Let’s introduce you to their humble beginning through this post shared by Mike Bamiloye on their 32nd wedding anniversary in 2020.
He wrote, “THROWBACK: OCTOBER 7TH, 1988,
ENGAGEMENT DAY.
Very Innocent and humble girl.
Age: 24 Years Old.
The man she said she would marry had no tangible job but acting of drama up and
down.
The families were so skeptical and would have rejected this plan, but this
young boy and girl said hey wanted to marry.
This girl was entering into a future which only God knew.
Me: 28 Years Old.
Full time drama minister and no other job. Owing my Landlord about nine months
house-rent at the time I entered into full time ministry.
It was Families who rose up to support this wedding o.
Because, me, I had nothing. No money, no nothing.
It was my Big Sister who rented our first house for us, so that we would not
come and be living in her house.
And it was my wife’s Uncle who gave a little money to do some little things.
It was my Best Man who bought my Suit, Shirt and tie.
It was my Wife’s Aunty who sent us the Shoes I wore from America.
It was one of our ministry members who gave us the money we deposited for the
Wedding gown, because we had gone to three places where we wanted to rent a
Wedding Gown for N500.
It was the money we saved we used to deposit for our furniture for the living
room.
Forget about bed.
A mattress was good for us for the first five or six months.
It was all the money gift we were dashed on Wedding Day we used to balance some
debts and outstanding of the Wedding.
So, the following Week on Saturday, when we were going to meet the rest Mount
Zion brethren in Ilesa for drama ministration, GLORIA and I stood beside the
road waiting for miracle of a car lift to Ilesa, because there was no money on
us again:
A WEEK AFTER WEDDING! If you see what this Innocent Girl has passed through in
the hand of a man who had no tangible job in hand, but to be acting drama up
and down…
Well…Fast forward to many years later.
32years later…
This Girl has still remained faithful and still following the Young Man Up and
Down.
Still remains Submissive and Understanding.
And now, today, this Young Innocent Girl is still following the Young Man Up
and Down around the world. And even till yesterday… Even up till Today and
Tomorrow Happy Wedding Anniversary
Meanwhile, in an interview, the couple revealed what many didn’t know about their marriage. Excerpt
How did you meet?
Mike: We met in 1983 after I graduated from the College of Education in Ilesha. It was that year that she came into the school. I used to come to the campus to help the Christian Fellowship drama group. It was on one of my visits that I saw her.
What was the attraction?
Mike: The lord is the attraction. I knew it was the will of God. We didn’t just start talking because of marriage. We had already been working together in the Christian Fellowship. I was the drama director and she was a member of the Christian Fellowship. We had known for some time before the Lord led me to her.
Gloria: He was very humble and simple. Nothing really attracted me more than the fact that he loved and had the fear of God in him.
Did you have a difficult time wooing her?
Mike: It is a normal thing for every Christian that has the spirit of God in her to pray first in a situation like that. She said she had to seek God’s face and I agreed because that was the normal thing. After some time she knew it was God’s will and told me.
How did the relationship develop?
Mike: We were still working together in the ministry. Our ministry began in 1985. We had been working before then in the Christian Fellowship. We started the ministry together in1985 with a few brethren. We had been working together until we got married in 1988.
Were you dating someone else?
Mike: It wasn’t common in our time. And as a child of God and a leader in the ministry, I was not dating anyone. Although I prayed about some other people at that time, but there was nothing like dating. I never even knew the meaning of that word at that time.
Gloria: I was young and people were coming but I wasn’t ready for such a thing. I wasn’t led to give myself to something like that. I had prayed over someone like that who wanted to marry me, but I felt convinced not to go for him. He was a child of God also, he still is, but I was certain that he wasn’t the will of God for me.
Were there oppositions from both families?
Mike: Yes there were. The oppositions were based on the fact that I was involved only in the drama ministry, although I worked briefly. I taught in a school. But I didn’t teach for long before I went full time into the drama ministry in 1987. So the opposition was that I was not working and I wanted to get married. And from her own side, the parents saw that we didn’t have tangible jobs in our hands. She just graduated then. In fact immediately she graduated, she started working in the ministry. The issue was that she had no job. But we believed that we were working. We were doing the work of God. But the oppositions didn’t last for long. They all reasoned with us, when we were about to get married.
How did you propose to her?
Mike: I just told her that the Lord led me to speak to her. I prayed about it first. And she said she would pray about it. I told her I prayed and I wanted to ask her if she would marry me. There was no kneeling down or giving of flowers. I knew that she is a child of God and that she would pray about it.
Gloria: He asked me to marry him and I told him I didn’t know whether to say yes or no, or maybe I should pray and seek God’s face. I was skeptical. I was surprised to hear that. And he said I should pray over it.
Were you interested in him before then?
