been journeying this journey since then. And when I recall some of the things that happen today among our single and marriagable sisters, I cannot but give praises to the Lord God who brought this simple and humble sister my way several years ago.

I have written this story in some of my write-ups and in one of my books, however, there is need to recall some of it for the benefit of some of our single sisters who might need to learn from it. I graduated from higher institution in 1983 and served in 1983/84. Right from the Campus days, I had been involved in drama ministry, all through my Youth Service, I was sending drama scripts back into the fellowship for drama presentations and I would travel down from Plateau State to direct the rehearsals and participate in the major drama presentation on Drama Night. After my Youth Service in 1984, I was involved fully in campus drama evangelism with the fellowship drama group, travelling to other campuses and churches outside the campus for drama presentation. And Sister Gloria was among the new members that joined the drama group.

In 1985, sometimes in early July, I proposed to her to marry me and she told me she would pray over it. On August 4th, 1985, she revisited my proposal and said “Yes” to it. So, our journey began. Now, the real issue was that, I had nothing. I had nothing physical or material that any lady could be proud of. I had only one single room, with one bed, one table and chair, a standing hanger where I hanged my few fading shirts and only one suit which I used to iron from time to time and red tie for special occasions.

Inside the single room was my cooking stove and a dilapidated standing fan, which had lost its foot and the head was tied facing the bed. And of course, a precious item – my bookshelf serving as a small library.

So, when Sister Gloria visited my abode for the first time, these were all I had and she saw. My physical and material possessions could never be compared to what I was on the campus. “Bro Mike” was famous among the fellowship as a “gym-gym” brother full of zeal for drama and drama only.

And the drama group of the fellowship became the most influential of all the sub-groups of the fellowship, because almost all the executive officers became members of the sub-group, including the President and the Vice-President and the General Secretary of the Christian Fellowship. So I was so rich in spiritual substance and full of great vision, but had no enviable physical or material possessions any young lady could be proud of.

But, when Sis Gloria entered my room, one afternoon, she never saw all those things I mentioned but only one thing arrested her attention: my bookshelf containing several spiritual books, including the books of Kenneth Hagins, Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborne, Osward J. Smith, etc. She hastened to the shelf and shouted “Whao!”, and she sat by the bookshelf and began to look at those precious books she had longed to have and read. Ah!.

I was happy I had what she wanted and desired. She wanted spiritual books that would make her grow. And I had just that! All other things never mattered to her. I had nothing physical, but I had a great vision of the future and she embraced that vision with all her heart and might. When her senior brothers and her parents were demanding from her to know the work that her fiancee was doing that could qualify him to marry her, she stood on my behalf to defend me before her people that I was into drama ministry and there was a great future ahead of us.

The people could not see what she was talking about, because I was already on full-time drama ministry and I had no physical enviable thing they all could hold on to. They were furious with her and thought she must be out of her mind to have decided to marry “a man who has no job and no physical possession and no appreciable future”.

When we informed them we wanted to get married three years down our courtship, they revolted and my Mummy ( my elder sister), led the war to Sis Gloria’s parents to warn them never to give their daughter to me in marriage because I had no job to take care of their daughter. She stood by what God had told her about me, that there was a great future ahead of us. The Lord convinced them all and they supported us and we married in 1988, three years after the Mount Zion ministry launched. And our journey to that future began.”

In his emotional tribute to his wife, Evangelist Minke Bamiloye said: “If my God had not had mercy on me and prevented all those sisters I had blindly proposed marriage to and turned down my proposal, if anyone of them had said yes to my proposal, I would’ve missed it in life, because I would’ve missed marrying you, Gloria Olushola. But God had mercy on me, they all turned down my proposal. And I thought God was against me, not knowing that God was planning my future for me by guiding my feet to the actual bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.

I therefore thank the Lord God of heaven, that I did not make the greatest mistake of my life because I found you. I count myself very fortunate in life for getting married to you. No wonder things are working well for me, no wonder I am succeeding in ministry. No wonder I am looking younger as I grow in age. You have not over used me, I thank you. I thank you for managing my issues and challenges. No wonder I have the peace I have. And no wonder I have the wonderful children I have, Dammy, Joshua and Oluwadara. Who would’ve given birth to these classy, highly intelligent multi talented children, like these ones, if not someone like you, Gloria Olushola Alaba? I know I have not loved you enough, I’m trying to read some books on how to handle gold. 

So, I’m trying to learn how to love someone like you. I’m eager to learn how to love you as expected. Many times, my ministerial duties have taken me away from you, I know. I am caught in between two options many times, to give you all the time you deserve or to attend to all the compulsory ministerial duties. But you are more than ministerial duties, but at the same time, I must do the work of He that sent me while it is day because the night cometh while no one can work again. And then, I would remember that Jesus that said that statement wanted me to give you the quality time you deserve. And this is where I have failed many times, and this is where I ask for your forgiveness today. Forgive all those times I have not given you the time you deserve, I will try and change. Forgive all those times I have shouted at you when I am under pressure of ministry and domestic needs, I will try and trust God more and contain my emotion. Forgive all those times I have bumped on you with crazy and outrageous visions and missions which I said I received from God and I have not given you enough to think and absorb it, I will try and find a better present my visions and missions which the Lord lay on my heart.

Gloria Olusola Alaba, you’re a very big voluminous book, I have not read the book to a quarter of it. I am still discovering fantastic hidden riches locked up in the book day by day, and the more I read the book, the more I discover the riches you carry. You’re a very dutiful wife, you give me good food at home, so I don’t have any reason to eat elsewhere. You’re deep and spiritual, so I don’t have any spiritual issues to settle with you. You feed your children well with the word of God and you’re very submissive. No wonder my children, Dammy and Joshua have always been praying that the Lord will give them a wife like their mummy and that was why it took Dammy long time to find a lady like her mother because they’re very scarce and that has been why the Lord answered our prayers by giving him a lady that will be better than his mother.

So, Gloria Olusola, you’re a rare gem, I thank the Lord for your life. I’m so fortunate I was bold enough to approach you that day and propose to you and I thank the Lord you obeyed the Lord to answer to my proposal. I thank the Lord we got married. I thank the Lord we are blessed with this wonderful ministry. I thank the Lord we are blessed with wonderful children. I thank the Lord we are blessed with fantastic ministry members and I thank the Lord you have supported me all these days till now. I thank the Lord for your life. I loved you then, and I still love you now and I will continue to love you for life. And in heaven, since the Lord said two shall become one, I am certain that we shall live together in one big mansion in heavenly city when we are done in this world. God bless you.”

                                                  WALE LAWAL (08037209290)