Gloria: I didn’t have that in mind then. I was young then and had a lot in my mind, I wasn’t ready for a thing like that. Later on I prayed and I was convinced by God that he was the will of God for my life.
How did you adjust to marriage life?
Mike: It is very natural with everyone once you get married. We knew we came from different backgrounds so we had to adjust. In our own case it was easy. It was the Lord that brought us together. Every marriage usually has a rough beginning. So it was God’s grace that helped us to adjust. We were so much pre-occupied with the work of the ministry. We got married one Saturday, and the next Saturday we were on a drama ministration in Ilesha.
Gloria: It was a spiritual thing. We acknowledged God as the centre of the marriage, and we had deeper love for each other. We had grace from God to understand each other and live together.
Was there no honey moon?
Mike: No there was no honey moon. We did not even have money to go for any honey moon. We were young then and pre-occupied with the ministry.
What have been the challenges these years?
Mike: Every marriage has challenges. But the difference is the presence of God. We had challenges when we were raising children, even in our personal lives too. We were involved full time in the drama ministry then. It was so rough and there was no full time employment, and we had members too. Generally we may not mention the specific challenges but at the beginning there challenges of raising the children and running the ministry at the same time. But God was helped us. And today it’s more than 32 years.
How did you run the home since both of you were in the same industry?
Mike: At the initial stage, we went from church to church for ministrations. At a time, she had to stay at home with the children while I travelled with the brethren as far as Zaria, Jos, and Kaduna. As time went on, her grandmother came and helped take care of the children.
How do you cope with being in the same industry?
Gloria: We have been into this before we got married; it’s like part of my life. When I was having children at the initial stage, I stayed at home, especially when I was pregnant. But now, I am able to balance my time properly. Our work is entertaining and evangelistic as well. Our lives are in the ministry and my children have grown into it naturally. My home has served as a location for movies so many times. God has really raised helpers both in the ministry and at home. At a time my mother had to come stay with us too.
Did you ever think you would marry someone in the same profession or a celebrity?
Mike: At that time there were no celebrities. I knew the Lord called me into the drama ministry and I believed that for me to achieve what the Lord wanted me to achieve, I had to marry someone with the same vision that I had. And I knew that the Lord must have prepared for me the same understanding that I had. So I never thought of marrying someone else who was not in the same calling as in the drama ministry.
How would you describe each other?
Mike: She is a woman of faith and prayer, with great understanding. She is hardworking and relates with people better than I do. She is sociable.
Gloria: He is a man. He likes to do the right things, and he loves God. He is always ready to say sorry. He doesn’t like to hurt people’s feelings. If he hurts you and realizes, he will apologise. He has his ego as a man, but he is very humble.
How would you describe your marriage so far?
Mike: Our marriage has produced great ministers. All our children are married also are in the ministry; my first son is a drama producer and director of Christian movies also, my second son is into music Our daughter is a scriptwriter. The marriage has been fantastic. It has been very good. It has been highly productive and successful, and has given birth to many fruits.
Gloria: It has been very wonderful and beautiful, because we got it right from the initial stage. I thank God because I have been enjoying the benefits. That is why I advise singles to seek God’s face and pray for the right person.
Has there been any quarrel/ how do you settle differences?
Mike: There will always be misunderstanding in marriages. When you get married to an intelligent person, the person will continually reason. Once in a while there has been disagreement in principles, but we always come together to agree. When there is a disagreement, one party approaches the other, depending whoever sees reasons first. There is always an agreement when there is a disagreement. We work together and sometimes we disagree during film productions but at the end of the day we still have to reach an agreement.
Gloria: We are children of God, and we cannot sleep without forgiving each other. I do not want to miss rapture. We were able to cope because we fear God. The fear of God sustained our marriage. Marriage is a ministry unto God. When we have that in mind, it would be easy to work together, respect each other and to adjust ourselves.
Do you pay your wife to appear in your movies?
Mike: I do not pay people. In drama ministry we don’t pay. We give honorarium to the cast as the Lord provides. We only pay the crew and hired hands. We work together, so I don’t pay her.
Do you operate a joint account?
Mike: We use the same back account and we are both signatories to it. It is the major family account. But we still have separate bank accounts.
How do you spend time together as couple?
Mike: The ministry takes us around, so we travel together, spend time together and we go out together. We also spend time together with the children
Gloria: We travel together, and we always have time for each other.
What common hobbies do you share?
Mike: We both like to sing and pray.
What pet names do you call each other?
Mike: She calls me Brother Mike. She calls me that because that was what she used to call me when we were in the fellowship before we got married. Even the children call me Brother Mike sometimes. Other ministers get surprised when she calls me Brother Mike. I call her Mummy Daniel.
Gloria: I have tried sometimes to stop calling him Brother Mike, but I couldn’t .
